Dangerous Undercurrents

Ye Lingyun's standing in the Ye Family had soared after he won the martial tournament. Yet behind that dazzling achievement, a dangerous undercurrent stirred. The petty schemes of the family's conservative faction were like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, quietly baring their fangs at him.

Outwardly, Ye Lingyun remained composed and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation, but in secret, he kept his guard up. He knew that in the Ye Family, where strength reigned supreme, the only way to resolve his troubles once and for all was to become stronger. Every day, he immersed himself in cultivation in his cave abode, studying the advanced manuals he had selected from the treasury. He tried to incorporate the spiritual power transformation methods of the Nine-Turn Spirit Illusion Art into the Star-Splitting Void Sword Technique, striving to bring his swordsmanship to a realm of transcendent mastery. At the same time, he used the Martial Soul Body Tempering Art to strengthen the connection between his martial soul and his body, allowing him to unleash greater power whenever he used a martial technique.

However, Ye Lingyun's silence did not make the conservative faction relent. Instead, they grew more brazen. They bribed the steward responsible for tracking the Ye Family's cultivation resource consumption and falsified Ye Lingyun's records, exaggerating his ordinary consumption into wastefulness. They then used this as a pretext to further reduce the resources he was entitled to. Moreover, they deliberately assigned him difficult, time-consuming family duties, hoping to scatter his attention and obstruct his cultivation.

One day, the family sent Ye Lingyun to settle a mining dispute at a spirit mine operated in partnership with the Ye Family. This should have been handled by the elder in charge of business affairs, yet it had inexplicably fallen into Ye Lingyun's lap. The mine lay on the fringes of the Ye Family's territory, a long journey away, and the bitter conflict between the two sides made the dispute extremely difficult to resolve. Ye Lingyun understood that this was the conservative faction's scheme, but he did not refuse. He knew that open resistance would only intensify the conflict and bring him more trouble.

Ye Lingyun set out for the spirit mine. Rather than resent these attempts to make life difficult for him, he used the journey to continue studying the Star Essence Record in his carriage, seeking to comprehend how to fuse the power of the stars with his own martial soul. After several days on the road, he finally reached the mine.

The atmosphere at the spirit mine was tense. The two sides faced each other with swords drawn and bows bent, ready to erupt into conflict at any moment. After carefully investigating, Ye Lingyun learned that the party responsible for extraction had unilaterally increased the share of ore demanded from its partner, provoking the partner's dissatisfaction. He did not immediately reveal his identity. Instead, he quietly observed both sides' attitudes and limits from the position of a bystander.

After some thought, Ye Lingyun settled on a plan. He approached the leaders of both sides, first listening to their demands with a mild demeanor, then proposing a compromise based on the long-term interests of the Ye Family and its partner: the share taken would be reduced somewhat while ensuring that the Ye Family still earned a reasonable profit, but the partner would have to expand the scale of mining operations and improve extraction efficiency. Ye Lingyun also promised that the Ye Family would provide some technical and manpower support.

The proposal protected the partner's interests while securing the Ye Family's long-term returns. Both sides found it reasonable and ultimately reached a settlement. News of Ye Lingyun's success in resolving the mining dispute reached the Ye Family, making many family members see his abilities in a new light. Even some neutral members who had previously doubted him began to acknowledge his talent.

The conservative faction, however, refused to accept defeat. They realized that merely obstructing Ye Lingyun through resources and duties could not truly stop his rise. Thus, they decided on a more ruthless measure-smearing his name so that he would lose the support of the Ye Family.

They spread rumors everywhere, claiming that Ye Lingyun had accepted bribes from the partner while resolving the mining dispute and had therefore made decisions detrimental to the Ye Family. These rumors swept through the family like a plague. For a time, unease gripped the entire household, and many members who did not know the truth began pointing fingers at Ye Lingyun.

When Ye Lingyun returned to the Ye Family and heard these rumors, fury surged within him. But he knew that acting rashly now would only worsen the situation. He decided to shatter the rumors with facts. He sought out the Ye Family's old patriarch and presented a detailed account of how he had resolved the dispute, along with each piece of supporting evidence, including the new agreement signed by both parties and the partner's letter of thanks to the Ye Family.

After carefully examining the documents Ye Lingyun submitted, the old patriarch's expression turned grim. Enraged that such malicious slander had arisen within the family, he immediately ordered a thorough investigation into the source of the rumors. Under his pressure, the conservative faction's scheme gradually surfaced. The family members involved in spreading the rumors received severe punishment, while the conservative elder who had led them was stripped of some of his authority as a disciplinary measure.

After this incident, Ye Lingyun's reputation in the Ye Family was not damaged but became even more firmly established. Many family members had seen his ability and loyalty to the family, and admiration for him arose naturally in their hearts. Yet Ye Lingyun understood that he had only temporarily repelled the conservative faction's attack. They would never let the matter rest, and fiercer clashes were certain to come.

Ye Lingyun did not shrink back. Instead, his resolve to strengthen himself became even firmer. He returned to his cave abode and resumed secluded cultivation. This time, he focused on the Spiritual Power Concealment Technique and Advanced Spirit Array Fundamentals. He knew that mastering the Spiritual Power Concealment Technique would allow him to hide his strength at crucial moments and catch an enemy off guard with a fatal strike, while studying spirit arrays would enable him to deploy various arrays in battle and enhance his combat power.

Ye Lingyun encountered considerable difficulties while practicing the Spiritual Power Concealment Technique. This secret art required extraordinarily precise control over spiritual power; the slightest lapse would allow its fluctuations to leak out. He studied day and night, repeatedly adjusting the flow and intensity of his spiritual power. After countless failures, he finally discovered the key. When he successfully concealed his spiritual power fluctuations and appeared no different from an ordinary person, his heart filled with joy.

While studying spirit array fundamentals, Ye Lingyun became so absorbed that he forgot to eat and sleep. Beginning with the most basic principles, he studied the layouts of various arrays, the drawing of runes, and the methods of channeling spiritual power into them. Within his cave abode, he repeatedly attempted to set up small spirit arrays, ranging from simple spirit-gathering arrays to offensive heavenly lightning arrays. Each successful formation deepened his understanding of spirit arrays another step.

As Ye Lingyun's strength continued to grow and his grasp of spirit arrays steadily improved, he stood on increasingly firm ground within the Ye Family. He knew that the conservative faction would certainly make another move, but he was fully prepared to face the challenges to come...