Nine Astra Skies

Ye Chen ran as fast as he could. He felt a mixture of emotions - anxiety, fear, and terror - all of it. He was afraid he would come home to a gruesome scene to find one of the clan members' bodies. Thinking about it scared him greatly.

No, none of that would happen!

Absolutely not!

Back at the Ye Castle, ten of the clan members had taken Liu Xun's pills. They looked defeated. From the moment they took the pill, they knew death awaited them.

Two chirps came from the sky. The Raven Hawk and the Vermillion Spirit Condor circled above. The Raven Hawk was smaller in size and thus did not stand out as much. Meanwhile, the Vermillion Spirit Condor burned brightly in flames which made it seem extremely noticeable.

Why was the Raven Hawk and the Vermillion Spirit Condor appearing at the same time?

The Ye Clan members were baffled. However, it ignited a spark of hope in them.

What was going on? Liu Xun was momentarily stunned. The Raven Hawk and Vermillion Spirit Condor were Tenth Level mystical beasts. As the Ye clan members looked to the sky, he felt a moment of unease. Were the Ye Clan's reinforcements on their way?

"All Dark Troopers surround the Ye Clan members. If you see any sudden moves, kill them!" Liu Xun ordered. He was feeling restless, especially now that the Ye Clan members had been taken hostage by him.

The hawk and condor circled the skies for a little while before flying further away.

Perhaps they were just passing by?

The Ye Clan members sunk into despair once more. Who would come to the aid of the clan? Ye Min? That was impossible. Ye Min had taken Ye Rou away and she would never turn back. As for Ye Chen, they did not wish that he would return. Liu Xun was a Tenth Level combatant and Liu Kan was a mid-Tenth Level combatant. Against two Tenth Level combatants, the odds were against Ye Chen. It would be better if he remained outside, at least that would give the clan some form of hope.

Ye Chen was running in the forest as he received the message from the Raven Hawk and the Vermillion Spirit Condor. He was fuming at this point.

The castle was thoroughly surrounded by the Second-rank Prince's Palace cavalries and all the clansmen were taken hostage by Liu Xun.

Father and grandpa were shackled. Even their clavicles were locked up too. They looked seriously wounded as did the rest of the clansmen. The youngsters of the clan were hung at the wooden posts, whipped by men until they bled profusely.

Ye Chen clenched his fist so hard that his nails began to dig into his flesh and caused his palm to bleed. He was heartbroken at the scenario and most of all, furious to the point where he could not think straight.

'Liu Xun, I'm going to tear you to pieces!'

Every part of Ye Chen was hot like fire. His Celestial Chi burst forth, a strong presence of Pressure appeared. He was determined to kill every single soul in the Second-rank Prince's Palace.

Ye Chen was not one to take lives simply. He had only taken lives in the past out of self-defense. Today, however, he was in a state of bloodlust.

Ye Chen had never felt this much pain until today and that pain was enough for him to kill!

"Liu Xun, Liu Kan, Qiu Yang!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth. His joints were all fired up like a chain of explosions went off in them. He was so furious that he could no longer be reasoned with.

Ye Chen never wanted to make any enemies. He merely wanted to get strong and to survive in the world. He was an orphan in the past and when he came to this world, he became a part of the Ye Clan. He had always thought of himself as an outsider, that he did not belong there. His soul came from a faraway world as that was where home was for him. Then, he was attacked by the Yun Clan and had his meridian channels crippled. His father and the rest worked hard to save his life. The clansmen cared for him while his grandpa and father protected him. Eventually, he opened up to the clan. From that day onward, he told himself that the Ye Clan was his home and that he swore to protect them.

Father, grandpa, second uncle, third uncle, Ye Rou… All of them made Ye Chen feel the warmth of a family. His soul may have come from a different world but the blood that coursed through his veins belonged to the clan. It taught him the meaning of blood is thicker than water and what it meant to be a part of the clan! Most importantly, it taught him that he was no longer alone!

It took awhile for him to feel such love. Ye Chen cherished them greatly but now, someone intended to destroy the clan! That person had crossed Ye Chen's line!

Ye Chen's gaze turned cold.

Due to Ye Chen's incompetence, the Ye Clan was subjected to near-annihilation over and over again. If his father, grandpa, and all of them died, he would never forgive himself!

Just that thought was torturous for Ye Chen.

Whoever it was that wanted to obliterate the Ye Clan, be it the Yun Clan, the Second-rank Prince's Place or even Qiu Ying, heck, even Great Emperor Mingwu, he would kill them all!

Ye Chen's body transformed into a shadow and he quickly ran for the Ye Castle.

There was only one objective in his mind - to rescue his clansmen. Then, he would kill Liu Xun, Liu Kan, and Qiu Yang or whoever else who stood in his way.

"Squeak, squeak!" Little Tanuki had sensed Ye Chen's rage. Even Little Tanuki was terrified of him but it understood Ye Chen's feelings. When its clan was attacked in the past, it felt the same as Ye Chen. It immediately gave the orders to the Raven Hawk, the Vermillion Spirit Condor, the Blizzard Leopard, the White Zephyr Ape, the Lynx, and the Crimson Golden Hound to protect the Ye Clan members at all costs!

The six mystical beasts spread out in different directions to enter the Ye Castle.

"Who are you? This place is under the Second-rank Prince's control. No one is allowed to venture beyond this point!" a few Dark Troopers who rode on top of their Nightwinds called out. The moment they saw Ye Chen sprinting in their direction, they went ahead to stop him.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had reached the guard's side.

That display of demonic speed left the Dark Troopers in great shock.

Crimson Cloud Searing Skies!

Ye Chen's body was covered in flames. These were his flames of wrath!

Bam! Ye Chen striked and hurled waves of fire at them. The Dark Troopers could not react in time and was sent flying away along with their steeds. Their Xuan-iron armor shattered into pieces and crumbled onto the ground. Their bodies flew a few feet away before dropping to the ground.

Men or horses - they were charred.

The Dark Troopers could never sustain a hit from a Tenth Level combatant, what more with Ye Chen being a beginner Tenth Level. Judging by his power, however, he was far more competent than a mid-Tenth Level, perhaps even stronger than a peak Tenth Level.

The Celestial Chi that Ye Chen had spent performing Crimson Cloud Searing Skies was replenished by the Flying Dagger's Celestial Chi.

"We're under attack!"

"We're under attack!"

Seeing the patrolling Dark Troopers getting murdered one by one, the troops who set up close to the Ye Castle fell back in. There were at least thousands of them.

The Ye Castle was right before Ye Chen but the soldiers were endless!

Kunlun Sundering the Mountains!

Ye Chen leapt into the air and slammed one leg down. An endless stream of Fire and Metal elemental Celestial Chi poured forth. His kick contained the rage of Fire elemental Celestial Chi and the lethality of Metal elemental Celestial Chi. The strike came down like a broadsword swung at a great height.

Bam. A large hole was left in the ground. Ten plus bodies flew to the side, all of them charred and screaming for their lives. The other side of the bodies were swiftly slashed to death by the Metal elemental Celestial Chi.

One Kunlun Sundering the Mountains had effectively taken out ten people. The might of one kick was truly terrifying.