Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Ye Hui, those were my fellow disciples. They were protecting the Ye family for me. Why did you kill them!"

Ye Fan's eyes were bloodshot as he glared fiercely at Ye Hui.

Ye Hui sneered, "When has my Ye family ever needed this rabble to protect us?"

"Look at the hordes of people you've brought! If I hadn't returned to the manor in time, I wouldn't have known that the Ye family's reputation would have been ruined by you."

Ye Fan: "Ye Hui! I know you've looked down on me since we were kids and never wanted to see me do well."

Father is the same; he dotes on you and my second brother, but he doesn't care about me at all. Now I've finally made some friends and fellow disciples.

But why did you so heartlessly destroy even this little thing!

Ye Hui snorted: "I think you're really sick. What did I do to bully you? It was just playing around with each other when we were kids. Is that bullying?"

Are you going to say that I smashed your wooden sword back then, but I was also punished by my father to kneel in the ancestral hall for it, and I also had to buy you a new one afterwards?

You've held a grudge over such a trivial matter until now, Ye Fan. You're twenty-two years old, can't you stop being so childish?

Look at the Duke of Zhenguo; he's already famous throughout the land at the age of twenty-two. Even your elder brother of mine, I only managed to reach the position of Grand Master through my own abilities, under the Duke of Zhenguo's protection.

Look at yourself now, what can you do besides yelling and screaming like a woman? Wake up, stop fantasizing about those unrealistic things.

Some things are not meant to be yours, and they will never be yours. Do you understand?

Ye Fan immediately sensed the hidden meaning in his words: "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Ye Hui's tone turned cold. "Third brother, you have truly disappointed me. I never imagined you would do something so heinous!"

Ye Fan's heart skipped a beat: "What did I do?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw a packet of medicine powder at Ye Fan's feet.

"This is silver-gray powder, a specialty of Sichuan and Chongqing. It can gradually cause the user to lose their mind and eventually go mad and die. You are really ruthless to dare to use such a thing to poison my father and seize the family business?"

"You're talking nonsense, I didn't!" Ye Fan denied it outright. "Ye Hui, don't make false accusations. How could I possibly do such a thing?"

Ye Hui's face darkened: "Do you still dare to argue now? Ye Fan, you truly have no respect for me."

But have you ever considered that even if you really did harm Father, why do you think the position of head of the Ye family should belong to you?

Ye Fan shook his head: "How could I harm my father! Ye Hui, stop making trouble!"

"Is it?"

Just then, a steady voice sounded behind Ye Hui.

Upon hearing this sound, Ye Fan instinctively trembled.

Ye Mo slowly walked out from behind Ye Hui, with Hu An and two guards, Ye Fei and Ye Kong, on either side of him.

Upon seeing Ye Mo, Ye Fan felt a chill run through him.

"Humph."

Ye Mo looked at Ye Fan and simply snorted.

"Ye Fan, what else do you have to say?"

Ye Fan lowered his head and remained silent, his spirits completely dampened.

Ye Mo said, "When you suddenly returned to the manor, I thought you had come to your senses, and I was quite pleased. I planned to recommend you to His Majesty for a government position."

But I never imagined you would poison my food, and I never imagined your intentions could be so malicious.

Ye Fan: "How did you find out? I poisoned him very discreetly."

Ye Mo laughed and said, "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. I have spent my whole life studying how to eliminate the influence of the sect, so how could I not be on guard?"

Your return is certainly a relief to me, but it also makes me wary. Do you still remember that sword sect disciple named Yun Shanhe that you brought with you?

That woman was a lecherous glutton. I only provided her with a few courtesans, and she couldn't help but reveal your entire plan to me.

So I decided to play along and send Ye Fei and Ye Kong away, and then, based on the toxicity of the silvergrass, I deliberately created the illusion of poisoning to mislead you.

And by taking advantage of the situation, they joined forces with Shen Lang to send you away so they could regain control of the Ye family mansion. Ultimately, your scheming is far too superficial.

Ye Fan clenched his teeth: "So, you're saying I had no chance of winning from the very beginning?"

Ye Mo sighed: "Sometimes I wonder why I gave birth to such a vicious son like you."

Ye Hui hurriedly said, "Father, why waste so much breath on him? Take him down quickly!"

Ye Mo shook his head and continued to Ye Fan, "After all, we were father and son. I won't pursue this matter this time, but from now on, you, Ye Fan, are no longer a descendant of the Ye family. Your name will be removed from the family register."

Didn't you always feel that the Ye family mansion was a cage hindering your rise to power? Well, I'm granting your wish now, completely setting you free. If you want to take off, then fly! I'll never stop you again.

After saying that, he chuckled self-deprecatingly: "A sparrow spreading its wings, trying to learn from an eagle soaring through the sky? How presumptuous of me."

Ye Fan's body trembled uncontrollably.

He really wanted to kill Ye Mo immediately.

But seeing the surrounding army, he knew that even if he succeeded in taking action, he would likely not escape alive.

"Fine, since your Ye family wants to sever all ties with me, then I, Ye Fan, will not shamelessly stay here. I only hope that one day you will not regret your decision today!"

After saying this, he glared angrily at Ye Mo and his son Ye Hui, then turned and walked towards the port.

Ye Hui: "Father, why not just get rid of him?"

Ye Mo shook his head: "Let him go. From now on, this person has nothing to do with my Ye family."

……

Ye Fan traveled halfway and, after confirming that no one was around, immediately summoned the system.

"System, I cannot complete this task. Cancel it."

"Host, are you sure the mission cannot be completed? If the mission is canceled now, your luck will begin to backfire on you, causing extremely serious consequences."

"I am willing to accept the punishment."

"Ding, host mission failure detected. 19000 luck points have been deducted. Current balance: 820 points."

The instant his luck was depleted, Ye Fan felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and he almost fell to the ground.

What followed was an endless feeling of exhaustion.

He clearly felt his cultivation level rapidly decline from the peak of the Innate Realm, finally stopping when it dropped to the seventh rank of the Opening Aperture Realm.

After adapting to the changes in his body, Ye Fan was filled with hatred.

He hated everyone in the Ye family, hated Shen Lang, hated the Empress, hated everything about the Chu Kingdom, for it all stifled his talent.

"Now, I am going to serve the Song Dynasty. Only the Song Dynasty is the right place for me, Ye Fan, to display my talents."

With my abilities, Ye Fan, transforming the Song Dynasty from weak to strong would be a piece of cake. Once the internal and external troubles of the Song Dynasty are resolved…

"I will then lead a million Song soldiers into the Chu Kingdom, forcing all of Chu to prostrate themselves at my feet in repentance and remorse. At that time, who will dare to underestimate me?"

Driven by a crazy thought, Ye Fan staggered along, continuing his journey towards Jinling Port.