Chapter 15 The Sima Family Collapses Amidst Panic and Alarm

"Save me, save me!" Sima Chun, driven mad with fear, flailed his hands and called out for his guards.

But the man in black stood motionless, rooted to the spot.

"Master, those two warriors from the East are both at the peak of mastery. Even I am no match for them," the man behind Sima Chun whispered. "This Ye Tian killed them both with a single stroke—he terrifies me. Master, since this disaster was created by your Sima family, you must bear its consequences alone. I take my leave."

With that, he melted into the shadows.

"Liuyun! Liuyun, you traitor!" Sima Chun screamed in despair, crawling desperately toward the crowd.

But before he could hide, he felt a choking grip around his throat.

A large hand seized the collar of his python-embroidered robe. The stench of blood overwhelmed him; a cold blade pressed against his neck.

"Got you," Ye Tian said, his expression blank. Blood smeared his face, making him look like a fearsome revenant, a debt collector risen from the depths of hell.

"No, please, I can't die yet!" Sima Chun wailed, forcing himself to his knees before Ye Tian, begging, "Master Ye, Young Lord Ye, spare me! If you let me live, I will tell you every culprit behind the Ye family massacre!"

Moments ago, this old man had lounged in his grand chair, serene and dignified; now he wept bitterly, casting aside every shred of pride.

Throughout it all, Li Muqing sat calmly among the audience, quietly observing the scene.

In contrast, Lin Zixuan beside her seemed to have lost his soul.

"This—this—is he really that young master of Zhongdu from five years ago, Ye Tian?" Lin stammered. "He's actually alive? I thought it was all just rumor!"

Li Muqing shot him a cold smile. "So you've finally figured it out, Young Master Lin."

"Look, the one kneeling over there," she said. "That’s the so-called great Sima patriarch you praised for his composure. Want to go chat with him?"

At this moment, Lin Zixuan had no mood left to care about Li Muqing's mocking tone; he was struck dumb.

So, he was Ye Tian!

Lin Zixuan's memory drifted back to years past.

He remembered Ye Tian then: spirited, brilliant.

The Ye family was at its zenith, and its young master’s reputation was unmatched.

In business and catering, Ye Tian was innovative, conquering the market with unique strategies, never relying on family resources. He quickly overtook competitors.

In martial arts, he outshone all scions of noble houses. It was said that, while his peers lingered at the rank of Earth-level, Ye Tian had already broken through to Master-level. At twenty, he was two entire realms ahead of everyone else his age.

Some martial artists never reach Master-level in a hundred years—it was astonishing!

If not for that night, five years ago, when the Ye family vanished like mist, erased from Zhongdu’s history, his achievements would surely have been even more extraordinary.

Lin Zixuan had idolized Ye Tian in his youth.

But he never imagined that, five years later, the Ye family’s young master—rumored to have had his heart torn out, long since dust—would return!

And with unmatched strength, single-handedly wreaking havoc at the Sima family auction: killing the patriarch Sima Lin in a gesture, then slaying two grandmasters with ease!

Today, he had boasted and mocked in front of Ye Tian… Lin Zixuan suddenly felt his face flush, his whole body burning.

Utterly humiliating!

"No wonder Zhang Baiwei kept calling 'Young Master'—I thought he meant me…" Lin muttered. "He was calling his true master, Ye Tian!"

"Muqing, you knew all along?"

"Yes, I knew," Li Muqing nodded.

Lin Zixuan wished he could crawl into a hole, bury his head beneath the earth. He had strutted before Muqing, bragging endlessly…

All along, the two of them watched him like a clown, secretly laughing.

His image in Muqing's eyes—ruined!

"Like a heavenly demon descending, truly a god of calamity!" Unlike Lin Zixuan, tongue-tied and mortified, Li Muqing was delighted.

Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she watched Ye Tian sweep through the hall.

He was handsome and tall; facing his enemies’ stronghold alone, he was like a cat in a nest of rats—sharp and bold.

He remembered his family’s vengeance, but was not ungrateful to others. He dared to love, dared to hate.

He was humble and never showed off, only acting when necessary.

Who wouldn’t admire such a man?

By comparison, Lin Zixuan was riddled with flaws—useless in every respect.

Li Muqing could never like such a worthless man.

Elsewhere—

Sima Chun’s forehead was nearly split from his desperate kowtowing, yet Ye Tian remained silent.

"Ye Tian, for heaven’s sake, tell me—what must I do for you to spare me?"

"Spare you?" Ye Tian lifted his blade, voice cold. "Why should I spare you?"

"Don’t you want to know who orchestrated your family’s slaughter? Don’t you want to know why they tore out your heart?"

"Of course I want to know," Ye Tian nodded. "But more than that, I want you dead…"

But more than that, I want you dead…

The words echoed like a summons from the underworld, chilling Sima Chun to the bone.

Ye Tian hoisted his corpulent body, then looked over the remaining crowd.

From every corner, countless people raised their phones, cameras trained on the pair.

Meanwhile, journalists covering the auction raised their professional cameras.

Flashes fired in rapid succession.

"Are you really Ye Tian, the Ye family’s young master who was wiped out five years ago?" a reporter dared to ask.

"Yes, I am Ye Tian." Ye Tian pressed his blade to Sima Chun’s neck, gazing directly into the lens. "I am Ye Tian of the Ye family."

"Today I return to tell you all: the blood feud of five years ago, I alone will avenge it!"

"Today, the Sima family is your future!"

"To the so-called three great families of Zhongdu—I will visit each of you in turn. If you’ve committed wrongs, wash your necks and wait for me!"

As the words fell, a dazzling flash of the blade followed, then a spray of blood.

Ye Tian, knife in hand, placed Sima Chun’s head upon his grand chair, like a hellish debt collector, then strode calmly toward the exit.

Thus, the slaughter ended.

In the next moment—

Shocking videos spread rapidly across official media and private accounts, sweeping through Zhongdu overnight.

They carried only three vital messages:

Ye Tian has returned!

The Sima family patriarch and former patriarch are dead!

The blood feud of five years past will be reopened!