In another corner of the palace, dozens of martial artists sat upright, their expressions uniformly cold as they watched with indifferent eyes.
Among them was a black-robed elder whose aura was as profound as the sea, seemingly deep in meditation with his eyes closed.
"You!
Get out here!"
Suddenly, the blue-shirted youth roared. With a flick and a twirl of his leather whip, he snared a stoutly built young man and yanked him out, slamming him viciously to the ground.
The young man, whose cultivation was only at the late Profound Realm, had his powers completely sealed, rendering him helpless. He was smashed against the floor, leaving his face bruised and swollen, blood trickling from his nose and mouth.
"Vermin! Kneel down immediately and kowtow a thousand times!
With each kowtow, you will say once that Ye Yunfei is a beast!
Hurry!"
The blue-shirted youth barked harshly, the whip in his hand cracking as it lashed the stout youth's body.
Instantly, a large chunk of muscle was torn from the young man's back, blood dripping profusely.
"Senior Brother Ye is my idol. I, He Houfeng, admire him immensely—how could I ever call him a beast!"
The stout youth endured the pain and spoke out.
This youth was precisely the top disciple of the Earth Peak of the Tianyuan Sect—He Houfeng.
Back when Ye Yunfei had first entered the Tianyuan Sect, during the competition to climb the Ascending Heaven Ladder, they had even competed on the same stage. However, as Ye Yunfei's status within the Tianyuan Sect soared, eventually reaching a position equivalent to that of the sect master himself, his interactions with He Houfeng had become scarce.
"Well said, Brother He!
Senior Brother Ye Yunfei is the pride of our Tianyuan Sect!"
"We of the Tianyuan Sect would rather die than submit to anyone!"
...
He Houfeng's words immediately drew vocal support from many disciples of the Tianyuan Sect.
"Won't submit, eh? Fine! I'll beat you until you submit!"
Flying into a rage, the blue-shirted youth roared furiously.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
In his fury, the whip in his hand descended like raindrops upon He Houfeng's body.
The whip was covered in barbs, and each lash inevitably tore away a piece of skin and flesh from He Houfeng. In moments, He Houfeng's body was covered in horrifying bloody welts, drenched completely in blood—a tragic and pitiful sight.
Some tender-hearted female disciples of the Tianyuan Sect had long since begun to sob quietly.
Yet, astonishingly, He Houfeng endured it without uttering a single groan.
"Kneel down, kowtow a thousand times, and say a thousand times that Ye Yunfei is a beast. Perhaps then I'll spare your life," the blue-shirted youth sneered.
"In your dreams! Senior Brother Ye will forever be my idol in my heart! Kill me if you will!"
He Houfeng, now on the verge of death, spoke with a weak voice.
"Fine! Then I'll kill you!" the blue-shirted youth snarled in anger.
"Wait! I'm closest to Senior Brother Ye! If you want to vent your anger, come at me! Let him go!"
Suddenly, a sturdy, dark-skinned young man stepped forward.
This youth was none other than A Niu, a disciple of the Metal Peak of the Tianyuan Sect.
"Brother A Niu, step back! Let me handle this! My name is Zhou Mu! If you have any grievances against Brother Fei, direct them at me, Zhou Mu! Don't hurt others!"
Another young man with a simple, honest expression stood up and spoke.
This youth was none other than Zhou Mu!
"Good, good, good! I never expected you Tianyuan Sect dogs to have a few with stiff spines. You don't need to offer yourselves up. I'll kill you all, so you lowly scum learn your lesson!"
The blue-shirted youth reached the peak of his fury.
As soon as his words fell, he raised his whip high. Carrying a powerful pressure of spiritual energy, it shot toward He Houfeng's head.
This blue-shirted youth was an expert at the early Mystic Liquid Realm! If this whip strike landed solidly, He Houfeng would undoubtedly be shattered to pieces, reduced to a mist of blood!
"Brother He!"
A Niu, Zhou Mu, and more than a dozen other Tianyuan Sect disciples all charged forward, trying to block the whip with their own bodies.
But with their cultivation sealed, their movements were incredibly sluggish—there was no way they could stop it.
Just as the whip, howling with the sound of wind and thunder, was about to strike He Houfeng's skull…
Whoosh!
A figure flashed, and in an instant, a person stood before He Houfeng.
Everyone fixed their gaze and saw a young man gripping the whip in his right hand, his face extremely dark.
The whip, covered in barbs, seemed like nothing in his grasp.
"Seeking death!"
The blue-shirted youth felt both shock and fury as he tried with all his might to yank the whip back.
To his horror, no matter how hard he pulled, the whip remained firmly rooted, immobile, held fast in the young man's palm.
"Brother Fei!"
"Senior Brother Ye!"
"Ye Yunfei!"
...
At this moment, within the great hall, the four thousand-plus imprisoned members of the Tianyuan Sect, the Ye Family, and the Luohai Trading Company were all overjoyed, each of them crying out.
"You are Ye Yunfei?!"
As if encountering a ghost, the blue-shirted youth instantly turned pale.
In the corner of the hall, the dozens of martial artists seated upright on chairs all looked over in shock, their gazes fixed in unison.
The black-robed elder who had been meditating suddenly opened his eyes, fierce light flashing in his gaze as he stared at Ye Yunfei.
"Brother Fei! These people have captured Elder Ren, Chief Shi, Patriarch Ye, and all the others!" Zhou Mu shouted.
Ye Yunfei's gaze swept through the hall, his expression turning extremely ugly. Among the four thousand-odd people here were all low-strength, low-status, insignificant members of the Tianyuan Sect, the Ye Family, and the Luohai Trading Company.
As for the upper and middle echelons of these three groups, not a single one was present.
Clearly, they had already been moved elsewhere.
"Ye Yunfei! How dare you come here!"
After learning that the young man before him was Ye Yunfei, the blue-shirted youth had long since turned pale with fright. A chill ran straight through his heart. Gathering his courage to utter a face-saving line, he desperately retreated, charging frantically toward the corner where the black-robed elder sat.
Are you joking? Even his own grandfather—a Second-Level Grotto-Heaven Realm expert—had been killed by Ye Yunfei. What was he worth in front of Ye Yunfei?
"Daring to injure my Tianyuan Sect disciples? Do you think you can just leave?"
Ye Yunfei reached out with a beckoning motion. A powerful suction force erupted, pulling the blue-shirted youth right back, directly into his grasp.
After elevating the Gluttonous Beast within his Nine Palaces Totem Wheel by one level, Ye Yunfei could now generate astonishing swallowing forces with every casual movement.
Ye Yunfei pointed a finger, striking directly at the blue-shirted youth's dantian, instantly shattering it to pieces.
"Ah!
No! You... you crippled me!"
The blue-shirted youth's soul flew out of his body in terror. He had painstakingly cultivated to break through to the Mystic Liquid Realm, only to have his cultivation annihilated.
Ye Yunfei flicked his sleeve, releasing a powerful aura of spiritual energy that enveloped the four thousand-plus members of the Tianyuan Sect, Ye Family, and Luohai Trading Company.
Instantly, the seals on them were all lifted, and their cultivation restored.
Whoosh... whoosh...
With a flick of his fingers, Ye Yunfei sent out several hundred jade vials, which landed before them.
"Those who are injured, take these spiritual medicines immediately."
Ye Yunfei commanded.