Chapter Nineteen: Sudden Change

“To gain the recognition of the Longteng Martial Academy requires a vast amount of contributions…” Ye Xin understood what Xue Baiqi meant. Before Ye Guanhai left the academy, he was already a senior innate warrior, capable of accomplishing many things. But the Wen Rong Xue Baiqi spoke of was merely a junior innate warrior; precisely because her abilities were lacking, achieving the fourth-grade medal would be extraordinarily difficult—it needed immense contributions.

“From my observation, she genuinely wishes to befriend the young lady,” Hao Fei said. “Not only does she guide her in cultivation, but she also assists her greatly in dealing with various relationships. Sir, your reputation is truly terrible, and the young lady suffers from it too. She’s often mocked and ridiculed by her classmates. If it weren’t for Wen Rong, I suppose she would have dropped out long ago.”

“Leaving others aside, Third Prince Tie Shudeng and Fifth Prince Tie Renhao circle around Wen Rong daily, and Zong Yunjin of the Zong family is also desperate to win her favor, intent on claiming the beauty for himself,” Xue Baiqi said. “Tie Shudeng and Zong Yunjin are among the elite of this generation in Jiuding City. What draws them to Wen Rong is not her combat ability—she’s just an innate warrior after all—but her intellect, her bearing, and her way of handling matters. If Wen Rong spends a few years training in the military, her prospects would be limitless.”

“But I heard Wen Rong suffered a significant loss somewhere last month…” Hao Fei said.

“By the way, what’s the situation with the Zong family?” Ye Xin interrupted Hao Fei, uninterested in the academy’s students.

Ye Xin had fought his way out of piles of corpses; the enemies he once faced were the most formidable in the duchy. Compared to the terrifying Xiao Demon Finger, the students of Longteng Martial Academy were mere lambs.

“Sir, have you never heard of Zong Bieli?” Xue Baiqi asked.

“Zong Bieli is the Marshal of the Great Chen Kingdom. So, the Zong family…”

“That’s right.” Xue Baiqi nodded. “After Zong Bieli disappeared, the Zong family fled the Great Chen Kingdom and entered Jiuding City. Upon arrival, they earned the favor of Tie Xinsheng. Perhaps the days when the Wolf Marshal’s family held sole power had caused him much suffering, so he didn’t dare trust Wei Juan entirely. Using the Zong family to restrain the Wei family serves to secure his own authority.”

“So the Zong family has arrived as well… It seems the situation in Jiuding City is far more complicated than I anticipated,” Ye Xin murmured. If Aunt Deng Qiaoying suddenly arranging his marriage was an unforeseen event, then the appearance of the Zong family was a variable, adding uncertainty to his plans.

“We’ve long wanted to inform you, but your whereabouts were unpredictable and we couldn’t find you,” Xue Baiqi said.

“With Old Thirteen around, I need not worry about such matters,” Ye Xin said. “By the way, does Old Thirteen know I’ve returned?”

“We haven’t had a chance to seek out the Ghost Master these past few days,” Hao Fei replied. “As agreed, I’ll only be able to meet him in three days.”

“No rush…” Ye Xin’s brow suddenly furrowed, and he made a peculiar gesture.

Xue Baiqi and Hao Fei both fell silent. Ye Xin stood up. “Come, accompany me for a walk outside.”

He took the lead out of the courtyard, with Xue Baiqi and Hao Fei following behind. After a dozen steps, Ye Xin changed direction, heading toward a cluster of sago palms. “Wait here, I need to relieve myself.”

Xue Baiqi and Hao Fei were puzzled, quietly watching Ye Xin’s back. Ye Xin strode quickly to the sago palms, fully immersed in the role of a prodigal son—even urinating restlessly, humming a strange tune, twisting his hips. After finishing, he spat heavily, fastened his trousers, and returned.

A moment later, Ye Xin and his companions’ figures receded along the stone path. Beside the sago palms, a figure gradually became visible—it was Deng Duo Jie of the Deng family.

Deng Duo Jie’s face was ashen; drenched like a drowned rat, she shivered as if in a freezing wasteland, her body trembling and her eyes rolling wildly.

She seemed about to vomit, opening her mouth only to hastily cover it with her hand. Realizing her hand wasn’t clean, she desperately flung it aside, but finally failed to control the churning in her stomach and retched violently.

Deng Duo Jie shakily stood up and ran toward another path. Her face had turned from blue to purple, the muscles twitching uncontrollably as if shocked by electricity.

Meanwhile, Ye Xin, Xue Baiqi, and Hao Fei had walked far away. Ye Xin was well aware someone was there; Xue Baiqi and Hao Fei faintly heard retching and stopped, looking back toward the source.

“Sir? There’s… someone over there?” Xue Baiqi whispered.

“Of course there is,” Ye Xin replied, amusement thick in his tone. “Hehehehe…”

“Who is it?” Hao Fei asked urgently.

“How should I know?” Ye Xin replied. “Whoever it is, they got a taste of my urine first! But… lucky you two were here, or there’d have been a fight.”

“Sir, has your strength returned?” Hao Fei asked with delight. “Otherwise, how could you notice that person? Baiqi and I didn’t sense anything at all.”

“Still a long way to go,” Ye Xin shook his head.

Ye Xin had once been unable to cultivate—his Yuan Palace could not gather Yuan energy, so any attempt at cultivation was futile. But since Ye Xin was reborn by taking another’s body, this flesh’s Yuan Palace changed. At his peak, his strength had reached the pinnacle of senior innate warriors, though he hadn’t yet refined his killing technique, still some distance from the Pillar Kingdom level.

The last battle of the Heaven’s Crime Battalion in the Great Zhao Kingdom was a forced assault on the Taishuiyuan natural fortress. Although Xiao Demon Finger’s army cleared the way, they encountered another marshal, Zhuang Immortal.

Zhuang Immortal was not as powerful as Xiao Demon Finger, yet he was also a senior innate warrior with a killing move. Ye Xin exerted all his strength, barely withstanding Zhuang Immortal’s fatal blow, suffering grievous injuries, and was finally rescued by the Heaven’s Crime Battalion soldiers at the cost of their lives.

Before charging Taishuiyuan, nearly a thousand fighters remained in the battalion; after the battle, only ninety survived. Those battle-hardened elites were almost entirely wiped out by Zhuang Immortal’s Tiger Head Army.

Such is the power of a killing move!

At that time, Ye Xin was also a senior innate warrior; if two stood face-to-face, not allowed to use any techniques—just trading blows—it would be hard to say who would fall first.

The rank of an innate warrior only indicates the type of Yuan energy possessed. The life technique and killing move are ways to fully utilize and release that energy.

Imagine a pond: dig a channel on the shore and let the water flow out—that’s the life technique. The same pond placed atop a towering mountain, all the water suddenly roaring down in a torrent—that is a killing move.

The total water is the same, but the impact on the outside world differs by heaven and earth.

Thus, among senior innate warriors, some become Pillar Kingdoms—the core representatives of ruling power—but lack strategic deterrence. Those who have refined a killing move and become Pillar Kingdoms can shift the situation, sometimes without even acting; simply standing forth and stating their stance is enough.

No one can say exactly how many senior innate warriors the Great Wei Kingdom has. Some accept the sovereign’s investiture, some prefer secluded cultivation, some like to wander, and some refuse any constraint—precise statistics are impossible.

But the number of Pillar Kingdoms can be roughly estimated. The power of killing moves is so overwhelming that any dispute or pressure they cause draws wide attention.

Originally, there were ten Pillar Kingdoms in Great Wei. Ye Guanhai and Tan Xinhui died together, Wei Juan leads troops outside, leaving only seven Pillar Kingdoms in Jiuding City.

Of course, Ye Xin did not know Tie Xinsheng’s true strength, nor could he test it. Perhaps Tie Xinsheng still held hidden power.

“To hide right under our noses…” Xue Baiqi murmured.

“It must be a peculiar life technique,” Ye Xin said. He then pulled out a cloth bag, opened it, and a little purple mink poked its head out.

“Follow them and see who they really are,” Ye Xin instructed.

The little purple mink nodded obediently, jumped out of the bag, its tail flickering in the grass, and disappeared.

“What a clever creature, sir, it can understand you?” Hao Fei asked in surprise.

“Yes, that’s why I kept it. Otherwise, I’d have roasted it for food long ago,” Ye Xin replied with a smile. Then, his brows arched as he spoke slowly, “Strange… the Ye family has fallen so far, what could still interest them?”

“Maybe they heard of your return, sir?” Xue Baiqi suggested.

“I am but a useless man, no need to waste effort on me,” Ye Xin shook his head. He was silent for a moment, then suddenly thought of something. “Where is the Sirius Technique? Do you know?”

Both Xue Baiqi and Hao Fei were moved. This was what they admired most about Ye Xin—his ability to quickly pinpoint the key among a tangle of threads.

“It must be the Sirius Technique…” Xue Baiqi paused. “When the Wolf Marshal led the Sirius Legion on campaign, he entrusted the Sirius Technique to Ye Sui Feng. When Ye Sui Feng went to war… he could only pass it to the Second Madam.”

“They didn’t come earlier or later, but right now… perhaps Tie Xinsheng has already hinted at something,” Ye Xin said. “Hao Fei, are you familiar with the Heavenly Prison?”

“I often visited Second Master on behalf of Second Madam, so I know it well,” Hao Fei replied.

“Go there now, ask around, see if there’s any news from Second Uncle,” Ye Xin said. He dared not ignore any change. “If you don’t learn anything, don’t hurry back. Visit other places as well. Tie Xinsheng must have expressed something. If all else fails, take a risk and find Old Thirteen, ask his opinion.”

Ye Sui Feng had been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison for about four years, neither sentenced nor released, meaning Tie Xinsheng had yet to decide the Ye family’s fate. Thus, Ye Sui Feng was the most crucial indicator.