"Close the gates and see them out." Ye Wudi knew there was no way to salvage the situation now. The grudge between them had been forged, so all he could do was meet soldiers with generals and stop water with earth.
"Big Brother, you'll have to take responsibility for what happened today. Which of everyone here doesn't know that? Although the City Lord is sworn brothers with you, there are only eternal interests in this world, never eternal friends. What's more, the other side has climbed onto the Azure Cloud Sword Sect's towering tree. Just wait and bear their wrath."
As Elder Ye Wushuang of the Enforcement Hall, he had always been unable to find a suitable opportunity to impeach his opponent. Today, he had finally found one. All he needed to do was fan the flames and stir everyone's emotions, and the matter would already be half-successful.
"That's right, Sect Master. What you've done was far too thoughtless. Haven't you considered the sect? You're actually letting this brat run wild."
"It seems our proposal was absolutely correct. Ye Fan is the best candidate for the position of new Young Sect Master. But there's no need to rush. Everything will be clear after a month."
After provoking them and making his preparations, Ye Wushuang had already stirred everyone's emotions, leaving only Ye Yang and his father standing there awkwardly.
"Why do you all assume I won't be able to win after a month? If anyone refuses to believe it, they can try me right now."
Ye Yang knew this all too clearly. He also understood that the only way to deal with these people was to beat a drowning dog without giving them any chance to catch their breath. Just look at them—they were nothing but grass swaying with the wind.
His voice rang like a great bell, his bearing extraordinary. Riding on the lingering might of his presence, he looked down upon the entire scene. Not one disciple of the younger generation dared to step forward and test him, completely confirming his guess.
"Senior Brother, don't be so arrogant. Let me meet you."
At that moment, Ye Fan finally could not hold back any longer and wanted to fight personally.
"Fan'er, enough. Don't fall for it. We have plenty of time ahead of us. Why bother fighting him over this momentary gain or loss? Someone will come and deal with him."
"Father, what do you mean? Are you saying we're afraid of him? We aren't afraid of him at all. We must knock him down."
"Don't you understand yet? We already possess the advantages of timing, terrain, and unity. They're merely holding onto this position for the time being. Once you take first place in the Sect Tournament a month from now, the entire sect will belong to the two of us, father and son."
Ye Fan had just begun to stir, but Ye Wushuang immediately called out to him. After patiently explaining things to him in secret, Ye Fan finally understood and stopped acting rashly.
"What happened? Lost your nerve? Weren't you acting incredibly arrogant just now? As expected, you're a coward." Ye Yang knew very well that his current state was the result of the father and son plotting behind the scenes. It was only that he had never found the evidence.
"Senior Brother, there's always a long road ahead. I won't argue with you today. Just wait until someone comes to take revenge on you."
"That's right, Big Brother. You don't even restrain your child and let him run wild. When the Azure Cloud Sword Sect sends someone here to demand him, we won't have the advantage of reason."
Everyone began echoing one another, directly isolating the two of them. It was easy to imagine that after years of painstakingly building his influence, Elder Ye Wushuang of the Enforcement Hall had nearly hollowed out the entire sect and turned it into their private enterprise.
"Big Brother, that's enough for today. I hope you'll know how to conduct yourselves." As he left, he cast a deep look at Ye Yang and his father, then led everyone away.
A quarter of an hour later.
Only after everyone had left did Ye Yang finally let out a long breath.
The pressure just now had been immense. He had had no choice but to make such a decision. After all, he had to appear overwhelmingly forceful to make them hesitate and fear the consequences. Otherwise, things would have become troublesome.
Although he had reopened the eight meridians and could cultivate again, he still needed time. A month was not much, but it should just barely be enough for him to completely crush the prodigies of the younger generation and become a new legend.
"Yang'er, why did you do that? By doing this, we've completely offended the City Lord's side. With the forces behind them as well, this will be troublesome." Ye Wudi did not take these matters to heart. He only felt sorry for his child.
Saying he was not worried would obviously have been a lie. Qin Hao was the number one on the Prodigy Ranking, and everyone knew what kind of person the Young Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect was.
Flirting with women and stirring up trouble were merely his standard fare. Fighting and causing trouble were his normal state. Someone must be behind all this, secretly egging him on!
"Yang'er, hurry and let me take a look at you." A woman came over and carefully examined him from head to toe, her eyes filled with concern.
"Father, Mother, don't worry. Your son knows what he's doing. Aren't they worried that someone will come knocking? Then I'll accept it with a single word. But before that, I need to enter seclusion for seven days. Don't let anyone disturb me."
Ye Yang cultivated the Primordial Chaos Creation Art. With the support of the Primordial Chaos Pagoda in his dantian and the awakening of his Supreme Body, his foundation was solid, and breaking through realms presented no bottleneck at all.
What he needed now was cultivation technique and vast amounts of resources. As long as he had those things, breaking through would be a matter of minutes.
But he needed to lay a firm foundation. It was like constructing a towering building: only with a solid foundation could one build a skyscraper.
"All right, no problem at all. Leave this matter to me. I'll personally protect you in seclusion. No one will be able to approach you during these seven days. Oh, and this is something I've treasured for many years. Take it. If you're still lacking anything, just ask." As Sect Master, Ye Wudi rarely revealed such a concerned expression.
Looking at the youth before him was like looking at his former self. Back then, he had swept through all of Central State undefeated with a sword in hand, winning one hundred and eight battles in a row and earning the name Ye Wudi.
"Yang'er, I have something for you too. Take it. If you need anything, just ask."
When a family stood united, their sharpness could cut through metal. At this moment, Ye Yang only wanted to find a chance to enter seclusion and raise his cultivation as much as possible, preparing for the crisis to come.
"Father, Mother, rest assured. I'll begin my seclusion now. Don't let anyone come and disturb me."
"Yang'er, don't worry. We believe in you. The moment you emerge will be the moment you amaze the world with a single brilliant feat." Ye Wudi immediately led him to a hidden place and pressed one of the mechanisms inside. With a click, a concealed secret chamber appeared before them.
"All right. This is the secret chamber I specially prepared for breaking through to the Martial Emperor realm. Use it without fear. No one below the Martial Emperor realm can damage it, so you don't need to worry about your safety."
Ye Wudi understood that seven days was neither long nor short. Perhaps before the seven days were even over, someone would come knocking to cause him trouble.
"Don't worry. When soldiers come, I'll meet them with generals; when water comes, I'll stop it with earth. Believe in me as you believe in yourselves." After embracing the two of them, Ye Yang turned around with a firm expression, pressed the button, and began his seven-day seclusion.
"Click!"
When the ten-thousand-kilogram boulder dropped, the entire secret chamber was completely sealed and fell into silence. It would not open again unless the person inside broke through and emerged.
"Yang'er, the future belongs to you. Keep going." Ye Wudi and the woman did not say anything else. They found a place to enter secluded meditation and became his personal guardians.
"What? That brat is actually going into seclusion for seven days? Are you sure you heard correctly?"
"Would I lie about this? I heard it with my own ears. I was nearby at the time."
"Oh, it seems this news is fairly credible. Don't be nervous. We don't even know whether he'll make it through seven days before someone comes to trouble him."
To maintain control over the entire sect, he had already taken control of everything in secret. He had even planted his own informants beside his elder brother, the Sect Master.
Sure enough, their feet had barely entered the secret chamber before the news reached Ye Wushuang's ears.
"All right. Continue your work as hidden sentries. Take this—it's for you."
As the saying went, a generous reward would bring forth brave men. Ye Wushuang naturally understood this principle. He spent lavishly and without hesitation. Through this method, beneath his sugar-coated bullets, he had already poached nearly half of the Ten Great Elders.
"Big Brother, I've said everything I needed to say. I just don't know whether you can create a miracle within a month. That remains uncertain."
Ye Wushuang raised his head and looked at the full moon in the night sky, wondering what was on his mind. He knew that once this road began, it could no longer be stopped.
"Primordial chaos creates all things; immortal and indestructible; devour all things and turn them to one's use."
Inside the secret chamber, a youth was cultivating in seclusion. The Primordial Chaos Creation Art began circulating on its own, and his entire body became like a bottomless black hole. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth was drawn toward him in a violently surging torrent.
Vast quantities of resources were invisibly drawn in and transformed into streams of pure spiritual energy. They entered his dantian, were absorbed by the Primordial Chaos Pagoda, and then returned to nourish him.
On the first day...
"Martial Disciple, first level!"
"Martial Disciple, second level!"
"Martial Disciple, third level..." Only when the resources in one of the spatial rings before him had been completely exhausted, and his cultivation had reached the peak of the ninth level of Martial Disciple, did he finally stop.
"Again."
Everything proceeded as before. By the seventh day, his entire body was like a hidden dragon in the abyss, unfathomable.
"Sect Master, this is bad! Someone has sent a Challenge Letter!" Just as the seven days came to an end, someone arrived at precisely the right moment with a Challenge Letter!
"He's finally here. It seems some people couldn't wait any longer." Ye Yang suddenly opened his eyes, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
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