A Crime Concocted from Nothing

Vampire's eyes were vastly different from those of ordinary people.

Li Ye had known that long ago, but before this, he had only known that his pair of Blood Eyes possessed a hypnotic effect, able to trap people in Illusion Realms they could not break free from.

But now, he discovered they had gained another ability.

"Read? Copy Combat Techniques?"

This discovery delighted him beyond measure! He had never expected that simply observing Li Yuan's execution of Frost Fist would trigger this ability. At that moment, Li Yuan appeared to move in slow motion in his eyes. At the same time, he could clearly sense the circulation of power throughout Li Yuan's body, laid out before him like a three-dimensional anatomical diagram.

"So that's how it is!"

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Li Ye immediately followed the flow of power within Li Yuan's body, drawing a gourd by the pattern of another gourd.

"Frost Fist!"

Almost at the same moment, both men shouted low.

The next instant, everyone was stunned, because they saw Li Ye actually unleash Frost Fist as well, throwing out a punch!

Bang! The two struck each other almost simultaneously. Their bodies flew in opposite directions, but Li Yuan was clearly worse off. He was sent flying more than ten meters before he managed to steady himself. Li Ye, in contrast, merely staggered back three or four steps.

Everyone saw that both men were covered in a layer of frost. Even their brows were blanketed with white ice crystals, and the heat they exhaled froze instantly. It was clear just how terrifying the icy chill within those fists was.

"How could you possibly know Frost Fist?!"

Li Yuan cried out in disbelief. Frost Fist was one of the more difficult Yellow Tier High-Grade Combat Techniques in the Li Family's Martial Arts Pavilion. One needed at least Spirit Martial Tier Six cultivation even to qualify to learn it! To truly unleash Frost Fist's power, one had to at least enter the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm!

The only reason Li Yuan knew this move was because his elder brother, Li Xuan, was an expert in Frost Fist and had taught it to him in private.

At that moment, several elders in the stands involuntarily rose to their feet.

The smile on Li Xuan's face vanished as well, his gaze turning dark and sinister.

"What audacity!"

A furious roar rang out!

Everyone felt an enormous pressure descend upon them. It turned out that Li Huangran had flown into a rage in the stands, slamming the table as he rose!

"Li Ye! When did you sneak into the Lineage's Martial Arts Pavilion and steal a Combat Technique?!"

Without waiting for Li Ye's answer, he immediately shouted, "Men, seize him!"

This turn of events caught everyone by surprise. Although some felt that something was amiss, none dared speak out. The one ordering the arrest was the Lineage's Third Elder, a man of high status and great authority. Who would step forward for an orphan with neither father nor mother?

Li Ye also knew that his earlier action had been somewhat ill-advised. But his Blood Eyes had awakened a new ability, and he could not resist testing it.

The result was exactly as he had expected. His Blood Eyes could not only kill without a trace through illusions, but could even analyze and copy other people's Combat Techniques.

The frost on his body had already dispersed, but several enforcement elders approached him with hostile expressions.

"Wait!"

Before they could seize him, Li Ye shouted first. Fearlessly raising his head toward the stands, he said, "The Third Elder claims that I stole a Combat Technique from the Martial Arts Pavilion. Do you have evidence?"

Evidence!

Everyone was slightly stunned.

The Martial Arts Pavilion was one of the Li Family's most important places. Ordinarily, no one but elders could enter it.

It held nearly all the collections the Li Family had accumulated over the years. It was a forbidden ground!

If someone truly sneaked in and stole a Combat Technique, it was a grave crime. Let alone Li Ye, who was unwelcome in the Lineage, even the son of an ordinary elder could have his cultivation crippled at best, or be executed outright at worst!

"Evidence? Was the technique you used just now the Yellow Tier High-Grade Combat Technique, Frost Fist?!"

"It was!" Li Ye did not deny it. Or rather, there was no need to!

"Then men! Seize him!"

Li Huangran bellowed, and two enforcement elders immediately moved.

The minimum requirement for becoming an enforcement elder was cultivation at the seventh level of the Spirit Martial Realm. With the two of them attacking together, even Inner Disciples might not be able to withstand them.

Yet Li Ye merely shifted his body and slipped straight between the two men, passing right beneath their noses.

"What audacity! Li Ye, are you trying to betray the Lineage?!"

Seeing that Li Ye had actually escaped capture, Li Huangran felt a profound threat. Then, he promptly slapped an enormous accusation onto him.

Betray the Lineage?

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath. Once that charge was confirmed, there would truly be no redemption! Unless Li Ye left Wuzhou City, there would be no place for him anywhere in the entire city!

"Why does the Third Elder say that? I, Li Ye, have never done anything to wrong the Lineage!"

Li Ye was furious as well. Li Huangran was clearly trying to put him to death. Moreover, only several elders with real authority had come to the Lineage today; most had not arrived. As the Third Elder, Li Huangran wielded enormous power, and his words carried more than enough influence.

"You sneaked into the Martial Arts Pavilion to steal the Lineage's Combat Techniques! You resisted arrest and fought against the enforcement elders! If that is not betrayal of the Lineage, what is? Men! Seize this traitor to the Lineage!"

Cutting through tangled hemp with a swift blade, Li Huangran clearly intended to use this chance to put Li Ye to death.

Quite a few people saw through this. Some were puzzled as to why the dignified Third Elder would make things difficult for a junior disciple. Others understood perfectly. Those who knew Li Ye's true identity naturally knew why Li Huangran was doing this.

"What a pity. Although Li Ye's name had spread throughout Wuzhou City as that of a worthless wretch several years ago, a tiger father could not sire a dog son. Now he has returned in force and proved himself. But the Lineage is no longer what it once was. The Third Elder's faction will never allow that man's son to rise within the Lineage!"

After failing once, the two enforcement elders immediately put away their contempt. Joining hands, they could give even an eighth-level Spirit Martial Realm expert a headache. Capturing a junior at the peak Spirit Martial Tier Four would not take more than a few moves.

"What should I do? Do I have to expose the illusion power of my Blood Eyes?"

Facing these two enforcement elders, Li Ye was not particularly afraid. Although the gap in cultivation was rather large, his Blood Eyes combined with the first layer of the Dream Heart Sutra were enough to draw them into an Illusion Realm woven by him. At that point, he could defeat them with ease.

"Li Ye, oh Li Ye! I have to admit that everyone underestimated you before. You truly are that man's son; all these years, you deceived us all. Unfortunately, you have the same temperament as your father. You can never keep your cool! The moment you fight back, the charge of betraying the Lineage will be confirmed! By then, even if someone wanted to protect you, they would have no grounds to do so!"

At that moment, Li Huangran dearly hoped that Li Ye would resist, because that would be tantamount to confirming that he had a guilty conscience.

Perhaps Li Ye had thought of this as well. After hesitating again and again, he suddenly gave up resisting.

The two enforcement elders immediately seized him from either side, twisting his arms and forcing him to the ground.

Li Ye clearly saw a flash of disappointment pass through the depths of Li Huangran's eyes when he saw that Li Ye had been captured. Li Ye silently rejoiced that he had not acted impulsively! Otherwise, he would truly have fallen into the other man's trap.

"Take him away. We will pass judgment after the Council of Elders!"

Li Huangran waved his hand, about to have Li Ye taken away, when someone suddenly spoke up and interrupted.

"Hold it!"

Everyone looked over and saw a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties step out from the crowd. His tiger-like eyes swept over the two enforcement elders, making their entire bodies tremble as if struck by lightning.

"Fourth Elder!"

The two immediately lowered their heads and called out respectfully. The man who had stepped forward was the Fourth Elder, Li Hou Nian, who had been away from the Li Family for many years. Li Huangran did not seem surprised to see him. Instead, he revealed a cordial smile and said, "Isn't this Fourth Brother? You're back?"

Li Hou Nian ignored him, merely glancing at the two enforcement elders before giving a faint snort. "Release him!"

The two enforcement elders were caught in a difficult position. They looked at Li Hou Nian, then at Li Huangran. Though they were elders as well, enforcement elders and elders of the Lineage's Elders' Council were vastly different in status.

"Fourth Brother, what are you doing?"

"Third Brother, let us speak plainly. I could ignore things when I was away, but now I'm back! Don't take some matters too far!"

Li Huangran's expression darkened as well. No one knew what he was thinking, but he said, "Fourth Brother, that is not right. I am doing this for the Lineage's sake."

"Bullshit! I saw everything that happened just now. If Third Brother insists that this boy sneaked into the Martial Arts Pavilion and stole a Combat Technique, then everyone under heaven must be blind! Even if everyone under heaven is blind, I, Li Hou Nian, am not!"

Li Ye's entire body trembled as he looked at the man standing before him, doing everything he could to defend him. His memories of this man were vague. After all, Li Hou Nian had left the Li Family to travel years ago. But Li Ye knew clearly that if there was anyone in the Lineage who would defend him without sparing any effort, it could only be this man before him!

"Fourth Uncle!"

He saw the man's body tremble slightly, but Li Hou Nian did not turn back to look at him. Still, Li Ye heard an extremely soft voice. "Good lad. Don't worry. As long as I'm here, these bastards can't touch you!"

Just as expected! Although Li Hou Nian had left the Lineage when Li Ye was still very young, he had not forgotten his nephew! After all, Li Hou Nian and Li Kainian were blood brothers born of the same mother!

"Third Elder." At that moment, another voice rang out. Everyone looked over and could not help but be moved. The speaker was not a member of the Li Family, but an unfamiliar face.

Yet when he spoke, even Li Huangran did not dare take him lightly. He immediately put on a smiling face. "Nephew Xiao, sorry you had to witness this farce."

Xiao Qing! Li Ye saw him secretly wink at him, then heard him say to Li Huangran, "Third Elder, I don't think this youth named Li Ye is as bad as you claim."

Xiao Qing's words immediately left Li Huangran stunned, and even Li Hou Nian looked over in considerable surprise. Other than Li Ye, no one knew why this young man, who was not from the Li Family yet could sit alongside the Li Family elders, would speak in favor of Li Ye, a stranger.