Luckily, the monster tide did not last very long. Towards the end of the monster tide, aces from the East Sea Prefecture had come to help kill off demons and monsters. Thanks to them, the damage was not as bad as it could have been. Despite this, it would take a very long time for things to return to what it once was. There had also been consistent earthquakes in Qingzhou City since the monster tide had ended.
After the people of Qingzhou Academy returned with General Qin’s Dark Qilin Knighthood, it was rumored that the vice chief of the East Sea Prefecture was very unhappy. Then, in a fit of rage, he removed General Qin from his position as leader of the Dark Qilin Knighthood. This angered the knights, but they were suppressed by the aces from the prefecture the Qingzhou Guards who were under the orders of the City Lord, and the people of the Murong Chamber of Commerce. After a bloody battle, many of the knights had been met with a sad end, and the Qingzhou City protectors, the Dark Qilin Knighthood, had become a thing of the past.
Then, City Lord Wei Meng was transferred out of Qingzhou City, and his place was taken by the leader of the Murong Chamber of Commerce, Murong Yunshan.
Many people were displeased with this decision. Rumors were spreading throughout the city. They said that historical remains of Emperor Ye Qing had been found on Mount Tianyao, and that the continuous arrival of the East Sea Prefecture aces had proved this rumor to be true. However, no one ever made it back from Mount Tianyao with viable information. Some people only make it halfway, some people make it near the remains but get surrounded by demons and monsters. The rumors also say that it was because of these remains that the East Sea Prefecture’s Vice Chief Xia Fan started the monster tide and aligned with the City Lord and the people of the Murong Chamber of Commerce to force Qingzhou Academy and Qin Shuai on to Mount Tianyao.
When these rumors spread, the citizens were even more upset.
However, it did not matter, because the Murong Chamber of Commerce held a lot of power in the city to begin with; now that their leader was also the City Lord, no one dared to speak out against them. To make things worse, they also have the East Sea Prefecture to back them up. The most that citizens of Qingzhou City could do was to complain secretly.
At the Ye family house, a black wind eagle landed to drop off three people and then flew up to circle in the sky.
Ye Futian, Yu Sheng, and Hua Fengliu had left the mountains after a short while because they were worried about their families.
Upon their arrival, Ye Futian’s heart sank at the sight of his home. The residence was torn apart with bits and pieces of the house scattered on the ground. Looking around, they could not find a single person.
“Father! Mother!” Ye Futian ran through his home as he called out to his parents. The roof was caving in and the house was empty.
“Godfather!” Ye Futian called again with sadness in his voice. Still, no one answered.
Yu Sheng was also running around the residence with red eyes, looking for a trace of the family.
What happened? What on earth happened to them?
Ye Futian was scared, more scared than when he had jumped into the canyon.
“Ye Futian!” At that moment, someone screamed out his name. Ye Futian whipped around to see a beautiful young woman run toward him. Her body flew into his arms and held on to him tightly.
“You’re alive, you’re still alive!” said the young woman. Her eyes were red as she cried into his shirt.
“Feng Qingxue, where is my family? Do you know what happened to them?” asked Ye Futian while he tried to support her. Feng Qingxue dried her tears, her face flushed red and said with her head lowered, “Your dad and everyone else is fine. My father told me to let you know that they moved away from Qingzhou City. They wanted to tell you not to worry about them.”
“They didn’t say where they were going?” asked Ye Futian, now relieved. Thank God nothing had happened to them.
Feng Qingxue shook her head and replied, “My father also told me not to tell anyone. Your family left secretly, but they didn’t want you to worry, so they asked my father to relay the message.”
Ye Futian was stunned. Then he looked up at the sky and cursed, “Ye Baichuan, you jerk.”
His eyes were red from crying. Being as intelligent as he was, Ye Futian knew there was something wrong with his background. Both he and his godfather carried secrets about their pasts. Now, his family had taken advantage of the distraction of the monster tide to leave in secret. He knew it was to hide a secret that no one would ever find out.
From this day on, the Ye family did not exist in the City of Qingzhou.
The East Sea was huge. Where was he supposed to begin the search for his family? They obviously did not want him to find them.
“Feng Qingxue, how is the city doing? Have the people from the East Sea Prefecture left yet?” asked Ye Futian. If Xia Fan was still here he would have to be extra careful.
“They left and so have those from Heiyan City. Qingzhou Academy took a really big blow. General Qin has been removed from his position, and the Dark Qilin Knighthood has been dismantled. All of that is thanks to Xia Fan, the City Lord Office, and the Murong Chamber of Commerce. Murong Yunshan is now the City Lord. Recently, more and more outsiders have arrived at Qingzhou City in hopes of finding Emperor Ye Qing’s heirloom but have all left empty-handed,” explained Feng Qingxue all at once.
“General Qin has been removed?” Ye Futian was shocked.
“Yeah,” she nodded. Ye Futian stood frozen. The protector of the city and leader of the Dark Qilin Knighthood has been thrown out by the vice chief of the East Sea Prefecture. Who would have imagined that?
Those high authority figures held absolute power and played with the lives of others. Had he not gotten lucky, he would have died on Mount Tianyao.
“What do you have planned for the future? Why don’t you come stay at my place?” asked Feng Qingxue with anticipation.
Ye Futian did a once-over of Feng Qingxue. At his piercing gaze, her face reddened.
“That’s okay. I might actually leave Qingzhou City as well,” answered Ye Futian. Feng Qingxue was dazed. Her heart skipped a beat upon hearing his reply. She asked, “Where are you going?”
“To do what I have to,” Ye Futian said with a smile, “Feng Qingxue, I should get going now. You should head home, too. Say goodbye to your father for me. Take care of yourselves.”
Ye Futian returned to Hua Fengliu’s side. He placed him on his back and they headed outside with Yu Sheng beside him.
Feng Qingxue remained frozen in place. As she watched him leave, she shouted, “Ye Futian!”
He turned back to face her.
“I like you,” she shouted at the top of her lungs after mustering up the courage to do so.
He looked at her and a smile appeared on his face. “I know. Who wouldn’t like a person like me? Don’t miss me too much.”
Finishing his words, he turned around once again and continued on his way. Feng Qingxue’s tears fell and she crouched down to the ground.
Ye Futian did not stop. He was afraid that if he gave in, he wouldn’t be able to leave. Feng Qingxue was a beauty after all.
“If I wasn’t here, would you go with her?” asked Hua Fengliu, who was on Ye Futian’s back.
“Why would I? I only need one fish from the sea. Fox is the only one for me,” Ye Futian answered his question matter-of-factly. At this, Hua Fengliu rolled his eyes. “How did a shameless person like you get my daughter to fall for you?”
“Looks,” was all Ye Futian said.
Hua Fengliu had words for him.
“Master, when are you going to get better? If I keep carrying you like this people might misunderstand,” asked Ye Futian in a low voice.
“If you don’t want to carry me then just throw me on a corner somewhere,” retorted Hua Fengliu. In that battle, it took all the power he had to rekindle his Qin Spirit. It also caused irreversible damage. At that time, he barely managed to keep standing.
“I’m sorry, father-in-law,” Ye Futian apologized quickly. Only then did Hua Fengliu smile again.
“Where are we going now?” asked Hua Fengliu.
“To kill a person,” answered Ye Futian.
…
In the air above Qingzhou Academy, a black wind eagle was circling. Its sharp eyes were trained on the Earth Elemental Pavilion below.
It could not seem to find its target and continued to circle. Then, when a group of people exited the pavilion and headed for a restaurant off campus, the black wind eagle flew off after them. It did not attract the attention of the people below.
As of late, things had been going great for Murong Qiu. Even though the expedition to Mount Tianyao failed, he was still able to establish a good relationship with the vice chief of the East Sea Prefecture. This aided his climb up the ladder at the Murong Chamber of Commerce. He had already been unanimously chosen as the successor of the chairman seat and his father was now the City Lord. The whole city was under his family’s control.
Although he understood that a lot of people disliked him, including most of his classmates, he did not care. They had no choice but to treat him with respect.
The lobby of the restaurant was packed with people, many of whom were disciples of Qingzhou Academy. When Murong Qiu and his people arrived, almost everyone bowed their heads with respect. This was very satisfying to Murong Qiu. He proceeded to look for a place to sit with a smile on his face.
After the food arrived at the table, his whole group began to converse.
“Junior Brother Murong Qiu possesses such a rare gift. You were able to reach the Glory Plane so quickly. You’ll be in the Dharma Plane in no time, and then the Arcana Plane,” said a disciple of the Earth Elemental Pavilion.
The first four planes of cultivation were: Awakening, Glory, Dharma, and Arcana.
To reach the Dharma Plane would mean you were sufficient to rise into the presbyter level and become an elder. If one were able to get a bit stronger than that, they would be able to become a Pavilion Lord. After all, the highest level anyone in the City of Qingzhou had reached was the Dharma Plane. In the past, Hua Fengliu was known as the city’s number one ace because he was once in the Arcana Plane. He was considered a top ace in all of the East Sea Prefecture.
“Well, of course! Murong Qiu will take control of all of Qingzhou City in the future. Naturally, he will be the most powerful person in the city,” Murong Qing boasted about her older cousin.
“That’s right. Don’t forget about us when you have the city in the palm of your hands, Junior Brother,” someone said as they held their cup up to toast. Murong Qiu smiled elegantly and lifted his cup as well. He looked ahead as if he were in deep thought.
“Seems like I’m a bit of a failure when it comes to the ladies,” he said. His utterance put the table in an awkward silence.
It was not a secret that Murong Qiu liked Hua Jieyu but she ended up with Ye Futian. Then, when Murong Qing introduced him to Feng Qingxue, everyone thought he had it in the bag. In the end, it seemed like Feng Qingxue still had feelings for Ye Futian.
“That b*tch. Feng Qingxue is just ungrateful. She’s not good enough for you. You shouldn’t feel bad about it,” said one of Murong Qiu’s junior brothers.
“That’s right, Junior Brother. Look at you now; the ladies won’t be able to get enough of you,” consoled a senior brother.
“Feng Qingxue is blind. I already told her to stay away from Ye Futian but she went back to him in the end. Now that he has been killed by the demons and monsters, she must be regretting her decision. She really missed out on you, with all that power in your hands,” said Murong Qing.
“I actually hope that he’s not dead. Things will be more interesting that way,” Murong Qiu said with a cold demeanor.
“You’re right. If he’s not already dead, then he will be shaking in his boots when he sees you,” laughed Murong Qing. She then realized that the restaurant was suddenly very quiet. Many eyes were watching their little group. She furrowed her brow in confusion and looked out the door. At the lobby entrance of the restaurant stood a handsome but arrogant figure.
“Everything you guys said is correct!” Ye Futian’s voice resonated. A frivolous smile was on his face.