Ye Tian, twenty-three years old, the eldest grandson of the Ye family, stood at the Four Symbols Heaven Realm. Mobile rapid reading: à.1κ .O Text version first published.

Yi Rou frowned, pulling back slightly from him with marked displeasure. Ye Tian had a poor reputation within the Ye family, known for his arrogance and dissolute nature. Although he was the eldest son, his cultivation realm was inferior to Ye Lie and Ye Tao. Yet, he relied heavily on his status as the firstborn, behaving insolently throughout the Tianwu Kingdom.

Had it not been for his fortuitous presence in Black Rock City, and their limited options leaving them no choice but to seek help from the Ye family, the two women would never have associated with the notoriously ill-reputed Ye Tian.

The moment Ye Tian first saw Yi Rou, his eyes lit up. His previous arrogance instantly dissolved, replaced by an enthusiasm so intense it suggested ulterior motives.

“Little Rou, our two families have always been close. The Yi family’s troubles are my Ye family’s troubles. Rest assured, now that you’ve sought out Big Brother Tian, no matter who is involved, I will personally see to dealing with him for you!” Ye Tian smiled thinly, seemingly ignoring Yi Rou’s attempt to create distance, and stepped forward, drawing even closer to her.

“Young Master Tian, everything is prepared,” Zhou Fuyun announced quietly, materializing from a corner of the inn.

“Excellent.” Ye Tian tilted his head back slightly, radiating confidence. “Xiao Jia, Xiao Rou, follow me inside. In Black Rock City, no one dares refuse to grant face to us Ye family members.”

Yi Jia and Yi Rou exchanged a look, their shared helplessness clear, though Yi Jia’s hatred deepened when she recalled the insult hurled by the ugly man inside the inn. She grabbed Yi Rou’s arm, whispering fiercely, “Let’s go, Xiao Rou, let’s settle the score first! Once revenge is done, we’ll leave Black Rock City immediately.”

Yi Rou nodded meekly and followed the leading Ye Tian into the inn with Yi Jia.

“Young Master Tian, that person is in Room Nine on the east side. Everyone nearby has been cleared out. Please be careful, Young Master, try not to demolish the entire small shop!” the owner pleaded, his face etched with distress and helplessness. He understood the immense power the Ye family wielded in the Tianwu Kingdom; his humble inn could not afford to offend them.

“Relax. Ye family matters are handled with discretion,” Ye Tian replied, looking up and humming softly, clearly growing impatient.

“Zhou Fuyun, follow me. I want to see just who it is that dares lay a hand on Xiao Rou!” Ye Tian said coldly.

“Yes, Young Master,” Zhou Fuyun bowed respectfully.

Inside the inn, facing east, Ji Changkong, whose soul was immersed in the Sea of Consciousness of the Azure Dragon Sacred Beast, suddenly sensed several faint fluctuations of Yuan Power stirring around him.

He snapped awake from his cultivation, extending his spiritual sense, and immediately realized he was surrounded.

Bang!

The room door was violently kicked open, wood splintering into shards. Four figures suddenly materialized inside his room.

“It’s the two of you!” Ji Changkong’s face darkened as he hissed, his voice gravelly.

“Ugly ghost, I bet you didn’t expect this! This auntie waited for you in Black Rock City for so long. Finally, my patience paid off, and I’ve cornered you!” Yi Jia stated coldly, radiating palpable killing intent.

Beside her, Yi Rou glared at him with a look of deep grievance and profound hatred.

“Ha!” Laughing in sheer anger, Ji Changkong stood up abruptly. “Ladies, I saved you once at the ruined temple, and I rescued both of you from those four men outside the valley. Not only do you lack gratitude, but you now harbor malice? I’ve met ungrateful people, but someone as utterly clueless as you two is rare indeed!”

“Stop the false righteousness! You and those four are in league—you know exactly what you did!” Yi Jia snapped icily.

“What did I do?” Ji Changkong roared, pointing at Yi Jia. “Tell me, what exactly did I do? I’m completely unaware!”

To save these two from Tu Qi and his group, he had risked his own safety, guiding them out of danger. Now, instead of gratitude, they confronted him. Truly, it seemed a good man could not exist in this age.

“Enough nonsense! You know perfectly well!” Yi Jia’s face was dark. She could not, in front of Ye Tian and Zhou Fuyun, voice her suspicion that Ji Changkong had taken liberties with them while they were unconscious.

“Whoever you are, daring to cross Xiao Rou and Xiao Jia makes you an enemy of our Ye family,” Ye Tian declared haughtily, stepping forward dismissively. “Xiao Jia, Xiao Rou, step back. Brother Tian will take him down for you. Once he’s captured, you can vent all your resentment upon him.”

“Young Master, allow this old servant to handle it?” Zhou Fuyun quickly interjected.

“No need, I’ll do it myself.” Ye Tian waved his hand, signaling Zhou Fuyun to stand down. His expression instantly turned icy, and the temperature in the room plummeted. A biting wind howled as Ye Tian moved, sending a flurry of snow-flake-sized flakes, each carrying an astonishingly sharp, cold force, hurtling toward Ji Changkong directly ahead.

In the Four Symbols Heaven Realm, Ye Tian primarily cultivated the power of the Black Tortoise Sacred Beast, which controlled the forces of ice, wind, and snow.

The Ye Family Heavenly Master Secret Art, “Falling Flying Leaves,” could condense any force into the form of flying leaves. A sky full of them swept forward, utterly without predictable trajectory, seeming to block every conceivable escape route in front of him.

The “Falling Flying Leaves” secret art was restricted exclusively to direct descendants of the Ye family. Once deployed, the endless fluttering leaves allowed no escape, eventually smothering the target under falling leaves shaped by various Yuan Power forms. Among the major Heavenly Master Sects in the Central Plains, the power of the “Falling Flying Leaves” was deeply ingrained knowledge. Seeing it unleashed, Yi Jia and Yi Rou were slightly surprised, not expecting the notoriously fickle Ye Tian to possess this technique, and the manner in which the leaves danced without discernible paths seemed quite ethereal.

Zhou Fuyun squinted, not daring to be careless, his eyes fixed tightly on Ji Changkong, perpetually wary.

As the blizzard of leaves descended, each one condensed from snow, the chilling wind whistled, and the sharp gale made the floating leaves even more bizarre and unpredictable. Ji Changkong, enveloped by the storm of leaves, furrowed his brow, his expression grave.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He inhaled deeply, forcefully, his chest puffing out until it was round and taut, his face flushing crimson, as if he might explode at any moment.

Roar!

A world-shaking roar suddenly erupted from Ji Changkong’s mouth, like thunder crashing down from the Ninth Heaven. The immense sound wave instantly rippled outward in all directions.

Under the thunderous might of the Sky Thunder Roar, the descending flying leaves violently shattered one by one, none able to approach Ji Changkong.

It was like a clap of thunder exploding out of thin air within the room. The Sky Thunder Roar was so potent the room seemed on the verge of collapse.

Ye Tian, positioned directly in front of him, frowned slightly and quickly shouted, “Xiao Jia, Xiao Rou, get out!”

At that very moment, Ji Changkong, having roared out the Sky Thunder Roar, charged furiously toward the two young women, Yi Jia and Yi Rou. In his view, these two ungrateful women deserved a harsh lesson.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

He swept his hand out, and water rippled through the air, creating waves that surged toward Ye Tian as a towering surge.

Ye Tian cried out, then recoiled his body, suddenly resembling a turtle. The fiercely cold wind howled past him, managing to block the first wave of the surge.

Without lingering to fight Ye Tian, the second wave swept upward, bypassing the retracted Ye Tian, and violently crashed toward Yi Jia and Yi Rou.

“Vicious move, brat!” Zhou Fuyun suddenly boomed, stamping down hard. The floor instantly cracked apart, sending splinters flying like wooden swords straight toward Ji Changkong.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The second wave collided with the wooden swords, shattering them into debris that scattered everywhere, but the force of the second wave was entirely dissipated.

Before the third wave could gather momentum, Ji Changkong’s expression darkened. He violently used his back to smash through the fractured wall and shot out, directly facing Ye Tian and Zhou Fuyun.

Zhou Fuyun possessed the cultivation of the Five Elements Heaven Realm, while Ye Tian, Yi Jia, and Yi Rou were all in the Four Symbols Heaven Realm. Several other Ye family members were positioned outside the inn. In a direct fight, he was not afraid of Zhou Fuyun due to the power of his Silver Banner, but the Silver Banner could not guard all directions simultaneously. If Ye Tian and the others attacked mid-fight, he had no confidence in securing a victory.

As soon as he burst from the inn, someone lurking near a corner unexpectedly thrust a thin sword forward, aiming directly for his back.

Ji Changkong, retreating in a straight line, twisted his body with snake-like agility, narrowly evading the sneak attack. He suddenly spun around, leaping onto a large tree, and dove away like a great bird toward the distance.

Before landing, he lashed out with a punch, the Sky Thunder Burst, carrying the sound of the Ninth Heaven’s Thunder, slamming directly into a corner of the outer wall.

“Damn it, we were discovered!”

Two dark shadows shrieked as they scrambled out before the outer wall completely collapsed. They had lain in ambush for so long, intending to strike when Ji Changkong was close, but they hadn't anticipated him attacking first, forcing them out a moment too soon.

With these two fleeing, Ji Changkong had no reservations. He pressed forward without pause and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

“Why didn’t you stop him?” Ye Tian, along with Yi Jia, Yi Rou, and Zhou Fuyun, reached the outer wall. Ye Tian’s face was grim as he spoke severely.

“Reporting to the Young Master, before he even landed, he attacked us first. We had no opportunity for a proper ambush. This person seemed to know precisely where we were hidden, and his realm is clearly superior. We had no choice but to retreat,” explained a dust-covered Ye family servant helplessly.

“Useless! I’ve kept you for so long, and you amount to nothing!” Ye Tian raged.

“If he escapes this time, surrounding him next time won’t be so easy,” Yi Jia stamped her foot in frustration. “So many of us working together, and he got away so easily. How could this happen?”

“Young Master, this person truly seemed to anticipate our ambush. I observed carefully: after smashing through the wall, he acted as if he knew our entire layout—he dodged Xiao Tang’s initial sword thrust and preemptively forced out the two men lying in wait. He anticipated every move and seized the initiative,” Zhou Fuyun said gravely, bowing deeply.

“Send word down. Have the gangs in Black Rock City look for him. As long as he remains in Black Rock City, he won’t escape my sight easily!” Ye Tian commanded Zhou Fuyun, his face cold, clearly not giving much weight to the servant’s observations.

Alas, he is truly inferior to Ye Lie and Ye Tao, Zhou Fuyun sighed internally, replying respectfully, “Yes, Young Master, understood.”