Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Just a Drop of Blood!

The woman clearly understood Ye Tianming’s words. Her delicate brows immediately furrowed, and a flash of disgust crossed her eyes. Ye Tianming, however, simply ignored her, turned and walked to a nearby seat, then began reading the “Ancient Blade Sutra.”

His sword techniques, such as “One Sword to Decide Life and Death” and the “Heaven-Cleaving Draw,” were both formidable, but for him, they were still far from enough. He needed to improve, to elevate them to a higher level.

And the only way to do that was to keep learning!

What he wanted most right now was to get a look at some higher-tier martial techniques or cultivation methods, to draw new insights from them and use those insights to refine his own sword techniques.

And some of the domineering methods within this “Ancient Blade Sutra” he found quite interesting.

The woman didn’t continue to bother Ye Tianming. She glanced at him, then settled back into her own seat and resumed drinking, though she would occasionally steal a look his way.

On the streets of Dao Market.

The owner of the Great Dao Brush looked at Ao Qianqian before him and sighed softly, “Miss Qianqian, why must you wade into these murky waters?”

Ao Qianqian said, “You know who he is. So why are you unwilling to help him?”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush asked, “Miss Qianqian, he was formed from a single drop of blood — he is not her biological son. Tell me, when he goes up against the Yang family in the future, will your aunt side with him or with Ye Guan and Ye Xuan?”

Ao Qianqian’s brows furrowed.

The owner of the Great Dao Brush continued, “He could never be as important to her as Ye Guan and Ye Xuan. You can’t deny that, can you?”

Ao Qianqian fell silent.

How important was the Sword Master of the Human Realm to her aunt?

Immeasurably important.

Not to mention the Sword Master of the Human Realm — even the Guanxuan Sword Master held an immeasurably important place in her heart.

Ao Qianqian sighed softly, “This isn’t fair to him.”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush said calmly, “His very birth was meant to serve as a check on order. It’s just that things have gotten slightly out of hand, since no one anticipated that he and his master would create something like the Law of All Beings. But even with that Law of All Beings, it doesn’t mean he can destroy the Yang family.”

As he spoke, he paused, then added, “If he can come to recognize that he is a chess piece and willingly accept that role, then he still has a future. But if he refuses to be a chess piece and insists on overthrowing the Yang family, then death is his only path.”

Ao Qianqian said with some anger, “This isn’t fair to him.”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush shook his head slightly, “Miss Qianqian, this world is filled with unfairness. Think about it — Ye Tianming was born with the Little Pagoda and a special constitution. That already puts him ahead of ninety-nine percent of all people. Is that fair to everyone else?”

As he spoke, he shook his head, “He wants to destroy the Guanxuan Universe, which means making an enemy of the entire Yang family. Do you think Ye Xuan and Ye Guan would let him kill Yang Jia? If they won’t allow it, and Ye Tianming tries to oppose them, then tell me — will your aunt side with him or with Ye Guan and her brother? And then there’s that guy Yang Ye — do you think he’d let him destroy Yang Jia? You have to understand, it took so much effort for this generation to finally reclaim the Yang surname……”

Ao Qianqian said earnestly, “Senior, he shouldn’t be treated this way.”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush smiled, “Miss Qianqian, strictly speaking, you are also a member of the Yang family.”

Ao Qianqian said, “Being a Yang family member doesn’t mean blindly standing with the Yang family. In this matter of the Guanxuan Universe, right and wrong are plain to see, aren’t they?”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush shook his head, “Miss Qianqian, does right and wrong even matter to powerhouses and forces at their level? It doesn’t. To them, this is simply a trial — a trial for Yang Jia. If Ye Tianming is willing to be a whetstone, then he will certainly end up with a decent outcome. But the problem is, he’s not willing. He’s not even trying to hide his desire to destroy the Yang family anymore!”

As he spoke, he sighed softly, “A chess piece that wants to flip the board and become the player — no, he wants to overturn the entire board. That is something they will absolutely never allow. Think about it — why is he suffering the backlash of heavenly fate right now? And do you think it’s only the backlash of heavenly fate? When he moves against the Yang family, what fortune in this endless universe would dare attach itself to him?”

After a moment of silence, Ao Qianqian said, “Senior, let’s not discuss that. What I want to ask right now is for Senior to offer a method to help him resolve the misfortune on his body. I know Senior stands with the Yang family, but offering a method, saying a few words — that won’t change anything, right?”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush fell silent.

Ao Qianqian gave a slight bow and said sincerely, “Senior, please.”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush sighed softly, “I’m not that heartless. There is one method to resolve the karmic backlash on his body, but for him right now, it’s essentially the same as having no method at all.”

Ao Qianqian quickly asked, “What method?”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush looked at her, “Fortune transfer.”

Ao Qianqian looked puzzled.

The owner of the Great Dao Brush explained, “It means transferring the misfortune on his body onto oneself, performing an exchange of fortune.”

Ao Qianqian immediately said, “I can do it.”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush shook his head, “You can’t.”

Ao Qianqian didn’t understand, “Why not?”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush said gravely, “Forgive my bluntness, Miss Qianqian, but your strength is not sufficient. This kind of fortune transfer is, in a sense, taking on another person’s karma. And what is his karma? It’s not just the backlash of heavenly fate — it also includes the karma of the Yang family…… That karma is far, far too great.”

Ao Qianqian sighed softly. In this universe, her strength was certainly respectable, but she herself knew that in the real world, compared to those top-tier powerhouses, she still had a considerable gap to close.

Ao Qianqian turned to look at the tavern across the way and said quietly, “Is there truly no hope at all?”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush immediately said, “There is. And that is to persuade him — to let go of his hatred, to stop thinking about killing Yang Jia, to accept his place, to assist Yang Jia in governing the Guanxuan Universe and to refine the order that Ye Guan left behind. That is his only path to survival. Otherwise, not only he himself, but everyone who has any karmic connection to him will come to a bad end!”

Ao Qianqian shook her head, “This is so unfair to him. So terribly unfair.”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush spread his hands, “Then there is nothing I can do. Miss Qianqian, you should know that no one in this world can stand against the Yang family. With a Yang Ye and a Ye Xuan, the Yang family is destined to remain undefeated.”

After a moment of silence, Ao Qianqian sighed softly, turned, and walked away.

After Ao Qianqian left, Wubian Zhu appeared beside the owner of the Great Dao Brush. He looked toward the tavern not far away, “That young man is quite pitiful…….”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush’s face was expressionless, “That’s just how this world is. A person must know their place, and once they fail to know their place, they are courting their own death……. As for fairness — the world has always been this way. Where does absolute justice come from?”

Wubian Zhu turned to look at the owner of the Great Dao Brush and said with displeasure, “What the hell kind of nonsense is that? What do you mean ‘know your place’? You people who sit up high love telling others to accept their fate, to accept an unjust destiny. When someone fights back, you say they’re courting their own death. What the hell kind of logic is that?”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush looked up toward the depths of the sky and said quietly, “Beneath the Dao, all are like dogs — you and I included.”

Wubian Zhu took a long hard swig of his wine, “You’re a dog. I’m not.”

The owner of the Great Dao Brush’s face darkened, “Wubian, stop cursing me here. You need to understand — that Ye Tianming not only wants to overturn the board, he also wants to go after your good brother’s family…….”

Wubian Zhu picked up his wine and walked off into the distance, “Ye Xuan is my brother, but if he does something stupid, I’ll call him stupid!”

After a moment of silence, the owner of the Great Dao Brush sighed softly, “In the end, he is only a drop of blood. How could he ever compare to her nephew…….”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Ao Qianqian walked into the tavern. Seeing her come in, Ye Tianming quickly set down his book, stood up, and went to meet her, “Sister Qianqian.”

Ao Qianqian looked at him, “I’m sorry. He had no solution either.”

Ye Tianming smiled, “It’s fine. I had mentally prepared myself.”

Ao Qianqian sighed softly, “Let’s go.”

With that, she led Ye Tianming away. Before long, they had left Dao Market and arrived at the boundary between the illusory and the real.

Along the way, Ye Tianming asked, “Sister Qianqian, have you been to the Milky Way before?”

Ao Qianqian nodded, “Mm.”

Ye Tianming smiled, “Is it fun there?”

Ao Qianqian said, “It’s fun.”

As she spoke, a faint smile spread across her face. The time she had spent in the Milky Way had undoubtedly been a happy one.

Ao Qianqian turned to look at Ye Tianming, “If you get the chance someday, you should go and explore.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “Mm.”

Ao Qianqian gently ruffled his hair, then said, “Don’t worry about your body. There will always be a way. After all, I know quite a few people.”

Ye Tianming lowered his head slightly, “I’m not worried about my body. What I’m worried about right now is dragging you into this, Sister Qianqian.”

Ao Qianqian smiled and was about to speak, when at that moment, she sensed something and snapped her head up to look deep into the sky. There, at the very depths of the heavens, a crack suddenly appeared. Then a golden decree, wrapped in a bolt of lightning, came streaking straight down and stopped in the air directly above the two of them.

“Seal!”

An ancient voice suddenly rang out from the depths of the universe. Immediately after, the golden law flared violently, and in an instant, hundreds of millions of golden talismans erupted from it. The next moment, countless mysterious Dao auras filled heaven and earth — and every single one of them locked onto Ao Qianqian!

Ao Qianqian’s delicate brows furrowed. This was not the power of this universe at all. This was the power of the Great Dao from the real world.

It was obvious that someone in the real world was making a move against her.

The Guanxuan Academy?

Ao Qianqian was somewhat puzzled.

She looked at the golden talismans blanketing the starry river, and for the first time, a look of gravity appeared in her eyes. But soon, her gaze gradually turned ice-cold, “Do you truly intend to drive this child to his death?”

“Yes!”

From the depths of the universe, a voice devoid of any emotion passed through countless star rivers and universes, and fell upon this stretch of the galaxy.