Chapter 1077: Forbidden List!

A bet!

Ye Guan stared intently at Clan Leader Jing, and his gaze was more resolute than ever. He was not acting on impulse; he was serious.

All along, he had been focused on becoming stronger and expanding his territory without really understanding or caring about the order he had established.

He hoped that the order he had created would allow younger generations to feel hopeful for the future. He needed to experience the new order and his rules to understand them.

One could not know the difficulties of anything without experiencing it themselves. Thus, Ye Guan had to go through those hardships.

Clan Leader Jing was about to speak, but her brows furrowed as she looked to the right. Ye Guan turned to the right as well.

A mysterious golden rift emanating the fluctuations of the Dao of Time was at the end of the starry sky.

Five experts walked out of the rift, and a middle-aged man in a golden robe stood at the helm of them. The rest of them were clad in golden armor.

The middle-aged man's gaze pierced countless spacetime layers before finally landing on Ye Guan and Clan Leader Jing. He looked at Clan Leader Jing and said, "I'm the Hall Master of the Temporal Dao's Twelfth Hall, Wu Chao—"

Clan Leader Jing furrowed her eyebrows more and roared, "Get lost!"

Wu Chao's face changed drastically. He thrust his right hand forward to unleash a mysterious power. However, he and others were blasted away by a strange force, forcing them to fly out of the Guanxuan Universe and into a starry sky.

They were kicked out after just one attack!

Wu Chao and his companions turned pale as a sheet, stunned by the unexpected turn of events.

They had learned about the details of the mysterious powerhouse in this universe region, but they didn't take them seriously. After all, how powerful could someone from a low-tier universe be?

However, they had never expected that Clan Leader Jing would be so terrifying!

Wu Chao cast a deep glance at the far reaches of the starry sky, and his eyes were filled with apprehension. "I never expected that there would be such a formidable powerhouse in this place aside from the Multiverse Emperor.

"I wonder if she's on the Forbidden List..."

The Forbidden List!

The cultivators around him were shocked to hear that. Those in the Forbidden List were considered taboo existences in the vast expanse—among the strongest known beings in the boundless expanse.

The former First Hall Master was once at the top position of that list.

"That's e impossible... She's powerful, but she has yet to register with the Temporal Dao Hall. Still, she cannot be underestimated."

Wu Chao nodded in agreement, "Yes, she is not to be underestimated. I originally intended to do a favor for the Multiverse Emperor to establish a connection with him.

"I never expected that Ye Guan's backers would be so extraordinary. We need to think more about this before we make our next steps."

With that said, he led the others to disappear into the depths of the starry sky.

***

Clan Leader Jing looked at Ye Guan, remaining silent.

"I'll do whatever you say," said Ye Guan. He wanted her to truly accept her defeat.

Back then, his grandfather had risen from nothing to become one of the strongest in the vast expanse. So why couldn't he do the same? Ye Guan refused to believe that he couldn't grow without any backing or connections.

Clan Leader Jing reached out toward Ye Guan with her hands, which were as pure as white jade.

Ye Guan hesitated for a moment before placing his hand in her soft palm.

"...!" Ye Guan's pupils constricted.

Boom!

His cultivation base was erased along with his Sword Dao.

Indeed, they were erased!

Ye Guan was stunned. Before he could ask anything, his clothes suddenly turned to ash, and his flesh melted away slowly.

Ye Guan's pupils constricted, and his face was twisted in agony. He could feel himself being sliced apart.

Clan Leader Jing watched him silently with no intention of stopping his pain.

Although Ye Guan was suffering an extreme amount of pain, he gnashed his teeth and made no sound as he stared straight at Clan Leader Jing.

The two locked eyes and neither of them spoke.

Finally, his Invincible Sword Intent and fleshy body were destroyed, leaving only his soul behind.

Clan Leader Jing finally spoke, "Gather."

Ye Guan's flesh began to join together piece by piece, forming an entirely new fleshly body. However, it was an extremely ordinary body.

Clan Leader Jing retracted her hand, but Ye Guan grabbed her hand.

Clan Leader Jing frowned.

Ye Guan looked at her and said, "I still have my soul, and it's strong as well. Deal with it."

Clan Leader Jing stared deeply at Ye Guan. The next moment, Ye Guan's pupils shrunk to the size of a needle. The pain in his soul was a hundred times stronger than the pain coursing through his flesh.

It was so painful that he fainted.

Without his powerful fleshly body and cultivation base, Ye Guan couldn't endure the torment.

When Clan Leader Jing saw Ye Guan collapse, she pondered for a moment before retracting her hand, choosing not to weaken his soul even further. She crouched down and placed her right hand on Ye Guan's forehead to plant a mysterious seal.

Boom!

The tiny pagoda was sealed. While he could still speak, Little Pagoda's functions had been disabled.

Clan Leader Jing looked at Ao Qianqian in the tiny pagoda, who was in seclusion for a breakthrough.

Little Pagoda reminded, "The Qingxuan Sword..."

Clan Leader Jing glanced at the tiny pagoda but remained silent.

Little Pagoda fell into contemplation. He had actually been hoping that Ye Guan would truly change—a real and tangible change. This was an excellent opportunity for Ye Guan to change as Clan Leader Jing would help him fend off any external threats.

Of course, this was still a bet.

If Ye Guan couldn't survive the challenge with just his own strength, there would be a new King of Relying on Others. The tiny pagoda would become obsolete then, as Ye Guan would no longer need it.

However, Little Pagoda wanted Ye Guan to succeed more than anyone else. He had always been hoping that Ye Guan would ultimately become invincible.

Just then, Clan Leader Jing opened her palm, and the Qingxuan Sword appeared in her hand. She glanced at the sword before putting it away.

Meanwhile, Ye Guan found himself completely stripped of all external possessions.

The tiny pagoda couldn't be used!

The Qingxuan Sword was gone!

His Sword Dao and fleshly body had been completely reduced to nothing!

Clan Leader Jing looked at Ye Guan for a moment. With a flick of her sleeve, he vanished on the spot. She turned to gaze at the depths of the starry sky and softly said, "You will surely regret this."

Then, she seemed to have sensed something and turned around to look in the direction where Ye Guan once was located. She didn't see anything, but her eyebrows furrowed deeply. Her eyes flashed coldly as she said, "If you dare touch him or break the rules during our bet, I'll kill you and your entire civilization."

***

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Guan opened his eyes. He sat up straight and found himself on a busy street, surrounded by people.

Where is this place?

He quickly assessed himself and realized that his cultivation base, fleshly body, and his Sword Dao had been erased. Then, he remembered his bet with Clan Leader Jing.

"Master Pagoda?" Ye Guan called out.

"Yes?"

Ye Guan looked around in confusion before asking, "Where are we?"

"I don't know either," Little Pagoda replied, "I'm sealed inside you right now. I can only chat with you; I can't help you with anything else. Simply put, I'm just a good luck charm."

Ye Guan remained silent.

"Clan Leader Jing said that if you can join the Guanxuan Academy in Little Guan City within three years, you'll pass the first challenge."

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ye Guan was taken aback for a moment, and then he laughed. "Is it really that simple?"

Joining the Guanxuan Academy in three years seemed too easy. He smiled confidently and proclaimed, "I won't need three years. I'll join in a year... Nope, I can do it in six months!"

"Impressive! I believe in you," Little Pagoda said.

Ye Guan chucked and then stood up, taking a look around. He needed to figure out where he was before anything else. His appearance had changed. While it wasn't anything drastic, people wouldn't mistake him for the Academy Master.

After asking around, Ye Guan was shocked to learn where he was!

He was in Qingzhou—his father's hometown.

Ye Guan hadn't expected that Clan Leader Jing would send him here. It was truly a surprise.

Without further thought, Ye Guan began to inquire about the major forces in Qingzhou. The Guanxuan Academy was undoubtedly the strongest, followed by the Immortal Treasures Pavilion and the Sword Sect. The next organizations in line were the following major clans—the Ye Clan, the Tuoba Clan, and the Qin Clan.

After considering his options, Ye Guan decided to head to the Sword Sect. After all, he was a swordsman, and the Sword Sect would be more suitable for him than the academy.

After asking for the address of the Sword Sect, Ye Guan set off, but he soon found himself in a predicament.

The Sword Sect was a thousand miles away from him. If he were to walk there, the journey would likely take him half a year.

And he had no money on him!

Ye Guan felt overwhelmed. Ever since he left the Ye Family, he had never been short on money, but now, he wasn't just worried about the journey to the Sword Sect. He was worried about himself as well.

He was hungry, and his fleshly body needed nourishment, unlike before.

It was time to make some money!

Ye Guan took a deep breath and decided to find a way to earn some cash. He remembered the Immortal Treasures Pavilion and recalled that they offered loans.

Ye Guan was stopped by a manager as soon as he arrived at the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.

"What do you want?" the manager questioned.

"I would like to make a loan."

The manager glanced at Ye Guan and pointed to the right. "Get in line."

Lining up?

Ye Guan was shocked. He turned and saw dozens of people queuing up at a counter.

"Is there a way to skip the line?" Ye Guan asked hesitantly.

The manager shot him a dismissive look before replying, "Yes, if you deposit ten million spiritual crystals in our branch, you'll become a premium client and will be able to skip the queue."

Ten million spiritual crystals? Ye Guan fell silent. He didn't have that much money on him. He glanced at the counters and saw five, but only one was operating.

"Why are the other counters empty? If more people were working, wouldn't that make things more efficient? It would save everyone's time as well."

"The time of poor people isn't precious. We don't need to save their time."

Ye Guan and Little Pagoda were both rendered speechless at that.