Chapter Thirty-Six: Who Among the Young Is Not Lonely

As time passed, nearly every conversation in the city of Shrouded Heaven revolved around the impending arrival of the young generation from the Sacred Lands. It was only now that some commoners suddenly realized the purpose behind the influx of so many talented individuals from the surrounding capitals. The native youth of Shrouded Heaven City, too, felt their spirits rise; after all, opportunities to make a name for oneself were rare. If someone happened to defeat a visiting master from the Sacred Lands, overnight fame would be their reward. And if fortune smiled and the elite families took notice, a meteoric rise was not beyond reach.

In this era when all pursued martial prowess, the Ye family once again entered the public eye, thanks to Ye Feng’s remarkable feat at the “Battle Frenzy” arena some days ago. Because of this, Ye Feng’s second brother, who now couldn’t step outside without attracting crowds, was forced to retreat indoors and stay at home.

………………………

It was a night more than a dozen days after that gathering. The moon was dark and the winds high—a perfect time for murder and arson.

A shadow flashed swiftly from the corner of an alley, body skimming along the walls of low houses, until it arrived before a mansion. Ahead lay an ancient residence, its walls built from mountain stones and coated in pure white. At the entrance, a giant plaque bore two characters: “Ye Residence.”

Entering the courtyard, the towering stone walls imparted a sense of tranquility and harmony. Vaulting over the wall, the interior revealed no gilded tiles or lavish decoration—its simplicity was almost unbelievable.

This was the number one family in Shrouded Heaven City, the Ye clan. The black-clad intruder was somewhat surprised at how easily he’d slipped inside and glanced around in disbelief.

He had lived alone here for four or five years. Jara had always been a loner, rarely contacting the capital’s other families. Yet days ago, his family—far away, thousands of miles distant—unexpectedly sent someone to find him. Their ultimate purpose was to shadow the eldest son of the Ye clan.

Tonight, Jara infiltrated the Ye residence to test whether the rumored transformation of the Ye family’s eldest, Ye Feng, was truly worthy of his support.

Jara, at sixteen, had half a foot in the realm of Spirit King—a cultivation so formidable he cared little for even the capital’s elite. If Ye Feng remained as useless as before, Jara would rather break with his family than submit to such a humiliating command and collude with a worthless fool.

He believed his near-Spirit King strength would make subduing Ye Feng with a single move no challenge at all. What he really sought was to see Ye Feng’s reaction after being bested. Lack of strength was forgivable, but cowardice was not.

Jara knew little about the so-called inept eldest son of the Ye clan. Firstly, they were not of the same caliber, and secondly, their worlds rarely intersected. Everything Jara learned about Ye Feng came from his family.

At that moment, in Ye Feng’s room, he sat at his desk, reading a thick dossier. This was given to him during the day by his second uncle, who instructed him to study it well, for those mentioned within would soon arrive in Shrouded Heaven City—many, perhaps, seeking trouble, much like Xiao Chong.

When asked why, Ye Tianya merely replied, “Because you represent the future.”

As Jara stealthily wandered through the Ye residence, Ye Feng’s dossier happened to fall open to the page detailing Jara himself.

It was said that this half Eastern, half Western heir of the Marquis of Southern Hero left home alone at eleven, carrying an iron sword, vanishing for three years without word.

At fourteen, he returned abruptly, entering the family’s upper echelons with a pride that outshone his peers, becoming the first among the younger generation. Jara had always been solitary; when he roamed the world, his mother was gravely ill, yet their awkward status in the family meant he had no means to seek treatment for her. When he returned, he could face nothing but her lonely grave.

Though he rose to prominence among his generation, he was forever haunted by his absence at his mother’s deathbed. Over the years, he suffered daily ridicule and slander from his kin, and had almost no true friends.

..............

Jara quietly surveyed the mansion; it was lifeless, not a soul in sight. He even doubted whether this was truly the city’s foremost family.

Inside, the Ye residence was dark; some corridors were constructed entirely of massive stone blocks, blocking the moonlight and making the place cold and desolate.

Silently moving forward, he crossed a path and entered a garden. At its center, before a stone table, a lone youth stood, gazing up at the stars, unmoving as a statue.

Before him, an iron sword was thrust upright into the stone-paved ground, plain and unadorned.

Witnessing this, Jara was startled. Before entering, he had used his spiritual senses to “scan” the area, but found no presence. Yet now, someone stood there quietly.

Jara swiftly drew his sword, adopting a stance of utmost vigilance.

“No need for that. I’ve been waiting for you here all along,” Ye Feng said, his voice ethereal, as if the world’s affairs no longer concerned him.

“Do you know why I’ve come?” Jara asked. The rumors were true: the man before him had indeed undergone a sweeping transformation, and his movements had been under Ye Feng’s watch from the start. All previous plans were now null; only his true intentions remained.

To enter the Ye residence by night without a clear explanation, even a silver tongue would not save him from being torn apart.

Ye Feng merely smiled self-deprecatingly, sitting at the stone seat and shaking his head in disappointment.

“We walk different paths, yet reach the same end! Were it not for this burden, I wouldn’t bother with you either.”

He reached for the iron sword and drew it, his gaze focused, almost as if the speaker was not himself.

In that moment, Jara felt the entire Ye residence vanish, leaving only intense helplessness and sorrow. Sheathing his sword, he came to sit opposite Ye Feng at the stone table.

Looking at the man before him, Jara’s eyes were full of solitary gloom, as if drawn by the atmosphere, and he murmured softly:

“In pursuit of a breakthrough, I killed my sworn brother with my own hands. My mother lay ill and I was not at her side! All this was for the ultimate martial path!”

“I began training at five, my meridians nearly half shattered, with no one to care. At eight, I plunged into the freezing river to temper my will, for I had no martial skills to train!”

“At eleven, I watched my frail mother beg each month for her allowance, and I felt nothing. I left home alone!”

“Again and again I failed, trampled underfoot. I grew used to others’ ridicule, for I held a dream in my heart. Back then, I told myself, you will become a peerless master, you will let your mother live as a lady of wealth!”

“But the more I learned, the more I saw, the more my dream shattered! Only then did I remember my mother at home. But…”

“When that moment came, I finally realized. In the eyes of the lofty princes and nobles, our fate is like that of ants. Even if the ant is their closest kin, it remains only an ant. In their eyes, we are all livestock, and their words are law. Their actions are reason. They have no right and wrong, nor need for it!”

“So I vowed, my fate shall be mine to command, subject to no one, not even my father…”

Listening to Jara’s murmured confession, Ye Feng seemed to recall his childhood in a former life. A smile appeared on his face; although he had no parents in that world, he had a master, whose aged visage was deeply etched in his memory.

“Ah…” Suddenly, Jara let out a wild cry, his golden hair standing on end. The iron sword in his hand seemed poised to shatter the very air.

“You… are unworthy!”

Boom…

With a sweep of his sword, the little garden was left in ruins.

Ye Feng retreated awkwardly, watching the scene unfold with surprise and cursing inwardly, “Second Uncle, don’t set me up! If he goes crazy and strikes me, what then?”

“After tonight, we can fight side by side!” Jara’s expression was fierce, no longer weary or despondent. He raised his sword skyward, as if reaching for the heavens.

For a long time, Ye Feng’s heart was a storm, finally calming enough to speak: “Why do you conceal your true self?”

Jara did not answer further, but gripped his iron sword and strode off into the distance. “To bow to others’ will is the greatest concession I can make. To rely on another, only if they win my respect. You are… excellent, truly excellent…”

Ye Feng’s heart was unsettled that night. He had thought it would be a simple display of bravado, but instead uncovered a soul so profoundly lonely.

He let out a long, quiet breath. Jara’s strength left him deeply satisfied—so much so that, should they fight, Ye Feng could not be confident of victory.

Standing alone amidst ruins, Ye Feng, like Jara before, gazed at the stars in silence.

“The people of the Sacred Lands are about to arrive. The true talents are only spectators.”

The next day, news of Jara’s nocturnal intrusion into the Ye residence stirred a storm among certain circles.

Some claimed they vaguely heard a furious roar from the Ye family that night…

Rumors swirled, spreading rapidly across Shrouded Heaven City. In a certain pavilion, Xiao Chong muttered in frustration, “How could this happen? I hoped Jara would give that brat a good thrashing!”

ps: Three thousand, three thousand—do I have it? I’m in the Three K Party, the happy Three K Party!!! As usual, last line—flowers and favorites, please!!!