Nine Astra Skies

Ye Chen slowed down for a moment. Indeed, Liu Xun and Liu Kan had a huge empire as their backing. Compared to such strong state apparatuses, the House of Ye was a truly negligible force!

"Ye Chen, you're afraid now, aren't you? If you kill me and my father, Liu Kan, Great Emperor Mingwu will certainly dispatch his army to wipe out the House of Ye! Ye Chen, it's not too late for you to apologize to me right now. If not, you'll die a miserable death!" Liu Xun said arrogantly and became less fearful the moment he noticed Ye Chen hesitating.

"I'll surely kill all those who bully the Ye Clan. Even if Great Emperor Mingwu shows up in person, so what? He's just a Heavenly Venerable One combatant. If he tries to wipe out the House of Ye, I'll kill him as well! Liu Xun, it's time for you to die!" Ye Chen had already weighed his options. If Great Emperor Mingwu decided to annihilate them, the House of Ye could rebel against the Xiwu Empire and find somewhere else to settle down in this whole wide world. While a Heavenly Venerable One combatant was powerful, Ye Chen was not exactly afraid of such a figure since he had even encountered a Daemon King before.

Ye Chen held out his hand in a claw-like manner as he performed Gale Storm Talon while aiming for Liu Xun's throat.

Liu Xun was frightened out of his wits by that swift and fierce incoming Gale Storm Talon attack and felt his body trembling all over. Ye Chen was not even afraid of Great Emperor Mingwu? How could this be? Was he not afraid that Great Emperor Mingwu would try to exterminate the entire House of Ye? As he watched Ye Chen's approaching Gale Storm Talon, Liu Xun suddenly felt a strong desire to live and abruptly shoved a half-dead Liu Kan forward before gliding backward rapidly.

Ye Chen swung his arm and hit Liu Kan out of the way. As he stared at Liu Kan, who was hurriedly retreating from him, Ye Chen's expression turned dark with uncontrollable rage.

Liu Kan was Liu Xun's father but Liu Xun had put his father in danger's way during such a critical moment. This inhumane and vile person deserved to die!

"Liu Xun, accept your death now!" After sending Liu Kan flying away, Ye Chen charged forward abruptly and shot ahead like a great hawk. Soon, he caught up to Liu Xun and performed Gale Storm Talon, swinging his claw-like hand at Liu Xun's throat more fiercely and swiftly.

Liu Xun glanced below and found that his troops had been defeated in a landslide while the Raven Hawk and the Vermillion Spirit Condor were circling in the sky. There was no way he could get out of this predicament at that point.

"I, Liu Xun, have been a powerful and formidable figure all my life. I never thought that I would die at the hands of an inexperienced young kid. Fate is too unfair. I refuse to accept this. I refuse to accept this!" Liu Xun shouted and seemed as though he had gone crazy. Not so long ago, he had been enthusiastically planning and preparing to gain control of all the powerful parties within Donglin County. The situation had been progressing step by step according to his plans as he slowly took control of these parties one after another. However, he had never expected to encounter such a variable at the Ye Castle!

Everyone had their fate and destiny. Heaven was bound to punish evildoers and made sure that such people would receive their appropriate retribution!

Ye Chen was struck by sudden inspiration and came to realize some truth about Dao. As long as one was living in this world, one could never escape from being governed by the rules of Dao. Thus, those leading an unjust life would certainly run out of luck at some point.

"Die!" Ye Chen increased his speed suddenly and seized Liu Xun's throat. Overwhelmed by his compelling and powerful aura, Liu Xun could not even move a muscle and could only look on helplessly while Ye Chen grabbed hold of his throat.

A surge of Celestial Chu flowed out of Ye Chen's palm and trapped Liu Xun's voice in his throat in a loud "ka-boom". Then, Ye Chen tossed Liu Xun up at the sky and immediately somersaulted into the air before performing Kunlun Sundering the Mountains. As Liu Xun took a direct hit on his abdomen, his Chi Construct Barrier crumbled all at once and his body came crashing to the ground like a shooting star.

The Dark Troopers on the ground were still being assailed by the six Tenth Level mystical beasts. When they witnessed how Liu Kan and Liu Xun had been completely defeated by Ye Chen, they gave up all hope and tried to flee in a panic.

All the Ye Clan members had been consumed with despair but became startled when these six Tenth Level beasts appeared out of nowhere and went on a killing spree against the Dark Troopers. These Tenth Level beasts were simply too strong. A black Lynx continuously killed over a hundred Dark Troopers by biting them to death. The troops' Dark Xuan-iron Armor was as weak as tofu and instantly shattered into pieces against the Lynx's sharp teeth. Furthermore, all swords and spears broke into half when they landed on its body. Nonetheless, this Lynx seemed to be the weakest among the six mystical beasts. Compared to it, the Crimson Gold Hound and the Blizzard Leopard were much stronger and had both killed hundreds of Dark Troopers. The Raven Hawk and the Vermillion Spirit Condor flew in the sky and would swoop down to attack and kill an Eighth Level or a Ninth Level combatant every once in a while. The remaining Zephyr White Ape was even more ferocious and violent as it could be seen grabbing a Dark Trooper and tearing the person in half while snarling loudly. Then, it thumped its chest and let out a series of furious roars before dashing forward abruptly and colliding into more than ten Dark Troopers. All of whom were sent flying away by the impact.

This was a one-sided massacre!

Even Xu Zhong, who was a top Ninth Level fighter, had his skull crushed by the Raven Hawk when it swooped down to attack him. As for the other Ninth Level combatants who were trying to flee, they met with a similar fate and were completely incapable of attacking back. Blood-curdling screams could be heard from all directions.

Upon seeing these fearsome Tenth Level mystical beasts, the Ye Clan members prepared themselves for the worst. However, they became confused when they came to notice that these Tenth Level beasts would not harm anyone from the House of Ye. Suddenly, someone among them shouted in excitement, "It's Little Chen. Little Chen has returned!"

The clan members lifted their gaze and looked toward the castle wall where they saw a ray of fiery light shot up into the sky. A moment later, a silhouette fell off the castle wall. It was Liu Kan. Meanwhile, another person could be seen gliding backward away from the top of the wall. That was the Second-rank Prince of Donglin, Liu Xun. Before Liu Xun managed to move any further, a silhouette charged toward him at lightning speed and seized his throat. Then, the person sent Liu Xun flying down with a palm attack.

Liu Xun crashed heavily to the ground in a thunderous noise, causing dust to rise and drift all over the sky. A deep pit was left in the ground.

A few clan members were worried that Liu Xun was not dead yet, so they frantically rushed towards the deep pit even while wearing heavy shackles.

The other clan members, who had initially been in despair, began rising to their feet with tears in their eyes. They had never thought that Ye Chen would make such a god-like appearance and defeated two Tenth Level powerhouses from the Second-rank Prince's Palace. On top of that, he had even brought along six Tenth Level mystical beasts!

They wept and cried their lungs out to release all the emotions in their hearts. There was finally hope for the Ye Clan to survive. Their clan members had been saved at last!

Ye Zhantian, Ye Changxuan, and a few others stumbled and collapsed to the ground. They had been tenaciously relying on their determination and willpower to hold themselves together over the past few days. So when they saw Ye Chen return and realized that the House of Ye was going to survive this calamity after all, the mixture of great sorrow and joy within them caused these elders to turn pale and collapse one after another.

"Father, granduncle!" Ye Chen anxiously ran over.

"Chief, you're finally back!" Ye Ping and the rest of the clan members sobbed in relief. These people did not even shed a tear while they were being beaten with barbed whips to the point of bleeding before this. However, when they saw Ye Chen return, they all began to cry.

Some older women and weaker children who could still move around freely hurried over to release all the clan members who had been tied to wooden stakes.

Ye Chen rushed over to Ye Zhantian's side and used his Celestial Chi to examine his father. When he realized it was due to exhaustion that Ye Zhantian had collapsed, he quickly injected a stream of Celestial Chi into Ye Zhantian's body and then glanced at his father's shoulders. Instantly, Ye Chen saw that two iron chains as thick as his thumb had been driven into the flesh above their collarbones to hold them in place. His heart trembled at this sight.

Aside from Ye Zhantian, all other clan members above the Ninth Level were shackled in the same way.

"Liu Xun!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth in resentment and regretted having launched such a lethal attack earlier. He should not have allowed Liu Xun to die so easily. If Liu Xun was still alive, Ye Chen would make his life a living hell. Ye Chen moved his right hand while channeling his Celestial Chi and shattered the iron chains which came with an explosive sound.

One by one, Ye Chen helped Ye Zhantian, Ye Changxuan, and the other clansmen remove their shackles.

"Chief, hurry up and take a look at Brother Ye Meng. Brother Ye Meng…" Ye Mei sobbed desperately while holding Ye Meng, who was lying limp on the ground, in her arms.

Ye Chen rushed over at once and placed his right hand on Ye Meng's wrist to examine his overall condition. He found that Ye Meng's heart meridian had been severely damaged and that Ye Meng had lost most of his chi, so Ye Chen hurriedly sent a stream of Celestial Chi into his friend's body. Then, he noticed that the Celestial Chi within Ye Meng's body contained a strange type of force.