Mental Power!

Seeing injustice and drawing his blade to help was something Li Ye had encountered for the first time. Especially in Wuzhou City—who did not know the strength of the Li Lineage? The title of Wuzhou City's foremost lineage was absolutely not empty boasting!

"Brother, I appreciate your kindness, but you don't seem to be from Wuzhou City. You should leave quickly! Otherwise, you'll bring disaster upon yourself!"

Although the burly man had drawn his blade to help, Li Ye immediately urged him in a low voice. He did not want to drag anyone else into this. He knew very well what the Li Lineage represented on this patch of land in Wuzhou City!

"Want to leave? Too late!"

A cold laugh rang out, followed by the sound of something slicing through the air. Then everyone saw a middle-aged man in his forties descend to the ground, his grim gaze sweeping over Li Ye and the burly man.

When he saw Li Ye, a trace of surprise clearly surfaced deep in his eyes.

"Third Uncle!"

At the sight of the newcomer, Li Yue was overjoyed. At the same time, he bared his teeth in a cold grin at Li Ye.

"This junior, Yuwen Tianhua, pays respects to Third Master Li!"

"This junior, Wu Wenhao, pays respects to Third Master Li!"

Yuwen Tianhua and Wu Wenhao immediately stepped forward. This man was none other than Li Huangran, currently third in rank within the Li Lineage!

"Hmph!" Li Huangran merely snorted arrogantly through his nose at the two of them, his manner indescribably haughty. He looked over the situation and, with a cold face, directly began berating Li Ye!

"Li Ye! As a descendant of the Lineage, what exactly are you doing? You actually joined forces with an outsider to bully your own Lineage brother! Such treason and rebellion—are you planning to betray the Lineage? What a disappointment!"

Those words immediately sent Li Ye's already utterly frozen heart plunging into the abyss. He had long known that these people were birds of a feather, yet he had still held onto a sliver of hope, hoping they might remember old ties and cherish that trace of familial affection.

He had never expected Li Huangran to make trouble for him the moment he appeared, without distinguishing black from white! This could no longer be explained as favoritism. It was plainly deliberate!

Li Ye even suspected that Li Huangran had been watching everything from the sidelines all along, only showing himself now because he had noticed something was wrong and feared that Li Yue, this genius, might come to harm.

And indeed, it was exactly as Li Ye had guessed. Li Huangran had arrived long ago and witnessed part of what had happened. Though shocked that Li Ye, once a good-for-nothing, had turned over a new leaf and cultivated a Blood Soul, he had not been concerned. Only now, when he realized the situation was getting out of control, did he step forward!

"Third Uncle! Li Ye harbors wicked intentions and even joined forces with an outsider in an attempt to assassinate me! I believe we should capture him immediately and bring him back to the Lineage for judgment!"

Li Huangran's appearance gave Li Yue something to lean on, and he immediately spoke from the side.

As for the other people nearby who knew what had happened, none dared to speak. After all, the Li Lineage was not someone just anyone could afford to provoke. Besides, this was their own family matter!

"Li Ye, what else do you have to say? Surrender obediently and come with me to the clan hall for trial!"

Without waiting for Li Ye to object, he directly made his move to capture him!

Li Huangran, the Li Lineage's third son! He was no one Li Yue could compare to. The moment he attacked, the crowd cried out in amazement! Eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm! Even in all of Wuzhou City, he was considered one of the top experts!

Li Ye did not offer a single defense from beginning to end, because he knew it would be useless. Li Huangran was clearly on Li Yue's side, so the instant he moved, Li Ye turned and ran.

What a joke! He could barely handle a few moves from Li Yue at the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm. Li Huangran at the eighth level was simply not someone he could deal with right now!

"Trying to run? Incorrigible!"

Seeing that Li Ye actually intended to flee, a grim light flashed through Li Huangran's eyes. Like a ghost, he appeared directly in front of Li Ye. "Come obediently back to the clan hall with me! Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding the bond between uncle and nephew!"

Li Huangran was from the Li Lineage's second generation and currently ranked third, while Li Ye's father, Li Kainian, was the second son of the Li Lineage. Strictly speaking, Li Huangran truly was Li Ye's biological uncle!

But where did he treat Li Ye as his own nephew now? With a ferocious grin, he grabbed at Li Ye's shoulder.

Yet to his surprise, that grab missed. Li Ye's speed was far beyond his expectations, and Li Ye narrowly dodged the strike by a hair's breadth!

"Oh? You have some skill! No wonder you dared to fight Yue'er! But you're still too green!"

Li Huangran's hand formed a claw. Like an eagle's talon, gusts of force whistled as he clamped down on Li Ye's right shoulder. "Stay!"

This was Li Huangran's famous Eagle Claw Technique. Though it was merely a mid-grade Yellow-tier battle skill, he had practiced it for over thirty years and was already incomparably proficient. In his hands, its power even surpassed that of ordinary high-grade Yellow-tier battle skills!

"Li Huangran!"

But at that very instant, he suddenly saw Li Ye's blood-red eyes. It was as though he had seen a boundless sea of blood, and his mind was instantly sucked into it. Then a stab of pain jolted his consciousness, allowing him to immediately break free from that strange state.

But by then, Li Ye had long since broken free of his control. His figure flickered repeatedly, and he was already over thirty feet away.

"Third Uncle, be careful! This brat knows demonic arts!"

Li Yue hurriedly shouted from the side. He had fallen victim to it earlier. He had never expected even Li Huangran, at the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm, to be affected. Though it had lasted only an instant, such a fleeting instant was often enough to decide many things!

Li Ye himself was somewhat annoyed as well. He had almost instinctively used the Blood Eye Illusion Technique just now, without thinking of anything else. He had not expected it to work. Unfortunately, his current strength was still too low. Otherwise, in that moment when Li Huangran lost focus, he could have severely injured him!

"Heretical devil! It seems you have cultivated an evil art!"

His old face reddened, then turned iron-blue. Li Huangran flew into a rage at last and no longer held back. The powerful aura of the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm erupted directly, making people feel as though they could hardly breathe.

"What a terrifying presence! The eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm is actually so much more frightening than the seventh!"

The people nearby had long since retreated far away, though some skilled and bold individuals remained to see how things would turn out.

Just then, a clear, resonant voice rang out. "Third Master Li, I never expected the dignified Third Master Li to attack a junior. You have truly opened our eyes!"

Then everyone saw the burly man who had stopped Li Yue earlier appear directly before Li Huangran. He laughed loudly. "Then allow this junior to witness Senior's brilliance!"

Without waiting for Li Huangran's reply, he threw a punch! There was no battle skill behind it at all, yet this punch made Li Huangran's expression change slightly. He discovered that this fellow, who knew where he had popped out from, actually possessed strength scarcely inferior to his own!

Boom!

The two exchanged a move and retreated separately. However, the burly man retreated several more steps, clearly slightly weaker in terms of strength. But he had not used a battle skill, while Li Huangran had immersed himself in the Eagle Claw Technique for nearly thirty years.

Adding in the difference in their ages, the burly man's strength immediately became apparent!

"Who are you?! You dare interfere in my Li Lineage's private affairs!"

Li Huangran shouted in a deep voice, his thoughts racing. This man is young, yet his cultivation is almost on par with mine. He looks rash and rough, but his attacks are seasoned. He is definitely not of ordinary origins!

With that assessment, he did not rush to attack again.

"My name is Xiao Qing, and I love meddling in other people's business. Especially when I see shameless old fossils like you, my anger rises from nowhere! If you have the skill, don't interfere—let the juniors settle their own disputes! What kind of nonsense is it for an old fellow like you to step in? Don't glare at me! Your Li Lineage may lord it over Wuzhou City, but this is only some backwater wasteland. I don't think much of it!"

Even Li Ye did not know whether to laugh or cry at that tone. This man was helping him, but his mouth fired indiscriminately in every direction. Not only had he dragged the Li Lineage into it, but he seemed to have looked down on everyone in Wuzhou City as well.

Sure enough, this immediately drew furious glares from quite a few people nearby.

"You insolent brat!"

As expected, Li Huangran roared in fury. The burly man calling himself Xiao Qing was not afraid in the slightest, and the two began fighting again.

Meanwhile, Li Ye set his sights on Li Yue, the cousin who had repeatedly insulted both him and his father, Li Kainian!

"It seems that old fool Li Huangran can't spare attention for you for the moment!"

"Li Ye! Hmph! Third Uncle doesn't need to make a move. I can easily deal with you myself! Don't forget, if that outsider hadn't interfered earlier, you would already be dead by my hand!"

That was not entirely false. Li Ye truly was not Li Yue's match right now. But Li Ye realized that he had overlooked one of his two greatest talents as a vampire: bloodline illusion arts!

Combined with the illusion-enhancing effects of the Dream Heart Scripture left behind by Li Kainian, even an eighth-level Spirit Martial Realm expert like Li Huangran had been caught by it. Someone like Li Yue, at the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm and weaker by far more than a notch, could not possibly resist it!

"Mysterious Yin Palm!"

Li Yue slashed out with a palm, his hand seeming to be coated in a thick layer of frost. With vicious intent, he attacked Li Ye's left arm directly, clearly intending to take advantage of the injury Li Ye's left arm had suffered earlier.

But he did not know that Li Ye's physique had long since become extraordinary. Vampires were known as the immortal aristocrats of the night! Though they were not truly undying, such injuries had already healed in a short time!

"Blood Eye Illusion Technique! First level of the Dream Heart Scripture—Dream Creation!"

Li Ye was absolutely no match for him head-on, but his greatest ability now showed itself.

His eyes instantly became like a sea of blood, and powerful spiritual force invaded Li Yue through his eyes, then surged toward the soul within his sea of consciousness.

The so-called Blood Eye Illusion Technique and Dream Heart Scripture were both methods for cultivating and using spiritual power. Everyone possessed spiritual power, but ordinary people could barely sense it, and what little they had was pitifully scarce. Yet some exceptionally gifted people possessed several or even dozens of times as much as ordinary people, while vampires were the cream of the crop among them. Li Ye had never calculated it, but he felt that his spiritual power definitely surpassed that of ordinary people by hundreds of times!

That was why even Li Huangran, at the eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm, had fallen victim to it!

Of course, the higher a martial cultivator's realm, the more their spiritual power would increase accordingly. Unfortunately, they simply did not know how to use it!