"How naive!" Qi Mu exclaimed. "The fact that your father and grandfather are so naive means that they probably didn't fare too well in life, am I right?"

Ye Guan nodded slightly and said in a serious tone of voice, "Indeed. My father was especially problematic. People used to call him the 'King of Relying on Others'."

The Qingxuan Sword inside of him trembled as if it was trying to say something.

Qi Mu advised, "Young Lord Ye, Old Zhao is already on his last legs, and he's your sworn enemy. If you don't kill him and he gets back on his feet, he'll surely gather the elites of the Dao Market to come after you. By then, it'll be too late for regrets…"

Ye Guan suggested, "Why don't you do the killing, then?"

Qi Mu's expression stiffened.

Ye Guan went silent. He turned around and hopped onto his sword, disappearing into the horizon.

Qi Mu's expression immediately soured, and he turned to look at Old Zhao upon sensing the latter's glare.

"What? Thinking of killing me?" Old Zhao asked.

Qi Mu fell silent. Indeed, he wanted to kill Old Zhao. He wasn't sure whether Old Zhao would seek revenge on Ye Guan or not, but he knew that Old Zhao would certainly come after him if Old Zhao was allowed to survive today's ordeal. However, killing Old Zhao meant antagonizing the Dao Market, and the Dao Market would never let him go. It could even escalate into a full-blown war. If that happened, the Qi Clan could simply abandon him. Old Zhao had an esteemed position in the Dao Market, after all.

Qi Mu was cursing Ye Guan deep inside. At the same time, he started regretting his decision. He had the chance to work together with Ye Guan and take down the Dao Market with him, but he refused to take it.

"Come on, kill me then," Old Zhao sneered. He was not afraid of Qi Mu, as he was sure that Qi Mu would not dare to kill him.

After a moment of silence, Qi Mu sighed softly and said, "Old Zhao, you can't blame me for what I did. That young man's background is too extraordinary!"

Obviously, this was Qi Mu's attempt to shift the blame away from him.

Old Zhao did not buy it and chuckled sarcastically before leaving.

Qi Mu's gaze gradually darkened, but he still decided not to kill Old Zhao, as it would give him room to maneuver.

If he had chosen to kill Old Zhao, the Qi Clan would have been forced into a corner.

Qi Mu couldn't help but curse.

That damned swordsman is so scheming...

***

Outside the Dao Market, the three Gods had received news that Ye Guan had defeated Old Zhao, and the news painted their faces with disbelief.

Ye Guan is just a Heavenly Sovereign Realm cultivator! A Heavenly Sovereign Realm cultivator defeating a Divine Dao Realm cultivator? How is that possible?!

The Zhao Clan's God said in a low voice, "Could it be that Ye Guan has been hiding his true strength all this while?"

Mo'e shook his head. "I don't think so…"

The Zhao Clan's God frowned. "Does that mean his strength has improved by leaps and bounds in just a short period of time?"

Their expressions turned heavy. If that was the case, then it would be too terrifying of a fact.

"That young man... he's terrifying!" Mo'e exclaimed.

"Teacher's inheritance…" the Zhao Clan's God said.

Mo'e replied, "Let's return to the Daoist Temple first. The Divine Realm already knows that Ye Guan has Teacher's inheritance. Now, all we need to do is observe the situation quietly."

They were Gods, but they weren't the most powerful figures in the Daoist Temple.

The reason they tried to kill Ye Guan was that only a few from the Daoist Temple knew that Ye Guan had the First God's inheritance.

Unfortunately, the news had already spread like wildfire.

At this point, they wouldn't be able to keep the inheritance, even if they managed to take it away from Ye Guan.

Thus, they deduced that there was no need for them to take any unnecessary risks.

With that in mind, the three turned around and left.

***

For some reason, there was a luxurious palace amidst a silent starry sky.

The luxurious palace was none other than the Dao Palace—the headquarters of the Dao Market.

Old Zhao left the Dao Market and returned to the Dao Palace. He bowed deeply upon entering the main hall of the Dao Palace.

A middle-aged man wearing a long robe appeared in front of him.

Old Zhao hurriedly bowed again and greeted, "Palace Master."

The middle-aged man calmly said, "Speak."

Old Zhao recounted his experience.

After a while, the Palace Master walked to the entrance of the great hall and looked up at the starry sky.

"The First God…" muttered the Palace Master.

Old Zhao was a little curious, so he asked, "Palace Master, do you know him?"

"I met him once, and he was an extraordinary figure," the Palace Master replied. Then, he asked, "That young swordsman has the First God's inheritance?"

Old Zhao nodded.

The Palace Master then said, "Does it mean that all of First God's divine treasures are with him?"

Old Zhao hesitated briefly before answering, "Yes. Palace Master, do you want those Ancestral Veins?"

"Ancestral Veins?" The Palace Master chuckled and went silent.

Old Zhao explained, "Palace Master, he has two terrifying bloodlines. His background is definitely extraordinary…"

To be honest, Old Zhao didn't want to fight Ye Guan, nor did he want the Dao Market to keep on chasing after Ye Guan. Old Zhao was starting to become afraid of the young swordsman.

The recent fight with Ye Guan told him Ye Guan hadn't gone all out and that he had a few more trump cards up his sleeve. The most frightening thing was that Ye Guan's backers had yet to appear.

Simply put, he only wanted to deal with the Qi Clan, as they were easier to handle.

"Yes, the fact that he has two bloodlines means that he must have an extraordinary background. Did you manage to find more information about him?" asked the Palace Master.

Old Zhao shook his head and said, "We've only found out a little bit about him. He comes from the Time River…"

"Time River… It has produced two extraordinary figures. One of them is the Great Daoist Brush Master, and the other is the True God from the True Universe. I wonder if that young man is related to them…"

"I'm... not sure."

"Go and visit that young man. Ask him if he's willing to part with a divine treasure that the First God has left behind. It looks like a black ancient book… If he's willing to part with that book, then our Dao Market is willing to give him two Ancestral Veins for it!"

Old Zhao chuckled bitterly. "Palace Master, I just fought him…"

The Palace Master chuckled. "Oh right, I forgot. But it's okay. Didn't he let you go?"

Old Zhao hesitated briefly before saying, "I'll give it a try, then."

The Palace Master nodded.

"What if he refuses?" Old Zhao asked.

The Palace Master's eyes narrowed, and his gaze flickered in a complicated glint.

Old Zhao's expression turned heavy at the sight. The Palace Master wouldn't let Ye Guan go so easily if he refused the offer. At the same time, Old Zhao was curious about the divine treasure that the Palace Master was asking for. Among the major forces, the Dao Market was extremely wealthy. The Palace Master had a myriad of divine treasures, as the owner of the Dao Market. In fact, even Ancestral Veins weren't much to him, so there weren't many divine treasures in this world capable of catching his eye.

The Palace Master said, "Go talk to him first and see how he feels about it."

"Understood!" Old Zhao replied and retreated.

Left all alone, the Palace Master pondered over something for a while before saying, "Guards."

Four mysterious figures dressed in black armor appeared behind him.

"Follow Old Zhao, and if that young man is unwilling to yield…" The Palace Master trailed off. Then, he let out a self-deprecating laugh before saying, "I never thought that I'd one day resort to such an underhand method… Well, I have no choice. That item is just too precious. Even if I don't make my move, someone else will make their own move. If it's going to end up stolen anyway, then it's better if that item ends up with me…"

The Palace Master waved his hand, and the four mysterious figures bowed respectfully before disappearing into thin air.

***

Luo World, Mu Clan...

Mu Cheng's face darkened at the words of the old man before him. "Did he really defeat someone in the Divine Dao Realm with forty percent divinity?"

The old man nodded slightly. "Yes."

Mu Cheng stood up slowly, feeling a mixture of fear and relief. He realized that he was lucky that he didn't act rashly when that young man deliberately showed that he had seven Ancestral Veins.

If he had chosen to attack back then, the Mu Clan would face the danger of annihilation.

"What a scheming brat!" Mu Cheng remarked.

The old man added, "Clan Leader, he definitely has an extraordinary background, and it's proven by his achievements at such a young age."

Mu Cheng nodded. "I remember he said that he's from the Yang Family, but how come we've never heard of them?"

"Perhaps he's from a family that prefers to stay low-key?" the old man suggested.

"That's possible," Mu Cheng said, "Anyway, many people are definitely going to investigate the Yang Family after today's events. However, what they do is not our concern. Old Zhang, pass my orders down—from now on, the members of the Mu Clan mustn't bully the weak, and they must not be arrogant as well. They must keep a low profile when possible. If I find anyone abusing their power outside, they'll be expelled from the clan."

At this point, Mu Cheng no longer wanted to have anything to do with the Yang Family or the Dao Market.

He just wanted to keep a close eye on his own clan members, as he realized that the entire clan could get annihilated if his clan members ended up provoking the wrong person.

***

Old Zhao didn't immediately seek Ye Guan upon leaving the Dao Palace. Instead, he made a beeline for the Qi Clan along with a group of supreme elites. The matter involving Ye Guan could wait. He wanted to deal with that nuisance, Qi Mu, first before anything else.