Ye Guan believed in respecting those who showed him respect while teaching a lesson to those who were daring enough to disrespect him.

Nan Qingyue shook her head at what Ye Guan had done.

Nan Qingyue was sure that Ye Guan felt good about what he had done, but his actions were just silly in Nan Qingyue’s eyes. After all, Ye Guan had just offended Zheng Lin. 

Considering the difference between their statuses, Ye Guan’s actions were equivalent to seeking death.

Si Qing glanced at Ye Guan with clear surprise in her eyes, but her surprise quickly turned into suspicion. Ye Guan didn’t strike her as someone foolish, so Si Qing reckoned that he was confident enough to handle Zheng Lin.

However, Zheng Lin was from the Zheng Clan—one of the top three clans in Nanzhou. Si Qing started to become suspicious of Ye Guan because he actually had the confidence to stand against a member of such a great clan.

He’s not simple! Si Qing was sure of it.

Meanwhile, Zheng Lin wordlessly stared at Ye Guan.

At that, Ye Guan laughed and asked, “Young Lord Zheng isn’t mad, right? Wait, are you mad?”

Zheng Lin chuckled. “Young Lord Ye, the Fire Spiritual Fruits are useful, but you won’t benefit from them if you’re dead!”

“Young Lord Zheng!” exclaimed Nalan Jia. She hurled the remaining Fire Spiritual Fruits in her hand and cursed, “Get lost and die!”

Ye Guan’s expression stiffened. 

Who could have known that she could be so aggressive? 

Zheng Lin’s expression turned ugly as he stared at her in shock. He fearlessly stared at her and said, “Do you want to fight? We can fight to the death right now!”

Zheng Lin clenched his right hand into a fist while glaring at Nalan Jia.

Ye Guan’s eyes narrowed as killing intent brewed within them. 

“Why are you guys fighting over such a small matter?” Nan Qingyue intervened. “The fruits aren’t worth fighting over at all!”

Zheng Lin looked away and relaxed his right hand. He glared coldly at Ye Guan and sneered before turning around to leave. 

Nalan Jia’s tutor was Fei Banqing, one of the three Great Tutors of Guanxuan Academy, so Zheng Lin knew that he couldn’t afford to have a falling out with her. He was from the Zheng Clan, but he wasn’t bold enough to step on Tutor Fei’s shoes.

Ye Guan glanced thoughtfully at Zheng Lin, but he didn’t say anything. 

Meanwhile, a conversation was happening in the tiny pagoda. 

“This brat is different from his father!” said Little Pagoda.

A mysterious voice replied, “What are you talking about?”

Little Pagoda calmly said, “His father would have killed that little bastard.”

The mysterious voice asked, “Is that it?” 

Little Pagoda said, “No. His father would have summoned people to annihilate Nanzhou!”

The mysterious voice fell silent, obviously speechless by Little Pagoda’s words.

Little Pagoda sighed and lamented. “It’s a pity, but we’ll never be able to see anything like that again! Ha…”

…

“Little Jia, don’t be angry, okay?” said Nan Qingyue with a smile. She made a sidelong glance at Ye Guan afterward.

Nalan Jia remained calm. She looked at Ye Guan and asked, “Are we going in?”

Ye Guan smiled. “We’re already here, so we should go in and take a look.”

“Are you sure about this?” asked Nalan Jia.

Ye Guan nodded and reassured her. “Yes, it’ll be fine.”

It will be fine! Nalan Jia smiled at Ye Guan’s confidence.

“Okay!” she exclaimed. She had always admired Ye Guan’s confidence, and she was starting to admire him even more. She had just discovered that in addition to being gentle and elegant, he was also smart and ferocious.

The group started heading toward the cave.

Si Qing walked next to Ye Guan and Nalan Jia. She took out two Fire Spiritual Fruits and offered them to the two. The two were stunned by her sudden generosity. Si Qing looked at them and said, “Let’s be allies.”

“Lady Si Qing…” Ye Guan hesitated. However, Si Qing shoved the Fire Spiritual Fruits into their hands before walking away. The fruits were extremely precious, but to think that she would use them to try and form an alliance with them.

What if he has a powerful master? Even if I suffer a loss, it won’t be that big of a loss. Si Qing was convinced that Ye Guan had a backer. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so daring.

Nalan Jia glanced at Ye Guan, seemingly asking for his approval. 

“Let’s take them,” Ye Guan said with a smile. He put the fruits away. He wanted to bring them home for the clan leader. Ye Guan was sure that the fruits would greatly help the clan leader’s cultivation. 

Ye Guan had already noticed that Ye Xiao’s lifespan was running out, and if the latter couldn’t find a way to bolster his cultivation, then he would eventually die of natural causes. 

The cave got darker the deeper they walked into the cave. Nan Qingyue was at the helm of the group, and she took out a Moonstone. The Moonstone illuminated the surroundings, making it easier for them to navigate the cave. Ye Guan looked around before glancing sideways at Zheng Lin. He decided to keep his guard up.

They walked for quite a while until Nan Qingyue came to a halt and crouched. She flicked her hand lightly, and a crystal the size of her thumb appeared in front of everyone. It was a purple spiritual crystal!

Everyone was astonished to see the purple crystal. Nan Qingyue waved her sleeve, producing a light breeze. The ground in front of her levitated, and a large pile of purple spiritual crystals appeared. 

There had to be at least a few thousand purple spiritual crystals in the pile.

Nan Qingyue, Zheng Lin, and Si Qing were thrilled, but Ye Guan remained calm. 

Something was telling him that there was something wrong—their journey so far had been too smooth! 

Nan Qingyue collected the purple spiritual crystals. She divided them into three before distributing them to Zheng Lin and Si Qing. Overall, the three of them got a thousand and two hundred purple spiritual crystals.

Nan Qingyue excitedly exclaimed, “There must be a purple spiritual vein here, and it’s likely that there’s more than one purple spiritual vein!”

Zheng Lin nodded. “Let’s go and look for them.”

With that, Zheng Lin stood at the helm and walked further down the cave. Everyone followed him. Nan Qingyue, Si Qing, and Zheng Lin found more purple spiritual crystals the deeper they went into the cave.

Ye Guan suddenly came to a halt. 

Something was wrong—he could feel danger lurking in the shadows.

Ye Guan grabbed Nalan Jia’s arm to retreat. 

However, Little Pagoda interrupted him. “You should go ahead and take a look.”

Ye Guan froze and asked hesitantly, “Master Pagoda, is there danger in the cave?”

Little Pagoda replied, “Nothing here poses a threat to you.”

Nothing here poses a threat to me… Ye Guan blinked. “Does that mean that the others will be in danger aside from me?”

Little Pagoda replied curtly, “Just go and take a look for yourself!”

Ye Guan hesitated before nodding. He had some doubts, but he knew that Master Pagoda wouldn’t put him in danger. Therefore, he decided to continue deeper into the cave with Nalan Jia. 

Meanwhile, Nan Qingyue suddenly came to a halt. She crouched and started digging before eventually digging out a purple spiritual crystal the size of a child’s fist. Nan Qingyue’s eyes became dyed with desire the moment she saw the crystal. 

Zheng Lin standing next to her was even more excited than her. “Goodness! That’s huge! I really think that there’s a pure-grade purple spiritual vein here!”

A pure-grade purple spiritual vein!

Si Qing’s expression finally changed. The top three clans of Nanzhou only owned a single pure-grade purple spiritual vein, but it had already helped them cultivate many talents.

A cultivator would need money to become even stronger. Without money, talent was useless. Therefore, if they could get their hands on this spiritual vein…

The three started coveting the spiritual vein in the cave. 

Needless to say, the clan who would end up owning the precious spiritual vein here would easily surpass the other two clans in the next decade. 

A pure-grade purple spiritual vein was enough to upset the power balance in Nanzhou, so it wasn’t strange that the three wanted to get their hands on it.

Nan Qingyue said, “I know what you two are thinking, but don’t worry; I have the same thoughts as you two. However, shouldn’t we remain united in the meantime?”

Zheng Lin nodded. “Indeed.”

Si Qing nodded, but she didn’t say anything.

Nan Qingyue smiled and said, “Let’s go!”

She collected the nearby purple spiritual crystals and distributed them before they continued down the cave. Nan Qingyue and Zheng Lin were giddy with excitement. 

Acquiring a pure-grade purple spiritual vein was equivalent to winning the lottery!

Si Qing was outwardly calmer than the two, but she was incredibly excited inside. They had found so many purple spiritual crystals, and there was also a chance that there was a purple-grade spiritual vein here. In other words, she would be rich!

They continued moving deeper into the seemingly endless cave. The three had collected so many purple spiritual crystals that Zheng Lin couldn’t stop smiling. In fact, his jaw was already starting to hurt from smiling.

Half an hour later, Nan Yueqing stopped in her tracks once again. She crouched down and dug away. Her eyes narrowed, but they quickly widened. Her voice was trembling as she said, “T-this is…!”

The others looked over her shoulder and saw a spiritual crystal the size of a palm, but the shocking part was that the spiritual crystal was gold in color rather than purple! 

Zheng Lin’s voice trembled as he exclaimed, “A gold spiritual crystal…! There has to be an earth vein here!”

An earth vein! 

The entire cave went silent. The appearance of an earth vein was unprecedented in Nanzhou, and even the powerful Guanxuan Academy didn’t possess an earth vein.

Nan Qingyue and Zheng Lin trembled in excitement. The stoic Si Qing couldn’t even hide her excitement anymore.

All of a sudden, Zheng Lin glared at Ye Guan and Nalan Jia. He didn’t bother to hide the killing intent in his eyes.

Nan Qingyue’s eyebrows furrowed. “You…”

Zheng Lin retorted fiercely, “What do you think will happen once news of this earth vein spreads?”

Nan Qingyue stiffened. If news of the earth vein was leaked, the Guanxuan Academy would definitely come here to take possession of the earth vein by any means necessary. 

Naturally, it wouldn’t just be the Guanxuan Academy—noble clans from outside Nanzhou would also send their people to claim the earth vein for themselves.

With that thought in mind, Nan Qingyue stared coldly at Ye Guan and Nalan Jia. The earth vein had to remain a secret. Zheng Lin flipped his palm, and a spear appeared in his hands. 

A dagger also appeared in Nan Qingyue’s hand.

Friends? Nan Qingyue had always been a pragmatic and practical woman, and she only befriended Nalan Jia because of what she could offer her. Right now, Nan Qingyue stood to gain more by killing Nalan Jia rather than being her friend.

Si Qing hurriedly said, “Qingyue, Zheng Lin! There’s no need for this, they—”

Nan Qingyue interrupted Si Qing with a cold glare. Ye Guan held Nalan Jia’s hand and pulled her behind him. “I want you to run away once the fighting begins!”

Nalan Jia stood frozen as she stared blankly at Ye Guan. 

“You two must die!” shouted Zheng Lin while glaring at Ye Guan. Zheng Lin was about to take action when Ye Guan suddenly trembled while staring at something behind Zheng Lin.

“T-t-that’s…!” Ye Guan stuttered in shock.

Ye Guan’s change in attitude made Zheng Lin turn his head to look behind him, but there was nothing behind him. Zheng Lin was infuriated upon being deceived, but when he turned to look at Ye Guan, it was already too late. 

Squelch! 

A sword pierced his forehead. Zheng Lin stared at Ye Guan in disbelief as he collapsed to the ground. He pointed at Ye Guan and stuttered, “A s-swordsman! You’re actually a swordsman—”

Squelch! 

A grotesque sound echoed as the sword pulled itself out of Zheng Lin’s forehead before returning to Ye Guan’s hands.

Ye Guan turned to look at Nan Qingyue. 

Nan Qingyue’s countenance turned pale. “You… You’re a swordsman?!”

Ye Guan didn’t bother wasting his breath on her as the Path Sword flew out of his hands once more. Nan Yueqing’s eyes narrowed. A pair of silver arm guards appeared on her arms as she crossed them in front of her. 

Squelch! 

Unfortunately, the Path Sword shredded the silver arm guards as if they were made out of tofu. Without her spiritual artifact, the Path Sword soon pierced her throat. Nan Qingyue’s eyes widened in disbelief as she collapsed to the ground, deceased.

Ye Guan opened his palm, and the Path Sword returned to his hand. He then turned to look at Si Qing. Si Qing was horrified by the quick turn of events, and she took multiple steps away from Ye Guan. 

Ye Guan wordlessly stared at her, but he was inwardly hesitating.

Little Pagoda’s voice echoed in his head. “If you want to hide the fact that you possess a sword dao inheritance, then you have to kill her. If someone were to discover your inheritance, the Ye Clan would be in danger; it wouldn’t be just you!”

Ye Guan’s grip on the Path Sword tightened, but he didn’t say anything. Little Pagoda urged. “Have you already forgotten what the Second Elder told you? Kindness is a disadvantage!”

“No, I can’t kill her…” Ye Guan shook his head and started walking toward Nan Qingyue and Zheng Lin’s corpses. 

He took off their storage rings and approached Si Qing. He took out a portion of their purple spiritual crystals and gave them to her before saying, “Lady Si Qing, let’s split their stuff three ways.” 

Si Qing stared warily at Ye Guan. 

Ye Guan chuckled. “Swear on your soul that you will keep my sword cultivation a secret. What do you think? Can you do that for me?”

Si Qing went silent. However, she eventually raised her right palm and said, “I swear on my soul that I will keep your sword cultivation a secret.”

Ye Guan nodded slightly before giving her one of the two storage rings. 

However, Si Qing only stared at him without saying a word. 

Little Pagoda asked, “Do you know the consequences of what you just did?”

Ye Guan shook his head and replied, “It’s true that kindness is a disadvantage, but humans must act with their conscience in mind!”

“Aren’t you afraid of the dangers that will come your way if she were to reveal that you’re a swordsman?” asked Little Pagoda.

Ye Guan nodded and said, “Of course, I’m afraid! I’m terrified!”

Hearing that, Little Pagoda seemed confused as it asked, “Since you decided to spare her life, do you have a backup plan on the off chance that she reveals your status as a swordsman?”

Ye Guan thought about it for quite a while before responding, “If something big were to happen to me, then I’m sure that you’ll help me carry some of the burdens. Why? Are you not going to help me, Master Pagoda?”

Little Pagoda didn’t know what to say.