I Have A Sword

The Great Daoist Brush Master didn't respond.

Ye Guan smiled faintly. "There's an old saying, 'the Dao is unkind, treating all things as straw dogs.' It's a bit one-sided, sure, but there's some truth to it."

"Hahaha." The Great Daoist Brush Master chuckled. "Ye Guan, all living things rise and fall with fate. Just like the Empire you mentioned, if Ji Zhan hadn't been greedy and scheming, he wouldn't have listened to me and tried to kill you.

"If his greed ended up leading to his downfall, then he only has himself to blame. Why should anyone else take responsibility for that?"

"Shameless!" Off to the side, Gu Pan let out a cold snort. "Great Daoist Brush Master, you shame—"

"Shut up!" the Great Daoist Brush Master turned and snapped, "Who do you think you are to butt in?"

Gu Pan clenched his fists, fury surging through him like a tidal wave, but he held it back.

Endure! A small setback now for the sake of the greater goal.

Once he had his true body, he'd beat that bastard into the ground.

Ye Guan said, "You're not entirely wrong. But you're ignoring one thing: if you hadn't meddled, Ji Zhan wouldn't have died. You talk about the Dao and how everything is predestined, but clearly, you interfered.

"And you're calling your interference the will of the Dao? That's like some crooked official breaking the law and then blaming everything on the common folk. Just proves the saying, 'officials always have the final say. Whatever they claim becomes the truth.'"

The Great Daoist Brush Master's face was expressionless. "Ye Guan, there's no point arguing. In the end, it all comes down to strength."

Ye Guan nodded. "Couldn't agree more."

With that, none of them spoke again.

They both knew words were useless here. Only fists would settle things.

At that moment, Ye Guan's conviction only grew stronger. To unify the vast expanse, reshape it with his Order, and make his father and grandfather believe in him.

The thought made Ye Guan chuckle to himself.

Seeing Ye Guan's grin, the Great Daoist Brush Master frowned. What was this scheming weasel thinking now?

Gu Pan glanced at Ye Guan, and then at the Great Daoist Brush Master. In the end, he closed his eyes, falling into deep contemplation.

Before long, the three entered a mountainous region. The sky suddenly dimmed, and silence fell all around.

The atmosphere was eerie.

Ye Guan gripped his sword tightly, fully alert.

And it wasn't just him. The Great Daoist Brush Master and Gu Pan were also on edge, none daring to lower their guard.

The Great Daoist Brush Master, in particular, knew how terrifying the Ancient God Nation had been. For a force that powerful to be wiped out, and by a group even he didn't know, meant things were far from simple.

He couldn't afford to be careless. His Dao techniques were still sealed. If he fell here, it'd be humiliating beyond words.

They followed a narrow mountain path, and before long, a small village came into view. It wasn't big, and it had perhaps a few hundred people at most, but the strange part was... that there were actually people here.

All three were caught off guard.

An old man at the village entrance caught sight of them and froze in shock. Then, he spun around and bolted, shouting, "Ghosts! There are ghosts!!"

The three were silent.

Moments later, over a hundred villagers poured out, wielding torches and whatever tools they could find, hoes, sickles, and just about anything else.

However, none of them dared to leave the village gates.

They tried to look fierce, but their eyes were full of fear and hesitation.

Ye Guan and the others were baffled.There were actually people living in this place? And just ordinary folks at that?

The Great Daoist Brush Master stepped forward. The villagers instinctively shrank back, obviously terrified.

He smiled gently at the old man leading them. "Sir, we mean no harm."

The old man, clearly the village chief, seemed a bit steadier than the others. He eyed the Great Daoist Brush Master cautiously. "Who are you people?"

"We came from outside," said the Great Daoist Brush Master. "Just passing through."

The old man blinked. "You came from... outside?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master nodded.

Confusion flickered across the villagers' faces.

"May we talk?" he asked.

The old man immediately shook his head. "We don't welcome outsiders."

The Great Daoist Brush Master didn't argue. He simply raised a hand and pointed at a nearby boulder. In an instant, the ten-meter-high rock shattered into dust.

The villagers were speechless.

The old man dropped his hoe and hurriedly bowed. "Sirs, please, this way!"

The villagers quickly cleared a path.

The Great Daoist Brush Master gave a small nod and walked into the village. Ye Guan and Gu Pan followed.

The village chief turned to the others. "Put down your weapons! These three sirs are good people. They won't hurt us. Hurry!"

Everyone lowered their tools at once.

After witnessing the mountain-crushing power, they had zero doubts; these three were definitely "good people."

The chief signaled subtly, and the villagers understood. They scurried back into their homes and immediately hid all their food and valuables underground.

The chief led the trio into a modest courtyard. A little boy peeked out curiously from a nearby hut.

He brewed some tea and stood to the side, clearly nervous.

The Great Daoist Brush Master said, "Relax, old man. We mean no harm."

"I understand," the chief said carefully. Then, pulling out a small silver object from his robe, he placed it on the table. "This is the most valuable thing in our whole village..."

The three fell silent.

The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at him and said, "We really don't mean any harm. We just want to ask you a few questions."

"Of course, sir. Ask away."

"Have you always been living here?"

"Yes."

"For generations?"

"Yes."

The Great Daoist Brush Master frowned.

Ye Guan spoke up. "They're probably citizens of the Ancient God Nation. Just ordinary citizens. That mysterious force that destroyed the nation must've spared the commoners."

The Great Daoist Brush Master nodded. "Most likely."

He looked at the chief. "Do you know where this place is?"

The chief replied cautiously, "The Ancient Ruins."

The Ancient Ruins?

Ye Guan asked, "Do you know anything else?"

The chief said, "My grandfather told me that this place is called the Ancient Ruins. We are descendants of the Ancient God Nation. However, we have been abandoned by it."

His expression darkened as he spoke.

"What's your village called?" Ye Guan asked.

"Da Wan Village," the chief answered.

"Has anyone here ever gone outside?"

The chief shook his head frantically. "No, never. Those who leave never manage to come back."

"So, you don't actually know what's out there, do you?"

"No one knows. Just that it's very dangerous... extremely dangerous." The chief nodded gravely. He hesitated before adding, "The next village over there. They're rich. They even have a powerful treasure."

He refused to elaborate for some reason.

At that, all three of their brows furrowed.

Was this old man trying to redirect trouble?

The Great Daoist Brush Master smiled. "A treasure? What kind?"

"I don't know exactly. But I heard it came from outside. It's said to be incredibly powerful."

He glanced at them, then fell silent.

"You have a grudge with that village?" the Great Daoist Brush Master asked.

The chief shook his head quickly. "N-No. Not at all."

"Then why try to set them up like that?"

The chief's face went pale. "Sir... I don't know what you mean. I wasn't implying anything!"

The Great Daoist Brush Master shot him a look, then turned and left.

Ye Guan and Gu Pan followed.

As they walked through the village, the other villagers peeked out at them from hiding.

Once they were gone, the village chief finally exhaled in relief.

A young man approached. "Second Uncle... will they go cause trouble for the next village?"

The chief nodded confidently. "Definitely."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Simple," the chief said, smirking. "They came from outside, so they're clearly here for some treasure. I gave them a hint about the neighboring village. They'll take the bait."

"But Second Uncle," the young man said hesitantly, "that man in Daoist robes... he's really strong."

The chief stroked his beard with a satisfied smile. "Yes, powerful. But not clever. He's no threat."

The young man grinned. "You always say that strength without brains is useless, right?"

The chief nodded proudly.

The young man kept buttering him up, "Second Uncle, you're amazing. Just a little trick, and you not only resolved a crisis for our village, but also lured those three people to the neighboring one... You're brilliant, truly brilliant!"

The village chief smiled with satisfaction and patted the young man on the shoulder. "With all that flattery, you must want something, huh?"

The young man quickly said, "Second Uncle, you know how Qiuyong City recently rolled out that poverty relief program? Each village gets a few spots. If someone's classified as a low-income household, they get an extra pig a year, plus a hundred kilos of wheat..."

The village chief snapped, "You think you qualify as low-income?"

The young man chuckled awkwardly and said, "Second Uncle, whether I qualify or not... isn't that up to you?"

The chief immediately frowned. "Watch your mouth. Some things, even if they're true, you don't say those words out loud. Got it?"

"Yes, yes, of course..." the young man said, nodding quickly.

The village chief looked into the distance, confidence gleaming in his eyes. "Forget about that relief quota. Those three are strong, but they're idiots. They're bound to wipe out that village... We'll just sit back and wait to collect the spoils."