Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

Inside the temple.

The girl named Chuxue was clearly frightened by Ye Chen's stern attitude. She pouted, aggrieved, and her beautiful, limpid eyes seemed to well with mist, becoming hazy and tragically beautiful.

Her heart-wrenching appearance further incensed the two young men, who looked ready to teach Ye Chen a lesson.

Only the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes, watching the scene with a hint of confusion but saying nothing.

The other woman in their group, who wore a simple white dress and looked a bit older than the two young men, frowned. "That's enough," she said. "When you're out traveling, if all you know is how to throw your weight around, how will you ever temper yourselves?"

"If First Senior Brother comes back and sees you still acting like this, he'll surely give you a merciless scolding!"

At her words, the two young men looked sheepish. Though they weren't entirely convinced, they were still in awe of their Second Senior Sister.

"Speaking of which, the Dragon Prison Cave should have closed by now, shouldn't it? Changqing has been gone for so long. Why hasn't he returned?"

The middle-aged man stared out at the curtain of rain, lost in thought.

"Master, please don't worry," the young woman quickly reassured him. "First Senior Brother's life tablet is intact. The Dragon Prison Cave may be teeming with experts and fraught with peril, but he should be safe."

"I suppose so." The middle-aged man nodded, saying no more.

Beside Ye Chen, Chuxue's eyes were still misty. She seemed a little afraid, but she didn't leave, remaining rooted to the spot.

"You're still not leaving?"

Ye Chen still hadn't opened his eyes. He spoke lightly.

"We only wanted to strike up a conversation. Why must you be so cold and cruel?"

Chuxue gave Ye Chen a wounded look, her delicate and pitiful expression leaving the two young men in the distance utterly smitten.

The other woman, however, furrowed her brow. 'My two junior sisters seem a little strange today,' she thought.

"I have nothing to say to you."

Ye Chen, of course, heard the slight tremor in Chuxue's voice.

But he could tell with perfect clarity that it was all an act—her expression, her tone, everything!

Song Yubing sized up the two girls with curiosity, while Jie Ling's expression remained as cold as snow. She would glance at Ye Chen one moment and then gaze out the window the next, her thoughts unreadable.

Just then, Chuyu, who was sitting next to Ye Chen, suddenly made a bold move.

A strange red light flickered deep within her pupils.

Then, she slowly lifted her legs—a pair of flawless, snow-white limbs—and placed them right on Ye Chen's lap. She seemed completely oblivious to the provocative display beneath her skirt, her eyes locked on his.

"Wh-what..."

For a moment, the two young men in the distance were stunned.

They were a roiling mix of envy, shock, and anger.

'What in the world is wrong with the sisters today? Why are they fawning all over a complete stranger?'

The middle-aged man's brow furrowed. "Chuyu, what do you think you're doing?"

The woman beside him looked equally shocked and bewildered. "You two, get back here right now!"

Chuyu pressed herself against Ye Chen, her lovely legs swinging restlessly before him.

"Sir, why be in such a hurry to refuse me? I've taken quite a liking to you..."

Strange illusions seemed to flicker in her sparkling eyes, assailing Ye Chen's mind.

Ye Chen's mind momentarily wavered. He wasn't a Soul Cultivator, after all. Faced with an assault akin to a mental Illusion Technique, even he experienced a brief lapse in focus.

'This is bad!'

Jie Ling's eyes widened. She worried he might succumb to the illusion, but to her astonishment, clarity quickly returned to his gaze.

Ye Chen's gaze turned glacial. He was just about to make his move when, with a deafening BOOM, the rain outside seemed to explode. A moment later, several powerful auras descended upon the temple.

Before anyone could react, the temple doors were kicked open. Splinters of wood flew as a group of figures clad entirely in black, soaked by the downpour, strode inside.

The last to enter was a man with a sinister face and a full head of white hair. He had the appearance of a middle-aged man, yet his eyes were profoundly murky, as if he had witnessed the passing of countless years.

His entire body was shrouded in a faint purple light, and though the rain PATTERED down, not a single drop managed to wet him.

Ye Chen sighed softly. 'So much for a quiet night.'

'All I wanted was to get out of the rain, yet this tiny temple has drawn such a crowd.'

As the group forced their way inside, the sisters Chuyu and Chuxue had already slipped away from Ye Chen and returned to the middle-aged man's side.

"Hm?"

The first one to burst in was no stranger to Ye Chen and his companions—it was Li Kuang, the very man they had thrown out of the temple earlier.

Li Kuang's eyes swept across the temple before landing squarely on Ye Chen.

"Well, well, kid. Weren't you acting all high and mighty? So eager to be the center of attention?"

"Let's see you try to hide behind a woman this time!"

Li Kuang let out a sinister laugh, then turned respectfully to the white-haired man behind him. "My lord, these are the ones who threw me out."

The white-haired man slowly advanced, his indifferent gaze sweeping over Ye Chen and his two companions.

However, upon seeing this gaunt figure, the expressions of the middle-aged man and his disciples changed drastically, their eyes filled with shock and fear.

"An Elder of the Black Tiger Gang... Chen Lie?"

"Hm?" The white-haired man's expression flickered. He turned, a look of realization dawning on his face as a smile touched his lips. "Well, if it isn't Elder Yu Xiaoran of the Songyin Sword Mansion. It's been many years. I never expected we'd meet again in a place like this. What a pleasant surprise."

'Damn it!' Yu Xiaoran's gaze wavered, his face etched with apprehension.

He had never imagined he would run into someone as dangerous as Chen Lie here.

"The Songyin Sword Mansion?" Song Yubing mused. "I've heard of it. It's supposedly the number one Sword Dao Sacred Land in Xu Province and has produced countless talented swordsmen. The Master of the Songyin Sword Mansion is said to have power approaching the Fifth Layer of the Primordial Mansion Realm, or even higher!"

"Of course, Xu Province isn't that much stronger than Lei Province. For a true foundation in the Sword Dao, you have to look to the Xu family of Yuan Province. Now *that* is a true family of the sword, one that has produced some truly monstrous prodigies..."

As she said this, Song Yubing's gaze suddenly landed on Ye Chen.

'Then again, no matter how monstrous they are, they probably can't compare to you.'

She shook her head with a wry smile. The fact that a place like Lei Province could produce a freak like Ye Chen was simply beyond belief.

As for the Black Tiger Gang, Song Yubing knew nothing about them. Ye Chen, on the other hand, was all too familiar.