After parting ways with Fei Banqing, Ye Guan returned to the Ye Clan. The Ye Clan’s issue was resolved, so Ye Guan could finally breathe a sigh of relief. 

He had to bid farewell to Ye Xiao before going to Guanxuan Academy.

Ye Guan and Ye Xiao sat on the garden steps. There were two bottles of wine in front of them.

Ye Xiao muttered, “Are you leaving tomorrow?”

Ye Guan nodded. 

Ye Xiao smiled and said, “I see, that’s great.”

Ye Guan revealed a look of hesitation, but he still decided to ask, “Clan Leader, have you ever thought about declaring Sister Nan as the heir?”

Ye Nan was Ye Xiao’s daughter, and she became a student at the Guanxuan Academy a year ago.  They were not related by blood, but Ye Guan’s relationship with Ye Nan was great. One could even say that they were closer than most families. 

Ye Xiao nodded slightly. “Of course, I thought about doing it.”

Ye Guan was confused. “Then, why did you declare me the heir?”

Ye Xiao smiled softly. “If you were just an ordinary individual, I would have never left the Ye Clan in your hands. After all, my decision will affect our clan members, and I couldn’t place the clan land in the hands of an ordinary individual. However, you’re extremely talented with a great character..”

Ye Xiao’s smile deepened as he added. “I simply made the decision that would benefit the Ye Clan in the long run.”

Ye Guan said hesitantly, “But I’m just an adopted son of the Ye Clan...”

Ye Xiao stared at Ye Guan and replied, “In my heart, you’re one of us.”

Ye Guan fell silent. 

Ye Xiao continued. “Little lad, you have a bright future ahead of you. Right now, the Ye Clan is probably just a burden to you, but I—”

Ye Guan interrupted. “The Ye Clan has never been a burden to me. The Ye Clan is my home.”

Ye Xiao had to look at Ye Guan. Ye Guan didn’t look away from Ye Xiao’s gaze as he declared, “Clan Leader, believe me—the Ye Clan will become the strongest clan in the world one day.”

Ye Xiao’s grinned and replied, “I believe you.”

With that, Ye Guan took out a storage ring and handed it over to Ye Xiao. 

“What is this?” Ye Xiao asked, confused.

Ye Guan calmly replied, “It’s a storage ring. There are quite a few gold spiritual crystals there, and they’re for Brother Ye Qing. He’s talented, but cultivation requires resources, which requires money. The spiritual crystals in there will help him.”

Ye Xiao went silent, but he eventually nodded and accepted the storage ring. Afterward, he took the wine bottle and downed the entire thing. 

Ye Guan also lifted his own wine bottle and drank it in one go. 

The night passed just like that, and Ye Guan left the Ye Clan upon daybreak. He chose to leave quietly because he had already bid goodbye to everyone last night. 

Ye Xiao walked out of the Ye Manor, and he smiled as he stared at Ye Guan’s departing figure before eventually turning around and leaving. 

Ye Qing also watched as Ye Guan left before turning around and walking toward the Ye Clan’s hall. Ye Xiao was in the hall, and he stared at Ye Qing standing in front of him. 

“You’re leaving as well?” asked Ye Xiao.

Ye Qing nodded and replied, “Yes.”

Ye Xiao went silent. Eventually, he took out a storage ring and handed it over to Ye Qing. 

“Last night, Little Guan asked me to give this to you,” he said.

Ye Qing hesitated before accepting the storage ring. “Thank you, Clan Leader.”

Ye Xiao nodded and muttered, “The Ye Clan will forever be your home.”

Ye Qing bowed deeply and acknowledged. “The Ye Clan will forever be my home, Clan Leader.”

With that, he turned around and left.

Ye Xiao stared longingly at Ye Qing’s departing back. He was slightly reluctant to allow Ye Qing to leave, but he also felt comfortable with the idea. After all, Ye Guan and Ye Qing had their own lives to live. 

Ye Xiao couldn’t let the tiny Ye Clan hold them back.

Ye Qing exited the Ye Clan and looked down at the storage ring in his hand without saying anything. He smiled and continued walking into the distance. 

As he walked, Ye Qing asked, “Tutor, where are we going?”

The voice of an elderly man echoed in Ye Qing’s head. “We’re going to the Zhongtu Divine Continent. I can still remember the existence of three Law imprints there.”

Ye Qing nodded in response. “Okay.”

With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

…

Ye Guan saw Nalan Jia and Fei Banqing at the city gate. Nalan Jia smiled upon seeing Ye Guan.

Ye Guan walked over to Fei Banqing and bowed. “Tutor Fei.”

Fei Banqing nodded. “Let’s go.”

With that, she soared into the skies with Ye Guan and Nalan Jia in tow and made them stand on a cloud. She flipped open her palm, and a huge ship appeared all of a sudden; the ship looked to be over thirty meters in length. 

Fei Banqing brought the two over to the cloud ship. Ye Guan looked down and saw that the entire Ancient Desolate City had become an extremely small dot.

All of a sudden, Fei Banqing said, “Little Guan, you have to keep hiding your identity as a swordsman.”

Ye Guan stared at Fei Banqing. 

Fei Banqing muttered and explained, “An imperial-rank demonic beast appeared, and you suddenly have a sword dao inheritance. It won’t be that hard to connect the dots once your cover is blown. By then, things will become troublesome.”

Ye Guan nodded in agreement. “I understand. I’ll try my best to remain low-key in the academy while making sure that I won’t fall behind.”

Fei Banqing stared deeply at Ye Guan and said, “I’m not worried about you causing trouble; I’m worried that people might approach you to cause trouble.”

Ye Guan calmly replied, “I’m a reasonable individual.”

“What if they’re unreasonable?” asked Fei Banqing.

Ye Guan paused. He thought about it for a moment before saying, “Then, I’ll kill them and let you handle the aftermath.”

Fei Banqing wordlessly stared at him.

Nalan Jia smiled and shook her head. My fiance is indeed a great talent!

“It seems that you are under the idea that I have no enemies,” said Fei Banqing before explaining, “Let me warn you in advance. The Guanxuan Academy rules take precedence over anything in Guanxuan Academy. Those daring enough to violate the rules will receive severe punishment from the Law Enforcement Court. Naturally, even the Academy Master is no exception from the rules.” 

Ye Guan nodded and said, “I’ll memorize the rules of Guanxuan Academy before doing anything else upon arriving at the academy.”

Fei Banqing seemed unconvinced as she gazed at Ye Guan. Eventually, she shook her head. Honestly, she was worried. This guy looks calm and composed, but he’s extremely vicious once he’s forced to take action.

Fei Banqing’s intuition was telling her that Ye Guan would be the impetus that would change the students of Guanxuan Academy. Fei Banqing’s head started to ache at the thought.

Meanwhile, Nalan Jia asked, “Tutor, will the Nan Clan and Zheng Clan really leave us alone?”

Fei Banqing shook her head and replied, “Of course not! Why would they let you go when they lost two of their top talents? To make matters worse, they didn’t manage to reap even an ounce of profit.”

Nalan Jia’s dark brows knitted. “Will they scheme behind the scenes?”

“The Zheng Clan shouldn’t be that much of an issue. The members of their younger generation haven’t been performing well, and they’re no longer as powerful as they were years ago. However, the Nan Clan…” Fei Banqing trailed off before saying, ”There’s a very talented young man from the Nan Clan, and he’s a student at the academy as well. His name is Nan Xuan, and he’s Tutor Xiao’s direct disciple.”

Nalan Jia went silent. Nan Xuan!

Guanxuan Academy had three main tutors, Fei Banqing, Xiao Ge, and Song Ci. 

Song Ci had almost taken Ye Guan in as a disciple. However, a disciple was different from a direct disciple. A tutor could have many disciples, but they could only have one direct disciple. Nalan Jia was Fei Banqing’s direct disciple. 

Fei Banqing looked at Ye Guan and shook her head. It seems that Guanxuan Academy will become rowdy from now on!

Ye Guan blurted out. “Tutor Fei, I won’t cause trouble, but I’m not afraid of it.”

Fei Banqing smiled gently. “Correct. Your mindset is right. Smack those who dare to take advantage of you! Just remember that if a member of the younger generation manages to beat you up, I will not avenge you. Don’t worry, if someone dares to bully you because you’re weaker than them, I will definitely stand up for you.”

Ye Guan nodded and muttered, “Okay…”

Fei Banqing swept her gaze across the two of them and said, “I’ll let you two have some alone time together.”

With that, she turned around and left.

Ye Guan stared at the seemingly endless stretch of clouds and muttered, “It’s a bigger stage...”

He couldn’t wait to arrive at the Guanxuan Academy.  The academy was the strongest organization throughout Nanzhou, so there were definitely many talented people at the academy. 

Nalan Jia glanced at Ye Guan and smiled before asking, “Why do I feel like something’s going to happen because of you?”

“It can’t be helped. Something’s definitely going to happen because my fiancee is just too beautiful!”

The corners of Nalan Jia’s mouth twitched as she asked, “There are many beautiful ladies in the academy, you know?”

Ye Guan smiled and replied, “What’s that got to do with me? Those who’ll like every beautiful lady they see are no different from beasts.”

“I’ve read from an ancient book that men are inherently lustful. Is it true?”

Ye Guan blinked at Nalan Jia’s question. “Can I not answer that?”

Nalan Jia looked at Ye Guan and laughed. “Sure.”

Ye Guan boisterously laughed.

Nalan Jia turned to look at the seemingly endless stretch of clouds. She gently tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ears before asking gently, “Will we really end up together?”

Ye Guan was silent for a while before asking, “Do you hate being with me?”

Nalan Jia shook her head. Ye Guan smiled and replied, “I don’t hate being with you, either.”

Nalan Jia chuckled and exclaimed, “Let’s leave it up to fate, then!”

A gust of frigid wind blew at them. Ye Guan immediately took off his robe and wrapped it around Nalan Jia’s shoulders. Nalan Jia didn’t say anything as she stared at the clouds. 

Ye Guan looked at the clouds as well and asked, “Little Jia, do you want to do something?”

Nalan Jia gave Ye Guan a sidelong glance. Ye Guan extended his right hand over to her. Nalan Jia stared deeply at him before gently placing her hand on top of his hand. 

Ye Guan laughed and exclaimed, “Come out!”

Wooosh!

The Path Sword emerged and hovered by his feet. Ye Guan gently guided Nalan Jia to stand on the sword before standing on the sword himself. Without any warning, the Path Sword flew and left behind a ray of light in its wake. They flew on the Path Sword as it pieced the clouds and soared through the skies! 

Who didn’t want to fly on a sword? 

Fei Banqing wordlessly stared at the two of them. Sword Travel!

Fei Banqing finally realized that she had underestimated her new disciple. 

Sword Travel required not just a sword inheritance but an extremely powerful sword as well. Even the Guanxuan Academy of Nanzhou had no sword that could allow a cultivator to take flight on them.

A young man from the remote Ancient Desolate City actually has a sword dao inheritance that contains instructions on how to perform Sword Travel?

Fei Banqing’s mind became filled with many burning questions, but she shook her head moments later and turned around. She didn’t want to look at them anymore!

…

After a long while, Ye Guan returned to the cloud ship with Nalan Jia. Nalan Jia got so overwhelmed by the feeling of weightlessness that she felt as if she had turned into a feather.

Ye Guan smiled and asked, “Did you like it?”

Nalan Jia smiled sweetly at Ye Guan and replied, “Yes, I liked it!”

Ye Guan looked up and stared at the galaxy up above.

“It’s a shame that I’m still not strong enough to escape the atmosphere and enter the galaxy. Fortunately, I think it’s only a matter of time until I become strong enough to soar into the galaxy. When the time comes, I'll bring you with me to see the beautiful stars out there!” said Ye Guan.

Nalan Jia looked at Ye Guan and asked, “It’s a promise?”

Ye Guan replied, “Of course!”

They stared at each other and smiled.

Night finally arrived, and the sky was filled with stars. The cloud ship was surrounded by a silver barrier. 

Ye Guan sat cross-legged at the bow of the ship and closed his eyes. He was about to start cultivating, but he suddenly recalled something and decided to ask Little Pagoda, “Master Pagoda, are you familiar with Guanxuan Academy?”

Little Pagoda replied, “Of course!”

Ye Guan’s interest was piqued, “Then, are you familiar with the first Academy Master of Guanxuan Academy? Are you familiar with the Sword Master?”

It took Little Pagoda quite a while to reply, “Of course...”

Ye Guan stared at the night sky and muttered, “The Sword Master is apparently unrivaled and capable of suppressing everything under the heavens. My goal is to become as strong as the Sword Master, and I—”

“Stop!” Little Pagoda interrupted, “Why don’t you choose someone else as your role model and goal?”

Ye Guan frowned in confusion and asked, “Why?”

Little Pagoda’s voice turned serious as it replied, “Just choose someone else as your role model and goal. Do that, and I’ll give you something good in return.”

Ye Guan was rendered speechless.