Chapter 44: Dao Protector
A pale hue emerged on the horizon as sunlight vanquished the darkness of the night. It was daybreak, and it was time to wake up. Nalan Jia’s eyes opened. She turned and saw Ye Guan’s face inches away from her.
His well-crafted face and sharp features set a standard that only a few could match.
Nalan Jia smiled. She stood up and started stretching.
Ye Guan’s eyes opened. He stared at the beauty in front of him and smiled brightly.
Luo Zhaoqi appeared once more, and she was sporting a wide-cut red skirt that captured everyone’s attention.
“It’s time!” she announced.
There was a burst of light as the teleportation array beneath everyone’s feet shone and teleported everyone away.
The dazzling light temporarily blinded everyone, but they soon recovered and found themselves standing on a wasteland.
There wasn’t anything else aside from ten flags that were peeking at them on the horizon. The flags were a few thousand meters apart, and bright gold words were emblazoned intricately on the flag in the middle—first place!
The participants were all staring at the flag, but the emotions within them were different from each other.
Just then, a Cloud Projection Orb appeared in the sky. It was clear that every state was watching them.
A stone platform emerged on the right-hand side of the participants.
The stone platform was hundreds of meters wide, and rows of chairs were on the stone platform. The stone platform was obviously for the live audience of the third ground, and the audience members were mostly composed of students from the Upper Realm’s Guanxuan Academy, along with a few tutors.
There were also elders from many different clans. Their origins were different, but they all had one thing in common—they were privileged enough to spectate the martial contest live.
“Academy Chief, please,” a voice reverberated throughout the wasteland.
A woman appeared from out of nowhere in front of the chairs on the stone platform.
The woman’s deep purple skirt swayed gently in the wind, and she felt like a flickering flame in a sea of monotony. Her outfit made her stick out, and she commanded both attention and respect.
A slight smile graced her lips, and she radiated both strength and confidence.
She was the Academy Chief of the Upper Realm’s Guanxuan Academy—Zhao Su.
Ye Guan froze over upon seeing her. He had stumbled upon her while he was escaping after assassinating an elder of the Profound Sky Clan. She’s actually the Academy Chief of the Upper Realm’s Guanxuan Academy?
Just then, the woman stared right into Ye Guan’s eyes and winked coquettishly.
Ye Guan was at a loss for words. He couldn’t have imagined that she held such a lofty position, but it explained why she didn’t reveal her identity back then.
An old man and a woman appeared next to Zhao Su.
There was a golden badge on the old man’s left chest, and Guan was carved on the badge. The old man’s name was Yuan Gu, and he was a high-ranking elder of the Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy.
He was an elder of the academy, so he was obviously influential.
It seemed that Yuan Gu was interested in An Mu because he was only staring at the latter since he showed himself to the participants. The woman beside him was an elder of the Shenge Clan, and her eyes were fixed on Nalan Jia.
Of course, it wasn’t like she wasn’t interested in An Mu. However, she was well aware that she would never be able to compete with the Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy.
The audience members took their seats.
Zhao Su smiled and said, “Elder Yuan, the champion of this martial contest will have to enter my academy to cultivate for a certain period of time before they go to the Zhongtu Divine Continent. However, you seem to be in a hurry to bring them away.”
Yuan Gu nodded and said, “Academy Chief Zhao, I am truly in a hurry.”
Zhao Su frowned briefly before asking, “Why are you in a hurry?”
Yuan Gu sounded solemn as he answered, “The Destiny Contest.”
Zhao Su’s eyes narrowed. “It has begun?”
Yuan Gu nodded with a grim look. “Yes.”
Zhao Su asked, “And you’re under a lot of pressure?”
Yuan Gu chuckled bitterly and said, “Indeed. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry to bring An Mu away.”
Yuan Gu made a sidelong glance at An Mu and continued. “He’s the only one who can compete with those people.”
“Tell me about them,” urged Zhao Su.
There was a moment of silence before Yuan Gu explained, “A talented individual appeared not too long ago, and it seemed like he was born to cultivate.
”I also heard that he will inherit Mu Tiandao’s legacy. In other words, Mu Tiandao is his Dao Protector!”
Mu Tiandao! Zhao Su’s eyes narrowed before asking, “Mu Tiandao… are you talking about the fourth strongest person?”
Yuan Gu nodded. “Indeed!”
Zhao Su’s expression turned heavy. Just how talented was that man that Mu Tiandao was willing to become his Dao Protector?
“A talent with the Undying Bloodline also emerged, and it is rumored that they had completely awakened the Undying Bloodline. However, they also awakened the Sword Master’s Mad Demon Bloodline.
”They’re second only to the Sword Master when it comes to talent throughout the long history of the Undying Clan,” said Yuan Gu.
The Undying Clan! Zhao Su’s expression turned gloomy.
The Undying Clan was ranked first among the six great clans. Aside from the extraordinary clans from Guanxuan Universe, the Undying Clan was the number one clan.
The great clans from Guanxuan Universe respected them a lot because the Sword Master’s mother was from the Undying Clan.
Zhao Su asked, “Who is their Dao Protector?”
Yuan Gu’s voice sounded grim as he answered, “I heard it’s Boundless Master. I’m sure you’ve heard of him because he once went with the Sword Master to the Void World.”
Boundless Master! Zhao Su was shocked speechless.
Boundless Master was another master on the same level as the Sword Master.
However, Yuan Gu wasn’t done just yet as he said, “A talent has also appeared in the Demon Realm. His birth startled the demon clan because he was born with the Ancient Desolate Physique with a pair of Holy Eyes.”
”This is unconfirmed, but I heard that Department Head Erya went to the Demon Realm to become that talent’s Dao Protector.” Yuan Gu paused for a while before adding, “They are exceptional talents with incredibly powerful Dao Protectors. There was also that individual from Milky Way…”
Zhao Su frowned and asked, “Milky Way?”
Yuan Gu nodded, and his chin trembled as he said, “I heard that they’re the chosen one of this generation…”
The chosen one? The previous generation’s chosen one was the Sword Master! Zhao Su was stunned. The chosen one’s talent was definitely beyond comprehension, and they were surely capable of suppressing the other talents of their generation. So the chosen one has appeared…
Yuan Gu smiled bitterly and said, “I’m sure you finally understand why I’m in such a hurry.”
Zhao Su made a sidelong glance at An Mu and asked, “Who is his Dao Protector?”
Yuan Gu replied, “We think it’s Martial Goddess An...”
Martial Goddess An! A solemn veil was cast over Zhao Su’s face. She suddenly recalled something, which made her glance at Ye Guan in the distance.
She found Ye Guan pitiful because he had no Dao Protector. The current generation had more talents than the previous generation, and without a Dao Protector, there was no way a young cultivator could go far, even if they were extremely talented.
The road of cultivation was endless, and one would inevitably face countless hardships to comprehend destiny and karma. How far could someone go without a Dao Protector?
Zhao Su’s eyes became dyed with a tinge of sorrow. She initially had a lot of expectations for Ye Guan, but even she felt hopeless upon hearing that Ye Guan’s peers had incredibly strong Dao Protectors.