Young Master Xiao (Part 1)

Ning Ye's grand plan was, naturally, to overthrow the Black and White Divine Palace and revitalize the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.

However, this plan was far too vast—so vast that with his individual strength, he might not achieve it in a lifetime.

Fortunately, a great plan can usually be broken down into countless smaller ones. For Ning Ye, all he had to do was decompose this grand plan and execute it one by one.

As the saying goes, though the road be long, one will reach the destination if they keep walking; though the task be difficult, it will be accomplished if one keeps working.

And this first step of the plan was to find the Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment.

Ning Ye had known since his time at the Heavenly Mechanism Sect that the Black and White Divine Palace possessed a Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment, but he did not know where it was kept.

The Black and White Divine Palace had dozens of storehouses categorized by level and jurisdiction; even the Kunlun Mirror could not determine the exact number. But one thing was certain: for a divine object like the Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment, even if it had no practical value, the Black and White Divine Palace would not store it carelessly.

Given Ning Ye's current strength, finding the whereabouts of the Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment was nearly impossible.

He could, of course, wait until he was stronger, but the plan was vast. If he had to wait decades just for the first step, what would happen to everything that followed?

To overthrow the Black and White Divine Palace, Ning Ye had formulated a hundred-year plan, and he had given himself two years to find the Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment.

Because of this, he could not wait.

Stealing from the storehouse to stir the hornet's nest was the first step of this branch plan.

After that, Ning Ye did not take further action, instead continuing to cultivate in peace.

Because the stolen items from the storehouse had been recovered, the commotion surrounding the storehouse passed quickly. It was only the interrogated disciples who suffered, each of them enduring a good round of torture before being released.

During this time, Ning Ye diligently practiced talisman-making and blade techniques. Compared to his steadily improving Blade Dao, his "progress" in the Talisman Dao was significantly faster.

An average talisman master needed at least half a year to get started, but Ning Ye did not hide his "genius," officially rolling out his Ninth-Grade Talisman in just two months.

However, the Ninth-Grade Talisman did not stun the market; instead, it gave Zhang Liekuang quite a shock—it seemed this kid's talent for the Talisman Dao was even better than his Blade Dao.

This left Zhang Liekuang feeling rather conflicted, unsure whether he should be happy or angry.

Today, as usual, after Ning Ye finished crafting a batch of Ninth-Grade Talismans, he took them to Heavenly Collection Peak to sell.

Having come and gone many times, Ning Ye had established a long-term cooperative relationship with a shop on the peak. He could just toss the finished talismans to the shop; although it was cheaper, it saved him time.

Just as the transaction was completed and Ning Ye was about to leave, he saw someone walking in.

Chen Changfeng?

Ever since he was injured by Ning Ye last time, the kid had spent a long time recovering. Now that he was presumably fully healed, he still wore that pretentious look, and he even had two lackeys behind him—likely bodyguards he had found after being taught a lesson last time.

Chen Changfeng clearly hadn't expected to run into Ning Ye here. His expression froze for a moment before turning vicious: "Ning Ye? You still dare to appear in front of me?"

That was a completely unreasonable thing to say. Wasn't it clearly you who lost the last fight?

Ning Ye looked at him, then at the arrogant expressions of the lackeys behind him, and suddenly realized something. He smiled: "You didn't tell them that in our last fight, you were only superficially injured, while I was struck by your hidden force and suffered worse injuries, did you?"

Chen Changfeng froze, not expecting his tall tales to the lackeys to be guessed by him.

He wasn't foolish enough to ask how he knew, but from his expression, Ning Ye knew he had guessed correctly. He sized him up and said: "Still at the second level?"

Chen Changfeng stalled again.

He had spent a long time recovering after being defeated by Ning Ye, so his cultivation progress had naturally stagnated. He was still at the second level without any advancement.

Ning Ye smiled: "I'm at the second level now, too."

Damn it!

Chen Changfeng was so angry he wanted to curse.

Ning Ye had already pushed past him: "Move, move."

He headed outside.

Bastard! You're courting death!

Chen Changfeng drew his sword abruptly and thrust it toward Ning Ye's back.

This time he had learned his lesson; he didn't aim for vital points but instead targeted the spine on Ning Ye's back. The sword move was sinister, silent, and soundless, like a viper spitting its tongue. This strike wouldn't kill him, but if he didn't dodge, he would be severely wounded.

But just as he thrust the sword, a talisman appeared on Ning Ye's body. The talisman glowed with a luster like flowing water. As the sword thrust out, it was actually deflected by the water flow, grazing past Ning Ye's armpit.

At the same time, Ning Ye retreated rapidly.

He had been facing away from Chen Changfeng, and this retreat caused him to collide right into Chen Changfeng's chest. He then jerked his head back, slamming it into Chen Changfeng's nose. That sour, stinging sensation made Chen Changfeng feel miserable all over.

The two lackeys were shocked and attacked. Seven or eight talismans appeared in Ning Ye's hand, flying out with a boom and transforming into sharp blades. Thwip, thwip, thwip, they struck the two men, sending them flying. However, Ning Ye's back was also poked by a sword-finger from Chen Changfeng.

A drop of blood welled up in Ning Ye's mouth. He struck backward with both elbows, his elbows acting like blades, hitting Chen Changfeng so hard he let out a pained cry as two bloody holes appeared under his ribs.

The No-Sorrow Lineage specialized in sinister strikes—severing tendons, cracking bones, ruining blood, and devouring souls—better suited for long battles than head-on assaults. The Seven-Kill Lineage, on the other hand, emphasized momentum; once the blade was drawn, there was no turning back, killing with every step. Because of this, when disciples of the two lineages fought, if their strength was similar, the Seven-Kill Lineage would inevitably have the upper hand in the early stages.

In a head-on collision, Chen Changfeng couldn't take it and let out a frantic cry.

But this kid had a trump card; the next moment, he drew his long sword.

It was the magical artifact he had brought from home, the Silver Moon Sword. He thrust it toward Ning Ye, while the two lackeys also attacked again, pinning Ning Ye in a pincer movement from front and back.

Ning Ye didn't have a magical artifact yet. With talismans but no weapon, and facing three opponents, he would certainly lose if he dragged it out, unless he used the methods of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.

Just as he was considering whether to pull out his hidden Eighth-Grade Talisman and smear it all over his opponents' faces, a strange sound of a flute suddenly drifted over.

The sound of the flute was pleasant, winding and melodious like the ringing of bells in an empty valley, refreshing the heart and soul, and leaving one feeling relaxed and happy upon hearing it.

Ning Ye, Chen Changfeng, and the two lackeys all slowed their movements simultaneously, their surging fighting spirit even dampened by the sound.

Mystic Sound Art?

Ning Ye was startled.

Mystic Sound Art was a category specifically referring to those who used music to combat enemies. It had many classifications: the Way of the Wondrous Wind Immortal Sound, which was mostly auxiliary; the Thunder Sound Brain-Piercing Method, which could injure groups of enemies; and the Heavenly Demon Melody, a decadent sound that bewitched the mind and was the most difficult to resist.

However, because musical rhythms were inherently softer and lacked the ferocity of martial arts, they were mostly considered late-stage divine abilities.

For the newcomer to be able to calm blood and qi and soothe the mind with such a gentle melody, it meant their cultivation level was definitely far above theirs.

Looking back, they saw a man in fluttering white robes walking in, holding a jade flute.

Chen Changfeng could be considered handsome, but compared to the person before them, he was immediately left in the dust; using descriptors like "sword-like brows and star-like eyes" would be a perfect fit for this man.

What was most rare was his temperament—refined, elegant, and courteous.

Arriving beside the group, he smiled and said, "You are all disciples of the same sect, why fight amongst yourselves? Not only does it violate sect rules, but if someone were truly injured, it would be even less pleasant."

Chen Changfeng's side believed they held the advantage, and one lackey, seeing his attitude, was dissatisfied: "Who the hell are you?"

The handsome man smiled. "I am Xu Yanwen."

He spoke with an expression of clear confidence, evidently not someone unknown.

Chen Changfeng felt the name sounded familiar and was trying to recall where he had heard it, but the lackey was an idiot and shook his head, saying, "Some bullshit Xu Yanwen, never heard of him."

Xu Yanwen was slightly stunned. "You don't know me?"

"Don't know you, so what?" the lackey replied, sticking his neck out.

Xu Yanwen sighed softly. "That's not good..."

The next moment, his expression changed drastically, his handsome face suddenly turning ferocious: "Screw your grandmother!"

Boom!

The jade flute had already smashed heavily onto the lackey's head.

Down he went!