Chapter 100: Kill Him Alone
The An Clan’s monstrous talent of the current generation—An Daoxin—had just arrived on the Zhongtu Divine Continent, but the great clans of the Zhongtu Divine Continent were already heading to the An Clan’s Residence to pay them a visit.
The An Clan Residence was filled with people, and every corner was filled with noises as the people made friends and conversed with each other. Even the Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy had sent a representative to visit them.
The An Clan was one of the wealthiest clans of the Zhongtu Divine Continent, and they were considered a top-tier clan, so the great clans of the Zhongtu Divine Continent sent their representatives to visit the An Clan, aside from the Shen Clan.
Jian Zizai was still absent, so the acting Clan Leader was Jian An.
Jian Zizai had listened to Ye Guan’s suggestion back then, so Jian An gained a ton of influence as a result. Jian An had been keeping tabs on Ye Guan.
The great clans visited the An Clan for An Daoxin, but Jian An decided to visit the Daoist Sect rather than the An Clan.
Jian An stared in shock at the dilapidated gates in front of her. She was aware of the Daoist Sect’s condition, but she was still astonished to find that the Daoist Sect had regressed to such a degree.
Jian An saw a young woman carrying a bamboo basket. The young woman was none other than Nanling Yiyi.
Nanling Yiyi was surprised to see Jian An. “Sorry, who are you?”
“I’m Jian An, and I’m from the Shen Clan!”
Nanling Yiyi was astonished. She exclaimed, “You’re from the Shen Clan?!”
There was no way she wouldn’t know the Shen Clan. After all, the Shen Clan was one of the six great clans of the Zhongtu Divine Continent.
Jian An smiled and said, “You must be Lady Nanling Yiyi.”
Nanling Yiyi nodded and replied, “Yes, so you must be here for Junior Disciple.”
“Yes.”
“Follow me, I’ll bring you to him.”
“Thank you!”
Nanling Yiyi brought Jian An to a hill behind the Daoist Sect.
Ye Guan was cultivating with his eyes closed.
Nanling Yiyi was about to approach him, but Jian An reached out to stop her.
She smiled at Nanling Yiyi and said, “We shouldn’t disturb Young Lord Ye. I will sit here and wait.”
Nanling Yiyi’s eyes shone in astonishment. I didn’t expect her to be so polite…
Jian An’s gaze was complicated as she stared at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan! He’s the son of the Sword Master and the Young Leader of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion! If his true identity is leaked…
Jian An didn’t even dare to think of the consequences if that were to happen.
However, Jian An knew that the entire Guanxuan Universe would definitely be thrown into an uproar the moment Ye Guan’s true identity was leaked. The great clans and the aristocratic families in the Main Guanxuan Academy would also rush to come here.
Why? Of course, it would be to greet their Young Leader.
Jian Zizai hadn’t told Jian An to come and visit Ye Guan. She had always been a pacifist, and she abhorred participating in messy political matters. In addition, Jian An reckoned that Ye Guan was just her nephew in her eyes.
However, Jian An’s thoughts were different. If the Shen Clan wanted to grow even further, they had to build a strong connection with Ye Guan. And that was why Jian An decided to visit the Daoist Sect after hearing about the An Clan’s scheme.
I have to stand on his side, I have to stand on his side, I have to stand on his side. It was such an important matter that Jian An didn’t dare to be negligent. She repeated it three times in her mind to ensure that she wouldn’t make a mistake.
Jian Zizai didn’t give her a serious punishment, but she still ended up getting punished. She was currently serving her punishment, but she decided to come here and ensure that Ye Guan would owe her a favor. She had to do it no matter what!
While everyone was busy currying favor with the An Clan, she had decided to build a rapport with Ye Guan. Jian An was convinced that she would surely be rewarded for her efforts today.
The whole world would eventually know that the Shen Clan and Young Leader Ye Guan were close friends.
Ye Guan’s eyes shot wide open. He turned and was slightly taken aback to see Nanling Yiyi and Jian An.
“Lady Jian?”
Jian An smiled and said, “Young Lord Ye, I didn’t disturb you, did I?”
Ye Guan shook his head. He smiled and walked toward the two ladies.
He directed a strange gaze at Jian An. “Lady Jian, why did you come here?”
“I came here to visit you!”
“To visit me? Why?” Ye Guan asked.
“Young Lord Ye, I’ve heard that the An Clan is going to attack you during the upcoming Destiny Contest,” Jian An explained.
“I know.”
Jian An fell into deep contemplation, but she soon emerged from her thoughts. She took out a storage ring and passed it over to Ye Guan.
“Young Lord Ye, it’s my Shen Clan’s token of appreciation.”
Ye Guan examined it and found that it contained thirty million gold spiritual crystals.
Ye Guan was stunned. “Lady Jian, what is this for?”
“I’ve heard that Young Lord Ye is short of money at the moment. My Shen Clan can afford it, so please accept it.”
“Lady Jian, I can’t possibly accept this,” said Ye Guan. He handed the storage ring back to Jian An.
“Why not?” Jian An asked, seemingly confused.
Ye Guan fell silent. Something’s fishy. I haven’t really done anything for her, so she must be scheming something by giving me this storage ring.
“Young Lord Ye, I don’t want to take up any more of your time,” said Jian An with a smile. She placed the storage ring on the ground and took off before disappearing into the horizon.
Ye Guan wordlessly stared at the storage ring before asking, “Master Pagoda, was that Shen Clan ancestor acquainted with my parents?”
“Yes,” Master Pagoda replied.
Ye Guan silently nodded. He didn’t ask any more questions because he knew that Master Pagoda wouldn’t give him any answers.
Fortunately, Master Pagoda wasn’t a good liar.
Ye Guan picked up the storage ring and put it away.
Brrr!
A wooden command token hanging from his waist suddenly trembled.
Ye Guan was stunned.
Ye Guan was currently first place on the Martial List of the Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy. The wooden command token would notify him of a challenger. He just had to accept the challenge, and he would be whisked away by the command token to the Martial Tower.
Ye Guan turned to Nanling Yiyi and said, “I have to leave.”
With that, he was whisked away by the command token.
Left all alone, Nanling Yiyi shook her head and muttered, “He really only cares about cultivating, and he’s always busy cultivating. Seriously, is he not interested in dating?”
…
Ye Guan saw a man standing in front of him in the Martial Tower.
The man was wearing a long robe. His eyebrows were sharp, and his posture was steady and as upright as a sword. The man glared coldly at Ye Guan with his hands behind him.
Ye Guan wordlessly glared back at the man.
“So you’re Ye Guan? The one who stole my rank while I wasn’t around?” said the man.
Ye Guan was slightly stunned. “So you were the absentee?”
“Does it feel good to be at the top of the list while I wasn’t around?” asked the man.
Ye Guan frowned and asked, “Why do you sound like you’re blaming me for taking first place when you were the one who was absent?”
The man scoffed, “It’s fine. We’re about to fight, anyway. I hope that you’re worthy of being in the first place, you—”
Ye Guan abruptly disappeared.
The man tried to make a move, but Ye Guan’s sword was already a few inches away from his forehead.
The man’s expression stiffened.
“What do you think? Am I qualified?” Ye Guan retorted.
The man’s face turned ugly.
Ye Guan put his sword away and asked, “What’s your name?”
The man replied, “Ye Huofeng!”
Ye Guan nodded and said, “Young Lord Ye, are you familiar with An Daoxin?”
“Nope.” Ye Huofeng shook his head.
“Is that so?” Ye Guan stared deeply at Ye Huofeng before saying, “All right. Let’s just say that you’ve won this battle.”
Ye Huofeng stared in shock at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan sounded serious as he said, “Tell everyone that we exchanged hundreds of moves, but you ended up winning by a stroke of luck. What do you think?”
“You’re trying to hide your strength?” Ye Huofeng was astonished.
Ye Guan nodded while Ye Huofeng fell silent.
Ye Guan added, “I’m sure you don’t want the people out there to know that you lost in just one move, do you?”
Ye Huofeng shook his head. He could accept defeat, but if the people out there found out that he had lost in just one move, his reputation would plummet beyond recovery.
It had to be known that he was a well-respected figure outside. He could be defeated, but he couldn’t allow his reputation to plummet into the abyss.
Therefore, Ye Huofeng nodded in agreement. “Okay!”
Ye Guan nodded and handed over the first-placer’s wooden command token to Ye Huofeng. Ye Huofeng hesitated, but he eventually composed himself and said, “I’m not afraid of losing. I’m just trying to help you, all right?
”You asked me for help, and I simply wanted to help you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to do something as shameless as this, even if you were to beat me to death. Do you understand?”
“Yes, you’re helping me out here. Got it,” Ye Guan replied.
Ye Huofeng nodded slightly and asked, “Does this mean that we’re friends now?”
Ye Huofeng felt like he wouldn’t lose anything if he befriended such a powerful cultivator.
Ye Guan chuckled and said, “Yes, and that is why I’d like you to put on a great act once you’re outside.”
“Leave it to me!” Ye Huofeng nodded. Ye Guan didn’t have to tell him to put on a great act. His reputation was at stake here, so he would definitely do his best.
“I hope we’ll see each other again,” Ye Guan said.
He walked away and disappeared into the teleportation array.
Ye Huofeng looked down at the wooden command tablet in his hands and muttered, “I should be more humble. It seems that there will always be someone better than someone else in this world!”
With that, Ye Huofeng took a deep breath and punched his abdomen.
Bleck!
He spat a mouthful of blood and made sure to stain his face and his clothes with his own blood. Soon, he looked miserable, pallid, and bloodied. He did a double take at his own appearance before leaving the Martial Tower.
The Martial List changed upon his departure from the tower.
The people were stunned to see a bloodied Ye Huofeng limping his way out of the Martial Tower.
Ye Huofeng won?
Ye Guan’s reputation as a powerful swordsman had been established long ago, so it was impossible for Ye Guan to pretend like he was weak. After all, everyone already knew his strength, and they had acknowledged his strength long ago.
Everyone was convinced that Ye Huofeng would lose against Ye Guan, so they were stunned to find that Ye Huofeng had defeated Ye Guan.
Ye Huofeng swept his gaze across the crowd. He coughed a few times before cupping his fists and saying, “I won, but it was because of a stroke of luck!”
Everyone fell silent.
He really won?! Ye Guan was defeated?
It didn’t take long for such a piece of unprecedented news to spread throughout the Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy.
“I see…” Academy Chief Gu muttered in his quiet study. “Are you trying to hide your strength? It’s a shame, but it’s too late. Your actions will not change your horrible fate. What a shame… really!”
…
An Daoxin frowned upon hearing the news of Ye Guan’s defeat.
“He lost to Ye Huofeng?” she muttered.
An old man nodded and replied, “Yes, he lost. Ye Huofeng suffered severe injuries, and he said that he barely won the fight.”
An Daoxin closed her eyes and muttered, “Did I overestimate him?”
The old man hesitated before saying, “I’m sure he’s strong, but I believe there’s a massive difference in strength between Ye Huofeng and Ye Guan. We’re on the Zhongtu Divine Continent as well, and Great Sword Immortals here are way weaker than the Great Sword Immortals born in the Main Guanxuan Academy.”
An Daoxin fell into deep contemplation.
Soon, she emerged from her thoughts and vowed. “I’m going to kill him by myself during the Destiny Contest!”
An Daoxin initially wanted to ask her friends for help to deal with Ye Guan, but it seemed that there was no need to go that far for a mere Ye Guan. An Daoxin made up her mind—she would kill him by herself.
…
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