"It's him! The kid who won the Yimu Sword at the Luohai Trading House auction!"
As everyone's gazes swept over, many immediately recognized Ye Yunfei.
Previously, Ye Yunfei had kept a relatively low profile, staying behind the crowd, so he hadn't been spotted.
"Kid! Was it you who killed my cousin, Chen Beisheng?!"
Chen Fan's gaze, brimming with killing intent, fixed on Ye Yunfei from a distance as he roared.
"Correct. I was the one who killed him."
Ye Yunfei glanced at Chen Fan and said indifferently.
While speaking, Ye Yunfei didn't stop his steps, continuing to lead Hu Miao up the mountain slope at a brisk pace.
"So you're the one who killed the people from my Xiao Clan as well?"
Xiao Tianlong stared at Ye Yunfei, his killing intent also boiling.
"Correct. That was also me."
Ye Yunfei's tone remained exceedingly calm.
"Kid, is the Yimu Sword in your possession?"
Lei Lingzi's sinisterly cold gaze fell upon Ye Yunfei as he asked coolly.
"Correct. The Yimu Sword is indeed in my hands. If you're wondering whether I also possess the Thousand Mysteries Pill, I can tell you plainly — I do indeed have Thousand Mysteries Pills on me. Moreover, aside from those, I also have many sixth-grade and seventh-grade spirit pills of immense, priceless value on me. So? Satisfied with my answer?"
Ye Yunfei swept a disdainful glance at Lei Lingzi.
Now that he'd been recognized, Ye Yunfei chose to simply own up to everything.
While Ye Yunfei did not want to cause unnecessary trouble, he was absolutely not afraid of trouble.
"This kid... he's far too arrogant!"
The surrounding people, upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words, couldn't help but secretly click their tongues in astonishment.
Chen Fan, Xiao Tianlong, and Lei Lingzi — all three were among the absolute pinnacle prodigies of the Eastern Region's younger generation, renowned and revered. Never mind how terrifying the forces behind these three were.
And yet, now someone actually dared to speak to these three young monsters in such an arrogant tone. Did he truly not want to live any longer?
At this moment, Chen Fan, Xiao Tianlong, and Lei Lingzi all stared at Ye Yunfei, the killing intent in their eyes reaching an extreme point of concentration.
Lei Lingzi in particular, his face slightly twisted, his rage burning so hot it seemed almost tangible. He appeared on the verge of flying into a berserk fury.
"You ignorant trash who doesn't know life from death! Get your ass over here this instant!"
Lei Lingzi roared viciously. His temper was notoriously volatile.
Yet Ye Yunfei disregarded him with utter contempt. He and Hu Miao strode up the mountain as swiftly as flying, continuing their advance toward Tianying Hall without pause.
"Huh? What are those two doing? Why are they continuing up the mountain? Do they not fear those Shadow Beasts? They wouldn't be so naive as to try dealing with those Shadow Beasts themselves, would they?"
"Yeah! Are the two of them out of their minds? If they keep climbing, those Shadow Beasts will tear them to shreds!"
...
Finally, everyone noticed that Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao had already reached roughly the midway point on the mountain slope. Above them, dense masses of Shadow Beasts waited menacingly, brimming with killing intent.
"Master, there are a great many Shadow Beasts ahead," Hu Miao said at this point, sounding somewhat hesitant.
Although she was a member of the ancient Tianhu fox race and possessed considerable power, she had been trapped for hundreds of years and had exhausted most of her demonic energy, far from having recovered to her peak. Thus, she was in no condition to fight such a vast number of Shadow Beasts.
"It's fine. They won't make a move."
Ye Yunfei smiled at Hu Miao and, if anything, quickened his pace.
Hu Miao was momentarily stunned. However, when it came to Ye Yunfei, she held absolute trust. So, she sped up as well and followed him.
"A pair of dogs, a man and a woman, too ignorant to fear death! Fine! I want to see just how unafraid of those Shadow Beasts you truly are!"
Lei Lingzi sneered coldly.
Chen Fan, Xiao Tianlong, and Luo Qingwu also watched Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao coldly, not uttering a word.
"Haha... This dog-man and dog-woman's heads are surely malfunctioning! With dozens of Shadow Beast Kings and so many ordinary Shadow Beasts here, even if all of us here joined forces to attack, we might not be able to overcome them. Could it be that these two truly believe that just the two of them can take on that horde?"
"Just watch. Very soon, that man and woman will be torn to pieces by those Shadow Beasts!"
"What a pity! That girl's figure is really quite nice. If one could just wrap their arms around her, tsk tsk..."
Many people chimed in with mocking taunts.
At this very moment.
*Slish!*
Suddenly, a gleam of black light flashed, and a bone-chilling, pervasive killing intent spread through the air.
"Aaaaargh!!!"
Almost simultaneously, more than a dozen of those who had mocked found their throats slashed open. Blood sprayed madly, and then their breaths ceased entirely.
All the others broke into a cold sweat down their spines, hastily retreating and not daring to say another word.
By now, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao had already reached the middle section of the slope.
"ROAR!"
One Shadow Beast after another closed in on Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao from all directions, letting out piercing, wrathful roars.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao were completely surrounded. In their immediate vicinity, densely packed masses of Shadow Beasts covered every direction.
Several Shadow Beast Kings also fixed their bloodthirsty beast eyes on the two of them, radiating intense killing intent.
"Master!"
Hu Miao's lithe form tensed as she moved closer to Ye Yunfei, a bit nervous.
Ye Yunfei, however, appeared completely composed.
All around the mountain peak, pairs of eyes watched this scene unfold.
"That man and woman are about to meet a death leaving no place for burial!"
Everyone believed that Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao were undoubtedly doomed.
However.
The next moment, something unbelievable happened.
"ROAR!"
One of the Shadow Beast Kings atop the peak let out a sharp, grating roar.
Then.
All the Shadow Beasts surrounding Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao turned their heads to look up toward the direction of Tianying Hall.
Immediately afterward.
These Shadow Beasts retreated to the sides, clearing a path.
"Let's go. Up we go."
Ye Yunfei said.
"Wh-what's going on?!"
Hu Miao followed behind Ye Yunfei, feeling completely baffled.
"What happened?!"
"Those Shadow Beasts actually made way for that man and woman!"
...
All the other people around the mountain slope were equally stupefied, their faces full of disbelief.
By this time, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao were drawing ever closer to Tianying Hall. Along the entire path, the Shadow Beasts actively cleared the way for them, posing no hindrance.
A short while later, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao finally arrived before Tianying Hall.
"Look! They've reached Tianying Hall!"
Someone cried out loudly.
"Impossible! How in the world did this happen!"
Lei Lingzi could not suppress a furious roar.
The young geniuses — Luo Qingwu, Xiao Tianlong, Chen Fan, Tang Qiandi — also each wore expressions of utter disbelief.
Simultaneously, these young prodigies were filled with intense resentment. Each hailed from a great clan or sect, adorned with the halo of a peerless genius. Wherever they went, they were the focal point, lavished with admiration, the undisputed protagonists.
Yet here, after exerting themselves for so long, they had been unable to draw near to that Tianying Hall.
But two complete nobodies, completely unknown and unimportant, had actually approached that hall with such effortless ease!
* * *
At the entrance to Tianying Hall.
"Tianying Wang, I have arrived."
Ye Yunfei stood before the grand doors of Tianying Hall, hands clasped behind his back, and spoke calmly.
*RUMBLE…*
As soon as Ye Yunfei finished speaking, the two massive doors automatically swung open.
A thick, historic aura of immense antiquity wafted out from within the great hall.
"Let's enter."
Ye Yunfei said. Then, leading Hu Miao, he strode into Tianying Hall.