I Have a Sword

Who was the strongest?

Little Pagoda was silent for quite a while before answering, “Do you really think I’m dumb enough to answer your question?”

The mysterious voice was at a loss for words.

Little Pagoda calmly added, “I can’t afford to afford any of them, so you better not ask such questions in the future. I’d rather not risk my life, so thank you very much.”

The mysterious voice didn’t say anything in response. Little Pagoda had become much warier than before.

Meanwhile, more than a hundred flying swords had surrounded the phantom on the tournament square. The swords flew haphazardly, and their seemingly random flight trajectories made it hard for the phantom to predict any of their movements.

The phantom retreated for another hundred meters until it finally stopped.

Shwik!

A flying sword finally pierced the phantom’s forehead!

Ye Guan was beyond pallid, and he looked extremely weak. He had exhausted his profound energy and mental strength by using the Royal Sword Art to manipulate so many flying swords at once.

He would have collapsed long ago If it hadn’t been for the spiritual pill he had consumed earlier.

Ye Guan collapsed to the ground and consumed another spiritual pill before closing his eyes. His cultivation base was indeed too low for his profound energy reservoir to keep up with his consumption, and it had become more apparent during this fight.

In other words, Ye Guan had no choice but to end his fights as soon as possible because long, drawn-out fights were a disadvantage for someone like him whose cultivation base was too low to support his sword cultivation realm.

However, Ye Guan still preferred to take it slow.

It was better to struggle now than to struggle later.

Meanwhile, the phantom was no longer moving. It stood in silence, seemingly pondering over something. Someone actually defeated me using my own techniques?

It had always been the phantom learning from others, but someone had actually flipped the tables against it!

The phantom stared deeply at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan was currently analyzing his previous battles with the phantom. It had long become a habit for him to review his battles, as he found that he would often find his mistakes in hindsight.

In other words, he would become even stronger by learning from his mistakes and learning from his enemies.

Ye Guan was thrilled. The phantom’s way of manipulating the sword with its profound energy had opened up a door to a whole new world for Ye Guan.

So this is how you fight using flying swords!

Ye Guan had to admit that his Royal Sword Art was terrifying, and most people would fail to defend themselves against his Royal Sword Art. However, it had one massive flaw—it consumed too much profound energy, stamina, and mental power.

Half an hour later, Ye Guan stood up.

The phantom had been waiting for him, clearly a bit indignant about its loss.

Ye Guan stared at the phantom and said, “Go ahead.”

Swoosh!

The phantom suddenly disappeared.

Rumble!

The space in front of Ye Guan split open, and a sword flew out of it, rushing toward Ye Guan.

However, Ye Guan remained calm. When the sword was just inches away from his forehead, he moved his left leg slightly. The phantom whipped around and thrust his sword forward!

The phantom was stunned; its sword had struck nothing but thin air.

Unfortunately, it was already too late. The phantom had just thought of turning around, but a sword had already buried itself in the phantom’s back.

The phantom froze, and its hand holding its sword stopped in mid-air.

Ye Guan didn’t bother to predict the phantom’s moves. You thought I was going to try and predict your moves? No! I won’t do that anymore!

Ye Guan reckoned that most powerhouses probably couldn’t predict the movements of greenhorn cultivators, as those greenhorns most likely wouldn’t put too much thought into their moves.

Ye Guan put his sword away and bowed slightly. “Thanks a lot!”

With that, he turned around to leave. To be frank, he could have ended the battle much earlier. However, he wanted to compare the phantom’s limits with his own, so he opted not to use such a move until their final battle.

A clever person would sometimes fall victim to their own ingenuity.

“Wait!” the phantom cried out.

Ye Guan was taken aback.

He turned to look at the phantom and asked, “Are you a real person?”

The phantom shook its head and said, “No.”

“What are you?”

“I am a consciousness born from the countless challengers who have set foot in here. My mission is to collect combat data for the Martial Court.”

“Martial Court?” Ye Guan asked, frowning.

The phantom nodded.

It opened its palm, and a gold badge floated toward Ye Guan.

A pavilion was emblazoned on one side of it along with three words—Immortal Treasures Pavilion. The word Martial was emblazoned on the other side.

Ye Guan was slightly confused. “What is this?”

“It’s the Martial Badge!” the phantom replied.

Ye Guan asked again, “What is it for?”

The phantom explained, “The badge grants you entry to the Trial Peak anytime you want, and you can also use the cultivation grounds of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion for free. It also grants you VIP privileges of the Pavilion.

”You can also get an advance payment from any Immortal Treasures Pavilion branch, but there is a limit of thirty million gold spiritual crystals per year.”

Ye Guan stared at the phantom for a few moments before asking, “Does that mean I can get thirty million gold spiritual crystals from the Immortal Treasures Pavilion every year?”

The phantom nodded. “Yes!”

Ye Guan pondered briefly before saying, “But the Immortal Treasures Pavilion has blacklisted me…”

The phantom was stunned.

“Can you give me the thirty million? I’m afraid they won’t give me the thirty million if I were to visit any of their branches.”

The phantom shook its head and said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money.”

Ye Guan fell silent.

“The Martial Court made that badge,” said the phantom. “The Immortal Treasures Pavilion will definitely acknowledge it.”

“What if they don’t?” Ye Guan asked.

The phantom thought for a while before saying, “Kill them and let the Martial Court take responsibility for it.”

Ye Guan was stunned.

“It was a pleasure to have fought you,” said the phantom. “I’m looking forward to seeing you again here.”

The phantom’s figure turned blurry, and it was clear that it would disappear in just a few seconds.

“I’ll see you again,” said Ye Guan before turning around to leave.

Rumble!

Meanwhile, a deep rumbling echoed as a statue rose from beneath the tournament square.

The statue looked exactly like Ye Guan and two large words were emblazoned on its abdomen—Ye Guan.

Ye Guan laughed. The Immortal Treasures Pavilion was truly an expert at making sure that its customers were satisfied. Ye Guan’s vanity was gratified upon seeing a statue of him.

He stared at the statue for quite a while before turning around to leave.

The old Tower Keeper appeared in front of Ye Guan.

Ye Guan wordlessly gazed at the Tower Keeper.

The Tower Keeper boisterously laughed and said, “Congratulations, Young Lord Ye!”

Ye Guan nodded and replied, “I truly learned a lot here!”

He cupped his fists and added, “I appreciate your kindness, Senior. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have been able to train here in peace. I will remember your kindness!”

The Tower Keeper grinned at Ye Guan’s words.

Ye Guan suddenly said, “Senior, I want to go to the God-rank Trial!”

The God-rank Trial?!

“Young Lord Ye, I’m aware of your capabilities, but…” the Tower Keeper sounded hesitant as he said, “The God-rank Trial is special, and you shouldn’t attempt it in the meantime.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ye Guan, looking baffled.

The Tower Keeper’s face turned heavy as he said, “Since the Profound Tower was built, there have only been two people who have attempted the God-rank Trial.

”Those two used to be one of the most heaven-defying talents of the Zhongtu Divine Continent. One of them was even the Champion of the Great Dao Destiny Aura Contest.

”Needless to say, they were strong, but the two still perished within the God-rank Trial!”

“They died?” Ye Guan asked with a frown.

The Tower Keeper nodded and said, “Yes! The Emperor-rank Trial is nothing compared to the God-rank Trial.”

Ye Guan pondered briefly before exclaiming, “What you’ve said only makes me feel more excited to try it!”

The Tower Keeper’s expression stiffened, and he didn’t know what to say.

“Senior, do you have any spiritual pills?” asked Ye Guan. “I would like to buy some from you!”

The old Tower Keeper hurriedly took out a storage ring and passed it to Ye Guan.

“The storage ring contains ten spiritual pills. Take them, Young Lord Ye. If you need more, I’ll buy more spiritual pills outside.”

Ye Guan nodded. He flipped his palm open and was about to send a storage ring over to the Tower Keeper, but the Tower Keeper smiled and said, “It’s fine. It’s just a few pills. I don’t need your money.”

He took out another storage ring and passed it to Ye Guan.

“Young Lord Ye, let me return this to you as well. Don’t worry about the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. This place is under my jurisdiction, and no one will know that you were here as long as you don’t say anything once you’re done here.

”However, I think it’s fine even if they found out. I’ll just say that I had no idea you entered the Profound Tower,” said the Tower Keeper.

Ye Guan asked, “Will you not be implicated?”

“It’s going to be fine,” the old Tower Keeper said.

“Much obliged!” Ye Guan cupped his fists.

The old Tower Keeper nodded and asked, “Do you really want to go to the God-rank Trial, Young Lord Ye?”

Ye Guan nodded and replied, “Yes.”

“All right,” said the old Tower Keeper. “I’ll bring you to the God-rank Trial.”

He took out a black token and activated it.

The Tower Keeper and Ye Guan were whisked away by the black token.

The two soon found themselves in the starry skies. A pitch-black door was floating near them, and a massive word was above the door—God.

It was the door to the God-rank Trial Layer!

“Young Lord Ye,” said the old Tower Keeper. “I can’t enter the God-rank Trial Layer, so you will have to enter it by yourself. Please take care.”

“All right!” Ye Guan said with a nod before walking toward the door.

The Tower Keeper watched silently as Ye Guan left.

He originally did not wish to meddle in Ye Guan’s affairs. After all, Ye Guan’s nemesis was the chosen one. Furthermore, the Immortal Treasures Pavilion was on the side of the chosen one. However, after seeing Ye Guan’s terrifying capabilities and talents, he decided to take this gamble.

What if Ye Guan managed to defeat the chosen one?

Ye Guan had many enemies, so any help of any nature would always be timely and much needed. If Ye Guan managed to soar to greater heights in the future, he would definitely remember someone who had chosen to help him while he was struggling.

Such timely favors were precious opportunities! The Tower Keeper knew that he was taking a huge risk, but it was all for the sake of reaping a massive amount of profit in the future.

Fuck it! I’ll take this gamble! What if I won this gamble?

The Tower Keeper also realized that Ye Guan looked pretty similar to Pavilion Master Qin, especially his striking eyebrows, which seemed as if they were carved out of a mold made out of Pavilion Master Qin’s eyebrows.

Qin Guan? Ye Xuan? Ye Guan? The Tower Keeper fell into contemplation. Could Young Lord Ye be Pavilion Master Qin and the Sword Master’s son?

The Tower Keeper quickly shook his head and chuckled. No way, how could that be?

If Ye Guan was indeed Pavilion Master Qin’s son… the Tower Keeper could already see the Immortal Treasures Pavilion going up in flames, considering Pavilion Master Qin’s protective nature.

…

Ye Guan was blinded by a dazzling light upon entering the door. The dazzling light soon disappeared, and Ye Guan found himself in a seemingly endless wasteland.

The sky above him was gray, and it was giving off a heavy, gloomy aura.

Rumble!

Both heaven and earth suddenly quivered ever so slightly. Ye Guan’s expression turned heavy, and he raised his guard up to the maximum level.

Moments later, the space was torn open about thirty meters away from Ye Guan, and a woman slowly walked out of the rift in space.

Ye Guan froze upon seeing her. “You…”

Coca and Corlumbus's Thoughts

Many people know about Ye Xuan and Qin Guan’s relationship, but somehow only one person finally makes the connection that Ye Guan might be their son… But then dismisses the thought…