Chapter 1273: A Father With No Compassion

The sudden scene shocked all the strong individuals of the Heavenly Tomb Empire. Everyone stared in astonishment at the rain of swords blotting out the sky.

Within the grand hall, Divine Attendant Pei's eyes were filled with deep apprehension. The memory of Ye Guan's battle against the Evil Dao popped up in her mind.

The Ye Guan from that day was even more terrifying than today. Even someone of her caliber felt like an insignificant ant in his presence. Despite her fear, she stayed. She noticed that there was something weird about Ye Guan's cultivation.

Ye Guan walked forward while supporting Tian Chen. His face expressionless, and his gaze was as cold as ice.

In truth, he had already escaped, but he became worried. His instincts told him that Tian Chen wouldn't survive this ordeal. Thus, he decided to return and see for himself.

Things had turned out as expected, but what he hadn't anticipated was the Heavenly Tomb Empire's emperor delivering such a ruthless blow to Tian Chen.

It was truly beyond his imagination.

A father with no compassion... Ye Guan would turn the heavens upside down against such an individual.

Swoosh!

Powerful auras suddenly appeared around them. Soon, nearly a hundred experts in purple-gold armor appeared all over the skies. The Imperial Guards of the Heavenly Tomb Empire!

This was their elite force, dedicated to ensuring the safety of the imperial Palace.

"Kill!" Ye Guan's voice echoed across the scene. In an instant, tens of thousands of swords rained down from the sky like a torrential storm.

"Defend!" the commander of the Imperial Guards roared furiously. Over a hundred of them moved in unison, unleashing their formidable auras to form a barrier that enveloped the Heavenly Tomb Empire.

Boom, boom, boom!

The swords rained down, and terrifying explosions echoed endlessly across the skies of the Heavenly Tomb Empire. The capital city trembled violently as the ground beneath quivered incessantly.

The barrier didn't last long, and it was shattered by Ye Guan's swords. Over a hundred of them were torn to pieces by the relentless rain of swords, which continued to fall straight toward the imperial palace.

Just then, an ancient aura suddenly spread across the heavens and earth. Moments later, under everyone's watchful eyes, a golden spear shot into the sky. Its radiance stretched tens of thousands of meters, forming a massive protective dome that intercepted and deflected the rain of swords.

Standing a few meters away from Ye Guan and the weakened Tian Chen was a middle-aged man. The man was dressed in a simple robe, with long hair tied neatly behind him. His right hand rested behind his back, exuding an aura of overwhelming authority.

"The Commander of the Imperial Guards, Zhou Qing," Tian Chen weakly murmured from beside Ye Guan. "He's in the Supreme Ancestor Realm and a veteran of countless battles. Ordinary Supreme Ancestor Realm cultivators can't compare to him—"

Swoosh!

Before Tian Chen could finish, Ye Guan suddenly vanished.

Zhou Qing narrowed his eyes, and he clenched his right hand. A terrifying spear aura erupted from within him, shaking the heavens.

When Ye Guan's sword descended, the spear aura shattered instantly.

A broken sword pierced Zhou Qing's forehead.

Boom!

In a split second, all of Zhou Qing's overwhelming spear aura collapsed completely. He stood frozen in place, and disbelief was etched across his face.

"Supreme Ancestor Realm?" Ye Guan scoffed, patting Tian Chen lightly on the back. His tone dripped with disdain. "Not worth mentioning."

With that, he supported Tian Chen as they walked steadily toward the palace.

The broken sword flew back into Ye Guan's hand on its own.

Tian Chen was stunned, and he wasn't the only one. Every expert in the Heavenly Tomb Empire was stupefied.

It only took one attack for him to defeat a peak Supreme Ancestor Realm expert?

After the initial shock, the expressions of all the officials turned grim.

Tian Xing and Prime Minister Ji also revealed solemn faces. They realized that they had gravely underestimated the strength of this young man. Of course, their thoughts went further than that. Ye Guan's bakers... they had to be extraordinary.

At first, they hadn't taken Tian Chen's words seriously, but now, they felt uneasy. They were starting to see the big picture. Any force capable of cultivating a genius as monstrous as Ye Guan couldn't possibly be ordinary.

They both turned to look at Divine Attendant Pei, and they realized it—she had schemed against the Heavenly Tomb Empire, making them fight the young man.

What a venomous scheme.

Divine Attendant Pei stared at Ye Guan in the distance. She looked calm, but she was already preparing to slip away quietly. She knew full well that Ye Guan had yet to display his true strength.

His true strength is just...

As the memory of that fateful day appeared in her mind, her expression grew grave, and a deep sense of dread flickered in her eyes.

Emperor Tian Zong stared calmly at Ye Guan.

No one could discern what he was thinking.

Ye Guan supported Tian Chen with his left hand and held the Qingxuan Sword in his right as he took one deliberate step after another into the grand hall.

Although no overwhelming sword intent or aura radiated from him, everyone within the hall felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them. Some of the weaker individuals felt their hearts tighten, and they trembled involuntarily.

In truth, Ye Guan had yet to realize that, despite his defeat in that pivotal battle, his mindset had changed completely. Compared to his past adversaries, such as Fan Zhaodi, the Great Daoist Brush Master and the Ancestral Dao, these people before him were laughably weak.

They couldn't even measure up to the Nine Continents Master.

In other words, Ye Guan's opponents were some of the strongest throughout the vast expanse.

Roaaar!

A dragon's roar suddenly resounded. The heavens split open, and an enormous dragon's head emerged from the rift. It was so large that it blotted out the sun and sky!

A torrent of terrifying dragon aura swept down, shaking the heavens and the earth to their core.

"The Ancestral Dragon of the Heavenly Tomb Empire!" Tian Chen exclaimed. "That's the steed of the Heavenly Tomb Empire's founding ancestor, and it is also the guardian of our empire.

"That isn't its true body, but Brother Ye, they're not underestimating you at all. They're going all out, using their trump card right away. You should leave."

Tian Chen was still rational. He knew Ye Guan could not take on the entire Heavenly Tomb Empire by himself. Even as a prince of the empire, Tian Chen was unaware of the true depths of its foundations.

The Founding Ancestor of the Heavenly Tomb Empire was an awe-inspiring figure worthy of the entire empire's reverence.

Ye Guan glanced at the Ancestral Dragon and calmly declared, "Today, if Tian Chen doesn't become emperor, the Heavenly Tomb Empire will fall."

The massive dragon in the sky suddenly extended a colossal claw and struck fiercely toward Ye Guan and Tian Chen. The attack locked the surrounding spacetime with its terrifying dragon aura, immobilizing both of them.

However, the broken sword in Ye Guan's hand pierced the dragon's claw and headed straight for its heart.

The dragon's eyes narrowed. It opened its mouth wide and unleashed a torrent of deep blue dragon breath that flew toward the Qingxuan Sword.

However, it failed. The sword shattered the dragon's breath and continued its relentless advance. The dragon immediately retreated to avoid the attack.

The sight left all the powerhouses of the Heavenly Tomb Empire utterly shocked.

That was their Ancestral Dragon—their guardian! Its defense was reputed to be the strongest among Tier Nine Civilizations, and even though it was merely an avatar, it still could not withstand the sword attack of this young man.

When the Ancestral Dragon retreated before Ye Guan's sword attack, Emperor Tian Zong frowned deeply, and his gaze landed on the broken sword in Ye Guan's hand. Beside him, Divine Attendant Pei stared intently at Ye Guan, silently on guard and ready to flee at any moment.

Envoy Yue remarked, "Divine Attendant Pei, Ye Guan's strength is truly terrifying. I'm afraid only you can personally suppress him."

Divine Attendant Pei turned to glance at him and replied, "I just realized how stupid you are."

Envoy Yue was at a loss for words.

When the Ancestral Dragon retreated, Ye Guan, resembling a god of war, became an unstoppable force.

As he led Tian Chen to the entrance of the imperial palace, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps from the side.

He turned to see an old man slowly approaching him. The old man was dressed in a simple hemp robe; he had a head full of white hair, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles.

Tian Chen muttered, "Brother Ye, he's—"

"It doesn't matter who he is!" Ye Guan's expression remained cold and indifferent. "Those standing in our way shall die!"

With that, he released Tian Chen and vanished.

Hum!

A resonant sword hum filled the air.

Decisive Strike!

Everyone turned pale in shock.

Decisive Strike performed with the Qingxuan Sword was unimaginably powerful. With just one strike, the expression of the old man changed drastically. He hadn't anticipated that the young swordsman would go all out even before he could introduce himself.

Are the youth these days all so reckless?

There was no time to ponder further, as the sword was already upon him. The old man stepped forward and threw a fierce punch. The force of the punch was overwhelming.

Boom!

A terrifying shockwave erupted violently.

The old man was sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the wall of the grand hall.

The hall began to glow faintly with golden light, barely withstanding the impact of their clash. The building trembled violently, and everyone inside was left with ringing ears and aching eardrums.

The old man glanced at his right arm and found it missing.

Just one sword strike was enough to sever his arm!

The old man's face was filled with fear and disbelief.

Ye Guan looked a bit pale as he walked over to support Tian Chen. Then, raising his head to glare at Emperor Tian Zong inside the hall, he pointed his sword straight at the latter and roared, "Come here and kneel before my brother!"