Ye Guan quietly held the Path Sword. 

He had been practicing the Absolute Strike all this time.

The Absolute Strike requires one to be strong enough with an unparalleled mindset! One must be arrogant enough to look down on his enemies. The question is—how am I supposed to acquire an unparalleled mindset?

Ye Guan didn’t know the answer. The only thing he knew was that his target had to die the moment his sword struck true. The sword was a weapon made to kill, so it had to take lives.

Aside from cultivation, Ye Guan also took some time to understand the Guanxuan Academy, and he found out that there were three students regarded as top geniuses by the academy. The first one was Fei Banqing’s direct disciple, Nalan Jia; Tutor Xiao Ge’s direct disciple, Nan Xuan; and Tutor Song Ci’s direct disciple, Sun Xiong.

They were the top students of the academy, and the other two were at the Divine Path Realm aside from Nalan Jia. It was also worth noting that the position of Chief Student Representative of Guanxuan Academy’s Nanzhou branch was empty.

The Chief Student Representative was above every other student. They were more powerful than the other students, and they would have many privileges under their sleeves. 

The Chief Student Representative could also mobilize a division of Guanxuan Academy’s army.

Ye Guan was in deep contemplation as he sat cross-legged. Someone created a commotion by confessing to Nalan Jia the moment he arrived at the academy. Was that really a coincidence?

Ye Guan didn’t think so—someone was definitely targeting him. Who?

Ye Guan could only think of one faction—the Nan Clan. After all, they were still holding a grudge against him. In other words, the mastermind had to be Nan Xuan because he was from the Nan Clan.

Ye Guan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he muttered, “So Mu Bai was just moving under the orders of someone else. The mastermind was trying to test me, so he could come up with a plan to deal with me. Nan Xuan…”

A cold glint flashed in Ye Guan’s eyes. It wasn’t good to judge others without definitive proof, but it was better to be cautious.

Ye Guan asked, “Master Pagoda, do you have any cultivation methods? I want to make a breakthrough to the Divine Path Realm!”

Ye Guan wasn’t short of resources, but he lacked cultivation methods[1] If he wanted to make a breakthrough into a higher realm, then he needed a cultivation method that would allow him to reach greater heights. 

Little Pagoda replied, “I know a few, but they aren’t suitable for you—no, actually, they’re not suitable to be cultivated here!”

Ye Guan frowned slightly and asked, “Why?”

Little Pagoda explained, “They’re too powerful. The spiritual energy of this realm cannot accommodate the existence of even one of them!”

Ye Guan’s expression stiffened. 

However, Little Pagoda reassured him, “Just focus on becoming even stronger in the meantime. Once you’ve arrived at the Upper Realm, I might teach you by then!”

Ye Guan went silent, but he quickly recovered and said, “I guess I have no other choice but to look for a cultivation method by myself!”

Little Pagoda agreed. “Mmhm!”

With that, Ye Guan turned around and left. 

He had to find an excellent cultivation method, or he would have no choice but to use one of the basic Earth-rank cultivation methods that he had gotten from Si Qing. 

Ye Guan wanted a Sky-rank cultivation method because he would be able to gather more profound energy with a high-ranked cultivation method, which would naturally increase his cultivation speed.

Aside from that, Ye Guan had to seek out Ye Nan. He was afraid that his enemy was despicable enough to target Ye Nan just to deal with him.

Meanwhile, a mysterious voice echoed in the pagoda. The mysterious voice sounded doubtful as it said, “Is the Universe Beholdment really not suitable for him?”

Little Pagoda answered, “If he learns that now, it will bring a lot of trouble to him now. Furthermore, the spiritual energy here cannot put up with it. He will not be able to cultivate the first rank of that skill!”

“He’ll attract a calamity if he were to cultivate that. The spiritual energy of this realm is also not capable of withstanding that, and he’s also not strong enough to cultivate even the first level of Universe Beholdment!”

“When are you going to tell him that he has a family inheritance?”

Little Pagoda replied, “There’s no rush!”

…

A white-robed young man was sitting on the main seat of a palace on a certain mountain peak. The powerful aura he was emitting gave his identity away. He was none other than one of the top three geniuses of the academy—Nan Xuan.

An old man approached the young man. The old man was none other than Elder Qiu of the Discipline Department.0

Nan Xuan’s eyes opened, and he smiled as he said, “Elder Qiu!”

Elder Qiu went straight to the point. “He’s an All-Truth Realm cultivator, but he’s much stronger than typical cultivators in the same realm as him. He’s also a crafty individual. He lured Mu Bai into making the first move, so he could plead self-defense afterward.”

Elder Qiu’s expression was ugly by the time he was done. The events that had transpired at Mount Banqing truly made him feel humiliated. 

“An Imperial-rank demonic beast was seen at the Nanshan Mountain Range,” said Nan Xuan.

Elder Qiu frowned. He had no idea why Nan Xuan mentioned something unrelated to their current topic, so he decided to ask, “I’ve heard of it, but why does it matter? Is it related to him somehow?”

Nan Xuan nodded and said, “My sister, Nan Qingyue, went to the secret realm together with Si Qing, Zheng Lin, Nalan Jia, and Ye Guan, but my sister and the young lord of the Zheng Clan ended up dying. Only Si Qing, Nalan Jia, and Ye Guan survived!

“The Si Clan apparently obtained a spiritual vein from that expedition, and it was a pure-grade spiritual vein to boot!”

A pure-grade spiritual vein! Elder Qiu’s expression wavered slightly.

Nan Xuan continued. “Our scouts have also told me that in addition to spiritual veins, there had to have been an earth vein in the secret realm as well!”

An earth vein! Elder Qiu’s face lit up. “Are you saying that the earth vein—”

Nan Xuan interrupted. “Aside from the earth vein, there must have been other treasures like pure-grade purple spiritual crystals and gold spiritual crystals, and there had to have been grander treasures in that secret realm as well.”

“Unfortunately, he’s under Tutor Fei’s protection, so we cannot touch him,” said Elder Qiu in a deep voice.

Nan Xuan smiled and asked, “I’ve heard that Sun Xiong has always been interested in Lady Nalan. Is it true?”

“Are you going to instigate Sun Xiong into making a move so that they’ll destroy each other?” asked Elder Qiu with narrowed eyes.

Nan Xuan shook his head and explained, “We don’t have to do any of that, but a wildfire starts from a kindling, and we will be the kindling that’ll give birth to the fire that Sun Xiong will cause himself.” 

“What do we have to do?” asked Elder Qiu.

Nan Xuan’s smile deepened. “It’s very easy. We just have to spread a rumor about how Ye Guan and Lady Nalan are staying on the same mountain peak.”

Elder Qiu frowned. “That’s all?”

Nan Xuan burst out into laughter and explained, “It seems that Elder Qiu still doesn’t understand. A man won’t turn a blind eye when faced with questionable news. We just have to spread a rumor about how they’re staying on the same mountain peak, and the rumor will eventually get twisted until it becomes something along the lines of—Lady Nalan and Ye Guan are living under the same roof! What do you think? Can Sun Xiong take that news?”

Elder Qiu snickered and exclaimed, “Rumors can indeed kill!”

Nan Xuan nodded in agreement and said, “Make sure not to use any of our men when spreading that rumor.”

Elder Qiu nodded. “Understood!”

With that, Elder Qiu turned around and left.

Now left alone, Nan Xuan closed his eyes once again and muttered, “Sister… don’t worry. Not only will I make him pay with his life, but I will also sacrifice the entire Ye Clan to appease your soul.”

…

Ye Guan went out to find Fei Banqing. 

Fei Banqing looked at him and asked, “You want a Sky-rank cultivation method?”

Ye Guan nodded, but Fei Banqing shook her head. “I can’t help you.”

Ye Guan asked, seemingly confused. “Why not?”

Fei Banqing calmly replied, “Truth be told, the academy only has three Sky-rank cultivation methods, and they’re in the Inner Pavilion. Unfortunately, only certain people can access the Inner Pavilion.”

Ye Guan stared at Fei Banqing with clear hesitation in his expression, but he eventually decided to ask, “May I know what cultivation method you’re cultivating, Tutor?”

Tutor Fei remained calm as she said, “Don’t try and play tricks on me. Yes, I’m cultivating a Sky-rank cultivation method, but we are not allowed to pass our cultivation method onto our disciples. If a student requires cultivation manuals, then they have to buy them with Academy Points.”

Ye Guan frowned and asked, “Academy Points?”

Fei Banqing nodded and explained, “There are two ways to obtain Academy Points. The first way is to complete missions for the academy. Those missions include tasks like arresting the criminals of the academy, etc. The second way is to achieve something great in the name of the academy. Unfortunately, these two ways aren’t that great, and I reckon that you’ll need a minimum of ten years to obtain a decent amount of Academy Points through either of those two.”

Ten years! Ye Guan immediately shook his head and said, “There has to be another way…”

“Yes, there is…” Fei Banqing gazed deeply at Ye Guan and said, “Stealing!”

Ye Guan was stupefied. 

After a moment of silence, he asked, “How strong is the Manager of the Inner Pavilion?”

Fei Banqing smacked Ye Guan’s head and glared. 

“Are you really going to resort to stealing?” she asked.

“Hehe.” Ye Guan revealed a cheeky smile. 

However, Fei Banqing snapped upon seeing that. “Don’t even try to mess around. Not even the Academy Chief can save you if you try to steal from the Inner Pavilion, not to mention me.”

Ye Guan was disheartened. Do I really have to settle for an Earth-rank cultivation method?

Fei Banqing saw his desolate look, so she said, “I guess I’ll have to bring you to that place. Let’s go, follow me!”

Fei Banqing led Ye Guan away, and it didn’t take long for them to arrive at an ancient city called Xuan City. Xuan City was located at the base of the mountain where the Guanxuan Academy was located, so it was a lively place.

Ye Guan observed the people on the streets and asked curiously, “Tutor, where are we going?”

Fei Banqing answered, “We’re going to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.”

Ye Guan pointed out. “The biggest merchant organization in Nanzhou?”

Fei Banqing nodded. 

However, they arrived at their destination before Ye Guan could continue asking questions. The moment they reached the doors of Immortal Treasures Pavilion, a gray-robed old man walked out to greet them. He smiled and asked, “Tutor Fei, what brings you here today?”

Fei Banqing answered, “I would like to buy a Sky-rank cultivation manual!”

The gray-robed old man was slightly surprised, but he quickly ushered the two of them inside the pavilion and said, “Let’s head in and talk.”

Ye Guan also looked at Fei Banqing in surprise. He didn’t expect that Tutor Fei would bring him here for a cultivation manual.

The group soon arrived at a private room, and the gray-robed old man looked at Fei Banqing before saying, “Tutor Fei, a Sky-rank cultivation manual will cost at least fifty thousand gold spiritual crystals! That is the best price I can offer you!”

Fifty thousand?! Ye Guan’s expression fell. He didn’t even have ten thousand gold spiritual crystals, but a Sky-rank cultivation manual here was actually fifty thousand gold spiritual crystals? This was Ye Guan’s first time feeling incredibly poor.

However, Fei Banqing presented a storage ring to the gray-robed old man.

“Bring it here,” she said.

The gray-robed old man hurriedly put away the storage ring and said, “Give me a moment.”

With that, he turned around and left.

Ye Guan stared at Fei Banqing and said hesitantly, “Tutor, I—”

However, Fei Banqing interrupted him. “It’s nothing!”

Ye Guan was unconvinced. “Really?”

Fei Banqing explained, “I’m a tutor at the Guanxuan Academy, so I can just embezzle some funds to earn that money back.”

Ye Guan was at a loss for words. 

Meanwhile, the gray-robed old man finally returned, and he handed over a black scroll to Fei Banqing. 

Fei Banqing simply glanced at the black scroll before giving it to Ye Guan. 

“Let’s go!” she said.

Ye Guan hesitated, but he still stood up and left with her. 

All of a sudden, he turned around sharply. A portrait of a woman caught his attention. 

The short-haired woman was wearing a short-sleeved robe and a cotton skirt. There was a small pouch hanging from her waist. The portrait seemed to have drawn Ye Guan in as he walked forward and touched it gently.

The gray-robed old man and Fei Banqing were staring at him. 

Ye Guan turned around and asked, “Senior, who is she?”

The gray-robed old man smiled. “She’s the founder of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion!”

“What’s her name?” asked Ye Guan.

The gray-robed old man promptly replied, “Qin Guan!”

Qin Guan! Ye Guan was in a daze as he stared at the portrait.

Meanwhile, Little Pagoda’s voice echoed throughout the tiny pagoda. “It’s a good thing that I still haven’t given him the pouch…”

The mysterious voice asked, “When are you going to do that?”

Little Pagoda replied, “I wanted to give it to him at first, but I remembered his father… Anyway, let’s wait a bit more! There’s nothing wrong with letting him go through some hardships first! The old master even said—boys need to be raised hard!”

The mysterious voice was rendered speechless.