Chapter 115: Scorching Tigers and Hidden Dragons
Ye Zhenwu narrowed his eyes as he analyzed Su Tianhao from a distance.
'To remain unfazed under the pressure of a Martial Master...'
He was inwardly shaken. His spiritual sense surged outward, attempting to probe Su Tianhao's cultivation base—only to rebound like a wave crashing against a cliff, shattered and sent back with force.
The entire cadre of Ye family elders tried the same, one after another. Each attempt met the same invisible wall. At that moment, wariness arose in their hearts—not from Su Tianhao himself, but from the enigma standing behind him.
'Looks like the rumor about his master might not be baseless after all,' Ye Xunhai thought, a bitter smile forming inwardly. He was a man of wisdom and could connect the dots quickly. 'There must be someone standing behind him. First an ancient mortal-rank technique, then a heavenly constitution, and now this... Only a Martial Lord would be capable of fostering such a disciple.'
Little did he know his calculation was wrong. Su Tianhao had no Martial Lord Realm master. His parents were his masters—their knowledge and inheritance far surpassing anything a cultivator of the mortal realm could offer, much less an ordinary Martial Lord.
"What do we do now, Patriarch?" Ye Sheng stepped forward and whispered.
Ye Zhenwu frowned deeply.
He had not become Patriarch on talent alone—he was smart. He could read the room clearly. The elders were wary, and how could they not be? A Martial Lord could wipe out their entire clan overnight. Although Su Tianhao hadn't lifted a finger since arriving, his presence alone had shaken the Ye family's confidence and quietly turned the tide.
Su Huiqing's eyes gleamed with quiet pride as he watched this unfold.
"So what's it going to be, Patriarch Ye?" he asked, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade drawn in a quiet hall.
The Su family elders turned as one to face the Ye family troops, their auras coiling like blades held in restraint—silent, ready, and unmistakable. Ye Zhenwu's response would decide everything about how today ended.
Dozens of eyes settled on him like a sudden storm darkening the sky.
He gritted his teeth.
"Fine." Ye Zhenwu stepped forward, his voice forceful but controlled. "I agree—we cannot take Su Tianhao today. But the Su family owes us compensation."
It was a retreat wrapped in demand. He could not afford a full-blown war between the two families—not over Ye Wenjie, not now.
"Hahahaha! Well said, Patriarch Ye—truly a man of wisdom!" Su Minghe's triumphant laugh rolled through the air like thunder.
Ye Shiming's expression twisted. Ye Baokang and Ye Chongtai fared no better—but none of them moved.
'As much as I hate to admit it, the Patriarch's choice is the right one,' Ye Chongtai thought grimly. 'To press forward now would be to offend not just the Su family, but whatever power stands behind Su Tianhao. Ye Wenjie isn't worth that price.'
Ye Baokang reached the same conclusion through the same cold logic—but it did nothing to cool the resentment burning in his chest.
'Su Tianhao must not be kept alive,' he thought, the decision crystallizing like ice.
But Ye Shiming could not accept it. This was his son. It was personal.
"I object, Patriarch! Su Tianhao must be PUNISHED!" he roared, veins bulging across his arms and temples like twisted serpents, his face contorted with rage.
"First Elder, don't let emotions cloud your judgment," Ye Xunhai said, stepping forward with a firm tone.
"Second Elder—this has nothing to do with you! This is my son! My only son!" Ye Shiming's aura flared, barely contained. "How am I going to face Jie'er after this?!"
Ye Xunhai was taken aback by the outburst.
Meanwhile, across the line, Su Yuntian's eyes moved over the Ye family with quiet precision. "Looks like the Ye family is not as united as it appears on the surface," she said softly.
Su Yuan nodded beside her. "Indeed. Almost like two separate factions wearing the same banner."
Seeing the disorder on his own side, Ye Zhenwu's expression hardened. His eyes turned cold as he faced Ye Shiming directly.
"First Elder—haven't you embarrassed the Ye family enough?!"
His voice struck like a hammer against an anvil—sharp, commanding, impossible to ignore.
Ye Shiming trembled. His head lowered. His fists clenched so tightly they began to draw blood.
Silence fell over the entire assembly.
It stretched—taut and heavy. Then, just when the tension seemed to be easing—
"Since the Ye family won't help me take my revenge," Ye Shiming's voice cut through the quiet, chilling and low, "I'll take matters into my own hands."
BOOM!
He moved before the words had fully settled.
Crossing several meters in an instant, his robes billowing in the violent wake of his own aura, Ye Shiming's hands transformed into fearsome claws as spiritual energy gathered with terrifying intensity around them. Above him, a colossal spectral eagle talon materialized—enveloped in swirling pale-green Wind Qi that whipped the surrounding air into a tempest. Dust and debris spiraled violently outward.
"Eagle Talon Rend!"
The very technique he had unleashed against Su Tianhao weeks ago—only this time, Su Tianhao stood firm, utterly unshaken.
His golden eyes tracked Ye Shiming's approach with calm precision. Beside him, Su Lei had gone pale, his body frozen—he couldn't follow Ye Shiming's movements at all. Su Tianhao couldn't either, but he didn't need to. He had absolute confidence in what would come next.
Sure enough—
Swoosh!
Su Huiqing moved.
His figure vanished in a blur of crimson light, arriving before Su Tianhao in an instant.
Ye Shiming's eyes widened in alarm.
Hmph.
Su Huiqing's snort was short and cold, brown eyes gleaming like fire held behind glass. Without a word, he drove a palm strike directly into Ye Shiming's incoming claw—crimson Fire Qi coating his palm, spiking the temperature of the surrounding air in an instant.
How could a 4th level Martial Master stand against a Peak-stage Martial Master?
Su Huiqing's palm landed squarely on Ye Shiming's stomach before the claw could connect.
BOOM!
The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, the heat so intense it forced both Su Tianhao and Su Lei to shield their faces.
Whoosh—WHAM!
Ye Shiming was flung through the air like a shattered puppet, crashing into the ground with far greater speed than he had launched. The earth trembled on impact, dust and debris scattering widely. A shallow crater formed beneath his crumpled figure.
He coughed up two mouthfuls of blood. His face was pale, his once-fine robes charred and stained. As he looked up at Su Huiqing, his eyes held something they hadn't held in a long time.
Dread.
Only now did it fully register—Su Huiqing's true cultivation base. Peak-stage Martial Master Realm. He had revealed this very strength weeks ago when he had suppressed both Ye Shiming and Ye Baokang with a single casual wave. But blinded by obsession and grief, Ye Shiming had buried that memory entirely—and never reported it to the Ye family.
Hiss—
The Ye family elders drew a collective breath.
Ye Zhenwu was more shaken than any of them.
Su Huiqing had always been his rival—both genius cultivators of the same generation, rising to lead their respective clans, always measuring themselves against one another. At present, Ye Zhenwu stood at the 7th level Martial Master Realm—the strongest among the Ye family's active members. The clan still had retired elders and former patriarchs in seclusion, figures who would only resurface in times of true calamity. But among those present and active, he stood at the top.
And now, to find himself so vastly outclassed by the very rival he had spent years measuring himself against—it struck somewhere deep.
His gaze drifted involuntarily to Su Qingfeng.
Earlier, he had sensed that the First Elder's aura was even more dangerous than Su Huiqing's. That impression now hardened into certainty. Su Qingfeng was also a Peak-stage Martial Master—and not an ordinary one.
A chill ran down Ye Zhenwu's spine. Cold sweat clung to his back.
'The current Su family...' he thought, his mind quieting into something that felt almost like awe.
'Is filled with scorching tigers and hidden dragons.'