Giving Her a Hand

The night was deep and silent.

Yang Yuhuan's attempt to assassinate Ye Fan had failed. Her dense hatred began to blur after Ye Fan's words... It seemed that the mysterious man in the white mask before her was the enemy who killed her father...

But it also seemed that everything was as he said, so... who was the real enemy?

Her father, Yang Xiao, had mysteriously disappeared for a time before appearing at the Kongdong Sect... But this matter was known to very few, even within the Baihuo Cult.

Her father had always claimed to be in seclusion.

Logically speaking, Ye Fan's words were very likely true.

Yang Yuhuan's fair cheeks seemed to regain some color, a rosy hue appearing on her face as her full body trembled uncontrollably... In the cool night breeze under the moon, it seemed to grow even colder.

...

In such a situation, seeing Yang Yuhuan fall into conflict.

Ye Fan stepped forward again and released the Sunflower Acupoint Hand on Yang Yuhuan's body.

Seeing Yang Yuhuan's indifference, Ye Fan "reminded" her,

"You can stand up now..."

Yang Yuhuan "viciously" spat out the blood in her mouth, gripping the dagger in her hand.

Yet no matter what, she couldn't stab toward Ye Fan again.

Even Yang Yuhuan's fierce gaze gradually became gentle.

Assassinate Ye Fan?

That action had become meaningless, and Yang Yuhuan seemed to no longer have the confidence to try again.

Finally, the dagger in her hand was thrown to the ground...

Yang Yuhuan looked miserable under the bright moonlight, feeling as if she were naked, without any concealment.

Looking at the Hehuan Sect disciple in ordinary clothes but wearing a White Fox mask, her mind was in a daze.

"Are you pitying me..."

A White Fox mask, orange pupils... hiding a pair of black eyes within.

Ye Fan's gaze was as black as the ink of night, clearly filled with cold indifference...

But Yang Yuhuan felt a bit of... warmth.

...

Now,

Ye Fan leaned down and took Yang Yuhuan's small, ice-cold hand.

The moment he took that soft, cold hand, he could feel Yang Yuhuan's body trembling... whether from the cold weather or from fear, he didn't know.

Ye Fan slowly pulled her up, his gaze very firm.

"Some things, time will naturally prove. You can stay by my side to see... This is my greatest sincerity..."

Ye Fan finished speaking and stopped, waiting for Yang Yuhuan's answer.

...

Under the clear and cold moonlit night, in this foreign land, Yang Yuhuan wavered for the first time.

At this moment, she seemed to have no other choice.

Ye Fan's hand was not far in front of her, and he extended his other hand.

Yang Yuhuan finally, after many hesitations, reached out her other hand to grasp Ye Fan's free hand...

"I hope you don't disappoint me..."

...

One night passed, and dawn arrived.

The morning light shone into the ruined temple. Yang Yuhuan had slept leaning against Ye Fan all night.

Liu Baiyu seemed to have reached the moment of a realm breakthrough; last night, he had actually run to a pool in the mountains to cultivate in silence...

As soon as it was light, Liu Baiyu returned to the ruined temple. Yang Yuhuan and Ye Fan had both woken up.

For some reason, Liu Baiyu felt that the distance between Ye Fan and Yang Yuhuan had closed...

"Senior Brother, today is the match for the top ten out of twenty. I..."

Liu Baiyu felt immense pressure.

The ten great sects were not just for show.

Not to mention the old monk Yuan Jue at the late stage of Nascent Soul, even Daoist Zhang Yuzi of the Wudang Sect had entered the early stage of Nascent Soul, and Senior Sister Shen Mei of the Emei Sect had already distinguished herself...

The other disciples of the ten great sects had easily passed the first round and had not yet revealed their true strength.

In contrast, Liu Baiyu's Pre-Natal Third-rank strength was now somewhat negligible.

Ye Fan saw the confusion in Liu Baiyu's heart and

stepped forward.

Once again, Liu Baiyu's realm was raised by Ye Fan...

Reversing the Great Art of Star Absorption always wasted a large amount of power, with only a small portion entering Liu Baiyu's body.

Otherwise, based on the power Ye Fan transmitted, Liu Baiyu would have long been a Core Formation expert.

This time, Ye Fan's hand did not leave Liu Baiyu's body from beginning to end.

Liu Baiyu's realm rose like a boat on a rising tide...

"Core Formation!"

Liu Baiyu's voice was filled with disbelief.

Ye Fan waved his hand again,

"Now, your strength is enough to enter the top ten."

"I will do my best, Senior Brother!"

Beside Ye Fan, Yang Yuhuan watched the brotherly bond between Ye Fan and Liu Baiyu and suddenly felt that a Senior Brother who could be so respected by his Junior Brother probably wasn't a bad person?

Perhaps she had been moved by Ye Fan's actions along the way... Before acting last night, she had already felt that Ye Fan wasn't the real culprit, which was why she used such a foolish method to assassinate him?

According to Yang Yuhuan's original plan, she had wanted to use her beauty to enchant Ye Fan and then strike when he was most off-guard...

...

Below Jizhou City, it was extremely lively at this time.

The officials sent by the Six Ministries of Da Gan to assist knew the new emperor had ascended. Although they couldn't attend, they intended to organize the World's Number One Martial Arts Assembly well to win the new emperor's favor...

The sickly Third Prince, whose reputation was not prominent and who was even more low-profile in the palace than the Ninth Prince, had actually become the Emperor of Da Gan in one fell swoop, which was beyond many people's expectations.

"With the new emperor ascending like this, he will surely promote many new people, right?"

Many people were full of fantasies about this, so... their enthusiasm was even higher.

In the vast crowd,

Even the Blood Demon Ancestor had finally arrived at this place.

Thinking back to Da Gan's suppression of the great martial sects three hundred years ago, and looking at the lively scene now, he felt a bit emotional. If there had been a World's Number One Martial Arts Assembly back then, how could the Blood Demon Sect have fallen into ruin?

By now, the grand ambitions in the Blood Demon Ancestor's heart had long been extinguished by time...

The Blood Demon Ancestor sat at a roadside teahouse, using the money he had recently begged for to extravagantly order a bowl of tea...

Wherever there were people, there was no lack of storytellers.

Furthermore,

In this wilderness outside Jizhou City, countless martial experts were gathered.

The storyteller's saliva was flying everywhere...

The storyteller seemed to want to say,

"Although today's martial arts assembly has disciples from the ten great sects and the unexpectedly included genius Senior Brother of the Hehuan Sect, making it particularly special... in this old man's view, it lacks one person. Even if someone defeats everyone else, they cannot be considered the true number one under heaven."

The surrounding crowd shouted,

"Who is the missing person that has such great prestige?"

The storyteller stroked his mustache and said confidently,

"According to the news from my Jianghu Know-it-all, a year ago, there was a character from three hundred years ago named the Blood Demon Ancestor who once, with a single sword, broke into the imperial palace alone."

"Think about it, the capital is the vital center of Da Gan, the head of the dragon vein. The experts in the palace are surely the strongest in the world."

"Yet this Blood Demon Ancestor failed to assassinate Emperor Jing Tai but still left safely... To this day, the court and the ten great sects cannot find a trace of the Blood Demon Ancestor."

"This Blood Demon Ancestor is likely the one capable of contending for the position of number one under heaven!"

...

"Pfft..."

The Blood Demon Ancestor, who was drinking tea, suddenly spat it out and hurriedly wiped the sweat from his head.

...