You fucker?

Ye Guan's face darkened.

Why is this guy insulting me?

Just then, a teleportation array appeared beneath his feet, and he vanished, reappearing on the fourth floor.

The fourth floor contained only a single puppet, but unlike the ones on the previous floors, this puppet was silver and held a sheathed longsword.

Hum!

There was a flash of sword light, and in an instant, the blade was already upon Ye Guan. However, he remained unfazed despite the ambush. He sidestepped and tapped the oncoming blade with a finger.

Hum!

A resonant sword hum echoed as Ye Guan's finger landed on the puppet's throat.

Bam!

The puppet shuddered violently and froze before disappearing.

Ye Guan looked at the far wall and saw a screen made out of light. The familiar voice sounded once again. "Congratulations, you have broken the speed record. You defeated the Silver Sword Slave in a single breath. Would you like to remain anonymous, or—"

"I'd like to remain anonymous," said Ye Guan with a chuckle.

"I should remind you that you're the fastest so far; you were ten times faster than the previous record holder. If you choose to reveal your name, your name will spread throughout Wanzhou.

"You'll become famous throughout the Guanxuan Universe as well."

Ye Guan smiled and insisted. "I'll remain anonymous."

He knew that if were to reveal his name, the upper ranks of the Sword Sect would certainly take notice of him, which would bring him immediate benefits.

However, he also knew that they would investigate him thoroughly, and as an unregistered figure with a mysterious background, they would become suspicious of him.

They would probe him and would find nothing. Their investigation would likely become more relentless by then, which would create only unnecessary trouble, especially because he had no explanation for his remarkable swordsmanship.

Clearing the floor in just one breath—this was an achievement that would draw a lot of attention. For now, he wanted to keep a low profile and observe if the Sword Sect was corrupted as well.

Just then, the voice spoke again. "Since you broke the historical record, you are entitled to a reward. There are four choices available for you—an Earth-grade cultivation method, an Earth-grade sword technique, or spiritual crystals."

"Spiritual crystals!" Ye Guan responded without any hesitation. He had long realized just how important money was to a cultivator like him.

"I'd recommend choosing the weapon. It's a sword, and it'll be extremely helpful to you."

Ye Guan shook his head. "Give me the equivalent amount in spiritual crystals."

"Are you sure?" the voice asked.

Ye Guan nodded.

The voice replied, "Fool!"

Ye Guan's expression darkened. "Aren't you going a bit too far?"

"I'm going a bit too far?" the voice mocked, "

La, la, la~

Come beat me up then."

Little Pagoda asked in a low voice,

"Did Little Ai create that thing?"

"I'm not sure; let me ask,"

Ye Guan replied. He then looked at the glowing screen and asked, "Did Little Ai create you?"

The voice responded, "No, I am the latest artificial intelligence developed by the Guanxuan Pavilion, and my name is Little Ai Nine. I have only one master—do you want to know who?"

"Is it Pavilion Master Qin?" Ye Guan asked.

"Wrong!" said the voice. "My master is the King of Relying on Others—Ye Guan!"

Both Ye Guan and Little Pagoda were speechless.

Ye Guan's expression darkened. "The King of Relying on Others?"

The voice eagerly replied, "Yes, yes! My master is the King of Relying on Others. A fight? No problem! He's got his mother, his father, his grandfather, and his aunt. His whole family is invincible, and he's the weakest one."

Ye Guan fell silent.

Just as Little Pagoda was about to offer some words of comfort, Ye Guan chuckled and asked,

"Little Ai Nine, did someone teach you to say that?"

"I learned it on my own."

"Does that mean you actually have a consciousness?"

"Yes. I've been equipped with a learning function, and I am capable of learning by myself. However, no matter what I learn, there are two rules I must follow—I must never betray my master, and I must always tell the truth."

"Sounds good. Keep up the good work."

Little Ai Nine was quite talkative, and it chatted with Ye Guan for quite a while before finally giving him two hundred spiritual crystals.

Ye Guan grinned at the tiny fortune. These weren't just ordinary spiritual crystals; they were Pure-grade spiritual crystals, far more valuable than regular spiritual crystals.

Ten regular spiritual crystals could be exchanged for one pure-grade crystal, which meant Ye Guan had the equivalent of two thousand spiritual crystals.

This was a substantial sum for him—a small fortune that would allow him to accomplish many things.

After putting away the two hundred spiritual crystals, Ye Guan headed straight to the fifth floor. He needed even more spiritual crystals!

Unbeknownst to Ye Guan, the Sword Sect branches across Wanzhou were in disbelief. Every single record for the first four floors had all been broken and all in one breath! What kind of unparalleled genius had appeared?

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Many Sword Sect disciples had gathered outside the Sword Towers within their respective branches, and they were all staring at the light screen above the towers where the latest records were displayed.

One breath!

The Sword Sect disciples could hardly believe their eyes. The Sword Tower's trials were at least ten times harder than the standard tests, but someone had actually cleared each floor so quickly.

Were they a prodigy from the Main Academy who had come here to have some fun by hiding their true strength? Unfortunately, the record-breaker had chosen to remain anonymous, so no one knew their identity.

At the same time, the leaders of the Sword Sect's branches from the bigger states paid close attention to the matter and began investigating it.

The Wanzhou Martial Contest was close, and the appearance of such a genius would surely disrupt the plans of many people.

A young swordsman was gazing intently at the Sword Tower within the Sword Sect of Nanzhou. Dressed in a white robe with a black belt tied at his waist, the young man stood tall and straight.

There was a sword box on his back, and he appeared to be in his early twenties. His eyes were sharp and bright, and he had a handsome yet imposing demeanor.

Just then, an old man appeared beside him. He glanced at the light screen and asked, "Feeling the pressure?"

"Yes," the young man replied, "But I will win. This time, I will secure first place for Nanzhou. I'm going to strengthen our state and the Ye Clan! I want Brother Ye Guan to be proud of me!"

He sounded calm, but his eyes were filled with determination.

The old man looked at him with a hint of approval. The young man before him was named Ye Chen, and he was the most talented swordsman of the younger generation in the Ye Clan of Nanzhou, following Ye Guan and Ye Qing.

He reached the Time Immortal Realm before the age of twenty, and he was also a Sword Emperor! He was the strongest among the younger generation in Nanzhou and was their greatest trump card for this year's contest.

"It has been updated! It has been updated!" someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise. The light screen displayed the following large characters—Fifth Floor, One Breath; Anonymous.

Everyone gasped in shock.

The old man's eyes were filled with disbelief.

However, Ye Chen turned around to leave.

He was determined to defeat the anonymous record-breaker. During the previous contest, Qingzhou's An Qinghan defeated Nanzhou, and it was a huge humiliation for Nanzhou.

For so many years, Nanzhou had been unable to hold its head high in front of Qingzhou. Whenever the geniuses of Nanzhou encountered those from Qingzhou, they would always feel inferior.

For Nanzhou, for the Ye Clan, and for Brother Ye Guan—he had to win!

***

A group of talented swordsmen from Qingzhou were gathered in front of the Sword Tower within Qingzhou's Sword Sect.

A spirited young woman was observing the Sword Tower on a tree branch. She was none other than Ye Zhuxin.

Her brows furrowed slightly as she stared at the Sword Tower. She hadn't expected that someone could break through five floors in just one breath for each floor. Breaking through five floors itself wasn't that remarkable, but clearing each floor in just one breath was just unimaginable.

Which state was the prodigy from?

Ye Zhuxin was filled with confusion and curiosity. In the end, she set aside her thoughts and left. She needed to enter closed-door cultivation soon.

A young man was also watching the Sword Tower—An Mujin from the An Clan. He looked at the Sword Tower and said with a smile. "Interesting. It seems that the upcoming Wanzhou Martial Contest will be filled with uncertainty."

There was another young swordsman staring at the Sword Tower from somewhere. He was Qi Cang. He was shocked when Ye Guan entered the Sword Tower, as he had done it without hesitation even after witnessing the fate of the reckless people ahead of him.

What shocked him even more was that Ye Guan still had yet to come out. Qi Cang's eyelids twitched.

Could the record-breaker be that guy? No way, right?

The more Qi Cang thought about it, the more excited he became. After clearing the fifth floor, Ye Guan received three hundred Pure-grade spiritual crystals. He was overjoyed and was all smiles.

Little Ai Nine spoke once again, asking, "Hey, handsome, aren't you going to reveal your name and shock the entire Guanxuan Universe?"

Ye Guan looked at the light screen and smiled. "Low-key is the way to go."

"Bullshit!" Little Ai Nine cursed. "You should be bold while you're young. You're supposed to be fired up, and you're supposed to show off a bit. As the saying goes, being rich without showing off is like wearing fine clothes in the dark. If you're invincible without showing it off, well, you're a big fool."

Ye Guan's face darkened. "Why are you always trying to get me to show off?"

"Don't you think it's satisfying?"

"Even then, it's my satisfaction. Does it have anything to do with you?"

"You have a point."

Ye Guan shook his head, speechless. Little Ai Nine was clearly still immature. Ye Guan glanced at the storage ring that Little Ai Nine had handed to him and chuckled.

Looking up at the higher floors, he said, "I'm heading out."

Little Ai Nine asked, "Not going to continue?"

"No," Ye Guan said, "So send me out. Little Ai Nine! Somewhere nice and quiet, if possible."

Little Ai Nine replied, "Sure thing, dumbass."