Chapter 178: Awaken Empress Qingqiu
“Achilles Heel Strike!”
Ye Guanzhi’s gaze sparkled with joy and astonishment as she stared at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan was indeed a monstrous talent!
Ye Guan took a deep breath. It was an attack born from a sudden epiphany. I’m fast, so why don’t I use my speed to attack just one spot at the same time?
Ye Guan gave it a try, and it worked. He was surprised by the terrifying effect of attacking just a single spot at once multiple times.
Ye Guanzhi walked up to Ye Guan.
She smiled at him and asked, “Did someone tell you to do what you did just now?”
Ye Guan shook his head and said, “No, I just thought of it while we were fighting, and I decided to give it a try.”
“Ah…” Ye Guanzhi gasped in awe and said, “Young Lord Ye, you truly are talented.”
Ye Guan chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his head shyly before saying, “No, you’re the one who’s really impressive, Lady Guanzhi. Your rune domain was terrifying!”
He wasn’t lying, Ye Guanzhi’s rune domain was terrifying. Ye Guan had gone all-in, but Ye Guanzhi’s rune domain still managed to suppress him.
However, Ye Guan was actually thrilled by the fact that Ye Guanzhi managed to suppress him. Lady Ye Guanzhi is a true powerhouse! It’s fun exchanging moves with her!
Ye Guan closed his eyes and inwardly said, “Master Pagoda, I want to—”
Little Pagoda’s curiosity was piqued. “What is it?”
Ye Guan muttered, “I want to lose.”
Little Pagoda fell silent.
Ye Guan sighed and said, “The number of people in this generation who can stand toe-to-toe against me are too few and far between. I want to get beaten up, I want to be challenged, and I want to be defeated. Really…”
Little Pagoda was silent. Ye Guan’s conundrum reminded him of someone—the invincible Freedom Swordsman!
Little Pagoda sighed to himself. The way this lad approached the Sword Dao was too similar to that of Freedom Swordsman. It was no wonder he had caught the attention of the sword intent that Little Freedom had left behind.
Ye Guanzhi suddenly said, “Young Lord Ye, you really amaze me. You are a Sword Sovereign and a Martial God at the same time; that’s really rare!”
Ye Guan suddenly asked, “Lady Guanzhi, you didn’t go all out earlier, right?”
Ye Guanzhi blinked. She smiled wryly, but she didn’t say anything in response.
Eventually, Ye Guanzhi shook her head and laughed. “We’re friends, so I couldn’t direct my killing intent toward you. I couldn’t go all out because of that, and isn’t it the same for you as well?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes...”
Ye Guanzhi suddenly sounded serious as she said, “Young Lord Ye, your prowess is heaven-defying, but you do have some shortcomings.”
Ye Guan hurriedly said, “Lady Guanzhi, please feel free to criticize me.”
Ye Guanzhi smiled lightly and explained, “Firstly, your swords are capable of shattering the rules, but domains are more powerful than rules. You’re having trouble shattering domains.
“I’m sure you’ll be hard-pressed to defeat a powerhouse whose domain is more powerful than my domain.”
Ye Guan nodded. “That’s true.”
Ye Guanzhi continued. “Secondly, your cultivation realm is too low. This is your biggest weakness. I could have just dragged out our fight earlier, and you would have run out of profound energy in just thirty minutes.”
“I agree.”
“Lastly, you’re still not fast enough.”
Ye Guan was surprised.
Ye Guanzhi laughed and asked, “Is that surprising?”
Ye Guan nodded and said, “You’re the first person to have ever told me that I’m still not fast enough.”
Ye Guanzhi explained, “If you were twice as fast as you are at the moment, my domain wouldn’t have been able to suppress you.”
Twice as fast? Ye Guan laughed bitterly. His speed was already terrifying, and even he thought that it was ridiculous for him to try and become even faster.
Ye Guanzhi added, “Your cultivation realm is too low, and your physique isn’t that strong, so your choice at the moment is to become even faster. Under normal circumstances, it’s very difficult for you to become even faster at this point.
”However, you still haven’t cultivated any body cultivation technique, so I’m sure your speed will increase drastically once you’ve started cultivating a body cultivation technique.”
Ye Guan asked, “Body cultivation techniques?”
“Yes!” Ye Guanzhi nodded and explained, “Your speed has reached the limits of what your physique and cultivation realm can withstand.
”There are only two ways for you to become even faster: you can break through realms and improve your physique, or you can cultivate a body cultivation technique!”
Ye Guanzhi pondered briefly before continuing. “Your current speed has reached the limits of the physical realm. However, I’m sure you’ll surpass that limit once you’ve started cultivating a body cultivation technique.”
“Anyway, did you know that Pavilion Master Qin introduced the concept of physical realms here from Milky Way?” Ye Guanzhi asked. She laughed and added, “I was so surprised when I first heard it. Physical sounds a bit dirty, doesn't it? It’s like getting physical, if you know what I mean. I would really love to explore the Milky Way just to see how vulgar they speak! I think they always go like fuck, fuck, fuck…”
Ye Guanzhi caught herself and giggled.
She was obviously ignorant about Milky Way’s society.
Ye Guan shook his head and chuckled.
“I honestly thought about cultivating a body cultivation technique, but I don’t have any...” he admitted.
“I have them!” exclaimed Ye Guanzhi.
Ye Guan hesitated briefly before asking, “Hmm… how much? Are they… expensive?”
Ye Guanzhi rolled her eyes at him and said, “Money isn’t an issue between us.”
“I’ll feel bad taking it for free.”
“It’s fine!”
Ye Guanzhi walked up to Ye Guan and opened her palm, revealing a black scroll appeared.
Ye Guan was slightly curious and asked, “What is that?”
Ye Guanzhi explained, “Thunderclap. It’s the best Simplicity-rank body cultivation technique of the Guanxuan Academy.”
Ye Guan said, “I saw Lu Tian use that the other day.”
Ye Guanzhi nodded. “He’s the Chosen One, so it makes sense that the Academy has given him the best.”
Ye Guan asked, “Does the Academy only have Simplicity-rank items and techniques?”
“Of course not!”
“Why did the Academy not give the Chosen One better techniques than Simplicity?”
“Because he can’t cultivate them for now...”
“Why not?”
“It seems that you still don’t really know much about the ranking system.”
Ye Guan quickly nodded and said, “Yes, I really don’t know much about it!”
Ye Guanzhi asked, “Do you know the realm above the Seal Shattering Realm?”
Ye Guan shook his head. His cultivation realm was extremely low, so he never really paid much attention to what the higher cultivation realms were.
“All right, I’ll tell you then.” Ye Guanzhi chuckled and said, “The Pinnacle Realm is above the Seal Shattering Realm. Actually, the two of them are technically on the same stretch of road known as the Path to the Pinnacle.
“However, why does the Pinnacle Realm have the world Pinnacle in it? It is all because becoming a Pinnacle Realm cultivation means that a cultivator has reached their physical limits.
“The realm after the Pinnacle Realm is the Ultimate Realm, but it is extremely difficult to reach. A cultivator has to withstand a Heavenly Tribulation to reach it.”
Ye Guan frowned and asked, “Withstand a Heavenly Tribulation?”
Ye Guanzhi nodded and said, “Yes, this was stipulated by Pavilion Master Qin back then. If you want to go further after reaching the Pinnacle Realm, you would need to undergo a Heavenly Tribulation. The Heavenly Dao determines the strength of your Heavenly Tribulation.
”Surviving the Heavenly Tribulation means becoming an Ultimate Realm cultivator. By then, you would be considered a true cultivator. Ultimate Realm cultivators are considered elite cultivators in the Guanxuan Universe!”
Ye Guanzhi paused briefly before continuing, “Pavilion Master Qin was also the one who had started using the word elite to describe such powerhouses.”
Ye Guan shook his head and laughed. He inwardly asked, “Master Pagoda, is Pavilion Master Qin a good person or a bad person?”
“She’s a good person!” Little Pagoda hurriedly said, “No, she’s a great person! The Immortal Treasures Pavilion is a different story, but she really is a good person. Really!”
Little Pagoda didn’t dare to lie anymore.
He was afraid of going too far with his lies and paying for them in the future.
Ye Guan nodded slightly, then looked at Ye Guanzhi.
Ye Guanzhi smiled and said, “A newly minted Ultimate Realm cultivator will receive rewards in the form of Heavenly Dao gifts. They would be able to control Heavenly Tribulation Power as well.
”Needless to say, cultivators capable of wielding the Heavenly Tribulation are extremely strong. A wave of their sleeve is enough for them to destroy entire nations.
“An Ultimate Realm cultivator would also possess the Heavenly Tribulation Tempered Physique, which is a huge power boost!”
Ye Guanzhi paused, allowing Ye Guan to digest the information she had just shared with him. Eventually, she continued. “The prerequisite to cultivating body techniques, martial skills, and cultivation methods above Simplicity is Heavenly Tribulation Power.
“It is all because body techniques, martial skills, and cultivation methods above Simplicity are extremely terrifying. Cultivating them allows a cultivator to display might far stronger than Heavenly Tribulations, so only Ultimate Realm cultivators can cultivate them.
”You can say that the gap between the Ultimate Realm and the realms below it is as big as the gap between heaven and earth.“
Ye Guan suddenly asked, “Lady Guanzhi, what is your cultivation realm?”
Ye Guanzhi laughed and said, “I’m an Ultimate Realm cultivator!”
Ultimate Realm! Ye Guan went silent.
“However, I’m not an ordinary Ultimate Realm cultivator,” said Ye Guanzhi. “I have a high understanding of domains, and I have my own domain as well. If it hadn’t been for my domain, I would have lost against you. Your sword is so fast that it’s absurd.”
Ye Guan asked, “How do I create my own domain?”
Ye Guanzhi explained, “You can only do it once you’ve reached the Ultimate Realm, as a domain requires great physical and mental strength to create. Your cultivation realm is too low, so even if you somehow comprehended a sword domain, you won’t be able to activate it for an extended period of time.
“The profound energy consumption will be too much for you to handle. In addition, you also have to break Heaven and Earth Laws to create your own domain. You’re strong, but even you can only do such a thing for a few moments, not to mention that it’s also doubtful if you can even do it in the first place.”
“I understand.” Ye Guan nodded.
Ye Guanzhi smiled and said, “I think you should work on two things for now. First of all, you should cultivate the Thunderclap Body Technique to bring your speed to a whole new level. If you manage to successfully cultivate Thunderclap, you will be able to instantly kill anyone as long as they are not in the Ultimate Realm.
”Afterward, you should go ahead and master the Achilles Heel Strike!”
Ye Guan frowned and asked, “Achilles Heel Strike?”
Ye Guanzhi nodded and said in a serious tone, “Yes, mastering Achilles Heel Strike means even cultivators with domains won’t be able to suppress you for a long time, and by then…”
Ye Guanzhi trailed off. She gesticulated with her right hand and continued. “You’ll be invincible even amongst Ultimate Realm cultivators, and you can easily kill those below the Ultimate Realm.”
After thinking for a little while, Ye Guan said, “I really don’t have a clue on how I can work on mastering the Achilles Heel Strike. I just did it because of an epiphany. Lady Guanzhi, do you have any suggestions on how I should proceed? I will do whatever you say!”
I will do whatever you say… Ye Guanzhi grinned and said, “In order to truly master the Achilles Heel Strike, you need to master another special technique known as the Critical Method. There are only two people in the Academy who have mastered it. The first is the Head Military Official. He’s extremely powerful with deep knowledge of martial arts. However, he’s the Chosen One’s teacher, so he’ll definitely not teach you the Critical Method.”
Ye Guan hurriedly asked, “Who’s the other person?”
Ye Guanzhi replied, “Chief Seng Wu of the Buddhism Department. He’s the only Department Chief who is always around in the Academy. He has been an influential figure for millions of years. However, he often stays in his temple, and he rarely gets involved in the matters of the Academy.”
Ye Guan asked, “Will he be willing to teach me?”
Ye Guanzhi shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know, but you can try.”
Ye Guan nodded. “All right!”
“You have to go and find him yourself. I’m still under house arrest, so I won’t be able to go with you.”
“Lady Guanzhi, thank you so much for everything!”
“Don’t mention it!”
“I’ll come and see you another day.”
“Sure!”
Ye Guan nodded slightly and disappeared into the horizon with his sword.
Madame Li appeared next to Ye Guanzhi and asked, “What would have happened if you had gone all out?”
Ye Guanzhi chuckled and replied, “I can beat him in a sparring match, but I’ll lose in a life-or-death battle.
Madame Li frowned and asked, “Why?”
Ye Guanzhi said softly, “How can a sword exert the full extent of its might without killing intent? His attacks were much weaker than usual, as they weren’t fueled with killing intent. It was especially glaring when he inadvertently used the Achilles Heel Strike against me earlier. He was afraid of hurting me, so he held back a bit in time.”
Ye Guanzhi shook her head and laughed.
“Our fight was like playing house,” she remarked.
Madame Li muttered, “What a wonderful young man.”
Ye Guanzhi nodded. “Indeed.”
Madame Li wordlessly stared at her.
Ye Guanzhi suddenly asked, “Are there any movements on the Chosen One’s side?”
Madame Li nodded and said in a low voice, “Yes, and they’re pretty big movements, too. The Head Military Official has been bringing Lu Tian to many different places these days.
”They’re obviously in a campaign trying to acquire the support of the indecisive families and clans. You know that he has a special status, so those indecisive families and clans will definitely welcome him.”
Ye Guanzhi said, “On the day of their battle, I’ll go to Mount Qingqiu.”
Madame Li was shocked. “Why?”
Ye Guanzhi calmly explained, “If anyone dares to go against the grain and bring injustice to Young Lord Ye, I will go and awaken Senior Qingqiu, even if it means losing my life.”
“You can’t!” Madame Li exclaimed. “Lady Qingqiu has left a message that no one else must disturb her other than the Sword Master. You know that she does not care about the Academy anymore since the Sword Master’s disappearance.
The consequences will be disastrous if you attract her ire. Furthermore, there are mysterious elite cultivators guarding that place. If you trespass, they’ll definitely kill you. Even the Committee can’t control those mysterious elites, so—”
Ye Guanzhi interrupted with a shake of her head. “I know!”
Madame Li was confused, and she asked anxiously, “Why are you still entertaining such thoughts? Are you perhaps—”
Ye Guanzhi looked at her feet and muttered, “I just find it unfair that the Academy still insists on treating him unfairly. It really doesn’t make any sense.”
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