Time flowed like a silent river, and in the blink of an eye, another fifteen years had passed.
Fifteen years ago, the Li family and the Su family failed to reach a resolution.
The Su family demanded punishment for Li Tao, while the Li family stood firm in protecting him.
To outsiders, it seemed unreasonable. Li Tao had nearly brought calamity upon his own clan, yet the Li family still chose to shield him.
However, the truth was not so simple.
Though Su Ye saw Li Tao as nothing more than a heartless scoundrel, the man had once saved countless lives.
His blade had cut down evil, his name had protected cities, and his righteous qi had stood as a pillar against chaos.
There were many who spoke in his defense.
"Li Tao would not act without reason. If he had truly committed evil, his righteous qi would have already turned against him."
Others scoffed at such words.
"Reason? He killed someone from the Su family! The Su family's heroic qi is known throughout the world. They would never falsely accuse another!"
With neither side willing to yield, tensions rose and things escalated.
War was right around the corner.
Only when the Shen family intervened did the conflict come to a halt.
The Shen family, known for their dao of peace, spoke a single sentence that settled the matter:
"Let the grudge between father and son be resolved when the child is ready. Do not drag the uninvolved people into this."
Faced with both respect and caution toward the Shen family, the Li and Su clans reluctantly agreed.
Yet underneath the surface, the conflict never truly ended.
Proxy wars were waged in secret.
Blood was shed in shadows and the grudge only deepened with time.
At the center of it all...
Was Su Ye.
For fifteen years, he never stepped beyond the bounds of the Su family. He remained either in seclusion or within its walls.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
What kind of monster could he be to make Li Tao attempt to kill him?
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Within a quiet courtyard of the Su residence, a plum blossom tree stood tall.
Its pale petals drifted gently through the air like falling snow.
Beneath it sat a young man.
Su Ye, now grown, had shed the softness of youth and stepped into the prime of his life.
His figure was tall and refined, his features sharp and almost unreal, as though sculpted by the heavens themselves.
His skin was pale like jade, his white hair flowed freely down his back, and his ruby red eyes glowed.
On his glabella rested the mark of a crimson flame trident.
There was no smile on his face.
Even without releasing any aura, those who glanced at him would now feel an inexplicable chill.
As if standing before something that did not belong to this world.
He wore a black robe lined with gold. It swayed lightly with the wind.
Not far behind him stood Xiao Lan.
Her long dark hair tied neatly with a jade pin.
As a cultivator, she rarely aged.
The contrast between the two were like the earth and the sky.
One was full of warmth, while the other was as cold as ice.
"Young master," Xiao Lan said softly, her voice careful, "are you truly going to face Li Tao tomorrow?"
"I have already done everything I can in these fifteen years," he replied calmly, "There is no meaning in waiting any longer."
He slowly opened his eyes.
"If I were a cultivator, I could wait a hundred years…or even a thousand," he continued. "But I'm not."
"I'm still binded by the limits of a mortal body."
His gaze lowered to the pond before him.
The water reflected his image perfectly.
A flawless face and a refined body.
After years of guiding the Yin Devouring Aura through his meridians in place of spiritual qi, his very existence had begun to change.
To the point that his features had become unnaturally perfects.
Su Ye let out a faint, humorless laugh.
"What use are looks?"
What he desired…was power.
For fifteen years, he had studied the Yin Devouring Aura without rest.
What he understood, he mastered.
What he did not understand, he dissected, theorized, experimented, and created new techniques.
And now, the time had come.
"I've prepared my own funeral," Su Ye said quietly.
He was confident that he would win...but still, there are things that could happen. It was better to plan for any accidents.
His gaze lifted toward the vast sky above.
Then, it shifted to Xiao Lan's wrist.
The Soul Gathering Orb rested there, faintly glowing, its gentle light carrying the final trace of Su Ru's existence.
"Xiao Lan," Su Ye said, his voice softer than before, "thank you for staying by my side all these years."
Though he did not turn, his words were sincere.
"You call yourself a maid, but to me…you've always been like my mother's sister."
Xiao Lan's eyes trembled, tears forming as she lowered her head.
"Young master…I'm not worthy of such words."
She wiped her tears.
"It was only because of Miss that I was able to step onto the path of cultivation. From that day on, I swore to serve her for the rest of my life."
Su Ye shook his head slightly.
"If my mother were here," he said, "she'd never call you a servant."
"She would call you a friend."
Xiao Lan bit her lip and nodded, unable to hold back her tears.
Silence settled between them, heavy yet warm.
After a moment, Su Ye spoke once more.
"Take care of yourself."
His voice was calm.
"Otherwise…my mother and I will be disappointed."
The plum blossoms drifted down quietly.