Chapter 283

Chapter 283: The Dao Heart Shatters!

Before a grave.

A young man sat there, chatting away casually.

The young man was none other than Ye Tianming.

After leaving Guanxuan Academy, he had used the power of the Tianming Sword to teleport here. This grave belonged to his teacher, Mu Guanchen.

He had already been here for a full day and night.

He was talking, recounting everything that had happened during this time.

After a long while, Ye Tianming suddenly stood up. He waved at the solitary grave, “Teacher, your student is leaving.”

With that, he turned and walked away without looking back.

Behind him, a gentle breeze drifted over the grave.

An hour later, he arrived at the Ye family estate.

The Ye family home had been razed to the ground, and because of what had happened back then, this place had become forbidden ground.

Ye Tianming!

Originally, this person could have been the pride of all of Qingzhou. After all, it had been a very, very long time since someone of such monstrous talent had appeared there.

But this genius had gone and crossed paths with the young lord Yang Jia.

As a result, Qingzhou now dared not even acknowledge Ye Tianming as one of their own. No one dared to even mention his name.

Returning here, gazing at the ruins before him, Ye Tianming’s eyes suddenly grew moist.

Memories from his childhood flashed through his mind like lightning.

The Ye family!

And now, he was the only one left.

All of them were gone.

Ye Tianming stared at the rubble in the clearing, and the tears in his eyes finally could no longer be held back.

“You’ve got some nerve, coming here.”

Just then, a voice suddenly came from nearby.

Ye Tianming turned to look. A young man was walking over, glaring at him. “Are you tired of living?”

Ye Tianming was puzzled. “You are?”

The young man was about to say something when suddenly he stared at Ye Tianming in disbelief, his voice trembling. “You, you’re Brother Tianming!”

Ye Tianming was even more confused. “You are?”

The young man suddenly burst into tears. “Brother Tianming, I’m Li Yuan, the cousin of Sister Li E. We met when my cousin married Brother Ye Nan.”

Li Yuan!

Ye Tianming looked the young man over. Only now did he recall, though Li Yuan had been much younger back then.

Li Yuan’s tears flowed uncontrollably. “Brother Tianming, can you save my Li family?”

Ye Tianming quickly asked, “What happened?”

Li Yuan said, “After the incident back then, our Li family was thrown in prison. They haven’t been released to this day, and no charges have even been filed. They’re just being held there…… I only managed to escape because I had gone away to study at the time……”

The Li family!

Ye Tianming smacked himself on the head. He had actually forgotten about this.

Ye Tianming immediately said, “Where are they being held?”

Li Yuan said, “Follow me……”

With that, he grabbed Ye Tianming and ran.

He naturally trusted Ye Tianming. After all, Ye Tianming had defeated the young lord Yang Jia three times in a row.

He had been coming here every day to keep watch, hoping to wait and see if Ye Tianming would return.

Soon, led by Li Yuan, Ye Tianming arrived at a prison in Qingzhou. Since Ye Tianming was not acting in the capacity of a young lord, he naturally had no intention of going through any official channels. Besides, he knew full well that going through official channels right now would be completely useless.

After all, the reforms had only just begun. The effects couldn’t possibly show so quickly.

Ye Tianming led Li Yuan straight toward the prison entrance. Li Yuan was feeling somewhat uneasy and tense. It was clear to him that Ye Tianming was planning a jailbreak.

But just then, an elderly man suddenly appeared at the prison gate. The moment he appeared, a heavyset man came rushing out from inside the prison.

The heavyset man ran up to the elder and dropped to his knees, his voice trembling. “This subordinate greets the envoy.”

The elder completely ignored the heavyset man. “The cabinet has determined that the Li family committed no wrongdoing whatsoever. Release all detained persons immediately. Furthermore, due to the academy’s fault in causing the Li family such suffering, the academy must provide compensation……”

With that, he glanced at the heavyset man. “Release every member of the Li family at once. Immediately.”

The heavyset man naturally dared not object. He bowed respectfully and then withdrew.

Ye Tianming walked up to the elder. Upon seeing Ye Tianming, the elder’s expression instantly changed.

It could be said that within the Guanxuan universe, Ye Tianming’s fame surpassed even that of Yang Jia. There was virtually no one who didn’t know his name.

Ye Tianming looked at the elder. “Whose order was this from within the cabinet?”

The elder hesitated for a moment, then said, “It was a prior order from Cabinet Member An Yan.”

An Yan!

Ye Tianming gave a slight nod. “I see.”

The elder looked at Ye Tianming with a hint of apprehension.

Toward someone who had defeated the young lord three times in a row, he naturally felt a sense of wariness.

Ye Tianming said nothing more. He waited quietly, and soon the members of the Li family were escorted out.

When they saw the sunlight outside, everyone in the Li family burst into tears of joy.

The clan head Li Xiao, upon seeing Ye Tianming, was momentarily stunned. He quickly stepped forward, his voice trembling. “Tianming, your elder brother and Xiao E, are they really……”

Ye Tianming silently nodded.

Tears instantly flooded Li Xiao’s eyes, and he nearly collapsed.

Ye Tianming quickly steadied him.

Li Xiao let out a deep sigh, tears streaming down his face. “My poor children!”

Ye Tianming supported him. “Elder, let’s go home first.”

Li Xiao kept shaking his head, looking as though all the strength had been drained from him.

In the end, supported by the others, he returned to the Li family home. The Li estate was now even more desolate than before, cobwebs everywhere, the entire compound in a state of disrepair.

After a long while, Ye Tianming and Li Xiao came to a hall.

Li Xiao looked at Ye Tianming. “I already know everything about your situation. Tianming, the matter of the Ye family, let it end here. All right?”

Ye Tianming said nothing.

Li Xiao pleaded, “Tianming, you’re the only one left of the Ye family now.”

Ye Tianming nodded. “I know, Elder. Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

Li Xiao knew he couldn’t change the mind of the young man before him, and could only let out a deep sigh.

Soon after, the compensation from Guanxuan Academy for the Li family also came through.

Guanxuan Academy paid the Li family compensation of over a hundred million spirit crystals.

For the Li family, this was undoubtedly an enormous sum. Of course, the reason it came through so quickly was because An Yan had been following the matter along the way.

Once the Li family was settled, Ye Tianming left Qingzhou City.

A small town somewhere.

A man was frantically fleeing through the streets, his expression panicked, his eyes filled with terror.

Just as the man dashed out of an alleyway, a woman appeared before him.

It was Nan Lingzhao.

At the sight of Nan Lingzhao, the man’s face instantly drained of color. He dropped to his knees on the spot, begging desperately. “My lord, I know I was wrong. Please spare my life……”

Nan Lingzhao looked down at him. “Someone as depraved as you, who doesn’t even spare little girls, and you still want to live?”

With that, she slammed her palm down hard onto the top of the man’s head.

Boom!

The man exploded on the spot, reduced to a mist of blood.

Nan Lingzhao waved her hand. “Disgusting. What a waste of my hand.”

With that, she turned and left.

Her way of handling things now was simple: those guilty of the most heinous crimes were executed on the spot, skipping the entire process of investigation.

Just then, Nan Lingzhao suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned to look, and not far away stood a young man dressed in cultivator’s robes.

It was Ye Tianming.

At the sight of Ye Tianming, Nan Lingzhao froze where she stood.

Ye Tianming smiled faintly. “Miss Zhao, it’s been a long time.”

A moment later, the two of them sat down in a small noodle shop.

Each ordered a bowl of noodles.

But neither of them ate.

Nan Lingzhao looked at Ye Tianming. “These past years, have you been well?”

Ye Tianming shook his head. “Not really.”

Nan Lingzhao lowered her head slightly. “I know.”

Ye Tianming smiled. “And you, Miss Zhao?”

Nan Lingzhao looked up at him. “I’ve been all right.”

Ye Tianming nodded. “That’s good then.”

Nan Lingzhao seemed to want to say something but held back.

Ye Tianming said nothing, and simply began to eat his noodles.

Nan Lingzhao just watched him eat.

Soon, Ye Tianming finished his bowl. He paid, then stood up. “Miss Zhao, until we meet again.”

With that, he turned and left.

Nan Lingzhao made no move to stop him. She just watched him go, but as she watched, her eyes grew moist.

She knew that he carried far too much on his shoulders. So much that he simply couldn’t afford to feel anything else.

At the end of the street, Xiao Hun suddenly said, “Young master, just like that?”

Ye Tianming nodded.

Xiao Hun said, “Do you like this girl?”

Ye Tianming smiled faintly. “Do you even know what it means to like someone?”

Xiao Hun said, “Of course! Liking someone just means you like them.”

Ye Tianming said softly, “I am a person of ill omen. Everyone who stays by my side comes to a bad end. She’s doing well now. That’s enough.”

About a day later, Ye Tianming arrived at an abandoned world. He found the ruins, a filthy and chaotic place reeking of foul odors everywhere.

Ye Tianming searched frantically, looking for that familiar figure.

She was his reason to keep living.

But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find her.

He began to grow anxious.

He searched desperately through the ruins, and as if struck by a thought, he grabbed a small boy. “Have you seen a woman around here, one who is…… very, very ugly?”

The small boy said, “The ugly woman?”

Ye Tianming immediately pulled out a piece of food. “Lead me to her, and this is yours.”

The small boy’s eyes lit up at the sight of the food. He grabbed Ye Tianming’s hand. “Come on, follow me.”

With that, he led Ye Tianming to a corner of the ruins, where a woman lay curled up.

Ye Tianming rushed over, but the moment he touched her body, he froze.

Ice cold!

Ye Tianming quickly turned her over, and at that moment, the woman had no breath left in her at all.

The small boy glanced at him. “She died several days ago. She starved to death……”

Ye Tianming crumpled to the ground.

In that instant, every last piece of his dao heart shattered.

Because living truly had no meaning anymore.

He, Ye Tianming, had no family left in this world.

All of them were gone.

High above in the void, Miss Ding watched Ye Tianming with cold indifference, watching as his dao heart crumbled piece by piece.