Ye Tian hadn't expected to lose control of his emotions, but the War Dragon Heavenly Arm was simply too terrifying. It was as if the power of the Dragon-shaped Mark and the Black Glaze Sword had been completely concentrated in his arm.
Ye Tian's cry startled Ye Feifei out of her meditation. Even the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python guarding the cave flew in quickly, arriving before him.
"Brother Tian, what's wrong? Why are you covered in sweat? What happened? Please don't scare me!" Ye Feifei cried out, her heart skipping a beat.
"Feifei, I'm fine now," Ye Tian said, looking a little embarrassed. "I just mastered a new skill and lost control for a moment. Sorry for worrying you."
Only then did Ye Feifei notice the screen of light in front of Ye Tian. She had been so worried about him that she had completely overlooked something so obvious.
At that moment, the screen of light slowly faded until it vanished completely. However, Ye Feifei could clearly see a dragon-shaped tattoo appear on Ye Tian's right arm.
The dragon pattern was so lifelike it looked as if a miniature dragon was coiled around his arm. This was clearly no ordinary occurrence; she was certain Ye Tian had had another fortuitous encounter.
Ye Tian himself was stunned by the dragon pattern. To think the Dragon-shaped Mark would transform like this! His arm, which had felt like it was being destroyed just moments ago, was now completely free of pain. Instead, a cool and comfortable sensation spread through it.
Ye Tian clenched his fist slightly. He watched as the dragon pattern slowly faded and then vanished completely, along with the Dragon-shaped Mark in his palm.
After a moment of contemplation, Ye Tian smiled. "This War Dragon Heavenly Arm is truly extraordinary. It can more than triple my Attack Power, and its might increases with my own strength."
"Brother Tian, what are you talking about? What's a War Dragon Heavenly Arm? I've never heard of it," Ye Feifei said, completely bewildered and hoping Ye Tian would explain.
"The War Dragon Heavenly Arm is what you just saw happen to my arm," Ye Tian explained with a smile. "It can more than triple my Attack Power. Even when I'm not actively using it, it provides a passive thirty-percent boost. Isn't that Heaven-defying?"
"An arm like that really exists? Brother Tian, congratulations! When you get into Linyuan Academy, you're sure to become number one!" Ye Feifei said excitedly.
'I know the dragon pattern on my arm has fused with my skin,' Ye Tian thought. 'The pattern will definitely appear when I use the War Dragon Heavenly Arm, but normally it's completely invisible.'
'My only concern is the Dragon's Roar that sounds when I activate the War Dragon Heavenly Arm. It's too conspicuous and will draw a lot of unwanted attention.'
However, a new piece of information soon surfaced in his mind, much to his frustration. The War Dragon Heavenly Arm was so Heaven-defying that its use came with significant restrictions. Otherwise, if he could use it at will, who could possibly be his opponent?
At his current level of strength, Ye Tian could barely manage to use the War Dragon Heavenly Arm once a month. The stronger he became, the more frequently he could use it. Furthermore, the technique consumed a tremendous amount of his Dragon Spiritual Power, with a single use draining at least half of his reserves.
The percentage of power it consumed was the same regardless of one's Realm; the only thing that changed was how often it could be used. If he reached a legendary Realm, he could perhaps use it anytime, so long as he had Dragon Spiritual Power.
'For now, though, that's a pipe dream,' Ye Tian thought. 'I'll probably only be able to use it in a true crisis, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It's a great way to play the fool to catch the wise.'
'The only downside is that I can use it so rarely. It's not as convenient as using the Dragon-shaped Mark in my palm with the Black Glaze Sword, which I can do repeatedly as long as I have Dragon Spiritual Power.'
'Still, with such harsh restrictions, its power must be immense,' Ye Tian mused. 'I'm itching to test it, but the thought of using up half my Dragon Spiritual Power in one go makes me hesitate, especially since I haven't even recovered my strength yet.'
"Brother Tian, what are your plans now?" Ye Feifei asked. "Are you going to stay here and continue your cultivation, or head back to the Ye Mansion? After all, Ye Hu is bound to find out that the Grand Elder is dead. If he knows your secret, too, that's a big problem. I believe he'd do anything to avenge his father."
Ye Tian hadn't considered it until Ye Feifei mentioned it, but now that he thought about it, she had a point. 'It's a definite possibility. Besides, with Ye Shixue's ambiguous relationship with Ye Hu, she might have told him my secret. This is a real headache. If I don't handle this properly, the consequences could be dire.'
"Feifei, you're right. This is tricky. We shouldn't delay; we should head back and see what's happening. The problem is, I don't know what to do about Ye Hu. After all, I promised his father I'd spare him."
"I'm a man of my word, so I can't go back on it. But if I don't find a way to silence him, my secret could cause a massive uproar. At that point, it won't be him in danger—I'll be the one facing a life-or-death crisis," Ye Tian said with a grave expression.
"Brother Tian, you don't have to worry so much," said Ye Feifei. "Since you don't want to kill Ye Hu, what if we just make him lose his memory? I know of an elixir that can make someone forget a period of time. The only problem is that it's extremely expensive and rare. It would take a while to acquire one."
"That's one solution, but I'm worried Ye Hu will leak my secret before we can get it," Ye Tian said with a sigh. "If there's no other way, I'll just have Ye Lin kill him. It wouldn't be me doing the killing, so at least I wouldn't be breaking my promise to the Grand Elder." He added, "But that would have to be the absolute last resort."
"Boss, that's not a problem at all," the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python said, flying over to Ye Tian's side. "If you want to make someone lose their memory, just ask me. My venom is extremely potent; making him forget a few years would be a simple matter."
Ye Tian's face lit up. He glanced at the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python and said, "Ye Lin, you can do that? That's fantastic! Time is of the essence, let's head back now. We can come back here to rest after we've dealt with Ye Hu. Besides, I'm curious to see the Qin Family's reaction when they learn I'm not dead."
With that, Ye Tian and Ye Feifei set out for the Ye Mansion with the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python. Along the way, Ye Tian repeatedly warned the python not to show itself to anyone unless absolutely necessary, to avoid attracting unwanted trouble.
After settling the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python in his room, Ye Tian and Ye Feifei went to see Ye Weitian. He told him everything about how the Grand Elder had tried to kill him.
When he learned what the Grand Elder had done, Ye Weitian became furious. He couldn't believe the man had dared to try and kill the Ye Family's most outstanding genius, and hadn't even spared his own daughter.
However, when he heard that the Grand Elder had been killed by an unknown expert, he was shocked. At the same time, he felt a hint of sorrow. After all, the Grand Elder's contributions to the Ye Family had been immense…