Ye Zhengwen’s eyes burned with murderous intent. He had intended to let Ye Tianxuan live after seizing the Creation Muscle-Regenerating Pill; after all, a cripple wouldn’t be able to stir up any trouble. He had never imagined that after consuming the pill, Ye Tianxuan would not only fully restore his cultivation but even reach a higher level.
This boy must not be allowed to live!
Seeing the looks on the faces of those around him, Ye Zhengwen realized that those who had followed the Ye Family were beginning to waver.
"Showing no respect for elders and harming your own kinsmen—according to family law, you deserve to die!" Ye Zhengwen declared, imposing a charge upon Ye Tianxuan. He needed to seize the moral high ground so that when word of this spread, no one would gossip.
"You want to kill me?" Ye Tianxuan shook his head to himself. He truly did not care for a mere Ye Family. "Then come. Let me see what you’re actually capable of!"
"The Ye Family?" Ye Tianxuan said with disdain. "A third-rate clan. Anyone who doesn’t know better might mistake you for some holy ground."
His words incensed the other members of the Ye Family.
"How bold!"
"Ye Tianxuan, you are a member of the Ye Family, too. You have our blood flowing through your veins! How can you slander your own family like this?"
"Someone like him should be driven out!"
The Ye clansmen were furious. They could not tolerate Ye Tianxuan disparaging the family.
Ye Tianxuan sneered, acting as if he hadn't heard a word they said. Ye Zhengwen was overjoyed; he had been fretting over the lack of a proper excuse, and Ye Tianxuan had practically handed one to him on a silver platter.
"As a disciple of the Ye Family, you dare to slander us so? You have paved your own path to the grave. Die!"
Afraid that waiting would only bring trouble, Ye Zhengwen attacked immediately. He hated Ye Tianxuan to his very core. He knew his own potential had reached its limit at the Blood Wheel Realm, so he had pinned all his hopes on his son, wanting to see him compete in this great era. Now, Ye Tianxuan had destroyed all of that!
He wouldn't let Ye Tianxuan die easily. He would capture him, torture him slowly, and make him wish he were dead. Only then would his hatred be quelled!
"So, you’ve finally stopped pretending!" Ye Tianxuan gave a faint huff. Watching Ye Zhengwen’s approach, he crouched slightly, settling into a striking stance. As Ye Zhengwen closed in, Ye Tianxuan’s body coiled like a bow, his spine like a dragon lurking in an abyss. He straightened abruptly, and his fist lashed out with ferocious force.
*Boom!*
The punch shook the void and shattered the air. The immense pressure felt as if it would pierce through the very heavens.
Ye Zhengwen’s expression shifted, a sudden sense of extreme danger flooding his heart. Without a second thought, he retreated.
*Crash!*
A thunderous explosion rang out; the void itself seemed to form a pitch-black cavity where Ye Tianxuan’s strike landed. Everyone was stunned silent. Ye Tianxuan was only at the Blood Wheel Realm, wasn’t he? Since when was that realm so powerful? Ye Zhengwen was also at the Blood Wheel Realm, and a minor stage higher at that, yet even he couldn't unleash such a destructive attack.
"What kind of fist technique is that?" Ye Zhengwen’s expression was grim, his eyes flickering with fear. Damn it! What was going on with Ye Tianxuan? Since when did he have such a powerful technique? If the Ye Family had possessed such a method, they wouldn't have been huddled in a border town, sharing power with the Song and Lin Families.
"Ye Tianxuan, hand over the cultivation manual and the technique you just used, and we can spare your life." Ye Zhengwen’s heart burned with greed. Even a fool could tell that Ye Tianxuan was not practicing the Ye Family’s ancestral arts; those were nowhere near this powerful. If he could obtain these two techniques, he might have a chance to advance further, perhaps even breaking through several realms.
Ye Tianxuan remained silent.
"Ye Tianxuan, don't forget that you are a member of the Ye Family. Since you have such techniques, why won't you offer them up to make our family stronger?" Ye Zhengwen furrowed his brows and darkened his face, slapping a grand label on him.
"Heh!" Ye Tianxuan laughed coldly. "My dear Second Uncle, you really are hypocritical. You want them for yourself, yet you drag the family name into it."
"Besides, the path I cultivate is my own opportunity. You think a single word from you is enough to make me hand it over?"
"Don't forget, you aren't just trying to seize the medicine my mother sought for me—you are trying to put me in my grave. Do you really think I care about this family?"
"Stop the act! If you want my cultivation method and my fist technique, then catch me or kill me."
Ye Tianxuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Ye Zhengwen with total indifference.
"Since you’re looking for death, then I shall grant it to you!" Ye Zhengwen’s face burned with shame. Ye Tianxuan had effectively torn his skin off, thrown it to the ground, and rubbed it into the dirt. "Die!"
Ye Zhengwen shouted, his figure flashing like a phantom as he appeared before Ye Tianxuan and struck out with his palm.
"Not good enough!" Ye Tianxuan shook his head slightly. Even if Ye Zhengwen was a minor stage higher, the massive gap in their techniques meant Ye Zhengwen had no chance of victory.
"You’ve wasted your life like a dog. You’re over a hundred years old and you’re still just in the Blood Wheel Realm! No wonder the Ye Family has no future. With people like you holding the power, it’s a miracle we’ve developed at all."
"I’ll tear you apart!"
The surrounding Ye clansmen looked sour, and Ye Zhengwen was so furious he looked ready to burst. He curled his fingers into claws and tore savagely toward Ye Tianxuan’s throat.
"I said, you’re not good enough!"
Ye Tianxuan kept a calm smile on his face and lightly raised a hand. There was no ripple of energy this time; he seemed merely to be beckoning someone over. He made contact with Ye Zhengwen’s claws.
*Crack!*
The sound of snapping bones echoed from Ye Zhengwen’s fingers.
"Ah!" Ye Zhengwen let out a miserable scream.
"Hiss!"
"How is this possible?"
"Wasn't Ye Tianxuan crippled?"
"How is he defeating a higher-level cultivator with a lower-level one?"
"Why is his body so resilient?"
The members of the Ye Family gasped, the temperature in the air seeming to rise. Ye Zhengwen looked up at Ye Tianxuan, his eyes wide with absolute disbelief. He could not believe it, nor could he accept it. He had been defeated—and so thoroughly!
Ye Tianxuan did not speak; he deemed them unworthy of a reply. In his past life, he had reigned above the nine heavens, revered by all, and had never needed to cultivate the God and Demon Body Refining Formula. Feeling the strength of his current body, even Ye Tianxuan was shocked. He realized that if he could cultivate the God and Demon Body Refining Formula to its peak, he could traverse the heavens, and no attack would ever pose a threat to him again.
"Very good."
"In this life, I shall cultivate both my body and my spirit."
Ye Tianxuan clenched his fist, making a silent vow to himself.