31: Chapter 31 Nighttime Conspiracy

As the referee loudly announced the result, the entire Martial Arts Arena fell into a brief silence, followed by an immediate uproar!

Ye Tian!

This "Trash," once despised by everyone, had actually defeated the benchmark of the Ye Family's younger generation, Ye Long!

And in such an overwhelming manner!

Ye Long lay at the edge of the ring, his face pale as paper, blood constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with humiliation and monstrous hatred as he looked at Ye Tian.

He struggled to stand up, but it aggravated his internal injuries, triggering another fit of violent coughing and drawing even more complex gazes from those around him.

The Ye Family disciples, whether they had mocked Ye Tian in the past or remained neutral, now looked at the figure in the center of the ring with gazes that had completely changed.

Shock, awe, jealousy, disbelief... all sorts of emotions intertwined.

On the high platform, the Grand Elder took a deep breath, suppressing the waves in his heart, and walked to the front to announce: "The Family Sacrifice Martial Arts Tournament ends here!"

"The final rankings are as follows: First place, Ye Tian! Second place, Ye Long! Third place, Ye Qing! Fourth place, Ye Hong! Fifth place, Ye Yuan!"

"In addition to receiving generous resource rewards from the Family, the five individuals above will also earn the qualification to enter our Ye Family Ancestral Land Secret Realm to Cultivate in seven days!"

"The Ancestral Land Secret Realm is a blessed land left behind by our ancestors, filled with Spiritual Qi and hidden Opportunities!"

"Those who enter will naturally advance in their cultivation, and they will have the chance to obtain the Cultivation Techniques and Spirit Medicines left behind by our ancestors!"

"I hope you five will grasp this well, Cultivate diligently, and bring glory to our Family!"

As the Grand Elder's voice faded, a wave of envy immediately erupted from below the stage.

"The Ancestral Land Secret Realm! I heard that just going in once can increase one's cultivation by at least one level!"

"More than that! There might even be Profound Rank Cultivation Techniques inside!"

"Sigh, if only I could go in too..."

The three, Ye Qing, Ye Hong, and Ye Yuan, all displayed wild joy, unable to contain their excitement.

Although they were outstanding members of the Family, their daily resources were far inferior to Ye Long's; obtaining the qualification for the Secret Realm this time was undoubtedly a massive Opportunity.

Ye Long's expression grew even uglier; this qualification for the Secret Realm should have been his for the taking, yet now he had become a foil for Ye Tian!

As for Ye Tian, he stood in the center of the ring, his expression remaining calm.

Regarding this first-place position and the qualification for the Secret Realm, he felt no great ripples in his heart; this had been his goal for participating in the tournament from the start.

What he cared about more was that through this battle, he had proven his strength and potential to everyone, won the capital to establish a foothold in the Family, and bought a moment of respite for himself and his mother.

"The Family Sacrifice Ceremony is concluded! Dismissed!" the Grand Elder finally announced.

The crowd began to disperse slowly, still unsatisfied, but the focus of their discussion was undoubtedly centered on Ye Tian.

This astonishing youth was destined to become a hot topic of conversation in the Ye Family and even the entire Luo City for some time to come.

On the VIP stand, Lin Batian stood up and said to Ye Qingtian with a fake smile: "Family Head Ye, congratulations! Your Family truly has talented people emerging one after another; first there was nephew Ye Long, and now there is an even more impressive Ye Tian. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared! Hehe..."

The "congratulations" in his words lacked any sincerity and instead carried a cold, murderous intent, especially when he mentioned the name "Ye Tian," that shred of killing intent was almost undisguised.

Lin Feng was even more direct, his cold gaze locking onto Ye Tian, making no attempt to hide his determination to get rid of him quickly.

Ye Qingtian's expression did not change, and he said indifferently: "Family Head Lin is too kind; it is just a dispute between juniors, not worth mentioning."

Internally, however, he was solemn, knowing that the Lin Family would never let this go, and that the protection for Ye Tian would need to be more thorough in the future.

Lin Batian snorted coldly, said no more, and flicked his sleeves as he left with the Lin Family members.

The Chen Family Head, Chen Xuan, walked up slowly and bowed to Ye Qingtian: "Family Head Ye, congratulations. Ye Tian of your residence has exceptional talent and a calm, determined Heart-Nature, far beyond that of an ordinary youth. Such a fine talent should be carefully cultivated; do not let the Opportunity bestowed by Heaven go to waste."

His words were sincere, carrying genuine appreciation and a reminder.

Ye Qingtian returned the salute solemnly: "I will keep Family Head Chen's golden words in mind."

Chen Xuan nodded, cast a meaningful glance at Ye Tian in the distance, and then left with the Chen Family members.

The girl in the green dress behind him paused slightly when passing near Ye Tian, turned her head to look at him, curved her lips into a faint smile, and spat out two barely audible words: "Interesting."

Then she floated away.

Ye Tian felt that gaze and those two words; he looked up and only saw a slender, pale green back.

He frowned slightly; this Chen Family girl gave him a feeling of being unfathomable.

After the outsiders had all departed, Ye Qingtian, the Second Elder, and other core figures summoned the five, including Ye Tian, to them, encouraged them, and explained in detail the precautions for entering the Ancestral Land Secret Realm in seven days and how to collect the relevant rewards.

Ye Long kept a dark face the entire time and said nothing.

Ye Tian remained as calm as usual.

After everything was finished, Ye Tian, under the gaze of countless complex eyes, silently left the Martial Arts Arena and walked toward his own small courtyard.

Defeating Ye Long, winning first place, obtaining the qualification for the Secret Realm... this seemingly glorious victory did not make him feel the slightest bit relaxed.

On the contrary, he clearly felt that more gazes, deeper schemes, and more dangerous crises were coming.

The Lin Family's undisguised murderous intent, the resentment of Ye Long and the forces behind him, the possible jealousy and exclusion within the Family, and that Black Cloud Stronghold... the road ahead was still full of thorns.

But Ye Tian felt no fear.

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body.

The Ancestral Land Secret Realm seven days later would be the starting point for his next leap!

At midnight, in a secret room deep within the Lin Mansion in Luo City.

Lin Batian sat in the main seat with a gloomy expression, with Lin Feng and a black-robed person standing below.

"Trash!"

Lin Batian slammed the table, and the sandalwood tabletop cracked instantly. "You couldn't even handle a little bastard from the Ye Family, and you even let him cripple Hao'er in public!"

"Now he is even showing off at the Ye Family Sacrifice!"

"My Lin Family's face has been completely lost because of you!"

Lin Feng lowered his head, his fists clenched tightly: "Father, please calm your anger!"

"It was my carelessness!"

"I didn't expect that brat to be hiding so much!"

"But please give me another chance, Father!"

"The Ancestral Land Secret Realm seven days from now will be his burial ground!"

"The Secret Realm?"

Lin Batian sneered, "The Ye Family Ancestral Land Secret Realm, is that somewhere you or I can enter at will?"

At this moment, the mysterious black-robed person let out a hoarse, low laugh: "Why must Family Head Lin be so angry?"

"We cannot enter the Ye Family Secret Realm, but someone... can enter."

Lin Batian's eyes flashed as he looked at the black-robed person: "Friend from the Black Cloud Stronghold, what brilliant insight do you have?"

The black-robed person was none other than the Third Chief of the Black Cloud Stronghold, Yan Sha, known as the "Black-Faced Yama."

He said insidiously: "The Ye Family Secret Realm is not without flaws every time it opens."

"As far as I know, the Formation at the entrance of the Secret Realm has an extremely brief energy fluctuation the moment it opens and closes."

"As long as the timing is grasped correctly, it is not impossible for us to quietly send one or two 'shadows' inside."

Lin Feng's eyes brightened.

Lin Batian pondered for a moment, cold light flashing in his eyes: "And the price?"

Yan Sha extended three fingers: "First, after the matter is accomplished, everything on Ye Tian, including that strange fist technique Secret Manual, belongs to my Black Cloud Stronghold."

"Second, after the Ye Family Secret Realm is over, the mining rights to that Red Iron ore vein near my Black Cloud Stronghold belong to us."

"Third, the Lin Family must secretly assist us in figuring out the defensive layout of the Ye Family's perimeter."

Lin Batian's expression changed; these conditions were extremely harsh, especially the Red Iron ore vein, which was one of the Ye Family's important sources of resources.

For many years, he had racked his brains trying to obtain it, and if he gave it to the Black Cloud Stronghold...

But thinking of Ye Tian's terrifying growth speed and potential threat, as well as the future where the Ye Family might rise because of this youth, the murderous intent in his heart outweighed everything else.

"Agreed!" Lin Batian gritted his teeth. "But I must ensure there is no room for error!"

"The people who go in must be the top-tier death warriors!"

"And, there must be absolutely no traces left that could link back to my Lin Family!"

Yan Sha let out a satisfied laugh: "Rest assured, Family Head Lin, my Black Cloud Stronghold always handles matters cleanly and efficiently."

"A kid at the Qi Gathering Fifth Level, even if he is a bit strange, is perfectly normal to accidentally perish in a place like the Secret Realm."