Chapter 62: Decisive Strike
He sat cross-legged and frantically absorbed the thick and pure spiritual energy in the air. I can’t afford to waste the spiritual energy here! I paid for this, so I’m going to absorb them all before I leave!
Meanwhile, Manager Mo Ya was standing in front of another woman.
The woman looked slightly annoyed. “Sister Mo Ya, that man has already gotten used to thirteen additional layers of gravity, but he still hasn’t come out. What if he absorbs all the spiritual energy we have in there? H-he’s too much!”
It was like going to a hotel restaurant to order a plate of vegetables while asking for an entire bucket of rice. In other words, Ye Guan was basically taking advantage of them!
Mo Ya remained calm as she replied, “There are no rules against absorbing as much spiritual energy in our cultivation rooms.”
The woman protested, “But he’s clearly taking advantage of us!”
Mo Ya smiled and said, “Can’t you see that he’s strong? He’s only a Spacetime Realm cultivator, but he’s capable of staying in a cultivation room with thirteen layers of additional gravity for an extended period of time.”
The woman thought about it before nodding. “Indeed, he’s impressive.”
“He’s the champion of the Upper Realm’s martial contest,” added Mo Ya.
The woman was astonished. “He’s Ye Guan? Didn’t he kill a True Dragon?”
Mo Ya wordlessly nodded with a solemn look.
The woman lowered her voice and asked, “I heard that he also killed An Mu from the An Clan. He’s indeed powerful, but… why is he so poor?”
Mo Ya chuckled and replied, “It’s definitely because he refused to accept his rewards as the champion, and he also rejected the offer of the Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy.”
The woman shook her head and lamented. “That doesn’t make sense at all!”
Mo Ya smiled and remarked, “I think he’s just a man of integrity and loyalty.”
The woman sounded solemn as she said, “I heard that he had visited the Li Clan, the Shenge Clan, and the Shen Clan, but they all rejected him.
”In the end, he had no choice but to join the Daoist Sect. I’m sure you already know, but the Daoist Sect is…” The woman trailed off and shook her head.
Everyone knew the Daoist Sect’s circumstances, and they were well aware that the Daoist Sect’s disbandment was nigh.
Mo Ya was still all smiles as she said, “I think the Daoist Sect had made a very bold decision by accepting Ye Guan. Senior Dao had basically decided to gamble. If his gamble pays off, the Daoist Sect will rise from the ashes. If his gamble fails… well, the Daoist Sect is already at the bottom, how can things still get worse for them?”
“That’s true,” said the woman with a nod.
“Oh, it looks like he’s already in the room with fourteen layers of additional gravity,” said Mo Ya.
Fourteen layers of additional gravity! The two women’s faces turned solemn. Even a Space Annihilation Realm cultivator would hesitate to step into a room with fourteen additional layers of gravity, but Ye Guan was only a Spacetime Realm cultivator. This is crazy…
Ye Guan seemed unperturbed as he cultivated and practiced his sword techniques in a cultivation room with fourteen layers of additional gravity. Just like in the previous cultivation rooms, Ye Guan struggled at the beginning, but he quickly got used to the pressure.
Ye Guan wasn’t just acclimatizing to the heavier gravity of the cultivation rooms, but he was also trying to comprehend the intricacies of spacetime.
Ye Guan discovered that spacetime had unchanging rules, and he also discovered that he could accomplish anything with half the effort as long as he obeyed those rules.
It was similar to swimming. One could swim faster if one went along the current, but going against the current meant that one would have to exert more effort to achieve the same result.
Ye Guan was doing three things at once—cultivating and practicing his sword techniques, acclimatizing to the pressure, and comprehending the intricacies of spacetime.
His rate of progress was impressive. It took him less than a day to acclimatize to fourteen additional layers of gravity, while absorbing the spiritual energy in the cultivation room took him two more days for a total of three days.
Ye Guan soon found himself in front of the room with sixteen additional layers of gravity; the room with fifteen additional layers of gravity didn’t pose a significant challenge to him, so he decided to go straight to the room with sixteen additional layers of gravity.
Ye Guan was struck by a horrifying spacetime pressure the moment he walked into the room.
He took a deep breath before unsheathing his sword.
Shwing!
Ye Guan assumed a stance and started practicing his sword techniques. A kaleidoscope of sword lights manifested in the room, and one could see tiny cracks in the space where Ye Guan’s sword lights ended up dissipating.
…
Mo Ya wordlessly stared at the middle-aged man in front of her.
The two of them were in the grand hall of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. The middle-aged man was the Clan Leader of the True Dragon Clan.
Ao Tian couldn’t wait outside any longer, so he decided to visit Mo Ya.
He initially thought that Ye Guan would leave the Immortal Treasures Pavilion after a few days of cultivation, but the bastard exceeded his expectations. It had already been almost ten days since they arrived here and started waiting for Ye Guan.
He couldn’t wait anymore.
However, Ao Tian didn’t dare to just barge into the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. The True Dragon Clan’s foundation seemed solid on the Zhongtu Divine Continent, but they would never dare to lay siege to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.
Ao Tian decided to walk inside and talk with Mo Ya.
Ao Tian smiled and said, “Manager Mo, is Ye Guan cultivating here?”
Mo Ya nodded slightly. “Yes.”
Ao Tian stared deeply at her.
“Manager Mo, are you willing to hand him over to us?” he asked.
Mo Ya shook her head and said, “Clan Leader Ao Tian, what you’re asking is against our rules.”
Ao Tian remained calm. He opened his palm, revealing a storage ring that floated over to Mo Ya. The storage ring contained three hundred thousand gold spiritual crystals.
Ao Tian smiled and explained, “I won’t make things difficult for you. I heard that the cultivation rooms here have to be periodically closed for maintenance. How about you conduct the periodic maintenance today?
”Ye Guan will have to leave the Immortal Treasures Pavilion, and we will deal with him by ourselves by then. The storage ring is just a gesture of our sincerity, Manager Mo. We just want your support.”
Mo Ya silently stared at the floating storage ring. She was well aware that Ao Tian was only being polite to her because she was affiliated with the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.
Of course, she could reject his offer.
Unfortunately, rejection meant going against the True Dragon Clan.
The True Dragon Clan wouldn’t dare to offend the Immortal Treasures Pavilion, but it wouldn’t be difficult for them to pull some strings so that she would lose her job. By then, the True Dragon Clan could target her with virtually no repercussions.
In other words, Ao Tian wasn’t someone Mo Ya could afford to offend with her status.
Mo Ya accepted the storage ring and smiled.
“You’re too kind, Clan Leader Ao Tian,” she said.
Ao Tian smiled as well and said, “Thank you.”
Mo Ya’s expression turned solemn as she said, “Clan Leader Ao Tian, please remember that taking action in our pavilion is against the rules.”
“I understand.” Ao Tian nodded before turning around to leave.
Mo Ya sighed softly before heading to the cultivation rooms.
Ye Guan was still cultivating in one of the cultivation rooms.
“Should I call him out?” asked the woman behind Mo Ya.
Mo Ya said calmly, “Wait.”
The woman was confused.
“Sister Mo Ya…” she muttered
Mo Ya shook her head and explained, “We don’t have any grudge against him, so we shouldn’t be so cruel to him.”
The woman nodded slightly. She stood aside and went silent.
Four hours later, Ye Guan grinned as he lay on the ground of the cultivation room with sixteen additional layers of gravity.
The space in front of him had shattered.
Space Shattering Realm! It was a pleasant surprise.
Aside from his breakthrough, his overall strength also improved by over five times. Ye Guan’s smile deepened. He truly loved the feeling of exhaustion, and he could only find one word to describe it—amazing!
Ye Guan flicked his sleeve, and the Path Sword appeared in front of him.
Ye Guan stared at the Path Sword and asked softly, “Master Pagoda, can I alter Plain-Skirt Sister’s Decisive Strike?”
Little Pagoda asked, “Why would you do that?”
Ye Guan responded, “She’s a Great Sword Immortal, so she definitely has the prerequisites to deliver a decisive strike. Unfortunately, I’m just a greenhorn. I don’t have her many years of experience, and I have never been unrivaled as well.
“In other words, there is no way I can take advantage of Decisive Strike’s full potential. I can still perform it, but it won’t have the essence of the sword technique.”
Little Pagoda thought about it before asking, “How are you going to alter it?”
Ye Guan fell into deep contemplation before saying, “I’m not invincible, but I believe that my determination is invincible. I want to alter Decisive Strike in a way that if I were to use it, either my opponent or I would die.”
What? Little Pagoda was stupefied. Little Pagoda could still remember someone creating a similar sword technique in the past. Was history repeating itself?
Ye Guan asked, “What do you think, Master Pagoda?”
Little Pagoda responded, “Do as you wish.”
Ye Guan nodded. “Okay.”
Ye Guan stared intently at the Path Sword.
Ye Guan felt like he didn’t have to follow in the footsteps of other cultivators. The sword techniques of other cultivators were powerful, but they weren’t suitable for him. He had to forge his own path and create a sword technique that suited him.
Of course, he could use the sword techniques of other cultivators as reference materials. Ye Guan pondered the intricacies of his sword techniques. He soon decided to change his mindset from aiming for invincibility to aiming for his limits.
Ye Guan had also discovered long ago that both prowess and mental state were important while fighting other cultivators. Unfortunately, both variables would be exhausted during the course of a battle.
Ye Guan wanted to create a sword technique that would nullify that drawback.
It wasn’t a complicated sword technique. The essence was simple. Nothing would happen as long as Ye Guan hadn’t made a move just yet, but the moment he made a move, he would either kill his opponent or his opponent would kill him.
It was that simple.
Instant Death Strike was the dark, while Decisive Strike was the light.
Ye Guan decided to use the two sword techniques as the foundation. They were good enough, and he would only become even more masterful at performing them as time went on.
Ye Guan ended his pondering and sat cross-legged to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy.
As soon as he was done, he stood up and left the cultivation room.
Ye Guan was surprised to see Mo Ya upon opening the door.
“What is it, miss?” he asked.
Mo Ya’s expression was solemn as she said, “Clan Leader Ao Tian from the True Dragon Clan is waiting for you outside with the members of the True Dragon Clan.”
Ye Guan’s expression abruptly changed.
Mo Ya stared intently at Ye Guan and muttered, “I apologize, Young Master Ye, but I’m under immense pressure from the True Dragon Clan. I cannot let you stay in the Immortal Treasures Pavilion any longer. I hope you’ll understand my side.”
“I understand.” Ye Guan nodded. With that, he started walking away.
“Wait!” Mo Ya exclaimed.
Ye Guan came to a halt and turned to look at Mo Ya.
“The experts of the True Dragon Clan are waiting for you outside, so you’re definitely going to die out there,” said Mo Ya. She flicked her sleeve, and a black scroll floated over to Ye Guan.
Ye Guan was confused. “What is this?”
Mo Ya directed a solemn gaze at Ye Guan and explained, “It’s an Instant Teleportation Scroll. It’ll teleport you anywhere you want as long as it’s within a hundred thousand kilometers. This will help you escape.”
Ye Guan was astonished.
“Lady Mo Ya, you…” he muttered hesitantly.
Mo Ya smiled and added, “I can’t offend them, so this is the most I can do for you.”
Ye Guan bowed slightly.
“If I survive this ordeal, I will repay this favor someday,” he vowed.
He accepted the scroll and was about to leave, but Mo Ya stopped him once more.
Mo Ya extended a storage ring over to Ye Guan.
Ye Guan looked up and stared at her in confusion.
Mo Ya explained, “Have you already forgotten about the reward in the cultivation room with sixteen additional layers of gravity? This storage ring contains your reward of three hundred thousand gold spiritual crystals.”
Ye Guan shook his head and said, “It’s fine; you can have it.”
However, Mo Ya forced it into Ye Guan’s hands.
Ye Guan hesitated. He wanted to return it to her, but he eventually decided to accept it.
He bowed once more and said, “Farewell.”
Ye Guan finally walked away.
Meanwhile, the woman next to Mo Ya asked, “Sister Mo Ya, why did you not accept the storage ring when he offered that you take it? It contained three hundred thousand gold spiritual crystals…”
Mo Ya smiled and explained, “There are times when establishing a relationship is more important than money, and what happened just now is one of those times.”