Chapter 1412: How Strong Is Aunt?

Together?

Ye Guan stared at Shang Hongyi with a solemn expression. The starry rivers all around them were already covered with countless beams of starlight. To make matters worse, he could sense the boundless and infinite power of the Great Dao within those beams of starlight.

Each beam of starlight was stronger than an Immortal Emperor!

Who exactly was she?

Recalling how the powerful figures of the Old Lands had treated her with such reverence earlier, an idea suddenly appeared in his mind. Could she be the Old Lands Sovereign?

Ye Guan didn't dwell on the question for long and quietly stepped aside. Right now, if the sky were going to collapse, his father would hold it up for him.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan simply chuckled. "That won't be necessary."

Shang Hongyi fixed her gaze on him and smiled. "No problem, I can kill you one by one."

As soon as she spoke, her right hand opened, and billions of starlights surged into her palm.

There was an entire universe in her palm!

When Ye Guan saw that, his face darkened. Shang Hongyi was far more powerful than he could handle at this moment.

For someone of her caliber to bring the experts of three entire civilizations just to kill him. Well, damn, that was quite the honor!

Shang Hongyi locked eyes with Ye Xuan, and her right hand pressed down. Instantly, endless Great Dao laws, along with the boundless beams of starlights, descended upon Ye Xuan, aiming to annihilate him.

This level of strength was already beyond the comprehension of many present, including Sui Gujin.

In fact, Sui Gujin was staring at Shang Hongyi with confusion.

Ye Guan was deeply shaken in the face of such an overwhelming aura, but even more than that, he was alarmed. Upon recovering his strength, he could confidently say that in the Old Lands, very few could claim to defeat him outright. Even experts in the Immortal Emperor Realm weren't necessarily a threat to him as long as they fought one-on-one.

But Shang Hongyi... her strength was clearly far beyond his.

He truly could never be complacent.

Ye Guan retracted his thoughts and turned to look at his father. The next instant, he froze. His father was standing still. He simply stood there, allowing the billions of starlights and Great Dao laws to descend on him.

Ye Xuan was engulfed, but he remained completely unharmed.

The confident smile on Shang Hongyi's face gradually faded at the sight.

Sui Gujin stared intensely at Ye Xuan. At some point, her hands clenched into fists, and her face went pale.

Ye Xuan glanced at the forces swirling around him. Then, he turned to look at her and smiled. "Apologies, I do not exist within the Dao. No Laws and Great Daos can affect me."

Shang Hongyi's face was filled with disbelief. "You... you..."

Squelch!

Before she could finish speaking, a sword pierced her forehead, nailing her firmly in place. Her eyes widened in shock. "Impossible..."

Ye Xuan smiled. "Didn't see that coming, did you? No worries, try again."

He opened his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword returned to his hand.

Then, Shang Hongyi was healed completely.

Ye Xuan warned, "I'm going to strike again."

Shang Hongyi trembled violently. Billions of starlights and the boundless power of the Great Dao erupted from her once more, but...

Squelch!

A sword flew across the air, piercing her forehead.

The dazzling starlights vanished without a trace.

Shang Hongyi stood frozen in place while Sui Gujin's face turned deathly pale. Her heart was also overwhelmed with indescribable shock.

Ye Xuan gazed calmly at Shang Hongyi. "Would you like to try again?"

Shang Hongyi stared back at him in shock.

Ye Xuan opened his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword flew back into his hand. He stared at her and said, "I know you still have some tricks up your sleeve. Come on, I'll give you another chance..."

Shang Hongyi's expression darkened.

He was humiliating her!

Ye Xuan pressed his right hand down.

Thud!

Her knees buckled, and she fell to her knees. When had she ever suffered such humiliation? Furious, she clenched her fists, preparing to unleash all her power.

However, her eyes widened in horror. She realized that an unfathomable force was suppressing her. Under this power, she was as insignificant as an ant, completely incapable of resistance.

She finally realized that Ye Xuan's strength was truly terrifying.

"Don't you enjoy humiliating others?" asked Ye Xuan. Then, he turned to Ye Guan and said, "Go ahead, humiliate her."

Ye Guan hesitated. "Father, isn't this a bit much? I'm not really into forcing women."

Little Pagoda was speechless, while Ye Xuan was stunned.

What the hell?

Smack!

A sword smacked Ye Guan's backside.

"

Ah!

" Ye Guan yelped in pain. He clutched his backside, hopping around in place.

The attacker wasn't his father, but his aunt. The attack wasn't that strong, yet for some reason, Ye Guan felt a searing pain deep in his soul.

Little Pagoda chuckled. "That's what you get for being cheeky."

Ye Xuan chortled and stared at Shang Hongyi, who was still kneeling on the ground.

Shang Hongyi's fists were clenched tightly, and her expression was utterly grim. Her arrogance was no more, and one sword was all it took. She could not even withstand one sword strike from Ye Xuan. How was this possible?

Ye Xuan slowly lifted his gaze, looking toward the Old Lands. With a faint smile, he then turned his attention to Sui Gujin, asking, "The Old Lands still has several great killing weapons ready to be unleashed. Are you not going to activate them?"

Sui Gujin stared at him and said, "The Old Lands are no match for you."

Only now did she truly understand. She accounted for everything and never underestimated her opponent, but what she hadn't accounted for was the absolute power of the man standing behind Ye Guan.

And before absolute power, all strategies were meaningless.

From the very beginning, she was fighting a losing battle.

The only way she could have changed her fate was to ally with Ye Guan from the start, but how could she have possibly swallowed her pride and done that back then?

Even if she had done that, the Suiming Civilization and the Old Lands wouldn't have been willing to do that. After all, they believed that the Old Lands had always been number one.

Ye Xuan chuckled and turned to look at Ye Guan, who was still clutching his backside. "Come on, let's review what happened together."

Ye Guan immediately became a little wary.

Ye Xuan asked, "Why did you fight with the Old Lands?"

Ye Guan turned to look at Shang Hongyi. "Because of her."

Ye Xuan nodded. "After that, you did pretty well. You knew when to show weakness and when to stay low-key, but have you ever considered that you're not the only person with a brain in this world?"

Ye Guan fell silent. He had indeed greatly underestimated the Old Lands. If it hadn't been for his father, he would have died.

Ye Xuan smiled. "Do you understand the issue now?"

Ye Guan nodded. "I do."

"Tell me."

"When I first learned that Shang Hongyi was from the Old Lands, I should have hidden my pagoda and sword, as well as my Dao of Order. I wasn't cautious enough. I was overconfident. I revealed my ambitions and divine artifacts too soon without the strength to protect them."

"What else?"

"This was my first time underestimating an enemy. I wasn't cautious enough, and even worse, I made the same mistake twice. The second time was when that woman left. I naively thought she was just arrogant, so I didn't take her seriously.

"If I had been more cautious and careful, they wouldn't have been able to surround me so easily."

"I don't mean to scold you. I just want you to understand that the path you've chosen isn't an easy one. Every step you take must be taken with utmost caution. Over the years, your aunt and I have traveled to many places and have seen countless civilizations.

"Some of the powerful ones were destroyed by forces beyond their control, but others fell because of their own arrogance. They believed they were invincible and ended up courting death."

"Father, can you take me with you? I want to see the world."

"I can. Once you can withstand an attack from me, I'll bring you with me."

"Can I find someone to take the hit for me?"

"You can, but you'll have to bear the consequences."

Ye Guan's expression froze.

Ye Xuan walked to his son and gently ruffled his hair. "Honestly, you're already outstanding. I mean it. You're even better than I was back in the day."

Ye Guan grinned. He was overjoyed at his father's remark. Aside from his own dreams, a part of him was striving to prove himself to his father and elders and to earn their recognition.

Ye Xuan added, "I'm not telling you all this because you're not good enough. It's because you are good, and precisely because you're doing so well, I have to set even higher expectations for you. You might already be performing at a ten, but I want you to reach twelve... or even surpass me and your aunt."

Ye Guan grabbed his father's arm and whispered, "Father, just how strong is Aunt right now?"

Ye Xuan burst into laughter and tapped Ye Guan's forehead. "What you really want to know is how strong I am, right?"

Busted.

Ye Guan's face flushed red. That was

exactly what he wanted to find out. If his father knew Plain-Skirt Aunt's full strength, it meant that they were at the same level. Otherwise, there was a huge gap between them.

He hadn't expected his father to see right through him. As expected of his old man, he was as smart as he was.

"You sneaky little rascal." Ye Xuan chuckled and shook his head. Then, he turned his head to Shang Hongyi and asked him, "So do you want to kill her or keep her alive?"

Ye Guan was speechless.

Father, if you didn't just kill her from the start, isn't it obvious you don't want to kill her?

Suppressing his true thoughts, Ye Guan forced himself to say, "Then let's not kill her. I'll deal with her myself in the future."

Ye Xuan nodded. "That's my boy! Thinking just like your old man."

With that, he opened his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword returned to his hand.

Just then, Shang Hongyi vanished into thin air.

Boom!

A terrifying aura swept across everyone as Shang Hongyi made a move. However, her target was neither Ye Xuan nor Ye Guan. Instead, it was Plain-Skirt Destiny.

Shang Hongyi believed that she hadn't lost yet. If she could take Plain-Skirt Destiny as a hostage, she could use her as leverage to turn the situation around.