Surrender or die?

Qin Guan's words made Qing Yer explode in rage. He pointed at her and roared, "Arrogant fool! You frog at the bottom of a well—"

A sword materialized and flew toward Qing Yer, interrupting him.

Qing Yer's face changed dramatically, and he swung his fist toward the oncoming sword.

Boom!

A burst of sword light exploded, sending Qing Yer flying a few hundred meters away.

As soon as he came to a halt, his right arm split open, and blood spurted out of the wound.

Terrified, Qing Yer looked at Ye Guan standing beside Qin Guan. He was in disbelief. He knew Ye Guan was strong, but not

this

strong.

Ye Guan stared at Qing Yer and calmly said, "Speak respectfully to my mother."

Qin Guan smiled brightly at Ye Guan's remark, while Qing Yer's expression darkened.

The Wise Master stepped forward and stared at Ye Guan with a complicated expression. "Young Master Ye, is there really no room for negotiation?"

"Wise Master, did you even come here to negotiate?"

The Wise Master frowned.

Ye Guan chuckled and said, "I've killed quite a few of your clansmen. Do you really think that your clan will let that slide?"

The Wise Master remained silent.

Ye Guan continued, "You're here to gauge the strength of the Guanxuan Academy, aren't you?"

"Yes," said the Wise Master with a nod. He chose to be honest, as he knew that Ye Guan was smart enough to see through any deceit.

Ye Guan smiled. "So what do you think?"

"Young Master Ye, you're smart, so I'll be direct. Is there really a supreme elite with ninety percent divinity standing behind you? If that's the case, then I believe we can talk this out. Otherwise, there is no point to do any talking."

Ye Guan nodded, "I do."

The Wise Master's eyes narrowed, and Ye Guan added, "And not just one—there are several."

"Young Master Ye, I've been straightforward with you. Why do you need to lie?"

Ye Guan replied earnestly, "I'm not lying."

The Wise Master was silent for a moment before saying, "Since Young Master Ye refuses to be honest, then we shall see who will prevail—the Guanxuan Academy or the Primordial Spirit clan."

With that, he turned and left with Qing Yer.

Ye Guan stood there, puzzled.

Wasn't I honest enough?

Feeling a bit exasperated, Ye Guan turned to Qin Guan and said, "Mother, what about the Clan Leader of the Past Clan...?"

Qin Guan's expression stiffened.

Ye Guan looked at her, "Is she still around?"

Qin Guan nodded. "Yes."

Ye Guan's face grew serious. For some reason, he felt that the Clan Leader of the Past Clan was even more dangerous than the entire Primordial Spirit Clan.

Qin Guan suddenly said, "Go train with Senior An."

"Alright," Ye Guan agreed readily. In fact, he had been wanting to push himself to the limits through a spar, and the only one strong enough for him to do that was Erya.

However, Erya didn't know how to hold back and could easily kill someone.

Senior An was perfect, as she was both powerful and smart. In other words, Senior An could offer some guidance.

An Nanjing suddenly said, "Follow me."

With that, she turned around and flew into the depths of the starry sky.

Just as Ye Guan was about to follow, Qin Guan suddenly said, "Let Qianqian stay with me."

Upon hearing Qin Guan’s words, Ao Qianqian emerged from the tiny pagoda. She walked up to Qin Guan and bowed slightly before saying, “Mother.”

Ao Qianqian was married to Ye Guan, but they had yet to consummate their marriage, so she still felt a bit shy toward Ye Guan's family members.

Qin Guan grabbed Ao Qianqian’s hand and smiled. “We’re family, so there is no need for formalities.”

Ao Qianqian nodded. “Mm.”

Qin Guan then looked at Ye Guan and said, “Go ahead!”

“All right, I'm going now,” Ye Guan said and disappeared into the starry skies.

Watching him leave, a gentle light flashed in Qin Guan’s eyes.

“That little guy truly is...” she muttered but did not continue her sentence.

***

Meanwhile, a troubled-looking Qing Yer and the Wise Master came to a halt in a distant starry sky.

Qing Yer growled, “Surrender or die? Guanxuan Academy certainly has a lot of nerve.”

The Wise Master’s expression was equally grim. The Primordial Spirit Clan had never received such treatment throughout their long history.

He knew there was no longer any chance of reconciliation between them and Guanxuan Academy. It was a fight to the death.

The Wise Master sounded serious as he said, “We must inform the clan leader and summon our strongest allies.”

"I will head to the Shenxu Forest,” Qing Yer said, disappearing into thin air.

The Wise Master immediately returned to the Primordial Spirit City. He looked up at the moving stars up above and spread his palms. His fingers started moving, and mysterious energies gathered around him as he divined the future.

All of a sudden, the stars above Primordial Spirit City cracked open, and the mysterious energies vanished without a trace.

Stunned, the Wise Master murmured, “How is that possible?”

He could no longer divine anything! This was unprecedented for the Wise Master. It was so shocking that he was utterly confused.

Swoosh!

Spirit Lord Sifa appeared beside him just then. He glanced at the cracked stars, and his expression became solemn as he asked, “Wise Master, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

The Wise Master solemnly said, “This has never happened before.”

Spirit Lord Sifa looked troubled. “Is this a bad omen?”

After a moment of silence, the Wise Master shook his head and replied, “Let’s not dwell on it.”

Spirit Lord Sifa looked at him.

The Wise Master calmly said, “We've already waged war on Guanxuan Academy. There’s no turning back now, so there’s no point in overthinking it.”

“Has it really come to this?” Spirit Lord Sifa asked, seemingly unconvinced.

“The point of no return was crossed when Ye Guan killed the Grand Elder."

Spirit Lord Sifa fell silent. Indeed, the point of no return was crossed when Ye Guan chose to kill the Grand Elder.

Ye Guan was resolute, and the Primordial Spirit Clan couldn’t back down, either.

Since both sides couldn't back down and were determined to fight each other, a fight couldn't be avoided.

Spirit Lord Sifa recalled something just then and asked, “What about the Guanxuan Academy’s strength? How strong are they?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” replied the Wise Master with a shake of his head. Then, he turned around and left.

Left all alone, Spirit Lord Sifa frowned deeply and pondered over the Wise Master's words.

***

Ye Guan was standing on his sword as he streaked across the vast expanse.

A hundred meters ahead of him stood An Nanjing, who was staring at him calmly with her hands behind her back.

Ye Guan closed his eyes, and a powerful sword intent surged from within him.

Swoosh!

Dozens of swords made out of his sword intent manifested and vanished into the void.

Phantom Edge!

An Nanjing remained unfazed.

Rumble!

A sword emerged from the void just in front of her, but she caught it effortlessly between two fingers.

Boom!

The sword was stopped dead in its tracks.

An Nanjing grabbed the sword and swung it, deflecting the oncoming sword lights.

Ye Guan's Phantom Edge was neutralized in the proverbial blink of an eye.

Ye Guan's face darkened at the sight. It seemed that Phantom Edge was useless against a true expert.

Just how high is her combat sense?

"My turn," An Nanjing said, interrupting Ye Guan's train of thought.

Swoosh!

Before Ye Guan could react, An Nanjing appeared before him.

Bang!

In an instant, Ye Guan was sent flying a thousand meters away. As soon as he stopped, An Nanjing was already in front of him again.

Ye Guan tried to draw his sword, but a fist had already slammed into his chest.

Bang!

Ye Guan was sent flying once more, and just like that, he was utterly destroyed.

Ye Guan couldn't retaliate at all and was forced to eat An Nanjing's knuckle sandwiches.

Soon, the battle ended, and Ye Guan sprawled out, feeling like he was falling apart.

An Nanjing walked up to him and said, "Get up. Let’s talk."

Ye Guan hurriedly stood up and respectfully said, "Senior An."

An Nanjing said calmly, "Do you know your weakness?"

"Lack of combat experience."

An Nanjing nodded. "Your sword technique is unique, but they're neither fast nor strong enough."

"Senior, are you perhaps a cultivator with ninety percent divinity?"

An Nanjing shook her head and replied, "I don't have a cultivation base."

Ye Guan was stunned.

An Nanjing calmly explained, "Not everyone has a cultivation base."

Ye Guan remained silent.

"Aren't you a martial god as well?" An Nanjing pointed out.

Ye Guan smiled wryly and replied, "I don't dare to call myself a martial god in front of you."

My Martial God title is funny in front of Senior An,

Ye Guan thought.

An Nanjing suddenly said, "You have the talent to cultivate both sword and martial arts; perhaps you might even be able to merge them..."

"Merge them?"

"Yes," An Nanjing said with a nod. "There is no conflict of interest in becoming a martial god and a swordsman. You simply focused more on your swordsmanship, so you've neglected your status as a Martial God. Do you want to master both sword and martial arts and reach their respective peak?"

Ye Guan decisively nodded. "Yes."

An Nanjing nodded as well and said, "Then, we'll start a grueling training regime."

A grueling training regime?

Ye Guan was taken aback.

"Enter the pagoda," An Nanjing said and led Ye Guan into the world inside the tiny pagoda.

Once inside, An Nanjing pointed at Ye Guan, and the latter discovered that his cultivation base was sealed.

Ye Guan was puzzled.

An Nanjing sealed her own cultivation as well and said, "We will spar like this. You'll graduate once you can last a hundred moves against me."

Last a hundred moves?

Ye Guan smiled. "Sure."

Ye Guan had no confidence in defeating An Nanjing, but he felt he could withstand a hundred attacks from her. After all, he wasn't

that

weak.

Swoosh!

An Nanjing suddenly disappeared.

Ye Guan instinctively raised his arm to block, but a heavy blow landed on his abdomen, sending him flying.

Before he could stabilize himself in mid-air, An Nanjing grabbed his legs and slammed him into the ground.

Ye Guan wanted to roll away, but a sharp pain struck his abdomen once again, and he soon found himself streaking across the skies.

Erya licking a candied hawthorn stared at Ye Guan with pity in her eyes. "Poor guy."

Little White nodded in agreement.

Erya glanced at An Nanjing and shuddered, feeling a bit scared. Erya's fleshly body was incredibly powerful, but she knew that she was still too weak to beat An Nanjing in a fight.

An Nanjing was undoubtedly the best fighter that Erya had ever known.

"Sister An is going at him really hard. I think she's leaving soon."

Little White turned to Erya.

Erya pondered briefly before saying, "Little White, who do you think we should follow? Sister An or our grandson?"

It only took Little White a few moments to make a decision; she pointed her tiny paw at Ye Guan, who was crying out in pain in the distance.

"Great choice," Erya said, nodding.

It's better for us to stick with him! This grandson of ours is easier to handle, after all, and... he's too weak to control us.