Chapter 208

Chapter 208: Little Pagoda’s Fortune!

Night.

“Teacher, dinner is ready.”

A cold, desolate voice echoed through the great hall.

Ye Tianming, who had been reading, set down his book and walked to the dining table, which was already filled with dishes, all looking incredibly appetizing.

Ye Tianming smiled and took a deep sniff, saying greedily, “Smells amazing.”

With that, he picked up his chopsticks and popped a piece of meat into his mouth.

Canghan watched him with a face full of anticipation. Ye Tianming suddenly looked over at her and said sincerely, “Xiaohan, your cooking has improved again. It’s delicious!”

Canghan instantly broke into a radiant smile.

Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Come sit down, let’s eat together.”

Canghan nodded, “Mm.”

With that, she sat down.

Just then, Jidian walked in. Without a word, he sat straight down, picked up a bowl nearby, and started eating.

He now showed up right on time for meals at the hall, and he didn’t treat himself as an outsider — he’d arrive and dig right in.

Ye Tianming glanced at him, “Hasn’t your body recovered yet?”

Jidian said flatly, “No.”

Ye Tianming said, “I think there’s something wrong with your dao heart…….”

Jidian immediately set down his chopsticks and said with displeasure, “What do you mean something wrong with my dao heart? My dao heart is as solid as a rock — how could anything be wrong with it? Do you even know how to talk? Huh?”

At that moment, Canghan suddenly stood up, walked over to Jidian, and took away his bowl and chopsticks.

Then she returned to her seat and continued eating.

Jidian: “…….”

Ye Tianming glanced at Jidian, gave a slight nod, and said nothing.

Jidian looked at Canghan, his expression darkening a little, “Little girl, do you know who you’re sitting in front of? You actually dared to take my bowl away. I’m telling you, you’ve brought great karma upon yourself.”

Canghan quietly ate her food and said nothing in response.

Seeing that Canghan wasn’t going to engage, Jidian didn’t bother making a fool of himself. After a moment of silence, he finally looked at Ye Tianming, “You’re at Establishing Dao?”

Ye Tianming gave a slight nod.

Jidian glanced at him, “I’m at the Ancestor-Claiming realm.”

Ye Tianming said sincerely, “Impressive.”

He could tell that Jidian wasn’t very old. Reaching the Ancestor-Claiming realm at such a young age was genuinely remarkable.

Jidian let out a cold snort, feeling inexplicably irritated, “I’ll say it — you scholars are so annoying, always talking in that stiff, formal way. Can’t you be a bit more straightforward and bold? Just say whatever’s on your mind.”

Ye Tianming thought for a moment, then said, “How does someone at the Ancestor-Claiming realm end up beaten this badly? Is it that the Ancestor-Claiming realm is weak, or is it that you’re weak?”

Jidian: “…….”

Ye Tianming looked at his darkening expression and smiled, “See, I tell the truth and you can’t handle it.”

After a brief silence, Jidian grew even more irritated. He grabbed two bowls of dishes, then snatched up the rice pot and bolted out.

Canghan’s expression immediately darkened. What a glutton.

After Jidian left, Canghan suddenly said, “Teacher, I feel like he has something going on.”

Ye Tianming smiled, “He’s a proud and arrogant person.”

Canghan nodded, then quietly picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Ye Tianming’s bowl.

Ye Tianming picked one up for her too, smiling, “You eat as well.”

Canghan gave a sweet smile.

After dinner, Ye Tianming went back to reading. After washing the dishes, Canghan came in hugging a book of her own. She didn’t disturb Ye Tianming, but sat not far from him and read quietly — though every now and then she would sneak a glance at him.

There was only one day left until the Martial Dao Grand Tournament.

At this moment, the entire True World was extraordinarily lively. The Martial Dao Grand Tournament had always drawn every genius and prodigy from across the True World, and this time was no different — but what made this time special was that Yang Jia, the young lord of the Guanxuan Domain, had returned.

On top of that, the Immortal Treasure Pavilion had been relentlessly building up Yang Jia’s reputation and handing out all kinds of benefits to those coming to watch, so the number of live spectators this time was the highest in history.

The venue for the Martial Dao Grand Tournament was not the old Martial Dao Realm, but the Xuan Realm — a world newly carved out by the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. Construction had already begun the moment Yang Jia arrived. The place could hold tens of millions of people, and the space-time there was being continuously reinforced by the Immortal Treasure Pavilion’s top-tier formation masters.

Beyond that, the Immortal Treasure Pavilion had also distributed tens of millions of cloud recorders for free outside, to broadcast the event live across the entire universe and further amplify Yang Jia’s prestige.

Guanxuan Domain.

The Guanxuan Domain was extremely busy at this moment, as the tournament was just around the corner — they couldn’t afford to let their guard down for even a second.

In the courtyard, Young Master Xin sat on a stone stool, a go board laid out on the stone table before him.

Just then, a figure in black suddenly appeared beside Young Master Xin and said in a low voice, “Young Master, we’ve just received word…….”

After listening to the report, Young Master Xin glanced at the figure in black, “He slaughtered a group of mysterious powerful individuals?”

The figure in black said gravely, “Yes. Our people are currently investigating the origins of those individuals, but from what we can tell so far, they were all extremely powerful — the weakest among them was at the ninth layer of the Circle-Breaking realm — and they were all killed single-handedly by that Ye Tianming.”

Young Master Xin’s brow furrowed, “He’s already beyond the Circle-Breaking realm?”

The figure in black said, “We’ve estimated that he’s at least beyond Circle-Breaking, likely having reached Comprehending True Intent……. and on top of that, this person may have other cards up his sleeve.”

Young Master Xin nodded, “That’s to be expected. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be qualified to be the young lord’s opponent. By the way, who exactly were the people he killed?”

The figure in black said gravely, “Still investigating, but from what we can tell so far, they appear to be outsiders — we just don’t know which faction they belong to.”

Young Master Xin nodded, “Understood.”

The figure in black added, “Also, for the past few days he’s been at the Buddha-Demon Sect reading every day, and hasn’t been cultivating at all.”

“Reading?”

Young Master Xin smiled, “Can reading get you to Establishing Dao and Claiming Ancestry?”

With that, he waved his hand dismissively, “Stop paying attention to him. Focus on preparing for the upcoming Martial Dao Grand Tournament.”

The figure in black bowed deeply, “As you command.”

With that, they withdrew.

After the figure in black left, Young Master Xin picked up a black go piece and placed it down, smiling, “Since you refuse to be a piece on the board, then you can only be a discarded piece — and this is the fate of a discarded piece…….”

Somewhere in the starry river, inside a great hall, over a hundred soul tablets shattered simultaneously.

“Hm?”

A voice suddenly rang out within the hall.

In the next moment, a middle-aged man appeared inside the hall. He looked at the shattered soul tablets, “They’re all dead.”

At that moment, an elderly man appeared in the hall, “Hall Master Yue, it has been confirmed — they have all fallen.”

Hall Master Yue’s expression was blank, “What about the eldest young miss?”

The elderly man said gravely, “The little girl from before was not the eldest young miss. We suspect it was a deliberate act of misdirection by that guard from back then — he didn’t want us to find the real eldest young miss. But without a doubt, the eldest young miss must still be in that True World.”

Hall Master Yue gave a slight nod, “Then keep looking.”

The elderly man said, “And this matter…….”

Hall Master Yue said calmly, “Anyone capable of killing them is certainly no ordinary person. Look into what factions currently exist in the True World.”

The elderly man said, “I’ve already looked into it. The strongest force in the True World right now is the Guanxuan Domain — a faction that rose up from a small world. Their Guanxuan Sword Master is extremely powerful. After our people arrived there, they were suppressed by this person’s great dao.”

“Guanxuan Sword Master!”

Hall Master Yue’s brow furrowed. That name — he had never heard it before.

The elderly man said, “It’s an entirely new faction, but it has grown at an extraordinary pace. From what we can tell, it may have already surpassed the Heavenly Court and the Ancient Zhe Sect at their respective peaks.”

Hall Master Yue said, “Look into it. Find out whether the Guanxuan Domain was behind this. If they were, then wipe them out.”

With that, he turned and left.

The elderly man said, “As you command.”

With that, he quietly vanished.

Inside the small pagoda.

Yang Jia sat cross-legged on the ground. For this period of time, he had been cultivating inside the small pagoda — which was undoubtedly the finest cultivation ground in this entire universe.

Yang Jia sat cross-legged, mysterious energy flowing around his body — a deep crimson bordering on purple, utterly terrifying.

After a long while, Yang Jia gave a light wave of his hand, and the mysterious energy around him gradually dissipated.

Yang Jia stood up and slowly opened his eyes, a trace of world-weariness surfacing within his gaze.

Time passes without notice in cultivation — especially inside the small pagoda, where it slips away so fast you can barely feel it.

The small pagoda suddenly said, “Congratulations.”

Yang Jia smiled, “It’s a good thing I had this place. Otherwise, there’s no way I could have finished this so quickly…….”

With that, he took a deep breath, “Now, never mind one Ye Tianming — even a hundred Ye Tianmings, what is there to fear? No, wait…….”

At that, he smiled, “My goal, Yang Jia’s goal, should be the Great Dao Rankings!”

Yes, he had lost to Ye Tianming twice — but so what?

On the path of the great dao, what matters is never a single moment, but the long run. It’s about who gets to laugh last.

The small pagoda suddenly reminded him, “Little one, I have to warn you — don’t underestimate Tianming. I know him well. He’s a prodigy, and his talent is every bit as high as yours. Don’t be careless.”

Yang Jia smiled, “I hope he gets even stronger. Otherwise, where’s the fun in that?”

The small pagoda said gravely, “You’re still underestimating him. I’m telling you, he is truly no simple figure — especially his Laws of All Beings. He has a third law he has never used, and even I don’t know what that third law is. So you…….”

“Enough.”

Yang Jia cut the small pagoda off directly, “Pagoda Elder, I’m not underestimating him — it’s you who’s underestimating me. Of course, I understand you. After all, you’ve been away from our Yang family for so many years, so it’s only natural that you’ve fallen a bit behind the times.”

With that, he paused, then continued, “Pagoda Elder, in light of the fact that you’ve served three generations of our Yang family, I’ll offer you one small piece of advice: whether as a person or as a pagoda, you must learn to know your place. What should be said and what shouldn’t — you need to have a firm grasp on that. Don’t lose sight of who you are!”

With that, he vanished from inside the small pagoda.

As far as he was concerned, he had already done more than enough. As for whether this small pagoda could reflect on itself and mend its ways — well, that was up to its own fortune.

Small pagoda: “……”