The Man Named Yang Ye!

In Qingzhou, at the Ye Family residence.

In the courtyard, Ye Nan stood bare-chested. After all his training, his muscles had become exceptionally lean and hard, with bulging veins like steel bars.

Body cultivation was undoubtedly an extremely difficult path. Not only did it demand pain beyond what an ordinary person could endure, but it also required an enormous supply of cultivation resources. A body cultivator needed more than five times the resources of an ordinary cultivator, at the very least. The further one progressed, the more precious medicinal herbs and spirit pills were needed to nourish the body.

It was a bottomless pit.

Moreover, the further one progressed, the harder it became to improve. Humans were not demonic beasts, after all, and were born at a disadvantage when it came to their bodies.

It was not that Ye Nan was unaware of this. He knew it all, but none of it mattered to him. What mattered was that he, Ye Nan, was the heir of the Ye Clan and the eldest brother of the Ye Family's younger generation. He could not abandon himself to despair.

If there was no path, he would carve one out!

He could die walking that path, but he would never give up and lie flat!

In the courtyard, Ye Nan grabbed a handful of black sand from an iron pot in front of him and rubbed it over his body. This sand was called "iron sand," a mixture of iron fragments, coarse sand, and grains of salt. It was the most common way for ordinary families to train their bodies, because it was cheap.

The fire beneath the pot grew fiercer, and the iron sand inside grew hotter.

Ye Nan was not afraid in the slightest. Again and again, he grabbed the iron sand and rubbed it hard against his body. Before long, his skin was blood-red.

This was the first stage of body cultivation, known as shedding skin. As the name suggested, one had to shed all of one's original, fragile skin...

Many people were defeated at this very stage.

But Ye Nan clenched his teeth and endured the piercing pain coursing through his body without making a sound.

After an unknown amount of time, Li E came over to Ye Nan carrying a wooden basin filled with a green liquid.

Ye Nan was a little surprised. "Is that 'spirit wood liquid'?"

Spirit wood liquid was refined from a relatively precious kind of special wood and could nourish the body. To an ordinary family, it was already a precious thing. Before this, he had only used simple herbal water to nourish his body.

Li E nodded slightly. "Father knew you were cultivating your body, so he brought it especially for me."

Ye Nan smiled bitterly. "I've put my father-in-law to another expense."

Li E dipped a cloth in the wooden basin. A moment later, she took it out and carefully wiped Ye Nan's body. At the sight of his blood-red skin, her heart ached, and tears streamed down her face.

Ye Nan looked at Li E, his eyes full of guilt, and said gently, "I'm sorry. I've made you suffer with me."

Li E shook her head gently. "What are you saying? We're husband and wife. We should share both joy and hardship."

Ye Nan gently drew her into his arms and said worriedly, "I wonder how Tianming is doing in the Central Divine Province."

He knew Ye Tianming was in the Central Divine Province because the deputy city lord, Zhou Yuan, had told him. During this time, Zhou Yuan had often looked after the Ye Family in secret.

Just then, Song Shi suddenly appeared in the courtyard, startling Ye Nan and Li E.

Song Shi said, "Don't be alarmed. I'm the head of Guanxuan Academy in the Central Divine Province."

Ye Nan was surprised. "Academy head?"

Song Shi nodded. He took out a scroll and handed it to Ye Nan. "Tianming asked me to give you this."

Ye Nan did not take it. Instead, he asked, "Senior, is Tianming doing well over there?"

Song Shi smiled. "Everything is fine. Don't worry about him."

Ye Nan felt relieved. "That's good."

Song Shi said, "This scroll is from him. It contains a cultivation method. The method is somewhat unusual, so for now, don't let too many people cultivate it, lest it bring trouble."

Ye Nan accepted the scroll. "Thank you, Senior."

Song Shi gave Ye Nan a look. "Are you cultivating your body?"

Ye Nan nodded. "My dantian has been shattered, so the path of body cultivation is my only choice."

Song Shi thought for a moment, then said, "That is a path you can take. Still, your dantian can be repaired. It's just a matter of money."

Ye Nan smiled. "If it can be repaired someday, that would naturally be wonderful. If it can't, I'll follow the path of body cultivation."

Song Shi said, "The path of body cultivation is extremely difficult to see through to the end."

Ye Nan said, "It doesn't matter whether I can see it through. I'll start walking it first."

A trace of admiration flashed in Song Shi's eyes. He looked Ye Nan over and sighed inwardly. The young man before him was outstanding in both talent and temperament. If this had not happened to him, his future would truly have been boundless.

Sometimes, when a genius appeared in a small family, it might bring disaster rather than fortune.

Ye Nan suddenly said with concern, "Senior, the Xiao Family..."

Song Shi smiled. "Don't worry. Since he's now my student in the Central Divine Province, I'll take responsibility for him."

Ye Nan bowed deeply. "The Ye Family will never forget your kindness, Senior."

To him, Song Shi's kindness to Ye Tianming was kindness to him and the entire Ye Family.

Song Shi smiled. "Since I accepted him, I ought to take responsibility for him. There's no need to speak of kindness. You, on the other hand, should be careful during this time. I'm leaving."

With that, he turned and vanished.

After Song Shi left, Ye Nan breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried about Ye Tianming all this time, and now that he knew exactly how Ye Tianming was doing, he could finally relax.

He lowered his head and opened the scroll. His expression gradually grew grave as he read. A moment later, he abruptly closed it. "E'er, I might be able to cultivate without a dantian after all."

Li E was puzzled.

Ye Nan said excitedly, "Tianming really is a genius. His cultivation method is truly unusual. If I make some changes to it, I might be able to use it exclusively for myself. I need to study it carefully... E'er, go and call Ye Zong over..."

Li E was worried. "Make changes?"

Ye Nan shook his head. "No, that's not right. Create. I can use Tianming's cultivation method as a foundation to create a new one suited to me. That's what he meant by giving me this method. I need to study and explore it carefully. Go and call Ye Zong over..."

Li E hurried off to find Ye Zong.

After Li E left, a voice suddenly came from nearby. "His cultivation method may suit you, but it's too slow."

Ye Nan turned to look. At some point, a man in Daoist robes had appeared in the courtyard not far away.

Ye Nan froze. "The Great Dao Book House's bookseller!"

The Daoist-robed man smiled. "Kowtow."

Ye Nan was puzzled.

The Daoist-robed man stared at Ye Nan. "This is your last chance."

Ye Nan immediately dropped to his knees. "Your disciple pays his respects, Master."

With that, he respectfully kowtowed three times.

The Daoist-robed man burst out laughing. "From now on, you're my ninth disciple. Of the nine senior brothers and sisters before you, all but An Yan have established their Daos and become progenitors in the real world. Don't disgrace us too badly."

Established their Daos and become progenitors!

Ye Nan's heart gave a violent leap. Though he did not understand what that meant, his instincts told him it was damn impressive. He asked respectfully, "Master, who's stronger, you or the Guanxuan Sword Master?"

The Daoist-robed man smiled. "A man who needs to rely on others to perfect his order isn't worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as me. In the entire Yang Family, only that man named Yang Ye can fight. The rest..."

As he spoke, he shook his head and smiled disdainfully.

Ye Nan did not know whether what the man said was true. He did not dwell on it, but respectfully kowtowed. "Master, my younger brother Ye Zong is also quite good. He has the makings of a Great Emperor. Why not take him as your disciple too?"

The Daoist-robed man glanced somewhere. "What need does a man who once smashed tens of thousands of eras apart with his fists have for a master?"

On the back mountain.

From a distance, Li E saw Ye Zong throwing punches wildly. Every punch set off bursts of explosive sound, a terrifying sight.

Li E ran over, and just then she suddenly heard Ye Zong talking to himself. "Damn it, I'm going to wipe out the Xiao Family someday. I'll kill every last one of them, even their chickens and dogs! And that lousy Guanxuan Academy too! Damn it, how dare they bully my brother Tianming... Hey, what Martial Ancestor? How many times have I told you? My name is Ye Zong, the future Great Emperor!"

Li E was puzzled and quickened her steps. Then she heard Ye Zong say, "What do you mean, suppressed all ages? I don't understand... Stop bragging. Can you lend me some money first? Just three hundred spirit crystals. I swear on my name as the future Great Emperor, I'll pay you back!"

"..."

Li E suddenly called, "Ye Zong."

Ye Zong jumped and hurriedly turned around. When he saw Li E, he quickly ran over. "Sister-in-law..."

Li E asked in puzzlement, "Who were you talking to just now?"

Ye Zong grew nervous. "I... nobody..."

Li E did not press him further. She said gently, "Go find your eldest brother. He needs you for something."

Ye Zong quickly nodded. "Okay."

Li E watched Ye Zong run off, feeling worried. She had noticed that Ye Zong had been training far too diligently lately, getting up earlier than a rooster and going to bed later than a dog. She was afraid he was under too much pressure. What worried her most was that Ye Zong was often alone, sometimes talking to himself as he had just now.

"I need to look after that little fellow more."

Li E murmured worriedly, "And Tianming too. I wonder if he has enough money to spend at the academy. I should send him some more..."

With that, she returned to her room, took out the few pieces of jewelry she had left, and headed straight for the Immortal Treasure Pavilion's pawnshop.

Not long after Song Shi left the Ye Family residence, an old man stopped him. It was an elder of the Xiao Family named Xiao Quan.

Xiao Quan smiled. "Academy Head Song, shall we talk?"

Song Shi's expression was calm. "About what?"

Xiao Quan smiled. "Academy Head Song, we know you accepted Ye Tianming entirely because of the Nanling Clan. They put pressure on you, so we understand."

Song Shi looked at him without speaking.

Xiao Quan continued, "But we've already settled matters with the Nanling Clan. They won't interfere in this affair anymore, so we hope you can give the Xiao Family some face, Academy Head Song."

Song Shi said calmly, "Kill Ye Tianming?"

Xiao Quan smiled. "No, no, we don't need you to do that, Academy Head Song. You only need to find a reason to expel him from Guanxuan Academy. We'll take care of the rest. Of course, we understand your difficulties. How about this? Our Xiao Family will send a disciple to enroll at Guanxuan Academy in the Central Divine Province. Rest assured, Academy Head Song, this disciple will strive to secure a place in the top twenty at the very least. That way, Guanxuan Academy in the Central Divine Province can stay open and make a name for itself, making it easier to recruit students in the future."

After a moment of silence, Song Shi said, "That offer is truly tempting."

Greatly reassured, Xiao Quan smiled. "Our Xiao Family would be very happy to make a friend of you, Academy Head Song..."

Before he could finish, Song Shi suddenly vanished from where he stood in the distance. Immediately afterward, Xiao Quan saw a large hand swinging toward him. It was far too fast-

Smack!

Xiao Quan was sent flying dozens of zhang before crashing heavily to the ground.

He was stunned at first, but he quickly got to his feet, his face contorted as he glared at Song Shi. "How dare you..."

Smack!

Another slap came flying at him.

Xiao Quan was sent flying again. This time, the slap landed on his left cheek, and in an instant, his entire head swelled up like a pig's.

Song Shi looked coldly at Xiao Quan. "I, Song Shi, may be poor, but I still have a bottom line. I really don't want trouble, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of it. Go back and tell your family head that Ye Tianming belongs to my academy now. If your Xiao Family has the guts, come and slaughter everyone at my province's Guanxuan Academy..."

As he spoke, he spat viciously. "Disgusting bastard. What do you take me for? I'm an academy head, a high official governing a region. I'm a man of standing. You think I'd stoop as low as your Xiao Family?"

With that, he beckoned with his right hand, snatched Xiao Quan's storage ring, and turned and vanished into the sky.

Xiao Quan: "..."