30: What did we do wrong?

At dusk, the setting sun was like blood, burning the clouds in the sky into a splendid sea of fire.

By a wide river valley, nearly thirty Ye Family Disciples, summoned by their leader Ye Hao, gathered here to set up camp and spend their third night in the Secret Realm.

However, the atmosphere in the camp was not as harmonious as the previous two days; instead, it was filled with a tense, volatile air.

"Brother Hao! You must uphold justice for us!"

Ye Ming, bruised and swollen, cried with snot and tears.

He pointed to his disheveled, plundered appearance and accused in a shrill voice, "Those Loose Cultivators! Those lawless scoundrels! Not only did they steal my Spirit Medicine, they also severely injured me! This is simply not putting our Ye Family in their eyes!"

Beside him, Ye Qiong and several other collateral branch Disciples who had also received "special attention" stepped forward, one after another, filled with righteous indignation, exaggerating their tragic experiences of being inexplicably beaten and robbed of treasures by Loose Cultivators.

"That's right! Brother Hao, we can't swallow this insult!"

"We must make those Loose Cultivators pay a blood debt!"

They originally thought their accusations would immediately ignite the shared hatred of all their clansmen.

However, after they finished speaking, what they received was not sympathetic agreement, but a... deathly silence.

Immediately after, came the gazes of the other Ye Family members, like they were looking at idiots, and their undisguised, strong opposition and reprimand!

"Enough! Ye Ming! Do you guys still want things to go well?" A tall Ye Family Disciple was the first to step forward.

He shouted with an angry Face, "Loose Cultivators are all good people! You yourselves caused trouble and offended them, and now you want to drag all of us down with you?!"

"Exactly!" Another female Disciple also raised her eyebrows, speaking impolitely, "I'm telling you, my life was saved by a team of Loose Cultivators!"

She pointed to a still unhealed wound on her chest, her eyes filled with lingering fear and gratitude.

"I was ambushed by a Late First Tier 'Blood-Patterned Leopard' and was almost dead!

It was a passing team of Loose Cultivators who rushed up without a word, and at the cost of two of them being injured, they saved me!

Afterward, they didn't even ask for the Spirit Medicine I was guarding, and even kindly escorted me for a while!"

"You say, would such noble and chivalrous people be the evildoers who inexplicably injure people and steal treasures, as you claim?!"

These words were like a stone thrown into a lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves!

"That's right! Loose Cultivators are all good people! They even showed me the way!"

"They even let me finish off a dying Yao Beast!"

"Ye Ming! You guys must have done something that angered both gods and men to be targeted like that! Don't try to spread the blame to all Loose Cultivators!"

For a time, almost all the Ye Family Disciples stood against Ye Ming and the others, severely reprimanding them, as if they were the true culprits!

Ye Ming and the others were completely dumbfounded.

They looked at the Faces of their clansmen, filled with hostility and contempt, and felt as if their worldview had been shattered at that moment.

Good people?

Those who beat them half to death and stole all their possessions were... good people?

Even Ye Hao, as the leader, was frowning deeply, his Face unpleasant.

Because he too had received help from Loose Cultivators.

He looked at Ye Ming and the others, and said in a cold, warning tone, "This matter ends here.

I don't want to hear another word slandering Loose Cultivators, otherwise, don't blame me... for enforcing Family rules!"

Enforcing Family rules?!

Ye Ming and the others were shocked and angry, and felt extremely wronged.

They were beaten and robbed, and now they couldn't even complain? And they would be punished by Family rules?!

Is there any justice left in this damn world?!

Just as the atmosphere in the camp became extremely tense, a series of dense footsteps came from the nearby forest.

A large team of dozens of Loose Cultivators, led by the Bearded Stout Man at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, marched grandly towards the Ye Family's camp.

Seeing this team, Ye Ming and the others' eyes instantly turned red, as if they had seen their father's murderers!

But when Ye Hao saw the Bearded Stout Man, his eyes lit up. He quickly went to meet him, a warm smile on his Face, and cupped his hands, saying, "So it's Big Brother Li! It's been a few days, and your demeanor is still as impressive as ever!"

He was one of those who had received help from this "Big Brother Li."

"So it's Brother Ye Hao." The Bearded Stout Man also showed a simple and honest smile, exchanging a few words with Ye Hao.

Then, his gaze passed over Ye Hao and fell on Ye Ming and the others behind him, who were glaring at him.

The smile on his Face instantly vanished, replaced by an undisguised look of disgust and coldness.

He pointed at Ye Ming and the others, and said word by word in a voice everyone could hear, "Brother Ye Hao, we Loose Cultivators respect your Ye Family as a prominent clan. However, we don't give Face to just anyone."

"These guys, we simply don't like them!"

"I'm laying it out here today! In this Secret Realm, whoever walks with these few useless people will be an enemy to all of us Loose Cultivators!

If we encounter them, we will act! We will seize Spirit Medicine! We will show no mercy!"

Boom!!!

These words were utterly domineering, leaving no room for negotiation!

Inside the camp, all the Ye Family Disciples' expressions changed drastically!

The next second, they all retreated several steps with a "swish," as if avoiding a plague, instantly drawing a clear line between themselves and Ye Ming and the others, whose Faces were as pale as paper!

Ye Ming and the others were completely stunned.

They stood there blankly, surrounded by dozens of gazes filled with contempt, disgust, and schadenfreude, feeling as if they had been abandoned by the entire world.

What... exactly went wrong?

What... did we do wrong? Why are all Loose Cultivators targeting us?!

Ye Hao was also very puzzled. He frowned and asked the Bearded Stout Man, neither humble nor arrogant, "Big Brother Li, did my few kinsmen here offend you in some way?"

"No." The Bearded Stout Man answered simply and directly.

"Then why..."

"We just don't like them."

The Bearded Stout Man left this infuriating remark and did not linger. He cupped his hands at Ye Hao, then led his large team away with a swagger.

After they left, the camp instantly erupted into chaos!

"Ye Ming! You useless people! How did you offend the Loose Cultivator team?!"

"Exactly! Now you've implicated all of us!"

"Get out! You guys stay away from us!"

The other Ye Family members all vented their anger onto those who were originally the victims.

Ye Ming and the others were speechless, they themselves were still confused!

Because they swore that they had never even seen that group of Loose Cultivators before entering the Secret Realm!

They just couldn't figure out where the problem lay!

Finally, Ye Hao, as the leader, walked up to them.

He looked at these completely isolated clansmen, his Face devoid of sympathy, only cold indifference.

"I can do nothing to help with this matter."

He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Although my cultivation is only at the Seventh Level of Qi Refining, I have contracted a Late First Tier 'Earth-Splitting Bear' and do not fear that Loose Cultivator team.

However, I will absolutely not become an enemy of the entire Loose Cultivator faction for the sake of you few, nor will I implicate other clansmen because of this."

"After all, Loose Cultivators have indeed helped the vast majority of our Ye Family members."

He looked at Ye Ming and the others, and delivered the final verdict in an unquestionable tone.

"From now on, you few are expelled from the Ye Family team."

"Whether you live or die, fend for yourselves."

These words, like the most vicious curse, completely cast Ye Ming and the others into an endless abyss!

And those Ye Family members who were not targeted, after a brief moment of shock, actually cheered!

"Brother Hao is righteous!"

"It should be so! We cannot let those few implicate our entire Family!"