The next day.
Ye Yunfei headed straight for the central region of the Heavenly Beast Forest.
"A Fourth-Grade Flame Demon Wolf!"
Not long after entering the central region, Ye Yunfei's eyes lit up.
Ahead, a demonic wolf wreathed in crimson flames appeared. The wolf stood at least two meters tall, exuding a terrifying aura. Wherever it passed, the surrounding vegetation was pulverized into dust, then swept up by the flames and reduced to ashes.
The strength of a Fourth-Grade Demonic Beast was roughly equivalent to a human Body Tempering expert at the seventh or eighth level. However, demonic beasts possessed various innate special abilities, making their combat power far superior to human warriors of the same tier. This Flame Demon Wolf, for example, was renowned for its incredible speed!
"Good, you'll do."
Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Yunfei advanced to meet it.
A low roar rumbled from the wolf...
As soon as the Flame Demon Wolf saw Ye Yunfei, a flicker of mockery actually appeared on its ferocious lupine head before it let out another deep growl.
Then—
Whoosh!
Its large body transformed into a streak of red flame, moving with extreme speed as it charged at Ye Yunfei from hundreds of meters away.
"Good heavens!" Ye Yunfei exclaimed.
Man and wolf clashed in fierce battle.
After a few exchanges—
Fssst!
The Void Blade abruptly appeared at the Flame Demon Wolf's throat and slashed sharply.
With a whimper... the demon wolf collapsed, struggling for a moment before breathing its last.
"A Fourth-Grade Demonic Beast indeed yields a much greater amount of Bloodline Essence."
After collecting the Bloodline Essence from the corpse, Ye Yunfei nodded in satisfaction.
"Let's continue!"
He knew he only had four days left and had to make the most of his time to gather enough essence.
For the better part of the day, Ye Yunfei pressed on without rest, slaughtering hundreds of Fourth and Fifth-Grade Demonic Beasts in one go!
A Fifth-Grade Demonic Beast roughly matched a human Body Tempering ninth-level warrior. Handling them posed little difficulty for Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei grew increasingly efficient and proficient in his killing. He even began to develop personal insights into the process! When encountering slower, more cumbersome demonic beasts, he could simply lie in wait nearby, control his Void Blade to ambush them, and strike them down with a single lethal blow!
As the killing continued, the scent of blood accumulated on Ye Yunfei grew thicker and thicker, and an ominous aura of slaughter began to emanate faintly from his person.
This caused the lower-tier demonic beasts to flee in terror the moment they caught sight of him—an instinctive reaction from the animals.
"A Sixth-Grade Mighty Demon Bear!"
As he ventured deeper, Ye Yunfei finally encountered a Sixth-Grade Demonic Beast: the Mighty Demon Bear. Known for its immense strength and ferocity, this beast's hide was as hard as profound iron, granting it monstrous defensive capabilities.
"Kill!"
Without another word, Ye Yunfei charged forward, longsword in hand, and engaged it in combat.
A Sixth-Grade Demonic Beast was roughly equivalent to a human martial artist at the early Earth Realm. The battle lasted several dozen moves. The combat prowess of this Mighty Demon Bear surpassed even that of Ye Zhongnian!
However, Ye Yunfei had once been a Heavenly Emperor. Few in this world could match the sheer strength of his fighting will or the heights of his combat skill!
In the end, Ye Yunfei employed the Void Blade in a sneak attack, first blinding the bear's eyes, rendering it sightless. Only then did he successfully slay it.
"Hahaha! Higher-tier Demonic Beasts indeed yield a far greater amount of Bloodline Essence!"
Ye Yunfei was in excellent spirits. From this single Mighty Demon Bear, he collected a full bottle of Bloodline Essence!
"Continue!"
His figure flashed forward as he pressed onward.
Following this, Ye Yunfei hunted down dozens of Sixth-Grade Demonic Beasts in quick succession!
* * *
While Ye Yunfei was fully engrossed in hunting demonic beasts within the Heavenly Beast Forest…
Yuanyue City.
Shi Family.
Inside a room, Shi Shaojie lay on a bed. Shi Tianyuan, the Shi Family Patriarch, and an elderly physician stood by the bedside. Several other high-ranking members of the Shi Family stood behind them.
"Physician Lu, just what is Shaojie's current condition?" Shi Tianyuan asked.
"Returning to the Patriarch, the Young Master's primary injury is to his soul. Recovery will not be swift; a period of convalescence is required," a physician around sixty years of age replied.
"Father, I want Ye Yunfei dead! I want him minced into ten thousand pieces!"
On the bed, Shi Shaojie's face contorted as he snarled in a low voice. His eyes blazed with furious flames, and he seemed on the verge of grinding his teeth to dust.
"Any word from the Yin Wind Mercenary Corps?" Shi Tianyuan inquired slowly.
"Patriarch, the Yin Wind Mercenary Corps just sent a carrier-pigeon message. They have confirmed that the good-for-nothing Ye Yunfei entered the Heavenly Beast Forest a day ago and is likely undergoing training there now. The Yin Wind Corps has dispatched their elite assassins, the 'Yin Wind Six Ghosts,' to the Heavenly Beast Forest to hunt him down. Each of the Six Ghosts is at the mid-stage Earth Realm, and they specialize in concealment, tracking, and assassination arts. No matter how capable Ye Yunfei is, it's believed he cannot escape death this time," a senior Shi Family member standing nearby answered.
"The Yin Wind Six Ghosts! Excellent. It seems that good-for-nothing Ye Yunfei will indeed find it difficult to escape death," Shi Tianyuan said with a satisfied nod.
"However, the Yin Wind Mercenary Corps demands that we pay eighty percent of the fee today. The remaining twenty percent is to be paid immediately upon Ye Yunfei's death."
"Agree to their terms. As long as they can kill that waste Ye Yunfei, I'll pay any price! First, he publicly wrote a letter of severance to humiliate my daughter; now, he injures my son. If I do not kill this boy, this hatred will fester!" Shi Tianyuan's killing intent was palpable.
"Father, even killing Ye Yunfei will not soothe the hatred in my heart. I want the Ye Family eradicated!" Shi Shaojie cried out madly.
"Shaojie, rest assured. Our Shi Family, the Qin Family, and the Lu Family have already discussed this. Four days from now, during the Four-Clan Mine Seizing Competition, we will officially move against the Ye Family. The specific plan is for the younger generation of our three families to unite and slaughter all of the Ye Family's youth during the competition. Once the competition ends, our three families will join forces and send troops to besiege the Ye Residence, capturing every member of the Ye Family—high and low—in one fell swoop! Then, we will divide up the Ye Family's assets," Shi Tianyuan said with a cold laugh.
"Excellent!" A gloating smile appeared on Shi Shaojie's face.
"Four days from now, besides our three families, we have also hired the Yin Wind Mercenary Corps. Even the City Lord's residence will cooperate with our actions. The Ye Family is doomed!" Shi Tianyuan stated flatly.
"Hahaha… Excellent! Absolutely perfect! Good-for-nothing Ye Yunfei, are you regretting your actions yet? This is the price you pay for injuring me!" Shi Shaojie began laughing wildly.
"Oh, right, Father. That girl from the Ye Family, Ye Xue, is quite the looker. Don't kill her. Capture her. I want to have some proper fun with her!" Shi Shaojie's gaze revealed a primitive, lustful desire.
"Fine," Shi Tianyuan nodded.
He rarely refused any of his son's demands.