Chapter 623: A Similar Scene, the Aura of Freedom
As he spoke, Ye Feng sat beside Xu Yao, then filled two bowls with wine.
Looking at the fragrant wine, Xu Yao swallowed and said, “If you have something to say, just say it quickly. I can’t drink your wine until you convince me.”
In response to Xu Yao’s words, Ye Feng smiled and raised a bowl of wine, saying, “You can rest assured to drink this wine; there’s nothing else in it.”
“Garbage like Ye Xiong and Ye Xian are not worth me learning from.”
Hearing this, Xu Yao hesitated for a moment, then picked up the wine bowl.
“By the way, why did you admit defeat earlier?”
“Don’t tell me you like me; if you dare to say that, I’ll spill the wine on your face.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng took a sip of the fine wine and gazed into the distance as he spoke, “Letting you go was because I believed you shouldn’t lose.”
“To be honest, I really admire your heart that longs for freedom, and I admire even more your courage to challenge the world.”
“What’s there to admire about? Aren’t you free now?”
“I wasn’t free before, so how could I be free now?”
As he spoke, Ye Feng turned to look at Xu Yao. “To put it bluntly, within the realm of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, aside from the ancestors and the sect leader, my words are the law.”
“Sometimes, even the ancestors and the sect leader have to respect my opinion.”
“But even so, I still feel unfree.”
“Why?”
“Because I cannot find that heart I once had.”
Saying this, Ye Feng gulped down more than half of the wine in his bowl, then let out a long breath and continued, “My maternal cousin is a high-ranking maid, the kind of beauty Ye Xian uses to charm people; my uncle is an elder of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.”
“Their talents are not bad, yet I surpassed them and became the most talented young generation of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.”
“I don’t know whether to thank my d*mn talent or resent the innate talent I was born with.”
“From the moment I was born, I was the center of attention, then came the day-to-day training.”
“As far back as I can remember, I haven’t slept, always using meditation instead of rest.”
“Every day was scheduled down to the minute; when to practice, when to eat, all predetermined.”
“To prevent my top-notch talent from leaking out, there were no members of the opposite s*x around me starting from the age of fourteen.”
“When I turned twenty, in order to prevent me from having any psychological issues, the sect arranged for a woman to stay by my side.”
“After I completely fell in love with her, the sect married her off to someone else.”
Hearing this, Xu Yao couldn’t help but widen her eyes. “What? The sect arranged all of this in such detail?”
“Moreover, your beloved woman got married, and you didn’t resist?”
“Of course, I resisted. At that time, I made a scene in the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and declared that if the sect did that, I would commit s*icide.”
“And the result?”
“The result was that a more powerful prodigy from the sect stepped up, beat me up, and told me while standing on my head that strength decides everything, and what qualification do I have to negotiate with the sect?”
“From then on, I realized that the resistance of an ant is meaningless, so I trained hard and then walked the path of the prodigy.”
Facing Ye Feng’s words, Xu Yao thought for a moment and said, “There’s one thing I still can’t understand: why did the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect deliberately arrange for a woman to approach you?”
“What if it backfires? The sect would truly lose such a prodigy like you.”
“It’s inevitable; you should know about Ye Xian.”
“I know.”
“Ye Xian isn’t naturally inclined towards men; he likes them because of his environment.”
This made Xu Yao dumbfounded. “Could such a thing happen?”
“Of course, Ye Xian was a pretty good candidate back then, but due to the sect’s excessive training, he ended up wasted.”
“And this kind of thing is common in large sects.”
“To prevent such situations from occurring, the sect often arranges similar tests.”
“What about your parents?”
“With the sect treating you this way, don’t your parents care?”
“They have no time to care for me. Ever since I was born, their status has risen.”
“To improve their status, they forced themselves to have children, hoping to give birth to another prodigy like me.”
“Unfortunately, all my younger siblings are inferior to me.”
“Ten years ago, when I went out, they were killed by enemies.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Yao looked at Ye Feng in confusion. “This explanation sounds a bit perfunctory. The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect has a great reputation; who would dare to k*ll someone from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect?”
“It couldn’t have been revenge; it was just internal strife within the sect.”
“After I gained a voice in the sect, I avenged them, which can be considered my duty as a son.”
“To be honest, when I was younger, the thing I wanted to do the most was to sleep soundly.”
“When I became the number one prodigy in the sect, I used the excuse of closed-door training to sleep for three days and three nights.”
“When I woke up, I found that I had already become one of them, and I could no longer find that heart I once had.”
After he finished speaking, Ye Feng raised his head and drank the rest of the wine in his bowl.
Seeing this, Xu Yao hesitated for a moment, but still downed her drink.
“Is that why you admitted defeat during the competition?”
“Indeed.”
“The aura of freedom you possess awakened the dead heart within me.”
“In the competition, I could indeed defeat you, but what would I gain from defeating you?”
“That lifeless body is not what I want.”
“By defeating you, I would also be defeating the former me.”
“Rather than that, I might as well fulfill you, for fulfilling you is equivalent to fulfilling the former me.”
“And besides, when encountering an interesting woman, one should have a bit of gentlemanly demeanor, right?”
Upon hearing this, Xu Yao’s face darkened as she downed another bowl of wine.
“You were having such a good chat, yet you brought this up again. How disappointing!”
“Pursuing the woman you like isn’t something shameful; what’s wrong with mentioning it?”
“Do you know why so many prodigies are infatuated with you?”
“Your talents are indeed good, but it doesn’t warrant everyone losing face like this in the competition.”
“What truly attracts them is the freedom you exude.”
“Being able to pursue what you like without the hindrance of the sect is a dream many desire.”
Hearing this, Xu Yao casually said, “With the sect restricting you like this, haven’t you thought about changing it all?”
“Of course I’ve thought about it, but it takes time.”
“This situation has been deeply rooted for a long time; changing it utterly is not something that can be accomplished overnight.”
“To change it in a short period, I would need to completely overthrow the sect. I don’t want to be a traitor; after all, the sect raised me.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Yao, who was about to drink, froze.
She realized that this scene was quite familiar.
Once upon a time, Nangong Xing resembled Ye Feng today.
