Slap!
The elder smacked the honest-looking middle-aged man across the face, scolding him bitterly, “Shitou! How many times have I told you? As an assassin, you must never act on emotion!”
A bright red handprint instantly appeared on Shitou’s cheek, but instead of showing a hint of resentment, he immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed in apology.
“My lord, I was wrong!”
Only then did the elder’s expression ease. He swept a cold glance over the others and issued a stern warning.
“Hmph. Before the dark agents from the other eight commanderies arrive, if anyone dares to act without orders and cause trouble, they will end up just like Shitou!”
With that, he struck out with a palm.
Boom!
A boulder taller than a man nearby exploded with a loud bang, shattering into dust and scattering across the air.
The assassins all trembled in shock.
With their cultivation, crushing a boulder wasn’t difficult. But to reduce it to dust—that level of control over spiritual Qi was far beyond what they were capable of.
Any hidden thoughts they had instantly vanished. None dared to make another move.
…
In the Ye Family’s small courtyard, Ye Feng, who had just finished eating hot pot, did not go to sleep. Instead, he stood solemnly in the center of the courtyard.
Tonight, to live a peaceful life, he had something very important to do—kill Martial Elder.
Originally, after accumulating enough Lying-Flat Points, Ye Feng had planned to act immediately.
But unfortunately, Elder Liuli and Yue Wu were still at the Ye Family at the time.
Ye Feng was concerned that with their cultivation and experience, they might detect something, so he waited until both had left.
In the original novel, Martial Elder had indeed taught Ye Feng many martial arts.
But his true goal was to use Ye Feng for revenge.
He would constantly brainwash Ye Feng, making him believe that the life-or-death trials he endured for Martial Elder were rare experiences to be grateful for.
But the original Ye Feng had never realized—Martial Elder was like a parasite, absorbing his spiritual Qi for seven years.
Without that leeching, with his talent, the original Ye Feng would have already broken through to the Martial General Realm.
And with his natural fortune, even without facing too many life-and-death battles, he could have reached the peak.
In Ye Feng’s view, this was like having a free cable car to the mountaintop, but Martial Elder insisted on making the original body climb a steep cliff—falling, bleeding, and breaking bones—and still expecting gratitude in return.
With someone like that close by, even heaven’s punishment might drag you down with him.
“System, exchange for the Soul-Extinguishing Talisman. Also, extract Martial Elder’s remnant soul.”
Ye Feng’s eyes were icy as he gave the command silently in his mind.
In the next instant, a system notification rang in his ear.
[Ding! Spent 1,000 Lying-Flat Points. Extraction successful.]
A blurry, translucent human-shaped shadow appeared before Ye Feng—it was the remnant soul of Martial Elder!
At the same time, a pitch-black talisman covered in golden runes appeared in the system space.
At this moment, Martial Elder was completely dumbfounded.
He had once been a member of a mysterious ancient clan from the Endless World.
During a family conflict, he was ambushed by a cousin, and his physical body was destroyed, leaving only a sliver of his soul.
Just as he was about to dissipate completely, he saw an incredibly talented and lucky young man—Ye Feng.
So he hid inside Ye Feng’s body, secretly using the spiritual Qi Ye Feng cultivated to slowly repair his soul.
For this parasitic act, Martial Elder never felt the slightest shame.
As for wasting Ye Feng’s talent or hindering his breakthroughs? He believed it was only natural.
Everyone fends for themselves—who cares about others?
Besides, Ye Feng’s luck and talent were good. Under his guidance, Ye Feng might even become the perfect tool for his revenge.
Why not?
He had planned to leech spiritual Qi for a few more years before revealing himself.
But today, a force like heavenly wrath had forcefully expelled him from Ye Feng’s body.
What shocked him even more—Ye Feng’s cultivation had somehow reached the early stage of the Martial Spirit Realm!
“How is that possible?”
Though Martial Elder’s face remained calm, inside, he was panicking like a raging storm.
Under his complete suppression, Ye Feng shouldn’t have been able to absorb even a trace of spiritual Qi.
So how had he broken through?
Still, having once been a Martial Emperor, his instincts kicked in. He quickly composed himself, put on a kind smile, and spoke gently. “Young man, I see your bones are extraordinary—you are a once-in-a-million cultivation genius. Are you willing to become my disciple?”
“Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Wu Tianxiu, a late-stage Martial Emperor. You may call me Martial Elder.”
After all, not just in Martial Refinement Commandery but even in the entire Great Qin Empire, Martial Emperors were rare—less than ten in total.
To have one personally offer to take you as a disciple was beyond most martial artists’ wildest dreams.
Upon hearing that, Ye Feng’s eyes flickered.
To destroy Martial Elder immediately with the Soul-Extinguishing Talisman would be letting him off too easy.
Why not squeeze every bit of benefit from him first?
With that thought, Ye Feng instantly feigned excitement and asked eagerly, “Xiuer, are you serious?”
Martial Elder’s face darkened, a hint of resentment flashing in his heart.
The last time someone had called him “Xiuer” was the cousin who ambushed and humiliated him.
But now, Martial Elder didn’t dare get angry.
Whether he wanted revenge or to return to Ye Feng’s body and continue leeching, he needed Ye Feng’s permission.
Forcing a smile, he nodded proudly.
“Of course. A Martial Emperor can tear through spatial barriers and cross thousands of meters in an instant.”
As he spoke, Martial Elder’s remnant soul formed a palm and gently slashed through the air.
A pitch-black spatial crack appeared where nothing had existed a moment ago, but it vanished in the blink of an eye.
On the surface, Martial Elder looked composed, but inwardly, he was in agony.
With only a sliver of soul remaining, this one move had drained a great deal of soul power.
All that effort—for one show-off moment!
And to make matters worse, Ye Feng shook his head slowly.
“I still don’t believe you. I’ve been trained in anti-fraud education. You won’t fool me that easily.”
“Unless… you do it another hundred times or so.”
Martial Elder’s face turned completely black.
Forget a hundred times—six more and his soul would be depleted, scattered into nothing.
“What will it take for you to believe me?”
Suppressing his fury, Martial Elder asked, his voice no longer gentle.
“Believe you?”
Ye Feng pretended to think deeply, then said as if struck by sudden inspiration, “I’ve heard that Martial Emperors are as rich as nations.”
“You wouldn’t take a disciple empty-handed, right? Give me a welcome gift of, say… 1 or 2 million top-grade spirit stones, and I’ll believe you!”