Author note: More than 100k viewers, thank you for giving this story a shot.
Sorry for not updating this story for some time. I am always busy in March and April. I will try my best to update faster. I hope you guys will be patient with me and continue to support me.
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Fu rushed into the medical pavilion, his robes fluttering with urgency as he carried Ye Feng in his arms. The Radiant Saint Masters were already waiting; with swift, practiced movements, they laid Ye Feng upon a jade bed. A soft, sacred glow soon filled the room as strands of Radiant Saint Force flowed from their palms, weaving into Ye Feng's battered body like threads of light, mending wounds and stabilizing his breath.
Fu retreated to a corner, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned pale. His eyes never left Ye Feng's unconscious form. Each flicker of the healing light reflected in his gaze, yet it did little to ease the storm within his heart.
His brows furrowed deeply, and a cold glint surfaced in his eyes.
"Damn it…" he muttered under his breath, his voice laced with unwillingness and fury. "If I was stronger… Brother Feng would never have been pushed to this state by those vermin."
A surge of determination rose within him, like a dormant flame igniting.
"I must cultivate harder… break through my limits… no matter the cost." His fists tightened further as his aura faintly stirred. "Next time… I will stand at his side. And I will make sure no one dares to lay a hand on him again."
Fu slowly lowered himself to the ground, crossing his legs as he steadied his breathing. His gaze never left Ye Feng's pale figure, lying motionless as streams of radiant energy flowed from the Saint Masters' hands into his body. The air shimmered with sacred light, thick with healing intent, yet Fu's heart remained restless.
Time passed like a sluggish river. Fu clenched his fists atop his knees, silently enduring, waiting for the moment Ye Feng would awaken.
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In Rou's Dwelling
"Whaaat?! Senior Zhao… dead?" Rou's voice cracked as disbelief surged through her. Her eyes widened, filled with shock and fury. "Impossible! I refuse to believe such nonsense!"
Her gaze turned icy as it locked onto the four middle-aged men kneeling before her. Killing intent flickered faintly around her, her aura trembling with unstable energy. "Speak carefully… or don't blame me for what happens next."
One of the four middle-aged men, a burly figure with rippling muscles, short blond hair, and piercing green eyes set against a fair complexion, let out a heavy sigh. Grief flickered across his face as he lowered his head before Rou.
"Princess… it is the truth," he said, his voice thick with sorrow. "We witnessed it with our own eyes. Senior Zhao… was beheaded. His body lay still upon the ground… right beside Song Chao's corpse."
Tears streamed silently down the princess's cheeks, each drop carrying the weight of her grief. Her delicate hands tightened into fists, nails digging into her palms as sorrow twisted across her face. The air around her seemed to grow heavy, suffused with a chilling pressure.
Moments passed in suffocating silence.
Then, her eyes flickered.
A sharp, terrifying light burst forth from her gaze, like a blade unsheathed from the abyss. The temperature in the room plummeted as killing intent surged outward, pressing down on the four kneeling men like an invisible mountain.
Their hearts trembled.
The princess slowly lifted her head, her expression no longer one of grief, but of icy fury. Her gaze locked onto them, cold and merciless.
"Who did it?" she asked, her voice low yet filled with boundless killing intent.
A brief pause.
"Who… killed Senior Zhao?"
The four middle-aged men shuddered as the chilling killing intent radiating from Rou's eyes pressed down on them like a mountain. Their bodies quivered uncontrollably, as if caught in the grasp of an invisible force.
One of them mustered his courage, his voice trembling as he spoke with great difficulty, "P-Princess… w-we are… not entirely certain…" He swallowed hard, cold sweat trickling down his back. "B-But… we suspect it was Song Chao. H-His Saint Weapon… is a sword."
The stuttering middle-aged man skinny and unremarkable. Long strands of dark blue hair were tied into a loose ponytail that swayed behind him, while a pair of plain black eyes flickered with unease. His features were ordinary to the point of being forgettable, lacking even a trace of striking charm.
The burly, blond-haired middle-aged man stepped forward, his robust frame exuding quiet authority. Bowing his head slightly, he cupped his fists toward Rou and spoke in a grave tone,
"Princess… what are your orders regarding Ye Feng? That disciple, Fu, has already escorted him to the medical bay."
Rou's lips curled into a frosty sneer as she heard the burly man's question. Her eyes, cold and merciless, flickered with disdain.
"Ye Feng has already outlived his usefulness to us," she said icily, her voice carrying an unquestionable authority. "There is no need to concern ourselves with a discarded pawn."
A faint killing intent began to seep from her slender figure as her gaze turned distant, as though already envisioning the bloodshed to come.
"What truly matters now is the extermination of every last Zhang family followers remnants," Rou continued, her tone sharp as a blade. "However…"
She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly, a calculating glint flashing within them.
"Before that, I must pay a visit to the headmaster. There is a deal to be made."
Rou slowly closed her eyes, her lashes trembling faintly as her mind sank into deep contemplation. The hall fell into suffocating silence, the four kneeling men not daring to breathe too loudly. After a long while, her eyes snapped open—cold, resolute, and filled with an unshakable will.
Her gaze swept across them before settling on one figure.
With a graceful yet commanding motion, she raised her delicate, jade-like finger and pointed toward a man kneeling at the front—a sharp-featured, black-haired cultivator. His onyx eyes flickered with unease, his slim yet well-proportioned frame remaining perfectly still. Though his appearance was refined and handsome, under Rou's gaze, he seemed no different from prey before a predator.
"Ailun," she called, her voice as cold as frost in the depths of winter.
The man's body trembled slightly as he lowered his head even further. "This subordinate listens."
"I want you to contact my father immediately," Rou said, each word carrying an invisible pressure. "Tell him to send me a top-tier Human Rank martial skill without delay."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint flashing within them.
"Do I make myself clear?"
Ailun nodded his head, then he cupped his fist and exited Rou's dwelling to complete the task that the princess gave him.
Rou's gaze swept across the three remaining men, cold and unwavering like frost under moonlight.
After a brief silence, she spoke, her voice calm yet carrying undeniable authority. "You may all leave."
The three men exchanged a glance, then quickly bowed their heads in respect. Without daring to linger, they nodded once more and retreated from her dwelling, their footsteps fading into the quiet corridor as they departed.
The princess then lightly clapped her hands, summoning Mei and Xiu into her chambers.
"Assist me," she ordered calmly.
The two maids bowed and quickly set about preparing her. Silk garments rustled softly as they dressed her in the academy uniform, each fold arranged with meticulous care, as though even a single crease would be an insult to her status.
When the final sash was secured, the princess rose. The uniform clung to her slender frame, noble yet restrained, concealing the sharp edge of authority beneath its refined appearance.
She stepped forward without another word.
Two guards immediately followed at her side, their auras steady and vigilant as they escorted her out of the dwelling. The corridor outside felt colder, the air heavier, as though even the wind knew she was moving with intent.
Her gaze remained fixed ahead.
Toward the Azure Dragon Tower, where the academy headmaster resided—and where a deal would soon be made.
______
With Ye Feng and Fu
Ye Feng was completely healed after three hours. He and Fu then exited the medical bay. Fu was walking next to Ye Feng, and he was in deep thought. Ye Feng suddenly heard a loud sigh from Fu. He turned his head and saw Fu frowning in anger. Ye Feng was surprised; he had never seen Fu this angry before.
"Brother Feng, I am sorry; I wasn't any help for you against those bastards.". Fu bowed his head and apologised to Ye Feng.
When Ye Feng heard what Fu said, he felt warm in his heart, and he smiled warmly at Fu. He then said to him, "Brother Fu, you helped me take down the Zhang clan followers today; if you hadn't given my letter to the headmaster, we would not have been able to survive, and I am sure that I would have died in their hands.".
Fu didn't say anything; he knew what Ye Feng said was true, but he really didn't like it. He looked at Ye Feng in the eyes and solemnly said to him, "Brother Feng, I promise you I will not be a burden next time. I will stand next to you as an equal. Just wait for me.".
After saying his peace, Fu started walking towards the Azure Dragon Tower.
Ye Feng smiled at Fu, then he started walking back to his dwelling.
_____
In theHeadmaster office
"KNOCK, KNOCK!" Rou knocked on the headmaster's office door. "ENTER". Rou entered the headmaster's office. The headmaster raised his eyebrows when he saw that the princess was the one who knocked on his office door and came to visit him.
The headmaster smiled and said, "Princess, what a surprise! What can I do for you?" Princess Rou cupped her fist and said to the headmaster, "I come to make a deal with you, headmaster.".
The headmaster was surprised and asked, "A deal?" The princess nodded. "I am willing to give the academy a top human rank martial skill; in return, I want you to hand over all the Zhang clan followers to the royal family.".
The headmaster raised his eyebrow in interest and smiled at the princess. "Fine, but I will only hand prisoners to the royal family after you hand the martial skill to the academy.".
The princess nodded to him, but all of a sudden, their conversation was interrupted. "KNOCK, KNOCK." Fu entered the headmaster's office. His eyes widened when he saw Rou. He bowed to the headmaster and said, "Teacher, I am sorry for the interruption."
The headmaster waved his hand and smiled kindly at Fu. "Don't worry about it, Fu; we just finished our discussion." The princess nodded to Fu with a small smile, and she cupped her fist. "Well, I will take my leave. I will come back later to deliver to you the item that I promised." The headmaster nodded to her, and she exited the office.
After Rou exited the headmaster's office, the headmaster then looked at Fu and said, "What is it, Fu? You look like you have something to say to me." Without hesitation, Fu fell to his knees and said, "Master, please, I want to be stronger. I was useless today. I want to stand next to Ye Feng as an equal. Train me, master. Train me harder.".
The headmaster smiled widely, and he stood up from his chair and said, "Good, at last, you have that fire in your eyes again." Fu looked confused, and the headmaster smiled at him. He then started explaining what he meant: "The reason why I took you as my disciple is because of your courage and the strong will you demonstrated when you fought against Ye Feng.".
Fu's eyes widened. The headmaster just smiled at him, and then he said to Fu, "Listen, Fu, and listen well. I will tell you something. My teacher told me long ago. The most important things in cultivation are talent, strong will, luck, courage, and wisdom. I guarantee you that if you remember these words, you will walk far on your cultivation journey.".
Fu nodded his head solemnly, and the headmaster started said to Fu, "Let's go and train your axe-wielding skills, and don't forget to start absorbing the rank 3 monster core; it will help you advance your cultivation." Fu smiled widely and nodded his head. The two of them then went to an isolated training ground, and the headmaster started training Fu in his axe-wielding skills.
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With Ye Feng
Ye Feng returned to his dwelling and sat cross-legged on the ground. Then he took a gourd of wine from his space ring, and he started drinking the wine while thinking deeply, "Well, I am sure that most of the Zhang clan followers have been dealt with, so I will not need to focus solely on advancing my cultivation like before, and beside, I have already brokethrough to the Great Saint Master realm, so I am sure I can deal with Zhang clan followers if they attack me all of a sudden.".
Ye Feng smiled and nodded to himself, then he thought to himself, "Now, according to my first brother, since I reached the Great Saint Master realm, I can't stay in the academy any longer. I will be forced to graduate, and those who graduate from the academy either join the hidden dragon army, become mercenaries, or become independent cultivators.".
Ye Feng thought deeply about which path to choose, then he smiled and said to himself, "I don't think my father will be against me travelling the Tian Yuan continent; I really want to explore the continent freely". He nodded to himself after he chose his future path.
"But first, I need to ask the headmaster if he can allow me to stay longer in the academy. I want to explore and read more books from the academy library before going back to the clan". After making up his mind, Ye Feng finished the wine gourd and left his dwelling.
He started walking towards the nearest training ground, and Ye Feng summoned his saint weapon. When he arrived at the training ground, he then said to himself, "I am quite proficient with the Free Heart Sword Art, but I believe I can combine the three martial skills into one. To do that, I need to execute each martial skill like a second nature. To be able to reach that level, I need to keep improving my understanding and my execution of each of these martial skills.".
Ye Feng then started executing the Free beheading sword, The Free Steps, and The Free Piercing Sword over and over in order to deepen his understanding of those martial skills and to also master them to the highest degree.
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The next day, in the afternoon, Ye Feng started walking to the Azure Dragon Tower. "KNOCK, KNOCK" Ye Feng knocked on the headmaster's office. "ENTER." When Ye Feng heard the headmaster's permission, he entered his office.
The headmaster smiled when he saw Ye Feng. "Oh, Ye Feng, what can I do for you? Have a seat." Ye Feng smiled at the headmaster and took a seat. "Headmaster, I come today to ask for a favour from you.".
The headmaster looked at Ye Feng in interest and said to Ye Feng, "Let me hear what that favour is; then I will decide". Ye Feng nodded with a smile on his face.
Ye Feng then said to the headmaster," Headmaster, since I brokethrough to the Great Saint Master realm, I will have to graduate and leave the academy according to the academy rules. For the time being, I don't want to graduate and return to the clan. I want to spend some time polishing my skills and study in the academy library. I want your permission to stay for at least three months.".
The headmaster smiled at Ye Feng and nodded to him. "You can stay in the academy as long as you want." Ye Feng was overjoyed when he heard the headmaster's answer, and he cupped his fist and said, "Thank you, headmaster.".
The headmaster then picked up a scroll from his desk and gave it to Ye Feng. He smiled at him. Ye Feng was confused and opened the scroll. His eyes widened when he read the scroll, "Scorching Flame Palm, a top human rank martial skill.".
Ye Feng looked at the headmaster in shock, and the headmaster just smiled at Ye Feng. He then said to Ye Feng, "This martial skill I received after I made a deal with Princess Rou; if it wasn't for conflict between you and the Zhang clan, I would never have gotten my hand on this martial skill.".
Ye Feng was confused and asked, "What do you mean, headmaster?" The headmaster chuckled. "Yesterday, when you comforted the Zhang clan followers, the princess wanted me to hand over the Zhang clan followers that we captured to the royal family. In return, she will give the academy a top human rank martial skill, and the scroll in your hand is a copy of the martial skill she gave the academy. I decided to make a copy for you because, if it weren't for the conflict between you and the Zhang clan, there would be no way for me to make this deal with the princess. This is the least I could do to thank you for the opportunity you created for the academy.".
Ye Feng looked at the scroll and frowned. The headmaster noticed his frown and asked, "Ye Feng, what's wrong?" Ye Feng sighed and answered the headmaster, "Headmaster, I want to walk in the way of the sword. I want to be a pure sword practitioner. This martial skill will not help me on the path I have chosen to walk.".
The headmaster nodded in understanding and said, "If this is the path you have chosen to walk, then walk this path. I am sure you are aware of how valuable martial skills are on the Tian Yuan Continent. You can give the martial skill to your clan, sell it, or do whatever you want with the scroll.".
Ye Feng thought about what the headmaster just said and smiled at him, "You are right, thank you, headmaster.".
The headmaster nodded. Ye Feng then stood up, cupped his fist, and excused himself, then he exited the headmaster office.
______
Five months had passed since Ye Feng received the Scorching Flame Palm from the headmaster. In these five months, Ye Feng read many books from the academy library, like alchemy, inscriptions, formations, sects, comprehension notes, radiant saint masters, monster beasts, and the Tian Yuan Continent.
Ye Feng also trained diligently to master the Free-Heart Sword Art. He completely mastered the three martial skills, and now he is working on combining the three martial skills into one, but sadly, there has been no success.
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Azure City
Above Ye Clan Mansion
Three red spatial doors appeared in the sky above the Ye Clan mansion, one by one. The spatial doors opened slowly, and many cultivators walked through the doors.
After the spatial doors disappeared, hundreds of cultivators were hovering above the Ye Clan mansion. The guards of the Ye Clan turned pale when they saw the hundred cultivators hovering in the sky. The cultivators were looking at the Ye Clan guards and were giving them an evil smile.
All the cultivators had scarlet-long hair and scarlet-red eyes. An old man was leading all the cultivators. He was looking down at the Ye Clan mansion, just like the rest of the cultivators behind him. The old man had long scarlet hair, a long scarlet beard, and scarlet eyes; his face was full of wrinkles.
The old man then said, "Ye Qian, you know our deal: we destroy the Ye clan just like you wanted, and in return, we will capture all the virgins in the Ye clan so we can refine them. into blood weapons and nine claw pills." Ye Qian nodded with no emotion in his face. "Yes, sect master, as long as you kill everybody.".
Ye Qian has changed over the years; he looks completely different; his long black hair has now turned scarlet; and his eyes are now scarlet too. His face was void of all emotions. He was looking down at the Ye clan mansion. with no expression at all.
The sect master chuckled evilly, "Good, very good; the demonic path really suits you." The sect master then said, "Everybody kill all the Ye clan members except for the virgins.".
The Ye clan guards got paled when they heard this, and one of them shouted, "Go and notify the clan head, you moron, what are you waiting for?" One of the guards rushed as fast as he could to notify the clan head.
After the cultivators heard the order from their sect master, they started summoning flags, corpses, and all kinds of weapons from their space rings. The weapons and the flags look like they were made of blood. "SCOCCH." The sect master's right arm started to glow purple. He smirked evilly and said, "Let the destruction of the Ye clan begin.".