His hair and robes fluttered wildly under the force of the palm strike, but Yan Jin’s attack never touched Ye Huaiyao.
Yan Lin caught his arm, while Cheng Yuan stepped in front of Ye Huaiyao. A-Nan had been standing a little farther away, but he immediately ran over and grabbed Ye Huaiyao’s hand.
Usually, A-Nan was always self-conscious around him, trembling and afraid to touch Ye Huaiyao. But this time, he was genuinely anxious and forgot all about his usual reservations.
His hand trembled slightly. Ye Huaiyao turned his head and looked at him. The weakest person present was staring at him with unconcealed concern.
Every time A-Nan stepped forward, he was like this: without hesitation, completely focused, as though in the entire world, Ye Huaiyao were the only person he could see.
Once upon a time, Ye Huaiyao had been surrounded by splendour and worshipped by countless people. But after casting aside that identity and distancing himself from his former friends and companions, the world around him had immediately changed, revealing an entirely different side.
Cheng Yuan helped him because he wanted something from him. Yan Lin helped him because he followed the principles of chivalry and was grateful for Ye Huaiyao’s earlier guidance.
Only this boy cared nothing for Ye Huaiyao’s identity or background. He didn’t care what his name was or who he had once been. He trusted him wholeheartedly and stepped forward without hesitation simply because he was Ye Huaiyao.
Such clumsy, pure, innocent trust was something Ye Huaiyao had not encountered in many years.
Was it really just because of a few pine-nut candies and a packet of osmanthus cakes?
Ye Huaiyao suddenly felt like laughing. And so, he did.
Yan Jin was practically furious enough to explode.
His arm was being restrained by Yan Lin, while Cheng Yuan stood between him and Ye Huaiyao. He had merely wanted to teach some unknown nobody a lesson, yet so many people had dared to interfere. It was infuriating.
And now the other man was actually smiling? Yan Jin flung his sleeve, sending Yan Lin stumbling two steps back. He reached over Cheng Yuan’s shoulder and pointed at Ye Huaiyao.
“Very pleased with yourself, hiding behind other people and winning arguments with your mouth? Tell me, what exactly do you want?”
Cheng Yuan frowned. He turned his head toward Ye Huaiyao and quietly said, “Don’t make this any more troublesome. Just give him the Leopard King.”
Ye Huaiyao remained unmoved. He was resolute, carefree, and possessed none of the spoiled arrogance that often accompanied someone of his birth. But he had, after all, been born noble and had spent his life accustomed to splendour.
Every day, countless people exhausted themselves and gave everything they had merely for the chance to see him or hear a single word from him. Compared with that, Cheng Yuan’s several attempts to defend him and smooth things over hardly counted for anything.
More importantly, Ye Huaiyao understood perfectly well what Cheng Yuan actually cared about. It wasn’t what Ye Huaiyao thought, nor did he care whether Ye Huaiyao’s cultivation could ever recover. What Cheng Yuan wanted was simply to make Ye Huaiyao his possession and satisfy his own desires.
How could such so-called “good intentions” possibly move the Illustrious Sage?
Ye Huaiyao acted as though he hadn’t heard Cheng Yuan at all and answered Yan Jin directly: “I don’t want anything. I’m only following Young Master Yan’s own words. If I defeat you, then you and Young Master Ji will try to take the Leopard King’s blood again, won’t you?”
The moment those words left his mouth, Cheng Yuan and Yan Jin both wore strange expressions. Someone nearby finally couldn’t hold back and snorted with laughter.
Although many people present disliked Yan Jin’s arrogance, they had to admit that he possessed every reason to be proud. Among the numerous young talents of the Yan family, he was unquestionably one of the finest.
His swordsmanship was extraordinarily accomplished. Before he was even a hundred years old, he had slain the Blood Demon, whose capture carried a bounty of ten thousand spirit stones throughout the cultivation world. Before reaching two hundred, he had single-handedly challenged the entire Cangfeng Sect. No one knew how many formidable figures had fallen beneath his sword.
Even though Ye Huaiyao had managed to kill the Leopard King with A-Nan’s help, his standing in everyone’s eyes was still worlds apart from Yan Jin’s.
There had to be a limit to challenging someone above one’s own level.
The surrounding crowd erupted into murmured discussion.
“Did killing one Leopard King make this kid so happy that he’s gone mad? How dare he challenge Third Young Master Yan?”
“A tree lives by its bark, a man by his pride. Maybe he’s simply been pushed too far and wants to save face.”
“But I heard his spiritual meridians have already been destroyed. What’s the point of competing now? Is getting trampled into the dirt supposed to count as saving face?”
“Young and impulsive. Heh. Isn’t this just bringing disaster upon himself?”
Of everyone present, perhaps only A-Nan and Yan Lin weren’t shocked by Ye Huaiyao’s challenge.
A-Nan trusted Ye Huaiyao completely. In his eyes, Brother Ye could do anything, and whatever he said was naturally right. Yan Lin, meanwhile, knew that Ye Huaiyao was no ordinary person. If he dared to issue such a challenge, there had to be a reason.
Yan Jin took a moment to recover from his surprise. Then, realising that Ye Huaiyao had actually dared to challenge him, he gave a mocking half-smile. “You said it yourself. My rule has always been that once a fight begins, life and death are irrelevant.”
Ye Huaiyao said, “As long as Young Master Yan follows the same rule. If you win, the entire Leopard King belongs to you. If you lose, then first, you will never lay claim to this leopard again. Second, you will apologise to this young man whose head you injured.”
Yan Jin found the entire thing absurd. He sneered. “If I could actually lose to you, what would be wrong with me kowtowing to him?”
Originally, when Cheng Yuan had destroyed Ye Huaiyao’s spiritual meridians, his plan had been extremely simple. He intended to fake Ye Huaiyao’s death, find somewhere secluded to hide him, and from then on keep this beautiful young man entirely under his control.
When he had ruthlessly crippled Ye Huaiyao’s spiritual meridians, he had never imagined that so many complications would arise afterward. Now Ye Huaiyao refused to listen to him, yet with so many people watching, Cheng Yuan couldn’t forcibly stop him. His displeasure was already beginning to show.
Yan Jin didn’t want to waste any more words. He couldn’t stand looking at Ye Huaiyao like this, and when he remembered Ji Lanying standing nearby, he abruptly drew his sword. With a flash, he leapt forward. “Come!”
Ye Huaiyao, however, was in no hurry. He calmly straightened his clothes, his gaze passing leisurely over Cheng Yuan, Yuan Xian, Ji Lanying, and the others. Then he sighed:
“Faint willows, tender spring colours, such beautiful scenery…In weather like this, one ought to pour wine from a jade flask and sing to one’s heart’s content. What a pity.”
He raised a hand and smiled, “Young Master Yan, please.”
Yan Lin glanced at Ye Huaiyao. For an instant, he thought he had seen a smear of crimson across Ye Huaiyao’s palm when he raised his hand. He had no time to think about it. Ye Huaiyao had been using his sword earlier, and now he stood unarmed. Yan Lin instinctively wanted to hand the sword back to him.
But Yan Jin gave him no opportunity. His only thought was that this good-for-nothing had dared to challenge him without knowing his own place. If he didn’t teach him a lesson immediately, the anger in his chest would never dissipate. Wanting to display his skill, Yan Jin launched a devastating attack from the very beginning.
Before Ye Huaiyao had even finished saying the word “please,” Yan Jin lightly touched the ground with his toes and soared into the air.
His right hand flipped. His sword flashed from its sheath. The blade shot straight toward Ye Huaiyao’s chest!
To the spectators, the exchange happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, Yan Jin was still several steps away. The next, the tip of his sword was already almost against Ye Huaiyao’s chest, seemingly about to pierce straight through him. A collective cry of alarm rang out.
At that critical instant, Ye Huaiyao maintained the slight bowing posture with which he had invited Yan Jin to attack. Then his entire body drifted backward.
His movement technique was exquisite. Everyone watched helplessly as that icy sword point remained less than a few inches from his chest. Yet it missed by the narrowest margin. No matter how hard Yan Jin pressed forward, he couldn’t touch him.
“This… is impossible!” Ji Lanying stared in astonishment. “He has no spiritual power. How can he retreat that far without even losing his breath?”
From the moment Ye Huaiyao had moved, Yuan Xian had been watching without blinking. Hearing Ji Lanying, he quietly said, “Look at his right hand.”
Ji Lanying didn’t understand. But he followed Yuan Xian’s gaze. His cultivation was already quite advanced, and his eyesight was sharp. He immediately noticed the crimson stain covering Ye Huaiyao’s palm.
Ji Lanying frowned. “Is he injured?”
The moment he said it, realisation struck him. “No. That’s not blood from an injury. That’s the Leopard King’s blood!”
The Leopard King’s heart blood possessed a miraculous ability to restore spiritual meridians. That was precisely what their dispute had been about. Yet Ye Huaiyao had apparently already taken some of the blood in secret and used it. Even the most miraculous medicine needed time to take effect. Even if Ye Huaiyao had taken the blood immediately after killing the Leopard King, the amount of power he could have recovered by now should not have exceeded thirty percent.
Yet his movements were light and graceful, silent as drifting clouds or swallows skimming over grass. Could thirty percent of his former strength really be enough for such extraordinary lightness skill?
Ye Huaiyao hadn’t concealed his movements in the slightest. Ji Lanying was hardly the only one who noticed. Several people around them were already beginning to wonder whether Ye Huaiyao had somehow been replaced by another person.
But no matter how suspicious they were, his movement technique was unmistakably that of the Chensu Sect. There wasn’t the slightest flaw to be found. It was simply being used with extraordinary skill.
Naturally, Yan Jin had noticed as well. He could tell that Ye Huaiyao’s spiritual power had begun to recover. But instead of being alarmed, Yan Jin looked pleased.
“Your spiritual power has returned? Good. Now you can at least die with some dignity. I won’t have to hear anyone accuse me of winning unfairly.”
Even after saying this, Yan Jin’s sword had already reached its full extension. Yet it still hadn’t touched Ye Huaiyao. His first exchange had effectively ended in failure.
Someone nearby couldn’t resist muttering, “Quite a boast. But can you actually win?”
The instant the words fell, Yan Jin’s figure suddenly blurred, then it faded into nothingness. A cloud of water mist appeared in its place.
“It’s a Water-Killing Talisman!”
Only then did everyone realise that the Yan Jin who had been pursuing Ye Huaiyao with his sword had been nothing more than a phantom created by a talisman from the very beginning.
Yan Jin might be arrogant, but he wasn’t stupid. Ye Huaiyao’s calmness and willingness to challenge him had immediately struck him as suspicious, so he had prepared for it in advance. His first attack had been a talisman.
Using talismans to attack or protect oneself during battle was perfectly normal. But this was supposed to be a martial duel, not a life-or-death struggle. Yan Jin had only just mocked Ye Huaiyao for being weak, yet now he was relying on an external artefact. There was no denying that he was bullying him.
His figure transformed into a spray of water, rising into the sky and exploding outward before crashing down like a sudden rainstorm. The spectators scattered in all directions. And behind Ye Huaiyao, five figures suddenly appeared.
All five had Yan Jin’s appearance. Their faces, expressions, clothing, and movements were identical. It was impossible to tell which was the real one—or whether any of them were real at all.
Ye Huaiyao was already retreating. The five figures spread out in a fan shape behind him, surrounding him completely. Reality and illusion blurred together. Their long swords simultaneously burst into light. Then all five thrust toward Ye Huaiyao at once.
Yan Jin had been greatly surprised that Ye Huaiyao had escaped his first attack completely unharmed. So this time, he had unleashed something far more vicious. He intended to turn Ye Huaiyao into a sieve right there and then.
This was no longer a martial contest. It was an attempt to kill.
At the critical moment, whether Ye Huaiyao hadn’t noticed the danger or simply couldn’t stop his momentum, he continued drifting backward.
His back was about to collide with the row of gleaming swords. All five Yan Jins smiled coldly at the same time. Several people in the crowd cried out in alarm. And then, Ye Huaiyao suddenly turned—
His robes billowed in the wind, his movements graceful and effortless. He charged directly toward the second figure on his right.
“Shhk!” The sword plunged straight into his chest. Yet Ye Huaiyao remained completely unharmed. The sword, together with the figure holding it, dissolved into water mist in an instant.
Then the first figure on the right suddenly exploded into motion. A sword technique called “Floating Green, Layered Emerald” unfolded in a continuous stream, countless points of cold light flashing as the blade pressed relentlessly toward Ye Huaiyao.
This was the real body.
As Yan Jin’s true form launched his direct assault, the other three phantoms simultaneously transformed into water dragons and shot into the sky. They condensed in midair. Then they scattered into dozens of razor-sharp blades. The blades came raining down.
The terrifying part of this technique was that it contained attack after attack, each linked seamlessly to the next. Whether Ye Huaiyao had recognised Yan Jin’s true body or not, he was trapped in a dead end.
The only difference was whether he would be pierced to death by the illusions or killed by Yan Jin himself.
It seemed Ye Huaiyao was finished. Yet considering the difference in their ages and cultivation, the fact that he had managed to hold out this long was already remarkable. Rather than making the spectators look down on him, it only made them feel pity.
Everyone believed that there was no possible way to evade the storm of blades combined with Yan Jin’s overwhelming attack. If Ye Huaiyao possessed profound spiritual power, perhaps he could have reflected the falling blades back. But clearly, he didn’t have that kind of power right now. They had overlooked one thing.
The battle wasn’t flawless. There was, in fact, an extremely obvious weakness. And that weakness was Yan Jin himself.
Author’s Note:
Now that I’ve got the medicine, of course I’m going to secretly use it immediately. That way, nobody can snatch it away from me. (～￣▽￣)～
