Chapter 171: Welcome the New King

Sigh! Ye Guan sighed to himself. He was truly having a difficult time.

Great Sword Sovereign! He was a Quasi-Great Sword Sovereign, so he knew that it wasn’t so easy to just take the next step and become a full-fledged Great Sword Sovereign.

The most glaring issue here was that he felt like he was carrying the weight of a thousand mountains. At this point, he had to become a Great Sword Sovereign whether he liked it or not!

The Path Sword trembled slightly as if it were trying to say something.

Ye Guan blinked and suddenly said, “I understand!”

Little Pagoda suddenly asked, “Wait, you can understand it?”

Ye Guan nodded and said, “Yes!”

Little Pagoda was a little curious, so he asked, “What did it say?”

Ye Guan’s expression changed to that of a serious look as he replied, “It told me that I should ask you for help and that you should give me martial skills and techniques that are at least Simplicity-rank!”

“You’re full of shit!” said Little Pagoda. “You and your father are terrible—”

Little Pagoda abruptly shut his mouth.

Ye Guan’s curiosity was piqued.

“Master Pagoda, was my father a terrible person?” he asked.

“No,” said Little Pagoda. No, he’s not a good person at all!

Ye Guan thought for a while before saying, “Master Pagoda, how do I become a Great Sword Sovereign?”

After a long moment of silence, Little Pagoda finally replied, “You shouldn’t think of the Sword Dao in that manner. One’s Sword Dao only improves through comprehension and enlightenment rather than absorbing enough profound energy to make breakthroughs.

“One must not have any obsession or distractions in their heart. One’s heart and mind must be calm, and one must not be easily affected by worldly affairs.

”One must stay true to their Dao, or one will never become invincible.”

“That sounds great, Master Pagoda,” Ye Guan said before adding, “The senior who told you that must be a true powerhouse.”

Little Pagoda unconsciously blurted out, “Indeed, she’s pretty—”

Fortunately, Little Pagoda caught himself in time.

Fuck! I fell into his trap again!

Ye Guan laughed, but he didn’t say anything anymore. He calmed down and pondered over Little Pagoda’s words. ‘One’s Sword Dao only improves through comprehension and enlightenment rather than absorbing enough profound energy to make breakthroughs…’

Meanwhile, the mysterious voice in the tiny pagoda said, “The Path Sword is truly capable of ruining his mindset.”

Little Pagoda replied, “I have no comments whatsoever.”

The mysterious voice laughed and said, “It’s fine. He’s such a wonderful person, and he’s very disciplined as well. He still hasn’t gotten complacent despite owning a powerful divine sword like the Path Sword. In fact, he has even reflected on himself and has been constantly improving. He is indeed an extremely rare seedling.”

“Are you saying that because you want to take him in as your disciple?” asked Little Pagoda.

The mysterious voice was silent for a long time before saying, “He’s already on the path to invincibility!”

“So what?” Little Pagoda smiled and said, “You can still teach him a thing or two.”

“Have you still not realized that only his aunt is qualified to teach him?” asked the mysterious voice.

Little Pagoda fell silent at that.

…

Ye Guanzhi was reading the Guanxuan Report in the South Garden of the Main Guanxuan Academy. Soon, she put the Guanxuan Report down and leaned in her lounge chair with closed eyes. A light breeze blew the corners of her skirt up slightly.

An old woman was standing next to Ye Guanzhi. “Who would have thought that he would become a Great Sword Sovereign in such a short amount of time?”

Ye Guanzhi smiled, but she didn’t reply.

The old woman made a sidelong glance at Ye Guanzhi and said, “My lady, do you really think that Ye Guan will win?”

Ye Guanzhi calmly asked back, “Has the Sword Master suffered any defeat?”

The old woman was stunned.

Ye Guanzhi laughed and answered her own question, “Yes, he has suffered defeat, but not at the hands of someone as young as Ye Guan.”

Ye Guanzhi paused and opened her eyes.

The sunlight was blinding, so she closed them back before continuing. “So what? Who said that the Chosen One isn’t allowed to lose? Lu Tian thinks that he can’t afford to lose because of the overwhelming power of the previous Chosen Ones.

“Unfortunately, such a mindset is akin to an obsession. It is an inner demon!”

The old woman muttered, “He’s still the Chosen One…”

Ye Guanzhi remained calm as she said, “His status as the Chosen One is a double-edged sword. He’ll become invincible if he were to use it correctly, but using it in the wrong way is equivalent to self-sabotage.

“The Chosen One’s mental state had already suffered an injury during that battle against Young Lord Ye on the Zhongtu Divine Continent? How come, you ask? It is all because he felt that he shouldn’t have lost, which created a demon in his heart.

“In other words, Young Lord Ye has become his inner demon.”

Ye Guanzhi paused. She shook her head slightly before saying, “His inner demon forced him to declare that only one of them can continue living in this world.

”It is unfortunate, but the Chosen One only has two choices if he wants to get rid of his inner demon: surrender to Ye Guan and face his own flaws fearlessly and with sincerity, or kill Young Lord Ye.”

The old woman remained silent.

Ye Guanzhi said softly, “He chose the latter, and he ended up pushing himself to the edge of a cliff. He has to defeat Ye Guan to reach the heavens; otherwise, he will remain mediocre throughout his life.”

“Who are you rooting for?” the old woman asked Ye Guanzhi.

Ye Guanzhi immediately answered, “Young Lord Ye!”

The old woman frowned and asked, “Why?”

Ye Guanzhi chuckled and asked, “Do you remember the first time I fought him?”

“Of course!” said the old woman with a nod.

Ye Guanzhi said, “I won, but he wasn’t indignant, nor did he get discouraged by his defeat. He humbled himself and asked me for advice. His actions told me that he isn’t particularly focused on winning or losing. Winning is great, but he thinks that it’s okay to lose as well.”

The old woman was confused. “Why would losing be okay?”

“One has to lose to recognize their shortcomings and flaws,” Ye Guan explained, “If he was convinced that he was already invincible, why would he continue becoming even stronger?

”Those at the summit of their own path are lonely people, and they do not want people to think that they are invincible, as they want to lose as well. Those who are truly strong have the same way of thinking, and Young Lord Ye had exhibited the same mentality as them.”

“And the Chosen One does not have that mentality?” asked the old woman.

Ye Guanzhi said, “The Chosen One’s status is special. He’s so special that he feels that defeat is unacceptable. However, he’s not the only one who thinks that way. The entire universe thinks that way as well.”

Ye Guanzhi frowned upon saying that, seemingly worried about something.

“I’m actually worried about his supporters.”

The old woman sounded confused as she asked, “What about them?”

Ye Guanzhi explained, “A huge group of people are supporting the Chosen One, and I’m sure that they do not want to see the Chosen One’s defeat. What will happen to them if the Chosen One fails to defeat Ye Guan?

”The Immortal Treasures Pavilion, the Milky Way Clan, and the Future Clan are standing on the Chosen One’s side, and the vested interests of many people are on the Chosen One’s shoulders as well.

“In other words, they won’t let the Chosen One lose!”

The old woman’s face turned ugly. “Are they really going to pull any dirty tricks? If they were to do that in the middle of the battle, it would be a blatant disrespect to everyone involved and a clear disregard of the laws.”

Ye Guanzhi calmly explained, “You have no idea just what kind of people they are. I’m sure they’re willing to do anything, as the stakes are so high. I think they might even stage a rebellion, not to mention pulling a dirty trick or two!”

The old woman hurriedly shook his head and said, “The Academy will instantly suppress them, so why would they dare to stage a rebellion?”

Ye Guanzhi said, “The Chosen One’s status is special. He has the Sword Master’s Dao Imprint, so it won’t be that difficult to justify a rebellion if they are forced to do such a thing.”

“The Committee won’t let that happen!”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“What if there are Committee members on the Chosen One’s side?”

The old woman froze and went silent.

Ye Guanzhi continued, “Actually, the biggest factor here is the support of the four great aristocratic clans. He can just suppress the Committee and take control of the Academy using the four great aristocratic clans’ help.

“The Immortal Treasures Pavilion is on his side as well, so they won’t have any issues when it comes to manpower and money.”

Ye Guanzhi sat up straight before saying, “If the Gu Clan and the Yue Clan choose to stand on the Chosen One’s side, he’ll have a ninety percent chance of becoming the next Academy Master.”

“Ninety percent?” said the old woman before asking, “Why not a hundred?”

Ye Guanzhi wryly said, “The Sword Master can appear and refuse to hand the position over to him. Senior Qingqiu might also wake up and refuse to acknowledge him as the next Academy Master.”

The old woman chuckled bitterly. It had been many years since those two had shown up with their true bodies rather than just their wills.

“I’m sure Lu Tian will do his best to earn the support of the four great aristocratic clans. If he succeeds, it’s over,” said Ye Guanzhi. With that, she stood up and turned around to leave.

“Where are you going?” asked the old woman.

Ye Guanzhi said, “I’m going to visit Young Lord Ye and tell him everything he needs to know.”

The old woman stiffened and went silent.

Ye Guanzhi was about to take a step out of the South Garden, but a terrifying aura locked onto her. A black-robed old man appeared in front of her and said, “Representative Ye, you’re not allowed to leave the South Garden without explicit permission from the Committee.”

Ye Guanzhi slowly balled her right hand into a fist.

The old man hurriedly said, “Representative Ye, Committee Head Li has no ill intentions toward you! I suggest you don’t do this. Otherwise, your enemies will have the justification to mete out a more severe punishment to you.”

The old man quickly left after saying his piece.

Ye Guanzhi turned to look at the old woman and said, “Tell Young Lord Ye to come here and meet me.”

The old woman obliged and said, “Okay!”

She then left to carry out Ye Guanzhi’s orders.

A hint of worry flashed past Ye Guanzhi’s eyes. The bad blood between Ye Guan and the Chosen One had blown up.

Ye Guan had a bad history with the aristocratic family and the great clan factions of the Main Guanxuan Academy, so they would definitely not support him. However, if those factions went all-in and declared their stance, they would definitely not let Ye Guan defeat the Chosen One in their upcoming battle.

The profit they stood to gain from ensuring the Chosen One’s victory was definitely enough for them to do just about anything. The Sword Master hadn’t shown up with his true body in over thirty million years as well, which emboldened them.

…

As usual, Li Banzhi was busy dealing with the affairs of the Guanxuan Committee. She was the Committee Head, after all, and she had many things to do every day.

Old Zhang approached her. He bowed slightly before saying, “Is the Committee not going to suppress it?”

Li Banzhi smiled and asked, “How do we suppress it?”

Old Zhang fell silent.

“We can’t suppress it.” Li Banzhi shook her head and explained, “Lu Tian has been consistently gathering supporters since he arrived at the Guanxuan Academy. His motives are clear—he wants to become the next Academy Master. The motives of the factions and people behind him are clear as well.

”They want to rise and become even more powerful, and they’ve chosen to stand on the Chosen One’s side because of the massive profits they stand to gain. The Sword Master has even created a precedent by helping many families and clans rise in power as he established the Guanxuan Academy.”

“Lu Tian has many supporters. It is bad news for the Committee…” Old Zhang trailed off. He made a sidelong glance at Li Banzhi before asking, “Should we recall a batch of Guanxuan Guards and Dao Soldiers from the Xuzhen Battlefield?”

Li Banzhi smiled slightly and reassured him. “I have my own plans, so don’t worry. Just do your job.”

Old Zhang hesitated for quite a while, but he eventually left without saying anything.

Left all alone, Li Banzhi took out a portrait of Ye Guan. She stared at it for a very long time before turning to look outside the window and muttering, “He is indeed an extremely talented young man. It’s great that he’s doing well.

She tied her hair up, and white strands of hair briefly appeared. She chuckled lightly and said, “I’ve been protecting this world for you for such a long time; it’s about time it ends.”

She rolled the portrait up and put it away.

The light in her eyes turned cold as she said, “Pass my orders to Chief An You. I want him to bring the strongest members of the Shadow Department back to the Main Academy. Tell them that they have to come back to welcome their new king!

“Make sure to hide this from those factions!”

An old man vanished into thin air to carry out Li Banzhi’s orders.

They were going to welcome their new king and quell the strife within the Academy!