"I gave you a choice, yet you spout so much nonsense. How noisy."
Ye Xuan’s cold voice rang out.
As his voice fell, he clapped his hands and walked toward Niu Tong, who had long since been dumbfounded.
At this moment, Niu Tong seemed to have gone mad, continuously muttering, "It’s over. It’s over. Young Master Ning died on my turf..."
As his words trailed off, Ye Xuan spoke up. "No, it’s not your turf. It’s mine. Niu Tong, don’t say I didn’t give your Niu Family a way out. From today onward, your Niu Family is a vassal of my Ye Family. From now on, my Ye Family will protect you."
Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Niu Tong smiled. It was a very bitter smile.
"You’ll protect me? Ye Xuan, I admit you’re very formidable, but you killed Ning Zheseng. You’re on a path to your own death. You cannot bear the Ning Family’s wrath."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. The Ning Family is a clan overseen by an expert in the Super Spirit Realm! Furthermore, under the Ning Family’s control are fifty vassal towns like my Niu Family. Do you have any idea what fifty means? Even if the Ning Family doesn’t make a move themselves, just by mobilizing their vassal towns, they can assemble an army of a hundred thousand, or even a million. You are very strong. You can kill ten thousand men alone. But what about facing a hundred thousand? What about a million? You will undoubtedly die! And my Niu Family will also be exterminated for failing to protect our master."
"The Ning Family has fifty vassal families like the Niu Family?"
Ye Xuan was slightly shocked. Fifty was indeed no small number.
"Of course! Ning Family Town is a Main Town! Do you know what a Main Town entails? With your limited horizons, you’ve probably never even heard of it."
"It’s actually a Main Town? No wonder."
Ye Xuan had, in fact, heard of Main Towns. A Main Town was recognized by the Kingdom as the most powerful town within a radius of a thousand miles. This meant that every Main Town possessed a territory spanning a thousand miles. All the towns and villages within this territory were managed by the Main Town.
Every Main Town was built on a treasured land of excellent feng shui. The Spiritual Qi within was much denser than anywhere else. In addition to this, every family that controlled a Main Town possessed an exclusive Secret Realm.
A Secret Realm was an Alternate Space. There were absolutely no humans inside, only nature and Wild Beasts. This meant that the Wild Beasts within could breed in massive numbers, and the Spirit Medicine inside could also thrive. In other words, whoever owned a Secret Realm owned a massive amount of resources.
Of course, what Main Towns possessed were only low-grade Secret Realms. Even if there were Wild Beasts inside, their levels would not surpass the strongest expert of the Main Town. Even so, it was enough to keep the people of the Main Town prosperous for generations.
"What’s wrong? Are you scared?" Niu Tong’s voice sounded again, carrying a hint of mockery.
Ye Xuan did not answer; instead, he continued to ask, "Do you know who the strongest expert in the Ning Family is, and exactly how strong they are?"
"Heh, is that something I’m qualified to know? But I can be certain of one thing. The Ning Family’s expert is absolutely in the Super Spirit Realm."
Ye Xuan said nothing. The fact that the Ning Family had a Chao Ling Realm expert was within his expectations.
"Ye Xuan, if I were you, I would flee immediately," Niu Tong spoke again. "Although we are enemies, I have to say that your talent is incredibly strong. As long as you stay alive, you have a promising future ahead."
"Oh? You’re quite considerate of me. Since you said that, I’ll let you go back."
"What? You’re letting me go back? You’re not going to kill me?"
"Of course. I, Ye Xuan, am a man of my word."
Hearing this, Niu Tong didn’t say another word. He turned around and ran. If he didn’t run now, when would he? Niu Tong channeled all his Spiritual Qi into his legs. A few breaths later, he completely disappeared from Ye Xuan’s sight.
Niu Tong thought to himself, "He really didn’t chase after me! What on earth is this Ye Xuan trying to do? Could it be that he truly doesn’t plan on running? Does he want to confront the Ning Family head-on?
"Hm? Why am I worrying about him? I need to worry about the Niu Family first. I don’t know if the Ning Family will take their anger out on my family. Sigh, how did I get dragged into such a massive mess?"
Niu Tong felt immense regret in his heart. If he had known Ye Xuan was this powerful, why would he have come along? He should have just let Ning Zheseng and Fang Lian return on their own. Why did he try to curry favor for no reason? Now, he had dragged the entire Niu Family down with him.
...
Meanwhile, at the town’s entrance.
Ye Xuan turned his head. Looking at the golden Ox Head Banner planted at the gates, he gently waved his hand. In the next moment, Spiritual Qi burst forth, and the golden Ox Head Banner was reduced to ashes. Now, on the town wall, there was only a single flag embroidered with the character "Ye."
From this moment on, there would be no more oppression hanging over the Ye Family’s heads. The Clan Banner fluttered in the wind, shining brightly under the sunlight.
"This... is too powerful! The Niu Family was actually beaten back."
"Patriarch Ye! Patriarch Ye!"
Up on the town walls, the residents of Hongtu Town raised their arms and cheered wildly. The stronger Ye Xuan was, the fewer people would dare to provoke Hongtu Town. In truth, to ordinary people, all they wanted was a peaceful, mundane life. But on this Beast Soul Continent, that was incredibly difficult. No matter which Kingdom it was, they were all plagued by year-round internal strife. Towns attacking other towns was an extremely common occurrence. This was, after all, a world of Cultivators.
"Do you hear that? They are cheering for you. But they don’t yet know just how massive of a disaster you’ve caused, or how powerful of a faction you’ve offended. Perhaps in a few days, both you and they will become nothing but corpses, and Hongtu Town will be razed to the ground."
Tang Long’s voice rang out as he leaped down from the town wall and arrived by Ye Xuan’s side. He had watched this battle from beginning to end. Ye Xuan’s victory was actually within his expectations. After Ye Xuan’s cultivation broke through last night, he knew that the Niu Family was no longer a threat to him. But, what about afterward?
Ye Xuan glanced at Tang Long. He walked over to the pile of corpses and began collecting the spoils of war one by one. As he collected them, he said, "You still don’t believe me, but that’s fine. I will let the facts speak for themselves."
Tang Long didn’t say much else. Instead, he asked, "Are you truly not planning to run? Will you stay in Hongtu Town next?"
"Yes. I’ll wait right here for the Ning Family to come and kill me. If they send one, I’ll kill one. If they send two, I’ll kill a pair."
"Ye Xuan, if you’re so confident, then why don’t you just directly slaughter your way up to the Ning Family?"
"Although entering the tiger’s den is domineering, luring the snake out of its hole is far safer, isn’t it?"
While Ye Xuan was arrogant, he was not a brainless fool. A family like the Ning Family, which had existed for hundreds of years, undoubtedly had deep foundations. If by chance there was some incredible Array in the Ning Family’s main headquarters, rushing in recklessly would likely result in a bitter end. Therefore, luring the snake out of its hole was the best method to kill them. He could also take advantage of this time to practice his Martial Techniques and improve his strength.
Tang Long furrowed his brows and asked again, "Are you really certain you can confront the Ning Family?"
"To be honest, my current certainty is less than fifty percent."
Tang Long shook his head, however. "You still think too highly of yourself. I don’t think you have any certainty at all."
Ye Xuan spoke domineeringly. "I don’t care what you think; I only care what I think. Actually, fifty percent is still a conservative estimate. If the Ning Family doesn’t take me seriously and the people they send aren’t strong, then my chances of winning will rise to seventy percent, or even a full hundred percent!"