Nine Astra Skies

An unknown Pressure seemed to have crushed down on Yun Yixuan all of a sudden.

‘Had Ye Changxuan broken through the early Ninth Stage… and attained the Mid-Ninth Stage already?’

Cold sweats appeared his forehead as that thought lingered in his mind. If Ye Changxuan had reached Celestial Chi Ninth Stage while Ye Zhantian managed to match Yun Yixuan himself in prowess, then it could only mean one thing, The House of Ye was close to catching up with the House of Yun in terms of raw power. Suddenly, more precautions became justified in the Yuns’ attempt to get rid of the House of Ye.

Meanwhile, Qin Yu and Yan Yin were standing at the side with uncomfortable expressions. They never expected that the House of Ye would be this dangerously difficult.

However, Yun Yixuan was sharp enough to instantly come up with a few countermeasures just in case Ye Changxuan revealed that he had advanced to the Mid-Ninth Stage. Indeed, the House of Yun had tricks up their sleeves.

“Previously, we struck a deal with one of your Elders, Ye Moyang. In his words, the House of Ye had agreed to give up ownership of their mining mountain to the House of Yun in exchange for three Chi Deposition Pills. As a deposit, he accepted one of the promised pills when the deal was made. Hence, our point of visiting was to honor the deal we made. We are here to give you the other two Chi Deposition Pills as promised while we will take ownership of that mining mountain.”

“Ye Moyang had already been expelled and thus, he is no longer considered one of us. Now Second Lord of Yun, you can’t possibly be so naive to think that a treacherous ex-member could have any kind of say in our family property, can you?” Ye Zhantian gave a chilling sneer as his mind thought, ‘I should have known this is Ye Moyang’s work again!’

“Oh? Had Elder Ye Moyang been expelled by the Ye family? Why didn’t I get news of that? On that note, when did he get kicked out, hmm? Brother Zhantian, are you trying to lie and weasel yourself out of a deal we agreed on?” Yun Yixuan scowled as he reprimanded icily.

There was no way that the news of Ye Moyang’s expulsion could have possibly eluded the House of Yun. In fact, it would not be a stretch at all to assume that Ye Moyang was likely hiding in the Yun’s place right now! Yun Yixuan’s intentions were just too obvious, he was pettily harping on the “deal” so that the House of Yun could forcibly take control over their mining mountain. This was just despicable!

“In exchange for a meager amount of Chi Deposition Pills, some no-name Elder in the House of Yun gladly signed a deal to give away the ownership of every single mining mountain they had to you? I have to admit, I’m really loving the business prospects,” Ye Chen suddenly said.

Everyone instantly stared at Ye Chen. No one expected a junior to talk back to Yun Yixuan in public.

“I was talking to your uncles, brat. Keep your smart mouth to yourself!” Yun Yixuan snapped.

“He isn’t just any ‘brat,’ he’s our Successor Chief. His opinion represents our position,” Ye Changxuan quickly replied. The House of Ye would not have any substance to fight against the House of Yun had it not been for Ye Chen’s contribution. Besides, the more he observed the child, the more endearing he became. In fact, he started to see Ye Chen as his own grandson.

“Oh, so a seventeen or eighteen-year-old brat could represent ‘the Ye family’s opinion’ while an actual Elder like Ye Moyang couldn’t?” Yun Yixuan snorted, his remark as sharp as a dagger.

“I told you, Ye Moyang is no longer one of us!” Ye Zhantian snapped darkly. Yun Yixuan was just being irritating at that point!

“He hadn’t been expelled when we made the deal! How are you going to evade that fact?” Yun Yixuan jabbed back persistently.

“The House of Yun was thinking of snatching our mining mountain without reasons now, isn’t it?” Ye Zhantian bellowed.

“Aww, don’t be so extreme, Brother Zhantian. As the Chair of the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun, do you think the House of Yun would resort to doing something wicked? We had thought of some other reasonable ways around this of course. Now, if the House of Ye would agree to some of our conditions, we would be more than happy to let you have the mining mountain!” Yun Yixuan said, acting as if they had already owned the mountain.

Ye Changxuan and the rest were furious. ‘It is unfortunate that they live in a world where might equals power. In other words, you are only as good as your fist.’ Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian may have improved a lot, but they were still no match for Yun Yiyang and Yun Yixuan. Moreover, many other Houses of the allegiance were acting as the House of Yun’s underlings as well, so a fight with the House of Yun would automatically spell a catastrophe for the family.

“Yun Yifei, come.” Yun Yixuan waved. At his command, a handsome young man came forward from the envoy behind Yun Yixuan.

The youth known as Yun Yifei stood tall in his spot, he had a proud expression as his eyes swept over the Ye family members gathered in the hall. Then, he rested his gaze on the only two women among the predominantly-male crowd of martial arts acolytes, Ye Rou and Ye Xuan.

His eyes were briefly filled with lust. No one in the House of Yun possessed such beauty, yet the Ye family produced such fine beauties. Ye Xuan was feminine and radiant with an indescribable alluring aura and Ye Rou was staid and sublime, which brought her own elegance into the comparison. The pair was simply dashing in their own ways.

“Yun Yifei here is a junior of mine; my biological cousin to be exact. He also happens to be a martial arts prodigy among our younger cohort. As a matter of fact, he had already attained the peak of Seventh Stage just by the age of eighteen.”

Everyone in the House of Ye started to wonder just what sort of game Yun Yixuan was playing now that Yun Yixuan had changed his subject to Yun Yifei. Ye Xuan and Ye Rou shot the youth a disgusted grimace when they caught Yun Yifei’s eyes lingering on them.

“I heard that Ye Xuan of the House of Ye has both unmatched beauty and brawns. So, the Lord of Yun himself and I had thought of forming a strong alliance between both of our Houses through a blessed marriage.” Yun Yixuan turned his attention to Ye Zhantian and grinned, his eyes formed two lines. “If that is approved, we would drop our rightful claim to the mining mountain and buy every Xuan-iron produced by your family with the same price as it is marketed publicly. What say you, Brother Zhantian?”

The Ye family was seething in silent rage, which was especially true to the younger generation of acolytes who had all balled their hands into fists. The House of Yun was really trying to test the limits of the Ye family’s patience. First, there was that spiteful insistence regarding the proprietary rights over their mining mountain, now, they had switched to forcing a political marriage!

Seeing the House of Yun’s actions angered the acolytes. More than ever, they regretted not training hard enough prior to this. Now, just when their own kin needed their protection, they were not strong enough to do so!

Ye Xuan herself paled at the suggestion. The animosity between the House of Ye and the House of Yun was more than what a political marriage could resolve and so there was no reason to marry a scoundrel from the House of Yun. Besides, Yun Yifei had such a mean face!

“Ooh, not a bad proposal. I mean, if Yun Yifei is your and Lord of Yun’s cousin, then I’ll get to call the both of you my nephews-in-law, don’t I! Hahaha. Is it me, or did I just get a rise in seniority all of a sudden?” Ye Zhanxiong laughed as he mocked.

Yun Yixuan was obviously displeased with his assumption.

However, it was Yun Yifei who had responded with a cold sneer. “Such foolishness as expected from the House of Ye. Do you really think Ye Xuan would actually become my wife? No. She’s only going to be my concubine instead because my wife is none other than Yunyan, the Countess of Donglin County! Sure, I heard that Ye Xuan had recently become eligible to join the Emerald Cloud Sect, but I dare say this, she should feel even more honored that she could marry into our esteemed family… even if just as my concubine!”

How deplorable! What a disgraceful thing to ask, taking Ye Xuan as a lowly concubine for the House of Yun!

Ye Chen was infuriated. Xuan was his third Uncle’s daughter; his biological cousin who shared close blood-ties with him. Not only that, the girl had always been a gentle, kind-hearted soul who valued harmony between people. There was no way he was going to let a girl like her be defiled by the House of Yun!

“Leave us at once. We’re not going to see you off.” Ye Zhantian had enough. He was not scared of the House of Yun. If the Yuns really thought that they would be able to bully the Ye family, he would let them suffer the consequences.

However, Qin Yu and Yan Yin were quick to jump in as mediators.

“Come on, Brother Zhantian. I sincerely think it’s a blessing for Ye Xuan to be married into the House of Yun!”

“Yeah! I mean, isn’t it good to forge a strong alliance with someone from the House of Yun?”

Hearing their words, the young acolytes shuddered in fury. These two “lords” were nothing more than the Yuns’ minions!

“Then why don’t either of you offer your daughters to Yun Yifei?” Ye Zhantian retorted.

“I guess it’s a hard no then? Lord of Qin and Lord of Yan will serve as eyewitnesses to your rude refusal towards our proposal for a truce,” Yun Yixuan commented icily. “Listen up. Should we, the House of Yun ever become rough with you, just remember that you have no right to blame us for it!”

Qin Yu and Yan Yin could only smile sadly as they watched the situation escalate. They desired no bad blood between themselves and the House of Ye but they simply could not be freed from the House of Yun’s grasp either. In the end, they could only keep quiet.

“One day, you people will have no choice but to offer Ye Xuan to me!” Yun Yifei stood up and stared at everyone from the Ye family.

Then, he shot an even dirtier look at Ye Chen. “I heard that you’re the best of your cohort and the Successor Patriarch of your family. Well then! I look forward to seeing how you manage when you face me in the upcoming tournament.”

“I share your excitement!” Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed and his gaze was lethal. This jerk was already acting like he owned the world despite only attaining the Seventh Stage. It would be such a shame if he ended up in the afterlife, not knowing how he got there!

Yun Yixuan turned and immediately stormed off. The envoy behind him quickly followed.

“We’re leaving, Brother Zhantian,” Qin Yu and Yan Yin said. Eying Ye Zhantian’s scowl, they turned quickly and left as well.

The guests strode on until they left the Ye Castle completely.