Chapter 42: Qingzhou's Glory
Run! They had no choice but to run. Who could stop a Half-step Imperial-rank demonic beast with a demonic beast horde behind it?
Ye Guan, Nalan Jia, and Siao Ge ran as fast as they could. Fortunately, the demonic beast and the demonic beast horde weren’t as fast as the three.
They were also getting closer to the endpoint. However, it seemed that the demonic beast horde had no intentions of slowing down.
Ye Guan’s face fell. What did Siao Ge do? Why is a Half-step Imperial-rank demonic beast chasing him down along with a demonic beast horde?
Soon, the three reached the stone platform where the flagpole of the Guanxuan Academy was located. There were already five people on the stone platform—The three representatives of Qingzhou, Zuo Fu, and a gray-robed man with a straw in his mouth.
The five people looked up and saw Ye Guan, Nalan Jia, and Siao Ge. They frowned upon seeing the demonic beast horde chasing after the three.
Ye Guan glanced at the demonic beast horde. His expression turned grim upon realizing that the demonic beast horde had no intention of stopping. He made a sidelong glance at the pallid Siao Ge and asked, “What did you do?”
Siao Ge’s voice was trembling as he said, “Come on, man. What can I do? Even I have no idea what I did! They suddenly started chasing me!”
Ye Guan wasn’t convinced. He sounded somber as he asked once more, “You must have done something. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen to chase you this far, and look! They look like they’re not going to stop until they catch you!”
Siao Ge hesitated, but he eventually took out an egg and said, “I picked this up.”
“Does this egg belong to that demon?” asked Siao Ge.
Ye Guan was dumbstruck as he asked, “What do you think?”
Ye Guan decided to take the egg away from Siao Ge. Then, he raised it up high and made sure that the Half-step Imperial-rank demonic beast would see it.
“Take another step, and I’ll smash your egg!” shouted Ye Guan.
Everyone’s faces turned strange. They were obviously thinking about a different egg.
The Half-step Imperial-rank demonic beast came to a halt and glared at Ye Guan.
The demonic beast horde stopped as well.
Ye Guan stared at the demon and shouted, “There’s a misunderstanding here!”
The demonic beast sneered and said, “You took my egg away from me, and now, you’re using it to threaten me. How can there be a misunderstanding here?”
Ye Guan thought about it for a moment before saying, “How about we settle this with a fight?”
The demonic beast stared at Ye Guan. “What if you lose the fight?”
Ye Guan smiled. “I’m dead if I lose.”
“I’m one of the kings of this domain, so I have to accept your challenge. Human, I will let the matter rest if you win, but if you lose, you will die along with your friends,” said the demonic beast.
“All right,” said Ye Guan with a nod.
The demonic beast told the demonic beast horde to stand back.
“Brother Ye, how about you let me fight him? I’ve made the bed, so I should lie in it,” said Siao Ge.
Ye Guan smiled at Siao Ge. “I believe in your abilities, but I have been looking for an opportunity to fight a powerful opponent. I just made a breakthrough, you see? I hope you’ll let me take this opportunity.”
Siao Ge hesitated, but he eventually nodded and said, “Okay.”
With that, Ye Guan started walking toward the demonic beast.
Siao Ge’s expression was complicated as he stared at Ye Guan. Siao Ge was well aware that Ye Guan’s words earlier were to save his face. After all, Siao Ge wasn’t really confident that he could face the demonic beast, not to mention defeat it.
Ye Guan was about to face a Half-step Imperial-rank demonic beast.
A Half-step Imperial-rank demonic beast was as strong as a Spacetime Realm cultivator. Even worse, demonic beasts were innately stronger than humans. Their defense was not to be underestimated as well.
Everyone watched as Ye Guan walked in front of the demonic beast.
“Your Honor, you are extremely powerful, so please pardon me if I resort to unscrupulous means,” said Ye Guan.
The demonic beast remained calm as it said, “Do what you want.”
Ye Guan abruptly disappeared. He reappeared like a ghost in front of the demonic beast, and he sent a kick toward the demonic beast’s family jewels.
Everyone was stupefied by the sight.
Ye Guan’s kick landed before the demonic beast could even react.
The demonic beast’s eyes shot wide open, and it rapidly widened the distance between it and Ye Guan. However, it threw a punch at Ye Guan while retreating.
The demonic beast’s punch made a deep crater in the ground, but it missed Ye Guan, who had already reappeared behind the demonic beast.
Ye Guan sent another kick toward the demonic beast’s family jewels.
The demon beast’s pupils constricted. It groaned and covered its crotch.
Ye Guan vanished and reappeared above the demonic beast. He placed his dagger next to the demonic beast’s throat, effectively ending the fight.
Everyone’s expression was solemn.
Ye Guan’s speed had taken them by surprise. The gray-robed man stared meaningfully at Ye Guan.
Zuo Fu closed his eyes and scolded Ye Guan under his breath. “How devious!”
Mu Yunhan exclaimed, “What a scoundrel!”
Ao Han shook his head and said, “He chose the most effective method when dealing with a demonic beast that possesses such an incredible defense.”
“His speed is intriguing,” added Ao Han. He turned to look at Mu Yunhan and asked, “Is your saber faster than him?”
Mu Yunhan was silent for quite a while before she replied, “I have to kill him in one strike. Otherwise, I will lose.”
Ao Han’s expression turned grave as he confessed. “He’s too fast. I’ll find it hard to defeat him if he uses the same fighting style he used against that demonic beast against me.”
“I didn’t expect that Nanzhou would produce a genius like him,” added Ao Han.
Meanwhile, Ye Guan decided not to kill the demonic beast. He landed next to the demonic beast and placed the egg on the ground.
“Your Honor, here’s your egg,” said Ye Guan.
The demonic beast stared at Ye Guan and said, “Your speed is abnormal.”
Ye Guan smiled and remained silent.
The demonic beast didn’t say anything for a long time. Eventually, it picked up the egg and said, “It’s your win. The score between us has been settled.”
With that, it turned around to leave with the demonic beast horde.
Ye Guan remained silent as he pondered over the battle. It seems that one can truly become impossible to beat as long as one is fast enough. It’s a pity that the demonic beast wasn’t strong enough for me to test my limits.
Ye Guan had yet to meet an opponent that made him feel threatened since he fought that phantom on the ninth floor of the Guanxuan Academy’s trial tower.
Ye Guan seemed to have thought of something, and he turned to look at An Mu from Qingzhou.
Ao Han smiled. He turned to the gray-robed An Mu next to him and said, “He’s looking at you. I think that brat wants to challenge you. Haha…”
An Mu glanced at Ye Guan before closing his eyes. “This isn’t my battlefield.”
Ao Han smiled knowingly and said, “I know that the Zhongtu Divine Continent is your battlefield. That brat is strong, but he’s far from worthy of challenging you.”
An Mu shook his head slightly at the remark and said, “Zuo Fu is targeting me as well, which means that they’re confident. I will not underestimate them—only a fool will underestimate their opponent.”
“If you were in the demonic beast’s shoes, Ye Guan would have crushed you before you even realized it. The reason the Half-step Imperial-rank demonic beast lost so quickly was that it underestimated Ye Guan.”
Ao Han nodded. “I understand.”
“I will protect Qingzhou’s thousand-year-old glory. Those who will stand in my way will die!” An Mu declared with his eyes shut.