Winning Their Hearts

Ever since the incident at the Pill Pavilion yesterday.

Quite a few people had gathered, one after another, along the passage to the Qingyu Ruins Realm.

It was even livelier in front of Ye Jinyu's residence, where carriages and horses came and went in a bustling stream.

There were young disciples from the various peaks who had hurried over after hearing the news, elders who had gotten wind of it and were watching quietly, and clanspeople who were simply curious to catch a glimpse of the young master's true appearance.

By unspoken agreement, everyone kept their distance, though their gazes darted toward the residence gates from time to time as they whispered among themselves. The atmosphere was subtle.

"Have you heard? Elder Zhanshan's two sons are coming to beg the young master's forgiveness today!"

"Beg forgiveness? I heard they were bringing a written challenge!"

"Hiss... Wasn't yesterday's disturbance at the Pill Pavilion enough? Are they going to fight to the death? If this goes on, won't our Ye Clan fall into chaos?"

"You lot believe the rain is coming the moment you hear the wind. Yesterday, the young master established his authority and showed his grace. Today... Elder Zhanshan is probably offering him a step down and making his position clear."

"I'm not so sure. Young Master Jinming is one of the finest among our younger generation. Young Master Jinxuan suffered a setback yesterday, but with Elder Zhanshan backing him, would he really bow his head?"

"Don't forget what Lord Xu Feng said yesterday... The young master's generosity was no small thing. If I could win his favor, wouldn't I soar to the heavens in a single bound? From then on... hehehehe."

All sorts of speculation passed through the crowd, their gazes filled with anticipation, doubt, scrutiny, and more.

At precisely the beginning of the Chen hour, the residence gates slowly opened.

A wind swept in from beyond the horizon and descended on the residence, revealing the figures of the brothers Ye Jinming and Ye Jinxuan.

Ye Jinming held a simple wooden box in his hands, his expression solemn.

Ye Jinxuan followed close behind, his face calm. The traces of listlessness from yesterday's injuries had vanished, and his gaze was sharper than before.

Seeing this, the other Ye clanspeople stepped aside of their own accord, making a path for the two to go ahead.

Without looking to either side, the brothers walked straight into the residence.

Within the residence, fresh green willow branches hung by the lakeside, the spring waters lay smooth, and vitality abounded.

Ye Jinyu was still dressed in plain, light-blue everyday robes. He sat casually on a jade platform extending from a waterside pavilion over the lake. A board lay before him, black and white pieces scattered across it, as though he were playing against himself.

The two beauties of the Zhao Clan stood quietly behind him, attending him in silence. Their cultivation ran deep, and their bearing had grown ever more graceful and lovely, as though they had received greater nourishment. They were as pleasing to behold as figures from a painting.

Ye Anlan, who stood at a distance, saw someone approaching from afar. Looking closely, he saw that it was Ye Jinming and Jinxuan.

He immediately stepped forward and said sarcastically:

"Well, if it isn't you two! What brings you here? Could it be that you weren't taught enough of a lesson yesterday? Have you come to challenge the young master?"

At this, Ye Jinming and Jinxuan stopped in their tracks.

They said nothing and ignored Ye Anlan.

Ye Anlan found himself somewhat embarrassed and immediately flew into a towering rage. Grayish-blue Calamity Wind faintly emerged around him.

"Looks like I'll have to teach you two another lesson."

"Anlan, how dare you."

Ye Jinyu glanced over and understood. His gaze then fell on Ye Anlan before he turned back and picked up a piece from the board, appearing to ponder his move.

Hearing the young master's words, Ye Anlan dropped to one knee. "Forgive me, young master! Anlan was discourteous..."

"It's good that you know your mistake," Ye Jinyu said mildly. "My two elder cousins must have come for a reason. Let them through."

"Yes!" Ye Anlan answered without hesitation. He then composed his expression and made a gesture of invitation.

Ye Jinming took a deep breath and stepped forward, raising the wooden box above his head with both hands. Ye Jinxuan followed behind him, and the two dropped to one knee together.

They declared in clear voices, "Ye Jinming and Ye Jinxuan of the Yunming Peak branch have come on our father's orders to beg the young master's forgiveness!"

"The many words and actions within the clan, along with the incident at the Pill Pavilion, all began with us brothers. We were so puffed up by everyone's praise that we lost sight of the proper order between high and low and behaved improperly."

"The various noble branches of our Ye Clan have always been arrogant and overbearing, knowing even less of their own limits and disturbing the peace within the clan. The chief blame lies with the two of us for failing to set an example."

"We have come today expressly to beg forgiveness. This is the young master's letter; we dare not accept it. We only wish to follow the young master henceforth and look to him for every lead! Should you have need of our service, we shall not refuse."

Their voices rang clear within the residence.

Ye Jinyu had specially prepared a sound-transmitting Spirit Stone, sending their voices echoing throughout the residence and beyond, into the ears of the Ye clanspeople both inside and outside the Qingyu Ruins Realm.

Every Ye clansperson who heard them fell silent. A dropped needle could have been heard.

No one had expected the Ye Jinming brothers to humble themselves so thoroughly or speak so earnestly.

Didn't this all but mean that the Yunming Peak branch, represented by Third Elder Ye Zhanshan, had completely bowed its head to the young master!?

Ye Jinyu's hand paused slightly over the board, and he raised his eyes.

His gaze was calm, yet seemed to carry a tangible weight as it slowly swept over Ye Jinming and Ye Jinxuan, then passed, seemingly without intent, over the clanspeople watching outside the residence.

Everyone touched by his gaze, regardless of cultivation, felt their hearts tremble, as though something invisible had gently probed them.

What powerful Divine Sense! Quite a few people were inwardly shocked.

"Elder Brother Jinming, Elder Brother Jinxuan, you speak too gravely." Ye Jinyu put down the piece. His voice was not loud, yet it likewise carried clearly in every direction, rich with feeling.

"As brothers of the same clan, we should encourage one another. What happened yesterday was merely a bit of play.

"That you came today makes me, your younger brother, happy enough. There is no need to beg forgiveness. If it really must come to that, then I, too, bear responsibility for failing to notice and for allowing yesterday's events."

By this point in Ye Jinyu's speech, Ye Anlan naturally understood. The young master was quite the actor.

But as the young master's trusted subordinate, he ought to shoulder his master's worries. How could he let the young master bear a bad name?

He immediately dropped to one knee again and said loudly, "Young master, why say that? Why blame yourself? Yesterday, Anlan acted on his own because he couldn't stand those people slandering you."

"For a moment, I couldn't hold back and struck a little too hard... Please punish me, young master!"

"It's good that you know your mistake," Ye Jinyu said mildly. "For injuring your fellow clansmen, go to the Hall of Punishments and receive thirty lashes."

"Yes!" Ye Anlan answered without hesitation. With righteous dignity, he walked out in front of everyone.

As Ye Anlan left, he cast a self-satisfied glance at the two brothers kneeling on the ground.

Hearing this, many clanspeople wished they could take Anlan's place.

I can go through boiling water and leaping flames for the young master too! How has that brat Anlan earned so much of his trust?

But I have to admire him. The young master is so young, yet his methods are already so practiced. With someone so scheming and shameless as our Ye Clan's young master, our clan surely won't suffer from Cangxuan's scheming in the future.

"Anlan truly is clever."

Ye Jinyu paused, his gaze falling on the wooden box in Ye Jinming's hands. He knew about the letter.

Rather than take it, he asked, "Judging by your complexion, Cousin Jinxuan, are your injuries no longer a problem? Was your foundation damaged?"

Ye Jinxuan hurriedly bowed. "Thank you for your concern, young master. Thanks to the spirit medicine you bestowed, my injuries have healed and my foundation is unharmed. Instead, my soul feels even more solid than before."

"That's good." Ye Jinyu nodded slightly, seeming relieved.

Only then did he reach out and beckon from a distance, drawing the wooden box lightly into his hand.

He casually placed it beside the board, as though it truly were an insignificant old object.

Ye Jinyu's gaze sharpened as he weighed the matter in his heart.

Today is about building momentum. They have submitted because they are following the greater tide, perhaps also because they have seen my methods and my generosity.

But a superior cannot lack authority or strength. It would be fitting to display a little talent.

A tiger walks as though sick, noble yet inconspicuous. As their master, I must suppress everything.

I, Ye Jinyu, must show some real ability, or more complications will be unavoidable in the future.

Then Ye Jinyu suddenly asked, "Cousin Jinming, your cultivation has reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and you are skilled with the sword. The sword of the Nine Heavens Azure Nether rests on two words: 'swift' and 'sharp.'

"I wonder, Cousin, how do you understand 'the wind's swiftness' and 'the sword's sharpness'?"

The sudden test startled Ye Jinming. Wait, I'm at Foundation Establishment and you're at Qi Refinement. Are you really going to instruct me?

But seeing that the young master looked serious and did not seem to be making things difficult for him, he pondered briefly before answering respectfully, "The wind is formless and swift; the sword has form and is sharp. Using the spirit to control the wind can increase the sword's speed."

"Focusing intent upon the sword can break through the wind's resistance. In this junior's humble view, when wind and sword combine, spirit and intent should serve as the bridge, pursuing a single destructive edge amid extreme speed."

"Our clan's Nine Heavens Azure Nether Sword Canon and True Lord Qiuran's sword intent both evolved from this."

Ye Jinyu, however, shook his head, a trace of a smile on his lips. "You're not wrong, Cousin, but you're still bound by form."

Hold on...

I've already humbled myself this much, and you still won't let it go?

No matter how much of a genius you are, can you really instruct me at Foundation Establishment when you're at Qi Refinement?

I've set the stage and served as your stepping stone. Isn't that enough?

I, Ye Jinming, have cultivated for so many years. Am I still inferior to someone like you, who has cultivated for less than a year or so?

Am I some kind of trash? The Ye Clan's Azure Nether blood flows in both our veins!

Ye Jinming thought.

Even though I already made up my mind yesterday to help you unite the clan from top to bottom and remove the rift between us brothers,

if you, Ye Jinyu, humiliate me like this, don't blame me for leaving you unable to step down!

He was not the only one who thought so. The Ye clanspeople outside the residence felt the same. They all held their breath and concentrated, and quite a few felt that Ye Jinyu was joking.

No matter how strong you are at Qi Refinement, can you instruct someone at Foundation Establishment?

Especially someone like Ye Jinming. You've cultivated for barely a year; your cultivation can grow, but this is attainment, comprehension, and wisdom!

I'd like to see what this young master is capable of.

Ye Jinyu extended his right index finger. No Law Power could be seen surging at its tip, yet a tiny, incomparably pure wisp of Bifeng quietly emerged.

The wind was a deep, dark color, and as it spun, it faintly seemed capable of annihilating the void.

Even more shocking, at the heart of that wisp of Bifeng, a speck of azure light flickered, so utterly pure that it seemed capable of cutting through the rules of all things!

"Watch closely."

Before the words had faded, Ye Jinyu gently tapped forward with his fingertip.

There was no earthshaking display, only the faintest of sounds.

The board before him split silently down the middle, its severed surface as smooth as a mirror.

What had split the board was not the conspicuous power of that wisp of Bifeng, but the almost imperceptible speck of azure light at its core!

After cutting through a game piece, the azure light did not dissipate. Instead, it gave a gentle leap, as though possessing a spirit of its own, then slipped into Ye Jinyu's fingertip and vanished.

"The wind is no mere aid, and the sword is no mere form. Wind is sword, and sword is wind. Wherever the rules reach, nothing cannot be broken."

Ye Jinyu withdrew his finger and said evenly, "I gained a little insight by chance, nothing more. Perhaps you may find something to consider in it, Cousin."

Silence!

Deathly silence!

No wonder the Ancestor declared him a person of destiny!

Seeing this, Ye Jinming could not help drawing a sharp breath.

Whatever faint reluctance might have lingered in his heart vanished like smoke before such talent, replaced by a heartfelt awe and even... sincere admiration and complete submission.

Ye Jinxuan, too, was thoroughly convinced. Yesterday, he had been defeated by Ye Anlan's strange Divine Ability. Today, seeing the young master wield the rules with such effortless ease, he finally understood what a true disparity and a true height were.

The two knelt again. Only at this moment were they truly won over, with not the slightest trace of a rift remaining.

"We shall look to the young master for every lead!"