The Heaven-Controlling God!
Ye Xuan had already guessed the middle-aged man’s identity, and as he’d expected, the man had sensed the extraordinary nature of the Qingxuan Sword.
At that moment, the middle-aged man looked at Ye Xuan and smiled faintly. “Young man, you’re quite clever—just like the one who came before you!”
Ye Xuan frowned slightly. “The one before us?”
The man nodded. “The one who arrived earlier than you two!”
Ye Xuan asked gravely, “He found you too, Senior?”
The man nodded again. “But he left!”
Ye Xuan’s curiosity piqued. “How strong was he?”
The man looked at Ye Xuan and smiled. “You don’t mind if I speak plainly, do you?”
Before Ye Xuan could respond, Divine Eyes beside him suddenly piped up, “Of course not!”
Ye Xuan felt a headache coming on.
The man continued, “He’s quite a bit stronger than the two of you!”
Divine Eyes’ expression froze. So this was a comparison with them as the baseline!
Ye Xuan chuckled. “Senior, did you pass your inheritance to him?”
The man shook his head. “No!”
Ye Xuan blinked. “Did you think he wasn’t suitable? If so, how about taking a look at the two of us? I think we’re pretty decent—maybe you could consider us?”
The man’s expression stiffened.
Divine Eyes tugged at Ye Xuan’s sleeve. “Brother Ye… isn’t that a bit too forward?”
Ye Xuan said seriously, “Too forward? Sometimes you have to seize opportunities yourself! If you’re too shy while others aren’t, you’ve already lost half the battle! It’s like chasing a girl—if you don’t pursue her and someone else does, they might win her over, while you’re left with nothing forever!”
He turned back to the Heaven-Controlling God and grinned. “If you give it to us, Senior, we hit the jackpot. If not, I haven’t lost anything! What do you say?”
Divine Eyes hesitated, then said, “That… kinda makes sense!”
“Haha!”
The Heaven-Controlling God suddenly burst into laughter. After a moment, he said, “Little guy, you’re right. If I’d been as shameless as you back then, maybe I wouldn’t have missed out on the one I loved!”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Senior, with your unmatched strength—unprecedented and unrivalled—could there really be a woman who’d reject you?”
The Heaven-Controlling God shook his head with a wry smile. “Many times, matters of the heart can’t be measured by other things.”
Ye Xuan nodded slightly. “That’s true.”
The Heaven-Controlling God studied Ye Xuan and smiled. “You two came here for my inheritance, didn’t you?”
Before Divine Eyes could nod, Ye Xuan interjected, “Actually, not entirely. Our main goal was to meet you, Senior! You might not know this, but though it’s been ages since your time, your legend still echoes in ours! Outside, cultivators like us see you as a role model, hoping one day to achieve what you did. Sadly, for countless millennia, no one’s reached the Free Transformation Realm again…”
Divine Eyes glanced at Ye Xuan. “…”
The Heaven-Controlling God burst out laughing again. After a while, he said, “Little guy, you’re a riot! That mouth of yours is something else. I know you’re flattering me, but I’ve got to admit—it feels pretty good!”
He paused, then added, “Actually, I left this remnant image here not to pass down an inheritance. Reaching Free Transformation depends entirely on oneself. So-called ‘inheritances’ might even become a limitation for others. Do you understand what I mean?”
Ye Xuan said gravely, “Free Transformation can only be achieved on your own, right?”
The Heaven-Controlling God nodded.
Ye Xuan asked curiously, “Then why did you leave this image here, Senior?”
The Heaven-Controlling God smiled. “To see the people and geniuses of later generations. I must say, I’m a bit shocked!”
Ye Xuan gave an awkward smile. “The two of us… we’re not that impressive, really!”
The Heaven-Controlling God blinked, then laughed. “Little guy, you misunderstood! I was shocked by the one who came earlier!”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened. Damn it, finishing half a sentence and letting me misunderstand—how boring!
Divine Eyes beside him felt awkward too. He was starting to dread being around Ye Xuan!
Then the Heaven-Controlling God added, “But you shocked me too!”
Before Ye Xuan could speak, the man continued, “I mean your sword!”
Ye Xuan’s expression froze. Damn it, now I get why you missed out on your beloved!
Who could stand chatting with you like this?
The Heaven-Controlling God looked at Ye Xuan and smiled. “Actually, you’re pretty good too. You’ve likely hidden a lot of your strength! But your personality’s a bit flashy—lacking focus. If you could be more dedicated, your achievements could be even greater.”
Ye Xuan pondered for a moment, then bowed slightly. “Thank you for the guidance, Senior!”
The Heaven-Controlling God smiled. “It’s hardly guidance!”
He glanced at the Qingxuan Sword in Ye Xuan’s hand and murmured, “The master of that sword… I’m no match for them!”
Qing’er!
Ye Xuan looked at the Qingxuan Sword in his hand and fell silent.
Clearly, the Heaven-Controlling God had sensed something from the sword.
At that moment, Divine Eyes suddenly spoke up. “Senior, did you give your inheritance to the Defiant One?”
The Heaven-Controlling God chuckled. “I wanted to, but he didn’t want it!”
Divine Eyes frowned. “Didn’t want it?”
The Heaven-Controlling God nodded. “A very remarkable person! Being in the same era as him, you two might…”
He trailed off there.
Divine Eyes clearly understood his implication, his expression calm, lost in thought.
Ye Xuan suddenly asked, “Why didn’t he want it?”
The Heaven-Controlling God smiled. “He said he could reach Free Transformation on his own—he didn’t need anyone’s help!”
Ye Xuan’s eyes narrowed. “So his main goal here wasn’t your inheritance. Maybe he just wanted to see a legendary Free Transformation powerhouse… or perhaps there’s something else here that caught his interest!”
A flicker of surprise flashed in the Heaven-Controlling God’s eyes. “Little guy, your insight surprises me!”
Ye Xuan asked gravely, “He had another purpose?”
The Heaven-Controlling God nodded. “There’s something here I used for cultivation back in the day. That’s what he came for! Little guy, can you guess what it is?”
Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then said, “He didn’t want your inheritance, so he probably doesn’t care for divine artifacts either. What he wants is likely something like a spiritual vein. After all, no matter how monstrous or genius someone is, without cultivation resources, it’s all for nothing!”
The Heaven-Controlling God laughed. “You guessed right!”
He studied Ye Xuan again and added, “I’ve got to say, little guy, you really keep surprising me!”
Clearly, he’d taken a liking to Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan smiled, then asked, “Senior, can you tell us what it is exactly?”
The Heaven-Controlling God paused, then said, “It’s a Star Vein! Formed from condensing nearly millions of star domains, it holds an incredibly terrifying amount of stellar divine power—enough to let him cultivate to Free Transformation.”
Ye Xuan frowned. “Millions of star domains?”
The Heaven-Controlling God nodded. “Back when I peaked at the Dao Enlightenment Realm, I realized this universe’s spiritual energy wasn’t enough for me to progress further. So I came up with a method—gathering stellar power!”
He shook his head with a wry smile. “Back then, it took me nearly a million years to collect enough stellar power. It was exhausting!”
A million years!
Even though he was only at the Dao Enlightenment Realm back then, could he have been an ordinary one? Obviously not. For someone of his caliber to spend a million years…
Ye Xuan thought to himself, “Looks like I’ll need Qing’er to whip one up for me sometime. Doing it myself would be too tiring!”
Little Pagoda: “…”
Ye Xuan looked at the Heaven-Controlling God and smiled. “Senior, we’ll take our leave then!”
He turned to Divine Eyes. “Let’s go!”
Divine Eyes was puzzled. Was Ye Xuan just giving up on the Heaven-Controlling God’s inheritance like that?
Ye Xuan wasn’t playing hard to get. He genuinely started to leave with Divine Eyes. Just then, the Heaven-Controlling God called out, “Little guy, are you interested in accepting my inheritance?”
Ye Xuan stopped, turned back, and grinned. “Senior, can I speak honestly?”
The Heaven-Controlling God blinked, then laughed. “Of course!”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Actually, I was just joking earlier. I didn’t come here for some inheritance. After all…”
He glanced at the Qingxuan Sword in his hand and continued, “If I needed an inheritance, wouldn’t the master of this sword be enough?”
At that, the Heaven-Controlling God’s expression froze!
Ye Xuan felt a rush of satisfaction inside. Take that for knocking me down earlier!
He added, “But I think there’s someone here who’d be perfect for your inheritance!”
The Heaven-Controlling God looked at Divine Eyes without speaking.
Ye Xuan smiled. “Senior, if I may be so bold—had you and the Defiant One been in the same era, who do you think would’ve been more outstanding?”
The Heaven-Controlling God laughed heartily, his laughter brimming with confidence!
Geniuses are always self-assured!
And he had the credentials for it—he’d reached Free Transformation, while the Defiant One hadn’t yet.
Ye Xuan turned to Divine Eyes. “I don’t think he’s any less than the Defiant One!”
The Heaven-Controlling God chuckled. “Why’s that?”
Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then said, “Senior, can you guarantee you’ll meet someone more outstanding than him in the future?”
The implication was clear: The Defiant One didn’t want your inheritance, I don’t want it either—so who else are you going to give it to? If you don’t pass it on, just keep waiting—wait until the end of time!
Sure enough, the Heaven-Controlling God fell silent.
He valued the Defiant One most, but the Defiant One didn’t want it! After meeting Ye Xuan, he’d taken an interest in him too. Though Ye Xuan wasn’t as freakishly talented as the Defiant One, he suited his taste—but alas, Ye Xuan didn’t want it either!
That left only Divine Eyes!
The Heaven-Controlling God looked at Divine Eyes. At that moment, Ye Xuan hurriedly sent a mystic voice transmission to him: “Kneel!”
Divine Eyes froze, asking mentally, “Why?”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened. “Just kneel and take him as your master! Hurry up!”
Divine Eyes hesitated. “But I already have a master!”
Ye Xuan said seriously, “An inheritor isn’t the same as a master. You’d just be inheriting his legacy and carrying forward his tradition! You’d still be Senior Muge’s disciple. With this Senior, it’s just an inheritor relationship—though in your heart, you can treat him as a master too. Having an extra master isn’t an issue. What matters is respecting both. Besides, why do you think Senior Muge sent you here? For an inheritance, right? If you get this Senior’s inheritance, your master will be happier than you!”
Divine Eyes pondered, then said, “But he hasn’t said he’ll take me yet!”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened again. “Kneel and take him as your master—he’ll definitely accept you!”
Divine Eyes hesitated. “What if I kneel and he doesn’t take me? That’d be so awkward!”
Ye Xuan said earnestly, “As long as you’re not awkward, the awkwardness is on someone else. Got it?”
Divine Eyes thought it over, then dropped to his knees with a thud. “Master!”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened completely. “Big brother, you’re supposed to kneel to him, not me!”
Little Pagoda: “…”
