Chapter 193

Chapter 193: See You at the Top!

In the time that followed, Ye Tianming kept fighting against Wuzong.

Wuzong’s Great Dao was battle itself, and so the best way to pass it on was through endless fighting.

This stretch of space-time had long since been shattered to pieces by the two of them fighting.

No one knew how much time had passed before the two finally stopped.

Ye Tianming lay on the ground, gasping for breath in great heaves, the Tianming Sword hovering at his side, trembling faintly.

In this battle, both man and sword had fought themselves to complete exhaustion.

Exhausted to the extreme as he was, Ye Tianming began to laugh.

He had never fought so freely in his life!

The Tianming Sword was faring somewhat better — the battles it had experienced were naturally beyond what Ye Tianming could compare to.

Wuzong stood not far away, watching Ye Tianming with a smile, looking as though he still hadn’t had his fill.

After resting for a moment, Ye Tianming suddenly rose to his feet and looked toward Wuzong. Wuzong said, “You’ve already grasped the essence. What comes next depends on how much you can truly absorb on your own.”

Ye Tianming gave a slight bow. “Thank you, senior.”

Wuzong waved his hand. “I should be the one thanking you. If not for you, this Great Dao of mine would truly have been lost forever. So it is I who should thank you — ha!”

Ye Tianming said earnestly, “Senior, rest assured. I will carry your Great Dao forward and let it flourish.”

Wuzong smiled. “I believe you.”

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked deep into the heavens, saying softly, “This world — farewell.”

Then he looked at Ye Tianming and smiled. “Little friend, until we never meet again.”

As his words fell, his ethereal form began to fade into pure illusion.

Ye Tianming looked at Wuzong. “Senior, we will meet again.”

Wuzong was briefly stunned, then burst into laughter. “Little friend, I truly underestimated you. To think you still have a hidden Great Dao… truly remarkable, ha!”

With that, he vanished completely.

Watching Wuzong disappear entirely, Ye Tianming took a deep breath, his gaze resolute. “Xiao Zong, we will definitely meet again.”

With that, he turned and left.

After leaving the arena, he returned to the Dao Alliance. When they saw Ye Tianming, Yashi and Wuseng exchanged another glance, then both shook their heads with a smile.

They could naturally see the changes that had come over Ye Tianming.

It was clear that Ye Tianming had made yet another breakthrough inside that secret realm.

But this time, neither of them was particularly surprised, because those who could come here were inherently the kind of people with exceptional talent — it was just that Ye Tianming was exceptionally exceptional.

Yashi smiled. “Fellow Daoist Ye, who would you like to see next?”

Ye Tianming thought for a moment, then said, “Let’s go with the Divine Dao Master.”

Yashi said, “That one is quite a peculiar figure.”

Ye Tianming said, “Peculiar?”

Yashi nodded. “The Divine Dao Master is actually not someone from the real world, but an outsider. Their true origins are unknown. Their mastery of Dao arts is profound and unfathomable — truly rare.”

Ye Tianming nodded and walked toward the Divine Dao Master’s meditation cushion. But as he drew near, the cushion suddenly emitted rays of light that blocked him, preventing him from getting any closer.

Ye Tianming froze.

Wuseng and Yashi froze as well. What was going on?

Ye Tianming turned to look at them. Yashi said in a low voice, “The Divine Dao Master doesn’t want you to enter.”

Ye Tianming was puzzled. “Why?”

Yashi shook his head. “I don’t know. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

Ye Tianming tried again and found he still couldn’t pass.

Yashi said in a low voice, “This Divine Dao Master is deeply mysterious. If they won’t let you in, it certainly isn’t because they look down on you — there must be another reason… Either they’ve already met you before and don’t want you to recognize their true identity, or they simply don’t want to see you right now.”

Ye Tianming glanced at the cushion and smiled. “I was a little puzzled at first, but hearing you say that, senior, I think I have some idea.”

As he spoke, he looked toward the cushion at the very end of the path not far away. He walked up to it, and a white light suddenly surged from within the cushion. The next moment, he was enveloped by it and vanished.

After Ye Tianming disappeared, Yashi suddenly said, “Wuseng, don’t you feel like something is a bit off about this young master Ye’s body?”

Wuseng looked puzzled. “What’s off about it? It looks perfectly ordinary to me.”

Yashi narrowed his eyes slightly. “That’s exactly it — it’s too ordinary.”

Wuseng understood instantly. He said in disbelief, “You mean he’s…”

Yashi said softly, “Too ordinary — that means mortal.”

Wuseng immediately shook his head. “That can’t be right. If he truly had a mortal body, how could we possibly not see it…”

At that, he seemed to think of something, and his pupils suddenly contracted as he stood there frozen.

Why couldn’t they see it?

Wasn’t the answer simple?

Someone must have concealed the aura of “mortal” on Ye Tianming.

And since neither of them could detect it, that meant the other party’s strength was far beyond the two of them.

Yashi said softly, “The only question is whether his ‘mortal’ nature is innate or acquired…”

Wuseng asked, “Does it make a difference?”

Yashi nodded. “A very big difference. Innate means inherited — bestowed by another. That kind of mortal body can only be considered a false mortal body. Its ceiling is limited and can never surpass the one who granted it. But if it’s acquired, then it means they entered mortality on their own… In that case, there is no ceiling — or rather, they themselves are their own ceiling.”

Wuseng smiled. “Do you think his is innate or acquired?”

Yashi turned to look at Wuseng and smiled. “Do you remember the most recent cosmic anomaly?”

Wuseng was briefly stunned, then burst out laughing. “Your Guzhe Sect really is something else — what a mind. Damn, you reverse-analyzed it from that cosmic anomaly!”

Yashi smiled faintly. “Nine times out of ten, that’s it.”

Wuseng smiled bitterly. “Then we really have no chance at all.”

Yashi said, “Shift your perspective — our chances are actually greater.”

Wuseng looked at Yashi. Yashi smiled. “He has no ceiling, which means the good karma we’ve built with him has no ceiling either!”

Wuseng laughed. “Fair point.”

Ye Tianming arrived in the middle of a boundless sea of flowers. At the very center of that sea stood an ancient tree, its branches laden with bright red fruit, and beneath the tree hung a swing, swaying slowly and gently.

Ye Tianming walked unhurriedly to the swing and found a slip of paper on it.

He picked it up. Written on it were the words: Fellow Daoist, see you at the summit.

Ye Tianming smiled. “See you at the summit.”

As his words fell, he began to fade into illusion, and soon he was back inside the Dao Alliance.

Seeing Ye Tianming come out so quickly, both Yashi and Wuseng were somewhat surprised.

Ye Tianming looked toward the last remaining cushion not far away.

The Master of Reality!

Ye Tianming said, “Two seniors, have you ever met the Master of Reality?”

Both shook their heads.

Yashi said, “When we entered the Master of Reality’s inheritance ground, it was completely empty — there was nothing there at all.”

Ye Tianming said, “They left nothing behind?”

Yashi smiled. “Perhaps they left nothing, or perhaps they did, but we weren’t suited for it.”

Ye Tianming nodded and walked to that cushion. The moment he sat down, he found himself in a vast and boundless starry sky. All around was silence. Beneath his feet stretched a great path, but at its end, the path was broken.

And beyond the break was nothing but darkness — nothing could be seen.

Ye Tianming walked to the end of that path and stood in silence, staring into the darkness ahead.

The path had no more road.

After a long silence, Ye Tianming said softly, “It seems senior hopes someone will be able to continue this Great Dao…”

As he spoke, he suddenly took out the Law of All Beings and placed it before him.

A moment of stillness.

Then suddenly, deep within that darkness, a flame flickered into existence — faint and feeble, as though it might vanish at any moment.

Seeing that flame, Ye Tianming suddenly smiled. “So senior has already walked beyond.”

At that moment, a hand reached out from within that dark void.

It was clearly an acknowledgment of Ye Tianming’s Law of All Beings.

As long as Ye Tianming was willing, he could immediately receive the inheritance and continue the path for the real world.

But Ye Tianming did not extend his hand. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, “Senior, this is your Dao, not mine. I don’t wish to continue your path — I want to open a new path for all living beings!”

A moment of stillness. The hand suddenly withdrew, but the next instant, deep within that dark abyss, the flame blazed to life.

Ye Tianming’s pupils suddenly contracted.

That was the Dao beyond the Great Dao of Reality.

But soon, the flame vanished completely.

Ye Tianming clenched both fists, his expression overwhelmed with excitement. “So that’s it, so that’s it… a Dao can be added upon a Dao!”

As he spoke, he bowed deeply toward that dark void.

The path his founding ancestor had given him lay in the distance, but the path this Master of Reality had shown him was right before his eyes.

Ye Tianming’s heart was filled with a torrent of emotions. He had never imagined the other party would show him their Dao so effortlessly.

One had to know that reaching that level had surely cost the other party untold hardship.

And yet they had revealed it so easily.

He finally understood now why Yashi and the others held this Master of Reality in such deep respect.

Ye Tianming looked at the dark void. “Senior, rest assured. I will simplify your Great Dao and pass it on to future generations, adding one more path to the Great Dao of Reality for the real world.”

With that, he turned and left.

Continue the path!

Open a new path!

No conflict.

Two paths running side by side!

Who says a Great Dao can only be walked alone?

They can absolutely stand together!

After returning to the Dao Alliance, Yashi smiled. “Did you gain anything?”

Ye Tianming said solemnly, “Enormously.”

Yashi smiled faintly. “Good. Then next, it’s your turn.”

Ye Tianming was puzzled. “Me?”

Yashi smiled. “All who come here and have established a Dao must leave their Dao behind, so that those who come after may study and observe it. So you need to leave your Dao here.”

Ye Tianming said, “I… can do that?”

Wuseng laughed heartily. “Of course you can. Fellow Daoist Ye, go ahead and leave your Dao.”

Ye Tianming smiled wryly. “I don’t want to draw too much attention.”

Yashi said, “That’s easy to handle. You can leave just your Dao without leaving your name.”

Ye Tianming thought for a moment, then said, “Alright then!”

As he spoke, he looked to the side, where a meditation cushion had appeared at some point without him noticing.

Ye Tianming walked to the cushion and left his Dao behind. What he left was actually a scene — the very scene from when he had first comprehended the boundary of the Great Dao.

However, he also placed a restriction on it: only those who truly understood good and evil would be able to observe his inheritance.

He felt this way because his understanding of the concepts of good and evil had not yet been truly perfected. Only those who genuinely understood good and evil could observe his Great Dao without being led astray.

After leaving his inheritance behind, Ye Tianming looked at the two of them and smiled. “Two seniors, it is time for this junior to take his leave.”

He was now eager to return and let everything settle within him.

Yashi smiled. “Fellow Daoist, until we meet again.”

Wuseng also smiled. “Until we meet again.”

Ye Tianming gave both of them a slight bow. “Two seniors, until we meet again.”

With that, his body faded into illusion and he vanished from the arena.

Yashi and Wuseng exchanged a glance, then likewise disappeared from where they stood.

About an hour later.

A man suddenly appeared before the stretch of the Great Dao of Reality outside.

The one who had come was Yang Jia.

At his side stood an elderly man.

Yang Jia looked at the end of the Great Dao of Reality before him,Softly said: “Is that the Dao Alliance up ahead?”

　　The elder beside him nodded, “Yes.”

　　Yang Jia smiled and said: “I’m really looking forward to it.”

　　With that, he stepped onto the True Great Dao.

　　Suddenly——

　　Boom!

　　The True Great Dao began to tremble violently, countless daos surfacing, testing him, and soon the testing turned into resistance, though not a complete rejection.

　　Sensing the slight resistance from the True Great Dao, Yang Jia furrowed his brow and looked toward the end of that True Great Dao, “My Yang family originally helped all of you daos live a second life!”

　　The elder beside him also hurriedly said: “Everyone, this is the young master of the Guanxuan Domain.”

　　But the True Great Dao grew even more resistant than before.

　　The elder was about to say something more, but Yang Jia flicked his sleeve, and the Sword Ancestor landed directly upon the True Great Dao.

　　Boom!

　　In an instant, the True Great Dao fell silent.