Chapter 1588: Upright and Honest

Inside the tiny pagoda, Ye Guan had been reading to save time. At this point, he had finished reading all the divine laws.

He now had a clear understanding of the entire judicial system of the Temple of the Gods. He had to admit that the divine laws were quite comprehensive; there were over ten thousand of them in total.

What struck him the most was that the majority of these laws were aimed at restricting the powerful. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of these laws seemed questionable in practice.

He was also researching the Dao of Time. He remembered what Sang Mei had said earlier about integrating the pagoda's internal time with the Dao of Time outside to create a time suppression.

He thought that it was a brilliant idea.

Simply put, if he succeeded, it meant obtaining a huge advantage over others. He would be able to suppress his enemies both in time and Dao.

He had already estimated his own strength. Without activating his Mad Demon Bloodline or using the Qingxuan Sword, his current combat power was comparable to that of a Higher God. He could exchange a few moves with a Fate God, but his chances of winning weren't high.

However, with the Qingxuan Sword, he would be invincible among Higher Gods, and he would have a seventy-percent chance of winning against a Fate God. Of course, this was not enough for him.

His current goal was to reach the Main God level, ideally relying on the Qingxuan Sword or his bloodline power.

He once created a sword technique called Phantom Edge, but as his opponents grew stronger, the technique gradually became outdated and was eventually shelved.

However, Sang Mei's words gave him a new idea. Could he integrate her concept of spacetime suppression into Phantom Edge?

He decided to give it a try. He placed himself in that special spacetime, sensing everything around him. The flow of time here was different from the outside world, and it followed a different Dao.

He thought of how his aunt and the Unfettered Swordsman would draw their swords. Their strikes appeared slow, yet the opponent was unable to defend against them.

Why? Could it be because of spacetime suppression?

Of course, he knew that his aunt and Unfettered Swordsman's sword strikes weren't simple at all. But for him, just understanding even a layer of it was enough. Any more, and he wouldn't be able to absorb it anyway.

Once the idea clicked, it wasn't that hard for him to achieve spacetime suppression, as the Qingxuan Sword could serve as a bridge between the two different times, allowing him to achieve it with ease.

However, he didn't do that, as he knew that it would be meaningless.

It was like someone telling you that ten times ten equals one hundred. You could accept that and know the answer was one hundred, but if you didn't understand the logic behind it, the knowledge wasn't truly yours.

Only when you had clearly understood the underlying logic that made ten times ten equal to one hundred would the knowledge become truly yours.

With foundational knowledge, one can derive further insights. For example, even if no one told you, you'd be able to figure out on your own that five times five equals twenty-five. It was about grasping the principles.

Ye Guan's current situation was like that. By relying on the Qingxuan Sword, he could borrow his aunt's "time" and use it, but that "time" wasn't his own. What he needed to do was understand how his aunt created her own form of time; he needed to understand its laws and its essence.

He knew that his aunt's knowledge far surpassed his own, and that he probably wouldn't fully understand it in the short term, but that was okay. Even if he could grasp just a little, it would already represent a huge improvement for him.

Borrowing someone's ideas was not the way.

What you had learned by yourself would truly belong to you.

His aunt had left that special spacetime inside the pagoda for his sake, and this had to be her true goal. If she had only meant to lend him power, she could have simply merged it with the Qingxuan Sword.

Though he knew he probably wouldn't master it anytime soon, he wasn't in a hurry. After all, the Great Daoist Brush Master wasn't around right now, so he could take his time.

If the Great Daoist Brush Master were around, then he would borrow its power and beat the former to death first.

The reason he was having all these thoughts now could be traced to what his uncle and Sang Mei had said. His refusal to cultivate realms was just a facade.

However, Ye Guan had begun to see through the illusions, and he needed to peer beyond them to understand their essence.

During his time inside the tiny pagoda, Ye Guan was fully immersed in studying the unique concept of time that his aunt had created, and he learned a lot. From the very start, he had been experimenting inside the tiny pagoda. He first used the Qingxuan Sword to test his theories out, and then he would repeat them with his own sword intent.

To understand the nature and Dao of Time, he was, in fact, studying the true nature of the Qingxuan Sword as well. Ever since the Qingxuan Sword started following him, he had only used

it. He had never really tried to understand it.

His time with Sang Mei opened his eyes to many things, just like how poverty wasn't just a personal failure. It was also a failure rooted in one's family, or even in society as a whole.

He learned to see the bigger picture from the smaller issues.

When evaluating a problem, one ought to look at it from many angles rather than just one.

Swordsmanship was no different. Ye Guan cultivated the Invincible Sword Dao, so he needed to understand what "invincibility" really meant, and invincibility wasn't always about overwhelming strength.

There were people whose power wasn't particularly great, yet their spirit was invincible, and for that, they were remembered throughout history.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually, his tests began to show results. In the spacetime before him, the time on the left side was completely still, while the time on the right side flowed rapidly.

Ye Guan was beyond excited, as this meant he was now existing beyond time.

Of course, he only achieved this using the Qingxuan Sword as a medium.

Soon, he switched to using his own sword intent and immediately discovered many problems. The biggest issue was that his sword intent wasn't acknowledged by the spacetime that his aunt had created.

Although it wasn't rejected, it was neither accepted or supported.

Ye Guan didn't force it. Instead, he chose to take it slowly, trying many different approaches. For instance, attempting to mimic how his aunt created her own time.

As expected, this was extremely difficult, but the more he studied, the more excited he became, as each insight and each small breakthrough felt like he was discovering a whole new world.

An unknown amount of time later...

Boom!

The spacetime around Ye Guan exploded violently, sending him flying away.

Ye Guan stood up, muttering, "That's not right... the combination of time and space must account for the density and elasticity of the space itself.

"If I want to create a form of new time, I must also create a space capable of containing that time. Space... I can use sword intent to reinforce the space. That should work. Let's test it first..."

***

Meanwhile, the Jun Clan had mobilized, manipulating public opinion to their advantage.

Under their manipulation, the Temple of Gods City became more and more furious at Nan Xiao and Ye Guan. Outside Nan Xiao's residence, angry protesters gathered daily to hurl curses and verbal abuse.

Nan Xiao, however, remained completely silent.

The elders of the Jun Clan were visibly puzzled by Nan Xiao's behaviour. His silence was strange and out of character.

Inside the grand hall, all the clan elders were present.

Jun Yan frowned with concern as he said, "Nan Xiao hasn't reacted at all. That's highly unusual."

The other elders nodded one after another, and their expressions were a mix of confusion and seriousness.

Jun Qian, who was notoriously hot-headed, had a cold glint in his eyes as he asked, "Why don't we just go and kill him?"

His suggestion shocked everyone in the hall. Assassinating a Judicial Officer was not a matter to be taken lightly.

Jun Yan immediately shook his head and rejected the suggestion, saying, "We can't even consider that. If Nan Xiao were to die under suspicious circumstances right now, everyone would immediately suspect us.

"We would face a public outcry."

Jun Quan responded without hesitation, "Then we kill Ye Guan and that woman. Those two are the root of the problem. I don't believe Nan Xiao would go to war with our Jun Clan over two dead people."

Someone chimed in, "But Ye Guan and that woman aren't ordinary people. We still don't know their true background. Acting rashly like this—"

Fuming like a cornered bull, Jun Quan interrupted, "Do you not see what point we have come to?! We're already in a do-or-die situation with them. Who cares about their identities anymore?

"At a time like this, we should strike first and eliminate them directly!"

Jun Yan replied gravely, "But those two aren't the only problems. There's also Nan Xiao."

Jun Quan stomped his foot in frustration. "Problems can't always be solved all at once. If we can't fix everything in one go, then we handle it one by one. Let's get rid of the easy targets first, then focus everything we've got on Nan Xiao."

Jun Yan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked over at Jun You, who was quiet in her seat.

Everyone else also turned toward her, the young clan leader who had yet to speak.

Then, with a calm and chilling tone, she said, "Wake up. Are we really just dealing with Nan Xiao and Ye Guan here?"

Everyone looked at her, puzzled. She slowly rose to her feet and swept her gaze across the room as she said, "What we're challenging now is the authority of the entire South Gods Temple!"

Shock ripped through the hall. Her face was expressionless as she continued, "Haven't the gods always looked down on merchants and viewed them as lowly? This time, we'll show them the power of the merchants."

Jun Yan stared at Jun You in disbelief. He realized that their young clan leader was definitely hiding something from him.

Jun You looked at everyone and declared, "Why should kings and nobles be born to rule? If the system doesn't allow merchants to rise, then we'll change the system!"

The room fell into an increasingly uneasy silence. Many were deeply alarmed by what they heard.

***

On one particular day, Ye Guan left the tiny pagoda, as someone had visited him. It was none other than Zong Gu.

Upon seeing Ye Guan again, Zong Gu's eyes were filled with curiosity.

Ye Guan looked at him and revealed a simple, honest smile. "Is there something you need from me?"

Zong Gu nodded, cutting straight to the point. "I've come to pledge my allegiance to you, Brother Ye."

Ye Guan looked surprised. "Pledge your allegiance to me?"

Zong Gu replied, "Yes."

"Why?" Ye Guan asked.

Zong Gu answered bluntly, "There's no future in following the Jun Clan."

Ye Guan chuckled, but did not say anything further. Zong Gu understood well enough that Ye Guan wasn't easily swayed, so he pulled out a scroll and handed it over as he said, "I used to work with the Jun Clan, so I know some of their confidential plans. This should be of some use to you, Young Master Ye."

Ye Guan unrolled the scroll and took a few moments to read it. Then, he looked up at Zong Gu, feigning surprise as he said, "The Jun Clan wants me dead?"

Zong Gun nodded solemnly.

Ye Guan stood up and began pacing back and forth slowly, his expression tense. But before long, he calmed down and sat back down.

Zong Gu observed every detail of Ye Guan's expression and body language.

Ye Guan gravely remarked, "I need to go find Brother Nan. He'll help me...'

Zong Gu interjected, "Brother Ye, forgive me for speaking frankly, but I'm afraid Nan Xiao may not even be able to protect himself right now."

Ye Guan looked at him in shock. "How could that be? Brother Nan is the Judicial Officer. He wields immense power. The Jun Clan is nothing compared to him. How could they possibly threaten him?"

Zong Gu shook his head. "The Jun Clan's strength is not to be underestimated. After all, they have far, far too much money. And look outside, everyone's out there denouncing Nan Xiao. It might not be long before the pressure becomes too great and the Temple of the Gods is forced to remove him."

"This..."

"Brother Ye, you're so young, yet you're already so powerful. Your background must be extraordinary, right?"

Ye Guan glanced at him but didn't reply.

Zong Gu continued, "Brother Ye, we're in the same boat now. If the Jun Clan finds out I leaked this kind of confidential information to you, I won't even have a burial place to rest in peace. Wouldn't you agree?"

Ye Guan thought for a moment, then said, "I come from the Guanxuan Universe. I've got a few elders in my family who are fairly strong, my aunt, my grandfather, and my uncle."

Zong Gu's eyes narrowed slightly. "And... just how strong are they?"

Ye Guan replied, "If the three of them teamed up, I'd probably last just ten moves against them."

Little Pagoda was utterly speechless at his bragging.

Zong Gu fell silent. At that moment, he had already formed a rough estimate in his mind of the strength of the people backing Ye Guan. He looked at Ye Guan with complicated feelings in his heart.

Everyone said swordsmen were upright and honest. Clearly, that was true. And here he was, scheming against such an upright, honest swordsman. He really felt a bit guilty.