Chapter 48: No Longer Need to Tolerate

“As long as you’re not shouting at me, I wouldn’t have bothered with you in the first place,” Qian Ye said indifferently, his fingers brushing over the edge of Dongyue. “So, what now? Do you want to kill me?”

Iron Bear gritted his teeth and shouted, “Of course! You’ve exhausted your origin power; let’s see how you can fight me now!”

He leaped up, his curved blade slicing down at Qian Ye. A faint black aura swirled around the blade, and he put all his might into this first strike!

“Even without origin power, I can still kill you!” Qian Ye parried Iron Bear’s attack with Dongyue. As their weapons clashed, Iron Bear’s entire body trembled violently, and he was sent flying backward. Qian Ye, however, only felt a slight pressure on his arm.

Xue Ding, watching from the side, gasped in shock and took a step back. His keen eyes saw clearly that Qian Ye had not used any origin power to block the attack; it was pure strength that had pushed Iron Bear back.

What kind of monster is this?!

Xue Ding couldn’t help but be stunned. Even in his memory, the sons of the Wolf King were far weaker than Qian Ye in terms of raw power.

Iron Bear’s internal energy surged, and his origin power vortex shook. His origin power flow was disrupted. Before he could catch his breath, Qian Ye reached out and pushed Dongyue, its blade spinning and appearing before Iron Bear again in an instant.

Iron Bear, alarmed, raised his curved blade to deflect Dongyue. However, no matter how many times he tried to use his origin power, it was like casting stones into the sea. Dongyue’s blade continued along its predetermined path, reaching Iron Bear’s throat in the blink of an eye. In sheer panic, Iron Bear retreated ten meters, narrowly avoiding the fatal strike.

Qian Ye’s wrist twisted, and Dongyue traced an arc, coming back to slice at Iron Bear’s throat once more. Iron Bear desperately blocked with his blade, hacking at Dongyue over a dozen times. But each time, Qian Ye’s wrist merely quivered, absorbing the force, and Dongyue’s blade continued its winding path toward Iron Bear’s throat.

The fighting techniques Iron Bear had been proud of were now useless. A simple thrust from Qian Ye left him flustered, and he had no choice but to rely on brute strength to barely fend off the attacks. Yet, Qian Ye’s power was unbelievably great. Iron Bear, even with his full origin power, could only manage a weak block, each impact feeling like a heavy hammer blow.

Dongyue danced around Iron Bear, weightless in Qian Ye’s hand. The fear on Iron Bear’s face grew, and suddenly, his eyes widened, and he screamed in agony!

Over a dozen streams of blood spurted from Iron Bear’s body, and both his lower legs were severed and flew away. He crashed to the ground, his curved blade slipping from his grip and sticking into the ground at an angle.

Dongyue slowly lowered, pointing at Iron Bear’s chest.

“How about now?” Qian Ye asked.

Iron Bear’s face twisted, and after a moment of struggle, he decided to go all in. “Give me a chance, and I will definitely kill you! But you can’t kill me, and you dare not. I am one of the Wolf King’s men. Right now, the Wolf King’s son is watching, and if you kill me, the Wolf King will never forgive you.”

Qian Ye smiled faintly. “Are you suggesting that I should kill everyone here to silence them?”

Xue Ding’s face turned grim, and he glared at Iron Bear. However, he wisely kept silent, not wanting to provoke Qian Ye unintentionally. Though he didn’t know Qian Ye’s temperament well, it was clear that Qian Ye was not a soft-hearted person.

Iron Bear laughed, but the movement of his laughter opened his wounds, and blood gushed from his severed legs. He groaned in pain, unable to continue laughing. After catching his breath, Iron Bear gritted his teeth. “Even if you kill everyone, you won’t escape. If the Wolf King sends someone to investigate, they will find out that the young master and I died by your hand. No matter where you run, you won’t escape the Wolf King’s hunt!”

“Is that so?” Qian Ye’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

“Wait!” Xiao Dao rushed forward, grabbing Iron Bear and turning to Qian Ye. “Iron Bear is right. If you kill him now, the matter won’t be hidden. You are living well here, why risk your future? If you let us go, I promise that this incident will be forgotten, and no one will ever mention it again. Iron Bear, in his current state, won’t be a threat to you.”

Qian Ye’s lips curled into a cryptic smile. “Do you think I will just let this go?”

Xiao Dao, earnestly, said, “You cannot stand against the Wolf King, so you must endure this!”

Qian Ye smiled. “Unfortunately, from the moment I entered the Neutral Grounds, I decided not to endure anything anymore.”

Xiao Dao, shocked, started to say “No,” but before the word was out, Dongyue pierced through Iron Bear’s heart!

Qian Ye pulled out Dongyue and looked at Xiao Dao. “Were you involved in this?”

Before Xiao Dao could speak, Xue Ding said, “This has nothing to do with him. When Iron Bear insisted on bringing me, he even tried to stop him.”

Qian Ye nodded, and Dongyue moved away from Xiao Dao’s shoulder. “Since that’s the case, I’ll let you go.”

Then, Qian Ye looked Xue Ding up and down. “It’s a bit strange for you to speak up for him.”

Xue Ding’s expression remained unchanged. “There’s nothing strange about it; it is as it is.” But then he revealed his true nature. “To be honest, maybe we can coexist peacefully. We have no grudges, right?”

“So, you plan to take revenge in the future?”

Xue Ding hesitated for a moment. “I still feel a bit aggrieved, after all, it was my foster father’s reputation. I have an older brother who is much stronger. He might come to challenge you.”

“Just a challenge?”

“If he loses, it’s just a challenge. If you lose, it might be a matter of life and death.” Xue Ding said honestly.

Qian Ye smiled faintly. “You’re quite frank. For the sake of these honest words, I’ll let you go today. But whoever kicked the door, chop off that leg yourself.”

Xue Ding, showing his ruthless side, flicked his hand, and a green wind blade cut off the left leg of one of the Black Wolf Guards.

“Leave!” After fulfilling Qian Ye’s demand, Xue Ding didn’t dare to stay and immediately led the Black Wolf Guards onto the floating ship, disappearing into the distance.

After they were gone, Qian Ye shook his head and returned to the courtyard.

“Do you think they will come back?” Zhu Ji asked.

Qian Ye patted her head. “Of course they will.”

Zhu Ji clapped her hands excitedly. “When they come back, can I fight them? Fighting beasts is so boring; they’re all so stupid!”

“You will grow up, and there will be plenty of beasts for you to fight. As for people, we’ll talk about that in a few years,” Qian Ye lightly tapped her head.

“Fighting something that can talk is much more interesting!” Little Zhu Ji pouted.

Yeto held Zhu Ji and said, “We should start training her in real combat skills. This is the Neutral Grounds, not the Empire. You can’t watch her every moment.”

“True. But do you know the Spider Demon’s inherited secret techniques? How can you teach her if you don’t?” Qian Ye was a bit troubled.

It was indeed a troublesome issue. Although Zhu Ji hadn’t shown many traits of a Spider Demon, she hatched from a Spider Demon egg. It’s unlikely a werewolf would hatch from a Spider Demon egg, right?

“Maybe we can catch a Spider Demon to teach her?”

Qian Ye nodded. “That’s a good idea. Once I deal with this trouble, I’ll see where I can catch a Spider Demon.”

With the initial education problem for little Zhu Ji resolved, Qian Ye had to face the Wolf King’s trouble. Releasing Xue Ding was just a test to see the Wolf King’s reaction. To Qian Ye, Xue Ding was hardly a problem; he could be killed with a single sword strike if needed. The real enemy was the Wolf King.

Qian Ye knew nothing about the Wolf King, but from his daring to challenge Zhang Bu Zhou, it was easy to imagine his strength. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to control half of the Eastern Sea. Whether this incident would provoke the Wolf King depended on how Xue Ding handled it.

After some thought, Qian Ye went to the seaside again, and a surge of dark golden blood energy rose into the sky. Soon, the mysterious entity’s voice echoed around him, “Are you summoning me or challenging me?”

“There might be a small complication in our duel,” Qian Ye said, informing the entity about Xue Ding and the Wolf King.

“Wolf King, hmm!” The entity was noncommittal. A stream of void origin power shot towards Qian Ye. “This is how you call me. Anywhere by the Eastern Sea, I will hear your summons. Also, if you can win three rounds in one night, I will grant you the right to walk through the mist. From then on, the mist will no longer harm you.”

Qian Ye received the void origin power, and a secret technique appeared in his mind, allowing him to emit a special sound, which should be the method to summon the mysterious entity.

This was exactly what Qian Ye wanted. The duels with the entity were crucial for honing his combat skills. Currently, Qian Ye could almost sweep away opponents of the same level just with his combat art, making it extremely difficult to find a suitable opponent for training.

As for the right to traverse the mist, it was also valuable. Even now, the deep mist made Qian Ye feel a vague sense of danger. On the other side of the river, the world was nearly entirely shrouded in mist. The mist was one of the three major obstacles preventing human exploration of the Eastern Sea, along with the Eastern Sea itself and the Dark Forest.

However, traversing the mist was not easy. Winning three out of five rounds in a duel was no simple task.

In the following days, Qian Ye’s life was calm. With Yeto fully recovered, Qian Ye dueled the mysterious entity every night and practiced the Tai Xuan Bing Fa Jue by the seaside during the day.

Three days later, Qian Ye successfully formed his third origin power vortex and advanced to the twelfth level.

After the advancement, Qian Ye, as per his habit, emptied his mind and sat by the seaside in meditation, refraining from cultivation. This was advice from the Duke of Youguo: after advancing, it was better to stay still and meditate for a few days to solidify the foundation, lest rapid advancement weaken the foundation and hinder future breakthroughs.

Once he calmed down, Qian Ye’s perception gradually extended, and the origin power around him became visible. The world slowly revealed its secrets.

Once again, Qian Ye discovered that the void origin power in the Eastern Sea was far richer than on land, and it increased the deeper he went. Following this trend, the void origin power in the deepest parts of the Eastern Sea might be comparable to the Voidlands. Could this mean that there were void beasts in the depths of the Eastern Sea?

Qian Ye began to wonder about the true nature of the mysterious entity.

At that moment, Xue Ding’s floating ship sped across the western edge of the Eastern Sea, landing in a city filled with a savage atmosphere. He jumped off the ship, crossed the city, and headed straight for the north.

Nearly half of the northern area was occupied by a large estate, so large that it was more like a small town. Xue Ding burst through the gate, rushed into the courtyard, and shouted, “Big brother, save me!”