641: Chapter 641 I've prepared a gift for you!

Watching Chu Niubi's expression, looking like he was about to cry from anxiety, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh.

"I say, what are you doing?"

Chu Niubi lifted his head, his eyes red and his face full of bewilderment as he looked at him.

Ye Chen picked up his wine glass, took a small sip, and said unhurriedly,

"What I mean is, you guys should just say it directly. Why beat around the bush?"

The entire audience: "???"

Chu Shixiong was stunned.

Chu Niubi was stunned.

The core members of the Chu family were also stunned.

Wait...

Had they been beating around the bush?

It seemed... they indeed had.

On the surface, Chu Shixiong spoke of gratitude, but in reality, he wanted to find a backer for the Chu family under the guise of the apprenticeship ceremony.

This little scheme was seen through by Ye Chen at a glance.

But Ye Chen's tone...

Didn't seem angry?

Chu Shixiong's Adam's apple bobbed as he asked cautiously, "Mr. Ye, you... aren't angry?"

Ye Chen set down his glass and raised an eyebrow.

"Angry? Why would I be angry?"

"It's perfectly normal for your Chu family to want to find a backer."

"Of the Five Great Families of the Capital, the other four all have backgrounds in the Kunlun Ruins, while only your Chu family started from scratch."

"If you didn't have a sense of crisis, that would be what's abnormal."

Chu Shixiong opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Ye Chen continued.

"I'm not angry that you want to find a backer, but that you're playing mind games with me."

"Chu Niubi is my disciple. If he speaks up, could I not help?"

"You just had to go through all these twists and turns, hosting dinners and offering toasts, making it look like a negotiation."

"Isn't it exhausting?"

Chu Shixiong's face flushed red instantly.

Chu Niubi wanted nothing more than to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

Master was right!

How could he have been so slow to realize this?

He, Chu Niubi, was Ye Chen's disciple. If the disciple's family was in trouble, could the Master just ignore it?

By insisting on making it so formal and beating around the bush, it actually made them seem like strangers.

Chu Shixiong took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed deeply to Ye Chen.

"Mr. Ye, I, Chu Shixiong, have judged the heart of a gentleman with the mind of a petty man."

"Your lecture is correct; I overcomplicated things."

Ye Chen waved his hand.

"Fine, sit down and talk."

Chu Shixiong straightened up and sat back in his chair, but his entire being was clearly much more relaxed.

Ye Chen looked at him and said calmly,

"Mr. Chu, I understand your meaning."

"Regarding the apprenticeship, I agree."

Chu Shixiong's eyes suddenly lit up: "Mr. Ye, you... are you serious?"

Ye Chen nodded.

"Chu Niubi is my disciple; that is a fact."

"But there was never a formal apprenticeship ceremony before. Speaking of which, it really did lack a bit of ritual."

"Since you want to throw a grand banquet, then throw one."

"Let everyone in the capital know that the Chu family has a Master named Ye Chen."

Chu Shixiong's breathing suddenly became rapid, his eyes turned red, and his lips trembled slightly.

He had waited for these words for far too long.

Ever since the Chu family became one of the Five Great Families of the Capital, he felt like he was walking on a tightrope every day.

While appearing infinitely glorious on the surface, there were undercurrents surging beneath, with various forces ready to make a move.

No matter how capable he, Chu Shixiong, was, he was still just an ordinary person.

Without a powerful Cultivator presiding over them and without a Kunlun Ruins background, the Chu family was like a piece of fat meat that everyone wanted a bite of.

But now, it was different.

Ye Chen had nodded.

Ye Chen had agreed to formally take Chu Niubi as his disciple.

Ye Chen wanted everyone to know that he was the one standing behind the Chu family.

What did this mean?

It meant that from now on, anyone who wanted to move against the Chu family would first have to ask if Ye Chen agreed.

Chu Shixiong took a deep breath, stood up, held his wine glass with both hands, and bowed deeply to Ye Chen.

"Mr. Ye, words cannot express my gratitude."

"From this day forward, everyone in the Chu family will follow Mr. Ye's lead."

After he finished speaking, he tilted his head back and drained the wine in his glass.

This time, he didn't say "drink as you please."

Because this cup wasn't a toast; it was a pledge of loyalty.

Ye Chen raised his glass and also took a sip, accepting the sentiment.

Chu Niubi sat to the side, looking at his old man and then at Ye Chen, his eyes also turning red.

He blinked hard to force back the tears and grinned.

"Master, don't worry. I will definitely cultivate well from now on and won't shame you!"

Ye Chen glanced at him: "Cut ties with those fair-weather friends of yours first."

Chu Niubi's smile stiffened, then he nodded vigorously.

"Cut them! I must cut them! I've already cut them! All of them!"

"Now in my contact list, besides my dad, there's you, Master, and a few serious business partners."

"I've even left all those messy group chats!"

Ye Chen nodded and said nothing more.

Chu Shixiong set down his glass and rubbed his hands together, a flattering smile on his face.

"Mr. Ye, since you've agreed, then about the Apprenticeship Banquet..."

Ye Chen looked at him: "What about it?"

Chu Shixiong said hurriedly,

"I was thinking, since we're doing it, let's make it grand."

"Let all the prominent people in the capital come to give Niubi some face."

"What do you think about... tomorrow?"

When he said this, his voice was trembling, fearing Ye Chen would refuse.

After all, tomorrow was indeed a bit rushed.

But he really couldn't wait any longer.

If the Chu family's besieged situation wasn't resolved for a single day, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly for that day.

Ye Chen glanced at him and nodded: "Fine."

Chu Shixiong's eyes instantly went wide and round. He felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders, nearly jumping out of his chair.

"Thank you, Mr. Ye! I'll have people go prepare right away!"

He turned to leave, but after two steps, he turned back around.

"Right, Mr. Ye, do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"I'll have the kitchen prepare the dishes for the Apprenticeship Banquet according to your taste!"

Ye Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "No restrictions, just do as you see fit."

"Got it!"

Chu Shixiong responded and this time he really left.

The surrounding high-level members of the Chu family also hurriedly followed after him.

They were going to make it a massive event!!!

Chu Niubi sat in his chair, watching his father look so happy he didn't know which way was up, and couldn't help but grin.

But as he smiled, his eyes turned red again.

His father hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Ever since the Chu family became one of the Five Great Families of the Capital, the smile on his father's face had grown rarer.

Leaving early and returning late every day, endless social engagements, and returning home with a face full of exhaustion.

Sometimes when he woke up in the middle of the night, he could see his father sitting alone in the study, staring blankly.

He knew his father was under great pressure.

But he didn't know exactly how great that pressure was.

Until today, until just now, until he saw that expression of relief on his father's face, did he truly understand.

What his father was carrying was a mountain.

And now, someone was finally helping him carry that mountain.

Chu Niubi turned his head and looked at Ye Chen: "Thank you, Master."

Ye Chen picked up his glass, took a small sip, and said calmly, "You don't need to thank me."

Chu Niubi was startled.

Ye Chen set down the glass and looked at him, his tone serious.

"At most, I'm just a signboard for your Chu family. I can help you block for a while, but I can't block for a lifetime."

"The one who carries the burden should still be yourself."

"Only when you yourself become strong is it real."

Chu Niubi's gaze turned disappointed.

But he understood...

Master was right.

No matter how big the signboard was, it was just a signboard.

When the storm truly hit, the one who could hold up the sky had to be one's own ability.

He lowered his head, looked at his hands, and gave a bitter laugh.

"Master, you're right."

"But I'm too stupid. I've cultivated for so long, and yet I'm only at the Yellow Realm Peak."

"With my talent, if I want to hold up the sky for the Chu family, I'm afraid it would be difficult even in the next life."

When he said this, his voice was full of helplessness and frustration.

He had truly worked hard.

Ever since meeting Ye Chen, he had been cultivating every day, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

But talent was something that couldn't be made up for just by hard work.

Some people were born for cultivation.

And he, Chu Niubi, was simply not born for it.

Yellow Realm Peak was considered quite good among ordinary people, but in the circle of the Five Great Families of the Capital, it couldn't even make a splash.

Ye Chen looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"What's wrong with the Yellow Realm Peak?"

"I never said you had to rely on your own bitter cultivation."

Chu Niubi suddenly looked up, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes: "Master, you mean..."

Ye Chen picked up his wine glass, took another sip, and said unhurriedly,

"Tomorrow, I'll give you a gift."

"At that time, perhaps you will be able to hold up the sky for the Chu family."

Chu Niubi's eyes instantly went wide and round, his heart beating like a drum.

"Master! What gift?"

"Tell me quickly! I can't wait!"

He rubbed his hands together, pacing around in front of Ye Chen like a leashed pug, looking eagerly at the meat bone in its master's hand.

Ye Chen glanced at him and said calmly, "You'll know when the time comes."

The excitement on Chu Niubi's face instantly collapsed.

"Master, aren't you just teasing me?"

"Just tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone else!"

Ye Chen picked up his glass and drank leisurely, ignoring him completely.

Looking at his calm and relaxed manner, Chu Niubi was scratching his head in anxiety, but he didn't dare to ask further.

He knew his master too well.

If Ye Chen didn't want to say something, he wouldn't say it even if you held a knife to his neck.

Chu Niubi sighed, a look of utter despair on his face.

"Alright, you're the Master, you have the final say."

"I'll wait. Can't I just wait?"