Chapter 185: Day of the Battle

Ye Guan silently watched as Ji Xuan walked further and further away until she disappeared into the horizon.

After a long time, Ye Guan muttered, “What a strong wind…”

He rubbed his eyes and turned around to leave.

Meanwhile, the mysterious voice in the tiny pagoda suddenly said, “I finally know his flaw!”

“What is it?” Little Pagoda asked.

The mysterious voice explained, “All along, this brat has been the best in the world in terms of both talent and character. It was almost as if he had no flaws, but he’s actually so indecisive when it comes to his relationships. That’s it!”

Little Pagoda said, “I don’t think that’s a flaw, though.”

The mysterious voice asked, “Why?”

Little Pagoda said, “It’ll be a shame if he has a heart made out of stone and is only capable of wielding the sword.”

The mysterious voice fell silent at that remark.

Ye Guan returned to the Sword Sect and visited Sword Master Qingshan’s statue.

He stared at it in silence.

Little Pagoda suddenly asked, “What is it?”

Ye Guan smiled and asked, “Master Pagoda, who is stronger between Sword Master Qingshan and the Sword Master?”

Little Pagoda smiled and asked back, “Who do you think?”

Ye Guan shook his head and replied, “I don’t know.”

Little Pagoda laughed heartily and said, “You’ll meet them in the future, so ask them by then.”

Ye Guan nodded. “All right!”

Chen Guanzi walked up to Ye Guan.

He stared intently at Ye Guan and asked, “Are you ready?”

Ye Guan nodded. “Yes.”

“Sounds great,” said Chen Guanzi.

Night eventually arrived, and Ye Guan was sitting on the stone steps of the Sword Sect’s Sword Hall. He looked up and saw that the night sky was filled with stars.

Ye Guan suddenly asked, “Master Pagoda, what kind of place is the Xuzhen World?”

After a moment of silence, Little Pagoda replied, “It’s a battlefield!”

Ye Guan frowned and asked, “A battlefield?”

“Yes,” replied Master Pagoda.

Ye Guan wanted to ask more questions, but he heard oncoming footsteps.

Ye Guan turned and found a young woman wearing a long green skirt. Her long hair draped over her shoulders. Her hands were behind her as she stared at Ye Guan with a grin.

Ye Guan was taken aback.

The young woman smiled and said, “Junior Disciple Ye!”

She was Nanling Yiyi!

Ye Guan beamed with a smile and exclaimed, “Senior Disciple Yiyi!”

Nanling Yiyi walked up to Ye Guan and sat down next to him.

“Were you surprised?” she asked.

Ye Guan nodded and replied, “Yes! What are you doing here?”

Nanling Yiyi explained, “I left the Daoist Sect that day and became a student of the Main Guanxuan Academy. I was taken in as a student of the Divine Dao Department, and I’ve become the direct disciple of the Divine Dao Department’s Department Chief.

”I was in closed-door cultivation, so I had no idea that you were here. I came here to find you after I heard that you’re in the Sword Sect.”

Ye Guan grinned and said, “Congratulations.”

“It was all thanks to the spellbooks that you gave me,” said Nanling Yiyi. After a brief pause, she sounded serious as she continued. “The elders of the Divine Dao Department were beyond thrilled when they saw those spellbooks, Junior Disciple Ye.

“They contacted the Department Chief, and the Department Chief took me in as a direct disciple. Junior Disciple Ye, your Master Pagoda must be an extremely powerful expert!”

“Pfft!” Master Pagoda chuckled. She got that right, all right!

Ye Guan smiled and said, “That’s true. Master Pagoda is indeed very powerful!”

The Universe Beholdment Skill had really surprised Ye Guan. He had to admit that Master Pagoda was a true elite; the only issue was that he was anything but a true elite when it came to fooling people.

Nanling Yiyi suddenly looked up at the starry sky. She smiled and said, “Junior Disciple Ye, it was great meeting you.”

“I feel the same,” said Ye Guan.

Nanling Yiyi turned to look at him. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear while quietly staring at him.

Ye Guan felt slightly awkward and asked, “Senior?”

Nanling Yiyi grinned and said, “Nothing, I just wanted to take a good look at you.”

Ye Guan shook his head and smiled in astonishment.

After a while, Nanling Yiyi got up and said, “Junior Disciple, I’ll get going now. I’ll be there to cheer for you tomorrow!”

Ye Guan nodded and said, “Okay.”

Nanling Yiyi turned around and walked away.

Ye Guan silently stared at Nanling Yiyi’s departing figure.

Nanling Yiyi soon stopped in her tracks. A white-robed lady had appeared in front of her.

The lady asked, “You like him?”

Nanling Yiyi nodded and replied, “Yes.”

The white-robed lady stared quietly at Ye Guan.

Nanling Yiyi muttered, “Master, let’s go.”

The white-robed lady looked at Nanling Yiyi and asked, “Why don’t you tell him?”

Nanling Yiyi replied, “I don’t think there is a need to tell him just because I like him. I think things are pretty good the way they are now. If I stay at his side as his Senior Disciple Yiyi, he’ll never push me away nor reject me.”

The white-robed lady sighed and pulled Nanling Yiyi away from the Sword Sect.

Nanling Yiyi suddenly asked, “Master, will Lu Tian’s supporters do anything dirty during the battle tomorrow?”

“If they do something like that…” the white-robed lady trailed off. A cold light flitted across her eyes as she continued. “They’ll die!”

Meanwhile, Ye Guan was just about to leave when a woman arrived.

Ye Guan was surprised. The woman was Ao Qianqian, the Young Clan Leader of the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan!

Ye Guan looked at her, slightly bewildered. He stammered, “L-Lady Qianqian…”

Ao Qianqian went up to Ye Guan and whispered a few words to him.

Ye Guan went silent.

Ao Qianqian stared intently at Ye Guan before saying, “You can avoid using it, but it’s great insurance nonetheless.”

“I will have to express my gratitude to you, then,” said Ye Guan with a smile.

Ao Qianqian smiled back and said, “You don’t have to be so polite to me.”

Ye Guan nodded and said, “Let’s go!”

Then, both of them left.

…

The next day, a woman visited the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. The Immortal Treasures Pavilion was filled with people, and everyone had come here to place bets. They were betting on who would win between Lu Tian and Ye Guan.

The Immortal Treasures Pavilion wouldn’t miss such a great opportunity to make a lot of money.

The difference in the betting odds between Ye Guan and Lu Tian was drastic. The ratio of bet to profit for Ye Guan’s victory was 1:100, while Lu Tian’s was 1:1

Even a blind man could tell that the Immortal Treasures Pavilion was supporting Lu Tian.

A woman walked up to one of the managers of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. She took out a storage ring and placed it in front of the old manager before saying, “I’ll bet fifty million gold spiritual crystals on Ye Guan!”

Fifty million gold spiritual crystals on Ye Guan?!

The crowd was shocked. They simultaneously turned to look at the woman.

The Immortal Treasures Pavilion manager was astonished as well. He hesitated for a while before asking, “Miss, are you sure you’re betting on the right person?”

The woman calmly responded, “Yes, I’m sure.”

The Immortal Treasures Pavilion manager took one glance at her. He wanted to say something else, but the woman urged, “It’s not make a mistake. Hurry up!”

The manager said no more. He took out a token and wrote the words—fifty million gold spirituals—on it before handing it over to the woman.

The woman left with the token in hand, and the woman was none other than Fei Banqing!

The onlookers shook their heads and lamented.

“That was a good example of how a fool and their money are easily parted!”

“It’s funny how she thinks that Ye Guan can even defeat the Chosen One.”

“Does she not know what the word—Chosen One—means?”

Fei Banqing ignored everyone and left in a hurry.

Trial Peak.

The pillars around the Life or Death Stage were already full, and daybreak hadn’t even arrived just yet. The Life or Death Stage was filled with a cacophony of noises as people whispered and talked to each other.

It was the day of the long-awaited battle!

For the sake of a good seat, many people had set up camp three days before the battle.

Rumble!

The space at one corner of the Life or Death Stage was torn open, and a young man walked out of it.

Lu Tian was here! He was wearing a green and white robe. His long hair fell past his shoulders, and his hands were behind him as he stood upright. He looked like a god who had just descended from the heavens with unmatched grace and elegance.

“The Chosen One!”

Everyone roared and cheered.

The Immortal Treasures Pavilion had done a good job in publicity. Lu Tian’s popularity was sky-high, and one could even say that he had become more popular than Sword Sovereign Ye Yu.

The Immortal Treasures Pavilion made sure to let everyone know about Lu Tian and Ye Guan’s fight.

Lu Tian closed his eyes and remained silent at where he stood. The cheers were incessant, and the volume was so loud that it shook the heavens.

Buzz!

The buzzing of swords echoed from the horizon.

A hundred sword lights made a beeline for the Life or Death Stage.

The Sword Sect!

Everyone's eyes focused on the sword lights.

Swoosh!

A young man appeared on top of the pillar in front of Lu Tian.

The young man was none other than Ye Guan, and a hundred swordsmen landed one by one behind him under Chen Guanzi’s lead.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Ye Guan looked to his right, and he saw people from Time Paradise and the Lingxu Blessed Land standing on the pillar to his right. Nanli Yin and Zhang Yuntian stood at the helm of their respective organization.

Ye Guan cupped his fist and greeted them with a smile.

Nanli Yin smiled slightly and nodded at him as a greeting.

Zhang Yuntian pumped his fist into the air.

Ye Guan grinned at Zhang Yuntian before retracting his gaze. However, he seemed to have recalled something as he whipped around to the pillar to his left. A familiar figure was among the people there.

Siao Ge! Ye Guan was taken aback. Realizing that Ye Guan’s gaze was on him, Siao Ge laughed and shouted, “Brother Ye, I’m here to cheer for you!”

Ye Guan smiled back and said, “Thank you, Brother Siao!”

Siao Ge grinned, but he didn’t say anything.

Ye Guan looked around him and soon found Nanling Yiyi.

Nanling Yiyi’s demeanor brightened up the moment she noticed Ye Guan staring at her. She smiled brightly at him as a greeting.

Ye Guan grinned and waved at her.

Then, he saw another familiar figure. She was the Student Representative of Qingzhou’s Guanxuan Academy, Mu Youyou. Mu Youyou was both a Divine Mage and a swordsman.

Mu Youyou was surprised to see Ye Guan staring at her. She nodded gently at him as a form of greeting.

Ye Guan smiled lightly at her. He looked away but was astounded to find another familiar figure to his right.

The familiar figure belonged to a young woman wearing a white robe. She was as beautiful as a fairy, and she gave off an extraordinary aura that was capable of making just about anyone feel inferior about their looks just by standing near her.

The young woman was none other than the young woman who had given him a space ship when he was on his way to Qingzhou!

Ye Guan was truly surprised to see her here.

Meanwhile, the young woman noticed that Ye Guan was staring at her. She hesitated briefly before nodding slightly to him as a greeting.

The corners of Ye Guan’s lips turned up slightly. He looked around once more, a disappointed light briefly flitted across his eyes when he didn’t see a certain individual.

Lu Tian suddenly opened his eyes. He pointed at Ye Guan and boisterously laughed before shouting, “Ye Guan, are you not going to come down and accept your death?!”

Come down and accept your death! The onlookers roared in excitement.