Chapter 1419: My Cultivation!

"Wait..." The middle-aged man's face changed upon recalling something. He looked at Sui Gujin with disbelief and doubt. "Earlier, you said that he might surpass the Ancestral Civilization?"

Sui Gujin nodded.

The middle-aged man asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure?"

Clearly, he still couldn't quite believe it.

Sui Gujin opened her eyes and looked into the distance at the Divine Martial Arena. A solemn light filled her eyes. "At first, I thought the reason the time inside his tiny pagoda differed from the outside world was simply due to the concept of Time Reversal. Although that's a heaven-defying ability, it's not

that

terrifying.

"Our Suiming Civilization has two people who can do the same, but I realized, as soon as I saw it, that it wasn't Time Reversal at all. It was... a brand-new form of time!"

Sui Gujin's voice trembled slightly as she uttered the final syllable of her sentence.

"What?!" The middle-aged man lost his composure. "A brand-new form of time?"

Sui Gujin nodded, her eyes filled with complexity. "A completely brand-new form of time... Do you understand what that means? It means she can redefine time itself...

"While we are all struggling to break free from the shackles of time, she has already reached the point where she can create and define it... Against someone like that, we have no chance of winning...."

The middle-aged man's expression grew extremely serious. He was truly shaken.

If it were merely time manipulation, while extraordinary, it wouldn't inspire fear in him. Since it was a brand-new form of time...

Is such a being even human, then?

Sui Gujin softly said, "From what I can tell, Young Master Ye hasn't realized it yet. Moreover, he's still living cautiously, as if afraid that I might harm him...."

Sui Gujin shook her head and laughed, but her expression soon returned to normal.

The middle-aged man's face was grim as he said, "That means Shang Hongyi must have sensed the strength of those two individuals..."

Sui Gujin replied, "The last time she attacked that lady in the plain skirt, she was trying to test the other party's strength. She achieved her goal, but unfortunately for her, her true body will never know the result."

The middle-aged man was shocked. "You mean that lady in the plain skirt had prevented her from informing her true body?"

Sui Gujin nodded slightly.

The middle-aged man furrowed his brows. "Why would she do that? If she had allowed that to happen, Shang Hongyi wouldn't dare to target that young swordsman anymore."

Sui Gujin said calmly, "Simple. They are not trying to raise a mere protector; they are nurturing someone who can walk even further beyond... someone who might one day reach their level."

The middle-aged man said, "Does that mean we're guaranteed victory if we take his side?"

Sui Gujin shook her head.

The middle-aged man was a little irritated. "Can you stop beating around the bush and just explain things clearly?"

Sui Gujin slowly analyzed, "In this game of chess, either his father or his aunt is one of the players. And for a game to happen, there must be two players. That means they have an enemy. Who are they?

"Regardless of who they are, do you really think that they're just an ordinary figure? They may not be able to defeat his aunt or father, but what if... that in their eyes... we are nothing more than ants?"

The middle-aged man's brows furrowed deeply.

"Also, have you not noticed Young Master Ye's two types of sword intent? The path he is taking does not allow him to rely on his backers. The road he has chosen is one of absolute invincibility, which means he will never become too dependent on the forces behind him.

"My guess is that the person playing chess against his aunt and father has two possible motives behind it.

"The first possibility is that they genuinely want to kill him and destroy his family. The second possibility is that they want to break Young Master Ye's Dao Heart..."

Sui Gujin's eyes narrowed. "They probably don't want him to establish a brand-new Order. In other words, they also seek to participate in the Great Dao Contest."

"So even if we choose his side, there will still be great risks?" asked the middle-aged man.

Sui Gujin nodded. "Yes, and a massive risk at that. Those capable of competing with his aunt and father in this game of chess are people far beyond our ability to contend with.

"If our Suiming Civilization makes even the slightest misstep in this Great Dao Contest, we will be caught in the crossfire and be annihilated.

"But... if we don't choose a side, we'll be in even greater danger. Regardless of the victor, we will either be destroyed or forced into submission. Submitting then versus choosing a side now are two entirely different things.

"Moreover..."

A hint of excitement appeared on Sui Gujin's face. "Isn't this also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Suiming Civilization?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "No way the Old Lands Civilization will let him join."

Sui Gujin calmly replied, "That's even better."

The middle-aged man was stunned. "How so?"

Sui Gujin said, "Then in the entire Old Lands, it'll just be our Suiming Civilization and the Guanxuan Civilization. Isn't that better?"

The middle-aged man was momentarily dazed, and then he nodded firmly.

Although the three major civilizations of the Old Lands were in an alliance, everyone knew that this alliance was unreliable. Each of the three had been constantly trying to devour the others.

"I must remind you that Young Master Ye is not a simple person. Don't try to act too clever around him—" The middle-aged man shook his head with a chuckle. "But then you probably already know that. Do as you see fit."

With that, he turned around and left.

Sui Gujin took one last look at the distant Divine Martial Arena and left.

Upon arriving at the Strategist Pavilion, she opened her palm, and several dozen books on the Guanxuan Laws floated before the gathered scholars. "Don't cultivate these; just study them."

The scholars looked puzzled, but Sui Gujin had already turned around and left.

***

Sui Gujin entered her private study, surrounded by a vast starry skies filled with countless ancient books. Sitting at a table, she pointed, and scrolls unfurled before her, filling her mind with an influx of information. As the Chief Strategist of the Strategist Pavilion, her daily task was to monitor events across civilizations to obtain first-hand intelligence.

Sui Gujin suddenly called out, "Soul."

A lady walked in and bowed deeply. "Pavilion Master."

Sui Gujin asked, "She still hasn't returned?"

"Yes." Soul nodded and hesitated.

Sui Gujin saw that and said, "Speak."

Soul hesitated before saying, "Pavilion Master, the Chief Enforcement Officer is too powerful. The fact that we're investigating her in secret... I'm sure she already knows that..."

"Where is she now?"

"She's in the Yuanming Starry Region. She has already absorbed all the Evil in that domain. After that, she left, but we dared not follow her too closely."

Sui Gujin nodded. "No need to do that. Just track her general movements."

Soul nodded. "Understood."

"How is the reaction of the Old Lands towards Shang Hongyi now?"

"Everyone hates her now."

"Are there any dissenting voices?"

"Yes, but only a few."

Sui Gujin nodded slightly. "Send someone to investigate them."

"Kill them?"

Sui Gujin glanced at her. "They have the ability to discern right from wrong, which means they have the potential to be cultivated as subordinates. Assign one of your trusted aides to handle this personally."

Soul nodded. "Understood."

"You may leave."

Soul withdrew.

"Shadow," Sui Gujin called out.

In the corner, a shadowy figure quietly condensed.

Sui Gujin ordered, "Go test the true strength of this Chief Enforcement Officer."

The shadowy figure silently disappeared.

Sui Gujin uttered, "Earth."

As soon as her words fell, a dark figure appeared before her, bowing deeply toward her. "Pavilion Master."

Sui Gujin said, "We're at a critical juncture. Have your people stand ready. If there is any disturbance from the Old Lands Civilization or the Eternal Civilization, report it to me immediately."

The dark figure nodded. "Understood."

Sui Gujin asked, "What about the matter I asked you to investigate?"

The dark figure replied, "Among the Four Great Immortal Domains, the people of the Tianfu Immortal Domain have been in contact with Young Master Ye, but we do not know what they discussed.

"As for the other three Immortal Domains, they have been investigating him for some time. From what we know, someone has offered an extremely high price for his head."

"How high?"

The dark figure said in a deep voice, "An entire Ancestral Spiritual Vein."

Sui Gujin's delicate eyebrows immediately furrowed. "Someone is deliberately stirring up hatred against him..."

"They are all watching this battle against Young Master Ye. There are signs that they are eager to make a move."

"They are observing... clearly hesitating." After a brief moment of contemplation, Sui Gujin added, "Send an invitation to the four Domain Lords. I will host a banquet at Feixian Tower and tell them that I wish to discuss a major matter with them."

"Master, are you trying to win them over?" asked the dark figure.

Sui Gujin nodded. "Even if we cannot recruit them, we must at least prevent them from causing trouble for him at this time. More importantly, we cannot allow them to unite. If they join forces, it will be too troublesome. In short, if we can recruit them, we will. If not, we will sow discord among them and turn them against each other, anything to prevent them from joining forces against him."

Although the Four Great Immortal Domains were not as powerful as the three major civilizations of the Old Lands, each Domain Lord was a Domain Lord Realm expert. If they were to join forces, Ye Guan could reincarnate a hundred times, and he still wouldn't be unable to defeat them.

The dark figure bowed slightly. "Understood."

Sui Gujin looked at the dark figure. "Lay down the groundwork and extend it to the depths of the vast expanse. I want to know the movements and goals of all forces."

"As you command." The dark figure nodded and silently disappeared from sight.

"Sky," Sui Gujin said.

Swoosh!

A lady in dark mecha armor appeared in the room. Her expression was icy, like a block of ice.

Sui Gujin asked, "Any results?"

Sky replied, "Yes."

With a wave of her sleeve, a figure was thrown onto the ground.

If Ye Guan were present, he would surely be shocked, as he was none other than the Ancestral Dao.

The Ancestral Dao looked around, utterly bewildered. But soon, he turned to the armored lady and shouted angrily, "Is this how the Suiming Civilization treats its guests?

Huh?

"

The armored lady completely ignored him.

Sui Gujin stared at the Ancestral Dao. "Do you know Ye Guan?"

The Ancestral Dao withdrew his gaze and looked at Sui Gujin. "You are Sui Gujin of the Suiming Civilization?"

A flash of killing intent appeared in the armored lady's eyes in the face of the Ancestral Dao's rudeness. However, she didn't make a move, as Sui Gujin hadn't given her the order to do so.

Sui Gujin nodded. "Yes."

The Ancestral Dao asked, "Are you people trying to kill Ye Guan?"

Sui Gujin glanced at him. "Yes."

"That's fantastic!"

The Ancestral Dao suddenly became excited. "Good, good! That bastard deserves to die! Kill him! And make sure he stays dead!"

Sui Gujin asked, "Do you have a grudge against him?"

Upon hearing that, Ancestral Dao burst into sorrowful wailing, "A grudge?! That accursed scoundrel... His entire family is full of ruthless bastards! My cultivation... my cultivation!"