Chapter Fifteen: Revenge

Once again, that overwhelming aura filled the air.

Ye Ran approached step by step, curling two fingers to signal Marce and Xu Nan to move aside. The two of them darted past Ye Ran and hurried toward the passageway behind, and for reasons unknown, the gold-eating ants on either side remained motionless. The bloodlust that had accumulated around Ye Ran from countless battles continued to surge.

Even though Atlas, gripping the golden spear, was startled, he didn’t lose his composure. He spoke in a low voice, “Ye Ran, are you here for revenge?”

Finding himself uncomfortably close to the cavern wall behind, and wary that fighting here might be disadvantageous, he quietly shifted a couple of steps to the side.

“Hmph, what do you think?” Ye Ran replied.

“Don’t go too far. Making me your enemy will bring you nothing but trouble. You’re still alive—shouldn’t you value that...”

But before he could finish, Ye Ran crouched low, and a gust of wind swept toward him.

Atlas’s heart skipped a beat. Ye Ran had released no visible force, and yet, when he attacked, the air itself seemed to crack under the pressure—a terrifying combination of strength and speed. Without a moment’s hesitation, Atlas raised his shield to block Ye Ran’s ferocious knee strike.

A metallic clang resounded as immense force traveled through the shield, down Atlas’s arm, and into his entire body. He braced himself, letting the energy surge within him to defend against the onslaught.

Powerful energy coursed through him, whipping Ye Ran’s hair backwards.

A fifth-level energy aura—Marce, watching from behind, couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. Such strength would not be considered weak, even among the elite classes of the Martial Spirit Hall or at Tyding Academy.

Yet Ye Ran possessed no visible energy at all. Marce couldn’t help but worry. In battle, the difference in energy could determine victory or defeat.

But what happened next was nothing short of astonishing. Ye Ran completely disregarded Atlas’s aura. With a sharp, whiplike kick, he struck the shield, producing a dull thud. The force was so oppressive that, despite his protective energy, Atlas was sent flying.

Atlas flipped in midair and landed, but before he could regain his footing, Ye Ran kicked his ankle.

With a muffled groan, Atlas dropped to one knee, thrusting his golden spear with one hand and raising his shield above his head with the other. Before the spear could reach its target, the aura around it grazed Ye Ran’s shoulder, leaving a bloody mark. Ye Ran pivoted swiftly away.

Atlas sneered as he rose, spear and shield at the ready, eyeing the wound on Ye Ran’s shoulder. “My energy far surpasses yours. With this superior weapon in hand, the fact that I haven’t silenced you already is mercy. And you still dare seek revenge?”

When a man has made so many mistakes he’s lost count, he no longer sees them as wrongs. In his subconscious, they become a matter of course.

A few gold-eating ants poked their heads out of the sand, but this time, they didn’t swarm.

Ye Ran cast a glance around, one foot tracing an arc in the sand. For some reason, the surrounding ants began to hiss fearfully and burrowed back underground.

Atlas’s heart pounded with alarm. What was happening to this man? It was odd enough that the ants hadn’t torn him apart—why did they now seem to look at him with such dread?

Ye Ran formed one hand into a claw, the other into a fist, and as he moved, the bones in his arms crackled, like the distant rumble of thunder.

“It seems you’ve grown used to stabbing others in the back. For scum like you, being devoured by ants is only fitting.”

With a bend of his knee, he kicked up a wave of sand. A heavy thud split the air as Atlas felt a suffocating force slam into him, crushing his protective aura completely. The shield rang with a piercing metallic crack as Ye Ran’s claw ripped a notch into it. Then, with two fingers, Ye Ran pierced straight through the shield and tore it in half. After that, a solid, thunderous punch crashed down on Atlas’s head.

Atlas screamed, blood spurting skyward as he staggered back, his aura vanishing entirely.

Terrified, he crouched down, clutching his head. Just now, he’d heard the sickening crack of his own forehead. For a moment, he truly believed his skull would explode like a watermelon.

Blood dripped steadily, pooling in his palms and seeping through his fingers onto the ground. His forehead felt ready to split open. He couldn’t summon a single ounce of resistance. Even with the golden spear, even with his energy far surpassing Ye Ran’s, he could not bridge the vast chasm between their martial prowess.

But the greatest gulf of all was the difference between a warrior raised in the safety of a cradle and one tempered by endless slaughter.

Drawn by the scent of blood, a few more gold-eating ants crawled out from the sand, but at a cold glance from Ye Ran, they burrowed back down.

“Ye Ran...” Marce called from within the passage, fearing Ye Ran might kill Atlas in a moment of rage. Such a turn would spell trouble not only for Ye Ran, but for himself and Xu Nan as well.

Yet he understood too well—given all that Atlas had done, if Ye Ran killed him, who could blame him?

Ye Ran seemed not to hear. He strode to Atlas and, in a low voice, asked, “Have you tasted the fear of death?”

Atlas gritted his teeth, fear gripping his heart, but refused to yield before Ye Ran.

“Hmph. Some people never understand. There are differences in beauty and ugliness, in wealth and poverty, even in status. But in the end, only life and death truly matter.”

“If you try this again, I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands.”

He turned, glanced around, then walked about twenty paces ahead. There, he crouched and dug out two bags, one large, one small, before gathering the scattered coins buried in the sand—remnants from the previous battle.

Twenty coins. He wiped each one clean in his palm, then placed them in his purse.

For some reason, watching his slow, deliberate movements, Xu Nan felt she finally understood the hardships he bore.

How much suffering lay hidden beneath his silent nature and stern exterior?

When Ye Ran stuffed her small pouch into her hands, she was still in a daze. From start to finish, even after Ye Ran’s figure vanished into the passage, she said not a word.

“Does he... still hate us?” Xu Nan’s voice was dry.

Marce shook his head. “He’s just proud. I’m sure he hated having to stoop and pick up those twenty coins in front of us.”

“I... I was too harsh with him before...”

Outside, dawn had fully broken. Early in the morning, a line of adventurers stretched before the entrance to the underground nest.

Old Liu was, as ever, bragging wildly and squeezing silver from the wealthy adventurers. When Ye Ran emerged, Old Liu’s hand shook involuntarily as he held a silver coin.

Ye Ran’s clothes were in tatters—little more than strips of cloth clinging to his body—but his face remained cold and his gaze just as piercing.

Amid the curious stares of the crowd, Ye Ran passed through in silence.

After a long while, Old Liu sighed, “Ah, fate...”