Nine Astra Skies

When the martial art practitioners in the circle formation saw the Nanman Kingdom cavalry retreat, there was a loud burst of celebration.

When they saw Ye Chen, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, approaching them slowly, their hearts regarded him as a god.

This seventeen or eighteen-year-old Heavenly Venerable One had single-handedly killed fifty thousand of the Nanman Kingdom cavalries and forced the Nanman Kingdom to retreat. Even Great Emperor Mingwu could not claim such a feat.

Additionally, they heard that Ye Chen had single-handedly killed five of the Nanman Kingdom's Heavenly Venerable Rank combatants in Capital City. Judging by his ability, did he already achieve the legendary Mystique Venerable Rank?

Looking at the handsome Ye Chen, the family masters standing next to Ye Zhantian understood that this young man would one day rule over the Xiwu Empire!

From now on, Ye Chen would be known as the God of War in the Xiwu Empire. Legends about the God of War would spread all over this land, passed on from one generation to the next by the people of the Xiwu Empire.

All the martial arts practitioners placed their right hand before their chest, knelt on one knee, and bowed their heads to him in respect. This was the highest form of salutation among martial arts practitioners in the Xiwu Empire. They truly respected Ye Chen. He was the one who had saved everyone here. From this moment onward, they made up their minds to follow this young man's clan!

"God of War!"

"God of War!"

The group of martial arts practitioners declared, their voices ringing loud and clear.

Ye Chen looked at Ye Zhantian. He saw his father look back at him with tears in his eyes. Nestled in his father's eyes were relief, pride and joy, as well as affection.

His father's expression caused Ye Chen to feel slightly emotional.

Ye Zhanying and the rest of the clan members also looked extremely pleased.

"Ye Patriarch, what should we do now?" Xu Jian looked at Ye Zhantian and then looked at Ye Chen. There was still a large number of evacuees nearby. Every minute of delay meant that someone was dying. "Do we continue north, past Xilin Prairie or…"

Upon hearing Xu Jian's question, Ye Zhantian tucked away his emotions temporarily and appeared deep in thought. In a deep voice, he said, "It'll take at least seven days to continue north. Along the way, I'm afraid many evacuees will starve to death."

"Father, I heard that the Nanman Kingdom army has ordered a large-scale retreat. They are heading to Yan County. I think in about ten days or so, the Nanman Kingdom will withdraw all its troops," Ye Chen said. Earlier, he overheard everything Wei Guyan had said to his lieutenant commander.

"Really?" Ye Zhantian was momentarily stunned. The Nanman Kingdom was withdrawing its troops? He considered the matter and turned to Xu Jian. "In that case, we'll bring the evacuees back to Donglin County!"

Upon hearing Ye Chen's words, Xu Jian and the others around them felt a renewed hope in their hearts. Many of them could not help but shed tears. Could it be that they could finally go home?

Although Donglin County had been ransacked by the Nanman Kingdom army and was completely devastated, it was still their hometown. They could rebuild on top of the ruins!

"From today onward, I, Ye Zhantian, will form an army. In this lifetime, I'll force the Nanman Kingdom to pay with their blood!" Ye Zhantian's expression was thunderous as he vowed solemnly.

"Pay with their blood!"

"Pay with their blood!"

The rest of the group also flashed expressions of intense vengeance.

Under Ye Zhantian's instructions, the martial arts practitioners busied themselves and guided the evacuees to retreat. Ye Chen's Astral Body swept across the evacuees quickly, preparing to help heal the wounded. As long as the injury sustained was not fatal, Ye Chen could transfer a small amount of Celestial Chi to them to aid with healing.

"Little Wingsy, go and help, bring those who are injured to me," Ye Chen turned and said to Little Wingsy.

"Okay." Little Wingsy ran out immediately.

One after another, those who were wounded were healed by Ye Chen. When the people found out that Ye Chen was the one who had defeated the Nanman Kingdom cavalry, they bowed to him in gratitude.

While Ye Chen was healing the wounded, the Purple-fire Astra Lion in the Heavenly Astra Seal suddenly relayed a message to him.

"Ye Chen, there's someone with Emperor Qing's bloodline among the evacuees. I can sense its aura!" the Purple-fire Astra Lion exclaimed in excitement.

"Emperor Qing's bloodline? What's that?" Ye Chen froze for a moment and asked.

"An ancient and mighty figure who is even more powerful than that Emperor Ming from the Exclusion Zone. He's the real closest existence to a god. Accordingly, he can transform into a divine phoenix. Anyway, enough about him. Find the person with Emperor Qing's bloodline first!" The Purple-fire Astra Lion urged.

"What can the Emperor Qing's bloodline do?" Ye Chen asked doubtfully as he mobilized his Astral Body to search among the evacuees.

"What can it do? The uses of Emperor Qing's bloodline are far more than you can imagine. Obviously, Emperor Qing's bloodline also contains Emperor Qing's blood. If you drink Emperor Qing's blood, you'll receive his heritage. Perhaps, you'll even be able to transform into a phoenix."

"Drink blood… Wouldn't that kill a person?" Ye Chen questioned with a slight frown in his forehead.

"Of course. Emperor Qing's blood hides in a person's bone marrow. Once it's released, of course the person will die," the Purple-fire Astra Lion replied nonchalantly.

"Then I'd rather not find it." Ye Chen shook his head. He was not an evil person who would find someone just to drink their blood.

"Mother of god, Emperor Qing's blood might never manifest its abilities inside that person's body. You've just killed more than fifty thousand of the Nanman Kingdom cavalry, what's one more?"

"That's different. The Nanman Kingdom cavalry killed countless innocent lives and they deserve to die. But this person who carries Emperor Qing's blood is just an innocent civilian. If I kill the innocent without regard for right or wrong, what makes me any different from a demon?" Ye Chen declared in all seriousness. After he spoke, he remembered that even among the demons, there were good people. His words were not completely accurate but the Purple-fire Astra Lion probably understood what Ye Chen was trying to say.

"Well, drinking the person's blood isn't the only way. You can also try paired cultivation. The effects might not be the best, but it's better than nothing. However, if the person is male…" the Purple-fire Astra Lion mumbled, thinking of his previous master. He shuddered.

"Stop." Ye Chen appeared unnerved. It was simply disturbing to search out a stranger for a paired cultivation, especially without knowing whether the person was a man or a woman. It was just too… In any case, Ye Chen could not accept it.

"Regardless, you should look for the person first. If you cannot do paired cultivation, then you can train him or her into a fighter. This is a person with Emperor Qing's blood, their talent is far beyond an ordinary person!" the Purple-fire Astra Lion explained, "If this power falls into another person's hands, you'll cry."

"Very well. How do you know about Emperor Qing's blood?" Ye Chen asked while he searched. "And how can I identify this person?"

"About that, you don't have to know. This Master Lion has walked over more bridges than you have walked on roads." The Purple-fire Astra Lion could not be bothered to explain the rest to Ye Chen. "Your Psyche is very unique. You just have to search for someone who also has Psyche energy. Although the person is human, due to the presence of Emperor Qing's blood, his or her body should emit a Psyche energy."

Ye Chen's Astral Body continued to search, screening every person around him. After searching for more than twenty minutes, his Psyche landed on a little girl. The little girl was only around five or six years old, and looked dirty and unkempt. She wore a tattered hemp dress which made her look like a beggar. However, her eyes were crystal clear and glowed a faint shade of red.

The girl appeared to have been crying. The tears that ran down her face left two visible tear tracks on both sides of her cheeks. She was walking aimlessly among the crowd, seemingly to have been separated from her family.

Ye Chen sensed a faint trace of Psyche energy from her body. This energy was extremely mysterious. If not for the fact that his Psyche was ultra-sensitive, an ordinary Celestial Beast would not even notice her Psyche. Nevertheless, Ye Chen could feel that her Psyche was different from the others.

Ye Chen walked toward the little girl.

When the evacuees saw Ye Chen walking toward them, they parted to the sides to make way for him. All of them regarded him with looks of gratitude. This young man had saved their lives and gave them hope.

Ye Chen stopped beside the little girl. The little girl looked around. Everyone else had taken a step back. She gazed at Ye Chen nervously, her eyes filled with innocence.

Ye Chen crouched down and looked at the little girl. Although she was dirty and unkempt, he could see that her features were perfect and that her crystal-clear eyes seemed to speak aloud.

To avoid scaring the little girl, Ye Chen spoke in a warm tone, "Where are your father and mother?"

"My father and mother are dead." The little girl blinked back tears in her eyes.

"Do you have any relatives?" Seeing the look in her eyes, Ye Chen's heart ached.

"My grandfather is also dead, I can't find him anymore." The little girl's tears began to fall.

Ye Chen signed inwardly. He looked at the little girl and asked, "What's your name?"

"My name is Little Wen," the girl replied.

"Are you willing to follow Big Brother? Big Brother will protect you and you can treat Big Brother as your relative." Ye Chen patted her head.

The little girl looked at Ye Chen with her crystal-clear eyes. "Is Big Brother a good person?"

"Yup." Ye Chen nodded.

The little girl seemed to consider it. She looked around and saw that the evacuees stood a few meters behind them. Their faces were filled with gratitude. After a slight pause, the little girl nodded and said, "Thank you Big Brother for taking in Little Wen."

The little girl looked no more than five or six years old but her crystal-clear eyes seemed quite knowledgeable. It was difficult to believe that she was only five or six years old.

Although Ye Chen took the little girl in because of Emperor Qing's blood, he did not plan to obtain any benefit from her. Ye Chen also did not have time to look after Little Wen, so he planned to entrust her to one of the couples in the clan. Hopefully, Little Wen would be able to fit in with the rest of the clan and treat them as her own family.

According to the Purple-fire Astra Lion, Emperor Qing's blood was extremely potent. If Little Wen grew up to become a skilled combatant and help protect the Ye Clan, it would be the Ye Clan's gain. If Little Wen decided to leave the Ye Clan upon reaching adulthood, then Ye Chen would not stop her either.