Just now, Sun Juguang received news that the madman Ye Xuan had gone to the Sun family after killing Sun Zhenwu. He had slaughtered tens of thousands of their people!
The Sun family had already lost a significant number of people during the city seizure battle. Their population was sparse to begin with, and now their numbers were pitifully thin. Even if they still controlled the city, how long could they hold onto it? Almost all of their top-tier fighters were dead.
Without their strongest combatants, the Main City Lord would never allow the Sun family to retain their position as City Lords. In other words, they would be ousted sooner or later. And all of this was thanks to that Ye Xuan.
Taking a deep breath, Sun Juguang muttered, "Old sir, you asked me to deliver this letter to the Pavilion Master, but you never specified when. I, Sun Juguang, am not betraying you. Your effort in saving my life was not in vain."
He would deliver the letter. But definitely not now. He would only hand it over once he was certain that the entire city’s forces had found Ye Xuan.
Conversely, if Ye Xuan went into hiding and the city’s forces failed to locate him, the Celestial Secret Pavilion would be their only hope. Therefore, even if he had to deliver the letter, it would have to wait.
With that said, Sun Juguang was just about to place the letter in a drawer when he suddenly stopped.
He wondered, "What exactly does this letter say? How could that old man be so completely certain that the Celestial Secret Pavilion wouldn’t cause trouble for Ye Xuan? What is his relationship with the Pavilion Master?"
Curiosity killed the cat. Ultimately, Sun Juguang couldn’t resist. He wanted to see exactly what was written inside.
He untied the string and was about to open the envelope when dense Array Patterns suddenly materialized on its surface. The patterns shot into the sky, piercing straight through the roof and soaring into the clouds.
Before long, the image of an elderly man coalesced in the sky above the Celestial Secret Pavilion. The old man was none other than Man Tian.
"Who goes there?!"
"You dare intrude upon the Celestial Secret Pavilion? Are you courting death?!"
The sudden anomaly in the sky thoroughly shocked the people of the Celestial Secret Pavilion.
They aimed their second-generation Celestial Secret Divine Crossbows at the figure in the sky. Others held ox and sheep skulls, looking like Old Witches.
There were indeed many Abnormal Warriors within the Celestial Secret Pavilion.
Upon his appearance, Man Tian spoke, shouting a single name: "Tan Jingang..."
By the door, Sun Juguang’s pupils quaked violently. An Array could actually do something like this? What kind of divine being was that old man?
To think he had laid down such an exquisite Array on such a tiny envelope. It seemed he had anticipated that Sun Juguang wouldn’t immediately hand the letter to the Pavilion Master and would try to peek instead. The moment he tried to look, the Array activated. Had he known this would happen, he would have just thrown the letter away on the road.
However, Sun Juguang had no idea that even if he had discarded the letter on the road, the Array would have automatically activated seven days later. When the time came, the Array Patterns would have transformed into a white dove to deliver the letter to the Celestial Secret Pavilion.
This was why Man Tian had assured Ye Xuan that there would be no "what ifs." He had already prepared various contingencies for any unexpected turn of events.
"The Array Patterns were released from your location. Hand over whatever it is," a burly old man demanded, suddenly appearing in front of Sun Juguang.
He treaded upon a lotus of light, moving at blistering speed. This was the Celestial Secret Pavilion Master, Tan Jingang.
Although advanced in years, he possessed an imposing, indestructible aura and moved like a crack of thunder.
"Pavilion Master, it’s this letter."
Tan Jingang took the letter, effortlessly dispelled the Array in a few swift motions, and then pulled out the stationery. As he read it, his expression shifted into one of shock and uncertainty. There was surprise, and there was joy.
After a long while, he ordered, "Pass down my command. Ye Xuan’s affairs have nothing to do with our Celestial Secret Pavilion. From now on, no matter who comes asking, we will not help them."
Three days later.
Over these three days, the fervor surrounding Ye Xuan didn’t die down; instead, he garnered more and more attention.
"Did you hear? Fifty Sub-City Lords have successfully assembled! They’ve already set out to annihilate Ye Xuan and execute the Ye family! They’ve publicly declared that Ye Xuan will be dead within half a month!"
"They’ve already departed? Good heavens! Fifty City Lords—that’s fifty Earth Spirit Realm experts! If they all strike together, wouldn’t they shatter the very earth and sky? Ye Xuan absolutely cannot survive this! Oh, by the way, have you listened to ’Ye Xuan’s Record’?"
"’Ye Xuan’s Record’? What’s that?"
"It’s a storytelling tale written by a storyteller. My god, I had no idea until I heard it—it took Ye Xuan less than a year to develop the Ye family from a subordinate faction of a small town into a Three-Star Main Town!"
"What! That’s impossible, right? How did he manage that?"
"You really don’t know? Then head over to any of the major teahouses. So many storytellers are reciting ’Ye Xuan’s Record’."
In teahouses all across the region.
Every storyteller was recounting the tale of Ye Xuan.
"Everyone has heard about Ye Xuan executing the City Lord. Today, I will recite ’Ye Xuan’s Record’ for you all! I will tell you how he grew step by step, and how he gained the audacity to kill a City Lord!
"Ye Xuan is not even twenty-six years old. He left home at a young age to venture out on his own. Thirteen years later, he returned from his journey. Today, we will discuss the first Chapter: ’Thirteen Years Away, Returning to Annihilate the Fang Family.’
"The story goes that Ye Xuan suddenly returned after being away from home for thirteen years. Upon his return, he coincidentally encountered his sister, Ye Ling’Er, being humiliated by the wicked young master, Fang Shaohan...
"Who is Fang Shaohan? The Young Town Mayor of Fang Family Town! The Ye family was nothing more than a subordinate faction in Fang Family Town, acting as the Fang family’s dog.
"Fang Shaohan was incredibly tyrannical. He ordered his thugs to guard the door while he lunged at Ye Ling’Er.
"Ye Ling’Er turned pale with fright and cried out in alarm, ’What... what do you think you’re doing?’
"Fang Shaohan was exceedingly arrogant. He domineeringly replied, ’Doing what? Doing you, of course!’"
The storyteller played several roles single-handedly, shifting fluidly between male and female voices. His expressions and movements were remarkably lifelike.
The entire audience listened with rapt attention. Some people even secretly clenched their fists.
Wasn’t this just like the story of their own female cousins? Didn’t such tragedies happen frequently in every town and every region? Yet, no one ever dared to intervene. No one dared to disobey a Mayor’s household!
Therefore, upon hearing that Ye Xuan had stepped up and killed the Fang family’s Fang Shaohan, everyone in the audience burst into applause. Some were even moved to tears.
Ye Xuan had actually done what they never dared to do. This Ye Xuan had guts! His actions made many cry out in sheer satisfaction.
From that day forward.
Ye Xuan’s story began to spread like wildfire. Annihilating the Fang family, wiping out the Ning family. Recognizing his kin in Dapeng City...
Even Ye Xuan’s marriage arrangement with Liu Ruoxi, one of the two great beauties of the Liu family, was turned into a tale. This particular story made every male Cultivator in the world look up to Ye Xuan as a role model.
Especially the battle between Ye Xuan and Liu Ruoxi—this Chapter of the story always drew packed crowds to every inn.
To make the story even more captivating, the storytellers even hired a man and a woman to act out this confrontation.
The female actress declared, "My man must possess the strength to defeat me; otherwise, I swear on my life that I will not marry him! Does this Ye Xuan have what it takes? If he has the strength, dare he fight me?
"Ye Xuan, are you going to be like this forever? Hiding behind a woman like a cowardly turtle?
"Ye Xuan, do you dare to fight me? Ye Xuan, are you a coward?"
The male actor responded, "Why wouldn’t I dare?!"
The brilliant performance almost perfectly recreated the scene of Liu Ruoxi targeting Ye Xuan at the Liu’s home, as well as the battle that followed.
These stories fleshed out Ye Xuan’s character, making him even more vivid. This was especially true for the few sentences Ye Xuan had spoken at the Liu family.
"Liu Ruoxi, I just want to tell you that as long as a person is willing to work hard, even if they come from a humble background, they can swim against the current and eventually soar into the heavens!
"Even if I, Ye Xuan, am nothing but a puddle of mud, as long as I hold my head high, I can still look up at the starry sky!
"Even if I am just a stubborn rock, as long as I strive to stand at the highest peak, I will be the brightest star in the heavens!"