"But Ye Fenghan interfered," Ye Tianyun said. "Was he trying to protect that bastard?"
Ye Liyi sneered. "Would he? Of course not! I know how he feels about Ye Tianling—he looks down on him. Besides, his daughter, Ye Yuemei, has already been chosen by the Celestial Sword Sect. Why else do you think he came back this time? To prepare for her departure. When he caught up to that little animal, he was obviously going to warn him not to be a toad lusting after a swan's flesh.
"If that little beast had died right then, wouldn't Ye Yuemei think her father killed him? Ye Fenghan isn't that foolish!"
Ye Tianyun said, "In that case, didn't that bastard just suffer another humiliation?"
Ye Liyi stroked his beard and chuckled. "Exactly. With his arrogant, frivolous, and utterly conceited attitude, he was bound to be humiliated! Heh, that Ye Fenghan doesn't have a pleasant temperament, and he has Sword Intent. That little beast was sure to suffer a major loss."
As Ye Liyi spoke, he suddenly froze, his expression immediately shifting to one of reverence.
A voice, transmitted by the Sword Essence Power of the Ye Race's Clan Leader, Ye Wannian, sounded in his ear.
Ye Liyi listened respectfully. After a long moment, a look of sudden understanding appeared on his face.
"Clan Leader, I will see this matter through. You can rest assured."
Ye Liyi bowed respectfully.
Then, in the distance beyond the small courtyard, a figure quickly vanished.
A sheen of cold sweat broke out on Ye Liyi's forehead. 'Thankfully, I didn't bad-mouth the Clan Leader just now. Otherwise, I would have really been in for it this time.'
Ye Tianyun's expression, however, turned ugly. He had mentioned the Clan Leader's "faults" earlier, and it seemed the Clan Leader had overheard him.
"Tianyun, don't you worry," Ye Liyi said. "This time, you will accompany me on a mission to retrieve the Fiery Sun Sword. At the same time, we are to uncover any secrets the Fiery Sun Sword and Ye Tianling might possess. Originally, the Clan Leader intended to use these secrets to cultivate your older brother, Ye Tianfan. Since you and your brother are so close, there's no need to hide this from you."
As Ye Liyi spoke, a hint of excitement gleamed in his eyes. This was an opportunity.
If he handled this well, not only would his position be secured, but he could also build a good relationship with Ye Tianyun and the genius disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect, Ye Tianfan.
Upon hearing this, the ugly look on Ye Tianyun's face eased somewhat, and a questioning glint appeared in his sinister eyes.
Ye Liyi lowered his voice and laid out the entire plan to kill Ye Tianling.
Ye Tianyun nodded from time to time.
And this entire scene was witnessed by Ye Yueling, who had been on her way to find Ye Tianyun.
A strange expression appeared on her face—she couldn't hear their words, but she could read lips.
The moment she understood, she silently retreated, quickly leaving the area.
'Ye Tianling, since you were so heartless to me, you can just go and die! You're already crippled anyway. For you, death is a release. It will even let you reunite with your parents in the underworld sooner.'
Ye Yueling thought to herself.
At first, she hesitated, wondering if she should warn him. But then she remembered the vicious sword strike Ye Tianling had dealt to her back, the way he had cursed and verbally abused her, and that tiny sliver of pity vanished instantly.
Ye Yueling's face turned as cold as frost. She would no longer concern herself with whether Ye Tianling lived or died.
...
Several miles from Celestial Language Mountain stood a large Desolate Mountain, shrouded in a dark and chilling aura.
Ancient, giant trees grew in dense groves, making the entire Desolate Mountain seem perilous and unpredictable.
This mountain was named Forbidden Moon Mountain. Fierce Beasts roamed its lands, and it served as the primary training ground for the Swordsmen of Qingyang Town.
The aura of Forbidden Moon Mountain was somewhat similar to that of the Ye Race's Forbidden Moon Cliff in Qingyang Town, which gave Ye Tianling a sense of familiarity.
Ye Tianling had not come here out of curiosity. He was here to wait for his prey, to kill someone.
Ye Tianling made his way into Forbidden Moon Mountain.
There were two paths in the mountain. One was wide and paved with special stones. Few Fierce Beasts roamed the sides of this road, so Swordsmen and most merchant caravans chose this route when passing through. It usually took only about ten days to cross Forbidden Moon Mountain using this path.
The other path, however, was narrow and dark, and the journey was much longer. It was a place where many Fierce Beasts lingered, where powerful Demon Beasts ran rampant, and where desperate Swordsmen, Ascetics, and assassins lurked. These people lived by the Slaughter Law—unbridled and unscrupulous, they were capable of anything.
Ye Tianling chose the second path. After proceeding for about a thousand meters, he leaped up onto a branch of an ancient tree so thick it would take multiple people to encircle it. He found a spot with dense foliage and sat down cross-legged.
Focusing his mind and holding his breath, Ye Tianling regulated his breathing, preparing for Cultivation.
Ye Tianling took out the Jade Bottle.
He tipped out a Small Peiyuan Pill and put the Elixir directly into his mouth.
The Elixir was as sweet and refreshing as a clear spring, melting the moment it entered his mouth.
And then... that was it.
Ye Tianling felt a cool chill seep into his body. Instantly, the Dragon Blood within him began to burn like a flame, and his skin turned red as dark-red steam started to rise from his entire body.
In less than ten breaths, Ye Tianling discovered that all the medicinal Energy from that one Small Peiyuan Pill was gone.
He only felt his limbs grow slightly warmer and the Power in his body strengthen a little.
But his Realm remained completely unchanged.
'What the hell? And they call this a Top Grade Elixir?'
Ye Tianling frowned, tipped out three more pills, and swallowed them.
After three breaths, dark-red steam once again rose from Ye Tianling's body. This time, it took less than five breaths for the steam to Disappear.
Ye Tianling only felt a little feverish, but there was no other discomfort.
After a slight hesitation, Ye Tianling swallowed the remaining four Elixirs all at once.
This time, Ye Tianling registered almost no Sensing of the Elixirs' effects, but the heat from his Dragon Blood seemed to have intensified significantly.
Ye Tianling closed his eyes and entered a state of Meditation, attempting to connect his Sensing to the drop of Dragon Soul Blood between his eyebrows.
At first, his Sensing picked up nothing, but soon, Ye Tianling's consciousness—and even his Soul—was drawn to the drop of Dragon Blood between his eyebrows.
The single drop of Dragon Blood seemed to be divided into ninety-nine overlapping regions, stacked one upon the other like a blood-red Treasure Tower Celestial Ladder.
The lowest level of the Dragon Blood had now been activated.
Ye Tianling had swallowed eight Small Peiyuan Pills earlier. Now, he discovered that the medicinal Energy was being burned by the Flame of this drop of Dragon Blood, as if it were being continuously purified.
The Flame was a tragic, scarlet-red color. When Ye Tianling's Sensing made contact with it, his very Soul trembled with alarm.
Even more terrifying—a fierce, golden-red Exotic Beast was swimming within the Flame!
This was the very same Exotic Beast that had swooped down from the nine heavens and plunged into the space between his eyebrows.
Through the information in his memories, Ye Tianling knew that this was the Xuanyuan Dragon Soul!
As he pondered this, Ye Tianling's consciousness tried to touch the golden Dragon Soul.
BOOM—
In that instant, the space between his eyebrows seemed to roar, and his Soul trembled.
In a flash, the drop of Dragon Blood shot directly into Ye Tianling's Soul, causing him to feel the suffocating sense of impending death, as if his Soul was about to be burned to ashes by the Dragon Blood's Flame.
But soon, like an empowerment ritual, the Dragon Soul Inheritance from Huaxia was finally unlocked!
...
'Entry Level in the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique, Soul Refining with Samadhi True Fire, command of the Dragon Soul Divine Blood, unlocking the Power of Samadhi True Fire.'
Ye Tianling closed his eyes in contemplation as streams of information flowed into his mind.
With the foundation from his previous inheritance transformation, Ye Tianling's Soul and physical body quickly withstood the tempering of the Samadhi True Fire contained within the Dragon Blood.
The process was slightly painful, but it didn't last long—only about a thousand breaths.
After completing his transformation, Ye Tianling's Swordsman Realm leaped from the Sword Beginning First Heaven to the Sword Beginning Third Heaven.
Ye Tianling opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. As he felt the powerful transformation within him, a potent Divine Radiance Power flowed within his pupils.
He carefully contemplated these changes for a moment, slowly digesting the insights and beginning to adapt to his brand-new Battle Power.
Suddenly, Ye Tianling's eyes snapped open—a faint, murderous killing intent was drifting over from the distance.
'Instructor Elder Ye Liyi? Or Ye Tianyun?'
Ye Tianling mused internally, but a fierce and cruel light glinted in his eyes.