Chapter 253: Xiaohan, New Master of the Silver Dragon Halberd

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Xiaohan, New Master of the Silver Dragon Halberd

In his deep slumber, Ye Xiaohan had a very, very long dream.

In that dream, he wielded the Fangtian Halberd, charging through a sea of soldiers, and none could stand against him for even a single clash. He had no idea how many enemies he had killed; all he knew was that his white robes had long been dyed red with blood.

Though his Combat Power was invincible, his heart was filled with endless fear and despair.

Even the Fangtian Halberd in his hands was shrieking.

There were simply too many enemies, more than he could ever kill. Beyond fear and despair, he was utterly exhausted, his Heart Power depleted. He didn’t know how much longer he could last.

All he knew was that he was the last line of defense. If he fell, then everything behind him would suffer endless devastation.

He could not fall...

Just as he was about to collapse, a stunningly beautiful woman in a white fox fur coat flew out from the city behind him.

Following behind the woman was an old, wizened man.

"General Ye, fall back. We can’t hold on any longer."

Ye Xiaohan had never heard such a beautiful voice, but it was filled with endless loneliness and despair.

"Your Highness, I cannot retreat, even if I must die on this battlefield. If I can delay them for another quarter of an hour, the subjects behind me can live for another quarter of an hour. My only regret is that I can no longer protect Your Highness."

Ye Xiaohan didn’t know why his dream-self would say such things.

In the end, he defied the woman’s command, charged dauntlessly back into the fray, and finally died of exhaustion.

At the moment of his death, he felt a sliver of release and a trace of self-reproach, but ultimately, nothing could overcome the weariness of death.

After this dream ended, Ye Xiaohan did not lose consciousness. Instead, he found himself in a different dreamscape.

In this dreamscape, he saw only a void. There was no black or white, no color, nothing at all. He felt as if he were bound within a sea of chaos.

Beside him was only the Fangtian Halberd that had accompanied him through a lifetime of battles.

A long, long time passed—or perhaps it was only an instant. A golden light appeared before his eyes, and the stunningly beautiful woman in the white fox fur coat walked toward him, treading upon the void.

He stared at the woman, dumbfounded. Beyond his adoration, there was a deep sense of awe.

"The Silver Dragon Halberd has acknowledged its new master and must now fulfill its duty. General Ye, will you follow me to war in the Divine Realm once more? Do you dare?"

"I dare!"

Ye Xiaohan roared.

With that shout, he suddenly shot up in bed. He opened his eyes to see several elders staring at him, each with a different expression.

He shook his head. At that moment, he could no longer tell dream from reality.

An elder slapped Ye Xiaohan across the face, finally snapping him back to reality.

When Ye Xiaohan saw the highest-ranking figures of the Celestial Dao Palace before him—people he wouldn’t see even once a year—he was so frightened he began to tremble.

The one who had slapped him was none other than Third Elder Cheng Tong, the man who had brought him here.

"Ye Xiaohan," Cheng Tong said, "the few of us have just discussed the matter. You severely injured more than ten disciples on the tournament stage and must therefore face the wall for half a year. Do you have any objections?"

He recalled the scene of his humiliation on the stage, but he couldn’t remember injuring more than ten disciples at all.

But Ye Xiaohan, who already had low self-esteem, didn’t dare to argue with all these elders present. He immediately said, "This disciple accepts the punishment."

"Good. However, before you begin your seclusion, this elder wishes to accept you as a Direct Disciple—my one and only Closed-door Disciple. Are you willing?" Cheng Tong said.

Ye Xiaohan, who had been resentful about his punishment upon waking, was so overjoyed to hear that the Third Elder wanted to take him as a Closed-door Disciple that he immediately jumped out of bed.

"This disciple is willing."

"Ye Xiaohan, come here!" The one who spoke was Master Yunchen.

Ye Xiaohan certainly didn’t dare to defy the Palace Master’s solemn command and walked straight over.

Master Yunchen reached out his right hand and gently patted him on the shoulder. Ye Xiaohan then felt a warmth spread from his shoulder as a surge of True Qi recklessly forced its way into his meridians.

BOOM!

In less than a moment, a boundless power erupted from Ye Xiaohan’s body, blasting Master Yunchen’s hand away from his shoulder.

"Insolence!" the Great Elder berated.

Master Yunchen also looked at Ye Xiaohan with some surprise. He then waved his hand at the furious and embarrassed Great Elder and looked at Ye Xiaohan with a smile.

"It seems your background is not so simple, is it? To think there is a Divine Seal left within your bloodline. Did one of your ancestors become a powerhouse who achieved Ascension to Immortality?" Master Yunchen said with a light chuckle.

Ye Xiaohan hastily shook his head in denial.

"Heh," Master Yunchen chuckled softly and said, "Then this matter is settled. A friend of yours from the Eastern Domain has come to visit and is currently on Taihua Peak. This master will give you three days to go and meet this friend. After three days, you are to go to the Precepts Hall and choose a cave for your seclusion. The term is half a year, not a single day less. Do you understand?"

Hearing that a friend from the Eastern Domain had come to see him and was on Taihua Peak, Ye Xiaohan immediately guessed it was Chu Fan. He was even more delighted and bowed at once. "This disciple obeys!"

"I imagine the Third Elder has matters to discuss with his new disciple. The rest of us should take our leave."

Master Yunchen said, waving to the other elders.

The Third Elder and Ye Xiaohan saw them out of the courtyard.

The Great Elder walked beside Master Yunchen and asked in a low voice, "Palace Master, you just mentioned a Divine Seal in his body. His surname is Ye... could his ancestor be *that* person?"

Master Yunchen nodded.

"Palace Master, in that case, we have all the more reason not to keep this boy in the Sect! What if the Royal Family holds it against us..." the Great Elder said with some worry.

"It has been over three thousand years. Who would still pursue this matter?" What Master Yunchen didn’t say was: ’It was Yan Ying who brought Ye Xiaohan back to the Sect. Could it be that Yan Ying doesn’t know his identity?’

’Even if the Royal Family does blame us, we have Yan Ying, the apple of the Crown Prince’s eye, to fall back on. What is there to fear?’

The elders naturally returned to their own residences on Vermilion Peak, while Master Yunchen bid them farewell and went back to Taihua Peak.

However, before he could even enter his courtyard, he was drawn in by the aroma of roasted meat. Following the scent, he arrived outside Yan Ying’s courtyard.

Before he could push the gate open, Crown Prince Long Jingyao and the Hundred Flowers Wanderer, Lao Yisheng, arrived together.

"Your Highness, Divine Doctor Lao, what brings you two here?" Master Yunchen asked.

"We were both drawn here by the aroma wafting from this place," Lao Yisheng said.

"Hahaha!" Master Yunchen stroked his silver-white beard and laughed heartily. "I’d forgotten that Divine Doctor Lao has ten thousand gluttonous worms living in his stomach."

Lao Yisheng pointed a finger at Master Yunchen and also burst out laughing.

The three of them pushed open the gate and walked in, only to see one man and three women in the courtyard, gathered around a mountain deer that had been roasted to a perfect crisp on the outside and was tender on the inside, carving it up to eat.

The sound of the gate opening naturally caught the attention of those inside.

When Xiaoya saw the Crown Prince, she shot to her feet, trembling, and hastily knelt on the ground.

Chu Fan, surprised to see the Crown Prince here, also stood up. Yan Ying stood up with him.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Chu Fan cupped his fist in salute to Long Jingyao, then greeted the Hundred Flowers Wanderer, Lao Yisheng. "Divine Doctor Lao, it’s been a while."

Leng Yingxue, however, remained seated from beginning to end, not even lifting her head.

If she were only in the Half-Saint Realm, she would have had to salute Long Jingyao, as the Piaoxue Palace is within the territory of the Hua Xu Empire. But now that she was in the Saint Realm, she didn’t have to pay respects to the Crown Prince, let alone the Emperor himself.

Such was the status of a Saint.

"There’s no need for such formalities. The few of us were simply drawn by the fragrance. I hope we are not intruding?" Long Jingyao said very courteously.