"Gulp!"
Ye Wushuang's throat bobbed involuntarily as he muttered under his breath:
"Senior transmigrators, this really isn't my fault!"
"I don't even have a system!"
"But somehow, I feel completely invincible?"
Ye Wushuang rambled to himself for a good while before finally calming down. Gripping the Xuanyuan Sword, he sensed it carefully, and a wave of understanding soon washed over him.
"The Xuanyuan Sword can definitely be used, but it seems tied to my own strength?"
"Spend mana when you have it, spend HP when you don't?"
Ye Wushuang's expression flickered slightly, but upon second thought, it made complete sense. How could anyone expect to wield power that didn't belong to them without paying some kind of price? Many martial artists paid far heavier prices for the life-saving techniques they practiced, often destroying their natural talent or drastically shortening their lifespans with a single misstep!
Besides, if the Xuanyuan Sword were simply used as an ordinary weapon, its might would likely exceed his current realm by a massive margin!
And this came with absolutely no side effects!
Having figured this out, Ye Wushuang nodded in satisfaction. As for whether the Xuanyuan Sword possessed any other functions or mysteries, none of them were apparent at the moment. With his meager strength, he couldn't investigate them anyway, so he would just have to slowly discover them in the future.
Self-taught and guided by a single thought, Ye Wushuang withdrew his consciousness from that spatial realm.
The next second, Ye Wushuang opened his eyes and swept his gaze around. He was still inside the wooden cabin, sitting cross-legged on the bed in his meditation posture.
"It seems the Xuanyuan Sword is indeed inside my body." Ye Wushuang thought to himself.
He briefly considered taking out the Xuanyuan Sword to see it in reality, but Luo Qingxian was in the next room. He had no idea how powerful the Heavenly Gate Realm truly was; she might have spiritual awareness or divine sense capable of monitoring his condition at any moment.
Left with no choice, Ye Wushuang dismissed the thought, collected his stray thoughts, and quietly began to cultivate.
The events earlier had happened too suddenly for him to properly sense anything. Now, focusing his mind on cultivation, Ye Wushuang felt as though he had turned into a whirlpool, frantically devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
"This cultivation speed is a bit terrifying!"
"As expected of a Saint-grade cultivation technique!"
Ye Wushuang thought to himself as he casually adjusted his posture.
"The side effects are a bit too obvious, though."
"I'm still a six-year-old child!"
...
After Ye Wushuang became Luo Qingxian's disciple and entered Tianxuan Academy with her, Ye Nantian did not immediately return to Dongyang City. Instead, he booked the most prestigious restaurant in the Royal Capital and moved in with great fanfare.
This move was by no means an expression of arrogance or extravagance, but rather a way to make it easier for the scattered Qin Qingxiong and his party to find him. Naturally, with his grandson Ye Wushuang possessing a Heaven-grade Top-tier Spiritual Vein, there was no way he, as the grandfather, could keep a low profile even if he wanted to.
His whereabouts had long since been exposed to the eyes of numerous factions!
Far too many people wanted to curry favor and latch onto this connection! If they couldn't reach the main target directly, starting with his family and relatives was the next best thing, right?
As a result, a non-stop stream of visitors came knocking at his door, every single one of them a heavyweight leader from a major faction!
And their purpose for coming was shockingly identical:
Marriage alliance!
Ye Nantian was torn between laughter and tears, but he wasn't swept off his feet by the sudden joy, politely declining every single one of them.
Just like that, seven days passed. A group of a little over a dozen people, looking travel-worn and weary, hurried into the Royal Capital and made a bee-line for Ye Nantian's residence.
When Ye Nantian opened the door, he was utterly shocked:
"What happened to you all?"
The leader, Qin Qingxiong, looked listless and thoroughly devastated. Of the eleven Qin Family elders he had brought with him, only four remained!
The Ye Family members were all present and accounted for, but their moods were exceptionally heavy.
Qin Qingxiong remained silent, but a Ye Family elder spoke up in a deep voice:
"Patriarch, ever since we were separated from you on the night we encountered that mysterious powerhouse, we were ambushed six more times along the way!"
"And each attacker was stronger than the last!"
"We had zero power to resist."
"These people were all after Wushuang. When they couldn't find him, they interrogated us about your whereabouts."
"They were somewhat wary and dared not lay a hand on the Ye Family members, but they showed no such restraint toward the Qin Family."
"Six Qin Family elders were either killed outright or tortured to death during the interrogations."
Ye Nantian fell silent. He looked at Qin Qingxiong—the once high-spirited head of the Qin Family in Dongyang City had been reduced by such crushing blows to the likeness of a stray dog on the street.
Ye Nantian didn't know how to comfort him. After all, not a single member of his own Ye Family had died. Any words of comfort from him would sound like mere pity, and how much true empathy could there really be?
After a long while, Ye Nantian said solemnly, "Brother Qin, this matter started because of my Ye Family, and my Ye Family will never stand by and do nothing. The debt owed to the Qin Family is the debt of the Ye Family, and it will be avenged!"
Hearing this, Qin Qingxiong raised his head, looked at him, and nodded silently.
"Patriarch, we heard some news along the way—that Wushuang's spiritual vein is a Heaven-grade Top-tier one?"
"What's going on with that?" an elder of the Ye Family couldn't help asking.
All eyes turned to Ye Nantian, and Qin Qingxiong was no exception.
Ye Nantian nodded and explained the situation to them once more.
"Heaven bless the Ye Family!"
An older Ye Family elder was so overwhelmed with joy that tears streamed down his wrinkled face. His current mood was no different from that of an ordinary person who had suddenly become the richest person in the world. For a moment, he was so shocked and overjoyed that he completely lost control of himself.
Qin Qingxiong's face also regained a hint of color.
The gloomy atmosphere that had hung over the group for days was instantly dispersed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Neat footsteps suddenly sounded from outside, accompanied by the clinking of frictioning metal.
At first, the people inside paid it no mind, but not long after, the door was knocked upon once more.
"Is the Ye Patriarch in?"
A steady and solemn voice drifted in.
Ye Nantian glanced at the others and explained, "Ever since Wushuang's talent was revealed, we've had quite a few visitors coming to pay their respects lately."
Understanding dawned in everyone's hearts.
Ye Nantian stood up and opened the door to find a middle-aged man dressed in plain cyan robes standing outside. His expression was majestic, yet carried a gentle smile.
An old man stood a short distance behind him, eyes half-closed, his spiritual energy completely restrained.
Even with just a glance, Ye Nantian felt a suffocating wave of panic wash over him—like a mortal spotting a fierce beast, shivering from the depths of his soul.
A Heavenly Sun Realm powerhouse!
Ye Nantian's heart tightened.
Who on earth was this man?
To actually have a Heavenly Sun Realm powerhouse act as his bodyguard!
The middle-aged man smiled slightly and spoke: "I am Duan Antian."
Duan Antian, the current monarch of Tianxuan Country!
Ye Nantian froze, his mind failing to process the words for a moment. Then, realization struck him like lightning, and he hurriedly bowed:
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
His voice trembled slightly.
In this world where strength reigned supreme, the royal family was, to put it bluntly, the most powerful faction in the entire country! Without exception! And they were bound to be vastly superior to any other faction; otherwise, how could they suppress a whole nation and crown themselves kings?
This was a true behemoth, and in their eyes, the Ye Family was no different from an ant.
Now that Duan Antian had come to visit in person, how could Ye Nantian not be filled with awe and trepidation?
True, the Ye Family had produced a monstrous talent like Ye Wushuang, and surpassing the Tianxuan Royal Family was only a matter of time. But that was a future matter, whereas the might and terror of the Tianxuan Royal Family had long since been deeply ingrained in everyone's hearts.
Decades of ingrained awe could not simply be cast aside just because they had suddenly struck it rich like upstarts. How could Ye Nantian possibly adjust his mindset so quickly?