Chapter 896: Not Even His Grandfather

Swoosh!

When Wuma E saw that, he swung his fist toward Ye Guan.

However, a sword had already pierced his forehead, immobilizing him.

Wuma E's eyes widened in shock, and his mind went blank.

The onlookers hidden in the shadows were equally stunned by the speed of Ye Guan's sword.

"Stop!" A figure appeared not too far behind Wuma E. The elderly man looked at Ye Guan, and his expression was filled with extreme caution as he said, "Young Master Ye, please show mercy. The Wuma Clan of Zhaowu's Nine Clans would be eternally grateful for your grace."

Ye Guan casually flicked his fingers.

Snap!

Wuma E's head flew dozens of meters away, and blood spurted like a fountain from the headless stump!

Ye Guan opened his palm, and Wuma E's storage ring flew into his hand. He glanced at the old man and said indifferently, "The Wuma Clan? You're welcome to try and kill me."

The old man was dumbfounded.

In the shadows, many faces turned grim. Even the Wuma Clan was like nothing to him!

Ye Guan grabbed Yi Nian's hand and walked toward the distant Dao Street.

The old man glared at Ye Guan with his fists clenched. A terrifying aura emanated from him, but he dared not make a move.

Just one sword strike!

Wuma E wasn't a Path Creation Realm expert, but he was pretty formidable. After all, the Wuma Clan had been training him since childhood. However, he couldn't withstand even a single sword strike from Ye Guan.

Something was wrong! The old man looked at Wuma E's distant corpse and deeply regretted not stopping Wuma E. He was planning on using Wuma E to test Ye Guan's strength. He believed that even if Ye Guan were strong, there wouldn't be any accidents, as he was protecting Wuma E from the shadows.

Unfortunately, Ye Guan was strong—strong enough to take Wuma E's life in a single sword strike.

The old man and Wuma E had underestimated Ye Guan.

The old man took a long look at Ye Guan and Yi Nian in the distance before leaving.

The Wuma Clan's next course of action wasn't up for him to decide.

***

Ye Guan slowly walked down the Dao Street while holding Yi Nian's hand. He glanced at the storage ring and found only a hundred ancestral Veins.

Ye Guan was immediately disappointed.

That guy is too poor. How dare he show off when he's broke? What was he even thinking?

Wuma E's soul was speechless.

"

Huh?

"

Just then, Ye Guan suddenly opened his palm, revealing a blue jade pendant.

The blue jade pendant appeared extraordinary, and it seemed to contain a mysterious energy as well.

Just as Ye Guan was about to examine it, Tian Qi's voice echoed in his head.

"Watch out, Young Master Ye!"

Boom!

A green light shot out from the blue jade pendant, and it entered Ye Guan's forehead.

"A Soul-Devouring Beast!"

Jimo Lan's voice echoed in Ye Guan's mind.

"Be careful, Young Master Ye. That's the legendary Soul-Devouring Beast, and it feeds on souls. It's the guardian beast of the Wuma Clan—"

Ye Guan immediately felt something trying to devour his consciousness. Without hesitation, he opened his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword flew into his sea of consciousness.

Howl!

Soon, a miserable scream echoed throughout Ye Guan's sea of consciousness, and his expression returned to normal.

The Qingxuan Sword had just immobilized a tiny spirit beast inside Ye Guan's sea of consciousness. The spirit beast was entirely green, and it resembled a cat with three white tails and dark red eyes. It was trembling in fear.

A Soul-Devouring Beast?

Ye Guan tossed the Soul-Devouring Beast into the tiny pagoda. He wasn't particularly interested in spirit beasts, as he already had the two ferocious beasts in his family.

Ye Guan held Yi Nian's hand and continued walking down the street. Soon, they arrived at a notice board. There was a wanted poster in the middle of the board. The wanted poster depicted Ye Guan's face along with the bounty of five hundred Eternal Crystals.

Ye Guan smiled, and then he turned around to leave with Yi Nian.

After walking a bit farther, Ye Guan saw a tavern. The tavern wasn't large, and there were only a few people inside. To be more specific, there were only two men seated inside the tavern.

Ye Guan led Yi Nian into the tavern. When they entered, one of the men immediately got up and left, leaving only one person behind. Ye Guan looked at the remaining middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was seated by the window, and he was dressed in a luxurious robe that made him appear scholarly rather than wealthy.

The middle-aged man smiled at Ye Guan and asked, "Young Master Ye, care to join me?"

Ye Guan nodded and led Yi Nian toward the man.

Just as they were about to sit down, Yi Nian suddenly said, "I'm going back to the pagoda to study."

With that, Yi Nian retreated into the Little Pagoda.

Ye Guan sat down across from the middle-aged man and sized him up. "Evil Dao Alliance?"

Ye Guan had long noticed the middle-aged man following him while maintaining a certain distance, which was why Ye Guan had decided to enter this tavern.

The middle-aged man shook his head. "No, I'm just a rogue cultivator. I saw you draw your sword earlier and got curious, so I wanted to chat with you."

Ye Guan nodded. "All right."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Daring to challenge the Ascension Battles as a full divinity cultivator... you're truly remarkable, Young Master Ye."

Ye Guan replied, "If you have something to say, say it directly."

The middle-aged man said, "To be honest, I want to invite you to challenge the Fourth Heaven."

Ye Guan frowned slightly, "The Fourth Heaven?"

The middle-aged man nodded.

Ye Guan remained silent.

The middle-aged man continued, "The Fourth Heaven has stumped at least ninety percent of the people here. And as you probably know, each Heaven represents an entire era. Besides the extraordinarily powerful experts, there are many hidden treasures up there. It's said that there is an Eternal Crystal mine in the Fourth Heaven."

An Eternal Crystal mine!

Ye Guan's interest was piqued. "What makes you say that?"

The middle-aged man took out an Eternal Crystal and smiled, "The first Eternal Crystals were discovered in the Ascension World, specifically in the Fourth Heaven. The reason the Fourth Heaven is so difficult to conquer is that the era it represents might be a Tier Five Civilization.

"Of course, this is just pure speculation."

Ye Guan asked seriously, "Has anyone ever entered the Fourth Heaven?"

"Of course," the middle-aged man said, nodding, "Although there weren't that many of them, and those who managed to reach the Fourth Heaven have refused to share what they found with outsiders. After all, we're not exactly close."

Ye Guan suddenly asked, "Why did you decide to talk to me?"

The middle-aged man said seriously, "I had someone investigate you when the bounty on your head was issued, and I know that you have a very powerful divine sword—a sword capable of cutting down seals and restrictions."

Ye Guan glanced at the middle-aged man without saying anything, but he raised his guard. He had used the Qingxuan Sword quite a bit before, and it seemed that he ultimately couldn't avoid the eyes of some experts.

The middle-aged man smiled and added, "Rest assured, Young Master Ye, I harbor no ill will toward you, nor would I dare to harbor any ill will. After all, even the Evil Dao Alliance doesn't dare confront you openly. How could I possibly target you? I'm simply here to propose a partnership, nothing more."

However, Ye Guan shook his head, "I'm too weak to challenge the Fourth Heaven. Goodbye."

With that, he got up and left.

Ye Guan wasn't foolish enough to challenge the Fourth Heaven at the moment. He was stronger than average Path Creation Realm experts, but he hadn't deluded himself into thinking he was invincible.

Even Ji Xiaojian could only conquer the Third Heaven, and then there was the Eighth Hall Master, who was defeated right after going up to the Fourth Heaven. The two of them were stronger than him, yet they couldn't conquer the Fourth Heaven.

What if he were to challenge the Fourth Heaven? It would be pure madness; he'd be seeking his own death. It was better to progress step by step than to seek explosive growth.

Seeing Ye Guan leave without any hesitation, the middle-aged man's eyes flashed with surprise.

Just then, a voluptuous lady suddenly emerged from the inn.

"Gu Qu, you miscalculated," she remarked with a smile.

Gu Qu smiled and replied, "He is much more grounded than I expected."

The voluptuous lady looked at Ye Guan in the distance and said, "Indeed, he's not simple at all."

Gu Qu smiled and asked, "In what way?"

The voluptuous lady smiled, "First of all, he doesn't take the Wuma Clan seriously. Secondly, he treats the Evil Dao Alliance as if they are nothing. The force backing him must be quite formidable."

Gu Qu shook his head. "You've underestimated him."

The voluptuous lady looked at Gu Qu.

Gu Qu explained, "You've underestimated not only the force backing him but also his own strength. Do you really believe that we can defeat him in a one-on-one fight?"

"

Hahaha.

" The voluptuous lady laughed, "Of course. He's a monster, but his cultivation base is too low."

Gu Qu smiled and said nothing. Instead, he turned to the distant street and asked, "What do you think? Will the Wuma Clan let this go?"

"No," the voluptuous lady said, shaking her head. "No. The young man acted too decisively, leaving the Wuma Clan with no room to retreat. If they back down, they'll become a laughingstock. If it were any other force, they would let this matter go, their reputation be damned, but we're talking about the Wuma Clan—one of the Nine Clans of Zhaowu.

"They've declined, but their pride still runs deep. They definitely won't let this go."

Gu Qu said softly, "Once glorious, now in decline. If they can't accept reality, they'd end up attracting disaster upon themselves."

The voluptuous lady was surprised. "You favor him more than the Wuma Clan?"

Gu Qu stared deeply at the distant streets. "That Tianxing Flame. It's either a well-made fake to mislead others, or it's been subdued by someone. If it's the latter, then that young man's background is extremely terrifying."

Subdued?

The voluptuous lady stared at the end of the street and solemnly said, "We've all experienced the terror of Tianxing Flame firsthand. Its power is utterly devastating. There's no way someone can subdue it; it's simply too absurd for it to be possible."

"I agree." Gu Qu nodded. "And I'm sure the Wuma Clan agrees as well."

Subdue the Tianxing Flame? The idea was just ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!

A lick of Tianxing Flame could easily annihilate a Tier Four civilization, and even Tier Five civilizations would struggle to withstand it.

How could it be subdued by someone? That was simply impossible!

"Tianwu Xin," Gu Qu asked, "There's a rumor that this young man's father is beyond the Path Creation Realm. Do you believe that?"

Tianwu Xin chuckled, "No way? There hasn't been a single expert beyond the Path Creation Realm in this universe region. Let's not talk about his father; not even his grandfather can be that strong."

"I actually agree with what Wuma E said earlier. That young man must have spread that rumor himself to confuse people and make them hesitate." Tianwu Xin shook her head and laughed. "He's a swordsman, but he sure knows how to bluff."