Chapter 316: Invincibility Is an Understatement
Upon hearing Xue Chen’s words, Ye Guan couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated. Why do people nowadays like to annihilate clans? Do they think that it makes them look impressive?
Ye Guan shook his head. Xue Chen saw that, and a surge of anger rose in his heart.
He's ignoring my warning? He's ignoring the warning of my Xue Clan?
His blood boiled, and he lifted his hand to point a finger at Ye Guan.
However, Ye Guan vanished before he could say anything.
Smack!
A crisp noise echoed as Xue Chen flew away. He cut a sorry figure in the air as he flew like a cut that had lost its string. A loud noise echoed as he crashed into a nearby wall. The impact was so strong that the wall crumbled, burying Xue Chen beneath the rubble.
Ye Guan calmly said, “I've given you enough face by listening to your tirade.”
Just then, Nangong Xue grabbed Ye Guan’s hand and dragged him away.
Confused, Ye Guan asked, “What's going on, Lady Nangong?”
Nangong Xue's expression was grave as she explained, “Xue Chen is from the Xue Clan of the Northernmost Divine Continent. You basically kicked a hornet’s nest by slapping him. The Xue Clan won't let you go; they'll come at you with all their might.
"It's all my fault; I really shouldn’t have visited you today. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have vented his anger on you. I really messed up.”
Ye Guan chuckled.
Little Pagoda suddenly asked, “Do you regret it?”
Ye Guan laughed. “Regret? I wasn’t looking to get involved, but it is what it is.”
The mysterious lady burst into laughter and said, “Good! Men should be more assertive. So what if you want to get involved?”
Ye Guan's mouth fluttered open to respond to Nangong Xue when a powerful aura descended to surround him and Nangong Xue from all sides.
Ye Guan frowned at the encirclement from a few dozen cultivators. Nangong Xue went pale at the sight. She gripped Ye Guan’s hand tightly and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let them harm you.”
Ye Guan glanced at her, but he remained silent.
A woman emerged from the crowd and walked over to them.
She appeared to be in her twenties; her facial features were exquisite, and her figure was slender. She was dressed in a light-green long dress; the hem of her dress was adorned with embroidered flowers.
Overall, her outfit and demeanor made her look elegant to behold.
Ye Guan examined the woman, and she bore a striking resemblance to Nangong Xue. However, the woman's vibe radiated extreme cold, which was in contrast to Nangong Xue's warmth.
Nangong Xue hurriedly jumped in front of Ye Guan. She looked slightly nervous as she muttered, “Sister.”
The woman was none other than her older sister, Nangong Han.
Nangong Han stared deeply at Ye Guan and said, “I want to talk to him.”
“No way!” Nangong Xue immediately refused. She stared intently at Nangong Han and said, “Sister, this has nothing to do with him. I'm the one who slapped Xue Chen. If you want to blame someone, blame me. Don’t get him involved in our affairs!”
Nangon Han made a sidelong glance at Nangong Xue and asked, “Do you want to save him?”
Nangong Xue’s expression fell, and she sounded annoyed as she asked, “What do you mean?”
Nangong Han didn’t answer. Her gaze was fixed on Ye Guan as she said, “I want you to come with me by yourself.”
With that, she turned around and walked toward a nearby building.
Nangong Xue held Ye Guan’s arm and refused to let go of him.
Ye Guan had no plans of getting involved in the affairs of the Nangong Clan, but Nangong Xue had been defending him; they had also overcome a life-and-death situation together, so Ye Guan felt like protecting Nangong Xue.
He made a sidelong glance at Nangong Xue and grinned. "I'll go talk to her."
Nangong Xue looked guilty as she muttered, "I shouldn't have brought you to the Nangong Clan… you wouldn't have gotten involved in all this if I hadn't brought you here. It's my fault..."
Ye Guan reassured her with a laugh. "No worries. Anyway, I'll go talk to your sister."
Shaking her head, Nangong Xue said, "It won't work. My sister is a tough nut to crack. If you go in, she'll make things difficult for you. How about... we run away together?"
As the words slipped out of her lips, her face flushed red. What am I saying?
She felt indescribably ashamed of herself, and she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her so that she could hide from Ye Guan.
Ye Guan was stunned. Run away? Why are we going to run away?
Nangong Xue summoned the courage to meet Ye Guan's gaze and said, "I know that you're a rogue cultivator, but I'm not going to look down on you. We can go anywhere with just the two of us. Trust me, I can endure hardships. We can work together and earn a living. I'm cool with that."
It was practically a confession. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have uttered such embarrassing words even if someone were to threaten her, but things had gone over to the extreme end. If she stayed here, she would just become a pawn in the Nangong Clan's politics.
She didn't want to become a political tool.
She was incredibly embarrassed, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably, but she gathered the courage every bit of courage in her heart to look directly into Ye Guan's eyes.
Upon hearing Nangong Xue's words, Ye Guan fell silent. He could feel that she had some feelings for him. However, he truly didn't expect that—in such a short time together—she had ended up developing feelings for him. Perhaps it might just be a tiny bit of affection, but who could say for sure?
Putting those thoughts aside, Ye Guan smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'll go talk to your sister first. Trust me, my family has an academy, and we're scholars, so we know how to talk to people in a reasonable way."
Nangong Xue shook her head repeatedly and said, "You don't understand. My sister once had feelings for a man, but our parents separated them. She has become an entirely different person since then. If you go in, she'll make things difficult for you."
Ye Guan pondered for a moment before saying, "How about this? I'll go talk to her first. If things don't work out, we can consider elo—leaving..."
Ye Guan broke out into a cold sweat. He barely managed to catch himself in time and avoided saying the word eloping.
Nangong Xue's cheeks flushed red. She lowered her head slightly as her heart filled with overflowing joy. Eventually, she composed herself and muttered, "Then... go talk to my sister! I'll be waiting for you!"
Ye Guan nodded. "Alright."
With that, he turned around and started walking toward a particular building.
Meanwhile, Little Pagoda couldn't help but say, "Why do girls like this little guy so much? I really don't understand it."
The mysterious lady said, "Is he not handsome in your eyes?"
Little Pagoda replied, "I don't think he's that handsome."
The mysterious lady said, "Are you blind?"
Little Pagoda went silent at that.
The mysterious lady continued, "My big sister's books are full of handsome men, but I think none of them are as handsome as Ye Guan. If he weren't from the Guanxuan Universe, he might get along with my big sister!"
Just then, Little Pagoda asked, "Do you think there's a possibility that something might happen between him and your big sister?"
The mysterious lady questioned, "What? What's with that train of thought?"
After a moment of silence, Little Pagoda explained, "I've followed the Yang Family for three generations, and something similar happened with the first two generations. I'm not too sure if the plot will remain the same because the third generation's character is drastically different to the first two generations..”
The mysterious lady answered, "I think it's unlikely. My big sister is more of a solo player, and she doesn't like to do it with men—"
The mysterious lady stopped mid-sentence and said, "My apologies; it seems that you've influenced me the wrong way. It appears that I've inadvertently picked up your coarse vocabulary. Perhaps it's because we've been together for so long."
Little Pagoda was at a loss for words.
The mysterious lady continued. "Anyway…"
Little Pagoda asked, "What’s wrong?"
The mysterious lady replied, "Us four sisters have vowed to live and die together. We also vowed that if one of us were to get married to someone, we'd all get married to the same person."
"A-are you guys mad?!" Little Pagoda exclaimed in disbelief.
The mysterious lady said, "That's probably why Cijing [1] resents Ye Guan so much. I think it's related to that vow."
The mysterious lady sighed softly and said, "I really didn't expect Ba Wan to make such a decisive move while I wasn't paying attention. She enjoyed the act but left the clean-up to us. Ye Guan is handsome, but…
"You're just a pagoda, right? What's the point of telling you such details?"
Little Pagoda had no idea what to say to that.
...
Upon entering the building, Ye Guan immediately saw Nangong Han and Nangong Yun staring at him.
Ye Guan pondered briefly before deciding to settle things diplomatically. Just as he was about to speak, Nangong Han suddenly said, "My brother told me that you're a rogue cultivator. Is that right?"
Ye Guan replied, "Well, not exactly."
Nangong Han stared at Ye Guan and frowned. "Not exactly?"
Ye Guan nodded and explained, "My family runs an academy and a merchant guild. They're not bad."
Nangong Han suddenly stood up.
She walked up to Ye Guan and looked down at him.
"Honestly, I really don't like you," she said.
Ye Guan frowned deeply at that.
Nangong Han said, "You are both naive and idealistic. You also don't know your place. Just who do you think you are? Do you really think that the likes of you can stay with my sister? Just think about your identity and my sister's identity, and you'll find the answer to that question.
"It sounds harsh, right?" Nangong Han shook her head lightly and said, "But it's the truth. You'd harm her and yourself if you were to insist on staying with her."
Ye Guan briefly pondered about it before saying, "I believe that background and status are important, but we shouldn't measure a person's worth solely based on those two things.
"One's wealth and status do not determine whether one is good or bad. I think hard work is more important than anything else. Becoming outstanding on your own terms and through your own hard work is the mark of true excellence. One shouldn't become arrogant just because their ancestors had achieved something great.
"After all, that glory belongs to one's ancestor rather than to oneself."
Nangong Han sneered and said, "How naive."
Ye Guan didn't say anything in response.
Nangong Han continued. "Forgive me for being straightforward, but someone like you is at the bottom of society. You'll never understand the importance of having a powerful background. You're naive enough to believe that individuals can overcome everything by hard work, but it is such a foolish notion that it's laughable.
"I don't want to waste my breath telling you what I think. Society is a good enough teacher, and it's going to teach you just how harsh the reality is. Let's get straight to the point. I want you to name your price!"
Ye Guan was a bit surprised. "Name my price?"
Nangong Han opened her palm, and a storage ring flew over to Ye Guan.
"Leave my sister, and the three million spiritual cores inside that storage ring are yours. Is that enough?"
Ye Guan went quiet; he felt quite insulted.
"Not enough?" Nangong Han sneered and said, "You have quite the appetite. Five million spiritual cores it is, then!"
Another storage ring flew toward Ye Guan, and Nangong Han added. "If you feel think that it's humiliating, then just suck it up. We're talking about five million spiritual cores here!"
Ye Guan was somewhat surprised as he swept his gaze across the two storage rings.
Nangong Han added, "Surprised? Haven't seen this much money before? Or… have you never been humiliated like this?"
Ye Guan stared deeply at Nangong Han and said, "I understand what you're trying to do here. You want to tell me that the difference between our family backgrounds is too great and that I'm not worthy of becoming related to the Nangong Clan."
"Bingo," Nangong Han said while staring at Ye Guan. With that, she tossed another storage ring and said, "Ten million spiritual cores. I think that should be enough."
Ye Guan shook his head with a smile, but he didn't say anything in response.
A cold light flashed in Nangong Han's eyes as she said fiercely, "I can make you disappear without a trace, but I don't want a mere rogue cultivator to ruin my relationship with my sister. I also don't want to hurt her.
"However, I still have a bottom line, and it's ten million spiritual cores.
"Take it or leave your life behind.”
Ye Guan thought over his response before saying, "I wanted to settle this matter diplomatically as an ordinary person, but it seems that an ordinary person's words do not hold much weight in your eyes. In that case, we should change roles. That way, we can finally have a proper conversation."
Ye Guan took out a storage ring and handed it over to Nangong Han.
"Take a look," he said calmly.
Nangong Han's brows furrowed slightly, but her expression changed drastically once she saw what was inside the storage ring. She was so shocked that she unknowingly took a few steps backward.
The storage ring contained billions of spiritual cores.
Nangong Han cast a stupefied gaze upon Ye Guan and stammered, "Y-y-you..."
Ye Guan walked toward a chair and sat down. He poured tea for himself and took a sip before saying, "Nangong Xue is my friend, and our friendship isn't based on her family background. Forgive me for being straightforward, but whenever I make friends, I never really consider their family background.
"And when it comes to family backgrounds, I can say with confidence that I'm invincible among my peers. In fact, even invincibility might be an understatement."
1. The Adjudication Sword Master ☜
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