Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Mandate of Heaven.

 

“Damn it!”

In the Ye family meeting hall in Qingzhou City, Second Elder Ye Ao slammed the table and stood up, his eyes blazing with fire. “Eight hundred? According to the surrounding demolition prices, our Ye family ancestral temple is worth at least fifty thousand spirit crystals, yet the Treasure Pavilion only offers eight hundred? What can eight hundred do? I can’t even get a full bath with that—only enough to wash my feet but not my head.”

Another elder angrily said, “It’s the damn Zhao family causing trouble. Zhao Xiu is in charge of this demolition, and everyone knows our Ye family and their Zhao family are sworn enemies. They’re deliberately targeting us, trying to dig up our ancestors’ graves.”

The Second Elder’s expression turned somewhat ferocious. “They not only want to dig up our ancestors’ graves but also want to defecate on our heads, and it’s diarrhea they want to unleash.”

In the meeting hall, all the elders wore angry expressions. The Treasure Pavilion and Zhao family were being too overbearing, not just wanting to kill them but to destroy their spirit.

The clan leader Ye Lin’s face showed determination. “We have only one path left.”

The others exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. Facing such behavior from the Treasure Pavilion and Zhao family, the Ye family had only one option left: to make noise, to escalate the matter, to get more people and higher authorities to pay attention. The more people who paid attention, the greater the public opinion, the more likely the matter would be resolved. Of course, this carried risks.

An elder suddenly asked, “Who should go?”

One elder said, “Definitely not Ye Nan… he’s getting married to the Li family’s daughter next month.”

Ye Nan was Ye Lin’s son and the current heir of the Ye family, the most talented person in the Ye family in a hundred years.

Ye Lin looked at the elder who spoke. “Then who should go?”

The elder hesitated, then said, “Let Tianming go?”

Ye Tianming was an adopted son the Ye family had picked up from the roadside ten years ago. A fortune teller passing by the Ye family once predicted he had the potential to become a great emperor. However, the fortune teller went blind immediately after the prediction, which made Ye Tianming the laughingstock of Qingzhou City for a long time.

“I’ll go!”

A voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Everyone turned to look as a young man walked in. He was about seventeen years old, dignified in appearance and composed in demeanor.

It was the heir, Ye Nan.

Ye Nan looked at Ye Lin and the others, giving a slight bow. “Father, Second Uncle, and all clan uncles, I am not only the Ye family heir but also the elder brother of Tianming and Ye Zong. When the Ye family faces difficulty, naturally I, as the heir and elder brother, should be the first to step forward. Otherwise, how can I call myself the heir? How can I call myself the elder brother? This matter is decided, no need for further discussion. Tomorrow morning I will go to the Supervisory Court to report the Treasure Pavilion and Zhao family.”

With that, he turned and left.

Ye Lin’s eyes flashed with appreciation and pride. “Well said. Men of our Ye family should have responsibility and unity.”

The other elders also smiled. What does a family fear most? Brothers who aren’t united. How can a family that isn’t united, a family that fights internally every day, have a future?

After Ye Nan walked out, he looked at a small boy practicing martial arts in the courtyard and smiled. “Ye Zong, go to the ‘Great Way Bookhouse’ in the south of the city and call your brother Tianming back. Tell him that big brother has something to discuss with him.”

“Okay!”

The small boy wiped his sweat and ran out immediately.

In the south of Qingzhou City, at the Great Way Bookhouse.

The bookhouse had nine bookshelves, not large, but all filled with books. It was divided into two areas: the adult section on the left and the adult-only section on the right, forbidden to those under eighteen.

In the adult-only section, a young man was leaning against a bookshelf. He wore a plain robe with a dark belt around his waist, had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, and appeared elegant and handsome. In his right hand, he held a yellowed ancient book that he was reading intently.

At the young man’s waist hung a small tower on one side and a sheathed sword named ‘Xingdao’ on the other.

The young man was deeply absorbed in his reading. “Thirty-six types of Yin-Yang techniques, good, good, good…”

After saying this, he carefully examined the illustrations.

After a while, as if remembering something, the young man turned to look out the window on the right and saw it was dusk. He closed the book and turned to the right, where there was a desk with five ancient books and a pen. Behind the desk lay a man in Taoist robes, reeking of alcohol that could be smelled from a distance.

The young man walked to the drunk man with the book, placed a bottle of wine on the table, and turned to leave.

The seemingly sleeping Taoist suddenly opened his eyes, and when he saw the young man with the ancient book, a strange smile appeared on his face.

Outside the bookhouse.

The young man in plain robes carefully put away the book in his hand, then looked at the small tower that had been with him since childhood and smiled. “Tower Ancestor, if I ask you about my true identity, you won’t tell me, right?”

The small tower could actually speak. “I can only say, you’re right.”

The young man in plain robes: “…”

The small tower, seeming to know what the young man was thinking, continued, “Don’t try to guess your identity, and don’t guess about me either. I’m just an ordinary tower. I don’t have any extraordinary skills, no extraordinary treasures, no incredible system. I have nothing. You have to rely on yourself for everything.”

The young man in plain robes asked, puzzled, “Then what are you good for?”

The small tower answered seriously, “I can be your life guide, to light your path when you’re lost, to be the lighthouse on your life journey.”

Lighthouse!

The young man’s face immediately darkened. “Tower Ancestor, are you serious?”

The small tower said, “Yes.”

The young man in plain robes was truly frustrated, both of his eggs hurt.

He continued to ask, “Let me ask a simple question. The clan leader told me that the mysterious woman in plain dress who brought me to the Ye family told him my name is Ye Tianming. I want to ask, why am I called Ye Tianming?”

The small tower asked, puzzled, “Is there a problem with this name?”

The young man named Ye Tianming asked in return, “Tower Ancestor, don’t you think that the two characters ‘Tianming’ (Heaven’s Mandate) carry too much karma and make it easy to get beaten up when going out?”

After a moment of silence, the small tower said, “When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on someone, it first tests their resolve, exhausts their muscles and bones, starves their body…”

Ye Tianming directly interrupted the small tower, “You’re toxic.”

The small tower: “…”

The young man in plain robes stopped talking to the small tower and walked quickly toward the distance. After just a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked up. Several feet above his head floated a golden gas.

The Dao’s Luck!

When that strand of the Dao’s Luck discovered Ye Tianming, it seemed excited like it had found a treasure and fell toward him. But when it was still half a zhang away from Ye Tianming, it seemed to be blocked by something and couldn’t get any closer to him.

Ye Tianming also recognized it as a strand of the Dao’s Luck. After a moment of surprise, he felt somewhat delighted.

The Dao’s Luck!

A day ago, Yang Jia, the young master of the Guanxuan Universe, was welcomed back to the Guanxuan Universe. In gratitude for the hardships of all living beings, he scattered tens of thousands of strands of the Dao’s Luck to Wanzhou, available to those under twenty who were fated to receive them.

A single strand of the Dao’s Luck could, at minimum, allow an ordinary person to reach the Saint Realm, and also provided a spot at the main campus of the Guanxuan Academy.

Ye Tianming hadn’t expected to encounter one. Without much thought, he reached out to grab it, but he couldn’t catch it no matter how he tried. The strand of the Dao’s Luck was also trying hard to approach him, but they couldn’t touch each other.

After several attempts, Ye Tianming finally gave up. He looked deeply at the strand of the Dao’s Luck. Damn, was someone trying to mess with him?

Without thinking further, he turned and walked quickly away. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be; if not, so be it.

Inside the bookstore, the Taoist in alcohol-reeking robes had witnessed everything. He took a big gulp of wine and said softly, “As expected of the second person in the entire universe born with a mortal body. This small Dao’s Luck isn’t even qualified to approach him!”

Outside the bookstore, as the young man in plain robes reached a street corner, a clear voice suddenly came from the side, “Brother Tianming.”

The young man stopped and turned to look. Not far away stood a young woman, about sixteen or seventeen, graceful and beautiful, with exquisite features.

The young woman was smiling at him, like a flower.

Seeing the young woman, Ye Tianming was surprised and delighted. “An Qi?”

They had been childhood sweethearts, both harboring feelings for each other, though neither had confessed.

The young woman named An Qi walked up to him and, seeing the confusion in his eyes, smiled and said, “I was just passing by.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the ancient book in Ye Tianming’s hand. “You came to borrow books again?”

Ye Tianming hurriedly put the book away and was about to speak when an urgent voice suddenly came from not far away, “Brother Tianming, Brother Tianming…”

Ye Tianming turned to look. Ye Zong was running quickly toward him. Ye Zong ran up to him, grabbed him, both angry and anxious. “Brother Tianming, the Treasure Pavilion wants to forcibly demolish our ancestral temple. Come quickly, big brother is calling you to come back…”

He pulled Ye Tianming and ran. Ye Tianming turned back to wave at An Qi, and soon the two disappeared at the distant street corner.

An Qi watched them disappear, thinking of how Ye Tianming couldn’t catch that strand of the Dao’s Luck earlier. Her eyes flashed with complexity, and she sighed softly, “Too weak to bear great fortune, a person without blessing… you and I are ultimately from two different worlds.”

After saying this, the complexity in her eyes turned into a certain determination after making a decision. She turned and quickly disappeared in the distance.

When it’s time to cut ties, cut them!

On the way back to the Ye family, passing by the Treasure Pavilion Association, Ye Tianming suddenly stopped. He looked at the small boy, “Ye Zong, go buy something for me.”

As he spoke, he bent down and whispered a few words in Ye Zong’s ear.

Although Ye Zong was somewhat puzzled, he didn’t ask anything. He ran into the Treasure Pavilion, and in less than a quarter of an hour, he ran out again and handed Ye Tianming a bag.

Ye Tianming put away the bag. “Let’s go.”

Outside the Ye family ancestral temple, many powerful figures from the Treasure Pavilion were standing. They had given the Ye family an ultimatum: if they didn’t sign and move out within three days, they would immediately force the demolition.

The leader, a man named Zhao Xiu, was in charge of this area for the Treasure Pavilion. He stared at the Ye mansion, his gaze cold.

The Zhao family and the Ye family were sworn enemies due to a land dispute years ago.

Beside Zhao Xiu, a young man said in a deep voice, “Second Uncle, Brother Zhao Yu sent a message saying that a teacher from the inner academy of the school has taken an interest in the Ye family heir Ye Nan and intends to take him as a disciple. Also, that Ye Zong—our insider in the Ye mansion told us that Ye Zong recently broke through three realms in one night, which is very unusual. And that Ye Tianming seems to have received an internal admission spot…”

Zhao Yu was the most talented genius of the Zhao family now, having reached the Ten Thousand Laws Realm at just seventeen, the most talented genius in their Zhao family in a hundred years. Zhao Yu had not only joined the inner academy of the Qingzhou Guanxuan School but had also become the closed-door disciple of a very powerful and influential teacher in the inner academy.

Zhao Xiu asked impassively, “What does little Yu think?”

The young man’s eyes contained killing intent as he said softly, “If we act, we must ensure the Ye family is completely exterminated, not even an ant should escape.”

Zhao Xiu nodded slightly. “Understood.”

As he spoke, he looked toward the Ye family, his eyes showing not only killing intent but also concern. It wasn’t fear of the Ye family, but because that young man called Ye Tianming had an unusual relationship with the An family’s young lady, An Qi. And the An family was a fourth-rank great family.

But he had heard that the An family seemed to be interested in a marriage alliance with the Nanli family.

To be safe, he still needed to wait a bit longer.

Ye Tianming and Ye Zong returned to the Ye family. The two brothers found the heir Ye Nan, and Ye Tianming said, “Big Brother, about the ancestral temple…”

Ye Nan smiled. “It’s nothing, I’ll handle it.”

Ye Tianming looked at him but didn’t say anything.

Ye Nan looked at Ye Zong, whose face still showed anger, and smiled. “Ye Zong, didn’t you say earlier that you wanted to go outside and try your luck, to see if you had a chance to get the Dao’s Luck? How did it go? Did you see any Dao’s Luck?”

Ye Zong became angry at the mention. “Big Brother, I didn’t see even a hair of it. Damn, I suspect they’ve all been embezzled. However,””What if there’s no grand destiny? I, Ye Zong, can still become a great emperor and be invincible in this world!”

Ye Nan and Ye Tianming exchanged smiles.

Just then, an elderly man walked quickly toward them. He approached the three brothers, took out an invitation and handed it to Ye Tianming, “Young Master Tianming, our clan leader requests your presence at his residence.”

An Xiao!

The An family clan leader.