"Hahaha... See? I told you all that hearing Boss's Merit Points would scare you to death, but you wouldn't believe it! Now you know how terrifying it is!"
Wu Heishan couldn't help but laugh uproariously.
The followers beside Feng Yun'ao were all tongue-tied, with nothing to say in response.
Feng Yun'ao's own expression was so ugly it seemed to have reached rock bottom. Previously, at the Epiphany Stele, he had lost to Ye Yunfei. And now, here at the Mission Hall, he had been utterly crushed by Ye Yunfei once more.
He had gained fame in his youth, his reputation shaking the entire Central Continent. He had always been proud and arrogant, with an inflated view of his own abilities. Yet ever since encountering Ye Yunfei, he had suffered one setback after another.
"Let's go," Feng Yun'ao said in a deep voice, walking out of the Mission Hall.
After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly halted, turning to look back at Ye Yunfei and speaking word by word. "Ye Yunfei, we will meet again at the Freshman Ranking Tournament. In the competition, you'd better pray not to encounter me."
Then, he turned and strode out of the Mission Hall without looking back. His dozen or so lackeys hastily scrambled after him.
"We should go too," Ye Yunfei said, before leaving with Wu Heishan and the two siblings, Xiaohui and her brother.
As they were leaving, Elder Feng suddenly spoke up. "Young man, you're quite impressive. Cultivate well. I see potential in you."
"Thank you for the encouragement, Elder Feng," Ye Yunfei replied, turning back to offer his thanks.
'That old man hides his power well,' Ye Yunfei thought to himself. With a single glance, he had discerned that Elder Feng, who appeared on the surface as merely an ordinary old man assigning missions and recording Merit Points in the Mission Hall, possessed true strength that was absolutely no weaker than that of the Hudao Academy's two headmasters! Possibly even stronger!
Once they had left the Mission Hall, Xiaohui said to Ye Yunfei, "That Feng Yun'ao already holds a grudge against you. It's said that his combat power is unfathomably deep. At sixteen years old, he's at the late-stage True Manifestation Realm, but he can fight above his level and easily defeat opponents at the early Yuan Foundation Realm. He can even hold his own against mid Yuan Foundation Realm experts. Ye Yunfei, if you encounter him during the Freshman Ranking Tournament, you must be careful."
"It's no matter. If he dares to provoke me, he'll regret it," Ye Yunfei stated dismissively.
"Ye Yunfei, I'm serious. You'd better not underestimate Feng Yun'ao," Xiaohui insisted.
"A mere Feng Yun'ao isn't worth my concern," Ye Yunfei shook his head, his tone scornful.
"You...!" Xiaohui was so irritated she could find no words.
"Brother Ye, my little sister is worried about your safety. You shouldn't dismiss her heartfelt concern," Yuan Dayong chimed in from the side.
"Get lost!" Xiaohui's face flushed crimson as she yelled exasperatedly at her brother.
"Brother Yuan, didn't I tell you last time that women don't appreciate being so direct? You need to be more tactful. Understand? With a personality like yours, it's no wonder you get scolded by women," Wu Heishan lectured Yuan Dayong.
"No time to listen to your nonsense," Ye Yunfei shook his head, at a loss for words, and quickened his pace.
A short while later, Ye Yunfei returned to his own small courtyard. He entered the Phantom Tower to rest for a day. His courtyard was heavily damaged, and even his cultivation chamber was destroyed, so he had no choice but to enter the tower.
One day later, Wu Heishan and the two siblings arrived at Ye Yunfei's courtyard, intending to help him clean up the devastated mess.
"No need. The Xiao Sect's members will come clean it up for me," Ye Yunfei said as he emerged from the Phantom Tower, a cold sneer on his lips. "Let's go. We're paying a visit to the Xiao Sect headquarters."
"Visit the Xiao Sect headquarters?!" Wu Heishan, having heard Ye Yunfei's words, looked somewhat hesitant. "Boss, I heard a few Yuan Foundation Realm experts from the Xiao Sect have returned and are now personally stationed at their headquarters. Maybe... we should avoid confronting them head-on for now..."
He felt that although Ye Yunfei's strength was indeed quite good, dealing with Yuan Foundation Realm experts was still beyond his capabilities.
"Ye Yunfei, what Wu Heishan said is right. There's no need to clash head-on with the Xiao Sect just yet," Xiaohui also advised.
"Just a few Yuan Foundation Realm members. Not worth mentioning. With me here, there's nothing to fear. Let's go. To the Xiao Sect headquarters," Ye Yunfei declared, striding purposefully in the direction of the headquarters.
Wu Heishan, Xiaohui, and Yuan Dayong exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth and followed.
---
A short while later, Ye Yunfei arrived at the Xiao Sect headquarters.
The headquarters was an imposing palace situated atop a mountain ridge. Last time, Ye Yunfei had smashed the headquarters, causing half of it to collapse. Afterwards, the Xiao Sect had rebuilt, constructing an even more majestic palace.
At this moment, within the great hall of this palace, four early Yuan Foundation Realm experts were seated in the central positions.
These four experts were Shao Tianhu, Tang Zheng, Zhu Cong, and Song Yongqiang. All four were considered high-ranking members of the Xiao Sect. Today, the Xiao Sect had developed into one of the most powerful student organizations within Hudao Academy. It could be said that very few within the Academy dared to provoke it. Therefore, the true powerhouses within the Xiao Sect seldom needed to be stationed at the headquarters. They were either secluded in cultivation or out on training expeditions. Only members with True Manifestation Realm strength were assigned to guard the headquarters.
Who could have imagined that, on that previous occasion, a mere new student would storm their headquarters and tear half of it down? When the Xiao Sect's higher-ups received the news, they were all furious. Immediately, they dispatched four early Yuan Foundation Realm experts to return and take personal command at the headquarters.
Apart from these four Yuan Foundation experts, the hall was also filled with a large group of Xiao Sect members. Among them, more than a dozen lay on stretchers, their bodies swathed in white bandages and exuding the strong scent of medicine. These dozen or so members had been beaten to such a state by Wu Heishan.
"Elders, you must get revenge for us! That Ye Yunfei is too arrogant! He doesn't hold our Xiao Sect in any regard at all! As soon as he returned to the Academy, he immediately ordered that Wu Heishan to beat us up like this!" one burly member whose face was swollen like a pig's head wailed.
"Yes! Honored Elders! My right leg was broken! Avenge me!"
"Both my hands were broken by that Wu Heishan!"
...
One after another, the injured Xiao Sect members cried out their grievances, appearing utterly pitiful.
"Hmph!"
One Yuan Foundation expert built like a bear and a tiger, radiating murderous intent, snarled, "I never thought our Xiao Sect would be bullied like this one day! If we don't kill that Ye Yunfei, I fear the humiliation our Xiao Sect has suffered will never be washed clean."
His name was Shao Tianhu.
"I didn't expect that even after paying such a high price to hire Dongguo Xiong and his team to kill Ye Yunfei, we still didn't succeed," another Yuan Foundation expert, a handsome man in elegant white robes, frowned and said. "And, up until now, we haven't seen Dongguo Xiong and the others return. I suspect something has happened to them. Yet Ye Yunfei is completely unscathed. So, I believe this Ye Yunfei is full of strange, unexpected traits. We'd best not underestimate him."
This white-robed man was named Zhu Cong.
"Hmph! Zhu Cong, you're being far too cautious," Shao Tianhu sneered. "He's just a new student. No matter how strong he is, he has limits. The four of us are Yuan Foundation Realm experts. Are you saying we should fear a new student? In my opinion, we should just directly storm his place, kill Ye Yunfei, and put an end to this."
"I agree," a man in yellow robes chimed in. "I think Brother Shao's point makes sense. After all, the four of us are Yuan Foundation Realm experts. Wanting to deal with a mere new student—there's no need to be so fearful and hesitant, putting ourselves on edge like this."
This yellow-robed man was named Tang Zheng.