“

Hm?

”

“

Hm?

”

Two voices expressing both surprise and confusion echoed before disappearing at the same time.

The two terrifying auras also vanished without a trace.

“Uh?”

Ye Guan looked up into the empty sky in bewilderment.

Where are they going? Why did they leave? What happened? Did something go wrong?

Little Pagoda exclaimed,

“You fool! Your aunt and your grandfather don’t get along. Do you really think that they're going to show up if you call them both at the same time?”

“It’s over!”

Ye Guan’s face instantly turned as pale as paper.

The vicious old woman was already in front of him.

Just as Ye Guan was about to draw his sword, Zhou Fan yanked off her necklace and closed her eyes. “Ancestor!”

Boom!

A beam of golden light shot up to the sky, dispersing Evil Granny's terrifying aura.

The vicious woman was directly blown a thousand feet away!

The Right Elder's voice was trembling as he said, “Lady Zhou! The Founding Ancestor’s Protection is your greatest trump card, and it can only be used once every hundred years. W-why did you use it here? What's going to happen once you face off against your competitors? How are you going to fight the Second Prince and the others? If the forces behind you were to find out that you used your trump card here, they'd surely turn their backs on you…”

The Left Elder’s face also turned white.

The Founding Ancestor’s Protection was the greatest trump card of the princes and princesses of the Great Zhou Imperial Family, and they were bestowed upon them by the founding ancestor of the Great Zhou.

As the name stated, they were given to the geniuses of the Imperial family to prevent any untimely deaths.

In other words, it was a life-saving trump card. The fact that Zhou Fan had used that here meant that she had just lost a life-saving trump card.

The battle for the throne was going to be a bloody one. There would certainly be no shortage of ruthless tactics, especially when she was one of the strongest contenders!

Zhou Fan, however, ignored the stunned elders and stared quietly at the sky.

When the beam of golden light dispersed, a golden illusory phantom was revealed.

Zhou Fan bowed respectfully to the golden phantom. The Left Elder, the Right Elder, and the others from the Great Zhou bowed deeply as well.

Path Creation Realm!

The Founding Ancestor of the Great Zhou was here.

Evil Granny stared intently at the Founding Ancestor of the Great Zhou. “I'm an Evil Dao—”

The Founding Ancestor of the Great Zhou interrupted her, “All threats that speak of war to the Great Zhou shall be slain!”

The Founding Ancestor swung his fist, and a powerful dragon might surged out of his fist.

Evil Granny was blasted tens of thousands of meters away while the cultivators around her were reduced to dust.

They were annihilated in an instant!

Ye Guan’s expression shifted at the sight.

Both Evil Granny and the Founding Ancestor of the Great Zhou were on the same cultivation base, but the latter was not here in his true body.

He was just a phantom, but his strength was still terrifying. It seemed that two Path Creation Realm experts couldn't be the same strength-wise.

Meanwhile, Evil Granny’s expression turned extremely grim. She was utterly shocked. How could this guy be so strong?

Just then, she noticed the Founding Ancestor getting ready to hit her again, and her expression changed drastically. Then, she turned around and fled without any hesitation.

The Founding Ancestor of the Great Zhou didn't chase after her. Instead, he turned to look at the Qingxuan Sword in Ye Guan’s hands before staring at Zhou Fan and disappearing without a word.

Zhou Fan quietly bowed toward him.

Just then, dozens of terrifying auras appeared on the distant horizon.

The Right Elder exclaimed, “The Imperial Guards are here!”

It seemed that Zhou Fan’s use of the Founding Ancestor's Protection had alarmed the Great Zhou's Imperial Family.

Very soon, dozens of people appeared before Zhou Fan, and they were led by a middle-aged man dressed in black armor.

The people behind him were also dressed in the same black armor, and they were powerful cultivators. Actually, the weakest among them were full divinity experts.

As for the middle-aged man serving as their leader, he was a peak Transcension Realm expert.

The middle-aged man bowed slightly toward Zhou Fan and said, “I'm glad to see that the Ninth Princess is unharmed.”

Zhou Fan was silent.

"Ninth Princess," the middle-aged man added, “The Elder Council has issued an order for you to immediately return to the Imperial City and explain your actions.”

Zhou Fan put the necklace away and calmly said, “Commander Xiu, give me a moment.”

Commander Xiu bowed slightly and stepped aside with his men.

Zhou Fan turned to Ye Guan and smiled. “Young Master Ye, can we talk privately?”

Ye Guan nodded. “Sure.”

With that, the two walked away from the others.

The Founding Ancestor's punch had shattered a myriad of stars, ruining the scenery of the star field.

“Young Master Ye, my intentions were quite clear as soon as we met. I wanted to recruit you. I wanted you to work for me, and I wanted you to serve me."

Ye Guan smiled slightly. “I could tell.”

Zhou Fan stared deeply at Ye Guan and asked, “What do you think? Am I a calculative person?”

“I never thought that way,” Ye Guan replied, shaking his head.

Zhou Fan looked at Ye Guan, remaining silent.

Ye Guan then added, “Actually, I understand you. One cannot be naive in the Imperial family, or one will not survive for long. It's only natural for you to employ certain tactics to protect yourself and win people over. There’s nothing wrong with that. If I were in your shoes, I would do the same.”

Zhou Fan's beautiful eyes resembling a pristine lake remained fixed on Ye Guan.

“Besides, we were strangers at the time. How can a stranger be so kind to me for no good reason? I think that it's completely normal for you to have ulterior motives and recruit others. It's a way to survive, and there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Zhou Fan revealed a radiant smile. “I’m really happy to hear that.”

Ye Guan then said in a serious tone, “Lady Zhou, the life-saving talisman that you just used…”

“I did that to make you owe me a favor, as I still want to recruit you to my side…” Zhou Fan muttered.

“So you did not take into account the bond that we've nurtured so far?”

Zhou Fan thought for a moment and pinched her thumb and index finger together. “Just a bit.”

Ye Guan was speechless.

Zhou Fan grinned in response.

The two walked quietly for some time until Ye Guan shattered the ice, asking, “Why did you decide to confess now?”

“Perhaps it’s because I no longer wish to keep up with this pretense with you. I’m not sure why, but I dislike that feeling.”

“Are we considered friends, then?”

Zhou Fan turned to look at Ye Guan and asked, “Do you consider me a friend?”

Ye Guan nodded in response. “Yes.”

“Young Master Ye, do you have any idea how many times you made me feel ashamed of myself?”

Ye Guan was puzzled by her words.

"My kindness and interactions with you were all fueled by my ulterior motive," Zhou Fan said, chuckling. "However, your actions toward me have been genuine. I could feel it. Like when you protected me in the cave or when you allowed me to join you in that black pagoda. Perhaps you thought I was a decent person and simply wanted to help me, or maybe you didn’t think that I was worth the effort to win over. Of course, it could also be—”

"I actually think that you are a decent person," Ye Guan then interjected, “You have ulterior motives, but you never harbored any ill intent toward me.”

Ye Guan then opened his palm, revealing a transmission talisman. He handed the transmission talisman to Zhou Fan and said, “If you need anything in the future, just contact me directly.”

Zhou Fan froze before accepting the talisman and smiling. “All right.”

She then waved her hand and said, “Until we meet again.”

With that, Zhou Fan turned around and left with Commander Xiu and the others.

The Left Elder walked up to Ye Guan and glared at him. “If her qualifications are stripped due to this incident, I will definitely give you a good bea—scolding!”

The Left Elder then ignored Ye Guan and disappeared into the horizon.

The Right Elder glanced alternatingly between Ye Guan and Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan nodded at the Right Elder without saying a word.

The Right Elder nodded as well before taking to the sky and disappearing into the distance.

At the distant edge of the star field, Zhou Fan turned around briefly. She opened her palm, and Ye Guan's transmission talisman fell into the void.

Calling on her ancestor was a tactic that she hoped would win Ye Guan over, but she didn't wish to win him over in this way.

Zhou Fan was kind, but her kindness always had an ulterior motive.

However, Zhou Fan felt exhausted from all the ulterior motives and wanted her actions to be free of any of them from now on.

Zhou Fan smiled as the transmission talisman disappeared into the void down below. For some reason, she felt happy at the sight.

She had lost everything, but it seemed like it didn't even matter at all.

When the transmission talisman was no more, Zhou Fan turned around and left.

Ye Guan retracted his gaze and said, “Senior Yuan, please help me investigate the Great Zhou.”

“Understood.” Zhou Yuan nodded before disappearing into thin air.

Ye Guan looked around. Just as he was about to leave, two auras appeared before him.

The auras belonged to Gu Ze and Qiu Ling.

Ye Guan was stunned to see them here.

“Let’s talk,” Gu Ze said.

Ye Guan nodded. “Alright.”

Gu Ze chuckled and said, “Do you not see this? We can defeat this guy with just one hand, but he isn’t scared of us at all. It’s like the other way around, and it's really annoying.”

Ye Guan remained silent.

Qiu Ling ignored Gu Ze and sized Ye Guan up before asking, “Do you have a mysterious ancient character inside you?”

Ye Guan was somewhat surprised to hear his question. “How did you know?”

And that was when Ye Guan's face darkened. It seemed that it was about time for Little Pagoda to become even stronger.

“The brush inside the black pagoda is missing, and the only thing that can move that brush is that thing inside you,” Qiu Ling explained.

Gu Ze chimed in, “Can we take a look at it?”

Ye Guan took the brush out and handed it to Gu Ze.

“Aren’t you afraid I might snatch it away?” Gu Ze asked.

Ye Guan replied with a solemn face, “I trust in Senior Gu Ze’s integrity.”

Gu Ze burst into laughter. “You little brat. You’ve got quite a devious mind. How cunning.”

Ye Guan remained quiet.

Gu Ze took the brush, inspected it briefly. Then, he turned to Qiu Ling.

Qiu Ling revealed a complicated look at the sight.

Ye Guan asked, "Senior Ling, is this from your Shui Clan?"

Qiu Ling nodded, "It's a sacred character of our Shui Clan, and we have over four hundred of these sacred characters..."

"What?!" Ye Guan was shocked. "Over four hundred?"

Qiu Ling nodded wordlessly.

Ye Guan was moved. "Over four hundred characters of this level?"

Qiu Ling shook his head. "Among all the sacred characters, this one is considered average. There are many characters that are truly formidable than this one."

Ye Guan fell silent in disbelief.

Over four hundred ancient characters...

Ye Guan mused. It was a bit unbelievable, but there was no reason for Qiu Ling to lie to him.

Ye Guan looked at Qiu Ling and asked, "Senior Qiu Ling, are you both from a Tier Five civilization?"

Gu Ze burst out into laughter and asked, "What do you think?"

Ye Guan furrowed his brows, "You two really are from a Tier Five civilization?"

"Yes, but in past tense." Qiu Ling nodded, "It was all in the past. We are no longer from a Tier Five civilization."

Ye Guan was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Qiu Ling explained, "Because our Shui Clan fought the Tianxing Civilization."

They fought the Tianxing Civilization?

Ye Guan was deeply shaken. Throughout his journey, every civilization had mentioned the Tianxing Civilization with fear in their eyes, so he was truly surprised to hear that the Shui Clan was gutsy enough to fight them.

Qiu Ling added, "In that battle, we were defeated and our civilization fell. A mass exodus happened afterward. Since our defeat, the Shui Clan has been moving from universe region to universe region. We stayed in this universe region for a long period of time before the Tianxing Civilization forced us to move again."

Qiu Ling's eyes revealed a complex life. The Shui Clan, once proudly regarded across the vast expanse, had faced destruction. Today, its people still had no choice but to keep moving to avoid the Tianxing Civilization.

The people of the Shui Clan were all taught to revive their civilization, but the stronger they became, the more desperate they felt.

The Tianxing Civilization!

They couldn't resist even a single Tianxing Flame.

The Shui Clan was a noble clan during ancient times, but they had fallen into obscurity.

Qiu Ling shook his head slightly. He calmed himself down before returning the brush to Ye Guan.

"This belongs to the Shui Clan..." said Ye Guann.

Gu Ze chuckled, "Don't think too highly of us. Sacred characters have consciousness. We wanted to see the brush because we were hoping that we'd obtain its approval. If we had obtained its approval, we'd have taken it away from you by force. However, it showed no response. We were not chosen, so we'd just be inviting unnecessary trouble upon ourselves if we were to take it away from you."

Ye Guan nodded slightly and put away the brush inside the tiny pagoda.

Gu Ze suddenly asked, "Does the Evil Dao Alliance have a grudge against you?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Yes."

Gu Ze sized up Ye Guan and chuckled, "Great.

Hahaha.

That's great."

“Senior Gu Ze, what do you think about doing something big with me?"

Gu Ze looked puzzled. "What is it?"

"I believe I can revive the Shui Clan. Follow me to deal with the Evil Dao Alliance, and we'll divide their wealth evenly among ourselves..."

"What the hell are you talking about, you little bastard?" Gu Ze cursed. "Instead of focusing on improving your sword and cultivating your heart, you're actually more concerned about robbing others. I really can't believe you."

Ye Guan had no idea what to say at that.