"Presumptuous."
"You're absolutely right. You all truly are presumptuous." Ye Lanshan pointed her fan at Lü Qingse, completely disregarding Lü Xin.
"Do you think this is a place for you to run wild? I was willing to let you off for your exceptional talent and youthful arrogance, but since you're this reckless, don't blame me for being harsh."
Lü Xin slammed his teacup down heavily, his profound energy surging forth and pressing directly toward Ye Lanshan.
Ye Lanshan's gaze slowly turned icy cold. Without any pretense, she directly summoned Ying Huarong to wreak havoc in the Lü residence.
"As I recall, the Ye and Lü families have no grudge between them. Yet you've repeatedly provoked and insulted us, and we've endured it. But now you've gone too far by crippling the meridians of a Ye disciple. Do you really think the Ye family is a pushover?"
"Such arrogance deserves death." Lü Xin flicked his sleeve, and thousands of fine needles formed from water surged toward her.
"Water Lotus." A layer of lotus-like mist enveloped her, blocking the countless flying needles.
A sharp eagle cry rang out as Ying Huarong reverted to its true form, its wings flapping in the air, sending gusts of hurricane-force wind sweeping everyone into the sky.
Finally, unable to resist any longer, Ye Lanshan summoned Tunshi in her hand. With ghostly speed, she charged at Lü Xin.
This was hardly the speed of a mere Great Mystic General. Lü Xin finally felt a flicker of caution, but it was only a feint. Mid-air, she veered and pressed Tunshi against Lü Qingse's throat.
Yet Lü Xin's expression remained unchanged. He launched a powerful attack at her, showing no concern for his daughter's safety.
Lü Qingse went completely rigid. She hadn't expected Ye Lanshan to suddenly take her hostage as a shield.
Even more unexpected was that all her years of effort had never stirred a shred of paternal affection in her father. Yes, she should have known all along, shouldn't she? In this family, there was no room for kinship.
In the end, with a bitter smile, she slowly closed her eyes. All her carefully laid plans dissolved into nothing. In that fleeting moment before darkness, Ye Siyu's face gradually surfaced in her mind.
In a daze, she seemed to see Ye Siyu walking toward her for the first time. Ye Siyu, wait for me. I'm coming to see you. In the next life, let us be true sisters.
"I never expected you to be so heartless, willing to strike down your own flesh and blood." Ye Lanshan held the lifeless Lü Qingse, a rare ripple stirring in her heart.
"You—hand over your life." Lü Xin's profound energy nearly crushed her, making it hard to breathe. At that moment, she truly understood the overwhelming power of being just one rank below.
Even a mere sixth-rank Mystic Emperor had rendered her utterly defenseless.
Seeing Ye Lanshan pinned down, Ying Huarong refused to stand idly by and dove straight down.
After a fierce struggle, Ye Lanshan was drenched in blood, unable to tell if it was her own or others'.
"Today, the Lü residence will fall." Ye Lanshan aimed Tunshi at Lü Xin. She had only come seeking justice, never intending to stir such chaos. But since Lü Xin insisted on destroying her, she had no choice but to fight back. Now that enmity had been sown, she might as well uproot it entirely to avoid future trouble.
"Just you and this divine beast?" Lü Xin laughed as if hearing a joke.
"Of course not just us." Ye Lanshan sensed several approaching auras and curled her lips slightly.
"Today, I'll show you what happens when you provoke the Ye family." The figures arriving were the assassins she had entrusted Tao Yao to train.
"Greetings, Master." Several figures in black robes, carrying a faint fragrance, knelt behind Ye Lanshan. Though they were assassins, they bore no killing intent, their silver masks glinting.
"Rise. Your first task today is to annihilate the Lü family."
"As you command." Truly worthy of Tao Yao's training—their movements were swift and decisive.
"You—I'm warning you, if you kill me, the emperor won't let you off." Fear finally crept into Lü Xin's eyes, but he steadied himself, thinking of the elders in the pavilion.
With those elders present, nothing would go wrong. Sure enough, within moments, the elders drove back the black-clad figures.
"Who dares to run wild in my Lü residence?" A furious roar, laced with boundless profound energy, pierced Ye Lanshan's eardrums.
"It's me. But I'm not here to run wild." Ye Lanshan stood on Ying Huarong's back, a dagger in hand.
Before the elder could act, Ye Lanshan used the Mystic Ice Curse to freeze him solid. The elder remained frozen mid-gesture, unable to move.
"You—how is this possible?" Lü Xin stared in disbelief. Ye Lanshan was merely a Great Mystic General—how could she freeze an elder?
But he didn't know this wasn't profound energy—it was celestial magic.
"If the tiger doesn't show its might, you think it's a sick cat." Ye Lanshan leaped down from Ying Huarong's back, wielding Tunshi like a knife through tofu, severing the heads of several elders.
Thankfully, she used Tunshi, the ancient divine weapon; otherwise, she could never have broken through the elders' defenses.
"You—you're not human." Lü Xin trembled, pointing at her. Who could kill a Mystic Divine General with the strength of a Great Mystic General? This was inhuman combat power.
"I'm not human? Then what do you think I am?" Ye Lanshan approached him calmly and gracefully, her ethereal aura seeming like a demon's arrival in his eyes.
Even in death, he muttered, "You're not human."
"How long has it been since I've gone on such a killing spree?" Ye Lanshan gazed at the now-silent Lü residence and recited the Rebirth Mantra to guide their souls.
Dark clouds rolled overhead with rumbling thunder, blotting out the once-bright sun. Raindrops fell with the breeze, washing away the bloodstains in the courtyard and dissolving all grudges.
Her blood-soaked clothes, battered by wind and rain, looked even more disheveled. But with a simple cleansing spell, her attire regained its former splendor.
With a smile, she dismissed the assassins following her. Ying Huarong transformed back into a little girl and trailed behind her.
"Hey, did you hear? The Lü family was wiped out last night."
"Oh, don't even mention it. It was brutal. My son-in-law's aunt's daughter works as a maid in the courtyard next to the Lü residence. She said last night the Lü courtyard was filled with screams, and a voice kept muttering, 'You're not human, you're not human.' It was terrifying."
"I heard that this morning, someone pushed open the Lü family's gate and nearly lost their soul. The ground was covered in corpses, soaked by the rain, eerie and chilling."
The next morning, the Lü family massacre became the talk of the capital. The Ye family's reverence for their new patriarch deepened.
"Patriarch, someone is here to see you." A Ye disciple bowed his head, not daring to meet her eyes.
"Invite them in." A calm voice rang out.
"Yes." The disciple quickly withdrew.