The First Elder cared nothing for Ye Han or Ye Tiange; his sole concern was the family's interests!
Whichever side could bring greater benefits to the family was the side he would support.
The extraordinary potential Ye Han had just displayed was now enough to make the First Elder determined to protect him at all costs, regardless of the price.
Looking at the father and son, Ye Han could not help but sneer inwardly—retribution had come indeed swiftly.
At this moment, those two must surely have tasted the very same bitterness he had once endured!
Ye Tiange's face was so dark it seemed capable of dripping water. With the First Elder now protecting Ye Han, even if he exhausted every ounce of his strength, he would hardly come away with any advantage.
"I will never let this rest!"
Weighing the situation, Ye Tiange withdrew his spiritual power, and the flame spirit eagle above his head shattered into starlight, absorbing back into his body.
He glared at Ye Han like a blade, helped Ye Tiange to his feet, and father and son turned and left the Martial Tower.
Hum!
At that moment, beneath a gaze of near-greed from all around, the Grade Nine spiritual art slowly drifted down and fell into Ye Han's grasp.
Chapter 15: Dragon-Sucking Art
Around the Martial Tower, amid a sea of envious gazes, a yellowish scroll descended from high above and landed in Ye Han's palm.
At the same time, his soul-sense plunged along with his hand into the scroll, and a majestic wave of information flooded his mind, transforming into intricate, arcane text.
"Dragon-Sucking Art."
As these characters slowly emerged, Ye Han's mind gave a start, and his eyes filled with profound shock.
This was indeed a Grade Nine spiritual art!
Yet it was utterly different from ordinary spiritual arts. This was not an offensive spiritual art, but an auxiliary one.
Cultivating the Dragon-Sucking Art required opening spiritual power vortexes within the body, starting with a baseline of one hundred. Once these spiritual power vortexes formed within, they would draw in the spiritual power of heaven and earth on a massive scale, just like a true dragon drinking from an ocean, achieving the miraculous effect of causing one's cultivation to surge dramatically in a short span of time.
Unlike Ye Tiange swallowing the Qi-Bursting Pill, however, this surge in cultivation came with absolutely no sequelae!
Reaching the highest realm of mastery could even yield a million spiritual power vortexes!
Once that realm was attained, the enhancement to one's cultivation would be unimaginable, capable of raising one's realm by several major tiers in a brief moment.
"The value of this spiritual art probably far surpasses that of an ordinary Grade Nine spiritual art; it is simply incomparable to standard offensive arts."
Clutching the scroll like a treasured prize, Ye Han found this art suited his appetite to perfection.
Moreover, auxiliary spiritual arts of this sort were extremely rare—virtually priceless and unobtainable on the market.
A moment later, his soul-sense withdrew from the scroll, and Ye Han happily tucked it away into his Qiankun bag.
Not far away, the First Elder walked over, his heart filled with a complex myriad of lingering emotions. Naturally, they could never have anticipated that the Ye Han once reduced to a cripple would one day rise again to amaze the entire clan. At the same time, a sense of shame washed over them as they recalled how cold-blooded and merciless their past actions had been.
"Ye Han, our Ye Family once failed you; I hope you can let go of past grievances. The Ye Family will do its utmost to compensate you. From now on, you may freely use all cultivation resources of the Ye Family, including access to the Martial Tower. Furthermore, as of today, you remain the Young Patriarch of the Ye Family."
Swish!
Hearing the First Elder's words, the flames of envy in the eyes of the surrounding Ye Family disciples almost turned tangible, their faces plastered with jealousy.
Even a forbidden ground like the Martial Tower was now open for Ye Han to enter at will!
Hearing this, though his anger had subsided considerably, Ye Han felt no gratitude. He had no interest whatsoever in the position of Young Patriarch. However, with his cultivation still shallow and standing at the critical juncture of forging his foundation, he genuinely needed abundant resources.
And so, Ye Han could only offer a reluctant nod.
Seeing Ye Han nod, the First Elder was greatly relieved, and continued:
"Also, I have already dispatched people in recent days to inquire about your father's whereabouts."
"My father?"
Ye Han could not help frowning as a gentle, kindly face instantly surfaced in his mind.
In his memory, this father of his had treated him exceptionally well, not only strictly urging him to cultivate diligently, but also frequently sparring with him in martial arts during ordinary days.
At the thought of that familiar face, an inexplicable warmth welled up deep within Ye Han.
Yet ever since his dantian had been shattered, his father had abruptly vanished from the Ye Family.
"If you can bring prosperity to the Ye Family, your father will surely be overjoyed when he learns of it in the future."
The Second Elder also said earnestly.
"Time is up. Close the Martial Tower."
Several elders exchanged glances, and then each shot a streak of spiritual power directly into the Martial Tower.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
All the beams of light were once more reabsorbed into the pagoda, restoring it to its original appearance.
Shortly after, all the disciples filed out of the Martial Tower. Some of them clearly returned with full hands, their faces beaming with joy.
Naturally, a few disciples seemed somewhat less fortunate; the spiritual arts they had chosen were merely average in grade, leaving them rather displeased.
Regardless, this rare opening of the Martial Tower had brought gains to everyone, greater or smaller.
……
After the Martial Tower closed, Ye Han returned directly to his small courtyard. Although the Ye Family had arranged a residence with a much better environment for him, he had grown accustomed to this secluded courtyard.
Within the tranquil compound, Ye Han stood beside a stone pond, holding the scroll and reading through its text. From time to time he frowned, falling deep into thought—this scroll was, of course, the Dragon-Sucking Art.
After a good long while, he finally let out a slow breath and muttered to himself,
"It seems mastering this Dragon-Sucking Art will be no small challenge. Condensing spiritual power vortexes within the body is by no means easy, and gathering spiritual power as if drawing from a true dragon is harder still."
Enticing though this spiritual art was, its cultivation difficulty was immense.
Even Ye Han lacked absolute certainty of mastering it in a short period.
Still, he intended to give it a try.
Hoo!
Taking a deep breath, Ye Han first limbered up his joints and bones, then found a clean stone and sat upon it cross-legged.
"Settle Qi in the dantian, exhale like a dragon, circulate spiritual power in full orbit through the body, open the vortex, breathe in and out, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea."
With that, he closed his eyes.
Chit!
wisps of pale golden spiritual power coiled and flowed up and down his physical body as Ye Han began practicing according to the manual's records.
The spiritual power within him ran in a full circulatory orbit, surging unceasingly through his limbs and bones.
One hour, two hours...
Unconsciously, several hours slipped by, yet Ye Han still felt not the slightest change within his body, let alone the condensation of a spiritual power vortex.
Just as he contemplated stopping, however, the pale golden spiritual power inside his dantian suddenly began to boil. Amid that boiling motion, he could also feel the robust quality of that spiritual power rapidly increasing. Furthermore, his body seemed to erupt with an astonishing suction force at that moment, greedily drawing in and plundering the surrounding spiritual Qi.
"Eh?"
Ye Han found it increasingly magical. As the dantian inhaled the spiritual power, a profound sense of comfort rippled through his limbs and bones.
Yet he dared not relax; these spiritual power currents traveled along his meridians and were ultimately compressed continuously into his dantian. In a blur, a black speck of light seemed to compress within the dantian.
Then, the black light grew larger, transforming into a vortex the size of a thumb.
"A spiritual power vortex!"
Ye Han's mind trembled, for the absorption speed of this vortex was tyrannical indeed. A powerful suction burst forth from within his body, plundering heaven and earth spiritual power with an almost barbarous posture to converge into the spiritual power vortex.
At the same time, Ye Han could perceive his aura rising continuously in a short span of time.
"Still not enough. I need to cultivate one hundred spiritual power vortexes just to consider myself barely at the threshold."
Rather than growing complacent, Ye Han grew even more solemn and focused. Immersed in his cultivation, more than three days passed unawares.
Roar—
Boom!
On the third day, accompanied by a resounding dragon roar, a powerful wave of spiritual power shockwave blasted outward in all directions, causing the space to tremble.
That formidable aura had actually stepped temporarily into the Mid Spirit Sea Realm!
"Did I succeed?"
Ye Han opened his eyes, filled with extraordinary surprise.
At this moment, his aura had indeed stepped into the Mid Spirit Sea Realm. Moreover, his spiritual power was even more robust than that of Ye Tiange, who had relied on the Qi-Bursting Pill to forcibly elevate himself to the Mid Spirit Sea Realm.
"However, this Dragon-Sucking Art is merely an auxiliary spiritual art after all; it can only elevate my cultivation temporarily, and the duration is not long."
Ye Han muttered to himself.
On second thought, however, being able to elevate one's minor realm for a short time was quite enough.
"Young Patriarch, something is wrong!"
Just as Ye Han was wrapping up his cultivation, a panicked servant burst into the courtyard...
Chapter 16: Liu Ming
"Young Patriarch, something is wrong!"
Not far away, a black-clad figure nimble as an ape darted forward with a *whoosh*, dropping to his knees before Ye Han.
Ye Han slowly reined in his palms, settled his Qi into his dantian, and the rippling spiritual power around him gradually calmed.
"What is it?"
He exhaled a breath, opened his eyes with unhurried composure, and turned to look indifferently at the guard.
"The Liu Family has brought people to make trouble at our Ye Family's Tianyang Mountain mining area!"
The guard in black hastily cupped his fists, his expression panicked.
"The Liu Family?"
Hearing this, Ye Han's expression turned cold. As two of the four great families of Flame City, the grievances between the Liu Family and the Ye Family were not a matter of a single day.
The root of this grievance lay in the contest over a spiritual mine.
Tianyang Mountain was located in the border zone between the Liu Family and Ye Family territories—a vast and resource-rich region. Several years ago, an extremely resource-abundant spiritual mine was discovered there, triggering fierce competition between the two sides. Over the years, however, victories had been shared, and the matter had never reached a definitive conclusion.
Later, the mining area was split into northern and southern sections: the Ye Family controlled the northern mining area, while the Liu Family controlled the southern. Now that the Liu Family had brazenly broken into the mine controlled by the Ye Family to make trouble, their ambition was clearly to swallow up the northern mining area as well.
One had to admit, the Liu Family harbored massive ambitions!
"Although the Ye Family was once heartless toward me, this spiritual mine is not something the Liu Family has any right to lay hands on. Let's go and take a look."
With a chilling tone, Ye Han rushed off with the guard toward the Tianyang Mountain mining area.
……
Flame City, Tianyang Mountain.
Situated in the northern part of Flame City, the mountain range stretched endlessly, the earth a reddish hue resembling a range of volcanoes.
It was intensely hot here; the rocks on the ground were scalding, and the air was filled with a dense fire-attribute spiritual power. This was because beneath Tianyang Mountain lay a subterranean fire vein. Through years of sedimentation and compression, the violent spiritual power of the fire vein had ultimately condensed into top-grade ore veins beneath this land.
Spiritual mines were not only vital cultivation resources, but also the currency of exchange among martial practitioners.
Whoever controlled the mines secured a footing in Flame City!
In the northern part of the mining area, two groups of people stood confronting one another, having apparently erupted into a major conflict.
Due to the extreme heat, there was almost no vegetation here, only exposed rock and stone everywhere.
"Liu Ming, what are you trying to do!"
Ye Ling clenched his fists tight, glaring angrily at the opposing group as he shouted.
Standing upon a boulder opposite them were a dozen figures in white robes looking down from above. They gazed at Ye Ling and the rest of the Ye Family contingent with sinister, mocking grins at the corners of their mouths. At their head was a handsome young man clad in white robes.
Though young, the spiritual power fluctuations radiating from his entire body had already reached the Half-Step Spirit Sea Realm.
This youth was Liu Ming, the current young master of the Liu Family.
Wearing a faint smile, Liu Ming possessed a cold, serpent-like aura deep within his bones. Hooking the corners of his mouth, he said,
"For such an important mining area, the Ye Family actually dispatched trash like you to guard it? Are you planning to hand the northern mines over to my Liu Family along with everything else?"
Beside him, Ye Hongling bit her lower lip, furious.
"Delusional! Liu Ming, you broke into our Ye Family's mining area—could it be that you wish to start a war between the two clans?"
To her surprise, Liu Ming did not conceal his ambition in the slightest; instead, he laughed greedily.
"This northern mining area has resources several times richer than our Liu Family's southern mining area. By what right does it belong entirely to the Ye Family? If my Liu Family can annex this northern mining area as well, we will undoubtedly leap to become the foremost of Flame City's four great families."
So the Liu Family had long been eyeing the northern mining area controlled by the Ye Family with covetous eyes!
"Liu Ming, I never thought the Liu Family capable of such wild daydreams."
Ye Ling's face turned completely gloomy. He knew the Liu Family would never let this rest—Liu Ming had come here specifically to provoke them.
With that, he waved his hand toward the dozens of Ye Family disciples behind him and shouted,
"Attack!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Behind him, dozens of Ye Family disciples successively unleashed their spiritual power, their whole-body Qi surging as they charged toward the Liu Family group like hungry tigers.
"Overestimating your capabilities!"
A flash of mockery crossed Liu Ming's face as he led his subordinates leaping down from the giant boulder, plunging into combat with the Ye Family forces.
Dozens of figures quickly merged into a chaotic, fierce battle.
"Mountain-Crushing Fist!"
With an angry shout, Ye Ling's arms grew as heavy as mountains, wrapped in brown spiritual power as he lashed out fiercely toward Liu Ming.
This Mountain-Crushing Fist was a Grade Three spiritual art!
"Daring to show off before this young master with mere Grade Three spiritual arts!"
Liu Ming sneered. His entire body was enveloped in golden spiritual power as he slammed his palm forward abruptly.
"Eight Desolations Palm!"
Boom—
The palm transformed into a heavy imprint of spiritual power, whistling forward with a gale-force wind.
With a loud crash, the tyrannical and sharp palm strike collided fiercely with Ye Ling's fist technique.
However, Liu Ming's Eight Desolations Palm was a Grade Five spiritual art, augmented by his Half-Step Spirit Sea Realm strength. His domineering palm force shattered Ye Ling's fist technique with destructive force, and the sharp palm wind struck heavily against Ye Ling's chest.
Bang!
Puff—
Ye Ling's pupils constricted sharply as he spat a mouthful of blood, his entire body crashing heavily backward.
"Senior Brother Ye!"
Ye Hongling's pretty eyes turned red, and the Ye Family disciples behind her fought with the frenzy of the desperate.
The Liu Family was simply pushing them too far!
"Little beauty, you can't even protect yourself—why worry about him?"
A mocking, frivolous voice rang out as a Liu Family youth laughed lewdly.
"Get lost!"
Incensed to the extreme, Ye Hongling swung her spiritual sword in a frenzy, carving a trail of afterimages.
However, several Liu Family members surrounded her at that moment, plunging her into a crisis where she was in constant peril.
As for the rest of the Ye Family forces, casualties were mounting—some dead, some wounded—in a truly tragic scene.
"Liu Ming, the Ye Family will not let you off! I have already sent people to report back to the clan; Ye Han will definitely come to deal with you!"
Clutching his chest, Ye Ling's expression was pained, his eyes blazing red as he shouted.
"Ye Han? Hahaha! Just him? He wants to deal with this young master?"
Liu Ming shook his head, unable to hold back his savage laughter.
Throughout Flame City, who did not know about Ye Han, that fallen genius?
If the Ye Family had dispatched Ye Tiange, Liu Ming might have harbored some apprehensions. But Ye Han? That was simply courting death!
Boom!
Yet at that exact moment, a pale golden streak of spiritual power suddenly assailed them from an unknown direction, carrying immense power like a flash of lightning. With a loud *bang*, it pierced straight through the body of a Liu Family disciple, causing him to drop dead on the spot!
Swish!
At this, the members of the Liu Family instantly grew vigilant, scanning their surroundings.
"Who's hiding their head and showing their tail? Get out here!"
Looking at the fallen, deceased clansman on the ground, Liu Ming's expression turned utterly dark.
"Liu Ming, you've got quite some nerve coming to make trouble in our Ye Family mining area!"
A cold grunt rang out. At that moment, a figure in green robes was seen walking slowly out from the rear...
Chapter 17: The Might of a Single Punch
"Ye Han?!"
Catching sight of the slender, straight-backed figure in green robes stepping out from behind Ye Ling, Liu Ming and the others could not help but look surprised.
They had never expected that this cripple would actually have the guts to show up here!
"Is this waste here to throw his life away?"
The corner of a Liu Family disciple's mouth lifted into a mocking sneer.
Throughout Flame City, everyone knew that Ye Han's dantian had been shattered and he had been reduced to a cripple, yet now he dared to come here single-handedly.
Heh, truly admirable courage.
Lowering his gaze, however, Liu Ming glanced at the fallen, dead Liu Family disciple before sweeping his eyes around the surroundings once more.
He frowned inwardly, his expression turning guarded.
Clearly, he did not believe that Ye Han was the one who had slain this Liu Family disciple.
What Liu Ming feared was that the Ye Family might still have mysterious power experts lying in ambush nearby.
This forced him to raise his guard.
"Young Patriarch!"
Covered in filthy blood, Ye Ling struggled to his feet and walked over, his expression filled with intense excitement as if he had seen a savior.
"Leave this to me..."
Ye Han glanced at him, then hastily swept his gaze over the Ye Family disciples—dozens were dead or wounded in a truly tragic state.
"Be careful, that Liu Ming is very strong."
Ye Ling nodded and retreated behind Ye Han.
Among the fiery stone piles not far away lay corpses of more Ye Family disciples, a horrifying sight.
At this, a trace of cold, indifferent killing intent inevitably surfaced deep within Ye Han's eyes.
Standing atop a giant boulder, Liu Ming looked down at Ye Han from his superior vantage point, then shook his head with a mocking expression.
"How laughable. I thought the Ye Family had invited some powerful reinforcement, only to find they invited a waste like you. It seems today this mining mine will fall into my Liu Family's hands without us even expending a single soldier."
Wearing an air of absolute control over the situation, he smiled faintly.
Beside him, two Liu Family disciples, Liu Qi and Liu Yunhai, exchanged glances, cupped their fists toward Liu Ming, and stared at Ye Han like prey.
"Young Liu, why trouble yourself with this trash? Why don't the two of us go capture this kid first and humiliate him a bit?"
Liu Ming nodded casually. To deal with Ye Han using his own strength would truly be lowering his status.
A cripple was simply not worthy of his attention.
Boom!
Immediately, on either side of Liu Ming, two figures enveloped in spiritual power lunged toward Ye Han like a pair of cyan and white rainbow flashes.
Moving at extreme speed, they dashed forward and closed the distance to Ye Han in the blink of an eye.