Chapter 137: Transcendence
Ye Guan’s gaze turned complicated as he stared at the Sword Master.
Ye Guan’s gaze then indeed on the tombstone, and he asked softly, “Sword Master, who is in that grave?”
The Sword Master smiled and replied, “My teacher.”
Ye Guan nodded slightly and went silent.
The Sword Master stood up and said, “Let’s keep walking.”
Ye Guan nodded and followed the Sword Master with Ji Xuan.
The Sword Master made a sidelong glance at Ye Guan. His eyes shone in a gentle light as he smiled and asked, “What did you learn?”
Ye Guan remained silent.
“You can speak your mind,” the Sword Master added.
Ye Guan pondered briefly before saying, “It is better to seek justice yourself rather than to wait for it.”
“Anything else?” asked the Sword Master.
Ye Guan sighed and said, “I’m too weak.”
The Sword Master’s smile deepened as he said, “Power accumulates with hard work, and no one is born invincible. There is a slow, gradual process to everything.”
Ye Guan nodded.
He hesitated for a while before saying, “Sword Master, the An Clan wasn’t the only entity that had been hunting me down. The Academy was involved as well. I haven’t been to the Main Guanxuan Academy, but I know that it is split into many factions.
”I think the factions are the aristocratic faction and the great clan faction. I haven’t heard of any other faction, but there are multiple groups fighting for supremacy within the Academy.”
The Sword Master nodded. “We knew this would happen.”
Ye Guan was confused. “Why did you not prevent it from happening?”
The Sword Master smiled and explained, “I wasn’t the only one who brought the Guanxuan Academy to its current heights. What would they think of me If I had pointed my sword against them after the victory that we had achieved together?”
Ye Guan fell silent.
The Sword Master continued. “In addition, they knew their place back then, so there wasn’t any reason for me to do anything to them. In the end, I decided to leave them to my son to handle.”
Ye Guan hesitated before asking, “Sword Master, forgive me for being blunt. Did you just say that you’ve decided to play the good person while making your son play the villain? I feel that your son is pretty unfortunate.”
Unfortunate? The Sword Master suddenly laughed.
Ye Guan stared at the ruthless Sword Master and shook his head. He inwardly remarked. Your son must have done something evil in his past life to deserve eight lives worth of misfortune.
Ye Guan realized something just then. Other people would hoodwink their fathers, but the Sword Master had hoodwinked his son.
The Sword Master suddenly smiled. “Lad, I have to leave.”
Ye Guan hurriedly asked, “Sword Master, can I ask you for a favor?”
The Sword Master nodded. “Pray tell.”
Ye Guan flipped his palm over, and the Path Sword appeared in his hand.
He looked at the Sword Master and asked, “My fiancee’s soul is severely injured, and she’s currently recuperating in the Path Sword. Can you help me revive her, Sword Master?”
Fiancee. Ji Xuan made a sidelong glance at Ye Guan. However, she eventually looked down without saying anything.
The Path Sword… The Sword Master picked up the Path Sword and smiled softly.
“It has been a while,” he said.
The Path Sword vibrated slightly in response.
Ye Guan was stunned. The Sword Master knows the Path Sword?
Meanwhile, Little Pagoda emerged from Ye Guan and landed in front of the Sword Master.
He whispered, “Young Master...”
Little Pagoda’s voice was so low that only the Sword Master heard him. The Sword Master looked at Little Pagoda with a complex light in his eyes before saying, “You’ve worked hard.”
Seeing that, Ye Guan had to ask, “Sword Master, do you know Master Pagoda?”
The Sword Master smiled and replied, “Yes.”
Ye Guan hesitated before asking, “How about my father?”
The Sword Master blinked before asking, “I’ve seen him a few times before, but I’m not familiar with him.”
Ye Guan nodded, and his expression turned solemn as he asked, “Master Pagoda told me that my father is a live-in son-in-law, is it true, Sword Master?”
The Sword Master’s expression stiffened.
“What the fuck?” Little Pagoda was flustered, and he hurriedly explained, “Young Master, I—”
The Sword Master pinched Little Pagoda’s mouth and said, “I was mistaken; it seems that you were having fun.”
With that, he hurled Little Pagoda into the horizon.
Ye Guan was stupefied, but he quickly recovered and asked, “W-what was that, Sword Master?”
The Sword Master smiled and explained, “Your Master Pagoda wasn’t feeling great, so I decided to help him stretch.”
He then looked down at the Path Sword in his hand and asked, “Have you heard of my Qingxuan Sword?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes.”
The Sword Master said softly, “My sword is required to resurrect this young woman. You have to head to the Main Guanxuan Academy and find my sword.”
Ye Guan didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t believe the Sword Master’s words. Ji Xuan’s soul was annihilated, but he managed to gather the fragments to reform Ji Xuan’s soul and revive her. But Little Jia… her soul is still intact!
The Sword Master seemed to have seen through Ye Guan’s thoughts.
He smiled and explained, “I’m just a strand of sword aura, and I’m running out of energy.”
Ye Guan sighed upon hearing that. He felt slightly disappointed. Head to the Main Guanxuan Academy? He didn’t want to go there!
The Sword Master dusted some dust off Ye Guan’s shoulder and smiled.
“Lad, I have to go now,” he said, his eyes shining in reluctance.
Ye Guan stared intently at the Sword Master before declaring, “I’ll become a swordsman as powerful as you, Sword Master.”
The Sword Master was slightly startled. “You want to become a swordsman as powerful as me?”
Ye Guan nodded. He sounded serious as he added, “You’re my idol.”
Idol. The Sword Master froze before boisterously laughing. His laughter was like thunder, and it pervaded the heavens.
The entire Qingzhou heard the Sword Master’s laughter.
The Path Sword in the Sword Master’s hands quivered violently.
Meanwhile, an ancient, listless voice echoed from the depths of the universe.
“I never expected that you’d use that method for the sake of transcending. Are you going to take the next step?”
Take the next step? Why would I?
The Sword Master was overjoyed, and he felt like everything he had done so far had been worth it. He was a father, so the fact that he had become his son’s idol brought him joy.
He felt unbelievably proud of himself. He felt even happier at Ye Guan’s acknowledgment than when he became the Sword Master, and he felt even prouder of himself than when he transcended.
“Sword Master?” asked Ye Guan, seemingly puzzled.
The Sword Master ruffled Ye Guan’s head and grinned, “Good luck, lad!”
With that, his figure slowly faded. He decided not to transcend in the meantime. He only needed a single step to transcend, but he didn’t do it. He had decided to protect Ye Guan throughout the latter’s journey.
Otherwise, wouldn’t he suffer if such a heavy burden were to land on his shoulders, even though he had just started on his journey?
The Sword Master couldn’t allow himself to be as heartless as a certain someone.
Ye Guan stared at the Sword Master’s fading figure with a complicated look.
The Sword Master smiled at him and said, “Work hard. I believe in you. You’ll definitely become a swordsman as outstanding and as powerful as me.”
Ye Guan nodded solemnly and said, “I will.”
“Hahaha!” The Sword Master laughed once again. What an outstanding young man. As expected of my son!
Moments later, the Sword Master seemed to have recalled something. He glanced at the silent Ji Xuan. He flipped his palm over, and a white ball of light flew into Ji Xuan’s glabella.
Ji Xuan was shocked.
The Sword Master smiled and explained, “That was an inheritance from an old friend. I hope it’ll help you.”
Ji Xuan bowed deeply and said, “Thank you, Sword Master.”
The Sword Master smiled lightly and glanced at Ye Guan. “We will meet again, lad.”
Swoosh!
He finally disappeared. Ye Guan fell silent. He’s gone!
Swoosh!
A golden ray of light landed in front of Ye Guan. It was Little Pagoda.
Ye Guan was shocked. “Master Pagoda?”
“Mm?”
Ye Guan asked, “Are you okay?”
Little Pagoda asked blandly, “Why wouldn’t I? I simply reminisced about the old times with the Sword Master.”
He turned into a golden ray of light and entered Ye Guan’s glabella.
Reminisce. Ye Guan said, “I was wrong, Master Pagoda. You really weren’t lying when you said that you know the Sword Master. I thought you were bluffing.”
Little Pagoda didn’t say anything in response.
He really wanted to say that he was familiar with Ye Guan’s family tree.
Ye Guan didn’t ask any more questions. He turned toward Ji Xuan. He was about to speak, but Ji Xuan looked up at him and beat him to the punch. “I’m going.”
Ye Guan was stunned.
Ji Xuan stared deeply at Ye Guan before saying, “You don’t have to feel like you owe me anything. I like you, and that is my problem. And just because I like you doesn’t mean that you have to like me back. You… all the best! Take care!”
Ji Xuan didn’t wait for Ye Guan’s reply as she turned around and disappeared into the distance.
Ye Guan stood frozen in the same spot for quite a while. He wanted to say something, but he ended up staying silent. Indeed, he remained silent for a long time.
Little Pagoda suddenly asked, “Do you like her?”
Ye Guan didn’t respond.
“I—” Little Pagoda started.
However, Ye Guan interrupted. “I miss home.”
Home. Nanzhou. Ye Guan turned around and started walking down the mountain. He had more or less recovered from his injuries. He had no idea what the Sword Master had done to him, but his severed arm had grown back.
Ye Guan descended Mount Canglan under everyone’s gaze.
No one dared to stop him, but they were all wondering.
How would the aristocratic faction and the great clan faction treat Ye Guan from now on? The onlookers were curious. As for the arrest warrant, it would definitely be retracted soon.
Ye Guan soon arrived at the foot of the mountain.
He turned and found a young man. “Where can I find the Immortal Treasures Pavilion?”
He had to use a teleportation array to return to Nanzhou.
The young man hesitated before saying, “I’ll bring you there, Young Lord Ye.”
Ye Guan hopped onto his sword and disappeared into the horizon under the young man’s guidance.
The onlookers were left staring at each other in silence.
Soon, Ye Guan and the young man arrived at the Immortal Treasures Pavilion branch of Qingzhou.
An old man walked out to meet them as soon as they arrived.
Ye Guan stared at the old man and said, “I want to go to Nanzhou.”
The old man hesitated before responding, “Young Master Ye, you’re still on our blacklist, so we cannot serve you.”
Ye Guan fell silent at that.
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