Zhao Ruoning had shown Ye Qing immense grace.
The events of today, Ye Qing would forever keep in mind.
"Brother, Sister Zhao is such a wonderful person!"
Ye Mengling said with a gentle smile.
"Mm."
Ye Qing nodded.
He solemnly put away the Earth Sun Pill.
Now that he had obtained the blood essence of the Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger, he should use it to treat his sister's illness first.
The potency of the Earth Sun Pill was too fierce.
Ye Qing was afraid his sister's body couldn't withstand it.
"Little sister, drink this!"
Ye Qing held up a jade bottle containing the blood essence of the Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger.
The purple blood essence.
Looked thoroughly bizarre.
"Okay!"
Ye Mengling was very obedient.
She opened the jade bottle.
A pungent, bloody stench wafted out.
Still, Ye Mengling pinched her nose and took a small sip of the blood essence.
Upon entering her mouth.
A repulsive, bloody odor made her stomach churn.
Ye Mengling almost vomited on the spot.
Yet, she held it back.
She knew that this small bottle of Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger blood essence was something her brother had risked his life to obtain!
She must not waste it!
"How is it? Do you feel better?"
Ye Qing asked eagerly.
"Mm, much better!"
A trace of color returned to Ye Mengling's originally pale face.
Her body was no longer quite as ice-cold.
Just a tiny sip of the Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger's blood essence had produced such an effect.
It was far better than the Opening Sun Pill!
Joy surged in Ye Qing's heart!
As long as his sister was fine, no matter how much he had to pay—even if it cost him his life—it would be worth it!
Out in the mountain forest, the corpses of the Ye Family elder and the Prince's Mansion assassins still lay upon the ground.
As the cold wind blew, the bloody scent in the air gradually dissipated.
Ye Qing scavenged their bodies for any treasures.
Then, he released a wisp of Eight Desolations True Flame to dispose of their corpses.
"Little sister, let's go. We'll probably have to spend tonight resting in the Purple Sun Mountain Range."
Ye Qing supported his sister.
And they walked through the mountain forest.
Before long.
Ye Qing found a secluded spot and settled his sister down.
"Little sister, let's rest for a moment."
Ye Qing said softly, letting his sister lean against a large tree.
Afterward, Ye Qing took off his outer garment.
And draped it over his sister.
Night fell.
The weather turned cold.
Chilly winds swept through the mountain forest.
Ye Qing was afraid his sister would catch a chill.
"Brother, I'm used to the cold. You should wear your clothes yourself!"
Ye Mengling said as she took the garment off.
A pang of heartache struck Ye Qing.
Used to the cold!
His sister was only twelve years old this year!
She was still just a child.
Yet she had endured immense suffering she should never have had to bear.
The bone-chilling cold had long since become the norm, something she was already accustomed to.
"No, I'm not cold!"
Ye Qing picked up the garment and draped it back over his sister.
Then, he gathered some firewood.
And lit a fire for warmth.
Tonight, it was too late to return to the Ye Family, so they had no choice but to temporarily remain in the Purple Sun Mountain Range.
Soon, Ye Qing used the Eight Desolations True Flame to ignite the firewood, creating a blazing campfire.
The brother and sister leaned against each other.
Ye Mengling's body was still very cold.
Yet, her heart was very warm.
Her wish was actually quite simple: as long as she could stay by her brother's side every day, that would be enough.
***
High above the Purple Sun Mountain Range.
Zhao Ruoning walked upon her sword through the air.
Beside her, her maid softly asked, "Mistress, do you truly believe that kid is your destined one?"
Zhao Ruoning smiled faintly: "Whether he is my destined one or not, he is exceptional, is he not?"
"Does the Mistress help him simply because you value his talent? Yet, in this servant's eyes, aside from that blood sword, there is nothing remarkable about him at all."
"Compared to those proud talents of the capital, he falls far too short!"
A trace of disdain flashed in the maid's eyes.
Following by Zhao Ruoning's side over the years, she had seen young talents and peerless prodigies as numerous as the hairs on an ox.
"His cultivation may be weak, but his bloodline is extraordinary."
"Besides, I am helping him not just because of his talent."
Zhao Ruoning parted her red lips slightly, her beautiful eyes gazing into the distant mountains.
"Then why is the Mistress helping him?" The maid asked suspiciously.
"For the sake of his sister, he was willing to challenge a Yuan Condensation Realm fierce beast while merely in the Body Refining Realm."
"He is a man who values deep bonds and loyalty!"
With that, a brilliant light flashed in Zhao Ruoning's eyes.
***
Deep into the night.
Ye Mengling fell into a deep sleep.
Bare-chested, Ye Qing stripped off his base layer of clothing as well.
And covered his sister with it.
The chilling mountain wind blew past.
Yet Ye Qing felt no cold.
Ever since he awakened the six-star Eight Desolations Fire Dragon bloodline, a scorching flame energy had resided within his body.
Mere chilly wind could not affect him.
Moreover, Ye Qing's cultivation had reached the Seventh Stage of Body Refining.
He was only sixteen years old this year.
Within Jizhou City, a sixteen-year-old at the Seventh Stage of Body Refining could well be called a peerless genius.
Beside the campfire.
Ye Qing calmed his mind, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate.
Having gone through a fierce battle.
Ye Qing distinctly felt that his physical body had grown much stronger.
"Hum!"
Before long.
A booming sound echoed from within Ye Qing's body.
His bones vibrated in unison!
His cultivation broke through to the Eighth Stage of Body Refining.
His strength grew a notch higher!
Though he had not yet reached the Yuan Condensation Realm.
Relying on his six-star Eight Desolations Fire Dragon bloodline.
Along with his astonishing attainments in swordsmanship!
Ye Qing was confident in challenging opponents above his realm.
The long night passed.
Early morning.
Ye Mengling opened her lovely eyes.
She saw the clothing draped over her.
And the bare-chested Ye Qing.
A sharp pang of heartache gripped Ye Mengling.
"Brother, how could you do this? You'll catch a cold!"
Ye Qing smiled.
"Silly sister, your brother isn't afraid of the cold!"
"Drink a bit more of the Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger's blood essence, and we'll head back to the Ye Family!"
Ye Qing gently patted Ye Mengling's head.
His face was filled with a brilliant smile.
Ye Mengling obediently nodded.
She took out the jade bottle and drank a small sip of the Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger's blood essence.
However, after drinking it, her body still felt somewhat cold.
The effect wasn't as pronounced as yesterday.
Ye Mengling took another small sip.
Only then did she begin to feel a bit warmer.
Seeing this, Ye Qing frowned.
His sister's illness was far from something the Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger's blood essence could completely cure!
The Earth Sun Pill probably wouldn't work either.
As time went on, his sister's condition had only been worsening!
In the future, he had to find a way to completely cure his sister!
Still, there was quite a bit of the Purple Sun Winged Fire Tiger's blood essence left, along with one Earth Sun Pill.
Maintaining his sister's life for the time being shouldn't be a problem.
Next.
Ye Qing had other matters to attend to.
Vengeance!
Revenge for the seizure of his bloodline!
If not for Ye Yan seizing Ye Qing's bloodline back then and banishing him to the Jizhou dungeon.
His sister never would have suffered!
Such a deep, bloody grudge!
Ye Qing would make Ye Yan pay with blood!
And the Ye Family Patriarch must pay a price as well!
Tomorrow was the day of the life-and-death duel between Ye Qing and Ye Yan!
A single battle to decide life and death!
Chapter 11: Disturbing My Sister's Sleep
Jizhou City.
The Ye Estate.
Yesterday, gongs and drums thundered, brimming with bustling festivity.
Ye Family Young Master Ye Yan and Prince's Mansion Mistress He Yumeng held their grand wedding.
Many prominent figures of Jizhou City all came to attend the wedding banquet.
By today, the guests within the Ye Estate had gradually dispersed.
At high noon.
Ye Qing brought his sister back into the Ye Estate.
Seeing Ye Qing return, the guards of the Ye Estate looked as though they had seen a ghost.
Soon, a Ye Family junior rushed off to report to the Patriarch.
The news of Ye Qing's return quickly reached the Patriarch.
The Patriarch was furious.
Ye Qing had returned, yet there was not a single piece of news from the Fifth Elder and the Sixth Elder!
This was proof enough that they were dead.
The plan to ambush and kill Ye Qing had failed.
The Ye Family Patriarch found it hard to believe.
One had to know that in this operation, besides the Fifth Elder and the Sixth Elder, there were also ten assassins from the Prince's Mansion.
With such formidable combat strength, failure should have been virtually impossible.
"Could there be an expert secretly helping Ye Qing?"
The Patriarch wondered suspiciously, his expression turning as dark as water.
Now that Ye Qing had returned to the clan, the Ye Family Patriarch found it inconvenient to make a move.
To strike within the clan would be far too flagrant!
"Tomorrow is the life-and-death duel agreed upon between Ye Qing and my son! My son has already broken through to the Yuan Condensation Realm, and he possesses a five-star bloodline; he will surely kill him!"
The Patriarch said in a deep voice.
His gaze was ice-cold.
Since the plan to ambush Ye Qing in the Purple Sun Mountain Range had failed.
They could only hope that Ye Yan would take Ye Qing's life during the life-and-death duel!
***
The Ye Estate.
Inside a dilapidated house.
Ye Qing settled his sister down.
The place where his sister lived was merely a thatched hut, originally the woodshed of the Ye Family.
Her living conditions were simply worse than those of a maid in the Ye Family.
Yet Ye Mengling did not feel bitter at all.
As long as her brother was by her side, she felt she was the happiest person in all the world.
Ye Qing stayed right by his sister's side, tucking her blanket in securely.
And telling her a story.
His sister's body was very weak and required rest.
In the past, whenever his sister went to sleep, Ye Qing would tell her stories.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who went to the mountains to pick mushrooms and ran into a big bad wolf..."
Ye Qing spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
A happy smile hung on his sister's face as she gradually drifted off to sleep.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the door of the room was blasted open!
Ye Qing's expression changed.
His sister, who was just about to fall asleep, was startled awake.
With a look of shock in her eyes, she gazed at the person standing in the doorway.
It was a luxuriously dressed woman.
Wearing a purple-gold phoenix hairpin and draped in a brocade robe of gold threads and white jade, she radiated a look of stately nobility.
Yet, in Ye Qing's eyes, her dress and makeup were utterly vulgar!
Possessing a superficial luxury, yet reeking of vulgarity.
The woman wasn't ugly, but her lips were thin, giving her a sharp, mean-spirited appearance.
This woman was none other than the Prince's Mansion's young mistress, He Yumeng!
She had just been married yesterday.
Shortly before, hearing that Ye Qing had returned to the Ye Family.
She had come specifically to provoke him!
In the past, the person He Yumeng had actually taken a fancy to was not Ye Yan, but Ye Qing!
Among the Ye Family, Ye Qing's talent was the most outstanding, having awakened the five-star Crimson Flame Wyrm bloodline.
Back then, He Yumeng had once expressed her romantic affections to Ye Qing.
And had repeatedly thrown herself at him.
However, Ye Qing knew that He Yumeng merely wanted to use him.
So he had ruthlessly rejected her.
Proud and arrogant, He Yumeng felt she had suffered an immense insult.
And she had harbored a grudge against Ye Qing ever since.
Hearing that Ye Qing had been cast into the Prince's Mansion dungeon.
And that he had slaughtered all enemies within the dungeon and was about to become an assassin of the Prince's Mansion.
He Yumeng had even been pondering how she might humiliate Ye Qing.
Never had she expected that Ye Qing would break out of the Prince's Mansion dungeon and fight his way back all the way home.
"Ye Qing, back then you were the heir of the Ye Family, arrogant and ignoring everyone. Now that you've fallen to this state, it truly is deeply satisfying!"
"All of this is your own doing. If you had been willing to marry into the Prince's Mansion as a dependent husband, would you have ended up like this today?"
"However, it's useless for you to regret it now. Right now, you are as humble as an ant, and you and I belong to two entirely different worlds!"
As soon as He Yumeng walked in, she began a string of sneers and taunts.
Her expression was incomparably cold, and her tone was simply as though she were speaking to a lowly servant.
"You talk too much damned nonsense!"
"Get lost!"
Ye Qing couldn't be bothered to exchange idle chatter with He Yumeng.
This woman was simply unfathomable and had something wrong with her brain!
"How insolent!"
"How dare you speak to me like that!"
"Ye Qing, do you think you are still that proud genius of the Ye Family from before? Right now, you are nothing more than..."
He Yumeng was still speaking.
Suddenly, Ye Qing lunged forward, throwing a fist the size of a sandbag straight toward He Yumeng's face.
Ye Qing simply couldn't bear to look at that mean-spirited mug any longer.
"Insolent!"
"Daring to attack the Mistress, you're courting death!"
He Yumeng sneered as three guards from the Prince's Mansion rushed forward beside her.
The cultivation of these Prince's Mansion guards had all reached the Ninth Stage of Body Refining.
However, they were somewhat older, all over thirty years of age, and their talents were quite mediocre.
"Boom!"
A burst of booming sounds rang out.
In an instant, the three Prince's Mansion guards were sent flying backward!
They were simply no match for Ye Qing!
The martial art Ye Qing executed was the Ye Family's Tiger Roaring Fist.
As he threw his punch, the faint sound of a tiger's roar echoed, carrying astonishing might.
The Tiger Roaring Fist was merely a Yellow-grade top-tier martial art, but Ye Qing had long since cultivated it to perfection.
Dealing with three guards from the Prince's Mansion was more than enough.
The three guards flew sideways like rubber balls.
Crashing heavily onto the ground, looking disheveled and vomiting blood!
Inside the room, He Yumeng shook with terror and fear.
Never had He Yumeng imagined that Ye Qing's combat strength would still be so ferocious!
Having his bloodline crippled seemed to have had far less impact on Ye Qing than she had imagined!
He Yumeng's reliance had been the three guards by her side.
Yet now, He Yumeng panicked.
Her cultivation hadn't even reached the Ninth Stage of Body Refining, making it even more impossible for her to be Ye Qing's match.
"Ye Qing, if you dare lay a finger on me, I..."
Before He Yumeng could finish her sentence.
"Boom!"
Ye Qing's fist came crashing down.
The next moment.
He Yumeng's delicate body was sent flying backward as a fist struck her right in the face!
Her entire face swelled up, looking utterly wretched to the extreme!
"Ye Qing, you just wait for this!"
He Yumeng scrambled to her feet, preparing to retreat.
"What is there to wait for? Come and fight right now!"
As Ye Qing spoke, he bolted out of the room.
Executing the Gale Step, in an instant, he was right beside He Yumeng.
"Boom!"
Another punch blasted outward.
He Yumeng was sent flying like a cannonball.
Her face was so swollen it looked like a pig's head!
Several Ye Family juniors present were utterly shocked to see the newlywed bride beaten into a pig's head!
He Yumeng's personal strength wasn't much.
But her background was terrifyingly formidable!
As a young mistress of the Prince's Mansion, she had always been a lofty existence in Jizhou City—who would ever dare hit her?
Yet today, Ye Qing had actually made a move.
And with such brutality!
Before long.
He Yumeng had been beaten black and blue, completely devoid of her previous arrogant and haughty posture.
"Disturbing my sister's sleep, I'll beat you to death!"
Ye Qing had a very bad temper.
Volatile!
Extremely volatile!
Chapter 12: Wind and Cloud Platform, Life-and-Death Duel!
He Yumeng completely lost her bluster.
However, soon enough, she spotted her savior.
Her husband, Ye Yan, had arrived.
Just moments ago, Ye Yan was still in his room cultivating and consolidating his realm.
When he heard his subordinates report that his wife had been beaten!
Ye Yan was furious and instantly charged out.
Seeing He Yumeng lying on the ground with a swollen face.
Ye Yan felt as though his own face was burning hot!
Humiliating!
Simply too humiliating!
"Ye Qing, you go too far!"
Ye Yan let out a roar, a fierce killing intent in his eyes.
"This bitch asked for it!"
"Cut the crap, if you've got the guts, come over and fight me one-on-one!"
Ye Qing's expression was ice-cold.
He had been too lazy to bicker with He Yumeng over the things she did to him in the past.
However, he had worked so hard to coax his sister to sleep.
And He Yumeng had come over to stir up trouble.
Awakening his sister!
Storytelling was hard work, after all!
Ye Qing's anger flared up, burning higher and higher.
Coupled with He Yumeng's foul mouth.
How could Ye Qing stop without beating her flat?
"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish tomorrow!"
Ye Yan sneered malevolently, took He Yumeng, and headed back to their room.
He didn't rush to make a move.
There was still one day left of the three-day pact.
Besides, Ye Yan's cultivation had only just broken through to the Yuan Condensation Realm not long ago.
He still needed a bit of time to consolidate his realm.
By tomorrow, Ye Yan would have absolute confidence to crush Ye Qing!
Watching Ye Yan leave, the surrounding Ye Family juniors sighed with emotion.
To think the dignified young master of the Ye Family had his wife beaten and could only slink away in defeat—it was simply too stifling.
However, tomorrow was the life-and-death duel between Ye Yan and Ye Qing.
The Ye Family juniors present were all filled with intense anticipation!
Ye Qing returned to the room.
To tend to his sister.
Just now, He Yumeng had suddenly burst in.
Frightening his little sister.
Ye Qing soothed his sister back to sleep.
And resumed telling her the story.
Actually, Ye Qing had no talent for storytelling.
Every time he coaxed his sister to sleep, it was a huge ordeal for him.
Therefore, He Yumeng suddenly bursting in and disrupting his sister's rest made Ye Qing's fury soar to the heavens.
Storytelling to a child was no easy task.
An hour later.
Finally, amid Ye Qing's rambling narrative, his sister fell asleep.
Ye Qing did not leave his sister's room; he stood guard right there by her side!
In the current Ye Family, far too many people wanted him dead.
Worried that someone might make a move against his sister, Ye Qing had to stay by her side every step of the way!
Inside the room, Ye Qing sat cross-legged and circulated his cultivation technique.
Within a magnificent courtyard of the Ye Estate.
Prince's Mansion Elder He Xiong was furious.
Just moments ago, He Xiong received word that Young Mistress He Yumeng had been beaten by Ye Qing.
Beaten so badly she looked like a pig's head, her looks ruined!
A newlywed bride, beaten to such a wretched state!
He Xiong was enraged to the extreme!
Simply intolerable!
However, He Xiong was currently on the Ye Family's turf after all.
And Ye Qing was, in name, still a member of the Ye Family.
It was inconvenient for He Xiong to directly strike down Ye Qing within the Ye Estate.
"Brat, for daring to harm the young mistress of my Prince's Mansion, I will make you pay a most agonizing price!"