In an independent space somewhere, Commander Pan was sitting cross-legged in a room, and her arms were folded in front of her chest.

She was emitting a powerful energy as she cultivated the Asura Ghost Technique, one of the top three techniques of the Asura Civilization.

The Asura Ghost Technique had a unique feature—the more battles one fought, the stronger one would become. Every single soldier of the Asura Guards was cultivating the technique.

Commander Pan's aura grew increasingly stronger as time ticked by.

Just as she was on the verge of a breakthrough, her eyes shot wide open, and she saw a blood-red streak of light making a beeline for her.

Commander Pan's expression changed drastically, and she unsheathed the saber next to her to block the attack.

Bang!

A cold light flashed, and Commander Pan was blasted away.

She quickly recovered her balance, but another cold gleam shot toward her. It was even faster than earlier, and it pierced her forehead instantly.

Commander Pan was pinned in place, both shocked and furious. "I'm a commander of the Asura Guards! How dare you—"

Commander Pan abruptly stopped screaming upon realizing that her soul was becoming illusory; she was going to die soon!

Swoosh!

A mysterious energy suddenly enveloped her.

Terrified, Commander Pan shouted, "Commander Huang, save me!"

A phantom appeared above her head—the phantom belonged to none other than Commander Huang, the highest commander under the Asura King.

He looked coldly into the distance and said, "Taia Clan! What has my subordinate done for her to deserve an assassination?!"

An elderly man in hemp clothing walked out and calmly said, "Commander Huang, do you really not know what your subordinate has done?"

Commander Huang frowned and turned to look at Commander Pan. Her terrified face was as pale as a sheet of paper.

The elderly man in hemp clothing explained, "We made our investigation. Commander Pan is nursing a grudge against Young Master Ye. She doesn't dare to target him openly due to the Supreme Scholar's instructions, but when Young Master Ye arrived here for the first time, she decided to spread a rumor about how he has the inheritance of a Tier Four civilization. She wants to use other people as a dagger to stab Young Master Ye in the heart."

Commander Huang stared deeply at Commander Pan.

Commander Pan's face distorted. "It's true that I spread the word about how that young swordsman has a Tier Four civilization's inheritance, but I didn't instigate Taia Jiang to attack him. What does that have to do with me?"

The elderly man in hemp clothing stared at Commander Pan and said, "I want to kill you because I don't like you. How does that sound to you? Does that sound okay?"

Commander Pan. "..."

"This issue can be—" Commander Huang couldn't continue his sentence.

The elderly man in hemp clothing had waved his sleeve, and the cold light sticking out of Commander Pan's forehead flew out of her forehead along with her head. The cold light carried her head to the elderly man in hemp clothing

Boom!

A terrifying aura locked onto the elderly man in hemp clothing. However, the elderly man in hemp clothing remained unfazed. He cast an indifferent gaze at Commander Huang, saying, "Commander Huang, you saw how I killed her with my own hands. If you wish to seek revenge, then visit our Taia Clan. We will always be ready for it."

With that, the elderly man in hemp clothing turned around and disappeared into the distance.

Left all alone, Commander Huang's expression was extremely grim.

***

A man dressed in white was sitting cross-legged on the summit of a mountain while leaning against a withered tree.

An unending range of mist-shrouded mountains stretched out endlessly before him, making it seem like he was in Heaven.

The man was none other than Xuan Ming—the heir to the Xuan clan.

An elderly man clad in a clean black robe stood next to Xuan Ming. The elderly man's all-black outfit was a stark contrast to his bed of white hair.

Xuan Ming suddenly laughed and said, "I just got word—Commander Pan is dead."

"Serves her right for not knowing her limits."

Xuan Ming chuckled. "She underestimated the Supreme Scholar. Anyone who catches the attention of the Supreme Scholar cannot be an ordinary person."

The elderly man dressed in black sounded serious as he asked, "Then, why did you provoke Taia Jiang?"

"Why don’t you guess?"

The elderly man dressed in black shook his head. “I won’t make any guesses."

Xuan Ming laughed heartily at that and explained, "Because that young swordsman does have a divine item from a Tier Four civilization."

"But the Supreme Scholar thinks highly of him..." the elderly man dressed in black muttered.

"That is a problem indeed."

The elderly man dressed in black warned, "Young Master, he's not the real threat; it's the Supreme Scholar. She has never engaged in the power struggles between the clans, but if she becomes hostile toward our Xuan Clan, it'll be tantamount to her supporting our enemies. If that ends up happening, the clan will surely not protect you by then."

Xuan Ming gazed at the distant sea of clouds, and the smile tugging at his lips vanished. "As long as that divine item lands in our hands, don't you think it's worth the risk of offending the Supreme Scholar?"

The elderly man dressed in black was silent.

If they could get their hands on that divine item, the Xuan Clan would be willing to risk offending the Supreme Scholar. After all, the Supreme Scholar wouldn't go to war with the Xuan Clan over an outsider.

The elderly man dressed in black stared at Xuan Ming, asking, "How can you say for sure that the divine item in his possession is valuable enough?"

"I wasn’t sure before, which is why I incited Taia Jiang to test him. But now, I’m certain that the divine item in his hands is priceless."

"Are you talking about that sword?" the elderly man dressed in black asked with squinted eyes.

"Taia Jiang is no weakling; he’s a peak eighty percent divinity expert, and his true strength is comparable to ninety percent divinity cultivators. He had even used the Asura Demon Shield to defend himself against that young swordsman, but the shield was like a piece of paper before the young swordsman's sword," Xuan Ming said. His expression then grew serious as he added, "Most importantly, that sword managed to shatter the spacetime here."

The elderly man dressed in black's eyes widened. "T-t-that's..."

The density of the spacetime here was exponentially denser compared to the outside world, and it was all thanks to a powerful array.

Only those truly powerful could tear it apart, but Ye Guan somehow managed to do it despite having accumulated only around twenty percent divinity.

It had to be the sword—the sword was the variable!

Xuan Ming smiled. "And I suspect that the sword is just one of the divine items he possesses; he definitely has more treasures."

The elderly man dressed in black cast a solemn gaze at Xuan Ming. "Young Master, do you really want to gamble here?"

"Why not?" Xuan Ming asked, chuckling. "They say fortune favors the bold, and this is a huge opportunity for our Xuan Clan, so we have to be bold about this. Of course, we can't act hastily.

"When we strike, it must be a lethal blow; we can't give him any chance to react at all."

The elderly man dressed in black was silent for quite a while before nodding slightly. "It does require careful planning."

Xuan Ming suddenly asked, "What is the Asura Clan's stance?"

"I don't know. They still haven't contacted the young swordsman, so I assume they're observing him from the sidelines.

Xuan Ming chuckled, "Since that one’s fall, the Asura Clan hasn’t produced anyone notable, so they’ve become extremely low-key over the years..."

The elderly man dressed in black immediately warned, "Watch your words, Young Master."

Xuan Ming laughed boisterously before falling silent.

***

Meanwhile, the Supreme Scholar led Ye Guan into the grand hall of the Supreme Scholar Academy.

The entire academy was in a massive starry region, and a myriad of light pillars were floating around, carrying a myriad of books.

Ye Guan looked around with a gaze full of curiosity.

Yi Nian had also put away her wooden figurine to enjoy a hawthorn candy. Her eyes darted around with interest; everything here was new and fascinating to her.

The Supreme Scholar glanced at Yi Nian before her gaze settled on Ye Guan.

"Who is this young lady?" asked the Supreme Scholar.

Ye Guan smiled back. "My sister!"

"Sister?"

"Yes."

The Supreme Scholar looked at Yi Nian.

Yi Nian smiled and nodded. She had long understood the word "sister" from the vast knowledge she had absorbed about the Guanxuan Civilization, so she really liked how Ye Guan was addressing her as "sister." She also liked Ye Guan for his kindness—he'd give her three hawthorn candies every day and would sometimes cook for her. However, she still couldn't fathom how Ye Guan managed to tame the Tianxing Flame. She hadn’t been able to interact with the Tianxing Flame, as it was under some kind of seal that made it inaccessible to her.

The Supreme Scholar glanced at Yi Nian again, but she remained silent and merely smiled. After a while, she led Ye Guan and Yi Nian to a pavilion in the starry skies and gestured for them to sit. "Please, have a seat."

Ye Guan nodded and sat down with Yi Nian.

'I'm really sorry," the Supreme Scholar said, "I didn’t expect that anyone would be daring enough to target you."

Ye Guan smiled. "It's fine."

"I've investigated and found that Commander Pan had spread rumors about how you obtained a Tier Four civilization’s divine item..." said the Supreme Scholar with a solemn gaze.

Just then, an elderly man in hemp clothing walked up to them. He bowed respectfully to the Supreme Scholar and said, "Greetings, Supreme Scholar."

The Supreme Scholar looked at him and asked, "What is it?"

The elder bowed again and opened his palm, releasing a head that floated to Ye Guan.

The head belonged to none other than Commander Pan!

The elderly man in hemp clothing bowed to Ye Guan and said, "Young Master Ye, I apologize for our clan's transgression against you. Please forgive us."

Ye Guan glanced at the head and smiled. "It's all water under the bridge."

"Thank you," said the elderly man in hemp clothing. He then turned and bowed respectfully to the Supreme Scholar before disappearing into thin air.

Ye Guan waved his hand, and the head was reduced to ashes. Ye Guan then stared at the Supreme Scholar and smiled. "I came to the Asura Civilization to learn more about it. I hope I'm not bothering you."

"Not at all. In fact, if you hadn’t come, I was planning to seek you out."

Ye Guan was a bit surprised. "Why?"

The Supreme Scholar thought for a moment before asking, "Young Master Ye, if you don't mind, can you tell me if you have ancestors that are particularly powerful?"

Ye Guan blinked, saying nothing.

The Supreme Scholar leaned closer and whispered, "It's just going to be between the two of us. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Really."

Ye Guan. "..."