Chapter 321

Chapter 321: The Feeling of Having Family!

Ye Zhen!

The woman who walked in looked to be only in her twenties, with a small bell hanging at her waist that swayed gently with each step, producing a clear and pleasant sound.

She wore a light and elegant long dress, its hem swaying softly in the breeze, like a fairy descended to the mortal world, untouched by dust. Her features were delicate and gentle, and there was an otherworldly quality in her eyes and brows that made her impossible to forget.

Everyone bowed respectfully.

The person before them was the young master of the Academy and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion, personally appointed by the Sword Master of the mortal world.

She was also the future true master of Guanxuan Academy and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion.

As for why her surname was Ye rather than Yang, no one knew.

After Ye Zhen walked into the main hall, she glanced at everyone but said nothing.

Suddenly, the hall fell silent.

Everyone was a little puzzled.

Someone looked up, only to find in astonishment that Ye Zhen had already vanished.

She left?

The entire hall was completely bewildered.

Qingzhou.

Ye Zhen came alone to a stretch of ruins — this was the Ye family estate where Ye Tianming had once lived.

The place was still desolate, and no one dared set foot here.

No matter how extraordinary Ye Tianming was, Qingzhou was still territory ruled by the Yang family. So as long as the Yang family held power, no one dared come here. Not only that, but to this day, Qingzhou still refused to acknowledge that Ye Tianming was one of its own.

Who would dare defy the world?

Ye Zhen stared at the ruins in silence for a long while, then suddenly said, “Come.”

As her words fell, everyone who had been in the hall earlier appeared behind her.

They all appeared here with some confusion.

Ye Zhen said, “Relay my order — issue a self-reproach edict.”

Everyone froze.

Then Ye Zhen continued, “Since my father, the Guanxuan Sword Master, departed, our Yang family has been lax in overseeing the sects and clans, leading to widespread corruption in the Academy and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. These people deceived our Yang family above and oppressed the common people below. As the leaders, our Yang family cannot escape responsibility.”

She paused, then went on, “This is the fault of our Yang family. From today, I will personally lead the Yang family in conducting a thorough investigation and rectification of the Academy and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. We will not tolerate any corrupt individuals. At the same time, the Academy and the Immortal Treasure Pavilion will establish new faith tablets. Going forward, even a mere steward must have their own faith tablet as a means of oversight.”

At these words, the expressions of everyone present shifted.

Everyone had assumed that once this new young master appeared, she would dismantle all the faith tablets — after all, those tablets had now become entirely associated with Ye Tianming. Dismantling them would certainly greatly weaken his power.

But no one had expected that not only would she not dismantle the faith tablets, she would actually add more of them. And if even an ordinary steward needed one, the increase would be far from trivial.

This would only benefit Ye Tianming even more.

Ye Zhen paid no attention to the stunned expressions around her. She glanced at the ruins before her and said, “Our Yang family bears an inescapable responsibility for what happened to the Ye family of Qingzhou. Relay my order — conduct a thorough investigation into the Ye family’s case and restore their name.”

An elder couldn’t help but say, “Young Master, if this matter is fully investigated, I fear it may damage the authority of our Academy and the reputation of the Yang family……”

Several others nodded in agreement.

Pursuing this investigation would be tantamount to admitting fault.

How could the Academy ever be at fault?

Even if there was fault, it should be handled quietly within their own ranks, not proclaimed to the world.

Ye Zhen looked at them. “Three generations of the Yang family built this order — for what purpose? For the sake of all living beings. Yes, there is no perfect order in this world, and the Yang family’s order is no exception. It was imperfect in the past, it is imperfect now, and it is unlikely to ever be perfect in the future. But in this process, when mistakes are made, our Yang family must own up to them!”

She glanced at the ruins and continued, “Making mistakes is not frightening. What is frightening is refusing to admit them. Even more frightening is not only refusing to admit them, but covering them up. And the most frightening of all is not only covering them up, but turning those wrongs into rights!”

An elder hesitated, then said, “Ye Tianming harbors rebellious intentions. If we do not restrain him and allow him to keep accumulating the power of faith…….”

Ye Zhen looked at the elder. “What you fear is not Ye Tianming — it’s the oversight that comes with establishing faith tablets, isn’t it?”

The elder’s expression changed instantly. He hurried to bow and was about to speak, but Ye Zhen pointed directly at him. “Take him away. Investigate him for me — investigate him to the bone. If there is no evidence of favoritism, fraud, or corruption, I will personally have him admitted to the cabinet. If there are problems, execute him immediately.”

The elder’s face went pale in an instant, and before he could say a word, a group of powerful figures dragged him away.

Witnessing this, the remaining people trembled with fear and dared not speak another word.

Their eyes were filled with dread.

Ye Zhen swept a cold gaze over those present, then said, “When Ye Tianming served as young master, he carried out reforms of the Academy, but after his departure, those reforms stalled. I am telling you now — I have taken over, and I will not only continue the reforms, I will push them further and more thoroughly than Ye Tianming ever did.”

Everyone’s hearts pounded with fear.

Reform would inevitably harm their interests, but at this moment, not a single person dared to voice any objection.

Ye Zhen glanced at them and let out a cold laugh. Political maneuvering? Checks and balances?

Unnecessary.

The Yang family had no need for such games.

If they wouldn’t comply, she would simply have them all eliminated.

Ye Zhen turned to look at the ruins. “You are all worried about Ye Tianming, believing he is against our Yang family. But I believe that as long as our Yang family’s order is good enough, Ye Tianming will be our greatest protector.”

With that, she turned and left. “Issue the order — immediately erect a faith tablet in my name, Ye Zhen, before the cabinet hall, so that all living beings may oversee me!”

From this day forward, she, Ye Zhen, would carry the Yang family’s banner.

With the publication of Ye Tianming’s Law of All Beings, people across the entire universe could learn it. Among them were good people, and naturally bad ones too. At first, the bad ones were even more excited than the good.

This was like handing them a cheat code!

But soon, as they practiced the Law of All Beings, they discovered that anyone harboring malicious intent simply could not use it. Not only could they not use it, it would backfire on them.

This immediately broke many people.

But what broke them even more was that once you began cultivating the Law of All Beings, you had to keep going — otherwise your cultivation level would drop.

In other words, once you started cultivating the Law of All Beings, if you stopped, your realm would decline during normal cultivation.

A path of no return.

When Ye Tianming published the Law of All Beings, he had naturally considered the question of good and bad people. He understood clearly that if bad people got hold of it, it would be a disaster.

So when he published it, he had already built in restrictions.

Once those with malicious intent began cultivating, they could not stop — effectively forcing them to use the Law of All Beings for righteous purposes.

This sent many people into a complete meltdown.

Of course, there was something even more maddening: once everyone had the Law of All Beings, people discovered that it was extremely favorable to the weak — the weaker you were, the more it favored you.

Especially the principle of equality among all beings!

The weaker you were, the more you could bring your opponent down to your level.

Regardless, after the Law of All Beings was published, people were generally happy about it — after all, the weak still outnumbered the strong in this world.

But what Ye Tianming didn’t know was that this world never lacked geniuses or prodigies. He hadn’t anticipated that many people would later begin attempting to modify the Law of All Beings.

Of course, no matter who modified it or how, he would always be the first to receive the changes.

Cultivating the Dao alongside all living beings!

Those who excelled in cultivating the Law of All Beings would gradually appear on the Leaderboard of All Beings.

The first place was not Ye Tianming, because he was the master of the leaderboard.

And no one had yet realized that after the publication of the Law of All Beings, it would eventually revolutionize the entire existing system of cultivation.

When Ye Tianming stepped into the Awakening Manor, a heavy and solemn atmosphere washed over him. The interior was spacious and deep, with intricate patterns and runes carved into the ancient walls, each stroke carrying the weight of ages. Oil lamps hung along the surrounding walls, their dim yellow light spilling across the floor through the ancient fixtures, giving the place a surprisingly warm feel.

“Ahem!”

Just then, a soft cough suddenly echoed through the hall.

Ye Tianming turned to look. To the right, by the window, sat a woman. Her posture was graceful and composed, but what shocked Ye Tianming was that she had no arms, and only one leg supporting her body — and that leg was bound by an iron chain, its other end deeply embedded in the wall.

Ye Tianming was thoroughly puzzled.

At that moment, the woman slowly turned her head toward him.

It was a strikingly beautiful face, but her right eye socket was hollow and empty, dark as an abyss — and even so, it did nothing to diminish her beauty.

Ye Tianming’s expression grew serious, and he was somewhat on guard, but he quickly let his guard down.

Since it was that white-dressed elder sister who had sent him here, it should be fine.

The woman suddenly spoke. “It has been a very, very long time since anyone has come. The last visitor was someone called ‘God of Old’……. the clothes you’re wearing are similar to what he wore back then. You’re from the Cultivator’s Institute.”

Ye Tianming nodded.

The woman looked at him. “We already granted your Cultivator’s Institute a blessing once. How could we possibly give another…… is he getting more foolish with age?”

At those last words, her voice suddenly turned ice-cold.

In that instant, Ye Tianming felt as though he had plunged into a frozen abyss. An overwhelming pressure unlike anything he had ever felt enveloped him, as if it would grind him to dust.

Ye Tianming was alarmed. The power of this person was simply terrifying. He had an instinct that told him — not just now, but even at his peak, he would be no match for her.

Damn it.

He had just thought himself unrivaled, and now he ran into someone of this caliber.

Ye Tianming didn’t hesitate. He quickly took out the scroll the white-dressed woman had given him.

The moment she saw the scroll, that terrifying pressure vanished without a trace.

After a brief silence, the woman said, “I spoke a little loudly just now. Please don’t mind.”

Ye Tianming said nothing.

So this is what it feels like to have family.