In a certain sacred hall within the Primordial Spirit Clan, a man with long white hair was sitting cross-legged. His aura was restrained. The man was none other than Qing Wu, the saint of the Primordial Spirit Clan. The current Grand Elder of the Primordial Spirit Clan was standing before him, while the Wise Master and Spirit Lord Sifa were standing behind the Grand Elder.

Just then, the Grand Elder produced a box, which contained a purple seal adorned with a myriad of stars. The box was emitting a tremendous amount of power that made the Wise Master frown.

The box contained the Primordial Spirit Imprint!

It was one of the three great treasures of the Primordial Spirit Clan, and it was famous for its terrifying power.

The Grand Elder handed the box to Qing Wu.

Qing Wu opened his eyes slowly and asked, “Grand Elder, is it necessary to use this against an outsider?”

The Grand Elder frowned sternly, “When we faced the First God back then, we were just as arrogant as you are right now. And what was the result?”

Qing Wu was silent.

The Grand Elder shook his head and added, “That young man's cultivation base is low, but his strength is anything but low. You must not underestimate him or be careless against him.”

Qing Wu stayed silent, but he still refused to accept the seal. Clearly, he was reluctant to use a divine artifact in the upcoming competition.

Seeing Qing Wu’s hesitation, the Grand Elder pondered for a moment and asked, “If you lose, do you know what you will face?”

Qing Wu frowned. Losing meant becoming the sinner of the Primordial Spirit Clan, and he would never be able to forgive himself.

In other words, he couldn’t afford to lose!

“If you lose, our Primordial Spirit Clan will become a laughingstock once again. We will become a disgrace. Our clan cannot endure such a shame twice,” said the Grand Elder.

Qing Wu stared at the Primordial Spirit Imprint in front of him and was quiet for a long time. Eventually, he looked up at the Grand Elder and pointed out. “Grand Elder, we are supposed to have a fair fight.”

The Grand Elder calmly replied, “He can also use his divine artifacts. It is going to be a fair fight.”

Qing Wu was still silent.

Realizing that Qing Wu was still hesitating, the Grand Elder tried another approach. “You can use it as a last resort.”

After a long silence, Qing Wu finally accepted the Primordial Spirit Imprint.

The Grand Elder nodded slightly and said, “Go.”

Qing Wu bowed slightly to the three elders and left.

The Wise Master was about to open his mouth and speak when the Grand Elder said, “Old Wise, I know what you want to say, and I understand your intentions, but we cannot afford to lose this battle.”

The Wise Master frowned.

“Losing will make our clan aware of our shortcomings, but it will damage our confidence as well. People need confidence more than awareness.”

The Wise Master's voice sounded solemn as he said, “Grand Elder, it should be a fair duel. Otherwise, what’s the point of winning?”

"Well, he can use his own divine artifacts as well," the Grand Elder calmly retorted, “Is that not fair?”

The Wise Master fell silent.

The Grand Elder added, “As I said, our Primordial Spirit Clan cannot suffer such a disgrace twice.”

With that, the Grand Elder turned around and left.

The Wise Master shook his head slightly and remarked, “It seems that he still hasn't moved on from that loss that he suffered against the First God back then.”

"It's understandable," Spirit Lord Sifa said calmly, “He was the saint of that generation, and alongside the saintess, they should have—”

Spirit Lord Sifa cut himself off and shook his head, as there was no point in discussing the past.

The Wise Master also had no desire to continue the topic.

Spirit Lord Sifa suddenly asked, “What if Ye Guan loses?”

The Wise Master shook his head. “We can’t let him die. The First God didn’t kill anyone back then as well.”

Spirit Lord Sifa nodded at the Wise Master's words.

***

The next day at dawn, Qing Zhi arrived next to Ye Guan. Ye Guan was sitting cross-legged on the mountaintop, and he opened his eyes slowly upon sensing Qing Zhi's arrival. He took in the picturesque scene of daybreak before turning to look at Qing Zhi, who was dressed in a serene white gown and was exuding an elegant and intellectual beauty.

Qing Zhi smiled. “I’ll lead you to the arena.”

Ye Guan nodded. “Alright.”

The two got up and left. Soon, they arrived at a vast arena suspended in the starry sky. The arena spanned thousands of meters in both length and width, making it appear incredibly majestic. The seats around the arena were already full as tens of thousands of Primordial Spirit Clan members had gathered to watch the upcoming competition.

When Ye Guan and Qing Zhi arrived, tens of thousands of eyes landed on Ye Guan.

Ye Guan ignored the gazes and walked slowly into the arena.

“Your opponent is Saint Qing Wu,” Qing Zhi informed.

“Qing Zhi, stay here,” Ye Guan said. He could feel quite a few hostile gazes being directed at Qing Zhi.

Qing Zhi was about to speak, but Ye Guan beat her to the chase, explaining, “You're a member of the Primordial Spirit Clan, and you will keep living here.”

Qing Zhi was silent.

“Regardless of whether I become friends or enemies with the Primordial Spirit Clan, you and I will always be friends,” Ye Guan said with a smile.

With that, he transformed into a beam of sword light and landed in the middle of the arena.

Qing Zhi cast a complicated gaze at Ye Guan as she stared at him in the distance.

"Qing Wu!" the members of the Primordial Spirit Clan roared, “Qing Wu!”

Their voices echoed like thunder, reverberating across the starry expanse.

Qing Wu opened his eyes and met Ye Guan’s gaze for the first time.

Ye Guan suddenly turned around and called out, “Wise Master.”

Swoosh!

The Wise Master appeared in front of Ye Guan.

Ye Guan looked at the Wise Master and asked, “If I win, the Primordial Spirit Clan will lift the restrictions on Sister Ruo, right?”

The Wise Master nodded. “Yes.”

“Are you sure that there aren't going to be any complications?”

The Wise Master shook his head and replied, “No.”

“That's good then.” Ye Guan nodded and turned to Qing Wu in the distance. “Shall we start?”

Qing Wu nodded. ”Sure."

Boom!

A tremendously powerful energy erupted from within Qing Wu.

Eighty percent divinity! The Primordial Spirit Clan members erupted into cheers at the sight.

However, Ye Guan remained expressionless; his eyes remained calm and undisturbed as well.

Qing Wu looked up and got ready to make a move when his expression changed drastically.

The next moment, a sword unexpectedly arrived on his right.

Startled, Qing Wu clenched his right hand.

Boom!

A golden light burst out of Qing Wu, enveloping him.

Bang!

The onlookers were shocked to see Qing Wu being forced to retreat under the sword's attack.

However, Ye Guan wasn't done yet, as another sword appeared like a ghost behind Qing Wu.

Qing Wu's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his hands again.

Boom!

A powerful aura surged from within him, and a thousand-meter-tall divine statue manifested behind him.

The faces of the Primordial Spirit Clan members turned grim.

Ye Guan had only attacked twice, but he had already forced Qing Wu to manifest his divine statue.

The Grand Elder and the Wise Master revealed serious expressions at the sight.

The Wise Master realized that he had underestimated Ye Guan's strength.

Ye Guan's sword intent in the form of swords charged at Qing Wu, but it was blocked by the divine statue.

Qing Wu stared at Ye Guan in the distance with his face incredibly grim.

No words were exchanged; Qing Wu dashed forward and swung his fist. The divine statue behind him leaned forward and threw a punch at Ye Guan.

Rumble!

The star field around them was set ablaze, and the nearby Primordial Spirit Clan members were terrified at te sight.

Swoosh!

Light screens sprang up from the ground and enveloped the arena. The study light screens blocked the shockwaves that were coming from the divine statue.

Meanwhile, Ye Guan seemed as fragile as a small boat in a storm in the face of Qing Wu's punch.

Ye Guan closed his eyes just then, and a mysterious power burst out of him.

Sword Domain.

Ye Guan had no interest in a prolonged battle, so he immediately deployed his trump card.

A horrifying power burst out of Ye Guan as soon as the Sword Domain appeared, and it shattered Qing Wu’s divine statue.

Qing Wu himself was blasted away, cutting a sorry figure in mid-air.

The starfield was silent, and everyone was unwittingly transfixed on Qing Wu and Ye Guan.

Was Qing Wu really going to be defeated just like that?

The Great Elder's face turned extremely grim, realizing that he had severely underestimated Ye Guan's strength.

However, Qing Wu clearly had no plans of being defeated just like that. A terrifying power erupted from within him, and a fist imprint manifested. The fist imprint then made a beeline for Ye Guan.

Boom!

The arena started crumbling beneath the terrifying power of Qing Wu's attack, and even the light screens shattered beneath it.

However, Ye Guan merely stared at the oncoming Fist Imprint. His expression didn't change even once, and he simply said, “Shatter.”

Several sword lights rushed out of his sword domain, shattering the fist imprint.

Qing Wu tried to make another move, but Ye Guan's sword intent was already in front of him.

Shocked, Qing Wu crossed his arms in front of him.

Seeing that, Qing Zhi’s eyes flashed with a complex light. She could see that Qing Wu had lost.

Defense was useless against Ye Guan’s eerie sword technique. In fact, defending meant losing.

Sure enough, Qing Wu was forced back by Ye Guan’s sword. When he finally stabilized himself in mid-air, a sword was already pointed at his forehead.

A deathly silence enveloped the arena.

Defeated just like that?

Everyone stared at the scene in disbelief, and Qing Wu was in disbelief as well.

He couldn't believe that he was defeated so easily.

Am I dreaming right now?

Ye Guan extended his palm, and the sword intent hovering right in front of Qing Wu's forehead returned to his hand.

Then, he turned to the Wise Master in the distance and asked, “Can you release Sister Ruo now?”

The Wise Master was silent. He was stupefied. He hadn't expected that Ye Guan would make quick work of Qing Wu.

How was this even possible?

Ye Guan stared deeply at the Wise Master, awaiting his answer.

Just then, the Grand Elder stepped forward and said, “He hasn't lost yet.”

Ye Guan frowned and looked at the Grand Elder, whose gaze was cold as he stared at Qing Wu.

Qing Wu looked uncomfortable. The Grand Elder obviously wanted him to use the Primordial Spirit Imprint.

Should I use it?

Qing Wu looked around and closed his eyes upon seeing the despairing looks on his clan members' faces.

If he ended up losing today, the younger generation of the Primordial Spirit Clan would suffer a devastating blow, just like when the First God defeated them a long time ago. Quite a few geniuses of the clan failed to recover from their defeat against the First God; the First God had shattered their belief, and they could no longer make any progress in their cultivation.

If he ended up losing today, the blow would be even more devastating.

Knowing that, Qing Wu stepped forward, and a divine seal burst out of him.

The Primordial Spirit Imprint!

A terrifying spiritual power pervaded the heavens and earth as soon as the divine seal appeared. The immense spiritual pressure made it hard for everyone to breathe; the arena and the formations around it started crumbling beneath the seal’s power.

Ye Guan turned to the Grand Elder and asked, “A divine artifact?”

The Grand Elder calmly replied, “I don’t want you to say that the Primordial Spirit Clan is bullying you, so feel free to use your own divine artifact.”

With that, Ye Guan quietly opened his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword appeared in his hand.

He kicked off of the ground and swung his sword.

BOOM!

Before anyone could react, a ray of sword light shattered every inch of spiritual power in the air, including the Primordial Spirit Imprint itself.

Everyone froze in absolute disbelief.

Ye Guan stared at the Grand Elder and said, “You asked for it.”

The Grand Elder stood frozen and was stupefied by the sudden turn of events.