3: Sword Shocks the Law Enforcement Hall
The courtyard gate was kicked open violently, wood chips flying everywhere.
Firelight flickered, reflecting a group of people with ill intent. The lead man with a gloomy face was the Third Deacon of the Ye Family's Law Enforcement Hall, Ye Xiong. His gaze was like a hawk's, instantly locking onto Ye Chen as he calmly walked out of the room. When he felt the calm Aura from Ye Chen, so different from before, and the faint fluctuations of spiritual power, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.
This trash... weren't his martial veins completely shattered? How does he seem to... have a cultivation?
But this surprise was quickly replaced by irritation. A waste abandoned by the Family dared to injure a servant and defy his superiors; it was simply lawless!
"Ye Chen!" Ye Xiong shouted sternly, releasing his Kaiyuan Realm Third Level pressure without reservation, attempting to suppress him with his Aura. "Do you know your crime?"
The powerful Spiritual Pressure surged like a tide. If it were the previous Ye Chen, he would have likely been pressed to his knees, shivering. But now, his Divine Soul was that of the Nine Heavens Sword Sovereign; this bit of pressure was like a gentle breeze to him.
He stood tall like a pine, with a faint hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth: "Oh? What crime have I committed?"
"Presumptuous!" Seeing him dare to ignore his pressure, Ye Xiong was even more enraged. He pointed at Ye Fu screaming on the stretcher, "Openly committing violence, harming a fellow clansman, breaking limbs—such cruel methods! With witnesses and evidence present, you still dare to quibble!"
"Harming a fellow clansman?" Ye Chen sneered, his gaze sweeping over Ye Fu before fixing on Ye Xiong's face. "An evil servant who relies on power to bully others and has insulted and beaten this 'clansman' to the extreme—is he even worthy of being called a clansman? Deacon Ye, when did the Law Enforcement Hall become a sanctuary for such vicious dogs?"
"You!" Ye Xiong was choked into silence, his face turning red. How could he not know of Ye Fu's usual behavior? He just hadn't bothered to care about a waste's life or death. Being called out in public by Ye Chen made him feel he had lost a great deal of face.
"Sharp-tongued!" Ye Xiong snapped in anger, no longer wasting words. "This Deacon has no time to argue with you! Surrender immediately and follow me to the Law Enforcement Hall for trial! If you dare to resist, you will be killed without mercy!"
"Killed without mercy?" Ye Chen's eyes suddenly turned cold. "Just by you?"
"Courting death!" Ye Xiong was completely provoked. He had intended to use this opportunity to completely cripple Ye Chen to eliminate future troubles and curry favor with Ye Chenfeng of the Main House. Seeing Ye Chen so "unappreciative," his killing intent rose.
"Take him down! Dead or alive!" He waved his hand, ordering the guards behind him.
Over a dozen guards at the fifth or sixth level of the Quenching Body Realm shouted in unison, brandishing clubs and swords, pouncing on Ye Chen like wolves and tigers. In their view, dealing with a waste who had just recovered a bit of cultivation was an easy task.
Facing the siege, there was not a hint of panic in Ye Chen's eyes. The experience of thousands of life-and-death battles from his past life had long since merged into his Soul.
His feet moved, his figure like a ghost, weaving through the shadows of clubs and flashes of swords, narrowly avoiding all attacks. At the same time, he held his fingers like a sword, and the weak but pure Qi in his body instantly gathered at his fingertips.
"Puff! Puff! Puff!"
His fingertips accurately struck the wrists and joints of several guards. It seemed effortless, but it contained the domineering Qi refined by the Basic Qi Guiding Art and his exquisite control over power.
"Ah!"
"My hand!"
Screams rang out one after another. The guards in the front only felt a sharp pain in their wrists, their bones breaking, and their weapons clattered to the ground, instantly losing their combat effectiveness.
Ye Chen's movements were fluid and without any delay. He was like a butterfly among flowers, yet also like a life-taking specter. Every time he struck, someone was bound to fall to the ground wailing. He didn't kill them, but the places he hit were all vital joints; those struck were either injured or crippled, instantly losing the ability to fight again.
Within just a few breaths, fewer than five guards were still standing. Looking at Ye Chen, who was like a god of slaughter, their eyes were filled with fear, and their hands holding weapons trembled, not daring to take another step forward.
The entire courtyard was left with only the crackling of burning torches and the painful groans of guards all over the ground.
The disdain on Ye Xiong's face had long since vanished, replaced by deep shock and a hint of horror.
How is this possible?! Such exquisite movement, such ruthless and precise strikes—this is definitely not something a waste who has just resumed Cultivation could do! Even the carefully nurtured direct descendants of the Ye Family would never have such combat power at the same Realm!
"Little beast, you really are strange!" Ye Xiong's eyes were so gloomy they could drip water. He slowly drew the steel longsword from his waist; the blade shimmered with cold light, clearly not an ordinary item. "It seems I cannot leave you alive!"
The powerful Qi of the Kaiyuan Realm Third Level was poured into the sword without reservation. On the edge of the blade, an inch-long pale green Sword Qi actually flickered! The air seemed to be sliced open, making a hissing sound.
"Wind Splitting Slash!"
Ye Xiong shouted low, his figure bursting forward. The longsword in his hand carried a whistle that tore through the air, turning into a sharp green light aimed straight at Ye Chen's face! With this strike, he had used a Martial Skill, its power far exceeding the previous siege by the guards, vowing to kill Ye Chen with one blow!
Facing this furious strike from a Kaiyuan Realm expert, Ye Chen's pupils contracted slightly. The gap in Realms was real; meeting it head-on was by no means wise.
His feet stepped in succession, his body leaning back at an incredible angle while turning sideways. That sharp Sword Qi almost brushed past the tip of his nose, the cold edge scraping his cheek painfully.
"He dodged it?!" Ye Xiong was deeply shocked. His Wind Splitting Slash was known for its speed; even among those of the same Realm, few could avoid it so easily.
Just as his old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise, Ye Chen moved!
Instead of retreating, he took a step forward, closing the distance between them. At the same time, his right hand, which had been hanging at his side, suddenly rose, fingers held like a sword. At the tip of his fingers, a point of extremely condensed, almost invisible dark-gold light flashed and vanished!
That was him mobilizing all the Qi in his body, even drawing upon a trace of the Sword Intent from his past life deep within his Divine Soul, simulating a supreme strike—though it only had the form and lacked most of its power, its Concept far surpassed Ye Xiong's Wind Splitting Slash!
"Break!"
Ye Chen shouted low, his sword fingers pointing unerringly at the Shenmen Point on Ye Xiong's sword-wielding wrist!
Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!
This finger strike arrived after being launched, the timing perfect to the extreme!
Ye Xiong never expected Ye Chen would dare to counterattack, let alone that this counterattack would be so tricky and swift! He only felt his wrist go numb, as a sharp and tearing force instantly penetrated, causing the Qi flow in his entire arm to suddenly stall!
"Clang!"
The steel longsword slipped from his hand and hit the ground.
Ye Xiong groaned and stumbled back several steps, clutching his painfully numb right wrist, his face full of disbelief and horror.
He... he was actually disarmed with bare hands by a Quenching Body Realm waste?!
This was simply a great humiliation!
However, before he could recover from his shock and shame, Ye Chen's cold voice already rang out:
"Deacon Ye, now, can we have a good talk about exactly who defied their superior and what crime they should be charged with?"
Ye Chen stood with his hands behind his back. Although his clothes were tattered, his steady and overbearing Aura made everyone present, including the Kaiyuan Realm Ye Xiong, feel a pang of heart palpitations.
Just then, a cold and majestic voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard:
"It's quite lively here."
Everyone looked towards the sound and saw a young girl in a plain white dress with a clear and beautiful face, accompanied by an old man with a deep Aura, walking in slowly. The girl's gaze swept over the mess on the ground and the injured guards, finally landing on Ye Chen and Ye Xiong, who was clutching his wrist, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Young Miss Ye Qingxue?" Seeing the newcomer, Ye Xiong's expression changed instantly. He hurriedly bowed in greeting, his tone carrying a bit of respect and trepidation.
Ye Qingxue, the eldest Young Miss of the Ye Family's direct line, daughter of the Family Head, possessed extraordinary talent and a noble status, far beyond what a deacon from a branch line like him could compare to.
Ye Qingxue ignored Ye Xiong; her gaze, filled with a hint of curiosity, landed on the calm Ye Chen.
"I just returned from outside and heard some things." Her voice was crisp but carried an unquestionable majesty. "Deacon Ye Xiong, bringing so many people to my... distant cousin's residence, for what purpose?"
She intentionally paused slightly on the words "distant cousin," her gaze meaningful.
Ye Chen's heart stirred as he looked at this "cousin" with whom he had almost no interaction in his memory. The original host was solitary, and the difference between him and this favored daughter of heaven was like clouds and mud, with no contact at all. Her appearance now—was it a coincidence, or...?
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Ye Xiong's forehead. He stammered, not knowing how to answer.
The atmosphere in the small courtyard suddenly became subtle.