Chapter 48 Complaint in the Court of Punishment

It's hard to say if it counted as a blessing in disguise, but the relationship between Ye Fan and Murong Wan rapidly warmed up after the great battle.

This significant change made Ye Fan's lips curve into an uncontrollable grin; he even felt like thanking Yan Jingyun for his 'life-saving assistance'.

Ye Fan leaned languidly against Murong Wan's thigh, enjoying her lap pillow service, all under the pretext of providing close protection.

Initially, Murong Wan's pretty face was constantly flushed, but as time passed, she grew accustomed to it and could only let Ye Fan act as he pleased.

After Murong Wan finished circulating her Qi, she let out a long breath. Upon careful sensation, she realized her cultivation had recovered by about fifty percent.

It turned out that herBreakthrough in the Battle (Breakthrough at the Critical Moment) had offset some of the side effects of the 'Ultimate Sublimation'.

At this rate, it would take at most two more months for her injuries to fully recover.

"Wake up, stop playing dead."

Murong Wan chuckled coquettishly with a blush, and only then did Ye Fan feign waking up.

"Wan'er, you're alright?"

"Almost. We've already delayed too long; we should hurry and set off."

The two stayed in the Zhongshan Kingdom's royal palace for a month, enjoying excellent food and drink every day.

To take care of them, the Zhongshan Kingdom's Princess even conscripted a batch of new palace maids from the common folk; all were blossoming girls of fifteen or sixteen, quite pleasing to the eye.

If not for Murong Wan being by his side, Ye Fan would surely have caused trouble.

He finally understood how difficult it was to sever worldly attachments, no wonder many Cultivators wished to find a Family or a small Kingdom to serve as a retainer.

Receiving much and doing little, like a local emperor—the thought of such a life was comforting.

However, once they did that, stepping onto the Immortal Path again would undoubtedly become much harder, and their cultivation in this life would mostly be stuck.

The two tidied up and prepared to leave. One of the Zhongshan Kingdom's Princesses had already ascended to the throne as Empress. As they departed, she thanked them profusely and, with a grand wave, offered to gift Ye Fan a hundred maids.

Sensing the killing intent emanating from beside him, Ye Fan could only cough dryly and quickly state that cash compensation would be preferable.

Ye Fan manipulated his red lotus sword to lift them both, soaring into the sky. This feeling of free flight was simply exhilarating.

Controlling the sword with Qi is a basic technique for a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator; aside from some special flying Divine Abilities, it requires no additional Cultivation.

Ye Fan had completely mastered this skill after familiarizing himself with it for a month, which was a covert enhancement to his own strength.

Ye Fan, under the guise of ensuring safety, held Murong Wan tightly in his arms, causing her pretty face to blush deeply, yet she was helpless against it.

"Right, Wan'er, what Divine Ability did you use that day to suddenly become stronger? Can you teach it to me?"

Ye Fan had intended to manipulate Murong Wan to trigger the System's tenfold return reward, but her answer disappointed him somewhat.

"That is the secret inheritance of my Profound Spirit Peak lineage. Only Master is qualified to teach it to Disciples. Even if you and I are Dao Companions, it's not possible," Murong Wan said, her face flushing.

Seeing Ye Fan's disappointed expression, Murong Wan suddenly felt a pang in her heart and instinctively tried to smooth things over.

"Don't worry. Master will definitely accept you as a Disciple. Then you will naturally be able to learn it."

Ye Fan could only offer a helpless smile. What he wanted was not just the 'Ultimate Sublimation,' but the tenfold returned reward. But for now, it seemed he had to shelve that idea.

"Speaking of which, I haven't met our Profound Spirit Peak's Chief yet. What kind of person is she, and is she easy to get along with?" Ye Fan couldn't help but press further.

Murong Wan glanced at Ye Fan and stated plainly that based on her understanding of her Master, she probably wouldn't like someone as glib as Ye Fan.

"Am I really that unlikable?" Ye Fan asked with a wry smile.

Murong Wan snorted softly and stopped paying attention to him, but she secretly thought that if Ye Fan revealed his Cultivation Aptitude, the Peak Masters of every peak would probably bash their brains out trying to accept him as a Disciple.

With the aid of sword flight, the two only took two days to return to the Joyous Union Sect.

Having walked through the gates of hell on this mission, the sight of the Wangyou Mountain Range scenery again made them feel somewhat dazed.

"We're finally home."

However, after exchanging a few words of emotion, the two did not go to the Azure Dragon Hall to submit their mission; instead, they headed straight for the Punishment Hall.

As fate would have it, the moment they entered, they saw an acquaintance, saving them a lot of trouble.

"Disciple Ye Fan pays respects to Elder Tie."

The one on duty at the Punishment Hall today was Tie Wuqing. After some time apart, this Elder appeared to have grown younger by a few years, and his snow-white beard seemed much softer.

"Hmph, it's you, brat. I haven't seen you around for a while; where did you go slacking off?"

Tie Wuqing snorted coldly, intending to mock Ye Fan, but this inadvertently opened the floodgates.

"Elder Tie, if you didn't ask, I wouldn't have mentioned it, but this Disciple has a belly full of grievances with nowhere to voice them."

"Grievances? What grievances?!"

Tie Wuqing seemed to have triggered a keyword; the whole person instantly became energized, feeling as if he had consumed a large amount of carefree pills.

Ye Fan miserably recounted the entire process of the mission. Ninety percent of it was true, just 'polished' in the details.

For example, Murong Wan using all her trump cards to desperately fight Luo Ruhai, which had nothing to do with Ye Fan.

As for Yan Jinghun, he was killed by a passing expert. If they hadn't been lucky enough, the two would have long since been separated from their heads.

Tie Wuqing listened from beginning to end, so furious that his beard flew up; with a loud bang, he smashed the desk in front of him.

"Outrageous! The Yan Family is courting death!"

Initially, Tie Wuqing found it hard to believe that the Yan Family dared to be so audacious as to bribe the Azure Dragon Hall to alter a mission and ambush Sect Disciples.

But upon seeing the shadow recording stone Ye Fan presented, the truth was undeniable.

As for Yan Jinghun being killed by a passing expert, although slightly absurd, it wasn't impossible.

After all, there were numerous hidden experts on the Heavenly Spirit Continent, and many who loved to meddle; events several times more absurd than this often occurred.

The Sect Head last time used the death of Yan Jingyun to rectify the Sect's discipline, and the Yan Family was the primary target, suffering greatly.

Tie Wuqing thought they would have restrained themselves, but unexpectedly, they had become even more reckless.

Any one of these charges would have been enough to make the Yan Family suffer severe consequences; it wouldn't be so easy to smooth things over this time.

"Don't worry about it; this matter, this Elder... no... the Sect will definitely give you an explanation."

Tie Wuqing snatched the shadow recording stone and stormed off angrily; it looked like he was probably going to discuss the matter with the Sect Head.

With Elder Tie leading the charge, Ye Fan was undoubtedly much more relaxed, only needing to wait for good news.

"I'm sorry to trouble you at your age. I'll send you a few more bottles of carefree pills another day," Ye Fan thought silently in his heart.

Murong Wan's injuries had not yet healed; they needed to focus on recovery.

The two left the Punishment Hall and returned directly to Profound Spirit Peak, but unexpectedly, they saw another acquaintance outside the Immortal Cave.

"What day is it today? Even she is here?"

"Senior Brother Ye Fan! Sister Murong!"

Outside the Immortal Cave door, Yun Li greeted them with excitement. It seemed that if Murong Wan hadn't been present, she might have thrown herself into Ye Fan's arms.