I Have A Sword

The Unfettered Swordsman looked at Ye Guan, who stood beside him with a face full of curiosity, and smiled, saying, "Invincibility is a state of mind, a kind of Dao, a kind of 'spirit' that can be comprehended but not explained."

Ye Guan hesitated, "Uncle, to become invincible, one must first possess invincible strength, right?"

The Unfettered Swordsman shook his head. "You're wrong."

Ye Guan was full of confusion.

The Unfettered Swordsman smiled and said, "If one only seeks invincibility after attaining invincible strength, then anyone can do that. What's rare is having an invincible heart and spirit even when one has no strength."

Ye Guan fell silent for a long time, and then he looked at the Unfettered Swordsman, saying, "Uncle, are you trying to say that.... for example, a scholar may not have the strength to even catch a chicken, but they can still write lines like, 'establish a heart for the world, establish life for the people, inherit the lost teachings of past sages, and bring peace to all future generations.'"

"Are you trying to say that something like that is also considered a type of invincibility?

"'The Son of Heaven guards the gates of the nation, and dies for the country.' Is that a kind of invincibility as well?"

"Those who forsake fame and fortune, serving the country in silence all their lives, and are unmatched in loyalty and virtue... I guess they're also considered invincible, am I right?"

The Unfettered Swordsman nodded with undisguised admiration in his eyes.

"Hahaha, I get it now." Ye Guan laughed. "I understand. Invincibility doesn't refer to strength, but to one's heart. It is a type of spirit. Even the most ordinary of people can embody this kind of 'spirit.'"

The Unfettered Swordsman smiled and said, "You came into contact with your father's generation too early. That has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that they managed to show you how vast this world is. The disadvantage is that your eyes are fixed only on them.

"For example, their invincibility. You saw their invincibility and carefree demeanor, but not the suffering and hardships they endured to reach their current heights... that is not good for your Sword Dao at all."

Ye Guan gave a deep bow. "Uncle, I understand everything now."

Off to the side, Gu Pan also gave a deep bow. "I understand as well."

Ye Guan was speechless.

The Unfettered Swordsman turned to look at Gu Pan. Gu Pan said seriously, "Brother Ye and I are sworn brothers. His uncle is naturally my uncle too."

The Unfettered Swordsman smiled. "You're not bad either. Though your strength is weak, your spirit and vitality are rare."

Gu Pan quickly said, "As long as senior doesn't think I'm just a brute, I'm satisfied."

The Unfettered Swordsman smiled. "And what's wrong with being a brute? Throughout history, who among those who accomplished great things wasn't once considered a brute?"

He looked at Ye Guan and said, "Back in the day, your grandfather was even more of a brute than this guy,hahaha!"

Grandfather was a brute?Ye Guan also laughed. In truth, he really wanted to meet the young version of his grandfather. The grandfather he knew had long since shed his edge, becoming calm and kind.

He couldn't sense that so-called former wildness and madness.

The Unfettered Swordsman suddenly opened his palm, and a coffin emerged from within Ye Guan.

Ye Guan was a bit puzzled.

The Unfettered Swordsman looked at the lady inside the Ice Coffin. After a moment, he turned to Ye Guan and said, "Forget it. This is your own karma. It's not good for me to interfere too much. You handle it yourself."

Ye Guan quickly said, "Uncle, it is perfectly fine for you to interfere."

The Unfettered Swordsman smiled. "Why do you have this coffin?"

Ye Guan briefly recounted his experience with the Ancient God Nation.

The Unfettered Swordsman was silent for a moment. "The Great Dao Contest... the karma of the lady inside this coffin is even greater than the Great Daoist Brush Master."

Ye Guan hesitated and revealed a wry smile. "It can't be helped. Even if it's greater than the Great Daoist Brush Master, I still have to bear it. After all, I made a promise to someone."

The Unfettered Swordsman nodded, with a trace of appreciation in his eyes. "If you were thinking of shirking responsibility and shifting the karma to me, I'd have to give you a beating."

Ye Guan was a little embarrassed. That was exactly what he had originally intended... to dump the karma onto his uncle... good thing he hadn't said it out loud.

The Unfettered Swordsman looked at the lady in the coffin. "Do you know why she fell into slumber?"

Ye Guan shook his head.

The Unfettered Swordsman thought for a moment and smiled. "Since we've met, I'll give you a hand."

Ye Guan was overjoyed upon hearing that.

The Unfettered Swordsman lightly tapped with two fingers, and a ray of sword light entered the space between the lady's brows. In just an instant, something there was shattered.

The Unfettered Swordsman stepped back.

Ye Guan stared curiously at the lady in the coffin.

The lady opened her eyes. When she saw Ye Guan, she revealed a curious face.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice was clear and very pleasant to hear.

Ye Guan smiled. "Miss, my name is Ye Guan. Your savior is my uncle..."

The lady slowly sat up, looked around, and finally, her gaze fell upon the Unfettered Swordsman. She was a bit surprised, "What a powerful swordsman..."

The Unfettered Swordsman smiled. "You're pretty powerful, too."

After saying that, he looked at Ye Guan. "Little guy, take care."

With that, he turned around and disappeared on his sword.

Now that the Unfettered Swordsman was no longer around, Ye Guan looked at the lady in front of him. "Miss, do you know who you are?"

The lady turned to Ye Guan, smiled, and said, "Of course. My name is Master—"

She frowned and stopped midsentence. After a while, she continued, "I remember it now. My real name is Sang Mei..."

Ye Guan asked again, "Where are you from?"

Sang Mei replied, "Divine Residence... on the Divine Continent?"

Ye Guan was a little puzzled.

Sang Mei smiled, "It's normal that you haven't heard of it. That place is very far from here, and very, very few people know of it."

Ye Guan thought for a bit, then said, "You've been away for so long. You must really miss home, right?"

Sang Mei shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, I don't miss home."

Ye Guan was confused. "Why not?"

Sang Mei sighed softly, saying, "Had a falling-out with my family."

Ye Guan hesitated, then asked, "Was the falling-out... serious?"

Sang Mei nodded. "Quite serious."

Ye Guan fell silent.

Sang Mei looked at him and blinked. "Are you afraid I'll bring trouble to you?"

"Not at all," Ye Guan hurriedly said, "We don't even know each other. Your issue with your family has nothing to do with me, wouldn't you say?"

Sang Mei beamed. "That makes sense!"

Ye Guan was speechless. Then, he asked, "Miss, what do you plan to do next?"

Sang Mei blinked. "I came to find someone... Can I stay with you for now?"

Ye Guan was silent.

Sang Mei smiled, "If it's not convenient, then I can leave."

"No, stay with me." Ye Guan smiled. "I promised Elder Gu Daotian that you can stay with me for as long as you want."

In the end, he didn't play any tricks.

Since he had received some benefits from the Ancient God Nation, he had to honor his promise. A person ought to possess a conscience; otherwise, their ruin was only a matter of time.

Hearing Ye Guan's words, Sang Mei was happy. "Thank you, young swordsman."

Ye Guan smiled. "My name is Ye Guan."

Sang Mei smiled brightly. "Alright, young swordsman Ye Guan."

Ye Guan was dumbfounded.

Just then, Gu Pan said, "Brother Ye, I'm leaving."

Ye Guan turned to look at Gu Pan.

Gu Pan smiled and explained, "I've achieved some great success in cultivation. I'm going to rescue my true body."

"Can you break the seal? Do you need my help?"

"Hahaha!" Gu Pan laughed heartily. "A mere seal, I'll destroy it with a wave of my hand. No need for your help."

Ye Guan nodded. "Alright."

Gu Pan smiled. "Until we meet again."

"Wait," Ye Guan said. He took out a storage ring and handed it to Gu Pan. "As promised, you get half of the Ancient God Nation's treasures..."

Gu Pan was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Ye Guan to really give it to him. After all, there were many Emperor artifacts inside.

Ye Guan smiled. "Brother Gu Pan, this is what you deserve."

Gu Pan didn't refuse. He accepted the ring and boldly said, "Brother Ye, this young lady clearly has an extraordinary background. Don't worry. Whatever karma she brings, I'll shoulder half of it. I might not be good at much, but when it comes to fighting, I'm the best!"

"Great!" Ye Guan replied.That's exactly what I wanted to hear!

Gu Pan let out a loud laugh and disappeared into the horizon.

Ye Guan now looked forward to it.Gu Pan wasn't even in his true body, and he's already so terrifying. Who knows how powerful he'd become in his true form?

Ye Guan pulled back his thoughts. He collected the storage rings of the deceased gods and looked at the black-robed man in the distance. The black-robed man's face was a bit grim.

The black-robed man saw everything and naturally understood that the young swordsman before him was definitely not someone he could handle.

But... the young swordsman was a heretic. He suddenly felt awkward, not knowing what to do.

Ye Guan smiled. "Senior..."

The black-robed man hurriedly said, "Young Master Ye, I am a Judicial Officer. My name is Nan Xiao. You may call me Little Nan."

Ye Guan smiled. "Brother Nan, regarding our current situation... what should we do?"

Nan Xiao was silent for a moment, then asked, "Brother Ye, are you referring to..."

"I'm a heretic."

Nan Xiao quickly said, "No, no, I saw nothing."

Ye Guan was lost for words.

Nan Xiao suddenly said, "Brother Ye, when you said you wanted to turn over a new leaf earlier... did you mean it?"

Ye Guan looked at Nan Xiao.

Nan Xiao sternly said, "I think that if you stay out there with those heretics, you'll definitely get into big trouble sooner or later. And I think you're a really good person.

"If you don't have any other plans, you could join the Temple of the Gods."

At this point, he suddenly became excited.

If he could recruit this young man into the Temple of the Gods, it would be a huge win for him, as it meant gaining a powerful ally who would help him greatly in his bid to become a Chief Divine Officer.

Most importantly, it would be a massive win for the Temple of the Gods!

It was good for him, and good for the Temple of the Gods!

Ye Guan said, "But I'm a heretic..."

Nan Xiao waved his hand. "It's just a label. Whether you're good or evil is up to us. We control the world's opinion. If we say you're good, then even if you're evil, you're still good. If we say you're evil, then even if you're good, you're still evil."

Ye Guan was utterly speechless.