The news that Ye Yuanwang had challenged Ye Chu to a duel at the General’s Tomb spread quickly, becoming common knowledge in both circles. Pang Shao’s side was frowning with worry over this development, while Ye Yuande’s circle kept sneering nonstop.
“What a joke? A genius challenging a piece of trash?”
“Ye Yuanwang is really lowering himself too much. Challenging someone like that, even if he wins, there’s no honour in it!”
“But they’re actually going to the General’s Tomb, one of the empire’s forbidden zones. Tsk tsk, they have some guts!”
“No idea how many moves Ye Chu will last before getting killed. What exactly made Ye Yuanwang so furious that he’d stoop to dealing with him personally?”
“…”
The discussions went on endlessly, but in neither circle did anyone think well of Ye Chu’s chances.
Even Qing Wenting, who knew Ye Chu’s true background, looked at him with worry and said, “How are you going to fight him? Right now you can barely withstand his pressure.”
Tan Miaotong also blinked her bright, watery eyes, staring at Ye Chu with clear concern.
“As long as I can reach above the fifth level of the Innate Realm, I can still fight him,” Ye Chu said to Qing Wenting.
“Fight a Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator at the fifth level of the Innate Realm?” Qing Wenting frowned. “Are you joking? That’s a difference of heaven and earth!”
Ye Chu possessed the Primordial Spirit True Source. Once he reached the fifth level of the Innate Realm, his strength would far surpass that of ordinary cultivators. He could also use techniques from great cultivators. Even if he wasn’t the opponent’s match, he could at least manage a few exchanges.
“It’s impossible to defeat him, but I can hold out for a few moves. With my special physique, I won’t be afraid of him inside the General’s Tomb either,” Ye Chu said.
Qing Wenting could not understand where his confidence came from. She furrowed her delicate brows, her flawless beautiful face looking at Ye Chu as she said, “Even if you really reach the fifth level of the Innate Realm and can fight him, you’re still very far from that realm right now. How can you possibly reach it in just three days?”
“It doesn’t have to be within three days!” Ye Chu exhaled lightly, then suddenly turned to Huang Lin and said, “Go back and tell Sister Bai Xuan that I’ll be away for a while.”
Ye Chu hated Ye Yuanwang deeply in his heart. Originally he might have been able to taste her sweetness tonight, but now he had no choice but to wait until he returned from the General’s Tomb.
Huang Lin agreed, opened her mouth to say something, but then saw Ye Chu turn to Pang Shao and say, “Lend me that notebook for now!”
Pang Shao nodded, ordered someone to bring the copied notebook over, handed it to Ye Chu and said, “Take good care of it. We haven’t finished copying it yet.”
Ye Chu took it, looked at the somewhat tattered notebook, and thought to himself whether it could provide any help. If he could make use of the killing aura in the General’s Tomb, Ye Chu was confident he could make his strength surge in a short time.
“I’ll go with you to the General’s Tomb!” Qing Wenting suddenly said to Ye Chu. “With me there, Ye Yuanwang will restrain himself a lot.”
Ye Chu shook his head and said, “You’re not suited to go inside. It’s fine on the outskirts, but the inner ring is very dangerous. You shouldn’t come along.”
If it were any other time, Ye Chu would definitely try to persuade Qing Wenting to join him, but right now he had no time to look after her, so naturally he did not want her to take the risk.
“But you…” Qing Wenting wanted to say more, but Ye Chu interrupted her.
“If I can enter the General’s Tomb before Ye Yuanwang and go deep inside, even if he wants to deal with me, he’ll have to see whether he dares to follow,” Ye Chu said with a smile to Qing Wenting and the others. “Don’t worry. It won’t be so easy for them to deal with me.”
After saying that, Ye Chu told Huang Lin to take good care of Yaoyao, then left alone.
Watching Ye Chu leave, Qing Wenting and the others exchanged glances. Pang Shao spoke up, “Damn it, the Ye family is bullying people too far. Who does Ye Yuanwang think he is? This young master is going back to the Pang family right now.”
After returning to the imperial city, Pang Shao had been afraid of his grandfather’s nagging and had been hanging around Liu Shaoyang’s residence without going home. Now, seeing Ye Yuanwang pressing so aggressively, he finally got angry. He thought that if he asked the old man for a few strong experts in Ye Chu’s name, perhaps the old man would agree.
Seeing Pang Shao leave, Liu Shaoyang and the others also went home one after another. They did not have Pang Shao’s family background. This time they had been suppressed by Ye Yuanwang and did not dare make a sound. If Qing Wenting had not been there, they would probably have been dealt with by Ye Yuanwang too.
They had always been arrogant. When had they ever suffered such humiliation? Each of them finally turned their attention seriously to cultivation. They thought to themselves, if they had Ye Yuanwang’s strength, would Ye Yuanwang dare treat them like this?
“Jingyun, Ye Yuanwang is from your Ye family. Can you hold him back for a while?” Qing Wenting said to Ye Jingyun, but she saw Ye Jingyun standing there in a daze, her expression strange as if she was thinking about something.
“What’s wrong?” Tan Miaotong also noticed Ye Jingyun’s odd behaviour and could not help asking curiously.
Ye Jingyun looked in the direction where Ye Chu had disappeared and suddenly said, “Does this guy know something? Why does he want to challenge at the General’s Tomb?”
“Hm?” Qing Wenting did not understand. She knew Ye Chu had a special physique and an advantage in the General’s Tomb, but Ye Jingyun did not know that. So what was Ye Jingyun talking about?
“There’s a rumour in the Ye family that Cousin Ji Die is preparing to enter the General’s Tomb recently. I originally thought the rumour was fake, but now seeing Ye Chu so eager to go, it looks like it’s probably true,” Ye Jingyun said. “This guy still hasn’t given up. Is he still thinking about Cousin Ji Die?”
Ye Jingyun thought that for Ye Chu to be this much of a playboy was practically a miracle. But then again, thinking of Ji Die’s beauty, it was not strange that someone would risk their life for her.
“Did Ye Chu really try to force himself on Ji Die back then?” Qing Wenting had never believed it, but hearing Ye Jingyun mention it repeatedly, and with the three Ye family heirs saying the same, she finally started to have some doubts.
“Do you think I’m lying to you?” Ye Jingyun rolled her eyes and said, “Otherwise, why do you think that kid got kicked out of the Ye family?”
Qing Wenting found it unbelievable. “That shouldn’t be right. With Ye Chu’s methods, if he really wanted to force a woman, how could Ji Die possibly escape? Besides, doesn’t Ye Chu despise using force the most?”
Qing Wenting had spent so much time with Ye Chu. She thought that if Ye Chu really wanted to scheme against a woman and force her, he would make it absolutely foolproof. How could Ji Die have slipped away?
“You’re overestimating that kid. With his little tricks, trying to deal with Ji Die would just make him a laughingstock,” Ye Jingyun sneered. Naturally, she looked down on Ye Chu.
Qing Wenting shrugged and did not want to say more. In her heart, though, she was curious. Just how stunning was Ji Die that even Ye Chu, who always scorned using force, would make a move on her?
Qing Wenting had heard of Ji Die’s reputation. She knew Ji Die was one of the most dazzling beauties in the empire, a妖姬 who could be called nation-toppling. But Qing Wenting did not know exactly to what extent Ji Die’s beauty reached.
“Interested in going to the General’s Tomb to take a look?” Qing Wenting suddenly said to Ye Jingyun. This suggestion left Ye Jingyun stunned for a moment.