Chapter 276

Chapter 276: It’s Really Over.

Qingqiu.

　　Ye Tianming looked up toward the void above, but he could see nothing.

　　And above the void, a woman was looking down at him.

　　It was Qingqiu.

　　Qingqiu watched him, her gaze gentle and full of warmth.

　　But Ye Tianming could not see her.

　　Since he could see no one, Ye Tianming withdrew his gaze and looked toward Xiao Ta’s side. At this moment, the people standing near the Tower Ancestor were all staring at him with curiosity.

　　He could not sense any of their auras.

　　Xiao Ta walked up to Ye Tianming and smiled. “Don’t overthink it. They don’t get involved in any of this. I called them this time, and they did me a favor by coming. It’s that simple. There’s no scheme or hidden agenda. They genuinely have no interest in any of this.”

　　Ye Tianming said sincerely, “Tower Ancestor, thank you.”

　　Xiao Ta laughed. “Thank me for what? For me, this is nothing but a small matter. A small matter, haha!”

　　Ye Tianming: “…….”

　　Xiao Ta smiled. “Now leave it to us!”

　　With that, he turned and looked toward Tinglан Dijun at the horizon, laughing loudly. “You people from Shenlin Territory, how do you want to fight? One-on-one or a brawl? We’re flexible. You pick.”

　　Everyone: “……”

　　Tinglan Dijun looked at Xiao Ta. “One-on-one first, then?”

　　Xiao Ta laughed heartily. “Sure.”

　　Just then, up in the void, Qingqiu suddenly extended one hand and gently pressed it down toward Tinglan Dijun.

　　Tinglan Dijun’s pupils instantly contracted. He felt a crisis unlike anything he had ever experienced. He thrust both hands upward, and in an instant, countless streams of Great Dao power surged forth — but the next moment —

　　Thud!

　　To everyone’s disbelief, Tinglan Dijun was forcibly pressed down onto his knees.

　　What the hell?

　　Everyone was stunned.

　　He just dropped to his knees?

　　This was a Huaquan realm cultivator!

　　Who did that?

　　Everyone looked up toward the void and saw a woman — delicate and refined, calm and elegant, with the bearing of a true noble lady.

　　Who was she?

　　Everyone was bewildered.

　　But Ye Tianming could see nothing at all. He was both shocked and utterly confused, because he could tell that the people around him had clearly seen someone.

　　He was the only one who couldn’t!

　　Beside Ye Tianming, Liusha witnessed this scene and was equally astonished. “Little martial nephew, this one’s impressive, truly impressive!”

　　Ye Tianming: “…….”

　　The powerhouses from Shenlin Territory were completely dumbfounded.

　　What in the world?

　　Tinglan Dijun just dropped to his knees?

　　How was that possible?

　　Not just them — even Tinglan Dijun himself was stunned.

　　He was Huaquan realm!

　　He tried to resist, but at this moment he felt as though he had been nailed to the spot. All his power was suppressed — even his own Great Dao was suppressed.

　　He could not resist at all.

　　This was absolute suppression!

　　He and the one who had acted were simply not on the same level!

　　Tinglan Dijun slowly raised his head and looked up into the void. He saw a woman, but she was not looking at him at all — she was looking down at Ye Tianming below.

　　Xiao Ta looked at the equally stunned Ye Tianming and smiled. “Don’t be shocked. This is all basic stuff. Basic.”

　　Ye Tianming: “…….”

　　Xiao Ta turned to face Tinglan Dijun. “Shenlin Territory — who else?”

　　Who else?

　　The moment those words landed, the faces of the Shenlin Territory powerhouses turned extremely ugly.

　　This damned tower was far too arrogant.

　　But right now, what they felt even more was fear.

　　If even a Huaquan realm powerhouse could be so easily suppressed into kneeling, then what chance did they have? Before this woman, they were undoubtedly nothing but ants.

　　Seeing that no one from Shenlin Territory spoke, Xiao Ta called out again. “Who else!!”

　　Everyone: “…….”

　　On Erya’s shoulder, Xiaobai waved her little paws as if trying to express something.

　　Erya licked her candied hawthorn and said, “Let Tower Lord show off a bit. He’s been through a rough patch lately.”

　　Xiaobai blinked, then waved her little paws again.

　　Erya said, “Showing off means acting cool. I don’t fully understand it either, but basically it’s…flaunting yourself.”

　　Xiaobai pointed a little paw at herself and grinned.

　　Erya glanced at her. “You’re right. You show off too.”

　　Xiaobai: “…….”

　　On the other side, Tinglan Dijun of Shenlin Territory stared hard at Qingqiu. “Who are you.”

　　At this moment, the shock in his heart was beyond measure. He knew that even within the Huaquan realm there were differences in strength, but he had never imagined he could be suppressed so effortlessly by someone.

　　This was outright crushing!

　　Qingqiu did not answer Tinglan Dijun. She withdrew her gaze from Ye Tianming and looked toward Xiao Ta, smiling. “Tower Lord, how do you see fit to handle this?”

　　Hearing Qingqiu’s words, everyone in the area turned to look at Xiao Ta, all of them astonished. Someone this powerful was showing such respect to this little tower?

　　This Xiao Ta was no ordinary figure!

　　Xiao Ta burst out laughing. He looked at Tinglan Dijun. “We’ve done the one-on-one. So now shall we do the brawl? Don’t worry, I won’t bully you. Come on, I’ll give you time to call for backup. Call as many as you like. Go ahead.”

　　Shenlin Territory: “……”

　　Tinglan Dijun’s expression also turned extremely ugly.

　　And at this moment, the powerhouses from Shenlin Territory all stood there awkwardly.

　　Fight or not?

　　If they fought, who could deal with that woman up there?

　　That woman had suppressed a Huaquan realm powerhouse with a single hand!

　　And the powerhouses beside this damned tower were clearly no weaklings either. Were they all from the Yang family?

　　Were all Yang family members this strong?

　　At this point, Xiao Ta suddenly laughed again and said, “Are you fighting or not? At least give us an answer!”

　　Pushing his luck!

　　But not a single one of the Shenlin Territory powerhouses present dared to speak.

　　Just then, the fear before Tinglan Dijun faintly trembled — he had clearly received some kind of order. He suddenly looked up at Xiao Ta. “Today, our Shenlin Territory was not prepared. In three months, we will fight again, at the Divine Battleground. Does your Yang family dare accept?”

　　A challenge!

　　Xiao Ta’s brow furrowed.

　　Just then, Ye Tianming suddenly said, “Accepted.”

　　Xiao Ta turned to look at Ye Tianming. Ye Tianming said nothing more. In any case, what happened three months from now had nothing to do with him. Because as far as he was concerned, three months was more than enough time — and the Yang family probably wouldn’t give him that long anyway.

　　Tinglan Dijun fixed his gaze on Ye Tianming. “Good. Three months from now, our Shenlin Territory and your Yang family will fight to the death at the Divine Battleground.”

　　With that, he turned and led his people away.

　　Shortly after, the other Shenlin Territory powerhouses hurried to follow.

　　After the Shenlin Territory powerhouses departed, Ye Tianming looked up toward the void. He wanted to see the woman called Qingqiu.

　　But unfortunately, he still could see nothing.

　　”Little martial nephew!”

　　Just then, Liusha suddenly said, “I have to go.”

　　Ye Tianming was a little surprised. “Little martial uncle, so soon? I was hoping we could spend some time together.”

　　But Liusha shook his head. “When I came, I was in the middle of ‘cultivating.’ Now that your problem has been resolved, I need to go back and continue ‘cultivating.'”

　　Ye Tianming smiled. “Alright then. I won’t keep you.”

　　Liusha smiled faintly. “Little martial nephew, if you run into any trouble in the future, let me know. When I get back, I’m going to learn from my teacher how to fight properly — then I’ll be able to help you fight.”

　　Ye Tianming felt a warmth in his heart. He smiled. “Alright.”

　　Liusha waved. “Until we meet again.”

　　With that, he took out a stone, tapped it lightly, and vanished on the spot.

　　Ye Tianming: “…….”

　　”Greetings, young master!”

　　Just then, the middle-aged man from Hantian Sect walked over and said respectfully, “I am from Hantian Sect. If the opportunity arises, please do come visit us.”

　　The white-robed sword cultivator from Jianmu Territory also walked over and smiled. “Young master, Jianmu Territory welcomes you as well. Until we meet again.”

　　With that, he turned, rode his sword into the air, and vanished at the edge of the star river in the blink of an eye.

　　The woman from Beixu Territory also smiled at Ye Tianming. “Young master, Beixu Territory welcomes you to visit as well.”

　　With that, she turned and disappeared at the edge of the star river.

　　Mou Xiang from Guta Temple hesitated for a moment, then said, “Young master, I sense the power of Buddhist dharma on you. Have you cultivated in the Buddhist path?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded.

　　Mou Xiang was overjoyed and quickly said, “Then our Guta Temple and the young master are truly connected by fate. Young master, if you ever have the chance, please come visit us. We would love to seek your guidance on the way of Buddhist dharma.”

　　Ye Tianming smiled. “It is I who should seek guidance from you.”

　　Mou Xiang laughed. “No, no, it is we who seek guidance from you. Young master, until we meet again.”

　　With that, he too turned and disappeared at the edge of the star river.

　　Ye Tianming suddenly turned to look at Xin Gongzi not far away. “It seems they had no intention of taking you with them.”

　　Xin Gongzi’s face was as pale as paper. He knew that he had used those great clans and sects as pawns to be discarded — and Shenlin Territory had done the same to him.

　　Xin Gongzi was naturally unwilling to accept this. He still wanted to say something, but Ye Tianming raised his hand and drew his sword.

　　Swish!

　　Xin Gongzi’s head flew clean off.

　　Blood spurted like a pillar!

　　Ye Tianming sheathed his sword. “Whatever you wanted to say — I’m sorry, I have no interest in hearing it.”

　　Xin Gongzi: “…….”

　　After cutting down Xin Gongzi with a single sword strike, Ye Tianming turned to look at Xiao Ta and smiled. “Tower Ancestor.”

　　Xiao Ta smiled. “I have to go as well.”

　　Ye Tianming said, “So soon?”

　　Xiao Ta nodded. “When we came, Xiaobai and Erya were in the middle of steal — oh, I mean, archaeology. We need to get back before someone else does the archaeology for us.”

　　Ye Tianming nodded. “Alright.”

　　Xiao Ta suddenly took out a storage ring and held it out to Ye Tianming. Ye Tianming was about to refuse, but Xiao Ta pressed it firmly into his hand and said gently, “We’ve been together all this time and I’ve never given you anything. Consider this a small token of my feelings. Don’t refuse.”

　　Ye Tianming hesitated for a moment, then accepted the storage ring.

　　Ye Tianming looked at Xiao Ta. “Tower Ancestor, will we see each other again?”

　　Xiao Ta said softly, “Probably…very rarely. Very rarely.”

　　With that, it turned and looked out over this world, as if saying some kind of farewell.

　　Its era had truly come to an end.