Realms In The Firmament

“Now this is it. We have the truth. The Seven Golden Lotuses must fight for one goal. We must stick together.” Yue Youyou suddenly felt anxious for no reason. He did not want to stay any longer. After what was said, he left the place and became a long rainbow across the sky.

When the long rainbow appeared and Yue Youyou was leaving, Yue Youyou found that the purple smoke in the air started to gather once again. The image was coming up slowly again.

Yue Youyou was shocked, so he stopped. The long rainbow disappeared and he fell from the sky, nearly hitting himself on the ground.

Ye Hongchen appeared in the air one more time. Yue Youyou had a stronger feeling this time. It seemed his old brother was truly hiding in that purple smoke, looking at him with a blurred face.

The smoke blurred the image, but the man’s face was vivid and clear in Yue Youyou’s eyes.

“Brother Ye!”

Yue Youyou’s heart was beating, and he spoke loudly with an exclamation, “What is it that you want to say to me? It has been so many years… We miss you so much!”

A soft flow of wind blew over and the purple smoke scattered. The image of the man was gone as well. The purple smoke was rising up and scattering away. This time, the image appeared quietly and the smoke disappeared silently. Nothing was left.

Yue Youyou stayed in the sky. He was lost for a while. All of a sudden, he made a long shout and disappeared with a flash!

His voice was resounding in the air behind him. “Brother Ye! The great name of the Heaven’s Leaf will never fall!”

That shout was from the purest power of Yue Youyou. The entire City of Chaos was shaking when the sound rang in the air. The city was almost breaking down because of it.

Everybody’s ears were ringing, and they felt dizzy.

…

That was it. They had a conclusion now.

One of the seven great ancestors, Yue Youyou had shown himself to prove the truth. Even though Master Guan was stubborn, there was nothing he could do. In the end, he could only make a long sigh. It seemed he was aged dozens of years. He stayed on the ground and was too weak to stand up.

His heart was broken, and he was like a dead man!

Ye Xiao made a sigh and walked over to Master Guan. He held Master Guan up and gently said, “There is a reason, and there is the outcome. I am grateful for your help, Master Guan… Thank you for what you did… However, I can’t pretend the descendant of the Great Ye Clan. I am not the guy the Seven Golden Lotuses want. This is the truth. Please, old master. Don’t feel bad. We will meet again someday.”

Master Guan shakily stood up. In his hand, there was a warm jade bottle. He knew that Ye Xiao had put it into his hand. It was a farewell gift. He closed his eyes and sighed to the sky. Tears fell off his eyelids and crawled over his face.

He stood there and didn’t move.

He didn’t move, but the people of the Guan Clan were walking over him to join the other side one by one.

They were all silent.

The great ancestor had come to help, and the truth was proved. Even though Master Guan was the clan chief, these men knew what was right to do. There was nothing he could change. That was it!

After a long time, Master Guan kept his head down. It seemed his energy was all gone. He staggered step by step ahead to the other side. While he was still walking, he suddenly stopped to shout sadly. He abruptly flashed and then disappeared in the sky!

Ye Xiao watched the old man leave, and he felt heavy in his heart. He felt like a big heavy rock was put on his chest and pressed his heart.

The old man was hurt. The worst wound was the wound on one’s feelings. He hoped that the dan beads he gave Master Guan would help him out of the sorrow…

Ye Yunduan watched Master Guan leave, and saw people of the Guan Clan walking slowly over to join him. His eyes were filled with coldness.

However, the coldness soon disappeared, as if it had never appeared before.

There was a thought in his heart, and he was lost in it.

‘The Seven Golden Lotuses of the Great Clan Ye. What? Can’t it be six golden lotuses instead? The Guan Clan doesn’t seem to be loyal. Do I really have to keep them with me? Humph. Maybe not.’

…

As the four clans left the Monarch’s Hall, the Monarch’s Hall was like an empty shell. Meng Youjiang and his men in the Department of Battle were all they had.

The management system of the Monarch’s Hall was gone, and there used to be more people in the management system than the cultivators. Now there were only cultivators.

These people stood there and watched everything happen. Many people had been drinking and laughing with them before this day, yet now they all left the Monarch’s Hall. The Monarch’s Hall, which was known to be full of capable men, was now an empty shell. There was nothing they could do. Many people were angry and grudge-bearing, but they had to endure it.

Would the Monarch’s Hall collapse just like Ye Yunduan said?

Ye Yunduan was confident when he arrived. He thought his plan was easy and great, but unexpectedly, troubles kept happening. Now, everything was settled. Although it didn’t end as well as Ye Yunduan expected, he still felt happy about it. He looked at Ye Xiao like looking at a clown. In a soft voice, with a warm smile, he said, “Brother Ye, that is it. The truth is the truth. I told you, the Monarch’s Hall is going to… Hah hah…”

Ye Xiao coldly said, “What are you talking about? The Monarch’s Hall is not going to collapse. The four clans chose to stand on your side, not because of you. You don’t have the power and capability. The Monarch’s Hall is still the Monarch’s Hall. It won’t collapse just because they left!”

“I am here. I, the Monarch, am here. The Monarch’s Hall stands!”

Ye Yunduan looked around the people behind Ye Xiao, and he was disdainful.

Those were all middle-level Divinity Origin Stage cultivators. There were over two thousand of them.

However, they were not good enough.

‘A bunch of stupid dogs and chickens. That is all!’

‘Humph!’

‘All you have is a bunch of weak shrimps now. Why don’t you give in? Do you really think you can expand your territory and increase your influence with these men?’

‘Well… I don’t need to have more men to join me, no matter how weak they are. There must be something they can do. If I can recruit some of these itinerant cultivators, I will have better fame at least!’

Ye Yunduan tried to be friendly. He smiled and said, “Brother Ye, as I said, the truth is the truth. The Monarch’s Hall doesn’t have enough people. Your organization is an empty shell. Why do you have to keep those men with you and lead them to nothing? They don’t have a future staying with you. You may break down at any second. After all, you have gotten quite some enemies during the past few months. Now the four clans have left you… If your enemy comes to attack, you are very likely going to be destroyed… Look… You don’t need to wait for destruction. You always have a choice. I think you are all good men, so I would love to give you a choice. No matter who you are, as long as you join me, I would love to fight your enemies as they are mine.”

What Ye Yunduan said was unluckily the truth. The Monarch’s Hall had expanded greatly, so they had made lots of enemies during the expansion. The Monarch’s Hall was developing as fast as the House of Chaotic Storms. Both of them had destroyed many other forces. If the enemies came to start a fight, the Monarch’s Hall might not be able to defend themselves. After all, the help from the seven clans was the main reason why the Monarch’s Hall could win so many fights in a short time. The Monarch’s Hall was now eighty percent weaker than before!

Ye Xiao calmly said, “Thank you, Master Ye, for your kindness. The Monarch’s Hall will never be destroyed, as long as I, the Monarch, stand… It takes time to prove my point. You are offering a good opportunity, and I won’t stop anybody else to join you.”

He thought for a while and talked to his own men. “Brothers, if any of you want to follow Master Ye, I won’t stop you! I will hold a feast for you, to memorize the days we have stayed together. There is one thing you must remember, though. You have made a vow to me. You can join whoever you want, but you can’t turn against the Monarch’s Hall. Someday in the future, you must do one thing for me to return the debt. That is enough!”

Ye Xiao was not being narrow-minded. It was a deal they made in the Hall of Life and Death after all.

Ye Xiao could let them leave, but he couldn’t save people for anything!

Ye Yunduan had planned for a long time on dealing with Ye Xiao, so he knew the deal. He smiled and said, “That is true. That is fair.”

And then he took a breath of relief.

He did not really care about the men of the Monarch’s Hall so much. Those men were too weak. However, if he could get these itinerant cultivators, it would be a good start to recruit more powerful itinerant cultivators from the Limitless Ocean. He was going to get a good reputation because of it!

He was worried that Ye Xiao might stop these men from joining Ye Yunduan, but Ye Xiao turned out to approve it. In Ye Yunduan’s opinion, it would be easy as a cake to recruit these people, because he was the descendant of the Great Ye Clan after all!

It was not something these people needed to hesitate about. The right choice was obvious. Nobody would make the wrong decision!

In fact, Ye Yunduan always saw Ye Xiao as a clown. He was impressed when the Monarch’s Hall expanded incredibly fast, and he was surprised by how magnificent Ye Xiao’s dan beads were. However, he believed one thing. ‘If not for the Seven Golden Lotuses, Ye Xiao was nothing.’

That was why he never looked Ye Xiao in the eyes.

After that, when he finally met Ye Xiao, he started to hate Ye Xiao!

There was a strong hostile feeling.

No matter who Ye Xiao was, what he did, how he was, Ye Yunduan didn’t feel right when Ye Xiao was around.

He did not want those people in the Monarch’s Hall, but he wanted to take them over. He knew that if he did this, Ye Xiao, the great dan-maker, would never work for him, but he still wanted to hurt Ye Xiao!

Taking over Ye Xiao’s men was a strike in Ye Xiao’s heart, and it made Ye Yunduan happy.

Ye Yunduan was never a narrow-minded man. However, since he met Ye Xiao, he was. The strong hostility in his heart was impossible to get rid of.

He used to plan to recruit Ye Xiao and be good friends with Ye Xiao. He wanted Ye Xiao to be like his brother. However, he didn’t want him anymore!

It was weird, but that was how it was. Sometimes, when two people liked each other, they became friends forever. Sometimes, when two people hated each other, everything seemed to be wrong about them!

“Guys, I am Ye Yunduan of the Great Ye Clan. Please accept my respect.” Ye Yunduan softly smiled and looked at the men. He said, “A man never gets to decide his own fate in the martial world. I guess you all feel that.”

The people he was talking to were all silent.

Ye Yunduan said, “Life and death, wealth and poverty. How do we get what we want? How do we reach the position beyond the clouds? I think you all know the answer.”

“You know what this is about. You know how the Monarch’s Hall is like. Powerful forces are rising in the City of Chaos. Competition is everywhere. I don’t think you want to die in vain. The best way to make your effort count is to find yourself a strong background. You know what is the best to choose. Will you stay with the Monarch’s Hall, which is going to end, or come and join me to embrace a new life? I think you will make the right choice.

“I am not the best, but I am a descendant of the Great Ye Clan. You know why I am here. To be honest with you, I would love to have you as my own men. I would love to fight for the glory with you on my side. I wonder if you trust me.”

He paused, giving time for the men to think. After a while, he blandly smiled and said, “Make one step ahead if you want to join me. Let’s create a legend that belongs to us. The Great Ye Clan had companies in the old days. You can be our companies in the future.”

That was some fine speech.

He was giving a good speech to inspire the crowd. When he was talking, he sounded friendly and soft, like the men of the Monarch’s Hall were already his brothers.

However, when he looked at Ye Xiao, he couldn’t hide the gloat in his eyes. That ruined the sincerity he pretended to show.

Ye Xiao pretended not to see him. He just stood aside in silence. He was watching Ye Yunduan’s poor performance.

‘You have taken away the four clans, and now you are going to take over my men…’

Ye Xiao sneered.

“Ye!”