“Stop!”
Ye Xuan suddenly stood, his face stern.
The woman jumped, startled, and her already loosened dress slipped off.
Of course, she was still clothed underneath!
Ye Xuan looked at her, “Put your clothes back on!”
She hesitated, then said, “I won’t!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
As she moved to undress further, a surge of sword intent locked onto her.
She looked up at Ye Xuan, trembling, “You…”
Ye Xuan flicked his sleeve, and her clothes were instantly back on. The next moment, she was blasted out the door.
Outside, the woman stood dazed.
Ye Xuan glared at her, his expression icy, “Do I seem like a pushover?”
Her heart raced, and she quickly shook her head.
Ye Xuan stared coldly, “If a woman doesn’t respect herself, how can others respect her? I don’t care what your reasons are, but I despise this behavior. Facing hardship and immediately selling yourself, trading your body for benefits…”
He shook his head slightly, “I don’t want to say anything too harsh, but do you think this is right?”
The woman lowered her head.
Ye Xuan suddenly asked, “What did you want to trade with me?”
She stayed silent.
“Speak!”
Ye Xuan’s shout thundered, shaking her to her core.
Trembling, she blurted, “Cultivation resources!”
Ye Xuan frowned, “For cultivation resources?”
She nodded, voice shaking, “Yes!”
By now, some people had gathered, drawn by the commotion.
Seeing this, the woman’s face turned ashen. If word got out, she’d lose all dignity.
Ye Xuan flicked his sleeve.
*Boom!*
A wave of sword intent surged, instantly pushing back the onlookers.
The woman looked up at Ye Xuan, stunned.
He gazed at her silently.
She stammered, “You… you look down on me, don’t you?”
Ye Xuan shook his head, “No. I’m just angry.”
When he realized she was trading her body for resources, he didn’t despise her. He felt anger and a kind of sorrow.
For those without backing or connections, changing their fate was excruciatingly hard.
When normal paths failed, many turned to crooked ones. Often, the wrong path was easier, especially for women. If they chose to err, money could come easily.
He didn’t want to judge them, but it was wrong.
Poverty wasn’t an excuse for mistakes, because one misstep could lead to a lifetime of errors, spiraling into an abyss.
Ye Xuan suddenly smiled, “Do you want to study?”
The woman blinked, “Study… books?”
Ye Xuan nodded, “Reading can change your fate!”
She hesitated.
Ye Xuan smiled, opening his palm. A copy of the *Divine Path Codex* floated to her. She took it, glanced at it, and her eyes widened. She dropped to her knees, trembling, “Thank you, thank you!”
A gentle sword intent lifted her up.
Ye Xuan smiled, “Willing to study?”
She took a deep breath, clutching the *Divine Path Codex* tightly, and said firmly, “Yes!”
Ye Xuan nodded. His palm opened again, and a small wooden plaque appeared before her, engraved with two words: Guan Xuan.
Ye Xuan smiled, “From now on, you’re a member of my Guan Xuan Academy!”
She bowed deeply, “Greetings, Dean!”
Ye Xuan stepped forward, handing her a handkerchief, “Not preaching, but going forward, value yourself. If you don’t love yourself, how can others love you?”
She took the handkerchief, lowered her head, and said softly, “I will.”
Ye Xuan smiled and turned to leave.
She suddenly looked up, “Why are you so kind to me?”
Ye Xuan paused, silent for a moment, then said, “I have a dream: ‘To establish a moral compass for the cosmos, a purpose for all beings, to carry forward the lost teachings of past sages, and to bring eternal peace to all worlds.’”
He shook his head, chuckling self-deprecatingly, “But until now, I’ve only taken in prodigies with great talent. I never considered ordinary people. Prodigies are welcomed and valued anywhere, but what about ordinary people with lesser talent, like you? Everyone focuses on geniuses, but what about the rest?”
Turning to her, he smiled, “From this moment, my academy will have no barriers. We won’t judge students by talent. Anyone who seeks knowledge is welcome. I may not achieve absolute fairness, but I’m willing to give ordinary people a platform, a chance to rise alongside prodigies.”
With that, he walked away.
As he did, a sword hum erupted from within him, soaring to the heavens. A terrifying sword intent shot into the sky.
*Boom!*
The starry sky boiled, then began to vanish.
The sword intent grew stronger, erupting like a volcano with terrifying force. In an instant, millions of miles of the starfield above the Ancient Divine Clan were erased.
Under this sword intent, countless Ancient Divine Clan experts trembled in fear!
Demi-god!
Not Ye Xuan reaching demi-god, but his Human Realm Sword Intent reaching demi-god status!
Below, Ye Xuan looked at the darkened sky, murmuring, “An unintended seed blooms into shade.”
He walked back to his room, and the terrifying sword intent vanished as if it had never been.
Behind him, the woman stood stunned, then whispered, “My name is Gu Ran!”
Gu Ran!
Ye Xuan didn’t know that his small act of kindness, gifting a book, would create such a formidable figure.
Gu Ran!
Second only to Empress Qingqiu in Guan Xuan Academy, she founded the ‘Benevolence Institute,’ becoming its first dean. She walked the path of kindness, achieving mastery in the Way of Benevolence, with disciples across countless universes.
Later, she spent her life searching for Guan Xuan Academy’s first dean, Ye Xuan…
…
Elsewhere, the Ancient Divine Clan leader watched Ye Xuan’s room, silent.
She had been there when Ye Xuan’s sword intent repelled the onlookers.
She heard every word of his conversation with Gu Ran and saw his sword intent reach demi-god status.
His words shocked her!
“To establish a moral compass for the cosmos, a purpose for all beings, to carry forward the lost teachings of past sages, and to bring eternal peace to all worlds.”
She was stunned that this man held such a grand ambition!
Most terrifying was his sword intent reaching demi-god status!
She was a prodigy herself, taking over ten thousand years to go from Cave Mysterious Realm to demi-god. Yet this man’s sword intent reached demi-god so effortlessly!
It was absurd!
But that wasn’t the point. The point was his actions!
She’d seen the *Divine Path Codex*—a priceless divine text—and Ye Xuan had given it away without blinking!
Was he that generous?
The woman stood silent for a long time before turning to leave.
…
Ye Xuan’s sword intent breakthrough caused such a stir that many external forces rushed to the Ancient Divine Realm to investigate. However, the clan leader sealed all information and expelled the outsiders.
This only fueled their curiosity, especially among the Emperor Desolate Divine Clan.
Atop a mountain in the Emperor Desolate Divine Clan, Di Zhuang sat cross-legged, two spears planted beside her. A white-robed elder stood nearby.
Di Zhuang opened her eyes, “Sword intent demi-god?”
The elder nodded, “Confirmed.”
Di Zhuang’s lips curved, “Not bad.”
The elder said gravely, “Don’t underestimate him!”
Di Zhuang nodded, “Understood.”
She closed her eyes again.
The elder quietly left, arriving at a riverside where an old man was fishing, legs crossed.
The elder bowed, “Clan Leader!”
This fisherman was Di Yuan, leader of the Emperor Desolate Divine Clan!
Di Yuan chuckled, “That boy’s sword intent reached demi-god?”
The elder nodded, “Confirmed.”
Di Yuan smiled, “Interesting.”
The elder hesitated.
Di Yuan said softly, “That woman found such a genius… I didn’t expect that!”
The elder said gravely, “He’s from the Divine Cosmos, dean of a modest academy called Guan Xuan. His background is somewhat mysterious.”
His eyes flashed coldly, “Regardless, helping the Ancient Divine Clan makes him our enemy. We could send people to his academy…”
Di Yuan frowned, “You cultivate all day—can’t you cultivate some brains?”
The elder froze.
Di Yuan said calmly, “A prodigy like him, do you think he’s ordinary? Targeting his academy would play right into that woman’s hands. It’d give us an enemy for no reason, an unknown one at that. Understand?”
The elder said, “But he’s helping the Ancient Divine Clan…”
Di Yuan shook his head, “Our priority is to figure out why he’s helping them. Is it voluntary or forced? If voluntary, there’s a reason. If forced…”
His lips curved like a sly fox, “Doesn’t that give us an opportunity?”
The elder frowned, “Recruit him?”
Di Yuan smiled, “Not impossible!”
The elder was silent, then said, “I’ll keep investigating.”
Di Yuan shook his head, “No need.”
The elder paused. Di Yuan said calmly, “I’ll investigate myself.”
He stood to leave but stopped, turning back, “Does the boy like reading?”
The elder nodded, “He’s never without a book.”
Di Yuan pondered, then said, “Collect all our clan’s ancient texts.”
He smiled, “If he’s a womanizer, we send beauties. If he loves books, we send books! Whether we recruit him isn’t the point—first, we show goodwill.”
The elder hesitated, “Clan Leader, is a mere boy worth this much effort? It’s too…”
“Shut up!”
Di Yuan snapped, “Do you know how long it took me to go from Cave Mysterious to demi-god? Twelve thousand years! And this boy, so young, has his sword intent at demi-god… This kind of person… a talent! In this era, what’s most valuable? Talent!”
The elder said gravely, “We have Di Zhuang!”
Di Yuan replied calmly, “Yes, but have you considered if Di Zhuang and this boy got together?”
He grinned mischievously, “One plus one equals two—two super geniuses. If they have a child, that’s three geniuses. Two kids? Four geniuses… Heh…”
The elder: “…”
