Ye Tang

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From Flowing Cloud Sect to Maple Leaf City, where the Ye Family was located, was twelve thousand li. Even on a thousand-li horse, it would take twelve days to arrive. With any delays along the way, half a month would be just enough.

However, this world differed from Ye Chen's original world. Thousand-li horses were nothing at all. The fastest horse in the Heavenly Wind Kingdom was the Half-Demonic Horse, the Ghost-Eyed Jade Lion. It possessed Demonic Beast bloodline and could travel three thousand three hundred li a day. Originating from the Devil's Great Grassland in the eastern Heavenly Wind Kingdom, it was exceedingly difficult to capture and tame. Even an ordinary one could sell for a hundred thousand taels of gold, while scarce ones could fetch two hundred thousand.

Though martial artists were quite capable of making money, very few could truly afford a Ghost-Eyed Jade Lion. The reason was that martial artists spent money like water. Take Ye Chen, for instance—he could earn ten or twenty thousand taels of silver in four or five days, yet after buying Pills, there would be little left. The higher the grade of the Pills, the more expensive they were; some even cost more than a Ghost-Eyed Jade Lion.

After requesting a month and a half of leave from the Outer Sect Elder, Ye Chen hurriedly set off on his journey home.

He rode a Green-Maned Horse, which could travel twelve hundred li a day and was worth five thousand taels of silver. It was not that he could not afford a Black Brown Horse capable of traveling two thousand li a day; rather, his strength at the time had been insufficient to control one. Now, however, he could.

"Hyah!"

At the foot of the mountain, Ye Chen clamped his legs around the horse's belly and sped away in a cloud of dust.

Beyond Qingfeng Town lay Qingfeng City, the nearest city to Flowing Cloud Sect. Once he left through Qingfeng City's southern gate, his view abruptly opened up.

Blue skies, white clouds, wild winds, and plains stretching as flat as a horse's back.

Everything spread out before Ye Chen's eyes. Riding at lightning speed, he felt the urge to throw back his head and let out a long howl. He had never imagined that one day he, too, could be like the wandering heroes of martial arts novels, traveling the world alone with a sword in hand—though he could not yet be said to be roaming the martial world.

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

Several wandering martial artists nearby rode over. "Little brother, we're heading to the Silent Mountain Range to hunt Demonic Beasts. How about joining us?"

Ye Chen showed no intention of slowing down. Turning his head, he said, "My apologies, but I have other matters to attend to."

"What could be more important than making money? With our strength, hunting third-level Demonic Beasts would be no trouble at all." The leader, a wandering martial artist wearing a bamboo hat with a scar across his face, continued to coax him patiently.

Ye Chen sneered. "Sorry. Farewell."

"Hyah!"

With a flick of the reins, the Green-Maned Horse surged to its limit.

"Hmph, that brat is sharp. We can't swindle him." The scarred man's expression turned cold.

"Boss, why didn't we stop him? He was riding a Green-Maned Horse, so he must be well-off. One job would be enough for us to live freely for half a month."

"Yeah! He looked like some family's young master."

The scarred man rebuked them, "What do you know? That brat had sharp eyes and killing intent on him. He was definitely no easy target. Be careful not to capsize in the gutter."

Then his tone shifted. "It's almost year's end. Disciples from several small sects within a thousand li will be heading home. There will be plenty of opportunities. Never joke around with your own lives."

"That makes sense. As expected of Boss—your vision reaches far ahead."

"Enough. Let's go."

The group turned their horses around and headed back toward Qingfeng City.

Far ahead, Ye Chen sneered inwardly. Those people had surely taken him for an ignorant sect disciple who had never traveled the martial world and did not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth. If he had agreed to go with them to the Silent Mountain Range, they would certainly have revealed their true colors as bandits, murdering him for his wealth.

Unfortunately, though Ye Chen had never traveled the martial world, he was not lacking in martial-world experience. For that, he had dozens of martial arts novels from his high school and university days to thank.

Tens of thousands of li away, a youth was likewise racing along on a Green-Maned Horse.

The youth wore a fitted white outfit and carried a treasured saber on his back. He was handsome and spirited, bearing one or two degrees of resemblance to Ye Chen.

"The Purple Sun Sect's mountain gate is up ahead. I agreed to meet Big Brother here. I wonder if he's waiting for me." The youth gazed into the distance, where a majestic mountain range stood tall, faintly suffused with a pale purple glow. Its presence was immense, with purple aura flowing in from the east.

A short while later, the youth arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"Ye Tang, you're here." Many Purple Sun Sect disciples stood at the foot of the mountain, all dressed in purple robes embroidered with a blazing sun on their backs. One broad-browed, big-eyed youth called out.

The handsome youth rode over. "Big Brother, your Purple Sun Sect is pretty good. Unlike North Snow Manor, where it snows all year round and the accumulated snow is a foot deep."

The broad-browed, big-eyed youth was Ye Feng, the eldest son of Ye Chen's eldest uncle. The handsome youth was his younger brother, Ye Tang. One had joined the Eighth-Rank Sect, Purple Sun Sect, while the other had joined the Seventh-Rank Sect, North Snow Manor. Their talents far surpassed Ye Chen's at the time.

Ye Feng said, "I'd like to go to North Snow Manor myself, but unfortunately, my talent isn't good enough. Don't be so greedy."

Ye Tang smiled and gave Ye Feng a careful look. "Big Brother, you've reached the peak Qi Cultivation Realm Ninth Layer. Your progress isn't bad!" Reaching the peak Qi Cultivation Realm Ninth Layer from the early Qi Cultivation Realm Fourth Layer within three years counted as above-average talent. The sect would also give such disciples the necessary attention rather than leaving them to fend for themselves.

"How could I compare to you? You should be at the Qi Cultivation Realm Tenth Layer by now, right?" Ye Feng could not see through Ye Tang. Or rather, he had never been able to see through him.

With a trace of pride, Ye Tang said, "I barely entered the True Condensation Realm. My True Qi is still unstable."

"You entered the True Condensation Realm?" Ye Feng was stunned. Though the peak Qi Cultivation Realm Tenth Layer and the True Condensation Realm were separated by only a single step at the threshold, crossing that step was exceptionally difficult. Many disciples with above-average talent needed more than half a year to do so and officially become Inner Sect Disciples.

There was no need to show off before his own brother, so Ye Tang changed the subject. "Never mind that. The year-end Clan Gathering is coming up. I wonder how that trash Ye Chen has progressed. Don't tell me he still hasn't reached the Qi Cultivation Realm Seventh Layer. Being in the same family as him is truly humiliating."

Ye Feng put away that trace of jealousy and chuckled. "The later one gets in cultivation, the harder it is to improve. I think even reaching the late Qi Cultivation Realm Sixth Layer will be difficult for him. Perfect—we can crush his spirits when we return and let him know just how useless he is."

"Thinking back, I really miss those days. Someone waited on us every day, and whenever we were unhappy, we could bully Ye Chen. Though he was quite stubborn—he never told his parents."

"Hmph, what use would it be even if he told them? Our father is an Inner Sect Elder of Purple Sun Sect. We're not afraid of Ye Chen's father, even if he is the Ye Family Patriarch."

"Oh, right. Is Father going home this year?"

Ye Feng nodded. "Father said he'll be a few days behind us and told us to go back first."

"Is that so? Then let's head back first. I imagine that trash Ye Chen should have left Flowing Cloud Sect by now. And Ye Xuan—I wonder how far she has reached?" If there was one Ye Family junior Ye Tang took seriously, it was Ye Xuan. Back then, he had been at the middle Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer, while she had been at the late Fifth Layer, which had upset him for quite some time. But three years had passed; he should be ahead of her now.

Ye Feng no longer hoped to surpass Ye Tang. Besides, Ye Tang was his own younger brother. Once Ye Tang rose to prominence, Ye Feng would share in the glory. "On the True Spirit Continent, few women become experts. Perhaps her cultivation is only about the same as mine."

Ye Tang found that reasonable. "Let's go!"

"Alright!"

The two rode off at full speed.