Ye Guan walked over to the teleportation array that would bring him to the Sky-rank combat trial. Ye Guan walked into the teleportation array, and he was whisked to a desolate wilderness.
He looked around and frowned. The wilderness was too quiet. Why is it so quiet here?
Ye Guan’s guard was up. He had to sign a death liability waiver before he could access the Profound Tower, so he wouldn’t be dumb enough to think that he was in a safe place.
Ye Guan noticed something, and his expression changed. He noticed that the spiritual energy here was extremely thick and pure. It was at least five times better than the spiritual energy in the outside world.
He finally understood why he had to pay such a high price just to enter the tower.
“Are you not going to attempt a breakthrough?” asked Little Pagoda. “You’ve been a Space Shattering Realm cultivator for so long.”
“It’s fine!” Ye Guan replied with a smile.
Little Pagoda asked, “What do you mean?”
Ye Guan thought about it for a moment before answering, “Master Pagoda, I can kill cultivators whose cultivation bases are higher than me. Do you know what that means?”
“What does that mean?”
Ye Guan answered, “It means that one’s cultivation base isn’t enough to define one’s power.”
“What? Elaborate!” Little Pagoda exclaimed.
Ye Guan chuckled and said, “I think there’s a difference between people in the same cultivation realm. Let’s use swords as an example. There are two swords: one was crafted normally, while the other was hammered a thousand times in the forging process.
”They’re swords on the same level, but the latter is definitely of much higher quality than the former.”
Ye Guan paused before continuing. “Cultivation is like a building. An unstable foundation will cause it to collapse, unable to withstand even a gust of wind. In other words, a cultivator’s foundation is like the true strength of a cultivator.
“My plan is to reach the limits of my cultivation realm first, and I think I’ll make a breakthrough from there.”
Little Pagoda went silent.
The mysterious voice shouted, “Impressive!”
Ye Guan hesitated before asking, “Master Pagoda, what do you think? Is there something wrong with what I said?”
Little Pagoda was silent for a while before he replied, “You’re somewhat right!”
Ye Guan blinked. Somewhat right? I’m neither right nor wrong?
However, he didn’t retort. Master Pagoda owned the tiny pagoda, so Ye Guan couldn’t afford to offend him.
“So you’re waiting for a natural breakthrough?” Little Pagoda asked.
Ye Guan chuckled and said, “I just feel that I still haven’t reached my limits. I feel I’ll naturally make a breakthrough once I’ve reached the limits of my cultivation base.”
“Okay,” said Little Pagoda.
He was about to say something, but a teleportation array suddenly appeared in the distance.
A dazzling light briefly illuminated the wilderness as a man walked out of the teleportation array.
The man’s frame was huge, and he was tall. His eyebrows were thick, and his eyes were big. He was clad in clothes made out of animal hide, and his hair was parted in the middle, which made him look funny.
The man was holding what seemed like a metal whip with a large metal ball at the end of it.
The man frowned upon seeing Ye Guan.
“A Space Shattering cultivator?” he muttered, seemingly astonished.
Ye Guan nodded and raised his guard up.
That man stared deeply at Ye Guan and asked, “You decided to come here even though you’re only a Space Shattering Realm cultivator?”
Ye Guan hesitated before asking, “Which rank should I have gone in?”
The man frowned and asked, “Do you know what realm I am in?”
Ye Guan shook his head.
The man calmly replied, “I’m an Imperial-rank demonic beast!”
He’s a demonic beast? Ye Guan froze. He didn’t expect to meet a demonic beast here and an Imperial-rank demonic beast to boot!
The man shook his head and said, “I think you ended up here because you’re new here. Anyway, just give me fifty thousand gold spiritual crystals, and I’ll let you off.”
“Before that, why don’t we exchange two moves?” Ye Guan said.
He wasn’t willing to leave just , as he had already paid the old man to access the Sky-rank combat trial. If he were to leave just , it would be a waste of money.
“You want to exchange two moves with me?” asked the man.
Ye Guan nodded. He wasn’t afraid of an Imperial-rank demonic beast. Actually, the Imperial-rank demonic beast in front of him seemed much weaker than the Imperial-rank demonic beast he had stumbled upon in Nanzhou.
The man boisterously laughed and said, “Let’s do it then!”
Ye Guan nodded slightly. “I have an unconventional fighting style, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I end up offending you!”
The man was pretty kind to him, which prompted Ye Guan to return the gesture in kind.
The man guffawed and said, “It’s fine, just come at me!”
Ye Guan abruptly vanished. The man’s eyes narrowed. He wanted to make a move, but Ye Guan’s attack was making a beeline for his crotch.
“Fuck!” The man cursed. Ye Guan’s extreme speed caught him off guard, but it was too late. He could only desperately push his legs together.
The man managed to suppress Ye Guan’s sword, but Ye Guan let go of his sword and lashed out with his leg toward the man’s neck.
A loud noise echoed, and a figure was sent flying away.
However, the flying figure was Ye Guan rather than the man.
Ye Guan was sent flying a few meters away. He dampened his fall by rolling on the ground. He recovered and stood up, but he noticed a dull pain coming from his leg, which astonished him.
An Imperial-rank demonic beast’s defenses were indeed amazing.
The man stared at Ye Guan. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ye Guan abruptly vanished once more.
The man’s eyes narrowed, and he punched out.
The man’s space caused the collapse of the spacetime in front of him, but his punch didn’t land on Ye Guan.
He abruptly turned around and saw a ray of cold light flying toward his crotch.
He wouldn’t be able to dodge in time!
The ray of sword light shattered upon hitting his crotch. The man’s eyes widened in sheer horror and pain, but before he could even do anything, another ray of cold light flew toward him. This time, it was flying toward his head at breakneck speeds.
The man glared at the cold light.
Ye Guan’s sword energy was abruptly engulfed in flames.
“Ah!” A sharp pain erupted from his nether region. The man was furious. He roared, and a terrifying aura burst out of him.
The burst of aura shattered spacetime and split the ground open.
Ye Guan was already thirty meters away from the man, and he used his profound energy to send a sword light flying toward the man’s crotch while keeping a safe distance from the latter.
The man’s expression turned ugly from fury. The man’s defenses were sturdy, but Ye Guan possessed remarkable strength as well. In addition, Ye Guan seemed obsessed with attacking his crotch, which was a delicate place.
The man’s family jewels were still sending him waves of dull pain, prompting him to roar in fury.
A terrifying soundwave made a beeline for Ye Guan.
Ye Guan’s figure blurred, and he reappeared thirty meters away.
The man was astonished to see Ye Guan dodge a soundwave attack.
Ye Guan took advantage of the lull to appear in front of the man. The man hurriedly pushed his legs together, but Ye Guan’s sword was aimed at his eyes rather than his crotch.
The man closed his eyes tightly.
Ye Guan sent sword thrusts after sword thrusts. The man attempted to retaliate to no avail; Ye Guan’s attacks were simply too fast for him to make a move. In addition, Ye Guan was taking full advantage of his sword’s length and was keeping him at bay.
The man was indeed much stronger than Ye Guan, but Ye Guan was much faster than the former. Moreover, strength was meaningless if one couldn’t hit their opponent.
The only way to stop Ye Guan was to slow him down by shattering the space around Ye Guan.
“Argh!” the man cried out, and the illusory figure of a demonic beast erupted from him. Space distorted and ultimately shattered as multiple waves of demonic beast aura swept across the wilderness.
Ye Guan retreated a few dozen meters away.
He looked up at the man and saw that the illusory figure of a demonic beast hovering above the man resembled a giant shark with a gaping mouth full of blood. Its teeth were razor-sharp, and it was terrifying to behold.
Ye Guan frowned. What demonic beast is that?
The man’s legs were still clamped together.
He glared at Ye Guan and asked, “Unconventional? I think it’s fucking unethical!”
Ye Guan chuckled sheepishly and said, “Brother Beast, I agree that it’s a bit unethical, but I have no choice. The defenses of demonic beasts are just too incredible. I can only attack your weak spots to win. I’m sorry for the offense!”
Ye Guan’s courteousness rendered the man speechless.
Now that he thought about it, Ye Guan had a point. If he were in Ye Guan’s shoes, he would have done the same. After all, those who were here had signed the death liability waiver. In other words, they were willing to do anything to win and survive.
The man asked, “Can you change your fighting style?”
Ye Guan shook his head. I admit that my fighting style is a bit unethical, but it does not go against my conscience.
The man said in a low voice, “If you’re not willing to compromise, I can only use my true body to fight you!”
“All right,” Ye Guan said with a nod.
“Are you sure about that?”
Ye Guan hesitated for a bit before saying, “Won’t that part become bigger if you fight me with your true body?”
The man’s face twitched. “Human, you’re crossing the line here! You are a swordsman and a Sword Immortal at that! Can’t you fight me in an upright manner? You’ve made me view swordsmen in a brand-new light!”
Ye Guan’s curiosity was piqued. “Have you met other swordsmen before?”
Ye Guan hurriedly asked, “What are they like?”
The man stared deeply at Ye Guan before saying, “They’re decent people, and most of them were cool and reserved. They’re not like you! You look decent, and you’re courteous as well, but your fighting style is too unethical for a swordsman!”
Ye Guan was at a loss for words.
“Are you from the Guanxuan Universe?”
Ye Guan shook his head and replied, “No! I’m from Nanzhou!”
The man frowned and asked, “Nanzhou?”
“I’ve never heard of that place before.”
“It’s a small state that exists in a realm just below the Zhongtu Divine Continent.”
“I see,” said the man. “I’m not going to fight you anymore! I’m going somewhere else. I suggest you go to the Royal-rank combat trial.”
With that, the man turned around to leave.
However, he stopped after a few steps and turned to look at Ye Guan.
“A heaven-defying talent arrived here not too long ago, and he has the same surname as you. He’s also from the Zhongtu Divine Continent, and his name is Ye Qing. Do you know him?” asked the man.
Ye Guan was taken aback. “Yes, he’s my brother!”
“He offended a talent of the Hantian Clan. The Hantian Clan is from the Guanxuan Universe. The talent of the Hantian Clan is working together with someone else, and they’re chasing after Ye Qing to kill him.”
Ye Guan’s face darkened.