On the city walls of Heavenly Phoenix Royal City, Prince Hongtian Ying Hong was being subjected to a slow slicing punishment of one hundred thousand cuts, drawing the attention of countless powerful figures.
Yet at this very moment, within the imperial city, inside the residence of the Ye Family, once the foremost aristocratic clan of the empire, anguished screams echoed everywhere and blood flowed across the ground like a river.
“Stop! Heavenly Summit Guard, did you hear me? All of you, stop at once!”
Ye Tongyao’s voice was shrill and broken. Her face was deathly pale as she knelt upon the blood-soaked earth.
“I am still the fiancée of Holy Son Chu Feng, your future mistress! I command you to stop immediately. Otherwise, I swear I will never let you off!”
The leader of the Heavenly Summit Guard stood at the front, clad entirely in starlight armor, only a pair of icy eyes visible through the helm. His voice was devoid of warmth as he said, “The Ye Family, as a supplier to the Immortal Sect, engaged in corruption and colluded with the Traitor Su Fan, causing enormous losses and severe disgrace to the Immortal Sect.”
He continued coldly, “Holy Son Chu Feng personally ordered that no matter what methods are used, within two days, all assets embezzled by the Ye Family must be recovered.”
After a brief pause, he added, “Miss Tongyao, do not waste your effort. We are merely carrying out the Holy Son’s orders. Any member of the Ye Family who dares to resist, we have the authority to execute on the spot.”
His gaze remained frigid. “The Holy Son did not give special instructions that you are an exception. Therefore, I advise you to return to the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect. If the Heavenly Summit Guard below act roughly and accidentally injure you, it will not be good for anyone.”
“I am still Chu Feng’s fiancée. You dare to touch me!” Ye Tongyao shouted, her face turning even paler. Though her voice rose, the strength within it had already drained away.
This leader of the Heavenly Summit Guard had escorted Chu Feng on many journeys in the past. Every time he saw her, he had been respectful and deferential. Yet now he spoke to her like this.
Chu Feng had given her no special protection. He had only ordered that she be placed under surveillance, allowed to move solely between the Ye Family residence and the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect.
If she dared interfere with the Heavenly Summit Guard’s mission, they could suppress her or even seriously injure her. Chu Feng likely would not spare her a second glance.
Threats? Intimidation?
Perhaps.
The leader of the Heavenly Summit Guard was merely stating the truth.
Behind Ye Tongyao, many core members of the Ye Family knelt on the ground, their faces drained of all color.
“Ye Tongyao, you selfish woman! It’s all because of you that the Ye Family is finished!” A richly dressed noblewoman, her eyes bloodshot, suddenly lunged forward and began clawing and biting at Ye Tongyao like someone driven mad.
“My husband and my son were both killed by the Heavenly Summit Guard because of your willfulness!”
“I want you to die with them!”
The noblewoman was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Though Ye Tongyao was not particularly powerful, killing her with a single slap would have been effortless. Get faster updates on g.com.
Yet Ye Tongyao did not resist. She sat blankly upon the bloodstained ground, eyes lifeless, allowing the woman to tear at her. With her limited strength, the noblewoman could not truly harm her.
“Second Aunt, I don’t understand why things turned out like this. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Truly, I never wanted this.”
Ye Tongyao murmured again and again, her gaze hollow as she looked ahead.
On the crimson earth lay two mangled yet familiar figures.
Her Second Uncle, Ye Zhenshan.
Her Cousin, Ye Fangyuan.
When the Heavenly Summit Guard searched their storage rings and residence, they had merely shown slight resistance. Over a dozen Heavenly Summit Guards struck them down on the spot, their souls obliterated.
Suddenly, a terrifying pressure swept across the courtyard.
“No!” Ye Tongyao snapped back to her senses and screamed.
But with her strength, she could do nothing.
A sharp explosion sounded.
The leader of the Heavenly Summit Guard moved without hesitation. With a single palm strike, he shattered the noblewoman where she stood.
“Ye Zhenshan was one of the main accomplices of Ye Zhenchuan. From his storage ring, we seized over 5.6 million Low-Grade Spirit Stones and countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures. The embezzlement was extremely severe. According to sect regulations, the entire household is to be executed.”
Facing Ye Tongyao, he still offered a brief explanation. “This woman interfered with the investigation. According to the Holy Son’s orders, I have the authority to kill her on the spot.”
“Second Aunt!” Seeing the lifeless body before her, Ye Tongyao collapsed onto the ground.
“Where is Chu Feng? I know he has come to Heavenly Phoenix Royal City. I want to see him!” Her voice had turned hoarse and weak.
“We are only responsible for carrying out orders. We are not qualified to inquire about the Holy Son’s whereabouts,” the leader replied coldly.
Behind her, the remaining core members of the Ye Family, including many high-ranking figures who once strode arrogantly through the royal city, now wore expressions of utter despair.
They had used every connection they possessed.
It was useless.
Those once intimate allies now acted as though they had never known them.
The Ye Family had stood as a supreme noble clan of the Heavenly Phoenix Empire for hundreds of thousands of years. They had produced three First-Rank court officials, one Grand Secretariat Elder, and countless Second-Rank ministers. A former Empress and several Imperial Noble Consorts had also come from their bloodline. It was even possible that the current Emperor Tianwen carried Ye Family blood within him.
Especially after Chu Feng and Ye Tongyao became engaged, with the backing of Chu Feng, the future Peak Master of Heavenly Summit Peak and perhaps future Sect Master of the Immortal Sect, the Ye Family’s power and influence within the Heavenly Phoenix Empire had reached their peak, faintly rivaling the imperial household itself.
In the past, those without a Great Ascension Realm expert in their clan, or without a court official above Second Rank, did not even qualify to step through the Ye Family’s gates. The mansion was frequented only by top-tier nobles and great figures from the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect.
But now, wails filled the estate. Over one hundred Heavenly Summit Guards had sealed the entire residence, above and below. More than one thousand core Ye Family members were driven into the central courtyard. Any hint of resistance was met with the merciless blades of the Heavenly Summit Guard.
On the open ground lay the mutilated corpses of several experts from the Integration Realm, the Spirit Transformation Realm, and nearly one hundred from the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm. Blood dyed the earth a dark red.
“Old Ancestor, let’s fight them!” a young prodigy of the Ye Family roared, his gaze turning toward the gray-robed elder seated cross-legged at the center of the crowd.
The elder’s face was weathered, his aura ancient and profound. His presence was so terrifying that even the grand formation jointly deployed by more than one hundred Heavenly Summit Guards could not fully suppress it.
This was clearly a Great Ascension Realm expert, perhaps even half a step into the Immortal Realm.
The Ye Family’s Old Ancestor, Ye Kuang.
“Yes, Old Ancestor, let’s fight the Heavenly Summit Guard. At worst, we die!”
“The Ye Family has served the Immortal Sect with loyalty for hundreds of thousands of years, risking our lives. And in the end, this is the result? Our clan wiped out?”
“I refuse to accept this! The foundation the Ye Family accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years has been almost completely plundered by the Heavenly Summit Guard.”
“What do they mean by calling it embezzled wealth? The Azure Cloud Immortal Sect is enormous. The resources it consumes every single day are astronomical. The Ye Family made tremendous contributions to its stability and expansion. Is it wrong to earn some profit in return?”
“Let’s fight them! We’ll protect you, Old Ancestor, and carve a path out. We’ll go to the Holy Land of the Immortal Sect and appeal for justice!”
“Fight! I refuse to believe Chu Feng can truly cover the sky with one hand. Has the Immortal Sect truly abandoned all justice?”