Ancient Desolate City, Ye Clan.
“I absolutely refuse!”
In the grand hall of the Ye family, the clan leader Ye Xiao glared furiously at the youth before him. “You want to resign as Young Patriarch? Let me tell you, you can forget that idea right now!”
The youth wore a bitter expression and said helplessly, “Clan Leader, my cultivation is completely gone. I am truly no longer fit to remain the heir of our Ye family!”
Ye Xiao gave a low sigh, then softened his tone. “Little one, from the age of twelve you began helping the family fight for spirit mines. Up to now, you have won thirty-six spirit mines for us. Thirty-six! Even at the peak of our ancestors’ era, they only had nine. Yet you secured twenty-seven more for the Ye family! It would be fair to say that everything our Ye family enjoys today is thanks to you. Though your cultivation is lost now, you are still our greatest contributor! If I stripped you of the heir position at this moment, it would chill the hearts of every Ye clansman. Other great families would scorn us, saying the Ye clan discards the mule once it has ground the grain, calling me Ye Xiao heartless and cruel!”
The youth said earnestly, “Clan Leader, without cultivation I cannot shoulder great responsibility. Please grant my wish and let me lie low for a while!”
Ye Xiao smiled faintly. “As for cultivation, do not worry. Take your time. The Ye family will wait for you, no matter how long it takes!”
The youth was left speechless and helpless.
After the youth departed, Ye Xiao watched his retreating back, worry flickering in his eyes.
The loss of the youth’s cultivation weighed heavily upon him as well.
…
Not long after leaving the hall, two men approached from afar.
The leading man in white hurried forward upon seeing the youth and gave a slight bow. “Brother Ye Guan!”
The youth named Ye Guan gathered his thoughts and smiled. “Brother Ye Qing. Hmm… you’ve already reached the peak of the Ninth Realm?”
Ye Qing laughed. “Yes!”
Ye Guan suddenly said, “Why don’t you become the heir instead?”
Ye Qing jumped in fright and quickly replied, “No, no! Brother Ye Guan, you mustn’t joke about that!”
Ye Guan spoke seriously. “Both you and Brother Ye Mian are now at the peak of the Ninth Realm. Breaking through to the Innate Realm should not be difficult for either of you. You would both be fully qualified to become the heir!”
Ye Qing shook his head repeatedly and waved his hands. “Brother Ye Guan, I know you are discouraged because your cultivation suddenly vanished. As your younger brother, allow me to say something: life always has peaks and valleys. Do not lose yourself in good times, and endure the test in hard times. I believe that one day you will soar through the nine heavens once more! As for becoming the heir, please never mention it again. If word got out, outsiders would think the brothers of our Ye family are at odds!”
Ye Guan sighed again.
After Ye Guan left, the man beside Ye Qing said in a low voice, “Brother Ye Qing, you could perfectly well become the heir!”
Ye Qing shook his head. “The moment Brother Ye Guan falls on hard times, I step forward to trample him? How would the clan brothers view me then? How would the Clan Leader and the elders view me?”
He gazed at Ye Guan’s distant figure and murmured, “Besides, do you really think he will never rise again?”
The man hesitated, then said, “But I heard that Ye Mian and his grandfather are planning something!”
Ye Qing’s expression remained calm. “He has guts. If he succeeds, we will all have to call him Brother Ye Mian from then on!”
The man asked, “And if he fails?”
Ye Qing replied lightly, “The whole family feasts!”
The man: “…”
Ye Qing glanced at him and said, “Next time you see Brother Ye Guan, show some respect. When he was at his peak, we did not lick his boots. Now that he is in the valley, we certainly do not kick him while he’s down.”
The man nodded slightly. “Understood!”
…
After leaving the Ye clan, Ye Guan headed straight for the Nalan clan.
To break off the engagement!
He had a marriage contract with the Nalan clan’s young lady, Nalan Jia, arranged long ago by both families.
Now that his cultivation was completely gone and he had become an ordinary person, he refused to hold her back any longer.
Soon, Ye Guan arrived at the Nalan clan.
Inside a grand hall, Ye Guan sat quietly.
At that moment, a woman slowly walked in.
Nalan Jia wore a spotless white dress. Her beauty was breathtaking, especially her figure, curvaceous and alluring, enough to make any man lose himself.
In her hand she held an ancient scroll.
Nalan Jia!
North of South Continent, the most beautiful of the Nalan clan.
One of the two great beauties of South Continent!
Beside her followed a black-robed elder.
Nalan Jia suddenly sat down opposite Ye Guan. He hurriedly placed the betrothal document before her. “Lady Nalan, I have come to dissolve our engagement! Rest assured, I, Ye Guan, know my own worth. I will never cling shamelessly. Here is the document. From this day forward, we each go our separate ways in peace!”
With that, he set down the document and turned to leave.
Nalan Jia suddenly called, “Wait!”
Ye Guan paused, turned back, and looked at her in puzzlement.
Nalan Jia produced a small box and handed it to him.
Ye Guan was confused.
Nalan Jia said, “Inside the box is a Primordial Chaos Pill. I do not know exactly what happened to your body, but I hope it can help you!”
“Young Miss!”
The black-robed elder beside her paled instantly. “This Spirit-grade Primordial Chaos Pill was given to you by Tutor Fei for your own cultivation. Even within the Guanxuan Academy it is extremely rare. You…”
Nalan Jia glanced at the elder, and his face immediately turned ugly. He dared not speak further.
Ye Guan stared at the box, stunned.
Spirit-grade!
Pills were ranked from first to ninth grade. Above ninth grade were Human-grade, and above Human-grade were Spirit-grade. A single Spirit-grade pill was worth at least twenty thousand spirit crystals.
As the heir, his monthly stipend from the Ye estate was only one hundred spirit crystals!
A Spirit-grade pill worth twenty thousand was truly priceless!
Ye Guan looked at the box in disbelief.
Nalan Jia suddenly placed the betrothal document into his hands and said softly, “If this pill proves useless, I will take you to Guanxuan Academy and ask my tutor to examine your body personally!”
Ye Guan hesitated, then said, “Lady Nalan, this…”
Nalan Jia looked at him and smiled. “Keep going!”
With that, she rose and left.
Ye Guan stared at the betrothal document in his hands for a long, long time.
Inside the inner hall.
The black-robed elder wore a dark expression. “Young Miss, why did you refuse him? He has lost his cultivation and is now an ordinary person. Moreover, I hear he is about to be expelled from Guanxuan Academy. Once expelled, he will have no value whatsoever, and the Ye clan will surely abandon him. But you are different. You have become Tutor Fei’s personal disciple and awakened the legendary Holy Spirit Physique of the Year. In future you may even become the chief student of Guanxuan Academy! You and he are simply not of the same world! You…”
Nalan Jia suddenly spun around and slapped him.
Smack!
A crisp slap rang out, and the right side of the black-robed elder’s face instantly swelled red!
The elder stared in shock. “Young Miss…”
Nalan Jia glanced toward the Ye residence, her gaze resolute. “Even if he has merely lost his cultivation, even if he lost his manhood, I, Nalan Jia, will still marry him. If he is the man, I lie beneath. If he is the woman, I take the top. At worst we just grind! Top or bottom, I can do either!”
The black-robed elder grew frantic. “Young Miss, what do you even see in him?!”
Nalan Jia glanced at the elder. “He’s handsome and amazing in bed!”
With that, she turned and walked away!
The black-robed elder froze, utterly dumbfounded.
…
Back in his courtyard, Ye Guan entered his room, sat cross-legged on the floor, and took out a small black pagoda.
He placed his hands over his chest. Soon, the spiritual energy around him began slowly flowing toward him, but the moment it entered his body, it vanished completely instead of being absorbed.
After a long while, Ye Guan opened his eyes, somewhat nervous. “Tower Master, is that enough?”
A moment later, the small pagoda replied, “Enough!”
Ye Guan asked excitedly, “Tower Master, does that mean I can restore my cultivation?”
A month ago his cultivation had suddenly disappeared. He later learned it was because of this small pagoda. The pagoda had told him to keep cultivating daily to feed it profound energy, and when it awoke there would be great benefits.
Of course, he cared nothing for benefits. He only wanted this thing to let him return to normal quickly, otherwise the pressure was immense!
The reason he had tried to resign as heir and dissolve the engagement was simply to lie low for a while. There were plenty of people in the Ye clan who coveted the heir position, and Nalan Jia’s suitors could form a queue from the south of South Continent to the north!
He could already imagine the troubles awaiting him.
Most importantly, he had no idea how much longer this pagoda would keep draining his profound energy! What if it took a year or two…
So he wanted to keep a low profile and develop quietly.
Yet now he had failed to resign as heir and failed to dissolve the engagement!
The pressure was enormous!
At that very moment, the black pagoda suddenly trembled violently. The next instant, a terrifying force sucked Ye Guan inside!
The world spun wildly before his eyes. When it steadied, he found himself in a vast starry sky, boundless and infinite.
Ye Guan was stunned.
Then, at the end of the starry river, a rift tore open. A sword flew forth from the deepest reaches of the cosmos. Wherever it passed, the starry river churned and then, bit by bit, fell silent and died.
Seeing this, Ye Guan’s face changed dramatically.
Damn it!
I wanted to lie low, not die!
He turned to flee, but at that instant the sword plunged straight into his brow!
Boom!
Ye Guan’s body shook violently and froze in place!
Then, at the end of the extinguished starry river, he saw a woman!
The woman had long hair flowing over her shoulders and wore a plain dress. Her gaze was indifferent, as if all living beings were mere ants.
The woman in the plain dress looked at Ye Guan. “From this moment on, I shall be your guardian. Any objections?”
As her words fell, a sword pressed against his forehead.
Ye Guan’s expression stiffened. “N… none…”
The woman turned toward the end of the universe. The next moment, countless blood-red runes slowly drifted down from that distant edge. The entire cosmic starry river burned.
Each blood-red rune represented a supreme Great Dao!
Countless Great Daos perished at this instant!
The woman in the plain dress walked step by step toward those falling Great Daos. As she walked, her plain dress gradually turned blood-red…
At the very end of those myriad Great Daos, the faint outline of a man could be seen lying quietly, eyes lightly closed, all signs of life gone…
…
After an unknown length of time, Ye Guan suddenly opened his eyes.
He was now on a seashore. Beside him lay a sword. On its hilt were carved two words: Execute Dao!
At that moment a voice rang out from all around. “Awake?”
Ye Guan quickly replied, “Tower Master!”
The small pagoda said, “You are inside my world! Ten years here equal one day outside!”
Ye Guan was astonished. “That tower world?”
The small pagoda answered, “Yes!”
Ye Guan was about to speak when the pagoda said softly, “You are our last hope.”
Last hope?
Ye Guan frowned slightly. Just as he was about to ask, he suddenly sensed something and froze in shock.
His cultivation had returned!
Ye Guan was overjoyed.
The small pagoda asked, “Interested in cultivating the sword?”
Sword cultivation!
Ye Guan nodded frantically. “Yes! Very much!”
Sword cultivators!
In the current South Continent, they were an extremely rare existence!
More than twenty million years ago, for unknown reasons, the Sword Dao and Martial Dao had suffered a severance. Since then, sword cultivators had grown fewer and fewer, until today they were pitifully scarce!
In the entire Ancient Desolate City, not a single sword cultivator had appeared in hundreds of years!
The small pagoda said, “The sword dao inheritance has already been fused into that sword. However, your strength is too weak, so it can only be unsealed layer by layer!”
The sword!
Ye Guan hurriedly picked up the Execute Dao sword beside him and asked excitedly, “Tower Master, is this sword powerful?”
The small pagoda replied, “Execute Dao, execute Dao. Wield justice for the blue heavens! Once you hold this sword, you shall be free from karma in this life, untouched by samsara. All laws can be broken, all daos can be extinguished!”
Ye Guan blinked. “Isn’t that a bit too heaven-defying?”
The small pagoda said, “Your vision is too small!”
Ye Guan was stunned.
The small pagoda continued, “The so-called Heavenly Dao can be destroyed with a flick of the finger!”
Ye Guan: “…”
