Although Yama Dharmaraja spoke with absolute conviction and confidence, he was also somewhat bewildered. The sudden appearance of the Multiverse Emperor had left him stunned. This legendary figure had integrated countless timelines back in the day, and he didn't expect him to reappear with such formidable power as well.

Despite that, he still chose to follow Ye Guan. If Ye Guan surrendered, then he would surrender; if Ye Guan decided not to surrender, then he wouldn't surrender. Compared to the Multiverse Emperor, the lady in the plain skirt was more terrifying.

Of course, he couldn't be certain who was stronger.

In the end, all he could do was take things one step at a time.

***

Ye Guan returned to the Devourer Civilization with Ruler Qi, both wearing grave expressions. The power of the Multiverse Emperor was indeed unfathomable.

Ruler Qi suddenly spoke softly, "I wonder if the Timeless Civilization and the Gui Zhe Civilization…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a middle-aged man appeared. It was Yama Dharmaraja.

Both Ye Guan and Ruler Qi were somewhat surprised at his appearance.

Yama Dharmaraja said in a serious tone, "The Timeless Civilization has already submitted to the Multiverse Emperor."

Ruler Qi was not surprised by this. She asked bluntly, "What about the Gui Zhe Civilization? What have you decided?"

Yama Dharmaraja did not answer right away. Instead, he turned to Ye Guan and asked, "Young Master Ye, what are you going to do?"

After a brief silence, Ye Guan responded, "We must fight."

Yama Dharmaraja smiled. "Then we fight."

Ruler Qi asked, "Venerable Yama, how much do you know about this Multiverse Emperor?"

Yama Dharmaraja shook his head. "Not much. He was far too removed from our three civilizations. After he integrated all the cosmic timelines, he vanished… To be honest, I thought he had already perished."

Ruler Qi said, "With our current strength alone, it's impossible to go against him. His goal is to refine the entire known universe into a Time Dao artifact, turning countless living beings into the spirit of this artifact. If we reveal his plan to the universe, many powerful beings will surely rise to oppose him."

Yama Dharmaraja nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Both our civilizations have many hidden powerful individuals, but we'll need more allies."

"There's no time to lose. Venerable Yama, we should act now and inform the billions of beings across the universe about his intentions."

"Agreed."

Just as both of them were about to leave, Ruler Qi seemed to remember something and turned to Ye Guan. "Young Master Ye, you…"

Ye Guan looked at Yama Dharmaraja and said, "Venerable Yama, I'd like to ask you about someone."

"Who?" Yama Dharmaraja asked.

Ye Guan pulled out a portrait of Qin Guan. "My mother."

Yama Dharmaraja was stunned. "She's your mother?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Yes. She came to the Gui Zhe Civilization a while back, but I couldn't sense her presence."

Yama Dharmaraja replied, "Lady Qin has already left."

Ye Guan was slightly taken aback. "She left?"

Yama Dharmaraja nodded. "Back then, when she came to the Gui Zhe Civilization, she stayed for a while and even helped us break a seal on an ancient ruin. Later, it seemed she had some matters to attend to, so she left."

Ye Guan's expression darkened.

Why did Mother leave?

Ruler Qi asked, "What do you plan to do?"

After a brief silence, Ye Guan replied, "I'm going to find a few friends."

Ruler Qi nodded. "Alright."

After Yama Dharmaraja and Ruler Qi left, Little Pagoda suddenly spoke, "Who are you planning to find?"

Ye Guan looked up toward the distant stars and said softly, "Master Pagoda, how long has it been since my father, uncle, and aunt came out?"

Little Pagoda answered, "Not long."

Ye Guan smiled. "I don't want to rely on them every time something happens. This time, I want to face this crisis with my own strength."

Little Pagoda hesitated to speak. Ye Guan added, "With your help, Master Pagoda."

Truth be told, Little Pagoda was a bit anxious. There was a saying that it wasn't a problem if the first generation was wealthy, but if the next generation wanted to start their own legacy, it would always be risky.

Little Pagoda was worried about what they were about to face.

Ye Guan said, "Master Pagoda, do you support me?"

Little Pagoda replied, "Of course, I support you, but as you know, my abilities are limited."

"Master Pagoda, if we keep asking Aunt, Father, and Grandfather for help every now and then, don't you think I'll end up no different from Father back in the day?"

"Just to clarify, your grandfather hardly ever helped your father. It was mostly your aunt who stepped in. In this regard, your grandfather wasn't really resp—"

Little Pagoda quickly stopped mid-sentence.

I better not speak too much.

"But you do have a point. Constantly relying on your family doesn't just make you feel weak. It makes me feel weak, too. It also makes us look useless."

Ye Guan chimed in, "So we'll handle it ourselves?"

Little Pagoda's energy surged, and he boldly declared, "Damn right! I'll help you! I've been through all sorts of things with your grandfather. Why would I be afraid of some measly Multiverse Emperor? Let's go for it!"

Ye Guan burst out laughing. "That's right, let's go for it!"

Little Pagoda asked, "You mentioned finding some friends earlier. Who are you thinking of calling?"

With a resolute look on his face, Ye Guan replied, "I won't call on anyone from the family."

He turned around, hopped on his sword, and rode into the sky, vanishing from the spot.

Soon, he reappeared on a street in the Milky Way. Finally, he was back here.

Seeing that his cultivation had not been sealed, he let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that his father wasn't targeting him anymore.

A complex light flickered in Ye Guan's eyes. Without thinking much about it, he closed his eyes, and his divine sense immediately enveloped all of Yanjing. The next moment, he vanished again.

Ye Guan instantly arrived in front of an apartment door.

Just as he was about to knock, a terrifying sword aura enveloped him. Moments later, the door opened, revealing a lady sitting on a sofa. The lady was staring at him, and she was none other than Fu Wu!

She was dressed casually—a short-sleeved top and a pair of skinny jeans.

Ye Guan smiled. "Sister Fu, long time no see."

Fu Wu looked a bit surprised. "It's you…"

By now, her memories had returned.

Ye Guan stepped inside, noticing that Fu Wu had been watching a cartoon—

Peppa Pig

at that.

Fu Wu stood up, looking at Ye Guan. "Ye…"

Ye Guan smiled. "Just call me Little Guan."

Fu Wu nodded and said nothing.

Ye Guan had a serious expression on his face. "Sister Fu, I've come here today to ask for your help."

"A battle?"

"Yes!"

"Sure."

"The opponent is very strong."

"That's fine."

Ye Guan laughed. He opened his palm, and a sword—the Qingxuan Sword— appeared in his hand. He then handed it to her and said, "Use this sword."

Fu Wu accepted the sword. The moment she held it, the sword trembled slightly, emitting a faint humming sound.

Seeing this, Ye Guan was a little surprised. The Qingxuan Sword actually reacted to Fu Wu. This was unusual, as the sword had only ever responded to him and a few members of his family.

It had never shown such a reaction to anyone else.

However, he did not dwell on it.

When Fu Wu held the Qingxuan Sword, she froze in surprise. After carefully examining the sword, she looked at Ye Guan with a trace of confusion in her eyes.

Ye Guan smiled and asked, "Sister Fu, how does the sword feel?"

Fu Wu withdrew her gaze and looked at the sword again. "With this sword, I can kill Jing Chu with one strike."

Ye Guan chuckled awkwardly, "That's all in the past now."

"So the opponent is strong?"

"Yes. A top-tier expert from a Tier Six Civilization."

"Good," Fu Wu said, and a faint desire for battle shimmered in her eyes.

Ye Guan was about to say something when a voice suddenly came from behind him. "Little Fu, who is this?"

Ye Guan turned around and saw a lady standing at the door. She was wearing a white T-shirt and denim shorts; her flawless legs were fully exposed.

Even though she was not as pretty as Fu Wu, she was still a rare beauty.

Fu Wu said, "He's… His name is Ye Guan."

The lady smiled at him and said, "I'm Yu Fei, a friend of Little Fu."

Ye Guan said politely, "Nice to meet you."

Yu Fei gave Ye Guan a once-over, and her face flushed slightly as she replied, "Nice… to meet you, too."

Fu Wu grabbed Yu Fei's hand and said, "I have to leave."

"Leave?" Yu Fei asked, stunned.

Fu Wu nodded. "I'm going with him to kill someone."

Yu Fei thought she was joking and naturally did not take it seriously. She quickly held onto her hand, a bit reluctant. "When will you be back?"

During their time together, she had grown quite fond of Fu Wu.

Fu Wu replied, "I'll be back once the killing is done."

Although still reluctant, there was nothing Yu Fei could do to make her stay.

"You're always welcome here," said Yu Fei.

Fu Wu nodded. "All right."

Then, she turned to look at Ye Guan, and he immediately understood what she was trying to say. Opening his palm, a scroll slowly floated over to Yu Fei. The cultivation methods of the Tianxing Civilization weren't suitable for humans.

Yu Fei was a little puzzled. "What's this?"

Ye Guan explained, "It's a cultivation method that's good for strengthening your body."

Yu Fei was immediately excited. "A cultivation method?"

In the Milky Way, martial artists and cultivators were no longer a secret.

Ye Guan did not hide it and nodded. "Yes."

Yu Fei asked, "Are you both cultivators?"

"Yes," Fu Wu replied.

Suddenly, Yu Fei hugged Fu Wu tightly, brimming with excitement as she said, "I knew it! From the moment I first saw you, I could tell you weren't an ordinary person. I can't believe you're really one of those cultivators from the legends."

Fu Wu gently rubbed her head without saying anything.

When Ye Guan and Fu Wu were about to leave, Ye Guan left some Eternal Crystals for Yu Fei.

After leaving the apartment, Fu Wu looked at Ye Guan and asked, "Is this urgent?"

Ye Guan asked, "Do you have something you need to do?"

"I want to eat," she said.

Ye Guan chuckled, "Sure."

The both of them made their way to a local street market. They found a hotpot restaurant, and as they sat down, Fu Wu suddenly extended her hand to him.

Ye Guan looked puzzled.

Fu Wu saw that and said, "Give me a Dao Hawthorn Fruit."

Ye Guan was surprised. "How did you know I had… No, wait, how did you know about the Dao Hawthorn Fruit?"

Fu Wu said, "Yi Nian told me about it."

Ye Guan shook his head and smiled. He did not expect that Yi Nian had even told Fu Wu about this. He took out a stick of candied hawthorn and handed it to her.

Fu Wu peeled off the candy wrapper and took a small bite. When she did, it seemed as if something had stirred within her.

Ye Guan said, "So, do you like it?"

"Yes," Fu Wu said with a slight nod.

Ye Guan picked up the teapot next to him and poured her a cup of tea, then poured one for himself. "I've noticed that girls really like eating candied hawthorns."

Fu Wu glanced at him but said nothing. Ye Guan knew her temperament. She was not much of a talker, but he still found topics to chat about, though it was mostly him doing the talking, with Fu Wu occasionally responding to him.

After a while, all the food was served.

Fu Wu picked up a piece of soft tofu, dipped it in chili sauce, and tasted it.

"This fruit called tofu is delicious."

Clearly, Fu Wu was very interested in Milky Way cuisine, as she wanted to try every dish, even though she didn't know their names. It did not matter much, as she was convinced that they were all just different types of fruit.

After the meal, Ye Guan noticed that Fu Wu was still hungry, so he took her around the food street to try more snacks.

Fu Wu's expression remained calm, but Ye Guan could tell that she was enjoying herself, tasting this and that from different stalls.

Just like that, the two of them ate until dusk.

Fu Wu held a lamb skewer in her left hand and a stick of candied hawthorn in her right hand as they walked along the river.

They strolled leisurely for half an hour, and after Fu Wu finished eating the last candied hawthorn, she leaned against the railing and looked off into the distant sky.

There, the sunset was blood-red, and a gentle breeze stirred, causing her hair to sway softly in the wind.

After a long while, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and then she turned to look at Ye Guan, asking, "Are we leaving now?"

Ye Guan hesitated for a moment, then said, "I need to meet two people first."

He had originally planned to return and reconnect with them later, but in the end, he decided to meet them today. Being sentimental was better than being heartless.

Fu Wu nodded. "I'll wait for you here."

Ye Guan smiled. "Alright."

With that, he turned and disappeared.

Fu Wu turned to gaze at the distant lake. Golden light shimmered across the surface, and for a moment, her gaze, like the water, rippled with emotion. Softly, she sang, "The brush outlines the blue and white porcelain~ its strokes fading from bold to light~ the peony painted on it is as beautiful as you~"

***

Soon, Ye Guan arrived at the Milky Way Academy. The academy was still as bustling as ever, and it remained a sacred place in the hearts of students.

Suddenly, the gazes of numerous people in the area turned towards a lady. She was a light blue dress that was both elegant and simple; she was a striking beauty. She was Mu Wanyu, one of the two most beautiful women at the Milky Way Academy today. Countless men considered her their goddess.

Mu Wanyu was holding a book and walking quickly toward the distance when she suddenly sensed something. She turned and froze when she saw Ye Guan standing at the school gate. The next moment, she rushed over and directly threw herself into his arms.

The students were stunned.

Isn't Mu Wanyu supposed to be single? What's going on?

Somewhere nearby, a well-dressed young man stared at Ye Guan and Mu Wanyu, and he looked as if he had eaten a pile of dung.

A man beside him sneered, "Young Master Gu, who doesn't know that you're pursuing Lady Mu? How dare that man get close to her! Should I take care of him?"

The young man turned and slapped him.

Smack!

The man was immediately stunned.

The young man glared at him and said, "All you know how to do is act! Can't you think for once? Damn it, that guy is clearly not an ordinary person. Why would you want to provoke him?

"Do you know how villains usually end up dead? It's all because they're too stupid! You should read more web novels to learn something and learn something from them, you dumbfuck!"