Chapter 204

Chapter 204: The One Who Abandons the Dao!

Hearing Ye Tianming’s words, Yuan Shi felt a little regretful, but still nodded, because he believed that if Ye Tianming stayed a bit longer, his strength would surely advance even further.

He thought for a moment, then took out a token and handed it to Ye Tianming, “This is our Shenwu Sect’s Shenwu Transmission Token. If you ever wish to come here to cultivate in the future, just activate this token and you can be transported directly here.”

Ye Tianming did not refuse, and accepted the Shenwu Token, “Senior, until we meet again.”

Seeing that Ye Tianming did not refuse this favor, a rare trace of a smile appeared in Yuan Shi’s eyes, “Until we meet again.”

Ye Tianming cupped his fists, then turned and left.

Watching Ye Tianming disappear into the distance, a complex look flashed through Yuan Shi’s eyes. First that female sword cultivator, and now this Ye Tianming…… This era truly shines with a sky full of stars!

He raised his head and looked into the distance, the complexity in his eyes gradually turning into a blank gaze.

The fate of the Shenwu Sect should be coming to an end, shouldn’t it?

Great Dao Ranking! If you don’t acknowledge a master soon, the Shenwu Sect will be worn down to nothing because of you!

On the other side, Ye Tianming found Old Yang, who had been idling about day after day, wandering off to who knows where.

Ye Tianming didn’t ask much, and simply said, “Senior, it’s time for us to head back.”

Old Yang grinned and looked Ye Tianming over, “So, how was it?”

Ye Tianming smiled, “Quite a good harvest. It would’ve been even better with a little more time.”

Old Yang said, “Want me to push back the tournament? I’ll go talk to Guanxuan Domain, shouldn’t be a problem.”

But Ye Tianming shook his head, “No need.”

Old Yang nodded, “Then let’s go.”

Just as the two were about to leave the Shenwu Realm, Old Yang suddenly turned to look. In the distance, a young man in a purple robe was walking toward them. The man was young, no more than his early twenties, with refined features, a silver sash around his waist, exuding an air of noble elegance. At this moment, he was staring at Ye Tianming with a faint smile on his face.

Behind the man followed an elderly figure, dressed in a simple hemp robe, a hemp rope tied around his waist, a sword slanted across his back. His presence was completely absent, as if he didn’t exist at all.

Ye Tianming’s gaze had also fallen on the purple-robed man, and the two regarded each other from dozens of zhang away.

The purple-robed man smiled.

Ye Tianming withdrew his gaze, then turned to look at Old Yang, “Let’s go.”

Old Yang took a long, deep look at the purple-robed man, then turned and left with Ye Tianming.

The purple-robed man stared at Ye Tianming’s retreating figure and said softly, “A naturally born mortal body, of all things……”

Behind him, the old man was startled, “Young master, how could you tell?”

The purple-robed man said, “I didn’t see it. I felt it.”

The old man was a little puzzled. Felt it? What on earth?

The purple-robed man gazed at Ye Tianming’s distant silhouette, “The moment I laid eyes on him, I could feel it — he is the great enemy of my life’s path. An ordinary person could never give me that feeling. So I guessed he has a mortal body, and an innate mortal body at that, because an acquired mortal body has no right to be the enemy of someone like me, who has abandoned the Dao. The same goes for his sword — I can feel it, that sword has lived a second life. Truly limitless potential!”

As he spoke, he began to laugh, and that smile was one of pure joy.

A great enemy of the future!

When the old man heard the purple-robed man’s words, killing intent immediately rose in his eyes, “This old servant will go kill him right now.”

With that, he was about to draw his sword.

But the purple-robed man shook his head and raised a hand to stop him.

The purple-robed man looked toward Ye Tianming at the edge of his vision, “Give him time. Let him become invincible.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Behind him, the sword cultivator elder was puzzled, “Young master, why?”

The purple-robed man laughed, “A true powerhouse never fears a strong opponent — only fears one who isn’t strong enough. I hope every genius in this world grows powerful, each bearing an invincible bearing. If someone could actually defeat me, that would be the most wonderful thing in the world, haha!!”

The old man watched the purple-robed man walk away laughing, his eyes filled with admiration.

On the other side, Ye Tianming looked at Old Yang, whose expression had turned unusually grave, and smiled, “Old Yang, that look on your face is quite rare.”

Old Yang stared at him, expression still solemn, “Do you know who that person is?”

Ye Tianming shook his head.

Old Yang stared at him, “He may be your greatest enemy on the Great Dao in the future.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “The moment I saw him, I had that feeling.”

It was the first time he had ever felt that way.

Old Yang stared into his eyes and said, “So what do you think?”

Seeing how serious Old Yang was, Ye Tianming was briefly taken aback, then smiled, “What can I think?”

Old Yang said, “A great enemy on the future Dao! That kind is a mortal enemy — the kind where only one of you walks away.”

Ye Tianming thought for a moment, then said, “Old Yang, isn’t having an opponent like that actually a good thing?”

Old Yang was briefly stunned, then burst out laughing, “Good, good, good — well done, Ye Tianming. This is the first time I’ve ever been impressed by you! Haha!”

With that, a look of anticipation appeared in his eyes, “I have to say, I’m genuinely looking forward to the day you few monsters finally cross paths.”

There was no denying it — the geniuses of this era were truly breathtaking.

Old Yang himself had once been a peerless existence of his time, but even he had to admit that the few genius monsters he now knew of were truly extraordinary beyond reason.

And then there was Ye Tianming.

Of course, whether it was Yang Jia or Ye Tianming, both still had flaws at this point — and not small ones either.

The future battle of the Great Dao would be decided not only by talent and effort, but by who could truly recognize their own mistakes.

That was the most crucial thing of all!

Of course, whether it was these flaws or these mistakes, talking about them now was meaningless. They could only be understood through experience!

Ye Tianming said nothing more. He didn’t want to think about the future — what occupied his mind now was the upcoming Martial Dao Grand Tournament.

Old Yang pulled his thoughts back and turned to look at Ye Tianming, asking, “Didn’t you say earlier that you wanted to visit Guanxuan Academy? Are you still going?”

After a brief silence, Ye Tianming said, “Let’s go after it’s all over.”

Old Yang glanced at him and nodded.

Soon, the two entered the space-time passage and began their journey back.

The real world.

The Martial Dao Grand Tournament was three days away, but the Xianbao Pavilion had already begun preparations half a month in advance. This tournament was entirely organized by the Xianbao Pavilion, and because Yang Jia was participating this time, the Xianbao Pavilion had gone extraordinarily lavish with the arrangements.

Every spectator who came to watch would receive a free small gift — a little gift box containing one immortal-grade pill and ten universe crystals.

This stunned the entire real world.

In previous years, the Martial Dao Grand Tournament had drawn at least tens of millions of spectators. One could only imagine what a staggering number that represented, and with the Xianbao Pavilion offering such a generous gift box this time, the crowd would surely be even larger.

The Xianbao Pavilion’s generosity once again shattered people’s expectations, and only now did everyone realize they had vastly underestimated the Xianbao Pavilion’s true power.

This was wealth so immense it truly could never be spent!

Beyond that, the major factions of the real world immediately voiced their support for Yang Jia. The most enthusiastic among them were undoubtedly the Ancient Zhe Sect and the Heavenly Court — two former super-powers that openly and publicly declared their support for Yang Jia, building momentum on his behalf.

The message was clear: whoever crossed Yang Jia would answer to them.

And beneath these two former super-powers were many subordinate factions. Since those at the top had already declared their support for Yang Jia, they naturally could not stay silent. So in no time at all, countless major, mid-sized, and minor factions across the entire real world began voicing their support for Yang Jia, rallying behind him.

With the backing of all these factions, it became clear to everyone that Yang Jia was destined to become the master of the real world.

After all, the most powerful factions in the real world had already chosen Yang Jia. Once this tournament concluded, the real world might truly be unified, with Yang Jia ushering in a brand new era.

As for Yang Jia’s opponent, Ye Tianming……. so far, most people knew very little about him, and only the top-tier factions had any deeper understanding.

Guanxuan Domain, a small courtyard.

Young Master Xin lay in a reclining chair, while not far from him, a line of about ten people waited to report their matters.

An elderly man said in a deep voice, “Young master, that Ye Tianming has suddenly disappeared. We don’t know where he’s gone. Our people are already investigating with full effort and should be able to locate him within half a day at most.”

Young Master Xin said, “No need to investigate. When the time comes, he’ll be back.”

The old man said, “What if he’s grown fearful……”

“Foolish!”

Young Master Xin’s brow furrowed, “Do you really think someone like him would grow fearful?”

The old man said, “This subordinate knows he is extraordinarily gifted, but now that almost the entire real world supports the young master, this subordinate thought he might……”

“Stop thinking!”

Young Master Xin cut the old man off directly, “Someone chosen by those above to be a chess piece for our Yang family — how could such a person be the type to flee at the critical moment?”

The old man said in a deep voice, “This person truly doesn’t know how fortunate he is. If he were willing to become a chess piece and assist the young master, he would surely soar to heights never seen before alongside the young master in the future.”

Young Master Xin slowly closed his eyes, “His understanding is too limited. He doesn’t know the true depth of Yang Jia’s foundation. If he did, he would never have made that choice.”

With that, he smiled, “In this world, no one who truly understands our Yang family’s real foundation can refuse us. Let alone being a chess piece — they couldn’t even refuse being a dog.”

The old man said in a deep voice, “Once the young master defeats him this time, the entire real world can be unified in one stroke — and it will come naturally. Therefore, the young master cannot lose.”

With that, he glanced at Young Master Xin.

They were naturally still somewhat worried, after all, the young master had already lost twice.

Young Master Xin raised his head and looked toward the far horizon, “This time, the young master will not lose. No one can make the young master lose. Let alone one Ye Tianming — even ten, even a hundred, could never defeat the young master…….”

No one knew that Yang Jia had already successfully taken that step.