Ye Fan arrived in Shangjing and went to the Ye Family estate. The entire family was overjoyed.

"Big brother, you’re back," Ye Langfeng said to Ye Fan with a grin.

Ye Fan was disgusted by this charade. Ye Langfeng clearly wanted him dead, yet here he was, feigning such enthusiasm.

Mrs. Jiang asked Ye Fan, "Why didn’t you bring Qingxue back with you?"

"Qingxue has been busy recently. Perhaps next time," Ye Fan said awkwardly.

"Make sure you cherish her. She’s the daughter-in-law I value most!" Mrs. Jiang told him.

Ye Fan had no choice but to quickly agree.

Although Ye Qingshan was still cheerful, Ye Fan noticed he seemed to be harboring some indescribable secret. It left Ye Fan wondering what could have happened to the old man. He hadn’t been like this before.

During a private conversation, he asked Ye Qingshan, "Grandfather, what exactly happened? Why do you always look so troubled?"

Ye Qingshan sighed. "Child, some things are beyond our control. I’m old, and I really don’t want to see you two kill each other."

"Why?" Ye Fan was shocked. There was definitely a story here, and it wasn’t a simple one.

Ye Qingshan continued, "Child, you shouldn’t have come. This might be a trap set for you."

"Are you talking about Ye Langfeng?" Ye Fan was incredibly astute and immediately grew suspicious.

Ye Qingshan replied, "You know?"

"I wasn’t sure, but he’s been acting very strangely. I’m certain something is wrong with him," Ye Fan stated.

Then, Ye Qingshan asked, "If you two really fight, will you kill him?" This was Ye Qingshan’s greatest fear. Although Ye Langfeng had disappointed him, he was still his grandson. He couldn’t bear the thought of either Ye Fan or Ye Langfeng coming to harm.

Ye Fan responded, "Maybe I will, maybe I won’t."

"Sigh... I never imagined you two, who were such good brothers, would end up like this. I’m truly heartbroken," Ye Qingshan remarked.

Ye Fan asked, "What is really going on?"

"The Demon Emperor is in Shangjing, plotting an even greater conspiracy. His plans must be thwarted. I don’t want Lang Feng to have any part in his schemes!"

Ye Fan immediately made his stance clear.

Ye Qingshan was shocked. Thinking about Ye Langfeng’s recent and rapid growth in strength, he wondered if this matter was truly related to the Demon Emperor. If that was the case, the situation was dire.

He hadn’t wanted to tell Ye Fan the truth at first. Now, however, he had no choice. The very survival of the Ye Family was at stake, as was the delicate balance of power among the great families of Shangjing.

So, he told Ye Fan, "There is something seriously wrong with your brother, and I’ve already discovered it."

He then relayed everything. In that instant, Ye Fan’s calm shattered. Ye Langfeng’s strength had increased inexplicably, and the Demon Emperor was in Shangjing. Furthermore, even Ye Qingshan was no match for Ye Langfeng. All the signs pointed to one conclusion: Ye Langfeng had made contact with the Demon Emperor.

At this point, Ye Fan said, "It looks like I’ll have to handle this myself. I need to know who he’s in contact with." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I know where that place is!" Ye Qingshan said.

"Good. I will hunt down the one who framed me!" Ye Fan declared. The thought filled him with rage. He had been framed once before, and now it had happened again. This time, he was determined to ensure the Demon Emperor met his end.

"We’ll set out tonight!" Ye Qingshan said.

Ye Fan nodded. He agreed they had to act quickly. If they waited and the Demon Emperor hatched an even greater conspiracy, it would be too late.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one. Besides Ye Fan and Ye Qingshan, no one else in the Ye Family had any idea what was about to happen.

The three of them moved out under the cover of darkness. Once again, they found themselves outside the dark cluster of buildings.

"There are powerful Martial Artists guarding this place," Ye Qingshan said. "Last time, I tracked him here but couldn’t get any further."

"There’s definitely something wrong here," Ye Fan said. "I don’t know the exact situation, but I can already feel the fluctuations of power from the Martial Artists inside."

At Ye Fan’s words, Black Fog sprang into action. Ye Fan and Ye Qingshan followed close behind.

An expert at attacking from the shadows, Black Fog took down the two guards on the perimeter first. With a flash of cold light, the two men fell, clutching their throats. They didn’t even have time to scream.

The three of them hurried forward into an abandoned complex. The interior was vast and empty. They pressed on.

However, when they reached a central clearing within the complex, lights suddenly flared to life.

The three were shocked, realizing this was no coincidence but an ambush.

They found themselves surrounded by about fifty Martial Artists. Several among them were exceptionally powerful, and the trio was completely encircled.

From the deepest shadows, two figures approached.

One was a masked, unidentifiable person wearing an impressive suit of armor. The other was Ye Langfeng.

Ye Langfeng shot Ye Fan a mocking glance. "My dear big brother, my revered grandfather, you’ve finally arrived. My master and I have been waiting a long time for you."

"Your master?" the three of them asked, puzzled.

"He is my master! The one who gave me dignity and power!" Ye Langfeng said mockingly.

"Dignity?" Ye Fan said with disdain. "The moment he became your master, you lost all dignity. As for power... the power you wield isn’t even your own origin power! It will shatter with a single blow."

"Oh, really?" Ye Langfeng sneered. He licked his lips, then turned to the masked man. "Master, let me kill him!"

"No. You’re no match for him. I will take care of him myself," the masked man said calmly.

He was mysterious, even eerie. At that moment, Ye Fan spoke. "Demon Emperor, I know it’s you. Stop pretending."

"As expected of the King of Heaven, the most outstanding genius of the Divine Dragon in a hundred years," the masked man said. "I hid myself so well, yet you still found me."

With that, the man removed his mask and cloak. Ye Qingshan and Black Fog gasped.

They saw that many parts of the Demon Emperor’s body had been grafted with steel and iron, making him look like Wolverine—no, even more terrifying.

"Shocked, aren’t you? HAHAHA! This is all your doing, King of Heaven! You never expected the technology I command to be so advanced, did you? When I jumped off that cliff, my body was destroyed in so many places.

"But you never anticipated that the technology I brought from the Divine Dragon would be enough for me to recover—and even become stronger! Just look at me now. How much confidence do you have in defeating me? I will make you understand what true, agonizing despair feels like!"

With a savage expression on his face, the Demon Emperor looked more terrifying than ever.