Chapter 7: The True Mastermind

The one plunged into shock was not only Ye Tian, but also Gu Qingcheng, who found it equally unbelievable.

“How did the Seven Phoenix Soft Needles end up in your hands?” Gu Qingcheng’s gaze suddenly turned cold. “Don’t tell me you killed those seven old men and took everything they owned?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she abruptly struck at Ye Tian with her palm.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Ye Tian was momentarily stunned, but hastily raised his hand to meet hers.

A sharp, resounding slap exploded between them.

Gu Qingcheng staggered back three steps, while Ye Tian stood motionless in place.

“Senior Sister, you’ve misunderstood,” Ye Tian explained with a bitter smile. He quickly activated the Circulation Technique, his vital energy surging through his body, displaying the Inner Alchemy method his master had taught him.

Seeing the familiar technique, Gu Qingcheng’s cold expression froze, and she offered an embarrassed smile, saying, “So you’re my junior brother. I haven’t been back to the mountain for ages—I had no idea those old men took another disciple.”

“My apologies!”

Ye Tian felt a bit awkward after hearing this. He hadn’t expected his senior sister to be so scatterbrained, acting without clarifying the situation and resorting to violence at the slightest provocation. Moreover, Gu Qingcheng was far too rebellious, calling their masters old fools and old geezers so casually. If the masters ever heard this, they’d surely be furious.

“Haha, who would’ve thought, after so many years away from the mountain, I’ve gained a junior brother,” Gu Qingcheng laughed gleefully, covering her mouth. “If just now I was acting on someone’s behalf to deal with both of you—well, now, for my junior brother’s sake, I’ll kill you all myself!”

As she spoke, a terrifying aura enveloped the room once more.

Wang Chengjie’s heart tightened.

“Miss Gu, let’s talk this through!” He had been pleased to see the two turn against each other, but never expected they were fellow disciples. Now things were much worse.

“Uncle Wang, maybe we should leave,” Zhang Shihao was terrified and tried to slip away.

“Useless! Try running and see if that madwoman lets you off!” Wang Chengjie was furious, cursing his longtime lackey for being nothing but a worthless piece of mud.

“Junior Brother, let your sister take care of them for you,” Gu Qingcheng said with a sweet smile, ready to step forward, but was stopped by a large hand.

Ye Tian shook his head gently. “No need. There are things I must ask for myself.”

Seeing his insistence, Gu Qingcheng said no more, found a chair that was still intact, and sat down, grabbing some sunflower seeds.

“I’ll cheer you on, Junior Brother.”

Even Ye Tian, usually calm and composed, couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Senior Sister, you’re really out of character.

He strode over to Zhang Shihao.

“I ask, you answer.”

“Haha, Ye Tian, who do you think you are? Without Gu Qingcheng, you’re nothing!” Zhang Shihao, frightened by the overwhelming aura, collapsed backward to the floor, sitting with legs splayed, and shouted wildly.

“You’re a remnant of the Ye family! How dare you order me around!”

Watching his breakdown, Ye Tian smiled coldly. Back when the Ye family was at its zenith, Zhang Shihao groveled before him, obeying every command, a sycophant hoping to profit from Ye Tian. He was the very embodiment of opportunism.

Who would have thought, now the tables had turned and Zhang Shihao, a powerful scion, dared to shout at him.

“I ask you: did you have a hand in the Ye family’s destruction?” Ye Tian’s expression was impassive, his voice icy.

“So what if I did?” Zhang Shihao sneered.

“My Zhang family is now among the noble clans, while you, Ye Tian, are a beaten dog clinging to life. You think you can take revenge on my Zhang family?”

His words admitted to his crimes.

“Hmm, I understand. Well said,” Ye Tian nodded.

“You win a prize.”

In Zhang Shihao’s shrinking pupils, a leg swept toward him.

“Ye Tian, if you dare kill me, the Zhang family will never let you go!”

Bang!

A violent force sent a figure flying over ten meters, crashing into the distant wall with a sharp crack.

He was utterly ruined.

With that single kick, Ye Tian shattered Zhang Shihao’s meridians and destroyed his dantian, his reservoir of energy. Zhang Shihao was now a cripple, doomed never to walk again.

“Your turn.” Ye Tian’s eyes, icy and forbidding, fixed on Wang Chengjie.

“Ye Tian, calm down,” Wang Chengjie wiped imaginary sweat from his brow, hurriedly explaining, “Actually, the Ye family massacre had someone else behind it.”

“If you want the truth, I won’t deny it. I wronged the Ye family back then. But we noble clans were swept along, forced to follow the tide!”

“Listen to me…”

Wang Chengjie, word by word, spilled everything he knew about that year as if pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

The others in the room gasped.

So the Ye family’s annihilation had been meticulously planned.

And the main instigators were the three great noble families of Central Capital!

Terrifying!

Back then, the Ye family was at its peak, a towering tree toppled overnight. Many had speculated about the reason, but never imagined the truth was so grim.

Ye Tian listened, his gaze growing colder.

Before the Ye family’s fall, he’d never heard of any so-called “three great noble families.” In Central Capital, the Ye family was supreme.

He had spent five years on the mountain, and upon returning, found these three families suddenly prominent.

They must have feasted on the Ye family’s legacy to rise so quickly.

Good, good, good!

What a trio of noble families!

Seeing Ye Tian deep in thought, Wang Chengjie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

There’s an old saying: don’t fear a great clan, fear a lone wolf. A solitary man, with nothing to lose, is the hardest to deal with.

Wang Chengjie, head of a first-tier clan in Central Capital, knew when to retreat and advance.

Ye Tian, eh? I’ll report you to the three families soon and let them deal with you!

He ground his teeth inwardly, but kept a smile on his face.

“Ye Tian, that’s all I know. Why not let bygones be bygones today? Let’s turn hostility into friendship…”

“You’re not worthy!”

Ye Tian glanced at him and laughed scornfully.

What? Wang Chengjie not worthy?

“My god, after beating Zhang Shihao, is Ye Tian going to attack the Wang family head as well?”

The rest were stunned.

The head of a first-tier clan, a man who could command the heavens in Central Capital, and yet you, a lone wolf, dared to mock him?

No matter how strong you are, you’re just a solitary man.

How will you survive in Central Capital after this?

“Ye Tian, you—”

“Accomplice of evil, you’re no better. Today I’ll cripple your legs. If I discover more of your crimes, I’ll take your life myself!”

Without another word, Ye Tian lashed out with his leg.

A sharp crack of bone echoed as Wang Chengjie collapsed, screaming in agony.