Chapter 13

Everyone stared blankly at Ye Fan on the Life-and-Death Platform, their eyes filled with disbelief! At that moment, Ye Cang, the patriarch of the Ye family, turned deathly pale. His hands clenched tightly, and he looked utterly lost, as if his soul had left his body. As for the Grand Elder and the others, they were completely petrified! A Sword Cultivator! There had never been a Sword Cultivator in Qingcheng before! How could Ye Fan possibly be one? Just as An Lanxiu was about to speak, the Grand Elder suddenly roared in fury, “Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You cannot be a Sword Cultivator!” Ye Fan glanced at the near-hysterical Grand Elder and said calmly, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I really am a Sword Cultivator. Does that make you mad, you old dog?” “Pfft!” The Grand Elder suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. He pointed a trembling finger at Ye Fan, his face twisted in rage. As if realising something, he quickly turned to Ye Cang and shouted, “Patriarch! This man must not be allowed to live! If he remains, he will be a great disaster for our Ye family in the future!” Just then, An Lanxiu frowned slightly and said coldly, “Your temperament is truly poor. I have never seen such disgraceful behaviour before.” Hearing this, the Grand Elder’s face darkened, and he was about to argue when An Lanxiu suddenly declared, “If you say one more word, I will take your head today.” The Grand Elder turned ashen and dared not utter another word. From a distance, Jiang Nian, the city lord, and the others were already looking at him with disapproval. Ignoring the dark expressions of the Ye family members, An Lanxiu turned to Ye Fan and said, “Draw your sword.” Ye Fan gave a slight bow. Holding the Lingxiao Sword, he pointed it diagonally at the ground, standing motionless. Across from him, An Lanxiu nodded slightly and took a step forward. In that instant, Ye Fan suddenly surged forward like a swift breeze! His sword thrust straight at An Lanxiu—just one strike! A simple, direct strike! An Lanxiu tilted her body slightly. The next moment, her spear shot forward, meeting the tip of Ye Fan’s sword. Clang! A piercing metallic clash echoed across the arena. Ye Fan was shaken to the edge of the platform. But in the very next moment, he reappeared before An Lanxiu. Before he could strike again, An Lanxiu’s spear was already mere inches from his forehead! However, her eyes held a trace of surprise. Ye Fan’s sword was pressing against the tip of her spear. She had planned to hold back, but even if she hadn’t, this strike wouldn’t have been enough to kill Ye Fan! A faint smile appeared on An Lanxiu’s lips. “Your combat awareness is quite impressive.” As she spoke, she gave her spear a slight flick. Like a venomous snake, it twisted at an odd angle and struck Ye Fan’s shoulder. At the same time, Ye Fan suddenly dashed forward. Using the force of An Lanxiu’s attack, he thrust his sword straight at her heart! Trading an injury for an attack opportunity! An Lanxiu’s smile deepened. Without any visible movement, her spear instantly blocked Ye Fan’s sword! Clang! Another sharp metallic clash rang out. Ye Fan’s strike had failed. Like a phantom, he floated to the right and slashed downward at An Lanxiu’s forehead from a bizarre angle! The sword halted half an inch from her brow. Her spear was already pressed against Ye Fan’s underarm. Just when it seemed to be over, Ye Fan suddenly released his sword, grabbed her spear with both hands, and yanked it forward—crashing straight into her! An Lanxiu’s eyes narrowed slightly. She tapped her right foot on the ground and floated backward. However, Ye Fan was still gripping her spear! As she retreated, she ended up pulling Ye Fan along with her. Seizing the momentum, Ye Fan wrapped his arms around An Lanxiu, catching her off guard! Under everyone’s astonished gaze, Ye Fan held her tightly—then, with a fierce roar, executed a body slam! Boom! Both of them crashed to the ground, causing the entire Life-and-Death Platform to tremble slightly. In the next instant, a figure was sent flying! Ye Fan! He was flung straight off the platform! Outside the arena, Ye Fan slowly got to his feet. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at An Lanxiu. “No offence intended.” An Lanxiu studied him briefly, then smiled. “I understand. As a martial artist, I am not so delicate. I expected your swordsmanship to be good, but I didn’t think your close combat skills would be just as impressive. You must have experienced countless life-and-death battles.” Ye Fan gave a slight nod without speaking. An Lanxiu continued, “This match was somewhat unfair, as I had a higher cultivation level. Shall we fight again in the future?” Ye Fan looked at her for a moment before nodding. “Agreed.” Now this—this was a true expert. Fighting her was even more rewarding than battling the Shadow! An Lanxiu nodded. As if remembering something, she flicked her fingers, and a white jade pendant floated toward Ye Fan. “If you have nowhere else to go, you can head to Cangmu Academy in the Imperial Capital. This is my personal pendant. With it, you may enter the academy as my recommendation.” Hearing this, Ye Fan was visibly moved. He did not refuse the offer. Instead, he accepted the pendant—because he truly needed to join Cangmu Academy to seek medical treatment for his sister! Ye Fan stowed the pendant away and clasped his hands in gratitude. “I won’t say empty words of thanks, but I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life.” An Lanxiu shook her head. “I appreciate talent. Until we meet again.” With that, she turned and walked away. Graceful and decisive, she soon disappeared from sight. At that moment, everyone below turned to look at the Ye family. Jiang Nian and the others wore undisguised expressions of schadenfreude. Just then, a middle-aged man and a noblewoman from Yan City walked up to Ye Fan. They cupped their hands in greeting. The man said, “Young Master Ye, if you ever have the chance, do visit Yan City and Luo City as our guest.” They wanted to form connections! Initially, they had sought to recruit him, but now that An Lanxiu had recommended him to Cangmu Academy, they dared not overstep. Instead, they opted to establish friendly ties. Ye Fan returned the greeting. “If I get the chance, I certainly will.” The middle-aged man smiled. “Then it’s settled. Until next time.” With that, the two of them left. At that moment, Ye Cang suddenly ordered, “Seize the Grand Elder!” The surrounding Ye family members were momentarily stunned before some guards stepped forward and restrained the Grand Elder. Expressionless, he did not resist. Ye Cang looked at Ye Fan hesitantly before saying, “Ye Fan, from this moment forth, you are the heir of the Ye family and our next patriarch. You—” “Heir?” Ye Fan sneered. “Do you think I care about your title? Let me make myself clear—I, Ye Fan, am no longer part of the Ye family!” With that, he turned and walked away. Hearing his words, Ye Cang and the others looked utterly grim. Utterly humiliated! They all knew very well that Ye Fan was no longer a member of the Ye family. And because of this, the Ye family had lost an exceptional genius—a sword cultivator prodigy. Most importantly, this sword cultivator prodigy might even harbour resentment towards the Ye family! "Haha..." At that moment, the head of the Zhang family, Zhang Lie, suddenly burst into laughter. "What a marvellous Ye family! Haha... You've actually forced a once-in-a-generation genius to leave. Truly impressive, Ye family! Haha..." Beside him, Li Yu chuckled and said, "Not just any genius—this one is a sword cultivator! And if you ask me, that so-called celestial phenomenon was definitely caused by Ye Fan. Otherwise, why would the Grand Scholar of An Kingdom come looking for him? Yet, the Ye family still believes it was Ye Lang who attracted that phenomenon—absolutely ridiculous! I could die laughing!" Not far away, Jiang Nian, the Lord of the City, smiled faintly without saying a word. But the smile on his face said it all. Ye Cang clenched his right fist tightly, his face dark as iron. After a moment, he looked at Jiang Nian. "Lord Jiang, Master Li, Master Zhang, my Ye family has offended you in the past, and we..." Before he could finish, Zhang Lie suddenly waved his hand dismissively. "Offended? Your Ye family was so arrogant before, calling yourselves the number one family in Qingcheng and even demanding the mining rights of the surrounding mountains for the next ten years. And now, you want to surrender and expect us to just forget everything? Pah! Dream on!" As he spoke, he cast a cold glance over the Ye family members. "Let me make this clear today: from this moment on, if any Ye family member dares to step out of the Ye estate, my Zhang family will eliminate them!" Li Yu added suddenly, "The same goes for my Li family. If any Ye family member appears before us, we will kill them on sight!" Then he turned to Jiang Nian. "Lord Jiang, what do you think?" Jiang Nian gave a light smile. "Brother Li, Brother Zhang, naturally, I stand with you." "Haha..." Hearing this, Li Yu burst into laughter. Meanwhile, the Ye family members looked ashen. There was no doubt—Ye family was finished in Qingcheng! At that moment, the head of the Ye family, Ye Cang, suddenly walked up to the Great Elder. Without warning, he slapped him hard across the face. "It's all because of you, you old dog!" Bang! The Great Elder was sent sprawling to the ground by the slap. The other Ye family members all stared at him with hatred. If it weren’t for him, the Ye family wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state! The Great Elder suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. "Ye Fan was right! In this Ye family, once you lose power, you're worse than a dog! Hahaha..." Ye Cang glared at him. "Destroy his cultivation and imprison him in the water dungeon for life!" ... Ye Fan returned to his room. By the bedside, Ye Ling looked at Ye Fan. She watched him for a moment and then smiled. But as she smiled, she suddenly started crying. Ye Fan also smiled. "Brother!" Ye Ling sat up and hugged Ye Fan tightly—so tightly. Ye Fan carried Ye Ling on his back and walked out of the room, then left the Ye estate. At dusk. Inside the Ye estate, in Ye Lang's courtyard, Ye Lang sat cross-legged on the ground. His hair was dishevelled, and his face twisted with fury. "Ye Fan! Our feud is far from over! The humiliation I suffered today—I will return it a hundredfold!" Just then, a shadow suddenly landed behind him. In the next instant, a flash of silver light swept across Ye Lang's throat. Slash! Ye Lang’s head separated from his neck! The intruder was none other than Ye Fan! Ye Fan glanced coldly at Ye Lang’s severed head on the ground. "Sorry, but I never leave loose ends." With that, he turned and walked away. Outside Qingcheng. A young man carried a little girl on his back, heading towards the outskirts of the city. "Brother, are we never going back to the Ye family?" "No, we’re not." "Brother, then where will our home be?" "As long as I have my sister, anywhere is home." "Cough... Brother, I'm feeling a bit cold." "Brother will take you to get treatment!" "Brother, what if I can’t be cured?" "Then I'll die with you!" "......."