Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable-Chapter 20: Ye Tianling, What Are You Going to Do?
An icy expression settled over Ye Yuemei’s lovely face. She said coldly, "Let them search. If they can’t find anything, we’ll make them bleed for it—hand over some resources as compensation! I just so happened to comprehend Sword Intent. I’ll reveal it to gain a higher status and a greater voice in the family. It will raise your position too, Father! I have to protect myself so that Brother Tianling won’t have to worry!"
Ye Fenghan looked at Ye Yuemei, whose entire demeanor had undergone a ’metamorphosis’. He was filled with surprise and uncertainty, but that was quickly replaced by immense excitement and gratification.
’This... This is a true transformation!’
’Could this Ye Tianling be some kind of prodigy? Has his way of doing things started to influence Mei’Er?’
While Ye Fenghan was contemplating this, Ye Yuemei went back inside her room.
At that moment, Clan Leader Ye Wannian had already arrived, leading a group of Elders including Ye Liyuan, Ye Liyu, and Ye Lixin. They had the entire courtyard surrounded.
The joyful expression on Ye Fenghan’s face gradually faded.
"Elder Fenghan, so many of our sons and genius disciples are dead, yet you’re standing there with a smile on your face. You seem quite happy, don’t you!"
Ye Liyu retorted, his face dark and sinister.
Just as Ye Fenghan was about to speak, Ye Yuemei emerged from her secret chamber, carefully sealing it behind her.
Then, she swept a cold glance over Ye Liyu and said, "Your son is dead, so my father isn’t allowed to smile? What an impressive show of authority, Elder Ye Liyu!"
Ye Liyu’s face fell. He desperately wanted to reprimand her, but Ye Yuemei had already been chosen by an elder from the Celestial Sword Sect to become a True Disciple. ’How could I dare to offend her?’
He swallowed his anger and said in a chilling tone, "That bastard Ye Tianling is a born traitor. For him to have snuck into the Ye Race, there must be an insider helping him. We’ve already searched every other area of the Ye Race; now, only your residence is left. The Clan Leader is here as well. We are acting on official business—a routine inspection. I hope you can be understanding, Mei’Er."
Ye Yuemei showed him no courtesy whatsoever. She snorted, "A born traitor? Could he be more of a traitor than an old fossil like you?"
Hearing this, Ye Fenghan gently chided her, "Mei’Er, don’t be rude."
Ye Yuemei sneered and said nothing more, but she stood firm, blocking the entrance to her cultivation chamber and barring their entry.
Ye Wannian stared at Ye Yuemei, his expression unreadable. His tone softened slightly as he said, "Mei’Er, Ye Tianling killed Ye Tianhe, Ye Tiance, Ye Yuecun, and Ye Yuennan. He also crippled Ye Tianyun and Ye Tianxing, and even killed Instructor Elder Ye Liyi. He has committed monstrous sins. His feud with the Ye Race is now one that will only end in death."
"Furthermore, Ye Tianling isn’t even a member of the Ye Race. He has no Ye Family blood in him. His father was an orphan we adopted... Calling him a bastard isn’t an exaggeration!"
"Mei’Er, I don’t wish to make things difficult for you. But for the sake of the clan and for my own duty, I must investigate to give our people an explanation. I hope you won’t take it to heart."
Ye Wannian already suspected Ye Tianling was hiding here, but he wasn’t certain.
’If Ye Tianling is here, then what’s the story with him abducting Ye Yueling? Did he capture her and hide her here? What is he planning? Is he using her as a hostage for his escape? But does Ye Yueling even have what it takes to be a hostage?’
’None of it quite adds up.’
It was precisely because of this that Ye Wannian couldn’t just force the issue.
A talent like Ye Yuemei, once she fully developed, would have earth-shaking achievements. Her future was bound to be far more incredible than his own as the mere Clan Leader of a family in a small town.
Geniuses, of course, had to be treated differently.
"Grandfather Clan Leader, I understand," Ye Yuemei explained, "but I have not seen Brother Tianling, let alone hidden him here."
Ye Liyuan sneered, "Normally, you’re the only one shameless enough to suck up to that mutt. If he’s not here with you, then why are you trying to stop us?"
A flash of anger crossed Ye Yuemei’s face. "It’s not that you can’t search," she said. "But my cultivation chamber contains the aura of my personal insights. It is my private domain. If you trespass, and Brother Tianling is here, then I have nothing more to say. But if he isn’t, and you interrupt and ruin a crucial moment in my cultivation, is that a price you old fossils can afford to pay?"
Ye Lixin let out a sinister chuckle. "A crucial moment in your cultivation? Are you trying to goad us? How utterly foolish! How laughable!"
"Search!" Ye Liyuan snarled. "What loss could there possibly be that we can’t compensate you for?! The three of us Elders will take full responsibility!"
Ye Liyu said nothing, but the sinister, ruthless look in his eyes made his stance clear.
"Grandfather Clan Leader, please proceed,"
Ye Yuemei said softly. She turned and walked toward her cultivation chamber.
The chamber door opened, revealing an empty room.
However, inside the chamber, the aura of Sword Intent and Extreme Cold Sword Qi was incredibly distinct.
But as soon as the door was opened, these auras quickly began to dissipate.
"This is—Extreme Cold Sword Qi? Extreme Cold Sword Intent? Y-y-you... you comprehended Sword Qi and Sword Intent?"
Ye Wannian shuddered, his entire body trembling.
His voice was filled with sheer excitement.
"Yes, Grandfather Clan Leader. I was in seclusion, right at a critical moment of comprehension. Unfortunately, your ferocious presence and sinister Evil Qi and killing intent affected me, forcing me to end my seclusion prematurely. And now, your search has disrupted the very Sword Qi and Sword Intent that I had just comprehended and was trying to release and study..."
"Grandfather Clan Leader, since the three Elders wanted to take full responsibility, they can each compensate me with five hundred Small Peiyuan Pills and five hundred Profound Crystal Stones. Although, even that is far from enough to cover my losses!"
Ye Yuemei’s voice was ice-cold, yet utterly defiant.
"PFFT—"
Hearing her demand, Ye Liyuan and the other two Elders trembled, and they couldn’t stop themselves from spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"This is robbery!"
Ye Liyuan cried out in shock and fury.
"Five hundred Small Peiyuan Pills and five hundred Profound Crystal Stones... Forget trading them for Sword Intent, even the chance to comprehend Sword Qi several realms ahead of schedule is enough to make anyone green with envy. You three Elders were so aggressive, destroying my opportunity to comprehend Sword Intent. This compensation? Ten times this amount wouldn’t be enough! So, Elders, will you pay or not? If you don’t, the price will multiply by ten, even a hundred times, and I will come to collect on that debt in the future, piece by piece!"
Ye Yuemei was incredibly forceful, refusing to back down an inch.
In fact, she seemed poised to raise the price even higher!
This made the expressions on the three Elders’ faces turn exceptionally ugly.
It also filled Ye Fenghan’s eyes with the utmost appreciation and admiration!
’This is how a powerful Martial Artist should behave!’
"I said there was no need to search this place, but you wouldn’t listen," Ye Wannian said, suddenly changing his tune. "See? Now all your effort has backfired, hasn’t it? As for the compensation... I’ll cover a fifth of it for you. Just accept the loss. Comprehending Extreme Cold Sword Intent while still in the Sword Beginning Realm... Heh, you three had better think carefully."
At the same time, when he looked at Ye Yuemei, his gaze was so benevolent it could have melted glaciers.
’You said there was no need to search? When did you ever say that? If you hadn’t led the way, would we have dared to come and search the home of Ye Yuemei’s father?’
The Elders around Ye Wannian grumbled inwardly. The expressions on their old faces were quite a sight to behold, but none of them dared to call him out on his lie.
"I... We’ll pay!"
Ye Liyuan’s heart was bleeding. This compensation would completely wipe out his savings; he would have to practically bankrupt himself to pay it.
And that wasn’t even considering that his son, Ye Tianxing, had been crippled and required a vast amount of resources for his own recovery...
The muscles on Ye Liyuan’s old face twitched violently, and for a long moment, he couldn’t stop trembling from the sheer pain of the loss.
"Elders," Ye Yuemei began again, her voice cold and proud, "I have comprehended Sword Intent. With an achievement like this, let me ask you: was my father allowed to smile or not?"
"He can, he can. He can smile."
The expressions on the three men’s faces were, once again, a spectacular sight.
Her question was the final blow; they couldn’t hold it in and once again sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
...
Ye Tianling deactivated the Turtle Breath Technique, and his figure materialized out of the water.
’They dug up my father’s grave? An empty grave? Even if it’s empty, just wait until I’m stronger. I’ll come back and flay you old dogs alive! Damned old bastards!’
Ye Tianling’s expression was sinister as he cursed inwardly.
Then, he hauled the completely unconscious Ye Yueling out of the Cold Pool.
Ye Tianling drew his Fiery Sun Sword and carved a cave into the cliff face, about three meters square and five or six meters deep. He then dragged Ye Yueling inside.
"THUD—"
Ye Tianling threw Ye Yueling onto the ground, and she was jolted awake.
To her horror, she discovered that she was not only completely drained of strength, but also freezing cold!
The water in the Cold Pool was frigid. Ye Tianling, with his Dragon Blood, was unaffected. While he had been carrying her, she hadn’t felt the cold either.
But now, she was shivering uncontrollably.
At the same time, her powerlessness filled her with utter terror.
"Ye Tianling, what... what are you going to do?!"
Ye Yueling was terrified, but she found that she couldn’t even form the words. All that came from her throat was a sound as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
"What am I going to do?" Ye Tianling sneered. "I’m going to take what’s rightfully mine—for example, your still-pure body! Didn’t you claim I had sullied your reputation? Weren’t you the handmaiden my father arranged to serve me?"
Ye Yueling’s body began to tremble. Her eyes, welling with tears, filled with absolute terror. "No... don’t... I... I’m begging you. Please, let me go. I... I was wrong."
