Chapter 1626: Destiny's Sword Energy

As the terrifying auras descended upon the world, everyone present felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

A hundred and sixty-nine people.

At the helm stood a middle-aged man in black robes. He held a sheathed long saber in his left hand, his long hair cascading down his shoulders, eyes deep and unreadable. An invisible, commanding presence radiated from him.

He was beyond the Divine Realm.

Behind him stood nine mysterious figures clad in black armor, also cultivators beyond the Divine Realm. Each exuded an aura far surpassing that of the Divine Realm.

And behind these nine stood the rest, every single one of them at least in the Divine Realm. More than that, each one's aura was significantly stronger than that of the Divine Realm cultivators in the Divine Continent.

They were from the East Desolates.

A mighty universe civilization, one that had once warred against the peak of the Divine Civilization. Though they lost, they remained alive, and now, they had returned for vengeance.

Sang Mei looked at them without any surprise. She turned to the Great Daoist Brush Master and said, "The East Desolates Ruler brought them here through a mass sacrifice?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master nodded.

"Because of you?" Sang Mei asked.

"Yes," replied the Great Daoist Brush Master.

"You've committed a grave sin," Sang Mei said softly.

He glanced at the kneeling Divine Continent cultivators below and replied, "And you haven't? You didn't sacrifice your people, but under your civilization's rule, haven't they suffered just the same?

"The only difference is that East Desolates gave their people a swift death. Yours? A slow and drawn-out torment. In the end, there's no real difference."

Sang Mei didn't respond. Her gaze drifted back to Ye Guan, who was still locked in a brutal duel.

The Great Daoist Brush Master, sensing her thoughts, said plainly, "He won't succeed."

"Why not?" she asked.

"You're far more exceptional than him," the Great Daoist Brush Master said. "Of all the people I've seen, only a few, those from the Yang Family, that True God, and Clan Leader Jing could match you. And even you... failed in the end."

Sang Mei shook her head slightly. "I don't want to debate Dao with you, because your pursuit isn't about building a better order. It's only about making yourself better. Our difference isn't just ideological, it's fundamental. So, there's no point in discussion."

The Great Daoist Brush Master fell silent.

Sang Mei looked again at Ye Guan, who now fought like a man possessed. "At first, I thought like you. I didn't believe he could succeed. That's why I sought him out. But later... I started to believe he might."

The Great Daoist Brush Master sneered. "Because of what he did in the slums? What if I told you he only did it because he suspected your identity? Wouldn't that disappoint you?

"Don't underestimate him, he's one of the cleverest people I've seen. His cunning mind is no less than his father's, and when it comes to hiding his brilliance, he may even be better than his father."

Sang Mei smiled. "If he helped those people because he suspected my identity, then that's... even better!"

The Great Daoist Brush Master frowned. "Better?"

"Isn't being smart a good thing?" Sang Mei asked back.

The Great Daoist Brush Master had no answer.

Sang Mei's face turned wistful as she looked at Ye Guan. "No one wants him to become the new King of Relying on Others. But look at the kind of monsters he's up against, like you. If he weren't clever, you'd have played him to death by now."

"So even if he did it for ulterior motives, you think it's meaningful?" the Great Daoist Brush Master asked.

"Of course!" Sang Mei answered firmly. "We judge by action, not motive. No one is pure inside. Even you should know that by now. Honestly, how can someone so smart also be so dumb?"

Sang Mei gave him a look of absolute disdain.

The Great Daoist Brush Master was speechless.

Then, his gaze landed on Ye Guan once again. "Lady Sang, I just can't understand people like you, so determined to walk a hopeless road. Still, it doesn't matter. In the end, no matter the order or the ideals, power will always rule this world."

Sang Mei nodded. Then she glanced at the East Desolates' elites. "With all this going on, their ruler couldn't be bothered to show up in person?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master chuckled. "Care to guess why?"

She didn't answer; her eyes were back on Ye Guan and Jun You. Their fight had reached its peak.

Ye Guan's eyes were bloodshot. Though he hadn't activated his Mad Demon Bloodline, the force was bubbling up inside him. It was becoming harder and harder to suppress, especially in the madness of battle.

Both his Order Sword Intent and Invincible Sword Intent had been steadily growing stronger, sharpening in the crucible of combat.

But Jun You was equally terrifying. Even under the pressure of both sword intents, she didn't retreat; she fought back head-on.

Boom!

A deafening explosion shattered the space they fought in. Time energy and sword light shot out like a flood, annihilating everything in their path.

Both fighters were blasted back.

Ye Guan steadied himself and drew a deep breath. Inside him, his two sword intents were boiling like oil. He'd reached a critical threshold. One more push, and they would transform again.

Battle.

He looked at Jun You. She looked back, her aura several times stronger than before.

They were both combat monsters; the more they fought, the stronger they became.

Jun You slowly closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Suddenly, endless rivers of time energy surged around her. Then, billions of Time Daos emerged from the void.

A manifestation of the Great Dao!

Her aura exploded, reaching an unnatural, terrifying level.

Her eyes snapped open. Behind her, a towering giant formed. Tens of thousands of meters tall, it was forged from endless Time Rivers, and it radiated an unstoppable might.

It opened its eyes and roared. Then it slammed a fist toward Ye Guan.

That punch drew the power of billions of Time Rivers. They surged like oceans into the fist, multiplying its power manyfold.

Outside, the Great Daoist Brush Master grinned. "To become the Dao itself... to transcend and control it. What do you think, Lady Sang? Impressive, isn't she?"

Sang Mei said nothing.

Jun You's punch rippled through countless dimensions. Even the onlookers could barely breathe under its force.

Ye Guan took another deep breath. His two sword intents surged and fused.

With the will of all living beings and the will of invincibility, Ye Guan stared at the incoming punch. Though he couldn't even breathe under the pressure, his eyes held no fear and only an endless battle intent.

"Kill!"

He became a sword light, charging straight toward the giant's fist.

A head-on clash!

The fused sword intent flared wildly as Ye Guan's aura surged. They sliced through time, following Ye Guan as he collided with the punch.

Boom!

Both Time energy and sword light detonated in the void, ripping apart the spacetime where Ye Guan and Jun You were located.

Ye Guan and Jun You were both sent flying.

Ye Guan eventually crashed into a pocket of spacetime, which then shattered beneath him. His sword intents, scattered and reformed, over and over.

Far away, Jun You came to a stop. A sword, formed of fused intent, was embedded in her chest, destroying her lifeforce from within.

Behind her, the massive time giant had crumbled. Time Rivers dispersed, vanishing into the void.

She clenched her fists, desperately trying to suppress the sword, but her fleshly body was breaking apart.

It was a mutual destruction.

Ye Guan stood up shakily. His fleshly body was shattered. His consciousness was starting to blur, and his mind was hazy. The punch had almost killed him.

The Great Daoist Brush Master laughed again. "Lady Sang, neither of them can finish the other. No point in continuing, don't you think?"

Sang Mei nodded and took a step forward, appearing instantly beside Ye Guan.

Ye Guan turned to her, battered, bloodied beyond recognition.

Sang Mei smiled. "How do you feel?"

Ye Guan grinned. "Not too bad."

She nodded. "There's something I need to tell you..."

But Ye Guan suddenly grabbed her wrist. "I still have a trump card."

He knew what she was about to say.

Sang Mei smiled. "Why are you so clever all the time? It's annoying."

He said nothing.

"I promised you two gifts, do you still remember what I said? I told you that there would be a small gift and a big one. The small one was the aura of Divinity inside your Divine Seal. The big one..."

Ye Guan shook his head, stopping her.

Sang Mei gently wiped the blood from his mouth. "I told you I was sick. There are two reasons behind it. First of all, I doubted my own Dao Heart, just like you. I questioned whether everything I was doing had any meaning. I even considered destroying all that order, just to advance myself.

"Secondly and lastly, my Order was flawed. I am the source of my Order. If it's flawed, I will break. I needed someone to fix what I couldn't..."

Ye Guan wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth and said, "Lady Sang."

"Let me finish. I know you still have cards to play. You have the Yang Family—you have your aunt's sword intent."

Sang Mei opened her palm.

A strand of sword energy drifted out from Ye Guan and landed in her hand.

Sang Mei smiled. "You're clever enough to know that this is your aunt's test."

"I've done my best," Ye Guan said seriously.

"Not enough," Sang Mei replied. She looked at him and explained, "She wants to sever your ties to the Yang Family. When you no longer think of your aunt, your uncle, your grandfather, when the Yang Family means nothing to you, only then can you become your own god.

"You understand it, don't you? You understand everything, right?"

Ye Guan looked toward the East Desolates cultivators and the Great Daoist Brush Master, muttering, "So what if I understand..."

"It matters," Sang Mei said, wiping more blood from his lips. "She laid out the path, but you must walk it."

Ye Guan's voice cracked. "I can't beat him. I really can't. I can't outmatch him, outthink him... he's always ahead. No matter what I do."

Sang Mei replied gently, "If you can't even beat him, how will you stand beside your aunt and the others at the end?"

She pulled out a cracked purple jade pendant, etched with the word "Dao," and hung it around Ye Guan's neck.

"I know it's hard," she whispered. "Unbearably hard. I know how heavy it all feels, carrying this burden alone. But I'll carry it with you. I'll suffer with you. I'll bear it, too."

Then, she turned toward the Great Daoist Brush Master.

Ye Guan reached to stop her, but grasped only air. She was already before him.

"You'll never defeat me if you don't sacrifice others," the Great Daoist Brush Master said. "You can't progress further otherwise."

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Sang Mei smiled. "Is that so?"

Her body began to turn translucent.

The Great Daoist Brush Master narrowed his eyes. "Breaking through all nine levels..."

Golden runes appeared around him.

Though startled, he quickly regained composure. "It's not enough, Sang Mei. Not nearly enough. Hahaha..."

He raised his sleeve. A Dao seal shot upward, overwhelming all.

But then, a divine radiance suppressed the Dao seal. Inside that divine light was Sang Mei.

The Great Daoist Brush Master's face twisted. "Divinity, you think you can seal me? You're nothing. Only those four could possibly—"

He raised his arms. Billions of Great Daos surged into the sky, struggling against that divine light.

Just then, Sang Mei began to burn inside the divine light. Her aura exploded, becoming tens of thousands of times stronger.

"You're mad!!" the Great Daoist Brush Master screamed. "Y-you sacrificed yourself?! You've lost your mind!!"

Sang Mei said nothing.

She walked forward. With every step, the Great Daoist Brush Master's Great Dao shrank by a level. Step by step. Across the Divine Civilization, every being who followed her could feel their Divine Will... fading away.

The Great Daoist Brush Master was in disbelief. "Impossible. Even if you sacrifice yourself, it shouldn't be like this. How could this be...?"

He unleashed everything, but it was useless. Every step she took, his Great Dao weakened.

And Sang Mei's fleshly body and soul were fading as well.

"Lady Sang!!"

Ye Guan shot forward, but a mysterious force locked him in place.

He watched, helpless, as she vanished bit by bit.

In desperation, he took out the sword energy his aunt had given him.

But the moment he did, his two sword intents plummeted, their resonance instantly collapsing.

In the blink of an eye, they were about to vanish.

But Ye Guan didn't hesitate.

He was about to unleash it when Sang Mei shook her head at him.

In her eyes was a resolve. And a quiet, pleading sadness.

"Little Guan... my road ends here. I can't go any farther. But the dream lives on. We both want this world to be better. The rest of the path... walk it for me. Please?"

She knew that he had always wanted to cast off the shadow of being a King of Relying on Others, and she wanted to help him do that.

Their dream was the same.

To realize it... Ye Guan couldn't rely on others. He had to become the strongest in the world.

He looked at her fading form, at her silent plea, and his vision blurred. Then, he fell to his knees.

In his palm, the strand of sword energy from Destiny floated.

He stared at it and tears streamed down his face as he snapped, "From now on, I am no longer my aunt's nephew; no longer my grandfather's grandson; No longer my uncle's nephew; and no longer a child of the Yang Family..."

With trembling hands, he let go, and Destiny's sword energy descended slowly to the ground.