Chapter 1533: The Ancient God Nation

Upon hearing those words, Gu Pan instantly flew into a rage. Without a second thought, he threw a punch at the Great Daoist Brush Master.

The Great Daoist Brush Master wasn't afraid of him in the slightest. He raised his hand and punched back.

Boom!

The two were blasted backward simultaneously.

Once Gu Pan came to a halt, he glared at the Great Daoist Brush Master and growled, shouting, "I'm going to kill you one day!"

The Great Daoist Brush Master sneered, "You? Seriously?"

Gu Pan's face darkened with fury. Damn it, he was absolutely seething! If his true body were here, he wouldn't be forced to suffer this humiliation!

All of this was that damned Mi Fo's fault!

The Great Daoist Brush Master cast a cold gaze at Gu Pan. Compared to Gu Pan, he suddenly felt that Ye Guan—no, all of them were bastards.

The three of them made their way toward a grand palace. Standing before its entrance, the Great Daoist Brush Master looked up at the main gate and frowned.

Ye Guan's eyes followed his gaze. Above the palace's main gate, three ancient characters were carved, but he couldn't read them.

Ye Guan turned to look at the Great Daoist Brush Master, who said nothing. Instead, he gently pushed open the door, which creaked open.

A heavy, ancient aura burst out from within. It was unclear how many years it had been since the gate was last opened.

With a wave of his sleeve, the Great Daoist Brush Master swept away that ancient aura.

The three entered the grand palace. It was vast and empty. In the distance, a middle-aged man was sitting cross-legged. His fleshly body remained intact, yet not a shred of aura emanated from him.

His soul was no longer around.

The Great Daoist Brush Master remarked, "Obliterated..."

Ye Guan glanced around curiously. Suddenly, his eyes landed on something behind the man, a sword lay neatly placed there.

Ye Guan walked over, opened his palm, and the sword trembled slightly before flying into his hand. The next instant, it flew right back to its original spot.

Ye Guan was stunned.

The Great Daoist Brush Master burst into laughter. "It doesn't think much of you,

hahaha!

"

Ye Guan was speechless.

The Great Daoist Brush Master grinned, "You know what realm that guy reached? At least the seventh level of the True Dao. You're way too weak compared to its master. Of course it doesn't want you."

Ye Guan looked at the sword. It was around three feet long, the blade glowing faintly with a cold luster. At the hilt was a swirling dark-blue vortex, gently radiating starlight. It looked beautiful.

Ye Guan grew increasingly curious.

The Great Daoist Brush Master explained, "That's likely one of the four legendary swords of the Ancient God Nation, Star Spring. It contains an entire star system within. Its wielder can harness stellar energy. While it's nowhere near an Emperor Artifact, it's still an Immortal weapon, second only to Emperor Artifacts."

Ye Guan smiled. "Sounds like you know quite a bit about this Ancient God Nation."

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The Great Daoist Brush Master chuckled. "It's not that I know much; it's that you two know too little. But I get it, you're both greenhorns, after all!"

Gu Pan stared daggers at the Great Daoist Brush Master. He almost couldn't stop himself from attacking.

Ye Guan didn't argue with the Great Daoist Brush Master. Instead, he looked at the sword behind the corpse. He was curious, but not too invested.

After all, he had the Qingxuan Sword.

Seeing that Ye Guan had not taken the bait, the Great Daoist Brush Master felt a little bored. Looking at the sword, he quipped, "Not a bad sword, but a bit short-sighted, just like a certain someone in black clothing. Has some power, thinks he's hot shit, but really, he's just a damn idiot!"

This time, Gu Pan couldn't take it anymore.

He raised his fist and swung it toward the Great Daoist Brush Master.

Ye Guan sighed. Watching the two was starting to give him a headache. Neither could gain the upper hand. He'd thought about teaming up with Gu Pan to kill the Great Daoist Brush Master, but he knew that was unlikely, as Gu Pan didn't trust him either. While they were fighting, both remained wary of him, afraid that he'd strike from the shadows.

As soon as the two clashed, the grand palace was reduced to rubble. Ye Guan simply sat to the side, watching them brawl.

He looked around, finally turning his gaze back to the middle-aged man's body. No divine soul, no projection, and no avatar. His soul was forcibly extracted in an instant and was utterly annihilated.

The Ancient God Nation...

Ye Guan frowned deeply.

He was certain the Great Daoist Brush Master came here to obtain something. Their Great Dao Contest was far from over, after all.

Suddenly, Little Pagoda said,

"Kid, this place feels strange."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure; it's just a feeling. You need to be extremely cautious."

Ye Guan nodded.

After a while, the Great Daoist Brush Master and Gu Pan finally stopped fighting, neither able to defeat the other.

Gu Pan glared at the Great Daoist Brush Master, the killing intent in his eyes almost tangible.

The Great Daoist Brush Master let out a cold laugh. He turned to glance at Ye Guan and began walking away.

Ye Guan stood and followed.

After a brief silence, Gu Pan also followed.

At that moment, the Star Spring sword began to tremble. Then, it rose and flew straight toward the Great Daoist Brush Master.

The Great Daoist Brush Master waved his hand, "I don't use swords. Don't follow me."

The Star Spring sword trembled again, and then it flew to Gu Pan.

Gu Pan lifted his leg and kicked, "Scram!"

The sword was sent flying, but still unwilling, it circled back toward the Great Daoist Brush Master, who rejected it once again.

After being refused several times by both of them, it was forced to float before Ye Guan.

Ye Guan stared at it silently. Then, he took out the Qingxuan Sword. It was functional as a sword but was devoid of its previous might.

He placed the Qingxuan Sword in front of Star Spring and said nothing. However, he looked as if he was saying, "See this? I've got something better than you."

The Star Spring Sword was speechless.

Ye Guan put the Qingxuan Swordaway and walked away.

Though the Star Spring was a good sword and could aid him, Ye Guan believed that a bond between man and sword ought to be born out of fate. The sword had scorned him at first, only coming to him out of desperation now.

The sword was willing to settle, but Ye Guan wasn't.

A sword was like a life partner. If one had no love for someone, then one ought to avoid forcing the matter.

The three of them left the Star Spring Sword behind and walked away.

From ahead, the Great Daoist Brush Master asked, "Afraid of karmic consequences?"

Ye Guan replied, "No."

The Great Daoist Brush Master mocked, "You've got your family backing you. Of course, you're not afraid."

Ye Guan said, "Great Daoist Brush Master, stop trying to provoke me. I'm telling you that I won't call for help. No tricks you pull will force my hand."

The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at the distance and said, "Ye Guan, if you call for help, you'll never surpass your family for the rest of your life."

Ye Guan chuckled without replying. He realized that the guy was afraid he'd really stop trying.

Surpass my family?

Ye Guan looked into the distance and took a deep breath. His eyes gradually turned resolute.

He wasn't the kind to be blindly stubborn. If one stuck rigidly to ideals and never adapted, they'd only hurt themselves.

He had learned from his father's mistakes, and he wouldn't repeat them.

The Great Daoist Brush Master also had his own considerations. So long as he didn't break the rules, the Yang family had no cause for complaint. He had to defeat Ye Guan within the rules they'd set, and have both Ye Guan and the Yang Family accept it wholeheartedly.

In his eyes, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

If he failed this time, he would never be allowed to trouble Ye Guan again. Worse yet, he'd have to help this "traitor" build Order... Just the thought of it made him wish he were dead.

Gu Pan coldly observed the two. He had his own ideas; once he had his true body, he could crush both of them single-handedly. Especially that pretentious Great Daoist Brush Master, not only would he kill him, but he'd make sure the death was excruciating!

True body, descend!

Gu Pan looked into the distance, his expression gradually hardening. He knew that this place was likely his only chance.

Hum!

Just then, a resonant sword cry echoed behind him.

The trio halted and turned, only to see Star Spring transform into a beam of starlight that flew straight toward Ye Guan.

Huh?

What the hell?

Ye Guan was dumbfounded.

The Great Daoist Brush Master smirked.

Ye Guan raised his sword and slashed out.

Bang!

Star Spring was blasted away. The moment it stopped, it shuddered violently and surged forward again. This time, it was cloaked in fearsome stellar energy.

In that instant, the space around them transformed into a starry region.

A sword domain!

Ye Guan was surprised.

It even has its own sword domain?

Star Spring was blasted away once again.

Though powerful, it couldn't match Ye Guan. After all, it was not an Emperor Artifact but an Immortal artifact.

Once it came to a stop, its blade trembled fiercely. Stellar energy continued to spill from its core.

However, it didn't make another move. Clearly, it hadn't expected that the weakest of the three, Ye Guan, would possess such formidable strength.

Ye Guan hadn't used the power of his bloodline, faith power, or the aid of the True Void Spirits. On top of that, he wasn't really cultivating the conventional realms.

Hence, among the three, he appeared to be the weakest.

The Great Daoist Brush Master suddenly spoke, "Do you know why it attacked you?"

Ye Guan looked at him.

The Great Daoist Brush Master smiled. "Because right now, you carry no destiny aura. You don't seem exceptional in any way... That sword has been rejected many times and is furious.

"It was rejected by me and by some fool; it doesn't dare challenge because our strength far surpasses its own. But being rejected by you, it feels humiliated.

Haha...

"

Ye Guan glanced at the Star Spring Sword but said nothing.

The Great Daoist Brush Master sighed, saying, "Even a sword looks down on others like a dog with eyes on its head, what more of people?

Ah...

"

He cast a glance at the distant Gu Pan.