Chapter 293

Chapter 293: The Yang Family’s Targeting!

In the days that followed, Ye Tianming continued as before — reading and cultivating every day.

Following Zhantai Zhan to herd cattle and sheep was, in its own way, also cultivation.

The great dao begins from the smallest things!

These were words his grand-master had once said to him.

The dao.

It is, in essence, the operating principles of this heaven and earth — but these principles must be discovered firsthand. Simply understanding grand theories is not enough.

This was something he had come to understand through personal experience.

As the saying goes, no matter how many books you read, if you never put them into practice, it all amounts to nothing more than armchair strategy.

And so, he was now making a deliberate effort to quiet his mind and truly experience life.

Just as his teacher Mu Guanchen had once led him and his senior sister on a journey through the mortal world.

Looking back on it now, he finally understood his teacher’s true intention. When Mu Guanchen had taken him and his senior sister to wander the mortal world, he was in fact telling them that the true great dao was not confined to lofty concepts alone — it also lived within this vast, tumultuous world of mortals.

No matter how profound an idea, if it is never tested in the real world, it is utterly useless.

Practice is the source of true knowledge.

Unfortunately, he had not fully grasped his teacher’s meaning at the time.

In the past, his focus had been on “reading” and “observing” — but after everything he had been through, he now understood the importance of “doing.”

Not only must one read, one must also go out and act.

The two must be combined!

Reading and cultivating.

Beyond reading and his daily cultivation, he was also studying the Dao Furnace.

It had been a gift from Xiaobai — no ordinary object by any means. Using the alchemy formulas the Tower Ancestor had given him, he had attempted to refine some pills.

The Dao Furnace could refine on its own, and the pills it produced were of an extraordinarily high grade.

As for the pills themselves, Ye Tianming had been giving them all to Zhantai Zhan as snacks. Each time he gave her one, he felt a flicker of anticipation, wondering if some miracle might occur — but unfortunately, after eating them, the misfortune surrounding Zhantai Zhan showed no change whatsoever.

Of course, they weren’t entirely without effect — at the very least, she was happy. Whenever he refined pills, she would come running over with a smile.

Zhantai Zhan would occasionally share some with the cattle and sheep as well, and as a result, wherever she went now, the whole herd would follow close behind, sticking to her like glue.

But this peaceful, comfortable life did not last long. One day, a massive wave of terrifying auras suddenly swept in from the horizon, heading straight for Ye Tianming and Zhantai Zhan.

Ye Tianming, who had been reading, stopped. He looked up to see the sky crack open across the horizon, and then a middle-aged man slowly stepped out.

A demon king of the Wilderness.

There were currently six demon kings in the Wilderness, and the one before him was the Manxiao Demon King — none other than Manyue’s father.

Behind the Manxiao Demon King stood twelve powerfully built demon clan experts, their auras savage and wild, as though they could crush heaven and earth itself.

Manxiao walked slowly up to Ye Tianming and looked him over. “From the Cultivator Academy. Impressive, are you?”

Boom!

At that moment, the space behind Ye Tianming suddenly shattered, and a group of powerhouses clad in heavy armor came charging out all at once.

At their head was the Northern Zhao Emperor.

Manxiao looked toward the Northern Zhao Emperor. “What does this have to do with your Great Qian Empire?”

The Northern Zhao Emperor smiled. “I made it clear beforehand — if you touch Young Master Ye, it is tantamount to declaring war on our Great Qian Empire.”

Manxiao fixed his gaze on the Northern Zhao Emperor. “When did the Great Qian Empire get so bold?”

The Northern Zhao Emperor smiled. “Why waste words? How do you want to fight? Come on then! Our Great Qian Empire will see it through to the end.”

With that, the one-armed elder behind her stepped forward. Without a word, he flicked his sleeve, and the broken blade on his back suddenly flew from its sheath.

Crack!

The entire heaven and earth was torn apart in an instant.

That slash came down hard, aimed directly at Manxiao, who stood at the front.

Peak of the Chengzu realm!

Manxiao’s eyes narrowed slightly. He raised his hand and threw a punch.

A direct clash!

The physical power of the demon clan was naturally terrifying beyond measure. That single punch unleashed a ferociously unyielding force that met the slash head-on and held it back.

Then Manxiao threw another punch.

Boom!

In an instant, the overwhelming tide of blade force shattered completely. The one-armed elder was sent flying back tens of thousands of feet — but in the next moment, he vanished from where he stood. Instantly, countless streaks of blade light surged in from every direction and came crashing down on Manxiao.

A murderous gleam rose in Manxiao’s eyes. He stepped forward, extended his right hand, and then twisted it sharply.

Rumble!

In an instant, the surrounding heaven and earth began to crumble, piece by piece.

Ye Tianming suddenly stepped forward and pressed his right hand downward — and with that single press, Manxiao’s cultivation level began to plummet wildly.

The moment Manxiao felt this, his expression changed drastically.

He snapped his head toward Ye Tianming, instinctively moving to strike — and not just him, the Wilderness demon clan experts behind him all made to attack as well. But then Ye Tianming’s right hand came down again.

Boom!

Manxiao and the others had their cultivation levels completely suppressed.

All of them reset to zero!

Manxiao and the other demon kings were utterly dumbfounded.

Ye Tianming looked at Manxiao. “So you haven’t reached the Circle after all… If you haven’t drawn the Circle, what are you being so arrogant for?”

Everyone: “……”

The Northern Zhao Emperor and the others also stared at Ye Tianming with grave expressions.

Although the Manxiao Demon King had not reached the Circle, he was said to be half a step away from it — yet his cultivation had just been suppressed all the way down to zero?

What kind of move was that?

Manxiao himself was stunned, staring at Ye Tianming in disbelief. “You…….”

Ye Tianming walked slowly up to Manxiao, who glared at him. “How is this possible.”

Ye Tianming said, “Shall we talk?”

Manxiao stared at him and said nothing.

Ye Tianming turned to look at the Northern Zhao Emperor and smiled. “Your Majesty, could you have your people stand down first?”

The Northern Zhao Emperor glanced at him, nodded, and had her people withdraw.

Ye Tianming then looked at Manxiao. “Have your people stand down as well.”

After a brief pause, Manxiao waved his hand, and the Wilderness demon clan experts behind him all withdrew.

Only Ye Tianming and Manxiao remained in the space between them, along with Zhantai Zhan not far away, watching with some concern.

Ye Tianming said, “Have you ever considered that something about this whole situation has been off from the very beginning?”

Manxiao’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Ye Tianming smiled. “The moment I arrived at the Academy, your son came to provoke me — and he did so even after I had already demonstrated my strength. And in the end, when I killed your son, the Academy didn’t stop it either… Has it never occurred to you that none of this is normal?”

Manxiao’s expression darkened. “What you’re saying is…….”

Ye Tianming sighed. “Someone is trying to stir up trouble.”

Manxiao looked up at Ye Tianming, who said slowly, “Do you really think it was all a coincidence?”

Manxiao’s face grew increasingly grim.

Ye Tianming continued, “Let me guess — with the Yang family and the Divine Realm on the verge of a great war, I imagine both sides have come to court the Wilderness demon clan. As a demon king, you must be aware of this, yes?”

The Wilderness demon clan had six demon kings, but these six were not actually the true leaders of the Wilderness demon clan. The true leader was the Demon Ancestor from long ago — though that Demon Ancestor had suffered severe injuries, and so in recent years, the affairs of the Wilderness demon clan had been managed by these six demon kings.

But the true leader was still the Demon Ancestor.

As for how far the Demon Ancestor’s strength had recovered by now, no one knew.

Manxiao’s expression grew darker still, because just as Ye Tianming had said, both the Yang family and the Divine Realm had sent people to make contact with them, hoping to secure the support of the Wilderness demon clan.

The power of the Wilderness demon clan was truly formidable. Gaining their support would undoubtedly give whichever side obtained it a significantly greater chance of victory.

But the Wilderness demon clan had chosen not to take sides.

Ye Tianming said slowly, “If your faction were to come to blows with me, the conflict would escalate, and it would inevitably evolve into a clash between our two forces. And once it became a clash between two forces — think about it — if the Wilderness demon clan were to come into conflict with the Cultivator Academy, wouldn’t you then be hoping to gain the support of another power?”

He glanced at Manxiao. “Someone wants to drag you in — to pull the Wilderness demon clan into a new vortex. And beyond that, they may even be looking to swallow you whole.”

Manxiao stared at him. “The Yang family, or the Divine Realm?”

Ye Tianming smiled. “Go back. Whoever comes to find you first — that’s your answer.”

With that, he waved his hand, and Manxiao’s cultivation was fully restored.

Manxiao stared at him. “You’re not killing me because if you did, you’d be playing right into their hands — and then it wouldn’t just be the Wilderness demon clan getting dragged into the vortex, but your Cultivator Academy as well. Am I right?”

Ye Tianming didn’t turn around. “You’re wrong. You’re overestimating your own importance. If I killed you, the Wilderness demon realm wouldn’t truly become enemies with our Cultivator Academy. Do you know why? Because it wouldn’t be worth it. I’m not sparing you because you matter so much — I’m doing it out of respect for your Demon Ancestor. Go back. Once you do, you’ll understand everything soon enough. As for the matter of your son’s death…….”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Someone that brainless — if you’d kept him around, he would have brought disaster upon you sooner or later. You’re still young, you can have more children. It’s really not a big deal.”

Manxiao: “…….”

Ye Tianming had already stopped paying him any attention and walked toward the Northern Zhao Emperor not far away.

After a moment of silence, Manxiao immediately led his people away.

Before long, he brought everyone back to the Wilderness demon realm and went directly to the Demon Ancestor’s royal court. The moment he arrived at the entrance, he saw a woman in blue robes walking slowly toward him. She looked at him and smiled. “Manxiao Demon King, your attempt to kill Ye Tianming has ended in failure, I see? That’s understandable — this person wields the Law of All Living Things, and below the Circle, few can match him. Not to mention, he has the Cultivator Academy behind him…….”

She smiled faintly. “Our Yang family is willing to lend its aid to the Wilderness demon realm!”

Manxiao’s expression was extremely grim.