Chapter 3: The Fall of Father

  Looking at the small paper crane flapping its wings in front of him, Yang Fan lightly exhaled a breath, and his hand shot out a streak of spiritual light that struck the body of the small paper crane.

  A small paper crane shone with a bright green light all over its body, and in the midst of the flashing lights, a slightly aged voice was heard:

  "Come here, boy, and pay your respects to your master."

  The sound reverberated in the room twice, and the green light on the small paper crane's body rapidly dimmed.

  "Yes, Master, I'll be right there."

  Yang Fan spoke with reverence in front of the paper crane.

  In the next moment, the blue light on the small paper crane completely disappeared and suddenly ignited, turning into ashes in an instant.

  Yang Fan was unfazed by this.

  This paper crane is a low-level communication tool in the Xianxia world, and it's also disposable. Once the message is delivered, it will immediately self-ignite and turn to ashes.

  "Master must have found me at this juncture for tomorrow's 'Ask Heaven Convention'."

  Yang Fan let out a light sigh, glanced at the mysterious ring in his hand, and then stood up to leave the room.

  With his feet on the inferior spiritual tool "Qingfeng Sword", Yang Fan flew to the sky above "Yangjia Fortress" at a moderate pace, heading towards his master's mansion.

  Yang Fan's master, surnamed Liu, was the chief elder of the Yang family in Nanling. He had a cultivation level of late-stage condensing spirit. Although Elder Liu was an outsider, his strength was unfathomable and his relationship with the head of the household was extraordinary, which is why he became the chief elder of the Yang family.

  In flight, Yang Fan quietly gazed down at the Yangjiaao village shrouded in night, its lights twinkling.

  At this moment, in the entire Yang Family Fortress, the only one who could wield a flying sword was Yang Fan.

  Here lives a large number of ordinary people, and a small number of immortal cultivators. The Yang family is the ruler here, with a family history of four or five hundred years.

  Just as Yang Fan was flying to a certain location, a pleasant female voice suddenly came from below:

  "Yang Fan big brother!! Wait!!"

  Yang Fan subconsciously stopped and immediately judged the owner of this voice.

  "Yang Man, junior sister, it's you, and also Yang Guang, senior brother."

  Yang Fan fell from the sky, smiling and looking at the man and woman in front of him.

  That young man was about twenty-seven or eight years old, wearing a purple brocade robe, with thick eyebrows and a square face, looking relatively steady. This person is the direct disciple of the head of the Yang family, named Yang Guang, who had already cultivated to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining two years ago.

  Yang Guang is a cultivation genius second only to Yang Fan in the family, and also the most promising junior in the third generation to enter the Condensation Period.

  The woman was about twenty years old, wearing a white long dress, with a face as beautiful as a flower and moon, bright eyes like water, and skin as white as snow with a radiant glow. When she saw Yang Fan, her pretty face turned red, her eyes sparkled, and she couldn't help but rush to Yang Fan and shout.

  This girl is Yang Man, the daughter of the host. She was born with a beautiful appearance and had a good talent, and was admired by many young men in the family.

  Imagine, Yang Man is the daughter of a wealthy family, beautiful as a flower, and has good qualifications. If someone can become her dual cultivation partner, wouldn't that be a double gain, getting both a beauty and control over the vast Yang family estate?

  However, Yang Man's vision is extremely high, and ordinary people are simply not in her eyes.

  "Yang Fan big brother, where are you going? It's rare to see you flying with your sword within Yangjia Village."

  Yang Manxi walked over with a smile and came to Yang Fan's side, speaking very gently.

  "It's been a while since we last met, how have you been, junior sister?"

  Yang Fan had a pretty good impression of Dao, and for this proud disciple's junior sister, although he didn't have much affection, his impression wasn't bad either.

  As Yang Man and Yang Fan started talking intimately, he found himself left out, and a hint of imperceptible gloom flashed in Yang Guang's eyes.

  Most of the young people in the family knew that Yang Guang was pursuing the daughter of the head of the household, Yang Man.

  However, people with insight can see that Yang Man seems to have a crush on Yang Fan.

  It's worth mentioning that in the Yang family of Nanling, although many of the young men are surnamed Yang, most of them do not have a blood relationship. A considerable number of these young men were not originally surnamed Yang; they changed their surname after entering the family.

  For example, Yang Guang was an orphan from a young age and had excellent roots, so he was taken in by the master of the house as a personally taught disciple and changed his surname to Yang.

  For example, Yang Fan, he followed his father's surname, but his ancestral home was not surnamed Yang.

  "Heh heh, Yang Fan, junior brother, everyone in the Yang family of South Ridge knows that you're a genius. The night scenery of Yang Manor is already so captivating, why do you need to fly around in the sky with your sword, drawing attention to yourself?"

  Yang Guang's words were laced with a few threads of sarcasm, but couldn't conceal the jealousy in his heart.

  To know, a cultivator needs to reach the Condensing Spirit stage before they can possess the ability to fly with their sword.

  The entire Yang family village, except for Yang Fan, no one in three generations of descendants can fly.

  Yang Guang sarcastically praised Yang Fan for showing off in the sky, while also revealing his jealousy.

  "Right, I almost forgot, Master wants to see me about something, can't chat with you all anymore. Junior Sister, I'm off..."

  Yang Fan gave Yang Man a shout and then rode off on his sword, without even giving Yang Guang a proper look.

  "Goodbye, Brother Yang!"

  Yang Man smiled and said, looking at Yang Fan's elegant figure flying with his sword, "When can I enter the Condensation Period and fly with my sword, roaming the sky? What a wonderful feeling."

  "Hmph, isn't it just Sword Flight? Junior sister, as long as you're willing to diligently cultivate, in less than ten years, you'll definitely be able to enter the Concentrated Spirit stage."

  Yang Guang's eyes gleamed with a venomous light, his gaze fixed on Yang Fan's receding back, as a sinister and jealous thought flashed through his mind.

  "Ten years?" Yang Man gently brushed the hair in front of her forehead, which looked particularly captivating in the night. Her slender eyebrows furrowed slightly as she said coldly, "In that case, wouldn't I have to wait for ten years?"

  "Soaring through the skies and traversing the lands, this has been my dream since I was young. Now it seems that only Big Brother Yang can help me achieve this wish?" Yang Man let out a soft sigh, and in her mind, she once again thought of that carefree and unbridled, yet proud and unyielding senior brother of hers, Yang Fan.

  "During the Condensation Period, I must achieve it!" Yang Guang clenched his fists and revealed a determined gaze on his face. "Sister, rest assured, I can also help you fulfill this wish?"

  "What about you?" Yang Man smiled: "Even if there were ten of you, it wouldn't be worth one glance from Brother Yang Fan..."

  "Alright, let's make a bet. Give me one year, just one year, and I'll definitely be able to cultivate to the Condensing Spirit stage. At that time, Junior Sister, you must marry me!" Yang Guang said with a confident face.

  "One year? Impossible, if it were really possible, I might consider it."

  Yang Man's smile is as beautiful as a flower.

  ……

  Yang Fan arrived at Master Liu's courtyard without any incident.

  "Come in."

  Yang Fan had not yet spoken when the house automatically opened and a slightly warm voice of an old man came over.

  It can be seen from this that the old man's cultivation in the house is far superior to Yang Fan's.

  "Disciple pays respects to his master."

  Yang Fan walked into the house and bowed to the old man sitting cross-legged on the floor with a respectful expression.

  The old man wore linen clothes, with white hair and a youthful face. Although he was already advanced in years, his spirit remained full and unmatched, surpassing that of ordinary young people.

  "Sit down first."

  Liu Zhang's face was solemn, and with a light wave of his hand, the door closed automatically. Around the house, a powerful seal faintly appeared.

  "Master, what is this..."

  Yang Fan sensed a few unusual atmospheres, it seemed that the master found himself, absolutely not just for tomorrow's "Ask Heaven Conference" so simple.

  "This time, I've come to find you with an important matter to discuss." A few lines of fatigue appeared on Master Liu's face: "First, let me tell you a piece of news. Tomorrow's 'Ask the Heavens Convention', the 'Yang Family of Kyoto' will send someone to my branch in Mǎnán Ridge to select talented young disciples."

  "Kyoto Yang's family?"

  Yang Fan was shocked.

  In this vast country of Yu Yang, which spans 80,000 miles, the Yang family in the capital is one of the four most famous immortal families, with a history that can be traced back thousands of years.

  It is said that the Yang family of Nanling was just a branch of the Yang family in Kyoto.

  For the news of the mighty Yang family coming to Yangjia Village to select a son-in-law, Yang Fan felt very surprised and delighted.

  This seems like good news...

  Yang Fan thought to himself that with his own talent, if he performed exceptionally well at the "Ask Heaven Convention" tomorrow, there was a good chance he would be selected by the Yang family of Kyoto.

  Liu Zhanglao saw Yang Fan's expression and suddenly said: "This matter is not good news for you."

  "Why is that?" Yang Fan was very puzzled.

  If he could enter a large immortal family like the Yang family in Kyoto, he would be able to come into contact with more powerful people and also gain access to more immortal resources.

  "Tonight, I will leave Yangjia Village." Lao Liu's face showed a complex expression, and he didn't directly answer Yang Fan's question, but instead announced another decision of his own.

  "Master, you're leaving?"

  Yang Fan was stunned, then "thud" and knelt on the ground, his eyes slightly red, with a sincere face: "Master, you have treated me with great kindness in the past, why do you suddenly want to leave 'Yangjia Fortress'?"

  Liu Zhanglao waved his hand, and a formless force lifted Yang Fan up. He gazed at his disciple, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the sadness in his heart, saying in a calm tone:

  "As a master, I have to leave 'Yang's Castle', it has something to do with tomorrow's 'Kyoto Yang'. You know, twenty years ago, your father Yang Tian and I were sworn brothers. Ten years ago, your father suddenly disappeared, you once asked me about his whereabouts, but I never told you."

  "Master, are you going to tell me about my father's whereabouts now?"

  Yang Fan said with an urgent expression.

  It's been ten years, and I still don't know whether my father is dead or alive!

  "Your father is probably dead, and the Yang family of Kyoto is one of his sworn enemies. So, once you enter the Yang family of Kyoto, it's like a sheep entering a tiger's den!"

  Old Liu's voice turned icy when he mentioned the two words "Qiu family", and the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

  "Tomorrow's Qitian Conference, no matter what, you must not agree to enter Yang's house in Kyoto."

  "Before you enter the foundation building period, I can only tell you this much. When you have enough powerful strength, everything will be clear."

  "All right, you can go back now. I will leave Yangjia Village tonight to avoid bringing disaster to you. These are the grudges of the previous generation and should not involve the next generation. As long as you don't enter the Yang family in Kyoto, it's fine."

  Liu Zhanglao didn't allow for any discussion and immediately drove Yang Fan out.

  "Master... Master..."

  Yang Fan shouted a few sentences outside the house, but got no response, and finally had to leave dejectedly.

  Watching Yang Fan's departing back, Liu Chang Lao finally couldn't hold it in and dropped a tear, sighing: "I hope there will be another chance to meet again someday."

  Hoo-hoo!

  After returning to his own courtyard, Yang Fan was breathing rapidly and his chest was heaving irregularly.

  "Father... Father, are you alive or dead?"

  Yang Fan's hands trembled as his mind conjured up memories of his childhood and the father he had idolized.

  "It's all because I'm not strong enough..."

  Yang Fan secretly blamed himself, and his gaze suddenly fell on the mysterious ring worn on his right middle finger.

  A sudden surge of emotion in his heart.