Chapter 899: Invincible Master

With the addition of Li Suifeng, Ye Guan gained another peerless expert. Moreover, the peerless expert was a swordsman with strength surpassing an ordinary Path Creation Realm expert.

Ye Guan spent every day battling Li Suifeng within the tiny pagoda, honing his sword intent and divinity. Training within the tiny pagoda saved him a significant amount of time.

Even though Li Suifeng was only at thirty percent of his peak power, he was still terrifying. After several exchanges, Ye Guan was completely suppressed, barely able to fight back.

However, Ye Guan enjoyed this feeling.

It was his first time fighting a powerful swordsman since reaching full divinity.

The more they fought, the more excited Ye Guan became!

Boom!

On a desolate plain, Ye Guan flew a thousand meters away. Just as he stopped, a sword light flew toward him—it was Li Suifeng's attack. When Li Suifeng’s sword was just half a meter away from Ye Guan’s glabella, he suddenly turned around and slashed downward.

Boom!

Ye Guan's sword light was shattered.

At the same time, a sword slashed out from behind Li Suifeng—Phantom Edge.

Li Suifeng remained calm, wielding his sword with his right hand to block all of Ye Guan’s attacks.

Ye Guan’s expression darkened at the sight.

Li Suifeng stopped and looked at Ye Guan, slightly surprised. “Your sword technique is very special, but its speed and power are insufficient. If you could improve those, it would be truly terrifying.”

Ye Guan humbly asked, “Senior, how can I enhance its speed and power?”

Li Suifeng smiled. “Practice.”

Ye Guan asked again, “How should I practice?”

Li Suifeng replied, “Use it repeatedly and keep breaking through your limits.”

Ye Guan fell silent, but he suddenly understood something. Heavenrend, Phantom Edge, and Space Overlap—he hadn't been using these sword techniques these days. To be precise, he had faced too few life-and-death battles these days.

Against ordinary people, he had the upper hand, but against top-tier supreme elites such as Li Suifeng, the flaws in his sword techniques were enough for them to route him.

Ye Guan became deeply aware of his inadequacies. He hadn’t fought enough battles!

Ye Guan calmed himself down and looked at Li Suifeng. “Senior, let’s go again.”

“Alright.” Li Suifeng smiled. With that, the flying sword in his hand shot out like a lightning bolt, reaching Ye Guan in the blink of an eye.

Swoosh!

Ye Guan disappeared from his original spot.

The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout heaven and earth. Ye Guan fought Li Suifeng every day, and Li Suifeng guided him carefully.

Ye Guan’s strength improved by leaps and bounds as a result of Li Suifeng's guidance.

Li Suifeng had grown fond of Ye Guan. Ye Guan's talent and comprehension were extraordinary, and he was tough as well. Even when beaten to the point of severe injuries, he remained unwilling to retreat; in fact, he'd become fiercer the more injuries he sustained.

Ye Guan was a promising young talent!

Li Suifeng had considered taking him as a disciple but ultimately decided against it. Ye Guan already had his own Sword Dao. A swordsman like him ought to keep honing his own Dao rather than follow someone else’s Dao.

What Ye Guan needed was to keep learning and drawing inspiration to perfect his own Dao, not to walk on someone else’s Dao.

Time flew by, and ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past ten years, Ye Guan fought Li Suifeng daily, rain or shine.

Ye Guan’s strength had increased tremendously, particularly his sword techniques, which had become several times stronger. His fleshly body and sword intent had been strengthened dramatically as well.

Additionally, his divinity had grown purer, coming closer to perfection.

Ye Guan had improved in all aspects!

The sound of swords clashing against each other reverberated throughout a desolate plain.

The sword energy crisscrossed in mid-air, seemingly trying to tear the heavens apart.

Boom!

A thunderous boom echoed across the firmament, and two beams of sword light were simultaneously forced back.

Ye Guan and Li Suifeng stopped at almost the same time.

Ye Guan had a dozen sword marks on his body, and Li Suifeng was in a similar state.

Li Suifeng glanced at the sword marks on himself and smiled. “It seems that I can no longer defeat you.”

Ye Guan’s strength had increased significantly after ten years of fighting a top-tier supreme elite. At this point, Li Suifeng could no longer overpower him. To make matters worse, Li Suifeng could no longer withstand Ye Guan's Lifespan Severance.

The sword technique was just too monstrous, and he was tremendously afraid of it.

Of course, he wouldn't be afraid of it at his peak strength.

Ye Guan took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Li Suifeng. “Thank you for your guidance over the past ten years, senior.”

Li Suifeng's unreserved guidance was undoubtedly the biggest reason behind Ye Guan’s rapid improvement over the past ten years.

Seeing that Ye Guan was still humble and polite, Li Suifeng’s eyes filled with admiration. He smiled and replied, “Compared to what you've done for me, my guidance is insignificant. And I’ve also gained a lot from our sparring over the past ten years. I profited more from this.”

Ye Guan smiled, “Senior, you should focus on restoring your cultivation here. Once you’ve fully recovered, I’ll seek your guidance again.”

“Alright.” Li Suifeng nodded. Then, he seemed to have recalled, and he asked, “I can sense that you can easily reach perfect divinity. Are you holding back?”

Ye Guan nodded.

Li Suifeng was curious. “Why?”

"I wouldn't be able to suppress it with my current state of mind and strength, so..." Ye Guan trailed off solemnly.

“You want to cultivate humanity?” Li Suifeng was taken aback.

Ye Guan nodded. “Yes.”

Li Suifeng’s expression grew serious. “That’s extremely difficult.”

Ye Guan smiled. “I know. By the way, senior, did you reach perfect divinity?”

Li Suifeng nodded. “I did.”

“Have you ever considered cultivating humanity?”

Li Suifeng smiled. “It’s no longer possible for me.”

“Why?”

"To cultivate humanity, you must have desires beyond the Dao—desires that surpass your pursuit of it," Li Suifeng explained, “Otherwise, it will be possible to suppress divinity with humanity. Before I pursued divinity, I had no desires beyond the Dao. After the Path Creation Realm, nothing else mattered to me.”

“I see.”

“Achieving perfect divinity is difficult, but cultivating humanity is even harder because it’s like asking someone to give up power upon mastering it. It’s extremely difficult, but...” Li Suifeng looked at Ye Guan and smiled. “I think you have a chance. You have great talent and an excellent temperament, but you need more strength.

"I can also feel that you care a lot about your relationships, especially your relationships with women.”

Ye Guan was dumbfounded.

"Even the Third Heaven can't suppress you anymore," Li Suifeng remarked, "If you let yourself achieve perfect divinity, defeating the Third Heaven shouldn’t be difficult, especially since he’s no longer at his peak.

"If you really want to cultivate humanity, you’ll have to be cautious. You can still suppress your divinity right now, but at perfect divinity, it will be incredibly difficult to suppress it.”

“Understood.” Ye Guan nodded. Then, he took out a Dao Fruit and handed it to Li Suifeng. “Thank you for the guidance and the fight, senior.”

Li Suifeng shook his head. “You helped me break the Great Dao Seal, which is akin to saving my life, and you even gave me a Dao Fruit. I’ve profited a lot. As for the fight and the guidance, they aren't much compared to what you did for me. How can I accept more things from you?”

Ye Guan wanted to say something, but Li Suifeng interrupted, “I’m leaving to train now.”

With that, Li Suifeng turned into a streak of sword light that disappeared into the horizon.

Ye Guan smiled and shook his head. This was the first time he was met with a refusal upon offering a Dao Fruit. He couldn’t help but admire Li Suifeng’s character and integrity.

Little Pagoda suddenly said,

“That is what a proper swordsman should be like.”

Ye Guan’s face darkened.

“Master Pagoda, are you saying that I’m not a proper swordsman?”

“What do you think?”

Ye Guan laughed.

“I think it’s best to be true to oneself.”

Little Pagoda thought for a moment and replied,

“Indeed.”

Boom!

A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from the distant horizon.

Ye Guan turned and was surprised to see a figure flying toward him like a lightning bolt.

The newcomer was none other than Zhou Yuan, and he had been in closed-door seclusion for a long time. Zhou Yuan was radiating a terrifying aura as if he were a dragon that had just awakened from a deep hibernation.

The distinct aura of the Path Creation was wafting out of him.

Ye Guan was astonished. He hadn’t expected Zhou Yuan to make a breakthrough. At this point, Zhou Yuan was probably as strong as Li Suifeng, or he could be even stronger than the latter.

Zhou Yuan bowed deeply toward Ye Guan and said, "Greetings, Young Master Ye."

Ye Guan smiled and said, "Congratulations."

Zhou Yuan hurriedly replied, "This is all thanks to you, Young Master. If it hadn't been for your help, I wouldn't have reached the Path Creation Realm."

"If you weren't qualified for that realm, you wouldn't reach it even if I gave you ten Dao Fruits," replied Ye Guan.

"No, no, no," Zhou Yuan said, shaking his head vigorously. "This is really because of you, Young Master..."

"Hahaha." Ye Guan laughed. "Alright, alright, let's not talk be so formal around each other."

"What about your brothers?" asked Ye Guan, looking around.

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice, "They might be facing some troubles."

Ye Guan nodded slightly. "That's to be expected."

If the Path Creation Realm were so easy to reach, Path Creation Realm cultivators would be as common as dogs in the streets.

Ye Guan collected his thoughts and turned around before disappearing into the distance.

Off to the next Heaven!

***

The people of the Ascension World were waiting for the Wuma Clan to take revenge on Ye Guan. They were all waiting for the clash of both sides, which would allow them to take advantage of the chaos and make some profit.

However, there hadn't been any further movement from the Wuma Clan since they dispatched some experts. They were definitely in the Ascension World by now, so how come they were still missing? Had they gotten lost or something?

The lurkers waiting for a fight to unfold were baffled.

In a certain tavern along the Dao Street, a young man was sitting by the window, drinking by himself. The young man was dressed in a green robe embroidered with nine dragons; each dragon looked lifelike and fierce as if they were ready to devour anyone.

Behind the counter, a plump, beautiful lady stole glances at the young man with her eyes full of curiosity. She was curious, as the young man was unfamiliar; she had never seen him before. In addition, she couldn't sense the young man's aura, which was highly unusual.

Just then, a man in black entered the tavern. He walked up to the young man and respectfully said, "The Fifth Hall Master is dead. He has been completely erased from the vast expanse. The Ninth Hall Master made contact with Ye Guan and gave him his family's divine armor; his intentions are unknown.

"The Eighth Hall Master has submitted to Ye Guan and has gone missing. Additionally, the Nine Swords of Dao Tian have arrived, and they've requested an audience with you."

The young man picked up the cup of wine in front of him and downed it wordlessly.

The man in black added, "The Four Holy Underworld Lords and the Eight Hidden Buddhas are on their way and will arrive tomorrow."

The young man merely nodded. "Let them in."

The man in black bowed respectfully and quietly withdrew.

Nine swordsmen with sword cases on their backs walked into the tavern. They were all dressed in simple hemp clothes and hemp shoes; they stood ramrod straight, resembling sheathed swords. Their sharp auras were so overwhelming that it was hard to stare at them directly.

The beautiful lady's pupils constricted in shock.

Nine Path Creation Realm swordsmen? And there's more? Hall Master? Could this young man be a Hall Master of the Evil Dao Hall?

The nine swordsmen bowed and greeted, "Greetings, Dao Emperor."

"Dao Emperor!" The beautiful lady was shocked. "Dao Emperor Zhaowu! The Invincible Master of the vast expanse and the Master of the Zhaowu Civilization!"

It turned out that Dao Emperor Zhaowu had two identities; he was also the Fourth Hall Master of the Evil Dao Alliance!