Volume One, Chapter Three: Framing Me—Kneel Down and Apologize

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The voice faded away.

Ye Chen was momentarily speechless.

Those words were no different from saying nothing at all.

Just as Ye Chen felt a bit disappointed, the old man spoke again. Upon hearing his voice, Ye Chen smiled warmly, realizing he wasn’t so heartless after all.

“I see you as a destined person, a successor of my legacy. I will give you one final reminder: if your strength has not reached the supreme realm, you must not reveal the secret of the Azure Blood Pearl to others—not even to a celestial king.”

“The mystery of the Azure Blood Pearl must be unraveled by you alone.”

After saying this, the old man’s voice completely disappeared.

“What is the supreme realm?”

“And what secret does the Azure Blood Pearl hold?”

Still murmuring these questions, before Ye Chen could fully react, a force sent him back to reality.

Back in the real world.

Looking at the messy room, Ye Chen chose to ignore it.

Instead, he focused on sensing the Azure Blood Pearl, feeling puzzled about how to comprehend it.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. The Azure Blood Pearl was named after blood and was surrounded by blood aura. Perhaps he could try to stimulate it using his own vital energy and blood.

But then, he hesitated again.

For both mortals and cultivators, essence, qi, and blood are precious treasures, the very essence of one’s being. If greatly depleted, stagnation of one’s cultivation is the least worry—life itself could be at risk.

“Should I really do this?”

With this thought, Ye Chen hesitated briefly, but in the end, all his doubts vanished.

Because he needed to become stronger.

Otherwise, what had just happened would happen again.

And the second time, he might not be so lucky.

The next moment,

Ye Chen set to work.

With a thought, his blood began to boil.

After a while,

When a drop of essence from his qi and blood condensed, Ye Chen murmured, “It’s time.”

Without hesitation, he used his mind to guide the essence of qi and blood into the Azure Blood Pearl in his dantian.

Soon,

The essence merged into the Azure Blood Pearl, and instantly, Ye Chen seemed to return to the previous illusion. Though blurry, he caught a glimpse of a name:

“Old Man Cang.”

Just as Ye Chen tried to see more clearly, footsteps sounded outside the door, growing closer.

Listening carefully, it seemed there was more than one person. This was trouble.

“Someone’s coming!” Ye Chen muttered.

The calmness he had just moments ago vanished.

He frantically searched around like a madman, as if looking for something.

Then he remembered—Jiang Yun had earlier left behind a volume of sinister cultivation techniques with him. Was this some kind of trap?

And at this moment, who else would come but Jiang Yun?

After searching the room, fortunately, luck favored him, and he found the forbidden manual.

As soon as he found it, he immediately tossed it out the window.

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With everything settled, Ye Chen straightened his chest and calmly went to open the door.

Outside,

“Who are you?” A timid girl no older than twelve or thirteen clenched her small fists and stood in front of the door, blocking three people. “My brother is cultivating now. No one can disturb him.”

One of the three was Jiang Yun. No matter who stood in his way, he would be ruthless. But when faced with someone of higher status, he would show some restraint.

However, a mere mortal girl with no cultivation was beneath Jiang Yun’s concern.

“Step aside. We’re going in.”

The girl spread her small arms and firmly said, “No. My brother is cultivating right now. If someone disturbs him, he’ll fall into demonic madness.”

Jiang Yun burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it. “Cultivating? Your brother’s cultivation ended long ago. You’re just deluding yourself.”

His tone instantly turned fierce. “Get out of the way! Haven’t you seen the elders or the chair of the Law Enforcement Hall?”

The girl glanced to her side and saw two elders in gray robes standing silently, as if waiting for something. She gathered courage and said, “No. I can’t let you in.”

Repeatedly blocked, with no response from the elders, Jiang Yun grew confident and reckless.

“Get lost!” Jiang Yun pushed the girl aside roughly. “Useless!”

With a thud, the girl fell hard to the ground, scraping her elbow and bleeding. Seeing Jiang Yun approaching and preparing to push open the door, she suddenly rose and charged forward.

“No entry!”

This enraged Jiang Yun completely.

He instinctively summoned his spiritual energy to strike, but an elder cleared his throat.

“Enough. Let’s focus on the matter at hand.”

Jiang Yun sensed this and stopped, though he still shoved the girl aside, who fell again.

Just as Jiang Yun reached to open the door, it creaked open from inside.

The sudden opening made Jiang Yun take a step back in guilt.

Ye Chen, who opened the door, glanced briefly at Jiang Yun’s retreating form, then immediately looked at the three men Jiang Yun had brought—Qin Feng, Wu Yazi, and Qingsongzi.

Ye Chen paid little attention to Qin Feng, who was unimportant. His focus was on the other two.

After all, those two were senior figures in Qingyang Sword Sect.

Wu Yazi was an elder of the Administration Pavilion.

His tenure was long, even longer than the current sect leader’s. He oversaw all sect affairs, including life and death matters.

Qingsongzi was the deputy chair of the Law Enforcement Hall, responsible for investigating sect security. If anyone practiced demonic cultivation, it was his jurisdiction.

Ye Chen’s gaze fixed on Wu Yazi and Qingsongzi. Meanwhile, Jiang Yun, still shaken, finally regained composure. Seeing Ye Chen personally open the door and his rosy complexion, Jiang Yun was dumbfounded. He silently thought, “What’s going on? Wasn’t he supposed to be dead?”

Qin Feng, standing nearby, was equally baffled. He had sensed Ye Chen’s aura vanish but couldn’t understand how he had revived.

Likewise, Ye Chen looked at the two with a strange glint in his eyes.

Only Qingsongzi and Wu Yazi maintained stoic expressions, their cold eyes briefly flicking to Jiang Yun, as if silently asking, “What’s going on? Explain yourself.”

Feeling their sharp gazes, Jiang Yun panicked and hastily accused Ye Chen.

“Ye Chen, your demonic cultivation techniques?”

Ye Chen remained calm, replying, “What cultivation techniques? I don’t know anything about that.”

As he spoke, Ye Chen helped the girl up gently, soothing, “Xiao Yao, are you alright?”

“Brother, I’m fine,” the girl said honestly, her large watery eyes avoiding his gaze.

Ye Chen took it all in quietly, a murderous intent welling up inside him.

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But he quickly suppressed it.

“Xiao Yao, go play for a while. Brother needs to talk to the elders.”

Xiao Yao was smart and nodded, “Okay,” though reluctantly.

Once she left, Ye Chen felt unburdened, his sharp gaze fixed on Jiang Yun.

“Jiang Yun!”

Qin Feng, sensing trouble, noticed Ye Chen’s ease and suspected their plan was failing. He quietly slipped away behind the others.

“Jiang Yun, don’t say I’m not loyal. You have the backing of the Peak Lord, but I have nothing.” Qin Feng muttered as he left, acting as if he was being pragmatic.

Hearing Ye Chen’s attempt to argue, Jiang Yun retorted awkwardly but couldn’t find a proper excuse.

“It’s the Blood Sect’s Blood Gathering Method.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen fell silent.

Wu Yazi and Qingsongzi’s eyes flashed with sharp light, their bodies becoming alert as they looked at Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun’s lips trembled, no longer daring to speak.

Ye Chen smiled inwardly, then calmly asked,

“How do you know?”

Jiang Yun was stunned. He had fallen into Ye Chen’s trap and now had no rebuttal.

Wu Yazi looked at both men with sympathy. Seeing Ye Chen fall from genius to this state pained him, but sect rules could not be broken.

He sent out his divine sense to scan the room.

After a moment, finding no demonic techniques as Jiang Yun claimed, Wu Yazi withdrew his divine sense and comforted Ye Chen.

“All is well then.”

But the matter was far from over.

Wu Yazi turned to Jiang Yun with a stern tone.

“Jiang Yun, falsely accusing a fellow sect member violates Article 180 of the Qingyang Sword Sect Code. You must bear the consequences.”

Jiang Yun was shocked, looking around for Qin Feng’s support, but Qin Feng had vanished.

He cursed inwardly at Qin Feng, the traitor. He had hoped Qin Feng might help him escape punishment.

Now, it seemed impossible.

“I accept the penalty,” Jiang Yun bowed his head.

“Good.” Wu Yazi nodded in approval, then looked at Ye Chen. “This punishment was originally a one-year exile to the mountains for training. Now, I will decide on your behalf, how about this?”

Ye Chen was stunned but nodded blankly.

“Then, you will pay for six months of elite disciple provisions to Ye Chen, agreed?”

“What?” Jiang Yun jumped up. The penalty was harsh, but seeing Wu Yazi’s unwavering gaze, he helplessly agreed.

“Yes, I accept the elder’s decision.”

“Good. This matter ends here.” Wu Yazi said, then turned to Qingsongzi, who immediately understood.

Wu Yazi’s mind seemed to drift through time and space. Suddenly, his gaze locked on Jiang Yun with unyielding authority.

“Jiang Yun, listen carefully. Within three days, prepare everything you must submit.”

Jiang Yun felt bitter inside but dared not refuse. He nodded silently.

This humiliation destroyed his face. With no dignity left, he tried to leave before Wu Yazi and Qingsongzi departed, hoping to escape this suffocating place.

But just as he was about to step out, a cold aura swept over him from behind, accompanied by Ye Chen’s voice, devoid of any warmth:

“Wait.”