I Have a Sword

Upon hearing the old man’s words, Ye Guan was immediately curious. He asked, "Wronged?"

The old man nodded and sighed again, his expression filled with melancholy. "It’s a sorrowful story. I wasn’t the one who truly defied the heavens.

"Although I was powerful back then, I never intended to rebel against the heavens or overthrow the Great Dao. The one who actually tried to do that is the one above me."

"The expert in the Sixth Heaven?"

"Yes. We’re not from the same era. Back in my day, I was traveling across the vast expanse when I sensed a powerful presence in a universe region.

"Out of curiosity and a bit of overconfidence, I went to check it out. Who would have thought that the guy above me was actually fighting the existing Great Dao? He was even cursing it, and his insults were really nasty."

The old man shook his head.

"What happened next?"

"Well, he got mercilessly suppressed! I tried to escape, but it was too late, so I ended up getting suppressed by her as well. Heavens have mercy, but I was just a bystander, and I almost died! I really was wronged!" The old man exclaimed, becoming extremely emotional and looking like he was about to cry.

Ye Guan glanced at him, who was overwhelmed with emotion and anger, and found him to be quite pitiful. Getting imprisoned just for watching was indeed unfair.

Little Pagoda asked, "Why did you not appeal for clemency?"

"I appealed!" The old man’s sadness deepened. "I’ve been appealing for so many years, but the existing Great Dao has never acknowledged me. You have no idea how hard it is for the common folk to seek justice against those in power."

The old man bowed deeply toward Ye Guan and said, "If I hadn’t met you today, I would have been imprisoned here forever. Your assistance means the world to me, and I have no way to repay you, so from now on, should you ever need anything, I will do it without question."

Ye Guan smiled and said, "The Academy will need your help in the future. If possible, select a few outstanding students and teach them. Give them a glimpse of the vast expanse."

The old man agreed, "I’ve been meaning to take on a few disciples. This isn’t just politeness—my legacy can’t end with me.

"When I arrive at the Academy, I will look for some promising students. I hope that in the future, my teachings will have a place among the many Dao academies across the vast expanse."

"That would be wonderful," Ye Guan said. Then, he took out three Dao Fruits and handed them to the old man. "These can help you recover quickly."

The old man hesitated for a moment before accepting them. "Thank you, Young Master Ye."

Ye Guan asked, "How should I address you, Senior?"

"Most people call me Elder Zhen, but you can just call me Old Zhen."

Ye Guan smiled. "Elder Zhen, I’ll be counting on you for matters related to the Guanxuan Academy."

"It’s my duty."

Ye Guan gestured with his hand, and a scroll appeared in front of Elder Zhen. "This contains the location of the Guanxuan Universe. When you arrive, look for my wife, Nalan Jia. She will take care of everything for you."

Elder Zhen took the scroll and said, "Until we meet again, Young Master Ye."

With that, he got ready to leave.

"Senior, wait," Ye Guan called out. He pointed at the storage ring in front of him and said, "Please take this back, Senior."

Elder Zhen accepted the ring, bowed slightly, and then vanished from the spot.

Ye Guan took a deep breath and said, "Master Pagoda, compared to Father and Grandfather, am I really that useless?"

Little Pagoda replied, "Not really. Sometimes, when you’re being shameless, you're more impressive than your father."

Ye Guan’s face darkened.

Little Pagoda changed the topic, saying, "Elder Zhen made some good points, but you need to understand that patience is key.

"You can’t rush things. Your father and grandfather endured countless hardships to get to where they are today. What you need to do now is set a clear goal and work toward it step by step.

"Don’t try to achieve everything all at once."

Ye Guan nodded. "I understand."

"Are you really planning to go to the Tianxing Civilization?"

"I want to go and see it. Why?"

"Based on my experience following your father, I’d suggest you spend more time training here first. Don’t rush. If you go to the next place too soon, you'll get beaten up and quite badly at that."

"…"

"I’m serious. With your current strength, you’d just be a rookie in the Tianxing Civilization. Furthermore, things won’t be smooth for you there. Conflicts are bound to arise, considering your connection with Yi Nian.

"Have you ever thought about how you’ll handle those conflicts? It’s important to be prepared. You should think about the challenges you might face and whether you have the ability to overcome them or not.

"If you can't handle them, is it really a wise decision to go there?"

"I've thought about it." Ye Guan nodded slightly. "However, I must go, Master Pagoda."

Little Pagoda asked, "Because of Yi Nian?"

"Yes," Ye Guan said.

Little Pagoda fell silent.

He understood the situation well. It was like a poor young man going to meet his future in-laws. One couldn't avoid meeting their future in-laws just because they were poor. It wasn't about one’s strength but one’s attitude.

If Ye Guan were to refrain from going to the Tianxing Civilization with Yi Nian, all the pressure would inevitably fall on her.

Little Pagoda said, "I guess that’s fine. While there will certainly be challenges in the Tianxing Civilization, if you look at it from another perspective, it’s not that big of a deal."

"What perspective?"

"Marriage is something usually decided by the parents. When you and Yi Nian go to the Tianxing Civilization, you can handle what you can, and if you can’t, leave it to the parents.

"When you think of it that way, the pressure disappears, right?"

Ye Guan was at a loss for words.

Little Pagoda chuckled. "Your father was right. The most important thing in life is to be happy. You can work hard, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Look at me; I'm completely stress-free."

Ye Guan shook his head with a smile. "Master Pagoda, you’re pretty optimistic."

"I’ve come to understand some things after following your father and grandfather. You have no idea how difficult I had it when I was with your grandfather. He would drag me into one self-destructive battle after another.

"Life was too hard back then. Now, I just want to enjoy life and show off a little!"

Ye Guan nodded and went silent. Then, he made his way to the Sixth Heaven.

A middle-aged man was fishing by a lakeside, and he was completely motionless, looking like a statue. He had a thin blanket draped over him, and there was a watermelon placed next to him. His eyes were slightly closed as if he were asleep.

Ye Guan glanced at the lake.

The water was clear, but there wasn’t a single fish in sight.

He walked up to the middle-aged man and bowed. "Senior."

The middle-aged man neither moved nor spoke as if he could not hear him.

Ye Guan pondered briefly before saying, "Sorry to disturb you."

After speaking, he turned around to leave.

You can play games if you want, but I’m not interested in such games.

"Wait, wait, wait!" the middle-aged man exclaimed and sat ramrod straight upon seeing that Ye Guan was about to leave. "Young Master Ye, wait, wait!"

Ye Guan turned to look at him and asked, "Do you need something?"

The middle-aged man quickly walked over to him, grinning sheepishly. "Young Master Ye, I didn’t mean to neglect you just now. I was deep in thought about something and zoned out. I hope you won't take offense."

"How should I address you, Senior?"

"I’m Emperor Zhenyu!"

"I’ve heard much about you!"

The middle-aged man’s lips twitched a little. I’ve been imprisoned for at least a billion years; what do you mean you’ve ‘heard much about me’? This kid is kind of cunning.

Recollecting himself, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Young Master Ye, to be honest, I too wish to ask for your help…"

Ye Guan replied seriously, "Senior, I heard from Elder Zhen that you once fought the existing Dao?"

"Hahaha." The middle-aged man laughed awkwardly. "That was a long time ago. Best to let bygones be bygones! No need to bring it up!"

Ye Guan did not know what to say.

The middle-aged man sighed softly, "You know people will eventually make mistakes. Some mistakes can be made, but others should never be made.

"Back then, I was full of youthful fervor, unaware of my own limitations. I wanted to prove myself; I wanted to be unparalleled. Now, it's painful to even talk about it."

Ye Guan asked, "Senior, are you a Path Annihilation Realm expert?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "No, but I was close—halfway there, you could say that's when everything went wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"There are two ways to reach the Path Annihilation Realm. The first is to annihilate the Dao within yourself, which is relatively easier.

"However, I was arrogant, and I did not want to annihilate my own Dao or my own path; I wanted to destroy everyone else’s Dao. I wanted to annihilate the strongest Dao out there."

Ye Guan’s expression froze. Damn, he's domineering, all right?

"In the end, I brought all this upon myself," said the middle-aged man, shaking his head. He bowed slightly to Ye Guan and said, "Young Master Ye, if you can get me out of here, I’ll do anything for you. I really can’t stay here any longer."

"Are you interested in coming with me to the Tianxing Civilization? I might run into some trouble there, and I could use a bodyguard," Ye Guan said.

The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment before replying, "Young Master Ye, if I were capable of taking on the Tianxing Civilization, would I still be here?"