Chapter 40 – The Hopeless Situation (1)
Chapter 40 – The Hopeless Situation (1)
Chapter 40 – The Hopeless Situation (1)
“Invite those three old folks to come here!” Qinghan yelled again in an emphasized tone.
How wildly presumptuous was he! The three great elders in the rear hill, represented the highest cultivation achievements the Ye Family could obtain so far. They were the backbone of the entire family!
“How did Qinghan dare to be so impolite and rude towards these three great elders?”
The elders knitted their brows in anger, as they had never met someone as brazen as Qinghan in their entire lifetime. Even Qinghan’s Third Uncle, Ye Qiang, wore a long face, as he complained to himself, “Oh, Qinghan, even if you intend to anger the elders in this family, you don’t have to do it so obviously. At least, you should show some respect for them.”
“You immoral bastard! How dare you be so audacious?! You should be killed!” Ye Ron let out a torrent of curses.
“Yes, you’re right. I’m not only rude to the elders, let me remind you, I have also killed two family members, and paralyzed this one. Based on all of this, I’m pretty sure, that you guys are going to kill me sooner or later. Since I don’t fear death, I don’t fear anything. Besides, I don’t think it’s rude to call them three old folks, at least I didn’t call them “three old dotards”. Should I refer to them as supreme hermits, simply because they have isolated themselves from the real world?” Qinghan curled his lips, as he retorted.
“Qinghan, shut up. At the very least, one of them is your grandfather!” Ye Qiang interrupted, trying to dissuade Qinghan from being so bold. Because, otherwise all the elders might turn against him.
“Grandfather? Haha…” Unexpectedly, Qinghan laughed out as he heard the word grandfather. Seconds later, he stopped laughing, as a mixed feeling of solitude and fury slipped into his mind.
“Grandfather? Since the death of my father, we were left alone and helpless. When I kneeled down in front of the Elder Clan Hall on that rainy day, when I was bullied on Cattle-fence Street… When I was nearly killed in the Wild Mountain Range... When Qingkuang, together with the outsiders, tried to kidnap my sister.. Where was that dear and respected grandfather of mine?!”
Listening to Qinghan’s complaints, many elders lowered their head, as they were pondering over the causes of Qinghan’s crazy behavior today. Never had they considered how much Qinghan had suffered since the death of his father. However, the crimes he had committed today were enough to receive the death penalty, as per the family rules. Some of the elders even felt sorry for Qinghan’s suffering.
Nevertheless, Ye Jian had simply no sympathy or interest in Qinghan’s suffering. He gave a quick glance at Qingyu before he said, “I’m not going to waste time listening to your bullshit. I won’t invite the three great elders. You know, it’s simply impossible! You’re but a mere violator of our family rules. How can you be so unashamed, as to wish to disturb the three great elders? Listen, let me give you an offer: as long as you let go of my son, I promise, that I’ll personally take care of your sister in the future.”
Following the tricky remarks of Ye Jian, Ye Ron added, “Yes, Ye Qinghan, let go of our eldest young lord, and your sister will be safe and sound. Otherwise, not only you, but also your sister will be killed.”
“Ye Ron! I promise, that one day, I’ll kill you! So you want me to release Ye Qingkuang? No way! Now, listen up, If the three old folks don’t show up within the next hour, then I’ll perish together with Qingkuang. As for my dear sister… I don’t believe that you guys will properly take care of her. It’ll be better for her to accompany me to the netherworld!” Staring at the ugly scar on Ye Ron’s face, Qinghan yelled back.
Qinghan knew, that the integration technique he had acquired was only formidable in front of cultivators who hadn’t exceeded the Realm of the General. The soul power of a cultivator would increase each time he entered into a higher realm. Therefore, Qinghan’s Soul Blackout technique might even be completely useless against cultivators who had exceeded the Realm of the General. For those in the Realm of the Marshal, their soul power had actually developed a highly defensive state, which could nullify the integration technique.
Among the elders, almost all of them were in the Realm of the Emperor, including Ye Ron. That was why, Qinghan promised that he would kill Ye Ron in the future, rather than today. He was simply incapable of killing him at this stage.
As for Qingyu, Qinghan understood her very well – She wasn’t the kind of person who wished to drift along in life just for the sake of remaining alive. The day she tried to commit suicide, she had already proved this unyielding side of her personality, even though she had previously always left them the impression of an obedient girl. So, Qinghan reckoned, that if he died, his sister would quickly join him. Even if his sister didn’t end her life, she would live miserably.
“Rather than suffering from the endless abyss of a miserable life, why not find a way out of this hopeless situation?“ Qinghan thought to himself.
“In my opinion, given the severity of the situation, I agree to invite the three great elders out. This is the safest way to ensure the eldest young lord’s safety.” Ye Qiang advised, after carefully pondering on the undertone of Qinghan’s words. He believed, that if the great elders were informed of these disgraceful kidnapping plans, that Qingkuang, as well as his father Ye Jian, would be punished in one way or another. So, he decided to take advantage of this event to launch his personal revenge against Ye Jian.
“I disagree! Before my father, and the other two great elders, started their secluded cultivation, they had ordered that no one was allowed to disturb them. They plan to make a breakthrough in their cultivation. No one would dare to take the responsibility to disrupt their cultivation!” Ye Jian raised his brows high, holding a disapproving attitude towards Ye Qiang’s suggestion.
“You’re right! The cultivation of the great elders should be regarded as the most important thing in our family. No one should dare to disturb them.” Ye Ron also joined in.
“I agree with Ye Qiang. I think, under the current circumstances, things need to be carefully investigated. However, not a single one of us is qualified to make the final decision in this case.” Ye Tianqing stroked his grey moustache and wrinkled his forehead.
Before Tianqing had rushed to the Drunken-heart Garden, he was told that Qinghan had gone insane and had murdered two family members and had set the entire eastern part of the Ye Castle ablaze. Also, Qingkuang was held hostage by Qinghan. Thus, he had immediately rushed to the scene to verify these rumors. Now, he was completely baffled, as he couldn’t figure out how Qinghan suddenly had the ability to kill cultivators in the Realm of the General. As far as he knew, Qinghan was only in the Realm of the Elite.
“Could it have something to do with the Awakening Ceremony? The nine-colored halo?” Tianqing was curious at the vast progress Qinghan had made within these last two months. However, because of the intense atmosphere, he had held back from asking this question.
“Yeah, we need a proper investigation.” Another elder said. He, Tianxing, was also greatly confused about Qinghan’s rapid progress, just like Tianqing.
“No, I disagree. I don’t believe that it’s wise to disturb the elders’ cultivation with such trivial events.”
“Yeah, I also disagree. Look at this bastard... He doesn’t deserve an audience with the great elders. He even called them old folks!”
“Yes, this bastard is too presumptuous…”
All the elders present expressed their opinions, however, almost none were unbiased. Just as Ye Qiang had decided to secretly send someone to inform Ye Tianlong, Ye Jian concluded, “Since most of you disagree to disturb the great elders, then there is no need to talk about this anymore. And I persuade those who intend to secretly invite the great elders to give up on this decision. As for my son… I bet that Qinghan won’t hurt my son any further, otherwise, I won’t be lenient to his sister. Let’s see if he dares to gamble on his sister’s life.”
During the previous discussion, Qingkuang had conveyed some message to his father. He has send these messages using his soul. These messages made Ye Jian realize the true intention of Qinghan’s request to see the great elders.
As a cultivator in the Realm of the General, Qingkuang was not supposed to learn advanced techniques, but his father had personally taught him this conveying voice skill. Qingkuang told his father, that the light in Qinghan’s eyes was what had made him briefly lose consciousness.
“That must be an integration technique! Ye Qinghan, you lucky bastard, you actually learned some advanced technique with the help of that rubbish dog of yours.” Based on what his son had told him, Ye Jian predicted that Qinghan had grasped a high-level technique.
“Wait… How can a fourth-grade battle beast be so powerful, as to teach its master such an advanced soul-related integration technique?” When he thought back to the nine-colored halo at the Awakening Ceremony, Ye Jian’s heart rate was quickly accelerating. He was determined to kill Qinghan once and for all. In order to consolidate his current family status, he wouldn’t allow Qinghan, who, in the future, might be more powerful than his father Ye Dao, to stand in his way of becoming the leader of the family.
“An hour later, you’ll know whether I have the courage to gamble with you or not.” Qinghan replied to Ye Jian’s threatening question. He clenched the dagger in his hand, but he didn’t know that Ye Jian had already vowed to himself to eradicate him.
The crowd was silent. They were all anticipating each other’s responses, especially among Qinghan, Ye Jian and Ye Qiang.
The atmosphere turned out to be a little bit suppressed and awkward until… a soft voice broke the ice.
“Brother? Is that you? Brother!”