“Empress Fuyao, when will you descend?!” Ye Liangchen shrieked, still clinging to the delusional hope that Empress Fuyao would miraculously save him.
His pleas grew more frantic. “Brother Chen, it’s me! Have you forgotten? I was always your little brother when we were kids! Brother Chen, I was wrong, please let me go…”
Ye Chen’s eyes blazed with killing intent. He grabbed Ye Liangchen by the throat, hoisting him into the air.
Every member of the Ye Family watched, stunned into silence. How was this possible? Ye Chen’s cultivation hadn’t fallen at all! He was a Mid-stage Profound Emperor! Ye Liangchen stood no chance against him!
What was happening? Didn't even the Old Ancestors find themselves helpless against the mysterious power within Ye Chen?
They glanced at the Patriarch, who was equally dumbfounded, his jaw hanging loose.
At that moment, the Grand Elder hastily shouted, “Ye Chen, let’s talk! We’re all family here!”
Ye Chen laughed, a cold, harsh sound. “You certainly didn’t say that earlier, did you? I was a good-for-nothing! A waste!”
With that, Ye Chen crushed Ye Liangchen’s throat.
Crack! Ye Liangchen’s eyes widened in disbelief, then glazed over as life fled him. Ye Chen casually tossed his corpse from the combat arena, his gaze turning chillingly towards the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder’s face twisted into a grotesque mask of fury. He roared, “You little beast! I’ll kill you!” and lunged towards the arena.
Boom! The Grand Elder unleashed his Profound Saint realm aura, a terrifying, abyssal pressure that felt like ten thousand towering mountains pressing down on Ye Chen.
Seeing this, the Patriarch’s killing intent erupted. “Who dares harm my son?!”
Boom! The Patriarch, a One-star Profound Saint, likewise unleashed his aura, rising into the air to meet the Grand Elder. Both were One-star Profound Saints, and their clash instantly ignited a storm of terrifying spiritual energy, spiraling outwards in a violent tempest.
In the blink of an eye, neither the Patriarch nor the Grand Elder held back. This was a battle between two Profound Saints, where a casual flick of a hand could stir the heavens and earth, and a mere wave of a sleeve unleashed devastating attacks, filling the sky with brilliant divine light.
Waves of terrifying energy rippled outwards as they exchanged deadly blows.
The Grand Elder produced a fire-attributed Saint Soldier. With a flick of his spiritual thought, the Saint Soldier erupted in blazing light, smashing towards the Patriarch. In an instant, a boundless ocean of spirit fire swept across the void above the main hall, threatening to incinerate the heavens and boil the seas.
The Patriarch responded, summoning a Saint-tier long spear. A single cold glint of light heralded its arrival, the spear striking out like a dragon!
Boom! Boom! Boom! The Ye Family members watched in utter shock. How had things escalated to this point? No one had expected Ye Liangchen to be instantly killed by Ye Chen!
When had Ye Chen recovered? Even the Patriarch hadn’t known! This young man possessed such incredible forbearance!
Some of the Ye Family disciples trembled uncontrollably, remembering how they had mocked Ye Chen just days prior. The thought sent chills down their spines.
At that moment, several Ye Family elders called out to the combatants in the air, “Stop this! Today is the family gathering!”
The Grand Elder sneered, “Ye Chen must die today! Only one of us can remain in the Ye Family, either the Patriarch or I!”
Everyone felt a chill. The accumulated resentment had finally erupted, beyond reconciliation. The battle between two Saints shattered the very fabric of space; divine light blazed, and this was truly a fight to the death. Both the Patriarch and the Grand Elder unleashed all their trump cards, a struggle that would decide both victory and survival.
On the arena, a flicker of worry crossed Ye Chen’s eyes. His father was actually losing to the Grand Elder, being suppressed!
Moments later, the Grand Elder let out a vicious laugh and slammed a palm strike forward. The Patriarch was sent flying hundreds of meters, coughing up a mouthful of essence blood before crashing heavily to the ground.
Boom! A massive crater formed where he landed.
“Father!” Ye Chen cried out in alarm.
The Grand Elder instantly descended, stomping his foot onto the Patriarch’s chest. “Die!”
Seeing this, Ye Chen roared, “Master, help!”
The very next second, Lu Xuan’s figure abruptly materialized before the Grand Elder. He threw a casual punch.
The Grand Elder was sent flying hundreds of meters, slamming violently back into the ground.
Crack! The ground beneath the Grand Elder shattered like a spiderweb. He clutched his chest, trying to stand, but found his body utterly powerless, unable to rise.
The Grand Elder snarled, “You… who are you?!”
Lu Xuan stated calmly, “I am Ye Chen’s Master.”
The Ye Family members were stunned. Ye Chen’s Master? When had Ye Chen taken a master? This person was unbelievably powerful, nearly instantly killing the Grand Elder with a single casual punch!
At this point, the Patriarch struggled to his feet, staring at Lu Xuan with utter shock, then asked Ye Chen, “Chen’er, who is your Master?”
Ye Chen quickly walked towards his father. “Father, my Master is Lu Xuan, the Peak Master of Azure Mystery Peak, Grand Dao Sect!”
A profound silence fell over the hall.
Azure Mystery Peak’s Peak Master, Lu Xuan? Why did that name sound so familiar?
Lu Xuan, the infamous good-for-nothing Peak Master of the Grand Dao Sect? Yet he possessed such terrifying strength! What was going on?
Ye Chen explained, “The rumors are false, Father. My Master simply prefers to keep a low profile and doesn’t care about external opinions, which led the outside world to mistakenly believe he was a good-for-nothing.”
The Patriarch was aghast. The entire Ye Family stared, wide-eyed. They tried to probe Lu Xuan’s cultivation, but found absolutely nothing!
A chill ran through everyone’s hearts. Was he concealing his cultivation, or was his realm so far beyond theirs that they simply couldn’t perceive it?
Just then, the Grand Elder, his face contorted in a ferocious snarl, looked at Lu Xuan. “This is a private matter of my Ye Family! Do you even know what day this is?! You’re courting death!”
Everyone paused, realizing. Today was not only the Ye Family’s gathering but also the day Empress Fuyao was scheduled to descend! The family gathering was a minor issue, but Empress Fuyao’s arrival was of paramount importance! Excluding Lu Xuan, everyone present was a member of the Ye Family!
The arrival of Empress Fuyao involved secrets from three thousand years ago; how could an outsider be allowed to know them?
The Grand Elder, a malicious grin spreading across his face, prepared to activate the jade token in his hand. “Once our Ye Family’s Old Ancestors arrive, you’ll surely die…”
Before he could finish, Lu Xuan calmly pressed a palm downwards.
Boom! A colossal palm print materialized, vast as a small mountain, its intricate lines visible within the palm. It descended with crushing force upon the Grand Elder.
In an instant, the Grand Elder didn’t even have time to scream before he was annihilated into dust. Everyone stood frozen, dumbfounded.
An instant kill!
Suddenly, several Profound Saints from the Grand Elder’s faction charged forward, yelling, “Lu Xuan, you’re courting death! You’re nothing but a useless elder of the Grand Dao Sect, yet you dare to kill someone in my Ye Family! You’re asking for it!”
In a flash, several One-star Profound Saints surrounded Lu Xuan. Their Profound Saint auras surged like great rivers converging in the void, their terrifying killing intent almost solidifying. Blazing spirit runes flickered around their bodies as they all summoned their Saint Soldiers, intent on eradicating Lu Xuan.
“Your Master…?” the Patriarch murmured to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen replied in a low voice, “Don’t worry, Father. My Master can destroy even Great Emperors with a flick of his finger!”
The Patriarch gasped in shock. Lu Xuan’s strength was that terrifying?
By this point, Lu Xuan was completely encircled by the Profound Saints. Yet, he remained perfectly composed, utterly calm.
He was now a Stage Four Profound Venerate, an existence capable of effortlessly slaying opponents a major realm higher than himself. This meant he could instantly kill a One-star Profound Saint! Forget these few Profound Saints, even a hundred One-star Profound Saints would be effortlessly dispatched by Lu Xuan!
With a tranquil demeanor, Lu Xuan made his move. In the span of a breath, he extended a hand and crushed the skull of one Profound Saint.
Pfft! Blood splattered!
Then, one after another, the bodies of the other Profound Saints in the air burst apart. A crimson rain of blood showered down!
Killing them was like swatting flies!
Witnessing this, tidal waves of shock surged through the hearts of the Ye Family members. Just how strong was Lu Xuan? These were Profound Saints! Yet they were killed so utterly silently, without a trace? The rumors of Lu Xuan being a good-for-nothing were entirely false!
The remaining members of the Grand Elder’s faction immediately cried out, “Quick, summon the Old Ancestors!” They frantically crushed their transmission tokens!
Crack! As the transmission tokens disintegrated into brilliant divine light, three terrifying auras, as if awakening from ancient slumber, permeated the area from the depths of the Ye Family’s ancestral land, spreading towards the main hall.
The Ye Family members were profoundly shaken. This was it—the three Quasi-Emperor Old Ancestors were about to make their move!
Immediately, within a thousand-mile radius of the Ye Family, brilliant Dao patterns flowed continuously. This entire space seemed to ignite; spiritual peaks, rivers, and the very earth boiled with energy. Dao patterns swirled, and the terrifying, abyssal might of the Quasi-Emperors poured over the land. A colossal, fearsome silhouette gradually rose into the heavens, causing the Ye Family members to tremble uncontrollably, instinctively wanting to prostrate themselves.
And there were three such terrifying auras!
In an instant, the three Quasi-Emperor Old Ancestors of the Ye Family manifested their Dharma Idols. Dozens of meters tall, these colossal figures towered between heaven and earth, standing in the void, boundless and immense, like majestic mountains spanning the horizon or falling stars, radiating boundless power.
The Ye Family members were utterly overwhelmed.
Lu Xuan frowned slightly. Was this the power of Quasi-Emperors?
The three Ye Family Old Ancestors looked down at Lu Xuan, their eyes burning like twin suns. Their grey-white hair cascaded like waterfalls as they slowly spoke. “Your Excellency, if you cannot provide us with a satisfactory explanation, we fear you will not leave the Ye Family alive!”
Lu Xuan’s lips curled into a faint smile. “An explanation? For mere Quasi-Emperors?”
The Ye Family Old Ancestors frowned. The reason they hadn’t immediately attacked was that they couldn’t perceive Lu Xuan’s background. They couldn’t detect his cultivation realm! Moreover, while Lu Xuan appeared to them to have countless flaws, they felt an ominous premonition, as if an attack would inevitably lead to their demise at his hands.
The situation descended into a tense standoff.
Boom! Boom! Boom! From the Ye Family’s ancestral land, hundreds more powerful auras awakened. These were the Half-Emperors and Saint Kings of the Ye Family.
In an instant, hundreds of terrifying Qi currents transformed into torrential floods, pressing down on the main hall. Behind the three Old Ancestors, hundreds of Half-Emperors and Saint Kings instantly lined up, creating immense pressure on Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan remained unperturbed, his expression as calm as a gentle breeze. Because of his disciple Ye Chen, he didn't want to completely antagonize the Ye Family. But if these Old Ancestors foolishly provoked him, he wouldn't mind sending them to the cycle of reincarnation! The One-star Great Emperor Experience Card in his hand was ready to be activated at any moment!
Just then, the members of the Grand Elder’s faction shouted at the Ye Family Old Ancestors, “Old Ancestors, please seek justice for us! This Lu Xuan is simply putting on an act! If he were truly stronger than the Old Ancestors, he would have attacked already!”