Chapter 693: Revenge

Lu Ye stepped forward, looking down at Ye Xiong from above.

Lu Ye's indifferent gaze finally made Ye Xiong panic.

"Ye Liu, I'm your second uncle. You can't kill me. You're still young. You don't want to live with the crime of patricide on your conscience, do you?" Ye Xiong spoke with difficulty. Even at this moment, his survival instincts remained.

The only reply was a flash of a blade.

Ye Liu's second uncle? What business is that of Lu Yiye's!

Ye Xiong died, his eyes wide, as if he hadn't expected his nephew to act so decisively.

Late at night, the Overlord Blade Villa fell into chaos.

News of Pang Wanhai and Ye Xiong's deaths spread quickly. The remaining disciples dispersed, and Ye Xiong's wives and concubines scattered and fled, fearing Lu Ye would come to slaughter them as well.

Lu Ye was in no mood for that.

Although he needed to act according to Ye Liu's identity, killing Ye Xiong and Ye Lang was enough. As for Ye Xiong's wives and concubines, most were ordinary people without cultivation, and the few cultivators among them didn't have very high cultivation levels.

He approached the young woman, dispelled the protective array, and said, "You should leave too. Live well from now on. Take anything from the villa that you find appealing."

After today, there would be no Overlord Blade Villa in Feng Province. Lu Ye didn't care much for the villa's wealth; what was useful to ordinary people held little value for cultivators.

The young woman knelt before Lu Ye and bowed three times profoundly before hurrying away.

Lu Ye raised his hand, touched his battlefield mark, and sent a message to Yiyi.

As dawn approached, only Lu Ye remained alone in the vast villa.

In the center of the Blade Lake lay a small island with a few simple wooden houses and an acre of green bamboo in front of them. This scene seemed out of place with the solemn atmosphere of the Overlord Blade Villa, yet it possessed a unique charm.

Lu Ye moved a chair and sat in front of one of the wooden houses, toying with a black stone in his hand, a pensive look in his eyes.

Even with his extensive knowledge, he couldn't discern the material of the black stone.

This, astonishingly, was the secret manual of the Overlord Blade Art!

It was also the serendipitous encounter Ye Ying had obtained in his early years.

Lu Ye hadn't expected it to fall into his hands so easily.

A significant reason he came to the Overlord Blade Villa for revenge was for this Overlord Blade Art. However, he hadn't held much hope, as Ye Xiong's collusion with the Divine Will Sect meant any valuable items, especially the secret manual of the Overlord Blade Art, would surely have been plundered by them and wouldn't still be in the villa.

He had originally thought he would only have a chance to retrieve this secret manual after dealing with the Divine Will Sect in the future.

He never expected to find it in Pang Wanhai's storage bag.

This was truly an unexpected surprise.

Little did he know, this secret manual was also an unexpected surprise for Pang Wanhai, who had stayed behind at the Overlord Blade Villa instead of returning to the Divine Will Sect precisely to further comprehend the Overlord Blade Art for a few more days.

Yet, it cost him his life. One could only say, "What's meant to be yours will eventually be yours; what's not, don't force it."

The gains weren't limited to this secret manual alone.

Ye Ying had established the Overlord Blade Villa many years ago and had collected numerous items related to blade arts, including insights from various powerful cultivators. All these were stored in the Overlord Blade Villa's library, and Lu Ye had now collected them all into his storage bag.

He had casually checked them earlier and found the haul to be much richer than he had anticipated.

This world was limited by its heaven and earth, with cultivators' maximum cultivation level capped at the Cloud River Realm. However, precisely because of this, once cultivators could no longer advance in cultivation, they would shift their focus to refining their combat skills.

This led to a phenomenon where Cloud River Realm cultivators in this world were generally slightly stronger than cultivators from the Nine Provinces in terms of combat techniques, especially those at the ninth level of the Cloud River Realm. No one knew what their true depths were unless it was a fight to the death.

Pang Wanhai's death was actually somewhat stifling. He had judged Lu Ye's abilities based on his preconceived notions, only to be disoriented and killed by the arrays Lu Ye had set up beforehand.

Who could have imagined a blade-wielding soldier cultivator would also be proficient in array formations?

If it had been a true fight to the death, it would certainly have been a bitter struggle.

The items in the library weren't just the blade art insights of Cloud River Realm cultivators. In earlier years, the Dragon Ascent Realm had cultivators at the Divine Sea Realm, and although hundreds of years had passed, much of their knowledge had been preserved and passed down.

With the secret manual of the Overlord Blade Art and the gains from the library, these items alone made Lu Ye's trip worthwhile.

All these things were what he had yearned for but couldn't obtain in the cultivation world of the Nine Provinces.

A streak of light pierced through the sky and soon landed nearby, revealing two similar figures.

It was Yiyi and Ye Liuli.

After dealing with Ye Xiong last night, Lu Ye had sent a message to Yiyi. However, since Ye Liuli was still unconscious at the time, Yiyi hadn't disturbed her.

Only when Ye Liuli woke up on her own did Yiyi bring her over.

After a night of rest, Ye Liuli's spirits had recovered considerably.

"Sixth Brother..." Ye Liuli softly called out, looking around.

The wooden houses on the small island were built by her own hands and were her favorite place. In the entire Overlord Blade Villa, no one else was usually allowed there except for her.

Familiar places, familiar scenery, yet many familiar faces were gone. The young girl felt a silent sorrow.

"Ye Xiong is dead, and so is a ninth-level cultivator from the Divine Will Sect—I don't know his name—I killed them both," Lu Ye said.

Ye Liuli didn't understand how her Sixth Brother had accomplished this, but the death of their enemies was undoubtedly a cause for joy. Yet, the young girl's nose stung, her eyes reddened, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"The mastermind behind this incident was Ye Xiong. He leaked Father's... our father's whereabouts, which led to the Divine Will Sect's ambush."

His current identity was Ye Liu, but calling someone "Father" while embodying that role still made Lu Ye uncomfortable.

"Get some good rest first. I'll figure out how to take revenge later."

Ye Liuli shook her head, tears falling, "It's enough, Sixth Brother."

All her family members were dead, leaving only her Sixth Brother. With the main culprit apprehended, their great revenge was settled. She didn't want to see her Sixth Brother confront the Divine Will Sect again. If something happened to him too, she would truly be all alone.

Lu Ye was naturally indifferent. He had already obtained what he wanted. Since Ye Liuli said so, he humored her, nodding slightly and saying, "Go rest. You haven't had good rest these past few days."

Despite his words, Lu Ye knew that "the tree desires calm, but the wind won't cease." Even if he didn't seek out the Divine Will Sect, they would come for him.

After all, Pang Wanhai died here. The death of a ninth-level cultivator was a significant blow to the Divine Will Sect, and they would undoubtedly react.

Unless he took Ye Liuli and left Feng Province, escaping the Divine Will Sect's sphere of influence.

But currently, he was eager to comprehend his recent gains and was unwilling to travel and exert himself.

The Divine Will Sect was quite powerful. If he actively attacked them, he might not have a chance of victory. But if they dared to come to him, they certainly wouldn't fare well.

Array cultivators excelled at defending and repelling enemies. Given enough time and space, an array cultivator could effectively become an army by themselves.

Ye Liuli followed his instructions and went to a nearby wooden house to rest. Lu Ye asked Yiyi to stay and look after her, while he began setting up large arrays around the small island.

In the Cloud River battlefield, he had been targeted in various ways by the Myriad Demon Ridge faction and still remained unharmed. No matter how strong the Divine Will Sect was, it couldn't be stronger than an entire large faction.

While he was busy, the Divine Will Sect indeed received some news.

Many people had left the Overlord Blade Villa that day, and various pieces of news naturally spread quickly.

The changes at the Overlord Blade Villa had already drawn significant attention from the Feng Province cultivation world, as the Overlord Blade Villa was considered a major power. What happened afterward was even more astonishing.

Young Master Ye Liu returned to the Overlord Blade Villa alone, slaying Ye Xiong and Pang Wanhai, avenging a bloody feud by himself.

If not for multiple people spreading this news, no one would have dared to believe it.

Ye Xiong's eighth-level cultivation was one thing, but who was Pang Wanhai? He was the Deputy Sect Master of the Divine Will Sect, a ninth-level cultivator. Ye Liu, on the other hand, only seemed to be at the sixth level. How could he have killed these two?

No one knew the specifics of the battle, but the outcome was undeniable, forcing people to believe.

Unlike those cultivators who merely treated it as gossip, the Divine Will Sect's reaction was far more intense.

The Deputy Sect Master died at the Overlord Blade Villa—this was intolerable. Even if rumors claimed Ye Liu had the ability to slay ninth-level cultivators, the Divine Will Sect wouldn't let the matter rest.

In the following days, many Divine Will Sect cultivators were secretly dispatched to infiltrate the Overlord Blade Villa, hoping to uncover the truth.

However, the entire Overlord Blade Villa seemed like a bottomless abyss. All cultivators who entered went missing, their fates unknown.

This even included an eighth-level elder from the Divine Will Sect!

At this point, the Divine Will Sect felt a chill of dread.

They secretly speculated whether there was a mysterious master behind Ye Liu, for how else could a sixth-level cultivator achieve such a feat?

Perhaps the one who killed Ye Xiong and Pang Wanhai was also that mysterious master hiding behind Ye Liu?

After suffering some losses, the Divine Will Sect no longer dared to act rashly. They only left a few people to monitor the Overlord Blade Villa from a distance.

The unknown was the most formidable enemy. The Divine Will Sect had dared to attack Ye Ying and forcefully assault the Overlord Blade Villa because all of the villa's strength was clearly visible.

But now, the entire Overlord Blade Villa seemed enveloped in a layer of mist. Who would dare to act rashly before discerning its true nature?

This saved Lu Ye a good deal of trouble.

The reason the Divine Will Sect cultivators who infiltrated disappeared without a trace, neither living nor dead, was simply that they had fallen into the arrays.

With the arrays he had currently set up, no one in the entire Dragon Ascent Realm could discern any clues. Once trapped within, not only the Divine Will Sect disciples but even their Sect Master himself wouldn't have a good outcome.

These past few days, he hadn't rushed to practice the Overlord Blade Art, nor had he pondered the numerous blade art insights he'd brought from the library.

He had been quietly meditating, alleviating the pressure on his divine soul.