Ye Fan emerged, his face a thundercloud. His icy gaze pinned Ye Linglong before he stooped to help Su Xi up. The livid handprint blazing on his mother's cheek ignited a furnace of rage within him.
Gently, his right hand touched her injured face. Vital energy flowed. The swelling vanished instantly, the mark fading away.
He turned his glacial stare back to Ye Linglong. "Ye Linglong. Did you strike her?"
Ye Linglong blinked in surprise at Su Xi's healed face, then sneered. "So what if I did? Ye Fan, that sword on your back belongs to the Ye Clan too. Leave it. Take your mother and crawl out."
Ye Fan's hand rested on the scabbard of the Voidstep Sword. Slowly, he drew it. The obsidian blade caught the dim light as he leveled it. "What are you, Ye Linglong?" His voice dripped contempt. "You order me to drop my sword? What if I refuse?"
"Ye Fan!" Ye Linglong spat, her own killing intent flaring. "My brother died in your courtyard! My father sparing you is mercy you don't deserve! Don't mistake my tolerance for weakness because you supposedly saved me! Do you think that shields you?"
"Ye Linglong," Ye Fan countered, the Voidstep Sword steady in his grip, its point unwavering. "I haven't settled the score for your plot against me. Now you dare humiliate my mother? Hmph. Seems one dead Ye Feng wasn't lesson enough."
"WHAT?!" Ye Linglong shrieked, shock contorting her face, swiftly replaced by a sharp gleam in her eyes. "You DID kill him! Your cultivation… it's NOT crippled?!"
"Thanks to you, it was ruined," Ye Fan snarled. "But not as thoroughly as you hoped. DIE!"
He moved.
The Nine Void Mirage Steps unfolded. His form blurred, a phantom streaking towards Ye Linglong with deceptive speed.
Ye Linglong let out a sharp cry. The aura of Qi Refining Level Eight erupted around her. She was faster. Her sword, a streak of silver, lashed out to intercept him, aiming to split him mid-charge. Around them, guards drew blades, rushing to encircle Ye Fan.
Despite his mere Qi Refining Level One, Ye Fan's movements were unnaturally profound. He weaved through attacks at the last possible instant, his own obsidian blade dancing. Sword flowers blossomed – light reflecting like ripples on water, shadows flickering.
Sword Art: Thirteen Dawn Breeze Swords!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
In an instant, Ye Fan's figure multiplied. Thirteen identical phantoms materialized, swirling around Ye Linglong and the guards. Real and illusion merged seamlessly, impossible to track.
Thwick! Thwick! Thwick!
A series of wet, tearing sounds followed. Guards clutched their throats, crimson blooming beneath fingers, collapsing silently. Ye Linglong, relying on her superior cultivation, twisted and dodged frantically, managing to leap backwards, putting distance between herself and the deadly dance.
"Fancy tricks, Ye Fan!" she spat, breathing heavily. "But against true power? Worthless!"
White light, fierce and terrifying, ignited around her palms. The air crackled with pressure. Ye Clan Core Technique: Heaven Tier High-Grade Martial Art – Gale Dispelling Palm!
The crushing aura descended. Ye Fan's eyes sharpened like honed daggers. His vital energy churned violently within. Abruptly, the mystical runes deep in his Dantian flared with warmth. His Nine Void Mirage Steps shifted subtly, unpredictably.
Another Ye Fan materialized beside him.
Two identical figures moved in perfect sync. Both unleashed the Thirteen Dawn Breeze Swords. Aura, stance, sword intent – indistinguishable. Mirror Counter-Image! (The hidden attribute of perfectly mastering the Heaven Tier Low-Grade Art: Nine Void Mirage Steps).
Ye Linglong faltered, eyes wide with disbelief. Such profound, illusory technique was beyond her experience.
The twenty-six phantoms vanished abruptly.
Ye Fan materialized behind her. The cold edge of the Voidstep Sword kissed her throat.
Backstab! (The hidden attribute of perfectly mastering the Earth Tier High-Grade Art: Thirteen Dawn Breeze Swords).
Ye Linglong's terrifying aura snuffed out instantly. The blade against her skin felt like Death's own scythe. She froze, not daring to twitch.
Ye Fan inwardly rejoiced. As the divine markings grew warm, his Combat Arts would spontaneously achieve flawless mastery, thereby awakening their latent properties.
Combat Arts are not mere randomly devised moves. Each Art's creation must first earn the tacit sanction of the Heavenly Dao—only then can latent properties manifest.
Combat Arts are classified into seven tiers: Mortal Tier, Earth Tier, Heaven Tier, Saint Tier, Immortal Tier, God Tier, and Peerless Tier. Each tier further divides into Low, Mid, and High grades.
Latent properties differ across all Arts. At times, even a humble Mortal Tier Art may unleash latent forces surpassing those of an Earth Tier Art in critical moments.
In his past life, even at the pinnacle of Great Ascension, half-step to Immortality, Ye Fan had only achieved Perfect Mastery over two Mortal Tier Arts and two Earth Tier Arts. The sheer difficulty was staggering. Partly, his previous Spirit Aura Talent had favored cultivation speed over Martial Art comprehension.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in a microsecond.
"Ye Fan…" Ye Linglong's voice trembled, strained against the blade. "You wouldn't dare kill me! Kill me… and you'll never leave the Ye Manor alive!"
As she spoke, figures flooded the courtyard entrance. Patriarch Ye Qingtian, flanked by stern-faced Elders, strode in. Ye Linglong's message had clearly found its mark.
"YE FAN!" Ye Qingtian's roar shook the courtyard. "What madness is this?! Release her!"
A cold, mocking smile touched Ye Fan's lips. "What does it look like I'm doing, Ye Qingtian?" His voice was dangerously calm. "I'm holding your daughter hostage. We're leaving. Get out of my way."
Ye Qingtian's face purpled with rage. Patriarch of the Ye Clan, defied so brazenly by a junior!
"Father! Don't let him go!" Ye Linglong shrieked, finding her voice. "HE killed Ye Feng! Threaten his mother! Make him submit!"
Fury exploded within Ye Qingtian. He moved like lightning, not towards Ye Fan, but towards the vulnerable Su Xi!
Ye Fan reacted instantly. His wrist flicked. The Voidstep Sword drew back sharply across Ye Linglong's throat.
A thin, crimson line appeared. A bead of blood welled. Time seemed to slow for Ye Linglong. She felt the cold steel pull, a hair's breadth from her trachea. Death hovered. She hadn't expected such ruthless, decisive brutality – a willingness to burn everything down.
Ye Qingtian, though charging Su Xi, had kept his focus split. Seeing Ye Fan's movement, he skidded to a halt, bellowing: "STOP!"
Ye Fan didn't stop. The blade kept moving back, biting deeper.
"STOP! WE'LL LET YOU LEAVE!" Ye Linglong screamed, pure terror shredding her voice, feeling the kiss of the blade deepen. "YOU WIN! JUST STOP!"
Ye Fan's hand froze. The blade halted. His smile turned viciously sardonic. "Thought you had more spine. So bold a moment ago… Turns out you fear death too. How disappointing."
Humiliation warred with residual terror on Ye Linglong's ghost-pale face. She couldn't muster a retort, cold sweat slicking her skin.
Ye Qingtian's gaze was pure venom. "Well played, junior. Ye Songyuan truly sired a remarkable son. One who excels at slaughtering his own kin."
"And your offspring are paragons of virtue?" Ye Fan retorted with utter scorn. "Ordering me to protect her, while sending assassins after yourself, led by Ye Feng? Crippling my cultivation? Then crawling to gloat while I lay broken?"
"Lies!" an Elder snarled. "We see only a kin-slayer making excuses! Do you think us fools?!" Ye Qingtian's vital energy crackled around him, a visible storm of killing intent. "Your guilt is plain!"
"Believe it. Don't believe it. What do I care?" Ye Fan's voice was glacial indifference. "Kin? You lot aren't worthy of the word."
Vital energy surged down his arm, coalescing around the Voidstep Sword. Its obsidian edge hummed with lethal power. He pressed it firmly against Ye Linglong's pulsing artery.
"ALL OF YOU!" His command cracked like a whip. "MOVE BACK! FIVE HUNDRED METERS! NOW!" His eyes, hard as flint, scanned the frozen Elders and guards. "Who dares utter another sound… I slit her throat!"