The Great Zhou Imperial Guards!

Ye Guan frowned upon seeing the experts.

Back when he was in the Great Zhou, he had stumbled upon the Imperial Guards. They were the elite of the elites in the Great Zhou, and only those with at least ten percent divinity could become a part of them.

In all of Great Zhou, the strength of the Imperial Guards was second only to the legendary Great Zhou Shence Army.

He hadn't expected that Zhou Yan could command the Imperial Guards.

Ye Guan had initially thought that Zhou Yan was just the head of a small clan in the Great Zhou with the same surname as the Great Zhou Imperial Family, but now, it seemed that things weren't as simple as they appeared.

Upon seeing the four Imperial Guards, Sima Feng and Qu Chen's expressions immediately darkened. They had greatly underestimated Zhou Yan's capabilities.

The Great Zhou Imperial Guards!

There were only four of them, but their strength was enough to crush their opponents here.

Qu Chen suddenly spread his palm open, and an ancient scroll appeared in his hand. He crushed it without hesitation.

Boom!

A blue light enveloped them all, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared into thin air.

"Preposterous!" Zhou Yan was enraged. "Stop them!"

The four Imperial Guards broke through spacetime and chased after Ye Guan and the others.

Zhou Yan hadn't expected Qu Chen to have such a backup plan. The teleportation scroll was clearly a high-level teleportation scroll, as Zhou Yan could no longer sense their presence in an instant.

To put it into perspective, Zhou Yan's divine sense could cover nearly a million miles in an instant, which meant the teleportation scroll had whisked them away further than a million miles!

Li Jun, who was standing beside him, said with a dark face, "We can't let them leave alive. Otherwise, this will stir up a huge uproar in the Guanxuan Universe."

Li Jun was starting to panic, too. He knew all too well what it meant if Fang Yu and the others managed to return to the Guanxuan Universe.

They would all die!

They would suffer a miserable fate like the Heavenly Dragon Clan!

Of course, what he felt most was anger. He hadn't expected Qu Chen to have such a high-level teleportation scroll. It had to be at least an Imperial-rank treasure, which was incredibly precious.

Zhou Yan commanded, "Go!"

With that, he led everyone to follow the four Imperial Guards.

***

On the other side, Ye Guan and the others appeared in an unknown starry sky.

"This is the Lingtian Star Field…" Sima Feng muttered in shock. He then looked at Qu Chen and asked, "Was that an Imperial-rank teleportation scroll?"

Qu Chen nodded slightly.

"How come you have something so precious?" Sima Feng was puzzled.

"It's not mine; it's from the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. Using items from the pavilion without permission is illegal, but we had no choice…"

Sima Feng's expression grew serious. He knew that the Immortal Treasures Pavilion had strict rules that prohibited the unauthorized use of their items, especially precious divine items.

Anyone violating those rules would face severe punishment.

Qu Chen then continued, "I'm familiar with the General Manager of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion here, Lin Yue. He's been my friend for so many years. He's stronger than me, as he's an expert with ten percent divinity.

"The Immortal Treasures Pavilion here is much larger as well, as it serves as a transit hub. There are top-tier cultivators guarding it, and there are powerful formations in place as well."

Sima Feng interrupted, "Is he reliable?"

Qu Chen fell silent.

He wasn't sure whether Lin Yue was going to be reliable or not.

Their enemy was the Great Zhou, after all!

They were unsure about Zhou Yan's true identity before, but there was no doubt that Zhou Yan was a representative of Great Zhou the moment the Imperial Guards appeared.

Within the entire Guanxuan Universe, who would dare to oppose the Great Zhou? Forget about the Academy Chiefs; even the External Committee and the Internal Committee wouldn't dare to challenge the Great Zhou.

After all, the Empress of Great Zhou, Zhou Fan, was the leader of both the Guanxuan Committee and the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. Her power couldn't be compared to the Heavenly Dragon Clan at all.

Qu Chen turned to look at Fang Yu. "Fang Yu, can you contact the Academy Master?"

"No."

Qu Chen's expression darkened. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did the Academy Master give you any life-saving treasures?"

Fang Yu shook his head.

"Do you have any other powerful cultivators in your department?"

"My Inspection Department was just established, and we're still in the middle of recruitment." Fang Yu shook his head and sighed. "This is my fault. Had I known things would become this complicated, I would have borrowed a few more Guanxuan Guards from the Committee."

Fang Yu had the Guanxuan Token, so he could borrow more than just a few Guanxuan Guards. However, he had never expected that things would become so complicated.

He had already taken out the Guanxuan Token, but they were actually daring enough to defy the token.

It was absurd!

Fang Yu realized that he was still too young and naive.

The waters of the Guanxuan Universe were far too deep and complicated for him to understand at the moment.

Hearing Fang Yu's words, Qu Chen immediately felt a headache. "Fang Yu, with all due respect, you should definitely bring more bodyguards with you next time."

Fang Yu nodded. "You're right."

Qu Chen glanced around and said, "Those four Imperial Guards are strong. They'll catch up to us in no time, so we must go and meet Lin Yue as soon as possible."

With that, he led the group away.

Fifteen minutes later, Lin Yue found himself staring at Fang Yu and the others. Qu Chen had already explained everything to him in detail. Now, everyone was waiting for Lin Yue's decision.

After a long silence, Lin Yue turned to Fang Yu and said, "Fang Yu, they won't let you return to the Guanxuan Academy alive."

Fang Yu nodded. "I know."

Lin Yue shook his head. "No, you don't."

Fang Yu furrowed his brow.

Lin Yue's gaze was piercing as he said, "This matter is not as simple as it appears. It's not just about the Abandoned Continent. It involves the Guanxuan Universe and the Great Zhou.

"You might not know this, but even though the Great Zhou has become a part of the Guanxuan Academy, the Great Zhou is still a Tier Five Civilization. Its family and clan factions are much stronger than those within the Guanxuan Academy.

"Thus, the people of the Great Zhou have never really accepted the Guanxuan Universe. Had it not been for Her Majesty's deterrence, there would have been multiple major conflicts by now."

Qu Chen asked, "Are you saying that this could lead to a conflict between the Guanxuan Academy and the Great Zhou?"

Lin Yue nodded slightly. "The fact that Zhou Yan can mobilize the Great Zhou Imperial Guards already means that he has the support of the higher-ups in the Great Zhou Imperial Family."

Sima Feng chimed in. "So what? Does that mean that they can do whatever they want?"

Lin Yue glanced at Sima Feng before answering, "The Great Zhou can't afford to clash with the Guanxuan Committee. But to be blunt, all of us together are not a match for the Great Zhou at all.

"The Great Zhou wants you dead. Do you have any ways to deal with that?"

Sima Feng's face darkened.

Lin Yue continued, "The Guanxuan Academy has grown too powerful over the years, with too many factions under its control, and those factions still need time to truly become one with the academy.

"This includes the Great Zhou and the Guanxuan Academy. If you were to return now and reveal what happened here, it would trigger a confrontation between the Great Zhou and the Guanxuan Academy…"

Lin Yue paused, casting a glance at Fang Yu and the others before adding, "And do you really think that the Great Zhou is the only faction who doesn't want to see you alive by tomorrow?"

Everyone present furrowed their brows.

"Fang Yu, this matter is far too big. A single misstep can lead to catastrophic consequences. I suspect that there are people within the Guanxuan Academy who don't want you to return. To put it simply, you guys might become a sacrifice for the 'greater good.'"

"Impossible!" Ye Guan exclaimed.

Everyone turned their attention to Ye Guan, and he looked directly at Lin Yue. "Fang Yu is one of the Academy Master's men. The Academy Master will never sacrifice him."

"Yes, yes." Sima Feng nodded in agreement. "Fang Yu was personally appointed by the Academy Master. How could the Academy Master abandon him?"

Lin Yue fixed his gaze on Ye Guan. "With all due respect, if the Academy Master truly valued Fang Yu, he would have given him more authority, including the power to command the true experts within the Guanxuan Academy."

"It might just be an oversight," Ye Guan responded.

"Even if it were an oversight, it wouldn't matter. Let me ask you this—if this matter causes a rift between the Guanxuan Academy and the Great Zhou, do you really think that the Academy Master won't sacrifice a small portion of people for the greater good?"

Ye Guan was about to speak, but Lin Yue added, "Moreover, the events here may never reach the Guanxuan Committee, let alone the Academy Master."

"All right, let's go," Qu Chen said. By now, how could he not understand Lin Yue's intention? It was clear that Lin Yue didn't want to get involved in this mess.

Lin Yue was silent. If this were just a small issue with the so-called Zhou Clan, he would help. After all, Fang Yu was a trusted confidant of the Academy Master. Despite his young age, Fang Yu had immense potential, so forming a good relationship with him would surely pay off in the future.

If one didn't build a good rapport with someone while the other party was young, it would be much harder to do so once the other party had grown older.

After thinking it over, Lin Yue ultimately chose to give it up.

The Great Zhou Empire!

The presence of the Great Zhou Imperial Guards meant that high-ranking people within the Great Zhou were involved in this matter. Even if the Great Zhou couldn't directly challenge the Guanxuan Committee, they could still easily crush Lin Yue if they wanted to do so.

Furthermore, Fang Yu couldn't contact the Academy Master!

If Fang Yu could reach the Academy Master and secure his support, Lin Yue would be willing to risk everything to protect him and the others.

Unfortunately, Fang Yu had no way to contact the Academy Master.

Hence, Lin Yue didn't want to make a gamble.

Qu Chen suddenly said, "Let's go!"

With that, everyone turned around and left.

Lin Yue said, "Qu Chen."

Qu Chen turned around and looked at Lin Yue.

Lin Yue stared intently at him and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. Why do you have to get involved? Even if you don't care about your well-being, don't you care about your children's future?"

Qu Chen's face flushed with anger as he retorted, "Lin Yue, what Zhou Yan and the others are doing is no different from rebellion! Yes, we merchants prioritize profits, but there are billions of lives on the Abandoned Continent.

"If we let them annihilate it, how can we live without a guilty conscience?"

Qu Chen took a deep breath and added, "Lin Yue, I understand that you don't want to get involved in this mess, but I'm going to beg you to help me just once. As an old friend, please give us an Imperial-rank teleportation scroll, so we can leave and seek help elsewhere."

Lin Yue was silent for a moment, and then he shook his head. "My apologies, but I do not wish to offend the Great Zhou!"