Ye Guan sat cross-legged on the ground, focused on healing his injuries. He was not the same person as before. In the past, any wounds he sustained could heal rapidly. Now, he could only recover bit by bit.

He was severely injured—his fleshly body and organs were injured, and even his soul was injured as well. In truth, had more time passed, he would have died at the time. The difference in their cultivation bases was simply too vast, and buying some time was already beyond him.

Yang Yian was by his side, worried and anxious.

Ye Guan had been quiet over the past few days, and his silence deeply troubled her.

While Ye Guan was recuperating, chaos had erupted in Wanzhou.

Never had the Wanzhou Martial Contest come to a halt before. Rumors spread quickly; some claimed that "Zong Wu" had cheated, while others said that Qingzhou and Nanzhou simply couldn't accept defeat.

The outside world was in a mess.

Cultivators from the Nanzhou Academy and Sword Sect arrived at the Qingzhou Academy. Their purpose was clear—to protect Ye Chen and the others. The swordsmen from Qingzhou's Sword Sect also arrived at the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy, guarding the hall day and night to protect Ye Zhuxin and the others.

***

A mysterious figure clad in black suddenly appeared within the Ye Clan Residence.

Ye Lin, a member of the Ye Clan, stared at the black-clad figure with a grave expression. "Who are you?"

The mysterious figure didn't respond. Instead, he pulled out a command token.

Ye Lin's face changed dramatically upon seeing the token.

"You..!" he gasped.

After a brief moment, Ye Lin stood up and left the Ye Clan. He made his way to Guanxuan Academy and took Ye Zhuxin away.

On the way back, Yue Qi intercepted him, glaring at Ye Lin. "Clan Leader Ye, what are you doing?"

"Sect Master Yue, my Ye Clan is no longer involved in this matter."

Yue Qi frowned. "She's a witness! What do you mean by 'no longer involved'? Is the Ye Clan being threatened?"

Ye Lin shook his head. "Sect Master Yue, no one has threatened my Ye Clan. My Ye Clan is simply not strong enough. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

With that, he said nothing further and took Ye Zhuxin away.

Yue Qi was stumped, her feet rooted to the ground. Suddenly, as if struck by realization, she quickly turned and headed back to the academy.

***

Back at the Ye Clan Residence, Ye Zhuxin glared at Ye Lin and asked, "Father, what's the meaning of this? The Ye Clan is no longer involved? If it weren't for Ye Yang, I'd be dead by now!"

Ye Lin shook his head and muttered a few words.

Ye Zhuxin's face went pale, and she collapsed into a chair. "R-really?"

Ye Lin's eyes were filled with complex emotions. "My daughter, we cannot win this fight. Unless the Sword Master acknowledges our Ye Clan, we don't qualify to challenge them."

"Father, how did things end up like this?" Ye Zhuxin asked, feeling hopeless.

Ye Lin shook his head. "This is society; this is reality."

Ye Zhuxin clenched her fists tightly, and her eyes filled with determination as she glared at Ye Lin. "Father, if it hadn't been for Ye Yang, I would have died! If we don't do anything now, how can he fight them alone? He—"

"If you want to put the entire Ye Clan in danger, then go ahead."

Ye Zhuxin's face went pale, and her heart sank to the pits of her stomach.

A swordsman ought to cultivate their heart, freedom of will, and conscience.

However, she knew better than anyone that if she followed her conscience, she'd end up destroying the entire Ye Clan. Ye Zhuxin closed her eyes as she felt herself sink into despair and helplessness.

***

Meanwhile, An Mujin was also forcibly dragged to the An Clan.

An Mujin glared at An Ling and asked, "Why? What is going on?"

An Ling remained silent. Instead, he dipped his finger into his tea and wrote three large words on the table.

An Mujin froze, and his mind went blank upon seeing the words.

An Ling looked at An Mujin, his expression serious. "The development of the An Clan was hard-earned. You must not do anything foolish that could bring about disaster for us."

An Mujin sat in his chair and remained silent.

An Ling sighed softly. "I'm frustrated as well, but there's nothing we can do. Our strength is no match for theirs, so we must endure. You must think about the bigger picture. Do you understand?"

After a moment of silence, An Mujin nodded. "Clan Leader, don't worry. I understand the gravity of the situation."

"Good."

"If the Academy Master finds out about all of this, I wonder… how disappointed he will be," An Mujin said softly. With that, he shook his head and left.

"Do not let him leave the An Clan," An Ling said.

An elder emerged from a dark corner. He was the Grand Elder of the An Clan. The Grand Elder spoke in a low voice. "Clan Leader, this situation really is quite frustrating."

An Ling remained expressionless. "We have no choice but to endure it."

The Grand Elder sighed. "If only the souls of our Martial Gods were still here, the An Clan wouldn't be stuck between a rock and a hard place."

With that, the Grand Elder turned and left.

In order to fight, one had to be strong enough.

Unfortunately, the An Clan was not strong enough to fight.

An Mujin didn't leave the An Clan Residence. Instead, he retreated to his own room and sat silently by the window. He thought of Ye Guan—the one who taught him the Sword Dao. He thought of how Ye Guan had held off the mysterious cultivator in the special spacetime and how he had saved them all...

He also thought of his cousin, An Qinghan, who had once taught him to be bold, to be true to himself, and never to bring shame to the ancestors of the An Clan.

An Mujin took a deep breath and retrieved a transmission talisman. "Sister, this situation is critical. It could be catastrophic to the An Clan. However, Ye Yang saved me, so I'm indebted to him.

"If I sit by and do nothing, I will be letting myself down. However, I'm too weak, so please… help me..."

He crushed the talisman, and it turned into a streak of flame that pierced a hole in spacetime before vanishing into the distance. Unfortunately, the talisman was intercepted by a mysterious force and was reduced to ashes.

***

In Nanzhou, Ye Xiao was standing before a mysterious figure clad in black. "If my Ye Clan refuses to compromise, are you going to destroy us?"

"Clan Leader Ye Xiao, you have misunderstood. I didn't come here to threaten your Ye Clan. I simply want to inform you that once the Wanzhou Martial Contest resumes, Ye Chen will be killed without a doubt.

"'Zong Wu' is half a demonic beast, and he's a Great Sovereign Realm cultivator," the figure in black said in a raspy voice.

Ye Xiao's face immediately turned ashen.

The figure in black continued, "Clan Leader Ye Xiao, we do not wish to become enemies with your Ye Clan. In fact, we even want to form an eternal alliance with your Ye Clan.

"Our goal is merely to become the champion in the tournament, and 'Zong Wu' has the ability to do so. If Ye Chen is dissatisfied, he is free to challenge 'Zong Wu.' If he wins, 'Zong Wu' will leave the competition."

Ye Xiao's face was dark.

"This mess started because of that young swordsman Ye Yang. He is our target now. We ask that your Ye Clan stay out of it. If you do, we will owe your clan a favor. Moreover, in the next Wanzhou Martial Contest, we can help your Ye Clan secure first place. You don't have any doubts about our strength, do you?"

Ye Xiao remained silent.

The figure in black turned around. "I trust that Clan Leader Ye Xiao will not allow an outsider to harm the relationship between our clans."

With that, he walked away.

In the grand hall, Ye Xiao remained silent for a long time, and his expression was grim as he sighed deeply.

Just then, the Grand Elder of the Ye Clan entered the hall.

"Clan Leader..." the Grand Elder said after much hesitation.

Ye Xiao muttered, "This shouldn't be happening."

"Clan Leader, our Ye Clan must consider the consequences of our choices. I also don't think that we can turn this situation around. While our Ye Clan has Little Guan, you and I both know that he's not a true blood relative of ours.

"They're just trying to be courteous by warning us in advance..."

Ye Xiao shook his head in helplessness.

The Ye Clan was thriving, but it was all due to Ye Guan's influence. Over the years, the Ye Clan had developed relatively, but in the vast expanse of the Guanxuan Universe, their strength was still far below average.

In fact, they had no real power within the Main Guanxuan Academy. Without Ye Guan's connections, the Ye Clan would be nothing more than a small, insignificant force.

Even if Ye Xiao wanted to intervene in this matter, he lacked the power to do so, as the Ye Clan simply wasn't qualified to influence the Main Guanxuan Academy.

The Grand Elder added, "If we want to intervene, our only option is to contact Ye Guan directly, but you also know that

their

influence is far greater than ours..."

Ye Xiao was stumped. In the end, he shook his head and smiled bitterly.

***

Han Yuntian's expression was grave as he stood before another mysterious figure clad in black.

The figure in black said nothing and simply glared at Han Yuntian.

Rumble!

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Han Yuntian's figure suddenly erupted with a powerful aura.

The figure in black frowned.

"Do you intend to kill me?" a mysterious voice from Han Yuntian echoed.

"That depends on if you know your place."

The mysterious voice inside Han Yuntian laughed. "Let's see how strong you really are, then."

The figure in black waved his sleeve, and a command token appeared before Han Yuntian.

The mysterious voice belatedly spoke, "We will not intervene."

"Remember what you said," the figure in black glared coldly at Han Yuntian. With that, he turned around and vanished into the horizon.

Han Yuntian trembled as he whispered, "Master… Ye Yang is dead."

"Not necessarily," the mysterious voice replied softly.

Han Yuntian was stunned. "Master?"

"I'm going back."

Swoosh!

A phantom shot up from Han Yuntian's body and took to the sky. From the clouds above, the figure gazed in the direction of the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy. "His sword intent... it's Order! If I hadn't established an Order myself, I wouldn't have recognized it!"

"Could he be the reincarnation of that damned King of Relying on Others?" The figure's eyes widened. "No way... there's no way! It can't be! Damn it!"

***

Yue Qi walked into the grand hall and stared at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan slowly opened his eyes and asked, "Has the Main Academy sent someone yet?"

Yue Qsi said nothing.

Ye Guan frowned. "What happened?"

"The geniuses and talents from Qingzhou and Nanzhou were taken away. They have decided to wash their hands off…"

"What about the An Clan and Ye Clan?"

"They did the same."

Ye Guan's brows furrowed even further.

Just then, an elder entered the hall. He glanced at Ye Guan, seemingly unsure of whether to speak or not.

"Speak!" Yue Qi's voice boomed.

The elder said gravely, "Sect Master, Young Master Ye… Fu Ji's father visited the academy earlier to file a complaint, but he... he has inexplicably disappeared."

Ye Guan's face changed instantly upon hearing that.