I Have A Sword

The Great Daoist Brush Master!

Ye Guan and Gu Pan were both visibly surprised. Just what was that guy up to?

The Great Daoist Brush Master was still standing atop the hill, brandishing his black staff.

Gu Pan stared intently at the man, his voice low and grave. "That guy is up to something."

As he spoke, his gaze fell to the black staff in the Great Daoist Brush Master's hand. It had an unusual design, carved with strange, sinister-looking runes that glowed faintly with a dim light. It was clearly no ordinary artifact.

"He's trying to bait us," Gu Pan concluded, his tone turning cold.

"Then let's go over." Ye Guan nodded. With that, he started heading toward the hill.

Gu Pan hesitated for a moment before following behind Ye Guan. Though he was curious about Ye Guan's calm confidence, he didn't probe.

"On the surface, he's trying to lure us in. But the truth is that he's afraid that we'll actually go there," Ye Guan explained

Gu Pan's eyes lit up. "Ah...he's playing hard to get. Reverse psychology!"

Ye Guan nodded again.

Gu Pan turned to look at him. "But what if... he actually wants us to go there?"

Ye Guan shrugged. "Then pretend I never said anything."

Gu Pan's expression immediately darkened.

Ye Guan laughed. "If we can't beat him, we just run."

"Running is for cowards," Gu Pan replied flatly. "If I fight, I'll fight to death."

"I support you." Ye Guan said as he turned to Gu Pan

Gu Pan snorted. "You're a swordsman. You should have that same conviction."

Ye Guan looked toward the hill. "If it comes to a fight, do you want a one-on-one, or do we tackle him together? If we're ganging up, we go all in. But if you want a solo duel, I'll give you space and won't interfere."

Gu Pan paused. "Let's tackle him together.. A scoundrel like that doesn't deserve honor."

Ye Guan chuckled. "So you do have a shameless side."

In the distance, the Great Daoist Brush Master saw the two walking towards him. The smug look on his face slowly disappeared.

All of a sudden, Ye Guan and Gu Pan picked up their pace.

The Great Daoist Brush Master's eyelid twitched. He turned around and ran away.

Seeing that, Gu Pan immediately realized his bluff. He leapt forward, barreling toward the Great Daoist Brush Master with raw power.

Ye Guan followed, but whether intentional or not, he was half a step behind.

Soon, they charged up the hill. At the top sat a lonely grave, and the Great Daoist Brush Master stood before it, clutching his staff and muttering strange incantations under his breath.

At that point, Ye Guan and Gu Pan were almost upon him.

The Great Daoist Brush Master thrust his staff toward the gravestone. "Open!"

With that command, the grave trembled violently. A jet of eerie light shot out from the headstone, moving at terrifying speed. In a blink, it crashed toward the two of them, specifically, toward Gu Pan, who was ahead of Ye Guan.

Gu Pan's face twisted with shock. He punched forward with full force.

Boom!

The dim light smashed into him and sent him flying straight off the hill, slamming into the foot of the mountain far below.

Ye Guan halted instantly, his gaze shifting to a point behind the Great Daoist Brush Master. A soul was floating there, as if it were a ghost, radiating an unsettling aura. It stood beside the Great Daoist Brush Master.

Ye Guan frowned.

The Great Daoist Brush Master glanced at Gu Pan's crumpled form in the distance, then turned to Ye Guan with a smug grin. "Ye Guan, did you think I was bluffing?"

He tapped his staff, the smile on his face growing ever more evil. "Brother Ming, attack."

At his command, the soul waved its sleeve. In a flash, three shadowy orbs shot toward Ye Guan.

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed. This ghost was at least a seventh-level True Dao elite. However, Ye Guan refused to summon his shadow puppets. Instead, he turned and bolted, riding his sword into the sky at the speed of light.

"Brother Ming, don't let him get away!" The Great Daoist Brush Master shouted.

The sky above the hill darkened. A dense black cloud spread out, and a powerful barrier enclosed the entire mountaintop.

Ye Guan was trapped. With no way out, he turned and unleashed his full strength of three bloodlines, including his faith power, all at once. A single devastating sword strike followed suit.

Bang!

His sword light shattered against the barrier, and he was blasted back several steps by the overwhelming force.

"Huh?"

The soul raised an eyebrow. "You actually endured that strike..."

"Brother Ming, don't underestimate him. This guy's full of surprises. His battle prowess defies all logic and convention," the Great Daoist Brush Master commented.

"His bloodline is... monstrous."

"He got it from his grandfather," said the Great Daoist Brush Master dismissively. "But his grandfather wasn't all that; he's certainly nothing compared to you."

The soul paused and coolly said, "Brother... my body may be sealed, but my mind isn't."

The Great Daoist Brush Master was left speechless.

The soul looked at Ye Guan. "To be honest, I'm only a Divine Mage, not a sorcerer, but I've studied martial arts. His ancestors must be terrifying, considering his bloodlines.

"Strangely enough, I can't sense anything. There are only two possibilities here: one, someone has concealed the truth; two, for some reason, it's being suppressed or made unreadable to outsiders..."

He turned back to the Great Daoist Brush Master. "Is that right, Brother Dao?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master was silent, his face darkening.

The soul continued, "Not only that, I tried to divine his destiny using the Art of Fate. His destiny... is uncharted. Brother Dao, you helped me escape my seal, and I'm grateful. I promised to help you. But this man... I can't oppose him any further. I hope you'd understand."

The Great Daoist Brush Master was stunned. The soul could cast that spell? Those were ancient techniques. Even in the Boundary of Truth and Illusion, few could grasp hold of them.

And yet even the Art of Fate couldn't divine Ye Guan's destiny...

That was terrifying.

If even such a powerful Art of Fate couldn't divine his destiny... what did that mean?

The Great Daoist Brush Master realized that the soul wouldn't fight Ye Guan again. There was no persuading him.

The soul spoke again. "Brother Dao, as per our agreement, I said I'd help you once I was freed. And I will, truly. But... I must admit that I didn't expect your enemy to be this powerful. This... is beyond what I can reasonably handle.

"So I'd like to propose a change in our deal. How about this? I'll stay by your side. If you're in danger, I'll lend you my strength. But if there's no danger, I won't act. If you're okay with that, I'll stick with you. If not... well, I'll just make a run for it."

The Great Daoist Brush Master's face darkened instantly. This guy had some honor... but not much. The soul waited patiently for him to reply. He wanted to be freed, but he did not want to die.

Besides, the Great Daoist Brush Master had tricked him into doing this, so he felt no guilt about bending the rules.

After a long pause, the Great Daoist Brush Master relented. "Fine."

He had no other choice.

Ye Guan's survival from the depths proved that he'd gained something powerful. And whatever it was, the Great Daoist Brush Master couldn't handle it. As such, he needed help from the soul.

The soul nodded. "Good. Once we leave this place, we'll be even."

With that, the soul turned into a wisp of dim light that entered the Great Daoist Brush Master.

The Great Daoist Brush Master approached Ye Guan.

Ye Guan wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Traitor, I'll let you go today," said the Great Daoist Brush Master.

Ye Guan looked at him, weighing the option of summoning his two shadow puppets to kill this bastard.

There was a fifty percent chance of success.

The Great Daoist Brush Master seemed to sense his hesitation and grinned. "I know you found something down there. You've got cards to play. But if you think you can kill me, go ahead and try."

He looked around and added. "This place is more dangerous than we realized. If we fight now, we'll attract others. We'll get hurt, and someone else will reap the benefits. Think about it."

"I got nothing back there." Ye Guan shook his head. "Thanks for letting me live. I'll repay you one day."

"Scram!" the Great Daoist Brush Master snapped.

In the end, Ye Guan decided not to make a move. He wasn't that confident. That soul was too strong. Although it had the combat power of a seventh-level True Dao elite, it likely had hidden trump cards of its own.

If he went all in, he'd probably drag the Great Daoist Brush Master down with him.

Just then, Gu Pan staggered to his feet. He was a mess, and cracks ran across his fleshly body, creating a horrific sight.

The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at him.

"You damn Daoist Dog..." Gu Pan's face twisted in rage. He clenched his fists, and energy surged out of him like a tidal wave.

The Great Daoist Brush Master stood calm and steady. "Go ahead. Do it."

Behind him, the soul's aura flared to life, suppressing Gu Pan's aura in an instant.

Gu Pan froze, and then he angrily loosened his fists. "Just you wait! When my real body gets here... I'll beat you so bad you'll be eating shit!"