Chapter 1095: The Sword Master? Is He Really That Impressive?

Going hungry...

Ye Guan's hand, which had been applying medicine to Yang Yian's wound, trembled slightly and paused. He fell silent, feeling deeply affected.

He had never considered that in the vast Guanxuan Universe, there were still those who couldn't even afford to fill their bellies. Had he not met Yang Yian, he would never have known that the powerful clans and sects were monopolizing the welfare policies set by the Guanxuan Academy.

If even a place like Qingzhou was like this, how much worse were things elsewhere?

Over the years, he'd been focused on expanding his territory across the universe, naively believing that the bigger his domain, the better life would become for his people. However, reality had proven him wrong—the well-being of a universe's inhabitants had nothing to do with the size of its territory.

The order he had built was already rotting from within.

After a while, Ye Guan smiled softly and said, "You'll never go hungry again."

With that, he resumed cleaning her wound. She turned her head to look at him and asked, "Will you ever leave me one day?"

Ye Guan met her gaze and said seriously, "I won't."

Yang Yian grinned, relieved.

Late that night, Yang Yian drifted into a deep sleep, exhausted from the day's events.

After covering her with a blanket and turning off the light, Ye Guan quietly left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

He sat on the stone steps outside, surrounded by complete silence. Overhead, the bright moon hung high in the sky. After a long silence, he murmured, "Master Pagoda, Order isn't just a Sword Dao. It's a responsibility."

Boom!

The aura of his Order Sword Intent surged, soaring to the level of a Sword Emperor in an instant. However, there was no joy in his expression. With a light wave of his hand, the aura dispersed.

The greater the order, the heavier the responsibility.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Yang Yian ran out of her room. Seeing Ye Guan sitting by the doorway, she paused in surprise.

Ye Guan turned to her with a smile, "You're up?"

Yang Yian nodded. "Yup."

Ye Guan stood up and walked over to her. He extended his hand, smiling warmly as he said, "Today's the day of the Inner Sect Martial Contest. You have to be there."

Yang Yian blinked in surprise. "Have you been waiting for me?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Of course."

Yang Yian's face lit up, and her smile bloomed like a field of flowers.

Ye Guan grabbed her hand, and they rose into the sky on his sword, cutting through the heavens and disappearing into the distant horizon.

***

Martial Peak, Martial Arena.

Today's Inner Sect Martial Contest was a grand event. The entire Sword Sect had gathered early, with disciples taking the best seats to watch it all unfold.

Although there were only around seventy inner sect disciples, there were over a thousand outer sect disciples.

In addition, there were also direct disciples and true disciples.

There were fewer of them, only about twenty.

Besides these Sword Sect disciples, the members of the prominent clans and sects from Qingzhou had come to observe, along with the families of the Sword Sect disciples.

The Sword Sect was bustling with excitement, and the stone seats surrounding the Martial Arena were filled with tens of thousands of people, with more still on the way.

The Inner Sect Martial Contest! The winner would go on to represent Qingzhou in the prestigious Wanzhou Martial Contest.

When Ye Guan and Yang Yian arrived, they were both taken aback by the massive crowd. Ye Guan found a spot for her and said with a smile, "Stay here and watch."

Yang Yian nodded. "Okay."

Ye Guan ruffled her hair gently and smiled before flying up on his sword. He landed on a stone platform where all the inner sect disciples had gathered.

Scanning the crowd, he recognized a few familiar faces—An Mujing, Lu Xuanfeng, and Fu Ji. He examined Fu Ji from afar and realized that he had changed significantly. Gone was his timid demeanor, replaced with a steadier presence and a more intense gaze.

When Fu Ji noticed Ye Guan, he looked over and grinned.

Ye Guan grinned as well.

Swoosh!

A streak of sword light landed in front of the crowd. When the light dispersed, a lady appeared. She was Yu Ning, the Sword Sect's representative. Today, she was wearing a long white gown. She looked incredibly beautiful, and she had an air of cold aloofness.

Yu Ning swept her gaze across the disciples and announced, "The Inner Sect Martial Contest consists of two rounds. The first round will be a test of willpower; those who can endure for fifteen minutes will pass.

"The second round will be centered around combat. Begin."

The elimination rounds started immediately afterward.

A powerful sword intent descended from above, enveloping all the swordsmen in the arena. At first, everyone seemed fine, but soon, their expressions changed—the sword intent was becoming even more overbearing.

Bam!

Before long, someone could not hold out and fell to the ground. One after another, more and more cultivators collapsed under the growing pressure.

The inner sect disciples dropped to the ground one by one. Fifteen minutes later, only nine inner sect disciples were still standing.

Ye Guan glanced to his right and saw that Fu Ji was still standing.

Yu Ning announced, "Those eliminated, step back."

The swordsmen looked visibly reluctant to leave, but they bowed respectfully and left the platform.

Yu Ning stared at those who had survived the first round and said, "Next, combat rounds. Draw your lots."

She opened her palm, revealing a wooden box.

The remaining contestants each drew a slip of paper. When Ye Guan unfolded his slip, he found that it was blank. Confused, he looked up.

Yu Ning called out, "Those with blanks, step forward."

Ye Guan stepped out.

Yu Ning looked at him and said, "You will be exempt from the first round."

Ye Guan smiled. "Alright."

With that, he went to stand beside Yu Ning.

Yu Ning stared silently at him.

Ye Guan looked back at her, puzzled. "What?"

Yu Ning glared at him. "Do you want to take over as the host?"

Ye Guan was speechless, but he quickly stepped aside.

"First group, step forward," said Yu Ning.

Two swordsmen came forward. One of them was An Mujin, while the other was a young swordsman. When the young man realized that he had drawn An Mujin as his opponent, his face immediately fell.

An Mujin was the strongest inner sect disciple, so drawing him meant defeat.

An Mujin smiled politely and greeted his opponent, "Brother Zhang, please."

The young swordsman took a deep breath and said, "Brother An, thank you in advance for your pointers."

With that, he lunged forward, thrusting his sword toward An Mujin with lightning speed, covering several meters in a flash.

An Mujin calmly raised a single finger and pointed it at his opponent.

Bam!

The sword light shattered, and the young man was blasted dozens of meters away. When he finally came to a stop, he noticed that his sword had cracked open.

"Bravo!" A cheer erupted from the crowd of disciples.

An Mujin was immensely popular in the Sword Sect, and he had a dedicated following of both admirers and fans. Even the An Clan experts watching from outside the arena broke out into smiles.

The young swordsman looked down at his broken sword and chuckled wryly. "I lost."

An Mujin smiled and said, "Thank you for going easy on me."

He clasped his hands—a respectful gesture before stepping aside.

The young swordsman let out a soft sigh, filled with a sense of helplessness.

Just then, Yu Ning announced, "Next pair."

Two young men stepped onto the dueling platform, and Ye Guan froze when he saw them.

Fu Ji and Tuoba Gu.

It seemed enemies would truly meet on a narrow path.

Seeing that his opponent was Fu Ji, Tuoba Gu laughed. "Hahaha, you won't be so lucky this time."

Fu Ji remained expressionless, saying nothing.

Tuoba Gu smirked. "Come on, don't say I bullied you. I'll let you strike first—three times!"

Fu Ji lightly tapped the ground with his foot, and then he vanished into a streak of sword light. Tuoba Gu's face turned pale, but before he could react, the tip of a sword was already pressed against his forehead.

The sword pierced half an inch into his forehead, and blood trickled down his face.

There was utter silence.

An instant defeat?

Yu Ning watched Fu Ji with a slight frown, clearly surprised.

Even An Mujin showed a hint of astonishment in his gaze.

Ye Guan could not help but smile. It was clear that Fu Ji had been training hard until now.

Tuoba Gu stared at his opponent in disbelief. "H-how is this possible? How come you've become so..."

Fu Ji stared indifferently at Tuoba Gu before sheathing his sword and leaving.

"I can't accept this!" Tuoba Gu roared and raised his sword, charging at Fu Ji.

The crowd erupted into chaos.

Fu Ji had already shown mercy, so how come Tuoba Gu was still attacking?

"Preposterous!" Yu Ning roared furiously. A sword shot out, and in an instant, Tuoba Gu was rooted to the spot, unable to move. His face turned pale as a sheet.

"Representative Yu, I—"

Yu Ning glared at him coldly. "The Sword Sect does not need such despicable and shameless people. You are expelled from the Sword Sect."

Hearing Yu Ning's words, Tuoba Gu's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "Representative Yu, you don't have the authority to do this, you—"

Swoosh!

Two Sword Sect elders appeared beside Tuoba Gu.

Tuoba Gu was horrified.

Swoosh!

An old man appeared in front of him. He was the Clan Leader of the Tuoba Clan, Tuoba Xiao.

Tuoba Xiao said in a low voice, "Representative Yu, you have no right to do this. He passed the Sword Sect's assessment tests."

Yu Ning repeated herself sternly, "Take him away."

The two Sword Sect elders were about to take Tuoba Gu away when Tuoba Xiao roared, "I'll see who dares to take him away!"

Yu Ning locked eyes with him. "What?"

Tuoba Xiao looked at Yu Ning with disdain. "Representative Yu, I was showing you some respect, and you really think you're something? Let me tell you this—my Tuoba Clan's ancestors are close with the Sword Master.

"Offending my Tuoba Clan is tantamount to offending the Sword Master. He will not spare you once he's back!"

The Sword Master!

Yu Ning's expression turned grim at the mention of the Sword Master.

"The Sword Master? Is he really that impressive?" someone asked.