Ancient Desolate City, Ye Clan… 

“I firmly object!”

In the grand hall of the Ye Family, the Clan Leader of the Ye Clan—Ye Xiao—glared at the young man in front of him. “You better abandon the thought of giving up your position as Young Clan Leader!”

The young man looked troubled as he spoke helplessly, “Clan Leader, I have lost my cultivation, so I am no longer suitable to be the heir of the Ye Family!”

Ye Xiao’s voice softened as he said, "Young lad, you have been helping the clan obtain Spiritual Mines since you were twelve, and we have obtained a whopping thirty-six Spiritual Mines so far—thirty-six! And we only had nine Spiritual Mines even during our peak—you got the remaining twenty-seven mines for us!

"The Ye Clan is counting on you! You have lost your cultivation, but you are still the greatest contributor to the Ye Clan! The Ye Clan's disciples will be disappointed if I were to remove your status as the heir, and people will start saying that we are shameless, ungrateful, and cruel for abandoning you once you are no longer useful to us! Our reputation will be ruined."

The young man said seriously, "Clan Leader, such a huge responsibility will be too burdensome for me to bear without my cultivation! Pardon me, but please accept my request!"

Ye Xiao smiled softly. “Don’t be worried about your cultivation. Take your time. Our Ye Clan will wait for you no matter how long it takes!”

The young man was both speechless and helpless.

When the young man turned around and left, Ye Xiao’s eyes became filled with worry as he stared at the young man’s departing figure.

The young man losing his cultivation had also put him under a lot of pressure.

…

The young man left the grand hall, and it didn’t take him long to find two men walking over to him.

The man in the lead was clad in white, and upon seeing the young man, he hurriedly walked over and bowed slightly. “Brother Ye Guan!”

The young man—Ye Guan—pushed his thoughts aside and smiled. “Brother Ye Qing, hmm—you're already at the Peak Nine Realm?”

Ye Qing smiled and responded, “Yes!”

Ye Guan suddenly said, “How about you become the heir?”

Ye Qing was shocked, and he hurriedly said, “No, no, no! Brother Ye Guan, don’t joke around!”

Ye Guan’s voice turned solemn as he said, “Both you and Brother Ye Mian are Peak Nine Realm cultivators, it won’t be difficult for the two of you to reach the Sky Realm. You two are qualified to be the heir!”

Ye Qing shook his head and hurriedly waved his hands. "Brother Ye Guan, I know you're sad because your cultivation disappeared. I'm just your junior brother, but allow me to tell you this: there are highs and lows in life. It is important not to lose yourself during the highs, and you have to be brave during the lows. I believe that you'll soar into the sky once more!

"Please don't bring up the matter of me becoming the heir again. If someone with ill intentions were to hear your words and they decide to spread rumors, the people outside would think that our Ye Clan is suffering from internal strife!"

Ye Guan sighed and left. As soon as Ye Guan left, the man next to Ye Qing said in a low voice, “Brother Ye Qing, you're qualified to be the heir!”

Ye Qing shook his head and replied, “Brother Ye Guan has just lost his cultivation. If I were to step over him, how would the other disciples in the clan look at me? What would the Clan Leader and the elders think of me?”

Ye Qing stared at Ye Guan’s back and said softly, “And do you really think that he can't rise again?”

The man hesitated before saying, “But I heard that Ye Mian and his grandfather are making their move!”

Ye Qing remained calm. “Ye Mian is daring! If he succeeds, we will have to start calling him Brother Ye Mian!”

“And if he fails?” asked the man.

Ye Qing said indifferently, “Then, the whole family will celebrate!”

The man was rendered speechless.

Ye Qing turned to look at the man and continued. "You should be more respectful the next time you see Brother Ye Guan. We didn't suck up to him while he was still at his peak. Likewise, we won't step on him now that he's at his bottom."

The man nodded slightly. “Understood!”

…

After leaving the Ye Clan, Ye Guan rushed to the Nalan Clan to cancel the marriage proposal. He was engaged to the young lady of the Nalan Clan, Nalan Jia. They had both agreed to the engagement a long time ago, but he had lost his cultivation and had become nothing more than an ordinary person. He wanted to cancel the engagement because he didn't want to hold her back.

Ye Guan soon reached the Nalan Clan. 

Ye Guan sat silently in a huge hall. 

A young lady walked slowly to him. The young lady was none other than Nalan Jia—Ye Guan’s fiancee. 

Nalan Jia was wearing a spotless white dress with an ancient book in her hand. She was beautiful and had a stunning figure with curves in the right places. In other words, she was beautiful enough to capture the heart of any man. 

Nalan Jia was the most beautiful woman in the northern region of Nanzhou, and she was one of the top two beauties in Nanzhou.

An old man in black was standing next to Nalan Jia.

Nalan Jia sat in front of Ye Guan.Ye Guan hurriedly took out the engagement document and placed them in front of her. 

“Lady Nalan, I'm here to break off our engagement. Don’t worry, I know my place, and I'm not going to hang onto you shamelessly. Here's the engagement document, and we should live our own lives from now on!” said Ye Guan before turning around to leave.

Nalan Jia hurriedly shouted, “Wait!”

Ye Guan came to a halt and turned around to look at Nalan Jia in confusion. 

Nalan Jia took out a box and gave it to him. 

Ye Guan stared at her, puzzled. 

Nalan Jia explained, “There’s a Mixed Origin Pill in the box. I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m hoping that it will help.”

“Young Lady!” The expression of the old man in black standing next to Nalan Jia changed drastically, “Tutor Fei gave you that Spiritual Grade Mixed Origin Pill for your cultivation. It is an extremely rare pill, even in Guanxuan Academy. You…”

Nalan Jia turned to look at the old man in black. The old man in black revealed a sour look, but he didn't dare to open his mouth.

Ye Guan stared dazedly down at the box in his hands. A Spiritual Grade pill!

Pills were ranked from the First Grade to the Ninth Grade, and pills above the Ninth Grade would be Human Grade pills. The grade above Human Grade was Spiritual Grade, and a Spiritual Grade pill was worth at least twenty thousand spiritual crystals.

Ye Guan was the heir of the Ye Clan, but his monthly allowance was only a hundred spiritual crystals.

A Spiritual Grade Pill was too precious! 

Ye Guan recovered from his daze and looked at the box in shock. 

Nalan Jia placed the engagement document in Ye Guan’s hands and said softly, “If the pill doesn't work, then I'll bring you to Guanxuan Academy and ask my tutor to examine you.”

Ye Guan muttered hesitantly, “Lady Nalan, this…”

Nalan Jia looked at Ye Guan and smiled. “Don’t give up”

She then turned around and left.

Ye Guan wordlessly stared at the engagement document for a long time.

In the inner hall. 

The old man in black stood next to Nalan Jia with a sullen look as he said, “Young Lady, why didn’t you agree to his request? He has lost his cultivation and has become nothing more than an ordinary man. From what I know, he is about to get kicked out of Guanxuan Academy. Once he's expelled, he will become useless. The Ye Clan will definitely abandon him…

“However, you're different. You're Tutor Fei's direct disciple, and you also possess the legendary Holy Spirit Physique. You'll surely even become a top student of Guanxuan Academy! The two of you are from completely different worlds! But you—”

Nalan Jia turned around and interrupted the old man in black with a slap.

Pak!

The old man in black’s right cheek started to swell. 

The old man in black was stunned. “Young Lady…”

Nalan Jia turned to look at the Ye Residence with a determined look. “I don’t care if he has lost his cultivation, and even if he loses his life source, I will still marry him. He's a man, so I will be below him. However, if he becomes a woman, then I will be on top of him. Regardless, I don't mind being on top or below!”

The old man in black anxiously exclaimed, “Just what do you see in him, Young Lady?!”

Nalan Jia turned to look at the old man and replied, “His figure and handsome face!”

She then turned and left, leaving the dumbfounded old man in black by himself.

…

Ye Guan sat cross-legged on the floor of his room. 

He took out a small black pagoda and placed both of his hands on his chest. Soon, the spiritual energy in the surroundings converged on him. However, Ye Guan didn't absorb the spiritual energy. It disappeared completely upon entering his body.

After a long while, Ye Guan opened his eyes. He looked uncertain as he asked, “Master Pagoda, was that enough?”

Moments later, Little Pagoda replied, “Yes!”

Ye Guan was delighted. “Master Pagoda, does that mean that I can recover my cultivation?”

His cultivation inexplicably disappeared out of the blue just over a month ago. He discovered that his cultivation disappeared because of Little Pagoda, and Little Pagoda told him that he had to cultivate and provide spiritual energy for it every day. Little Pagoda also said that Ye Guan would benefit once it awakened.

Of course, Ye Guan didn't really care about the profit. His cultivation was more important to him. He had to recover his cultivation, or everything would be too heavy for him to bear.

Ye Guan had decided to give up his position as the heir and cancel his engagement with Nalan Jia for the sake of tiding over safely until he recovered his cultivation. After all, there were many people eyeing the position of heir, and Nalan Jia had so many suitors that a line of them would span the entire Nanzhou from north to south.

He could already imagine how much trouble he would have to face in the future if he hadn’t done those things. Of course, the primary impetus for his decision was that he had no idea how much spiritual energy Little Pagoda would need from him. If Little Pagoda needed a year or two of constant nourishment, then...

Ye Guan didn't even want to think about it. Therefore, he made the decision to give up his position as the heir and cancel the engagement, but things didn't go according to his plan, so he was currently under immense pressure.

All of a sudden, the tiny black pagoda vibrated vigorously. Moments later, a horrifying energy sucked Ye Guan into the pagoda. Ye Guan felt his world turn, and he suddenly found himself staring at a galaxy. There were multitudes of stars in the galaxy, and it was so huge that it seemed to stretch endlessly.

Ye Guan was stunned. However, he soon came to his senses when the end of the galaxy was split open, and a sword flew out from its depths. 

The sword flew across the galaxy, and the nearby stars trembled and faded away slowly when the sword flew past them.

Ye Guan’s expression changed. Damn! I don’t want to die!

He was just about to run when the sword pierced his glabella.

Boom!

Ye Guan trembled and fell flat on the ground.

Ye Guan caught a glimpse of a woman at the end of the dead galaxy. The woman’s long hair covered her shoulder, and she was wearing a plain skirt. Her eyes were cold and distant, and it seemed like every living creature were mere ants in her eyes.

The woman looked at Ye Guan and said, “I'm your guardian from now on, do you have anything to say?”

He could hear her from the sword in his glabella.

Ye Guan’s expression stiffened. “No…”

The woman turned to look at the end of the vast universe. Moments later, a multitude of crimson talismans fell from the end of the universe.

The galaxy in front of them started burning.

Every crimson talisman represented a supreme Great Dao. In other words, a multitude of Great Dao was falling at this moment.

The woman walked nonchalantly through the falling Great Dao, and her plain skirt turned crimson as she walked away.

During the fall of the multitude of Great Dao, a man was lying motionless while holding his breath.

...

Ye Guan’s eyes finally shot open, and he found himself lying next to a vast sea and a sword. 

The character Path was carved on the sword’s blade.

A voice suddenly echoed. “Are you awake?”

Ye Guan hurriedly said, “Yes, I am, Master Pagoda!”

Little Pagoda said, “You are in my world! Ten years here is equivalent to one day outside!”

Ye Guan was shocked. “This is the world inside the pagoda?”

Little Pagoda replied, “Indeed…”

Ye Guan was about to speak when Little Pagoda said softly, “You are our final hope!”

Final hope?

Ye Guan frowned slightly, and he was about to say something when a strange sensation stupefied him. Ye Guan was overjoyed—his cultivation had returned!

Seeing that, Little Pagoda said, “Do you want to become a swordsman?”

Ye Guan nodded hurriedly. “Yes! Of course!”

A swordsman!

A swordsman was extremely rare in Nanzhou.

For some reason, a rupture occurred between Sword Cultivation and Martial Art Cultivation twenty million years ago. The number of swordsmen had been declining since then, and today, there were so few swordsmen that Sword Cultivation had become a pathetic sight to behold.

The Ancient Desolate City was vast, but it had been hundreds of years since it gave birth to a swordsman.

Little Pagoda said, "A sword cultivation technique is in that sword, but you're too weak to access the entirety of it. You’ll have to unlock parts of the technique over time until you have completely unlocked it!"

Ye Guan lifted the sword beside him and asked gleefully, “Master Pagoda, is this a powerful sword?”

Little Pagoda replied, “Path, path, path; it's the way! With that sword in hand, you will be impervious to karma or samsara. You can break through all sorcery and slice through all mysteries!”

Ye Guan blinked. “Isn’t that too powerful?”

Little Pagoda replied, “You’re underestimating it!”

Ye Guan stiffened.

Little Pagoda added, “It can destroy laws with a stroke!”

Ye Guan was rendered speechless.