Chapter 57 He is the one we have been waiting for!

A sword and a hammer collided instantly.

"Boom!"

With a resounding explosion, Tie Yang heard a voice echoing directly within his mind. His gaze sharpened as he muttered in a low voice, "Not good!"

Without hesitation, Tie Yang strode into the sky, catching the falling Tie Wuyan right before the astonished eyes of Lei Ling'er.

"Senior Sister!"

At that moment, Yun Yi hurried out from the billowing dust of the explosion, rushing toward Tie Wuyan.

"Senior Sister, are you alright?"

Yun Yi asked, his face a mask of tension and confusion as he looked at the pale-faced Tie Wuyan resting in Tie Yang's arms.

Tie Yang placed his palm gently upon Tie Wuyan's forehead, slowly circulating his spiritual energy for a good while before finally withdrawing his hand.

"Hah!"

Tie Yang let out a long breath, then turned to Yun Yi with a smile and said, "Wuyan is quite all right! She just needs to rest for a bit!"

"Yun Yi, if you have other matters to attend to, you may go ahead. Another day, I will have Wuyan come find you to play!"

Hearing this, Yun Yi finally let out a sigh of relief.

Having just accepted someone else's weapon, he would have felt terribly guilty if he had accidentally injured the giver.

"Then I shall come visit my Senior Sister another day!"

Cupping his fists in a salute, Yun Yi took Lei Ling'er and slowly departed.

Once Yun Yi had walked far away, Tie Yang looked down at Tie Wuyan in his arms, patted his own head, and said:

"Alright, alright, he's gone now, you can stop pretending!"

"Hmph, what's wrong with lying down for a little while longer?"

To everyone's surprise, the supposedly injured Tie Wuyan suddenly opened her eyes, gave a light leap, and landed firmly on the ground. Her face was rosy and completely devoid of any pallor—it was clear that everything just now had been an act.

"Uh-huh! Of course, nothing's wrong with it!"

Tie Yang rubbed his smooth, bald head, then asked anxiously, "Was there any response?"

Hearing Tie Yang's question, Tie Wuyan's expression turned instantly solemn. She raised a hand to set up a soundproofing barrier and said, "I can confirm for certain it is Yun Yi!"

"How reliable is this claim?"

Tie Wuyan looked intently at Tie Yang and replied, "The Ancestor has issued the decree!"

"This..."

Tie Yang's body stiffened abruptly. Even with his cultivation at the Golden Core stage, he felt a sudden wave of tension because he knew what that meant.

Tie Yang raised his head to gaze at the sky for a long moment before speaking with a complex expression:

"I am going back to the clan!"

Tie Wuyan looked with complicated eyes at the somewhat aged Tie Yang before her, hesitating as she asked, "Those old fellows... will they agree?"

"They wouldn't dare!"

Hearing this, Tie Yang let out a stern shout.

An overwhelming aura instantly erupted from his entire body, though it was reined back in the very next moment. Had Yun Yi been present, he would have discovered that this aura was actually far more powerful than that of a Nascent Soul expert!

"The Ancestor's command has already been issued. I believe our clan should also follow Yun Yi out into the world! We can no longer continue to cower in this tiny corner of the continent!"

Tie Yang's tone was brimming with dominance and unquestionable authority, forming a sharp contrast with the somewhat shy and awkward big man he had appeared to be earlier.

Tie Wuyan stared dazedly at the father before her. In this fleeting instant, she suddenly felt as though her real father had returned!

"Father... I'm going too! I'll go with you!"

Tie Wuyan looked at Tie Yang and continued, "I am carrying the Ancestor's token with me; those people won't dare say anything!"

Tie Yang lowered his head to look at Tie Wuyan in a slightly dazed state, because this was the first time since the death of his cultivation partner that Tie Wuyan had called him father.

Wiping a trace of moisture from the corner of his eye, Tie Yang's face broke into a smile of absolute resolve.

"Very well! This time, those old fogies will have to agree whether they want to or not! It's high time the Eastern family pays the price for what they did to Yumeng!"

At this moment, Tie Yang's face was painted with rage and murderous intent.

Extending his hand, Tie Yang gently pointed at the empty air before him. Instantly, the space in front of him collapsed into a void of pitch-black darkness, and endless gales of spatial razor-winds surged out from within.

"Let's go!"

Shielding Tie Wuyan behind him, Tie Yang stepped directly into the spatial rift with her.

If anyone were to witness this scene, they would be utterly astonished, because even a mighty expert at the Golden Core stage could barely last ten breaths within a spatial rift, yet this man was able to step right into it with absolute ease!

"Swish!"

With a soft hum, the rift closed once more, and everything returned to its former tranquility. A yellowed leaf drifted down onto the dust-covered ground. Autumn had arrived, and this place looked as though no one had ever visited it, save for the rhythmic, echoing sounds of hammering iron that drifted endlessly on the wind...

...

Meanwhile, in a certain secluded corner of the Yingtian Academy:

"Your move!"

With a low utterance, an old man spoke with a smile as he looked at the middle-aged man sitting across from him.

"Lost again? My mind seems rather scattered today!"

Hearing the old man's remark, the middle-aged man managed a bitter laugh.

"Alas! Another one has left. Is my academy really so unappealing that no one wishes to stay?"

"That is not the right way to look at it! Not at all! Although they have all left, the... the strongest one is still out there, and they will eventually return, will they not?"

The old man shot the middle-aged man an expressive look and said with a smile.

With a wave of his large sleeve, the chessboard was reset. Looking at the middle-aged man opposite him, he said, "You go first!"

Eyeing the freshly laid out game pieces, the middle-aged man gathered his focus, picked up a stone, and declared:

"I am determined to win this game!"

"You will. Aren't you?"

A soft murmur from the old man caused the expression on the middle-aged man's face to shift subtly.

...

Within the Yanhuang Jade:

Yun Yi remained completely oblivious to all these occurrences. At this moment, he was brandishing the sword in his hand, executing each stance and technique repeatedly, striving solely for greater perfection!

"I wonder when I'll finally be able to open the next door."

Having finished his sword practice, Yun Yi looked at the distant glowing door with a hint of frustration.

"Ah, right! How could I have forgotten about this!"

Slapping his own head, Yun Yi suddenly remembered and hurriedly retrieved the medicinal herbs he had gathered for body tempering.

Gazing at the mountain-like pile of herbs, a smile bloomed on Yun Yi's face as he immediately set to work.

Two hours later:

Looking at the massive cauldron filled with a bubbling green liquid that emitted a pungent medicinal aroma, a flicker of dread crossed Yun Yi's eyes.

As an alchemist, he naturally knew every single ingredient that had been thrown into this cauldron.

"Phew! Screw it, I'm going all in!"

Taking a deep breath, he looked toward the distant glowing door, determination flashing in his eyes.

Reaching out, he stripped off his clothes until not a single piece remained.

Glancing down at his physique, Yun Yi chuckled and muttered, "I'm actually in pretty good shape!"

"Plop!"

As his voice trailed off, before his body could hesitate, Yun Yi leaped straight into the cauldron.

"Hiss! Damn it! Son of a—!"

Feeling the intense, searing agony coursing through his entire body, Yun Yi instantly unleashed a string of curses, his usually calm face contorting into a ferocious grimace.

"Why... is it... so painful?!"

At that exact moment, Yun Yi suddenly felt that perhaps walking the path of body tempering wasn't all that important after all!

Sensing his body beginning to slowly absorb the medicinal liquid, Yun Yi hastily forced himself to calm down and began circulating his cultivation technique.

Time flowed on relentlessly, and the grand tournament was rapidly approaching!

...

"Yee-haw!"

In a place completely hidden from Yun Yi's sight, a joyful cry rang out, and a familiar figure suddenly appeared—none other than Qian Mo.