Chapter 3: One Move to Shock the Heavens
The air in front of the Spirit Library grew heavy, as if the atmospheric pressure had suddenly doubled. The gathered disciples formed a wide circle, their faces a mixture of mockery and morbid curiosity. To them, this wasn't a duel; it was a foregone conclusion.
"One move?" Ye San roared, his laughter echoing against the sandalwood walls of the pagoda. "Listen to him! The waste has finally lost his mind along with his cultivation! Fine, trash, I'll stand right here. If you can move me, I'll call you 'Grandfather'!"
Ye San planted his feet, his muscles bulging beneath his inner-disciple robes. A faint, earthy glow emanated from his skin—the Iron-Skin Technique, a mid-grade Body Refinement skill. At the 6th stage, he was strong enough to shatter boulders with a single punch.
Ye Ling gripped the hem of her sleeve, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Brother Chen, don't..."
Ye Chen didn't respond. He took a single step forward.
To the onlookers, it looked like a casual stroll. But to Elder Mu, who had finally cracked one eye open from his seat at the entrance, the world seemed to tilt. With that one step, Ye Chen's aura shifted from that of a mortal to a primordial beast awakening from a million-year slumber.
Ye Chen pulled his right hand back, his fingers curling into a strange, claw-like palm. The gray mist of the Chaos Dantian swirled violently, channeling energy into his arm.
"Heaven-Shattering Void Palm!"
Ye Chen's palm didn't move fast. In fact, it looked slow, almost languid. But as it moved through the air, the space around his hand began to distort, creating a faint, whistling sound like a vacuum being torn open.
Ye San's smirk vanished. Suddenly, he felt a prehistoric chill crawl up his spine. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to move, to run, to hide—but it was too late.
BOOM!
The palm didn't even make full contact with Ye San's chest. It stopped an inch away. But the chaotic vibration passed through the air and hit Ye San like a runaway mountain.
The "Iron-Skin" shattered instantly. Ye San's eyes bulged, the air was driven from his lungs, and he was sent flying backward like a ragdoll caught in a hurricane. He crashed through the heavy sandalwood doors of the library, skidded across the polished floor, and finally slammed into a support pillar fifty feet inside.
Cough!
Ye San sprayed a mouthful of blood, his face as white as a sheet. He tried to speak, but his body wouldn't obey. He didn't just take a step back; he had been purged from the courtyard.
The silence that followed was deafening.
The disciples who had been laughing moments ago stood frozen, their mouths agape. Ye Ling stared at Ye Chen's back, her eyes wide with disbelief. Even Elder Mu had stood up, his gaze fixed on Ye Chen with a piercing intensity.
"You..." Ye San wheezed, his voice trembling. "You... hidden... stage..."
Ye Chen retracted his hand, the gray glow fading into his skin. He didn't even look at the fallen youth. "I told you. One move was enough."
He turned his gaze toward the crowd. The disciples instinctively shrank back, terrified by the coldness in his eyes. This wasn't the Ye Chen they knew. This was a king returning to his throne.
"Elder Mu," Ye Chen said, bowing slightly toward the old man. "I would like to enter the library."
Elder Mu stared at him for a long beat, his wrinkled face unreadable. Finally, he nodded slowly. "The Young Master of the Ye Clan has every right to enter. Proceed."
As Ye Chen walked past the broken doors, he felt the Spirit-Censing Divine Sense he had just acquired tingle at the base of his skull. Most people came to the library for the scrolls on the upper floors, but his new sense was pulling him downward.
There's something beneath the floorboards, Ye Chen thought, his transmigrator's intuition sparking. Something the Second Elder missed.
He navigated through the rows of bookshelves, ignoring the Earth-grade manuals that others would kill for. He reached the very back of the first floor, a dusty corner filled with broken furniture and old ledgers.
[Ding! Detection: Host is near a 'Hidden Node'.]
[Location: Ancestral Vault Entrance (Sealed).]
Ye Chen knelt and pressed his hand against a seemingly ordinary floor stone. He channeled a sliver of Chaos energy into it.
Click.
The stone shifted, revealing a narrow, spiral staircase leading into a pitch-black abyss. A scent of ancient parchment and cold metal wafted up.
"Brother Chen?" Ye Ling had followed him in, her face pale with worry. "What is this? I've been here a hundred times and never saw this."
"It's a secret my father mentioned once," Ye Chen lied smoothly, his corporate-honed poker face in full effect. "Wait here, Ling'er. Guard the entrance. If anyone comes, scream."
He descended into the dark. At the bottom of the stairs was a small stone chamber. In the center sat a single, rusted iron chest. But it wasn't the chest that caught his eye—it was the wall behind it.
Etched into the stone were the words: "For the one who possesses the Chaos, the world is but a canvas."
His father hadn't disappeared by accident.
Ye Chen walked to the iron chest. As his hand touched the lid, the System rang out again.
[Ding! Detection: You have discovered the 'Ye Clan's Forbidden Origin'.]
[Would the host like to Sign-In?]
Sign-in!
[Ding! Congratulations! Sign-In successful!]
[Reward: The 'Great Seal of the Azure Dragon' (Clan Head Identity Artifact)!]
[Reward: 'Memory Fragment' of Ye Tianlang (Father's Message)!]
[Reward: Breakthrough to 'Body Refinement - 7th Stage'!]
A surge of heat rushed through Ye Chen's veins. His bones hummed as his strength multiplied again. But more importantly, a holographic image began to flicker in the dim light of the chamber.
It was his father, Ye Tianlang. He looked weary, his armor shattered, standing in a world of ice and shadow.
"Chen'er," the image spoke, its voice crackling. "If you are seeing this, it means you have awakened the bloodline I tried so hard to hide. Listen closely... the Azure Dragon Empire is not what it seems. The Second Elder is a puppet. The true enemy is..."
The image flickered and died before the name could be spoken.
Ye Chen's eyes turned cold. He gripped the Great Seal of the Azure Dragon. The "Awakening Ceremony" in three days was no longer just about his survival. It was a trap, and he was the only one who knew the hunters were being hunted.
"A puppet, huh?" Ye Chen whispered. "Then I'll just have to cut the strings."