691: Chapter 691 Xuanyuan Sea!

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing in the depths of his gaze. "Are you threatening me?"

Bai Canghe laughed, his laughter filled with smugness and arrogance.

"What if I am threatening you?"

"Ye Chen, I admit you're a capable fighter."

"But no matter how good you are, can you protect so many people at once?"

"If you dare to act rashly..."

"They will die immediately."

Days ago, he had already sent people to infiltrate the Capital and Xiamen City, targeting everyone close to Ye Chen.

The Bai family, the Chu family, Bing Lan, Yi Yue, Jin Meiting, and even Ye Chen's parents...

Every single one of them was under their surveillance.

With just one command, those people would all die violent deaths at the same time.

Ye Chen looked at him and fell silent.

To Bai Canghe, that silence meant backing down, submission, and not daring to make a move.

The smile on the corner of Bai Canghe's mouth deepened.

"Ye Chen, I advise you to be sensible."

"Hand over the bronze key and the secrets you carry, and I can give you a quick death."

"Otherwise..."

"You will watch the people around you die before your eyes, one by one."

Ye Chen took a deep breath.

Then.

He smiled too.

But that smile was cold, as cold as ice shards in the dead of winter.

"Bai Canghe."

"I'll give you a guarantee as well."

"If you touch a single hair on their heads..."

"I will make sure none of you ever return."

Bai Canghe's smile froze on his face.

He felt the killing intent radiating from Ye Chen, so intense it almost felt physical.

That killing intent made his spine chill, making him want to retreat involuntarily.

But he didn't retreat.

Because he held Ye Chen's weakness in his hand.

He was emboldened by his leverage.

He was a powerhouse of the Nascent Soul Stage; how could he back down?

"Ye Chen, do you think these harsh words are useful?"

"I've lived for decades; what kind of scene haven't I witnessed?"

"If you continue to..."

Before he could finish, the atmosphere suddenly became tense to the extreme.

Ye Chen's killing intent surged outward all at once.

The expressions of the experts from the eight great powers shifted as they simultaneously circulated their True Qi, ready to strike at any moment.

The martial artists around them held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Everyone knew that whatever happened next would be an earth-shattering battle.

Just then...

"Hmm? What's all this commotion about?"

An aged voice came from behind the crowd.

Everyone was startled and turned their heads in unison to look.

The crowd automatically parted to form a path.

An old man in his nineties, sitting in a wheelchair and being pushed by a young girl, slowly entered.

The old man had white hair and a face full of wrinkles, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

He wore a faded gray robe with a blanket over his knees; he looked frail and elderly, as if his life force could flicker out at any moment.

But no one dared to underestimate him.

Because behind him followed a dozen men wearing black Zhongshan suits.

Each of those men had a profound aura; almost all were experts of the Tianyi Realm.

However.

The moment they saw this old man, their expressions changed drastically.

"Se... Senior Xuanyuan?"

The sect masters and elders of several other powers also had their faces change color.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai.

The head of the Xuanyuan Family, one of the Five Great Families of the Kunlun Ruins.

He was an existence standing at the very peak of the cultivation world's pyramid!

In the entire Kunlun Ruins, the number of people who could stand on equal footing with him could be counted on one hand.

Even so...

Even the Bai family had to respectfully call Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai 'Senior'!

The wheelchair came to a stop.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai looked up, his gaze sweeping across the field before finally landing on Bai Canghe.

"If you all can come, can't an old man like me come too?"

Bai Canghe took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"This junior did not mean that, I just..."

"Just what?"

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai interrupted him, still smiling, "Just didn't expect an old man like me to come join the fun?"

Bai Canghe's expression completely froze.

The experts from the other powers behind him also had quite the looks on their faces.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai.

In the Kunlun Ruins, this name represented an insurmountable mountain.

The Xuanyuan Family had always been aloof, never interacting with other families or powers, and certainly never involving themselves in something like a Martial Arts Tournament in the Secular World.

But today, not only did this old gentleman come, but he also refused to give them any face from the very start.

However.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai ignored the two of them, his gaze landing on Ye Chen.

"You are Ye Chen?"

Ye Chen looked at him and nodded: "I am."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai sized him up, his admiration unconcealed in his eyes.

"Good, good, good. Truly, a hero emerges from the youth."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Tens of thousands of eyes watched this scene, their hearts churning with shock.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai, the head of one of the Five Great Families of the Kunlun Ruins, actually admired Ye Chen so much?

But before the crowd could digest this information, Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai spoke again.

"I have already informed myself of the situation here."

"I hereby announce that the champion of the Martial Arts Tournament is the Ancient Tomb Sect."

Everyone lost their composure.

The entire valley completely erupted into chaos.

"What? Directly announcing the champion???"

"Even though Senior Xuanyuan is a senior from the Kunlun Ruins, does he have the final say in the Martial Arts Tournament?"

"Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?"

"But... this is too sudden! The top sixty qualifying rounds aren't even finished!"

...

The discussions of tens of thousands of people were like boiling water, bubbling over.

Bai Canghe's face turned completely dark.

He gritted his teeth: "Senior, this... doesn't follow the rules, does it?"

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai glanced at him.

"Doesn't follow the rules?"

"Was it following the rules when your group secretly swapped out the participants?"

Bai Canghe's heart sank.

The spokespersons of the other powers also had stiff expressions.

Although the evidence of swapping participants was ironclad, no one had dared to directly link them to it.

But they never expected...

That not only would this old man step in, but he would also pin this blame directly on them.

Well...

It wasn't exactly 'blame' since they really did arrange it, but wasn't there no evidence yet?

Could it be that the other party already held the evidence?

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai didn't waste any more words and continued coldly.

"You were the ones who broke the rules first."

"Ye Chen alone defeated the Sect Master of the Tianyi Sect, a powerhouse at the peak of the Golden Core Stage."

"It is perfectly reasonable for him to take the championship."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the field once more.

"Who agrees, and who objects?"

The entire field fell into dead silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

No one dared to speak.

No one dared to object.

No one even dared to breathe loudly.

Because everyone understood that Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai wasn't asking for opinions; he was announcing the result.

Whoever dared to object would be crossing the Xuanyuan Family.

Crossing the Xuanyuan Family was seeking death.

Bai Canghe stood in place, his face ashen.

The experts from the other powers were like deflated balloons; the arrogant aura they had just now vanished without a trace.

The martial artists around them looked at each other, and then...

"Agreed! Senior Xuanyuan is wise!"

"Yes, yes, yes! The champion is the Ancient Tomb Sect! They truly deserve it!"

"Instructor Ye took on many alone and defeated a peak Golden Core powerhouse; if he doesn't take the championship, who will?"

"I agree with both hands and feet! Whoever dares to object, I'll be the first to beat them up!"

...

One flattery was louder than the next!

Each more sycophantic than the last!

Those who were just calling Ye Chen arrogant and the Ancient Tomb Sect cheaters changed their faces faster than turning pages in a book, wishing they could carve the word 'Agreed' on their foreheads.

They weren't stupid.

Since Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai had personally stepped forward, there was no longer any suspense.

Whoever objected was a fool.

Ye Chen was a bit surprised.

He had no personal connection to Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai; it was impossible for the man to help him like this for no reason.

Unless...

Their stances differed, which was why he helped him.

And then there was that old man Xuanyuan Huo!

Bai Canghe took a deep breath.

He understood very well.

Today's matters could not continue.

For Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai to interfere like this, he must have obtained evidence. If they continued to resist stubbornly, they would only be the ones losing face.

Therefore.

Retreating was the best of the thirty-six stratagems.

Thinking of this.

He bowed to Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai.

"Since Senior Xuanyuan has decided, we will follow Senior's arrangements."

"In addition, there are other matters in the clan that need handling. I shall take my leave."

As soon as he finished speaking.

Without waiting for Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai to respond, he turned and left.

Seeing this, the people from the Hehuan Sect and others also bowed and followed dejectedly behind him like a pack of driven-away stray dogs.

They had arrived with aggressive momentum but left in silence.

No one dared to laugh openly.

But in everyone's eyes, there was a hint of schadenfreude.

The Nine Great Forces, over twenty super-strong experts, had come aggressively to demand accountability, only to be dismissed with a few words from an old man in a wheelchair.

This was an utter humiliation.

Once the people had left.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze, looked at Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai, and cupped his hands: "Thank you."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai waved his hand, smiling like a kind grandfather next door.

"No need to thank me; I just spoke a word of justice."

He paused, his gaze looking at Ye Chen meaningfully.

"Besides..."

"Even if I hadn't come, you could have solved it, couldn't you?"