I Have a Sword

Ye Guan turned to look at Zhou Fan and smiled gently at her. He then squeezed her hand lightly, startling Zhou Fan.

Seeing the clear look in Ye Guan’s eyes, Zhou Fan felt a mix of shyness, disappointment, and conflict. Overall, she couldn't quite understand her own feelings at the moment.

Ye Guan held Zhou Fan’s hand and led her down the stone steps.

The Right Elder's expression was somen. No one in the Great Zhou Empire had ever dared to defy an imperial edict—never.

Zhou Yuan, however, remained calm and unperturbed. What Great Zhou? If Young Master Ye were to summon his aunt, the Great Zhou would become history.

Elsewhere, Zhou Di was also watching Ye Guan and Zhou Fan.

An old monk with prayer beads was standing behind him, and the old man was busy chanting a scripture.

Zhou Di smiled and said, “The world says swordsmen are the most carefree people out there. It seems to be true. He has accumulated only eighty percent divinity, but his arrogance is clear for us to see. It seems like our Great Zhou is nothing but a mere ant in his eyes. I truly wonder whether his strength can back up his arrogance or not.”

The old monk continued chanting a scripture without responding.

Zhou Di asked, “Master, can you tell me his fate? Will he survive today's ordeal?”

The old monk opened his eyes and glanced at Ye Guan in the distance. Then, he calmly said, “Not worth it!”

With that, he closed his eyes again.

Zhou Di smiled. “Master, I’m quite curious. Can you make an exception for me this once?”

“Since Your Highness wants to know, I will make an exception." The old monk nodded. He glanced at Ye Guan and opened his palm. Then, he started divining Ye Guan's fate. The lines of fate and causality began to converge on him. The next moment, however, his face changed drastically, and a flicker of sword light flitted across his eyes.

Slash!

A spurt of blood burst out of the old monk's eyes, and he howled, “My eyes! I can't see!”

Zhou Di was dumbfounded.

Looking at the old monk's bloody face, Zhou Di hurriedly asked, “What’s going on?”

The old monk trembled and said, “There is an unknown causality around him, and it cannot be probed at all. Damn it!”

Zhou Di's face became solemn.

Zhou Mu was also watching Ye Guan from afar. A light smile tugged at his lips as he asked, “Master, what do you think of him?”

Dao Jun looked at Ye Guan from afar and said, “His bearing is extraordinary, rarely seen in this world.”

Zhou Mu smiled and said, “Indeed, I must admit that my Ninth Sister has a keen eye for people. However, this young man has just disrespected the Great Zhou's Imperial family by taking her away just like that. What a rash move. If I were him, I would bide my time and find another way to take her away rather than forcing both himself and my ninth sister into a dead end like this.”

Zhou Mu shook his head slightly. “His talent is acceptable, but his intelligence is lacking.”

Seeing that Zhou Mu had given his assessment, Dao Jun said nothing more and simply closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Ye Guan was walking down the stone steps while holding Zhou Fan's hand.

Zhou Fan allowed Ye Guan to hold her hand, but her heart found the scene to be quite absurd. She knew very well what defying an imperial edict meant—certain death. No one had ever dared to do so before. His Majesty's decree represented supreme authority, unquestionable and inviolable. However, when the young man said, “If you trust me, come with me,” she didn't hesitate and chose to go with him. Zhou Fan couldn't quite explain why, but she suddenly felt that even if they were to die together here, it wouldn't be so bad.

With that thought in mind, Zhou Fan laughed. To put life and death aside... what a surprise.

Boom!

The sky suddenly became overcast, and thick clouds filled the skies above the Great Zhou. As thunder roared and lightning flashed, both heaven and earth quivered.

“Zhou Fan, take one step more, and this Dao will execute you at once." A voice echoed from above. It was from the Heavenly Dao of the Great Zhou.

Ye Guan and Zhou Fan had already reached the final step.

Ye Guan turned to Zhou Fan and smiled. “Are you scared?”

“Yes.” Zhou Fan nodded. Then, with a radiant smile, she added, “But also, no.”

Ye Guan laughed heartily. Then, holding Zhou Fan’s hand, he took that final step.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning tore through the clouds and made a beeline for him.

The earth trembled as the lightning bolt approached, and that was when Ye Guan opened his palm, revealing a lick of flame.

The world instantly became silent.

The lightning bolt that resembled a pillar stopped abruptly came to a halt.

Zhou Di’s eyes widened, and his face turned pale.

Zhou Mu clenched his fists, staring intently at the lick of flame in Ye Guan’s hand with a pale face.

The powerhouses of the Great Zhou were petrified.

The Tianxing Flame!

They instantly recognized the Tianxing Flame, as there were many ancient texts describing it within the Great Zhou.

Moreover, the Tianxing Civilization was the only known Tier Five civilization so far.

The Tianxing Flame's appearance meant that those witnessing it would soon be reduced to ashes.

It was a mighty flame capable of annihilating civilizations, but it was docile in the hands of the young man before them.

There was no doubting it. The young man was from the Tianxing Civilization!

Everyone shared the same thought.

In the distance, the Right Elder was trembling as he looked at the Tianxing Flame in Ye Guan's hand. "T-t-that's the Tianxing Flame!"

"Yeah, it's the Tianxing Flame," Zhou Yuan said calmly.

The Right Elder turned to Zhou Yuan in disbelief.

Zhou Fan was stupefied as well. She knew Ye Guan had a trump card, but she truly didn't expect him to whip out the Tianxing Flame just like that.

Is he from the Tianxing Civilization? Zhou Fan turned to look at Ye Guan, surprised and shocked.

Ye Guan looked up and asked, "Where is the Emperor of the Great Zhou?"

His voice, amplified by his profound energy, spread throughout the Great Zhou.

Where is the Emperor of Great Zhou?! The people of Great Zhou were all shocked and furious. What a disrespectful brat!

Although furious Ye Guan, none of them dared to speak.

The old monk next to Zhou Di was trembling. "The Tianxing Civilization! No wonder... that young man, no, that young hero is actually from the Tianxing Civilization!"

Zhou Di's face turned extremely ugly. In an instant, many thoughts flashed in his mind, and it was all about himself, but they were all extremely bad.

Meanwhile, Zhou Mu finally recovered, and he stared calmly at Ye Guan in the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

When Ye Guan realized that the Emperor of the Great Zhou seemed like he had no plans of appearing before him. He infused his profound energy into the Tianxing Flame, and the lick of flame expanded slightly.

Everyone was horrified.

Was he really going to set the entire Great Zhou on fire?!

Rumble!

Just then, a spacetime rift was torn open in front of Ye Guan, and a middle-aged man in a yellow robe walked out of it.

The middle-aged man looked kind, and he exuded a scholarly air. He seemed devoid of a ruler's domineering aura.

However, his appearance here meant only one thing—he was the Emperor of the Great Zhou!

Everyone present knelt down at the same time, including Zhou Di and Zhou Mu.

Zhou Yuan didn't kneel, as he acknowledged no one here except for Ye Guan.

Zhou Fan bent her knees and was about to kneel, but Ye Guan held her up. He looked at Zhou Fan and smiled, "There is no need to kneel."

Zhou Fan hesitated briefly before replying, "But he's my father..."

Ye Guan was dumbstruck.

Zhou Fan was about to kneel again, but a gentle wave of energy helped her up.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou said to Zhou Fan, "If I let you kneel, your man might set fire to the Great Zhou."

Zhou Fan's face turned a bit red, but she didn’t attempt to explain anything.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou looked at Ye Guan and smiled. "I've arrived. Speak."

Ye Guan felt a bit puzzled. This guy didn’t seem to be afraid of the Tianxing Flame at all. Had he seen through the fact that Ye Guan wasn’t from the Tianxing Civilization?

Setting that thought aside, Ye Guan said, "I want to take Lady Zhou Fan away."

The Emperor of the Great Zhou shook his head. "No."

Ye Guan frowned.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou added, "Under what pretext will you take her away?"

Ye Guan was stunned.

Zhou Fan glanced at Ye Guan but didn’t say anything.

Ye Guan remained silent.

Zhou Fan suddenly smiled, "Naturally, as a friend."

The Emperor of the Great Zhou looked at Zhou Fan, feeling somewhat helpless. Truly, daughters were hard to keep at home!

The Emperor of the Great Zhou turned to Ye Guan and asked. "As a friend?"

Ye Guan smiled. "Under what pretext do you want me to take her away, senior."

The Emperor of Great Zhou smiled. "It all depends on you."

Ye Guan said, "It hasn't been that long since I became friends with Lady Zhou Fan, but I've always admired her wisdom and character. In my heart, she isn't just a friend. She's my confidante as well. In a man's lifetime, he may have multiple women, but a confidante is the opposite."

Zhou Fan was initially taken aback by Ye Guan's words, but then a smile eventually tugged at her lips.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou, however, inwardly lampooned. The young man was a sly and clever young man. He knew the art of saying a lot but beating around the bush.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou's goal was simple—determine the relationship between Ye Guan and Zhou Fan.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou felt a bit helpless by Ye Guan's evasiveness, and he turned to Zhou Fan, saying, "You can make your own decision."

Ye Guan felt relieved. The emperor was going to let go of Zhou Fan. Things would become troublesome otherwise, so Ye Guan was truly relieved.

And that was when Zhou Fan said, "I'm willing to stay in the Great Zhou."

Ye Guan turned to look at Zhou Fan in surprise.

Zhou Fan smiled slightly and remarked, "I changed my mind."

Ye Guan, puzzled, asked, "Why?"

Zhou Fan smiled but didn't explain.

After a long silence, Ye Guan said, "I respect your decision."

With that, he let go of Zhou Fan's hand and turned around to leave.

Zhou Fan grabbed his hand and said, "Don't be angry at me, okay?"

Ye Guan shook his head. "I'm not."

Zhou Fan gently said, "You understand me, right?"

After another long silence, Ye Guan sighed.

Zhou Fan was delighted, and she grinned from ear to ear.

Ye Guan took out a transmission talisman and placed it in Zhou Fan's hand, "Don't lose it this time. If you need anything, contact me, and I will respond."

Zhou Fan nodded slightly. "I will."

Ye Guan smiled. "Until we meet again, then."

Zhou Fan let go of Ye Guan's hand and replied, "Until we meet again."

Without another word, Ye Guan hopped onto his sword and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Fan looked up at the sky.

After a long silence, she said, "Father, I want to be the heir..."