Ye Guan and Fei Banqing were so close to each other that Ye Guan could smell her fragrance. Ye Guan hurriedly took a few steps backward. 

Fei Banqing’s eyes flashed in astonishment, but the light in her eyes quickly turned into praise. 

Meanwhile, Ye Guan finally composed himself and said, “Senior, I can be your disciple, but I have a request to ask of you, is it okay?” 

Fei Banqing smiled. “We’re on the same side, so you don’t have to be so polite. Anyway, tell me your request!” 

Ye Guan blinked in astonishment. Her mood swings are incredible!

Ye Guan had two reasons why he had decided to reveal his identity as a swordsman. 

First of all, he wanted to become a student at Guanxuan Academy. Cultivation was like climbing an increasingly steep ladder—the higher one was, the harder the climb would become. Therefore, Ye Guan had to get onto a bigger stage.

Naturally, the stage was Guanxuan Academy, the strongest powerhouse of Nanzhou.

Ye Guan was sure that he would learn a lot from the academy and become a lot stronger as well. In other words, it would be like hitting two birds with one stone. 

In addition, Master Pagoda was currently recovering from his injuries, so it couldn’t enter the realm within the pagoda as often as he liked. He also needed spiritual crystals that were good enough for Master Pagoda to absorb. 

Ye Guan was convinced that he would be able to find the spiritual crystals he needed for Master Pagoda at Guanxuan Academy. Ye Guan was also poor right now, and he had no other valuables aside from the Path Sword.

The second reason was the Ye Clan. 

Ye Guan was sure that his journey to the Nanshan Mountain Range would cause further complications down the room. It wasn’t really strange because only three of them made it out alive, even though five of them had entered the cave. It wouldn’t take a genius to deduce that something out of the ordinary had happened within the cave. 

Moreover, Ye Guan was convinced that the Nan Clan and the Zheng Clan would definitely not let the matter rest. 

Si Qing had the Si Clan, while Nalan Jia had Fei Banqing.

What about him? 

Could he count on Master Pagoda? No, Master Pagoda wasn’t reliable, so he would definitely be in danger.

Little Pagoda remained silent. 

Therefore, Ye Guan had to find someone powerful to rely on so that he wouldn’t end up dragging down the Ye Clan. Fei Banqing suited that role. Of course, Ye Guan had no better options at the moment, so he could only bet on her.

Fei Banqing boisterously laughed. “Tell me! You don’t have to be shy.” 

With that, Ye Guan nodded and said, “I got into a conflict with Nan Qingyue of the Nan Clan and Zheng Lin of the Zheng Clan at a cave in the Nanshan Mountain Range.” 

Fei Banqing stared deeply at Ye Guan. “They were found dead.” 

There was a moment of silence before Ye Guan confessed. “I killed them!” 

He had to be honest here. Fei Banqing was definitely smart, so there was no reason for him to play games with someone like her unless he were stronger than her. In addition, Fei Banqing should have already made her own deductions at this point.  

Ye Guan was right. Fei Banqing’s lips curled up slightly as she said, “You’re honest.” 

There was a lull in the discussion as the two of them wordlessly stared at each other.

All of a sudden, Ye Guan opened his palm and pointed it upward. The Path Sword shot into the sky and pierced the clouds. 

Ye Guan turned to look at Fei Banqing. 

“I’m a Truth Realm cultivator, but it shouldn’t be an issue for me to deal with cultivators at the All-Truth Realm. I also think that I can kill a Divine Path Realm cultivator in the right conditions and…” Ye Guan paused before continuing. “I killed Nan Qingyue and Zheng Lin in just one move each!” 

Ye Guan had to demonstrate his worth if he wanted Fei Banqing to help him. 

Otherwise, would she even help him? Ye Guan didn’t think so. After all, Fei Banqing had already introduced herself as a pragmatic woman. 

Fei Banqing smirked and pointed out. “You’re worried about dragging the Ye Clan down, am I right?” 

Ye Guan nodded. 

Fei Banqing immediately declared. “I will protect the Ye Clan!” 

Ye Guan could finally heave a sigh of relief. “Thank you!” 

Fei Banqing stared deeply at Ye Guan before saying, “I don’t care how you became a swordsman, but since you’ll become my disciple, there can’t be any half-measures in whatever you do, do you understand?” 

“Yes!” Ye Guan nodded. However, he hesitated once more as he muttered, “The Nan and Zheng clans…”

“I’m sure they would find trouble with you because of your weak background, but you don’t have that weakness anymore. You’ve found a strong backing, and do you want to know who is it?” Fei Banqing chuckled and pointed at herself. “It’s me! If they touch you, I will destroy their Ancestor Shrine in return!” 

Ye Guan stiffened. 

However, Fei Banqing continued in a calm and collected manner. “I will go and check out the Nanshan Mountain Range. I want you to get ready in the meantime. Three days later, I will bring you and Little Jia to Guanxuan Academy!” 

With that, she flew away and disappeared into the clouds. Ye Guan’s expression was grave as he stared at the clouds. Fei Banqing was indeed a strong and enigmatic figure.

Moments later, Ye Guan sat cross-legged. He took out the two storage rings and stared at them. 

A smile crept up his lips, but it wasn’t strange that he was smiling. After all, he had acquired an earth vein in addition to twelve thousand gold spiritual crystals. He had decided to give five thousand of them to Ye Xiao, so he still had seven thousand gold spiritual crystals. 

Aside from the gold spiritual crystals, Ye Guan also had thirty-two thousand purple spiritual crystals. 

Ye Guan also obtained an Imperial-rank Demonic Beast Internal Pill and two Sky-rank Demonic Beast Internal Pills. In other words, he had truly profited greatly from that cave excursion.

Ye Guan sat down and ignited the purple spiritual crystals in front of him. The purple spiritual crystals burned, and a vast stream of pure spiritual energy rushed into Ye Guan as he cultivated by refining the energy.

The Ye Clan had no spiritual vein, so he had to rely on spiritual crystals to cultivate. Ye Guan was sure that it wouldn’t be that difficult for him to reach the All-Truth Realm when he had so many purple spiritual crystals.

After burning two thousand purple spiritual crystals, Ye Guan’s aura abruptly changed.

Boom! 

A powerful aura burst out from Ye Guan. Ye Guan pushed his palms outward, and an energy that couldn’t be seen by the naked eye coalesced into a sword in his hand. 

An All-Truth Realm cultivator could shape air into any shape they desired.

Ye Guan smiled at the sight. 

He had finally become an All-Truth Realm cultivator, and his strength had increased by a notch once again. He could finally mold air into any shape, and Ye Guan reckoned that he could kill enemies within a thirty-meter radius. 

Truth Realm cultivators and below couldn’t do the same.

His Royal Sword Art had also become much more powerful. The only disappointing part was that Ye Guan still couldn’t advance to the next level of the Royal Sword Art.

Master Pagoda said that it was still too early for him to advance to the next level. 

Naturally, Ye Guan couldn’t do anything about it.

With that, Ye Guan decided to go down the hill. 

However, the clouds split open as an elderly man plummeted from the skies.

Ye Guan’s heart sank, and he quickly dispersed the Path Sword’s aura.

Eventually, the elderly man landed in front of Ye Guan. The elderly man was dressed in a long black robe and was holding a black walking stick. 

A golden symbol was emblazoned on his chest—Nan!

The elderly man was from the Nan Clan, and his aura was incredibly strong. Ye Guan reckoned that he was at least a Divine Path Realm cultivator.

It seemed that they were already moving. Ye Guan’s expression darkened. He didn’t expect that the Nan Clan would come for him so soon.

The elderly man stared deeply at Ye Guan. “You must be Ye Guan!” 

Ye Guan nodded and asked, “Senior, you are?” 

The elderly man replied indifferently, “I’m from the Nan Clan.” 

Ye Guan stared at the elderly man and asked, “What business do you have with me, Senior?” 

The elderly man’s sharp gaze pierced Ye Guan. “Five of you went down the cave, so how did Qingyue and Zheng Lin die, even though the three of you survived?”

Ye Guan quickly explained, “When we entered the cave, the two of them walked away while Lady Nalan and I were—” 

“How preposterous!” The elderly man snapped. “Si Qing has already told me everything, so don’t you dare lie to me!” 

Ye Guan stared deeply at the elderly man. As if I would believe you! If Si Qing had truly explained everything to you, you wouldn’t have come here to interrogate me! 

The elderly man obviously wanted to drive a wedge between him and his allies, and he was planning on making Ye Guan testify against Nalan Jia and Si Qing. 

Ye Guan reached that conclusion because he would have done the same thing if he were in the elderly man’s shoes.

Ye Guan remained calm as he said, “Senior, I was telling the truth!” 

The elderly man glared at Ye Guan and muttered, “I know that you’re afraid of the Si Clan and the Nalan Clan. I understand, so if you tell me the truth, I will make sure that the Ye Clan will remain safe.”

However, Ye Guan remained adamant about his claim. 

“I wasn’t lying!” he exclaimed. 

The elderly man’s eyes narrowed. He clenched his right hand, and his powerful aura bore down on Ye Guan.

However, Ye Guan remained silent while crying out inwardly. Fei Banqing, where are you? Please help me!

The elderly man turned to look at the Ye Clan in the distance and said, “I will give you one last chance. I hope you’ll take it. Otherwise, the Ye Clan will disappear off the face of this land.” 

Ye Guan didn’t say anything in response. He knew that the three of them would be the prime suspects behind Zheng Lin and Nan Qingyue’s deaths. However, Ye Guan wasn’t really worried about becoming a suspect. 

The important part was denying any involvement.

The elderly man’s eyes narrowed at Ye Guan’s silence. 

“So you’re not going to cry until you’ve seen your coffin?”

The elderly man suddenly threw a punch at Ye Guan’s chest. He moved incredibly fast, but unfortunately, Ye Guan was still faster than him. 

Whoosh! 

There was a beam of light as the Path Sword pierced the elderly man’s chest. The elderly man stood rooted as he stared at Ye Guan in disbelief. “Y-you… you’re a swordsman?”

Ye Guan’s expression didn’t change. I don’t mind being suspected, but you should have never used violence against me. Make a move, and you will die!

The elderly man’s mouth fluttered, but Ye Guan pulled his sword out and performed a few sword moves.

Squelch! 

The elderly man’s head fell to the ground and rolled away as his headless corpse haphazardly spat blood in all directions. 

Ye Guan walked over to the elderly man’s corpse and saw a communication device in the elderly man’s right hand.

Ye Guan heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he didn’t allow the elderly man to continue speaking just now. Otherwise, the communication device would have successfully sent out a message, and he would be in deep trouble by then. 

Ye Guan was once again reminded of how being decisive with his sword would ultimately benefit him.

Ye Guan took the elderly man’s storage ring and saw only two hundred purple spiritual crystals inside. He shook his head in disappointment. What a poor bastard…

He stored the purple spiritual crystals in his own storage ring and destroyed the elderly man’s storage ring. Afterward, he found a suitable location to bury the elderly man’s corpse. Once he was done, he turned around and finally went down the hill.

...

Meanwhile, a few dozen powerful auras suddenly surrounded the Ye Clan, causing everyone to panic. The doors of the Ye Residence were pushed open, and a middle-aged man slowly walked into the Ye Clan.

The middle-aged man had an entourage of more than twenty cultivators behind him, and the weakest cultivator among them was a Truth Realm cultivator.

Ye Xiao and a few other people hurriedly mobilized upon hearing the commotion. 

The middle-aged man looked around before shouting, “Where’s Ye Guan?!”

Ye Xiao was surprised. However, he quickly composed himself and asked, “You are—” 

The middle-aged man interrupted Ye Xiao by immediately swinging his fists. It seemed that he didn’t want to waste any time talking with anyone here. 

Ye Xiao’s expression changed, and he raised his arms to defend himself. 

Boom! 

A hollow sound echoed, and Ye Xiao flew backward like a kite that had lost its strings. He collided against the wall and slumped against it as he spat mouthfuls of blood

Ye Xiao stared at the middle-aged man, and his voice quivered as he muttered, “A Divine Path Realm cultivator…” 

The middle-aged man’s eyes were ice cold. He was about to say something, but his expression abruptly changed. He whipped around and saw a sword descending upon him at breakneck speeds.

The middle-aged man’s eyes narrowed. He tried to dodge, but it was too late. 

Whoosh! 

The middle-aged man’s right arm flew away, and the middle-aged man himself was sent tumbling to the ground from the impact. However, Ye Guan appeared in front of him once more before he could even stand up. 

Ye Guan decisively thrust his sword into the middle-aged man’s throat. 

Squelch!

A grotesque noise echoed, and the middle-aged man’s eyes bulged as blood fell like a waterfall from his mouth. 

“Close the doors!” shouted Ye Guan. His voice reverberated throughout the Ye Residence.

The doors of the Ye Residence were slammed shut. 

Ye Guan immediately took action as he zipped through the air and headed directly for the group of men. 

However, Ye Guan wasn’t alone—there was someone else with him.

Ye Qing was with him! 

The two young men rushed at the enemies while the rest of the Ye Clan’s elites followed behind them. Right now, they couldn’t care less about the origin of these people. They were going to kill them first and think about it later!

The Truth Realm cultivators were stunned. How can the Ye Clan be this bold?

However, the people of the Ye Clan surrounded them, interrupting their thoughts.

Ye Guan raised his arm and slashed. 

Chop!

The Truth Realm cultivator at the helm of the group couldn’t even react before he was beheaded. Of course, Ye Guan wasn’t done just yet. He immediately pounced on the group of cultivators.

Soon, the Ye Residence became filled with screams and pitiful cries.

Ye Guan was currently an All-Truth Realm cultivator, so it wasn’t strange that he could dominate these Truth Realm cultivators. Additionally, he wasn’t holding back, so heads quickly went flying once he started his slaughter. 

Ye Guan single-handedly killed eleven Truth Realm cultivators throughout the entire ordeal that lasted less than fifteen minutes. Ye Qing managed to kill seven Truth Realm cultivators by himself, while the remaining two Truth Realm cultivators were surrounded and killed by the Ye Clan members and elites.

The residence was drenched with enough blood to form a river. 

When the slaughter ended, Ye Guan slowly walked toward Ye Xiao. 

They exchanged looks before Ye Xiao asked, “Are they really from the Nan Clan?” 

Ye Guan nodded and confirmed. “That’s right!” 

Ye Xiao and the rest of the Ye Clan members turned pale. The Nan Clan was one of the top three clans in Nanzhou. In other words, they were in huge trouble. 

However, Ye Guan remained calm as he said, “Clan Leader, please recuperate and leave the rest to me!” 

Ye Xiao was already panicking. Upon hearing Ye Guan’s words, he turned to look at the latter and exclaimed, “Go! Go and escape to the Guanxuan Academy! We’re going to dissolve the Ye Clan!” 

Ye Guan shook his head and remarked, “I don’t think that’s a great idea…”

Ye Xiao snapped out of frustration. “As long as you and Ye Qing are alive, the Ye Clan will live on!”

Ye Guan was about to respond, but a shadow descended and landed in the front yard of the Ye Residence. 

The shadow turned out to be Fei Banqing. 

Fei Banqing stared at the pile of corpses. Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned to look at Ye Guan and asked, “Are you planning to wage war on the Nan Clan?” 

Fei Banqing was unhappy about all this. She wasn’t afraid of the Nan Clan, but the massacre that Ye Guan had just conducted meant that the two clans would definitely be in conflict. 

Ye Guan walked toward Fei Banqing and declared. “I have reached the All-Truth Realm!” 

Fei Banqing wordlessly stared at him.

Ye Guan took that as a sign to continue as he said, “Give me another month, and I will reach the Divine Path Realm! Give me just one month! I’m a swordsman, so I’m invincible against anyone in the same realm…

”In addition, I think I can even stand my ground against someone three realms above me, not to mention being afraid of someone only two realms above me.”

Ye Guan stared into her eyes and said, “I will be invincible at the decennial martial contest in Guanxuan Academy, and I’m sure that I will be able to do whatever I want by then!” 

Fei Banqing stared deeply at Ye Guan. After a while, she gave him a thumbs-up and said, “All right, great!” 

With that, she glanced at the pile of corpses in the yard before looking back at Ye Guan. 

“I killed them, do you understand?” said Fei Banqing, rendering everyone speechless.