Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Qin Guan’s lips curved up slightly. “That’s more like it!”
Ye Xuan laughed heartily.
Qin Guan said, “Let’s go! Time to collect materials!”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Good!”
Qin Guan pointed at one of the red dots. “This one is closest. We’ll start there!”
As she spoke, she suddenly tapped a finger between Ye Xuan’s brows. In an instant, a set of cosmic coordinates appeared in his mind.
Ye Xuan opened his palm. The Qingxuan Sword trembled violently, and both he and Qin Guan vanished from the spot.
…
Amidst a sea of clouds, space suddenly tore open. Ye Xuan and Qin Guan slowly stepped out.
The moment they emerged, Ye Xuan frowned.
The spiritual energy was far too thin!
This planet’s spiritual energy had completely dried up. At most, it would perish within a hundred years.
Qin Guan glanced at Ye Xuan. “Check how many living beings are on this world.”
Ye Xuan nodded. His divine sense swept out, instantly enveloping the entire planet.
At that moment, every living being on the planet sensed Ye Xuan’s presence.
Who was this?
Local powerhouses looked up in shock and terror.
A few moments later, Ye Xuan withdrew his divine sense and said, “Roughly tens of billions of living beings!”
Tens of billions!
Qin Guan nodded slightly. “About the same as my old home.”
Ye Xuan looked at her. “The Milky Way?”
Qin Guan smiled and shook her head. “The Milky Way is vast. My home was in the Milky Way, but within it, it was little more than a speck of dust.”
Ye Xuan nodded faintly. Ever since he began roaming the starry cosmos, he had come to understand one thing: the universe was truly far too immense!
The planet beneath their feet was not even a speck of dust in the boundless cosmos.
Countless sentient beings were truly insignificant in this vast universe!
At this thought, he glanced at the beings on this planet and said softly, “If we hadn’t come, in a hundred years, more than ninety-nine per cent of the beings on this continent would probably die.”
Qin Guan nodded. “Yes.”
Ye Xuan shook his head slightly. “I always say I want to do something for the universe, but I’ve overlooked one thing: our goal has always been to conquer the cosmos. We rarely care about those worlds that are about to be destroyed.”
Qin Guan said gravely, “Little Xuan, your greatest flaw is that you are too sentimental. That won’t do.”
Ye Xuan looked at her. Qin Guan smiled. “You’re actually not suited to holding power. Mercy does not command armies. You are too benevolent!”
Ye Xuan smiled and shook his head. “Little Guan, am I still benevolent?”
Qin Guan smiled. “You’re the sort who won’t betray others unless they betray you first! For an ordinary person, that’s fine, but unfortunately, you are the Human Sword Master, ruler of the entire universe! Take now, for instance. You know perfectly well that those sects and aristocratic families in the academy will become a huge hidden danger in the future, yet you cannot bring yourself to act. Why? Because when you founded the academy, they helped you. You can’t bear to discard them once they’ve served their purpose. So even though you know those sects and families will become major threats later, you still can’t touch them!”
Ye Xuan fell silent.
Qin Guan smiled. “That is your benevolence!”
Ye Xuan gave a faint smile and said nothing.
Qin Guan glanced around, then continued, “We need to save the beings of this world, but we must also do it properly.”
Ye Xuan grew curious. “How so?”
Qin Guan said solemnly, “Give a dou of rice and earn gratitude; give a dan of rice and breed resentment. If you simply take them away like this, they might not even feel grateful. So even if we save the beings of this planet, we still need the right method.”
Ye Xuan smiled. “What do you want to do?”
Qin Guan looked at Ye Xuan. “Destroy this world ahead of schedule!”
Ye Xuan froze.
Qin Guan said calmly, “Accelerate this world’s destruction in advance, make them clearly understand…”
Ye Xuan suddenly shook his head and interrupted her. “Little Guan, I understand what you mean, but doing that would render this meaningless!”
Qin Guan looked at him. Ye Xuan smiled. “It’s not that I’m being a saint. A hundred years is but the snap of a finger to us, but to the beings of this world, it is not. For some, it might be their entire lifetime! If we end this planet’s lifespan early, it may be the simplest and most effective method for us, but to this planet and its beings, it is unfair.”
Qin Guan fell silent.
Ye Xuan smiled. “Don’t be angry!”
Qin Guan shook her head. “I’m not angry. I just feel a touch of emotion.”
Ye Xuan was surprised. “Emotion about what?”
Qin Guan gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then said softly, “From my old home to now, along this entire journey, I’ve discovered that I’ve been gradually losing my own humanity.”
Ye Xuan said softly, “Why do you say that?”
Qin Guan smiled. “For example, with a single thought, I could easily destroy the planet beneath our feet. In that case, the beings on this planet are, to me, nothing more than numbers! Cultivation, cultivation… as we cultivate, we all start caring only about our own lives and our own interests, and we overlook others.”
She shook her head. “Human nature has always been selfish! No one is an exception.”
Ye Xuan smiled. “In my heart, you are a very kind person!”
Qin Guan looked at Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan smiled. “Really! Take this time, for instance. You could have stayed out of the matter between me and the gods, yet you still came to help me. I’m truly grateful!”
Qin Guan blinked. “I have ulterior motives, you know!”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Motives for what?”
Qin Guan fell silent.
Ye Xuan said softly, “Neither of us is a saint. Having selfish desires is normal. Take me, for example. I founded the academy because I wanted to achieve something great, to prove to my old man that I’m actually pretty decent too!”
He shook his head with a smile. “I know that in his heart, I must have disappointed him.”
Qin Guan looked at Ye Xuan and said nothing.
Ye Xuan smiled. “Actually, I’ve never hated him. His life experiences shaped him that way. He wanted me to be outstanding, even more outstanding than he was. It’s a pity…”
Qin Guan shook her head. “You and he are still different. In your early days, your enemies were simply too strong. You…”
Ye Xuan shook his head. “Those are just excuses! At the very beginning, I handled things recklessly. I charged in blindly and ended up having to call for help…”
He smiled. “All the disasters were brought on by myself!”
Qin Guan smiled. “Any regrets?”
Ye Xuan shook his head. “Never regretted it. Just like you, I only feel a touch of emotion. Back then, my father stopped Qing’er from destroying the world and saved the three-dimensional universe. As his son, I too can stop the gods and save the universe I rule!”
Qin Guan looked at Ye Xuan. “If you successfully break through to godhood, what will you do?”
Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then said, “Have a proper fight with my old man!”
Qin Guan’s expression froze.
…
