“This is outrageous! Ye Qiang, no one else is challenging you anymore. You may step down from the platform now.”
Ye Tianpeng could no longer contain himself. Slamming his hand on the table, he rose to his feet and sternly rebuked him.
“I want to challenge Ye Yunfei! According to the regulations, during the clan assembly, members of our younger generation may challenge one another! I have that right. Ye Yunfei, you trash! Roll out here and face me!”
Ye Qiang wasn't the least bit afraid of Ye Tianpeng and shouted boldly.
“Hmph. It is indeed a rule of our Ye Family clan assembly. Tianpeng, could it be you wish to arbitrarily alter the rules? Such great authority you wield!”
Ye Chaoxian sneered coldly.
“You...!”
Ye Tianpeng was so furious he could barely speak.
The Ye Family clan assembly did indeed have such a rule. Junior family members were permitted to challenge each other.
“Ye Qiang, Ye Yunfei refuses the challenge. You may step down,” Ye Tianpeng loudly commanded.
“I want that trash Ye Yunfei to say it to me himself! Ye Yunfei, you turtle hiding in its shell! Get your ass out here!”
Ye Qiang's roar echoed across the entire martial arena.
Three days ago, he had been knocked unconscious by a single slap from Ye Yunfei—a humiliation he considered deeply profound. Filled with fury, he had gone into seclusion for three days and three nights. Driven by this indignation, he had actually made a breakthrough. Not only that, he had gained a preliminary comprehension of the Budding Sword Intent.
Now, he was making a forceful return, seeking to regain his face and exact brutal revenge, to thoroughly humiliate Ye Yunfei!
Hearing Ye Qiang's near-mad roars, all the clansmen in the martial arena revealed meaningful smiles. The conflict between the factions led by Ye Tianpeng and Ye Zhongnian within the Ye Family had long been common knowledge.
“Ye Qiang, if you continue making a scene, don't blame me for showing you no mercy!”
Ye Tianpeng was thoroughly enraged now, slamming the table again as he stood up.
“Ye Tianpeng, what great authority you hold!”
Ye Zhongnian immediately stood up as well, meeting him head-on.
“Heh heh, Patriarch, your authority is indeed immense. Don't tell me you're trying to suppress a talented junior of our Ye Family! As a family elder, I, for one, will not tolerate it!”
Ye Chaoxian stood up, following suit.
Immediately after, the Second Elder, Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder, and Seventh Elder also stood up simultaneously.
It was obvious. Among the seven family elders, five stood on Ye Zhongnian's side. Only the Grand Elder and the Sixth Elder remained neutral!
“You all... Fine, fine! Good, very good!”
Ye Tianpeng's body trembled with rage. He hadn't expected Ye Zhongnian to have secretly rallied so many elders to oppose him.
For a moment, among the high seats where the Ye Family's upper echelon sat, confrontation reigned, and the atmosphere grew tense.
“Ye Yunfei, you trash! You turtle! Get out here!”
On the battle platform, Ye Qiang was still roaring like a man possessed.
Suddenly.
*Whoosh!*
The sound of something slicing rapidly through the air was heard. A long sword came whistling from the distance and landed on the platform with a clear *clang* right before Ye Qiang.
“I accept your challenge.”
A young man walked into the martial arena, unhurried, completely at ease.
Ye Yunfei had arrived!
The entire martial arena fell silent.
All eyes focused on Ye Yunfei.
“Ye Yunfei, you trash! Get up here and meet your death!”
Fiercely venomous, Ye Qiang's glare fixed on Ye Yunfei as he roared.
Three days ago, he had been knocked out by a single slap from Ye Yunfei. This shame was deeply branded in his bones!
For the past three days, revenge was all he could think about at every moment.
“Based on your abilities alone?”
Ye Yunfei stepped onto the platform and stood opposite Ye Qiang. His tone was light, carrying an air of contempt.
“Fei’er, Ye Qiang has broken through to Body Tempering Sixth Level! Moreover, he has gained a preliminary comprehension of the Budding Sword Intent. You're no match for him. Just concede directly!”
Seeing Ye Yunfei ascend the platform, Ye Tianpeng grew anxious. He knew Ye Yunfei had recovered his cultivation base, but he was only at Body Tempering Third Level.
“Want to concede? It's not that easy. Unless you kneel before me and kowtow a hundred times!”
Ye Qiang raised the long sword in his hand, pointed it at Ye Yunfei, and cried out triumphantly. His face wore an expression of almost pathological, insane pride.
“A mere Rudiment of Sword Intent is not worth mentioning.”
Ye Yunfei appeared exceptionally calm. As a former Heavenly Emperor, Ye Yunfei had also attained not insignificant accomplishments in sword Dao. In fact, he had already achieved a preliminary comprehension of the Sword Profound Truth!
In sword Dao, realms progressed from low to high: Sword Intent, Sword Domain, Sword World, Sword Profound Truth!
A mere Rudiment of Sword Intent didn't even count as true Sword Intent. To Ye Yunfei, it was complete garbage, utterly negligible.
“Ye Yunfei, you trash! Still running your mouth?! If you don't want to die, kneel immediately...”
Ye Qiang snarled harshly, the long sword in his hand lifted high. Spiritual Power surged around it, and a ring of white sword radiance flickered at its tip.
“Fei’er, be careful!”
Horrified, Ye Tianpeng moved, preparing to rush over to protect Ye Yunfei.
“Ye Qiang, you mustn't harm Ye Yunfei!”
A sharp feminine cry also rang out from beside the platform. Ye Xue moved, leaping toward the stage.
Right at that moment, Ye Yunfei made his move.
*Whoosh!*
The tip of Ye Yunfei's toe tapped the ground. His figure moved like a phantom, quickly approaching Ye Qiang.
“Trash! You seek death!”
Shocked and furious, Ye Qiang's long sword danced like a venomous snake as he thrust it toward Ye Yunfei. It had to be said that his reaction speed was considerably faster now that he wielded the sword, having grasped the Budding Sword Intent.
However.
Ye Yunfei leaned to the side, avoiding the serpentine thrust of the sword with impeccable timing, arriving directly beside Ye Qiang. Then, he extended a finger and flicked.
*Clang!*
The sword in Ye Qiang's hand was knocked flying away by the impact.
If Ye Qiang were using some other martial technique, perhaps dealing with him would have been slightly more difficult for Ye Yunfei. But he had, of all things, decided to use his so-called Budding Sword Intent! Ye Yunfei, who had even grasped the Sword Profound Truth in the past—was he going to be afraid of such an infantile Rudiment?
“Impossible!”
Discovering that his sword had been flicked away by a single finger from Ye Yunfei, Ye Qiang was utterly dazed, stunned in place.
*Slap!*
Ye Yunfei struck with a resounding slap.
His palm radiated with surging Spiritual Power, its force overwhelmingly powerful.
*Thump!*
The slap landed squarely on the left side of Ye Qiang's face. A crisp, forceful slapping sound echoed across the entire martial arena.
Then.
Ye Qiang spat out blood, his body being sent flying high into the air like a kite with its string severed. He flew right off the platform and ultimately crashed to the ground below with a loud *thud*, his head lolling to the side as he fainted completely.
A deathly silence fell over the entire martial arena. Disbelieving gazes were filled with utter shock.
Throughout the entire process, Ye Yunfei's performance had been incredibly effortless, as if a grown man were disciplining a child!
“After finishing off that rabid dog, the world has gotten a lot quieter,” Ye Yunfei's faint voice sounded from atop the platform.
“Qiang'er!”
With a furious roar, Ye Zhongnian leapt forward, rushing to Ye Qiang's side and picking him up.
“Ye Yunfei, you trash! How dare you hurt my Qiang'er!”
Assured that Ye Qiang had only been knocked unconscious by the shock, Ye Zhongnian finally felt slightly relieved. He handed Ye Qiang over to several clansmen standing beside him for support, then turned to glare furiously at Ye Yunfei.
Initially, he had thought his second son would rise powerfully at this clan assembly, allowing him to suppress Ye Tianpeng and his son. Who would have imagined this kind of result!
“If I am trash, then what does that make Ye Qiang, that rabid dog? He’d be considered inferior to trash, would he not?”
On the platform, Ye Yunfei met Ye Zhongnian's gaze squarely, without a trace of fear.
Indeed!
Ye Yunfei’s words stirred something in the hearts of all the clansmen in the martial arena.
Ye Qiang was at Body Tempering Sixth Level, possessed the preliminary Budding Sword Intent, and boasted the strength to challenge those of a higher level like Ye Xue. Yet, he had been knocked out by a single slap from Ye Yunfei. With such power, if Ye Yunfei was still considered trash, then wasn't Ye Qiang even worse? Compared to Ye Yunfei, among all the young generation of the Ye Family, who couldn't be considered trash?
Gradually, among the Ye Family clansmen surrounding the platform, the way they looked at Ye Yunfei began to change. Gone were the previous attitudes of belittlement, scorn, contempt, and disgust. Now there was fear, reverence!
“Haha! Well said! Now, who among you dares say my son, Ye Tianpeng's son, is trash?! Who among you dares say I, Ye Tianpeng, lack merit in raising my child?!”
Ye Tianpeng threw his head back and laughed heartily. He felt his son’s performance had brought him immense surprise and joy!
Amidst his hearty laughter, he had already moved to stand between Ye Yunfei and Ye Zhongnian—a preventive measure should Ye Zhongnian, in a fit of fury, suddenly try to attack Ye Yunfei.
“Ye Yunfei, before me, you are still trash.”
Suddenly, a cold, detached voice rang out.
Then, a young man in brocade robes, wearing a cold and arrogant expression, slowly walked into the martial arena.
Ye Lei!
The gazes of the crowd inevitably narrowed slightly.
Ye Lei, Body Tempering Eighth Level—a leading figure among the Ye Family's younger generation!