Chapter Sixty-Five: Hidden Truths

The young girl said nothing, her eyes wide with a sense of grievance, as if she had suffered some immense injustice. Ye Feng’s face was equally expressionless; his tiger-like gaze was filled with expectation as he looked at the girl clad in black, and he spoke slowly, “I only wish to know a few things. Please, I beg you!”

At his words, the girl’s delicate body trembled slightly, then she shook her head in a self-mocking manner—whether she was disappointed in Ye Feng or for some other reason was unclear.

“Could you tell me about the Ye family?” Noticing the girl’s demeanor, Ye Feng hesitated, uncertain how to broach the subject. Yet at this moment, his mind was consumed by the conflict between his family and the Holy Land, leaving him unable to offer any explanation.

“Haha... I came here for this very purpose, to tell you…” The girl stood, pacing lightly. “Do you know why your Ye family fights the Holy Land to the death?” She turned, gazing at Ye Feng.

“Perhaps it’s a grudge accumulated over generations. Some enmities are handed down, needing no reason. Take me, for example—fifteen years ago, the Holy Land attacked the Ye family, leaving me an orphan without parents…” Ye Feng smiled bitterly, the loneliness of his previous life making it impossible for him to forget such hatred.

“Or perhaps the Holy Land is a Western power, seeking to invade the East, and over time, the hatred became irreconcilable?”

The girl in black did not answer his initial words, but when Ye Feng spoke again, she shook her head gently. “Ha! What has the Holy Land’s invasion to do with your Ye family? Not just the Ye family—even if the Holy Land sought to seize the Tianwu Empire, the royal family wouldn’t care.”

Ye Feng sneered, “What sort of nonsense is that? Others covet your country, and the emperor doesn’t care? Where would such a thing ever happen?”

“We are cultivators! What are emperors or generals to us, but mere titles? If the emperor of Tianwu truly cared for power, would he allow the nobles to control all the empire’s troops, possessing authority that could destroy the realm?” The girl shook her head, as if speaking of something deeply regrettable.

“Cultivators live several times—or even dozens of times—longer than ordinary people. In truth, they have little attachment to wealth or splendor. Yet the longer one lives, the more vividly one remembers old grudges!” As she spoke, the girl clenched her fists tightly, her voice thick with icy hatred.

Ye Feng stood quietly, the words spoken before him making his mind reel.

At this moment, he was wholly absorbed by the root of the conflict between the Holy Land and the Ye family, paying no heed to the girl’s expression.

“Long ago, the world was in chaos! The royal ancestors and several powerful factions, weary of endless war, intervened and established the Tianwu Empire.”

“One of those who founded the Tianwu Empire alongside the royal ancestors was a force known as the Illusion Clan. The Illusion Clan was born adept at concealment and assassination. The empire was forged through violence, and countless arrogant cultivators were slain. Among them, those assassinated by the Illusion Clan far outnumbered those killed in open battle.”

Originally, they intended to pass the throne to ordinary people once peace was restored. But then, the Holy Land appeared before them.

The royal family and the Illusion Clan sought peace for the world. The Holy Land, however, desired faith—only through division could faith be born.

Thus, another round of bloody conflict began. The Illusion Clan, being the most fearsome in combat, suffered the Holy Land’s most devastating assault.

After the protracted war, only a few hundred members of the Illusion Clan survived, hiding themselves far away.

Ye Feng’s heart trembled; he recalled hearing tales in his previous life, of missionaries entering lands, preaching their doctrines, offering small gifts at first—then plundering in earnest.

In that war, your Ye family was like the Illusion Clan, standing with the royal side.

Eventually, both sides retreated, ending hostilities. The Tianwu Empire was established on the Eastern continent, while the Holy Land withdrew to the West.

Gradually, the West came under the Holy Land’s complete control. During this time, two other great empires rose in the East. The Eastern continent came under the rule of three empires, barring the Holy Land from entry!”

But on the battlefield, countless heroes fell—how could there be no hatred between the sides?

The girl walked back to the grand chair, sat down and continued, “Conflicts occasionally flare up; over time, grievances accumulate, until now, when the situation is truly intractable.”

The Holy Land’s ambitions are not for the East itself. Their goal is to annihilate the royal family, the Ye family, and all who stand in the way of their doctrine!

Fifteen years ago, the Holy Land’s power reached its zenith. In the covert struggle, the royal side suffered grave losses—even three retired emperors perished. The Holy Land launched a full-scale invasion.

At that time, your Ye family had regained some strength. In the end, they fought to the bitter end, repelling the Holy Land.

But during the Holy Land’s ascendancy, they had already bribed some Tianwu nobles.

When the war ended, the depleted Ye family hid again, only to be discovered by these traitors…

At this moment, the girl’s face was filled with hatred.

Ye Feng’s aura suddenly changed—a chilling, sinister energy erupted.

“Traitors—who are they?”

There was no righteousness, no question of right or wrong. In his mind, there was only the word “enemy.”

At this moment, the scene from that rainy night flashed again in his memory:

His mother, crying and begging not to send her child away. His father, fighting alone against several Holy Land masters.

The images flickered through Ye Feng’s mind like scenes from a film—a Holy Land assassin slipped in, his mother threw herself in front of the blade meant for him…

His father, blood-soaked, howling in grief…

Two lines of tears slid silently down Ye Feng’s face, though a smile lingered on his lips. Those were his parents—the ones who loved him most…

Having learned so many secrets, he knew he could not escape; he would inevitably become the very heart of this storm.

As for why he was the enemy of the Holy Land, Ye Feng no longer cared. He knew only that he would soon unleash another massacre—the return of the assassin king who made all tremble.

The girl looked at Ye Feng, whose tears and smiles alternated, her expression complicated, and spoke again, “I don’t know who they are. After much investigation, someone discovered that the traitors communicated with the Holy Land using a fifth-tier demonic beast called the Cuckoo Hawk.”

After saying this, the girl turned and left. In just a few breaths, her figure blended with the air and slowly vanished.

“I just thought you should know these things—not everyone’s sacrifices are for the sake of reward…” Her tranquil voice drifted from where she had disappeared, lingering in the air.