I Have a Sword

When Fu Ji's voice fell, the demonic beast charged at Ye Guan once again. It radiated a fierce killing intent as it stared at Ye Guan, and it looked like it wanted to devour Ye Guan whole.

Before it could do anything, however, a resonant sword hum echoed from the spacetime rift in the air. The cultivators from the outside were here!

The expression on "Zong Wu's" face turned grim. Although he was unwilling, he flicked his sleeve and recalled the demonic beast. As soon as the demonic beast disappeared, a sword light flew into the special battlefield.

The sword light belonged to none other than Yue Qi!

She was stunned upon seeing the injured Ye Guan and the deceased Fu Ji. Then, she turned toward "Zong Wu" and glared fiercely at him, shouting, "What did you do?!"

Rumble!

An extremely powerful sword force enveloped "Zong Wu."

"Zong Wu" had returned back to normal, and the powerful aura of a ten percent divinity expert could no longer be felt from him. Countless experts rushed into the special battlefield, and they were immediately stunned by the sight.

Everyone's gaze landed on Zong Wu. However, Zong Wu remained calm as he stared at Yue Qi. "Sect Master Yue, this was a fair battle, so what's wrong with this?"

"Nonsense!" Ye Chen exclaimed. He glared at Zong Wu and said, "You were cheating! You allowed a mysterious cultivator to possess you. If it weren't for Brother Ye Yang, we would have all been killed and silenced by you!"

The crowd erupted into an uproar.

Cheating? A possession? Everyone looked at Zong Wu in disbelief.

Zong Wu glanced at Ye Chen and sneered, "Clearly, it's your people from Qingzhou and Nanzhou who can't accept defeat. You're not my match, so you broke the rules to frame me. How laughable."

Ye Chen's face turned ashen. He stared at Zong Wu with a burning hatred. "You dare to distort the truth? Do you really think that the academy is ignorant of what is going on?

The talents from Qingzhou and Nanzhou scolded Zong Wu for blatantly lying.

Yue Qi and the cultivators from the Nanzhou Guanxuan Academy looked at Zong Wu with increasingly hostile expressions, and they all got ready to make a move.

However, Zong Wu even laughed at their faces. "You all just can't accept losing to me. You're just afraid of me becoming the champion. I'm distorting the truth? If you don't believe me, how about we fight again? Come on and fight me together again!"

Everyone's faces turned grim. They hadn't expected that Zong Wu would be so shameless.

Just then, Ye Zhuxin stepped forward. She bowed deeply to Yue Qi and the academy chiefs before saying, "Sect Master, Academy Chiefs, this was what happened…"

She recounted the events in detail.

"Pfft!" Zong Wu burst out into a peal of laughter. "Ye Zhuxin, did you just say that I have a ten percent divinity expert inside me? Don't you find that ridiculous? How could an Immortal Realm cultivator survive an encounter with a ten percent divinity expert? Isn't that ridiculous?"

The Academy Chiefs furrowed their eyebrows.

A figure with ten percent divinity could easily defeat a Great Sovereign Realm cultivator, so how could an Immortal Realm cultivator survive against them?

The academy chiefs cast doubtful gazes at Ye Zhuxin.

Ye Zhuxin and the others looked extremely grim as well. They agreed that it was absurd, but it was the truth.

Of course, Yue Qi and Song Fu believed them, and they glared at Zong Wu with a hostile expression.

Zhu Qiu stepped forward. He glanced at Zong Wu and then at Ye Guan before saying, "There's something suspicious going on. Let's halt the competition for now. Zong Wu, Ye Yang, and the other participants are to remain within the confines of the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy for investigation."

The talents were furious, but they had no other choice.

Meanwhile, Ye Guan picked up Fu Ji's body and slowly stood up.

Everyone's gaze turned to Ye Guan.

Zong Wu cast a cold and murderous gaze at Ye Guan. This was a battle he thought he would win quite easily, but he hadn't expected that such a monstrous cultivator would appear.

He hadn't been able to kill him in an instant despite the massive gap between their cultivation bases, but if he had more time…

Ye Guan carried Fu Ji and walked over to Yue Qi.

"Something strange has happened here. The Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy is clearly problematic. Tell the Main Academy to send top-tier experts over to perform a time-reversal investigation."

With that, he carried Fu Ji away.

"What did you just say, Ye Yang? My academy is problematic? How absurd," Zhu Qiu said, clearly offended.

Ye Guan spun around and roared, "You're the one being absurd!"

Zhu Qiu froze, stunned by Ye Guan's overwhelming presence and loud roar.

Ye Guan glared coldly at Zhu Qiu and finally walked away with Fu Ji in his arms.

Zhu Qiu's face was pale, and his eyes were both gloomy and dark.

Yue Qi glanced at Zhu Qiu and Zong Wu.

"Someone!" she exclaimed.

Hum!

A sword hum ou echoed, and an elder appeared beside Yue Qi. She then spoke with a stern face, "Pass down my orders—the Sword Sect disciples are to return to the sect as soon as possible."

Zhu Qiu asked in a low voice, "Sect Master Yue, what's the meaning of that?"

"This is to protect the Sword Sect disciples. Is there a problem?"

"Sect Master Yue, the academy will guarantee their safety. You—"

Yue Qi cut him off, "I don't trust you."

Zhu Qiu's expression stiffened.

Without saying anything else, she turned and led a group of Sword Sect disciples away.

"Notify Nanzhou and our academy to send cultivators from our academy and the Sword Sect over," Song Fu said to an elder next to him. Then, he glanced at Zhu Qiu and said coldly, "I don't trust you either."

Song Fu then turned around and led his group away.

They had no trust in Zhu Qiu, not only because of Ye Guan's words but also because the Cloud Recorder had malfunctioned for some reason. They felt that something was off, and they were finally certain that it was intentional.

The only ones capable of pulling off something like this were the organizers, the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy.

Zhu Qiu's expression turned incredibly grim, while Zong Wu's eyes flickered with murderous intent.

***

When Ye Guan arrived in front of Aunt Jiao with Fu Ji's body in his arms, Aunt Jiao's mind went blank. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. Uncle Butcher next to her quickly caught her, but he was panicking as well.

Aunt Jiao trembled uncontrollably as she reached out a shaky hand touched Fu Ji's cold hand. She tried to say something, but she couldn't squeeze the words out of her throat.

Looking at the helpless and lost Aunt Jiao, Ye Guan felt as though his heart was being torn apart. He lowered his head slightly, not daring to look at her as he said, "Aunt Jiao, I'm sorry…"

Aunt Jiao looked at Ye Guan. "D-did he die for Qingzhou?"

Ye Guan shook his head. "Someone cheated, and he died to save me."

Aunt Jiao was stunned, and then she nodded. She quietly lifted Fu Ji's body before walking away. After a few steps, she stopped and said, "Young Master Ye… I don't blame you at all."

With that, she walked away with Fu Ji's body in her arms.

Ye Guan stood there with tears welling up in his eyes. He watched until they disappeared from his sight.

Yang Yian walked up to Ye Guan's side and held his hand. She didn't speak, but her eyes were filled with worry.

Just then, Yue Qi walked over and said to Ye Guan, "We need to talk."

Ye Guan nodded in response.

Ye Guan and Yang Yian followed Yue Qi into a grand hall.

Ye Chen, Song Fu, and the experts from Nanzhou were present in the hall.

When Ye Guan entered, everyone in the hall turned their gaze toward him.

Song Fu fixed his eyes on Ye Guan and spoke with a stern expression, "Young Master Ye, we believe Ye Chen and Ye Zhuxin's words. However, we are still skeptical about the fact that you were able to resist a cultivator with ten percent divinity, so we would like to test you. Is it fine?"

"Go ahead!" Ye Guan replied.

Song Fu nodded and stepped forward.

A powerful aura and oppressive aura swept toward Ye Guan.

Ye Guan unsheathed Order and thrust it forward.

Boom!

The oppressive aura was shattered into pieces.

Song Fu's eyes flashed with disbelief. Although he wasn't a Divine Dao Realm expert with ten percent divinity, he was still a Great Time Sovereign Realm cultivator, and he was far stronger than Ye Guan.

There was no mistaking it; Ye Guan was a monstrous genius!

Song Fu's heart trembled in shock.

Ye Zhuxin and the others were stunned. So this is what a genius truly looks like…

"There's something wrong with the Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy. The person inside Zong Wu definitely has an extraordinary background. You may not be able to confront them…"

Ye Guan turned to Yue Qi.

Yue Qi spoke in a deep voice, "I've notified the Main Guanxuan Academy. Rest assured, the Main Guanxuan Academy will serve justice for you, Fu Ji, and for everyone else involved."

Ye Guan nodded quietly.

***

Zhu Qiu glared at "Zong Wu" with an extremely displeased face. "What exactly happened?"

"Zong Wu" remained expressionless as he replied, "I didn't expect him to be so strong. It dragged on for too long."

A cold killing intent flickered in his eyes.

Zhu Qiu's face darkened. "How do we resolve this now?"

"What's the rush?" "Zong Wu" asked with a smile.

"Rush? The Main Guanxuan Academy's top experts will soon come here to conduct a time-reversal investigation. By then, we will—"

"Don't worry. Experts capable of doing a time-reversal investigation can only be mobilized by the Pavillion Master and the Academy Master. The Pavillion Master is busy dealing with the Great Zhou and isn't even at the academy right now.

"As for the Academy Master, no one has any idea where he is. In other words, this is nothing more than a small matter."

Zhu Qiu was about to say something when "Zong Wu" added, "We've already sent people to erase any traces in the special battlefield. Once those traces are removed, it won't matter even if the Pavillion Master or the Academy Master end up sending those top experts to investigate."

Zhu Qiu relaxed, and he seemed to have recalled something as he asked, "The most important thing now is to handle the families from Qingzhou and Nanzhou.

"The aristocratic families and clans are not our greatest concern now, but what about the Ye Clan and the An Clan? How do you plan to handle them?"

"Zong Wu" replied calmly, "Our people are already at work."

Zhu Qiu cast a wary gaze at "Zong Wu."

"Zong Wu" stood up and looked out the hall. "Ye Yang… he must die…"

***

In a small thatched house, Aunt Jiao was kneeling beside the bed where Fu Ji's lifeless body lay. She stroked Fu Ji's face gently and said, "Hadn't you said that you'd give your mother a wedding? How… how could you break your promise?"

Uncle Butcher was worried, but he had no idea what to say to comfort her.

After a long time, Aunt Jiao finally covered Fu Ji with a blanket. She looked at Uncle Butcher and wiped her face clean before smiling. "Thank you… for taking care of us over the years…"

Uncle Butcher hesitated before grabbing her hand. "You… I…"

Aunt Jiao looked at Uncle Butcher with deep concern as she said, "Don't worry. I won't do anything foolish … I'm going to the Main Guanxuan Academy to find the statue of the Academy Master. I want to ask him for justice…"

Uncle Butcher nodded. "I'll go with you."

Aunt Jiao nodded, and they sat together for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Aunt Jiao opened her eyes to find that Uncle Butcher was no longer there. She tried to go out, but the door was locked. There was a crumpled note written shakily on the door, and it said, "Dangerous… Surrender…"

Aunt Jiao froze and stared at the note in shock.

***

As soon as daybreak arrived, Uncle Butcher made his way to the Guanxuan Academy, and he hurried toward the statue of the Academy Master. But before he could reach it, a figure in black appeared in front of him.

"What do you want?"

The nervous Uncle Butcher mustered his courage and said, "I'm… Fu Ji's father… fight… cheating… I need to… report to the Academy Master…"

The figure in black glared coldly at him before saying, "Wait here."

Then, he disappeared into thin air.

After a short while, the figure reappeared before Uncle Butcher and looked at him coldly. Uncle Butcher froze and sensed that something was wrong. He reached for his butcher's knife, but—

Swoosh!

Uncle Butcher's figure was suddenly engulfed in flames. As he burned, he cast a final glance at the distant statue of Ye Guan. Moments later, he was reduced to ashes, disappearing into the wind as if he had never existed in the first place.

Coca and Corlumbus's Thoughts

No freaking way! The butcher died too?