Chapter 1401: Letting Them Go

Over ten thousand laser beams shot toward Ye Guan, pelting him like a torrential storm. Ye Guan's expression shifted slightly. Holding his sword, he swung it rapidly, unleashing waves of sword energy toward the oncoming attacks.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deafening explosions erupted in the void, and the floor was soon filled with streaks of sword energy and laser beams.

Just then, a sword hum reverberated throughout the heavens and the earth, followed by a dazzling sword light tearing through everything in its path. The sword light flew straight toward the man in the mecha armor.

The man's eyes narrowed into slits. He then crossed his arms and bellowed, "Heavenly Defense!"

The mechanical parts around him transformed into a colossal thousand-meter shield.

Crack!

Ye Guan's Qingxuan Sword smashed into the shield, and cracks spread across its surface in an instant.

Moments later, a terrifying shockwave erupted, blasting Ye Guan back by nearly a thousand meters!

He steadied himself, looking down at his numb arm with a hint of surprise. The force he unleashed had rebounded. It wasn't the enemy's power that injured him; it was his own power, which was reflected back at him!

He stared at the mecha shield in awe. That guy actually had something rather impressive.

At the same time, the man in the mecha armor was shocked as well, as Ye Guan's sword managed to crack his shield open. He looked at Ye Guan's sword, his mind reeling.

Damn! That guy's sword is something else!

Ye Guan flicked his wrist, and his sword let out a resonant hum.

The next instant, a blinding sword light slashed toward the man once again.

The man clasped his hands together and shouted, "Fusion Armor!"

The shattered mecha shield morphed, forming a full-body battle suit that covered his entire figure. At the same time, a surge of crimson energy burst from his arms, forming two massive energy hammers.

He raised them high and smashed them down with all his might.

Boom!

It was like millions of volcanoes had erupted at once!

A deafening explosion shattered the void, annihilating even the layers of spacetime. However, Ye Guan's sword forcibly tore open a hole in that overwhelming explosion, and he slashed at the man's arms.

Crack!

A grotesque noise echoed, and the man's face changed. He flew backward in retreat, withdrawing thousands of meters in an instant.

Ye Guan was about to strike again, but the man hurriedly shouted, "Stop! I surrender!"

Ye Guan paused.

The man lowered his gaze to his arms and saw that his mecha armor was covered in cracks.

His expression turned incredibly grim. This wasn't just any armor; it was a pure-grade Emperor Armor, something his family had spent generations acquiring. I

f he allowed it to be destroyed here, he would become a disgrace to his family, so he decided to surrender.

Ye Guan asked, "What kind of armor is that? It's pretty impressive."

The man replied, "A pure-grade Emperor Armor."

"A Pure-grade Emperor Armor?" Ye Guan asked.

The man nodded. "It's created by our Eternal Civilization. You've never heard of it?"

"Nope."

"Our Eternal Civilization is a technological civilization, completely different from your martial arts civilization."

"So, these mecha armors have different ranks?"

"Yes, mine is at the Emperor Rank. Above that are the Immortal-rank, Starfield-rank, and Universe-rank. Each rank is further divided into three grades: low-grade, mid-grade, and pure-grade."

"How much is that?"

"This Pure-grade Emperor Armor of mine? At least thirteen million Pure-grade emperor crystals!"

Thirteen million?!

Ye Guan's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't believe how expensive it was. He glanced over at the man's mecha armor, deep in thought. Sensing his strange gaze, the man immediately became wary and said, "I've already surrendered."

Ye Guan chuckled and asked, "What about a Pure-grade Immortal Armor?"

The man replied, "It starts at fifty million Pure-grade emperor crystals. If it's equipped with a perpetual crystal, then it's priceless."

"What's a perpetual crystal?"

The man, clearly afraid of getting robbed, answered every question without hesitation. "It's a special type of crystal containing a unique energy that will regenerate nonstop. A Pure-grade Immortal-rank mecha armor with a perpetual crystal is nearly as valuable as a Starfield-rank mecha armor."

"Your mecha armors need to consume such crystals to function?"

"They need to be recharged every month and maintenance must be done every ten years. It's extremely expensive."

Ye Guan nodded in understanding. It made sense. If these things had no drawbacks, the Eternal Civilization would have been unbeatable by now.

Then, the man asked, "What kind of sword is that? It actually broke through my mecha armor."

Ye Guan smiled. "It's called the Qingxuan Sword. I forged it—ah, no, my aunt forged it."

"That sword is truly powerful," the man said.

Ye Guan asked, "What's your name, brother?"

"Xiu Ling."

"Brother Xiu Ling, I'm curious... does everyone in the Eternal Civilization use mecha armors, or do some people practice martial arts and integrate it with technology?"

"Not everyone uses mecha armors. Some specialize in mecha warships, while others, like you said, train in martial arts while also using mecha armors, but such people are rare. However, if they succeed, they become incredibly, incredibly terrifying."

"Got it."

Xiu Ling glanced at his damaged mecha armor, and his heart ached at the thought of the repair costs. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, "Go ahead and fight that monster."

Then, he turned around and disappeared.

Instead of proceeding to the next level, Ye Guan left the Holy Martial Tower. He had already cleared the levels at an astonishing speed. If he continued all the way to the end in one go, it would attract too much attention.

It was better to keep a low profile in this place.

After leaving the tower, Ye Guan entered the tiny pagoda. By now, two hundred years had passed inside the pagoda, but only twenty days had passed since he arrived in the Old Lands.

During the past two centuries, sixty-nine swordsmen became Supreme Emperors. In addition, across the Ten Desolate Universe and Forbidden Wildlands, a hundred thirty-two individuals became Supreme Emperors.

He had personally nurtured two hundred and one Supreme Emperors. Besides them, he had a hundred Gold Divine Guards and three hundred Bronze War Generals.

Those one hundred Gold Divine Guards were far stronger than an ordinary Supreme Emperor. In fact, they actually had the same combat strength as a Quasi Immortal Emperor.

Today, Ye Guan made the decision to release all the Supreme Emperors. Keeping them inside the pagoda was consuming too much spiritual energy and resources.

Moreover, the spiritual energy in the Old Lands was far richer than inside the pagoda, which meant that venturing outside would be great for their growth.

Two hundred and one Supreme Emperors stood respectfully without moving.

Just then, Ye Guan walked into the hall.

Upon seeing him, the leader, Dao Zhi, stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Supreme Emperor Guan!" he exclaimed.

The others also followed suit, bowing one after another. Even though they had all reached the Supreme Emperor Realm, they still respected Ye Guan.

The scene of him killing a top-tier expert from the Suiming Civilization with a single sword strike was deeply engraved in their minds.

Ye Guan glanced at everyone before smiling. "You're all Supreme Emperors now, there's no need to bow to me."

Dao Zhi quickly replied, "Supreme Emperor Guan, what are you saying? You're the reason we became Supreme Emperors. Without your resources and the assistance of this pagoda, we would have never reached this realm in our lifetime."

The others nodded eagerly in agreement.

"

Hahaha, all right.

" Ye Guan laughed. "Anyway, I gathered all of you here today because I want you to leave the pagoda."

Everyone was shocked.

Dao Zhi's voice trembled as he asked, "D-did we do something wrong?"

Ye Guan shook his head. "You've misunderstood me. What I mean is that you can no longer achieve effective growth inside the pagoda.

"Now that we're in the Old Lands, there are far more opportunities outside, and the spiritual energy out there is a hundred times richer than inside the pagoda.

"Once you leave, you are free to seek your own opportunities. If you choose to return in the future, I will be deeply grateful. If you decide not to return, I won't blame you either. It's natural for people to seek greater heights, and I understand that."

Dao Zhi firmly said, "Supreme Emperor Guan, I don't know about the others, but as for me, I'll always belong to the Guanxuan Universe."

The others voiced their agreement, one after another.

Ye Guan smiled and opened his palm. A storage ring appeared before them.

Ye Guan explained, "Each ring contains some Pure-grade emperor crystals. It's not much, but it's a small token from me. I hope you won't find it lacking."

Seeing the rings before them, everyone felt moved. Supreme Emperor Guan had done more than enough for them. Not only had he provided them with Emperor Origins, but he had also allowed them to cultivate freely inside the pagoda.

Now, he decided to release them so they could develop on their own.

His generosity was truly too good to be true.

In reality, many of them had already wanted to leave. For their current cultivation realm, the resources inside the pagoda were no longer sufficient.

The outside world was vast, with greater resources and more opportunities.

Of course, none of them dared to bring it up.

But now, Ye Guan had taken the initiative to let them go.

"Now that you're leaving, it's like dragons are returning to the vast sea. Your potential is limitless. If you ever come across disciples of the Guanxuan Academy in the future, I hope you can look after them. Thank you in advance."

With that, he bowed slightly.

Everyone hurriedly returned the gesture with deep bows of their own.

A moment later, Ye Guan was the only one left in the grand hall. He walked to the entrance and looked outside, lost in thought.

Little Pagoda asked,

"Will they come back?"

Ye Guan said softly,

"I don't know.

"

Little Pagoda said,

"You don't know, yet you still let them go."

"I can no longer provide them with anything better."

"What if none of them return?"

"In any civilization or universe, as long as a nation is strong, values talents, and respects its people, why would talents be unwilling to return and serve it?

"On the other hand, if a nation is weak, disregards talent, disrespects its people, and indulges in meaningless entertainment, then even if it has talented people, those people will always find ways to leave.

"Master Pagoda, if you want to forge iron, you must make yourself strong enough first."