I Have a Sword

Ye Guan sized up the white-robed lady in front of him. She was stunning, and she had a delicate figure that made her seem fragile and vulnerable.

Noticing his gaze, the white-robed lady didn’t seem offended and stared calmly at Ye Guan. The white-robed man standing beside her, however, seemed on edge. His intuition told him that Ye Guan was not telling the truth.

Ye Guan broke the silence. "May I know your name, young lady?"

The white-robed lady replied, "I'm Jimo Lan, and this is my brother, Jimo Ku."

"Are you both from one of the Nine Clans of Zhaowu?" Ye Guan asked.

Jimo Lan hesitated briefly before nodding.

Ye Guan mused aloud, "I’ve been running into quite a few people from the Nine Clans lately..."

Intrigued, Jimo Lan asked, "Have you met others from the Nine Clans?"

Ye Guan nodded but didn’t elaborate. Instead, he asked, "Lady Lan, what do you mean by showing off?”

"Well, with the Evil Dao Alliance putting such a high bounty on your head, most people wouldn't dare to make a move against you. But there are always those who might try, especially the reckless ones.

"If they're just rogue cultivators, you can deal with them without much worry. But if they're from the Nine Clans or the Two Great Clans, killing them could bring serious consequences."

"The Two Great Clans?"

Jimo Lan seemed surprised. "You haven’t heard of them, Young Master Ye?"

Ye Guan shook his head. "To be honest, I’m new around here and don’t know much about the local powers."

Jimo Lan nodded and explained, "The Nine Clans of Zhaowu were once great ancient clans during the Zhaowu Era. These families are the Tianwu Clan, the Shui Clan, the Jimo Clan, the Hengshan Clan, the Li Clan, the Sikou Clan, the Wuma Clan, the Yuanguan Clan, and the Nanyi Clan. All of them were once Tier Five Civilizations.

"When the Tianxing Civilization invaded, the Zhaowu Era declined, and the Nine Clans declined along with it.

Jimo Lan revealed a complicated expression at the end of her explanation, while Jimo Ju's expression darkened. Their clan was mighty, but their glory days were a long time ago. The younger generation carried the heavy burden of restoring their former glory, which was an almost impossible task.

"I heard from a friend that if the Nine Clans had united, they would have stood a chance against the Tianxing Civilization. Is it true?" Ye Guan asked.

Jimo Lan nodded. "That's what our elders say. But back then, the Nine Clans were too divided; there were old grudges and rivalries between them. They didn’t take the threat of the Tianxing Civilization seriously, and that’s why they were eventually defeated."

"Is the Tianxing Civilization really just a Tier Five civilization?"

"Yes," Jimo Lan confirmed, "but they are a true Tier Five civilization, whereas our Nine Clans were grossly overestimated. In terms of both technology and martial arts, we were far behind them."

Ye Guan nodded and asked, "And what about the Two Great Clans?"

"The Two Great Clans are the Supreme Clan and the Eternal Time Clan," Jimo Lan explained, "They’re ancient clans, and their exact locations are unknown."

"Wait," Jimo Lan said, "There’s also another civilization called the Great Zhou."

"The Great Zhou?" Ye Guan asked, intrigued by the familiar name.

"Yes, but the Great Zhou has declined as well. During its peak, the Great Zhou was one of the strongest forces in this Ascension World. However, they've faded away into obscurity without any powerful figures to lead them."

Ye Guan nodded and asked, "And what about the Evil Dao Alliance?"

"The Evil Dao Alliance is a mysterious organization. No one really knows how strong it is, But it’s said that even the Nine Clans of Zhaowu and the Two Great Clans would rather avoid provoking them."

The explanation made Ye Guan fall silent. He had already crossed paths with them, but he still had no idea how powerful they really were. To make matters worse, he had no idea which Hall Master was targeting him.

Jimo Lan continued, "Back to what we were discussing earlier—if someone from the Nine Clans or the Two Great Clans comes after you, killing them would bind you to their karma, and I think that's what the Evil Dao Alliance wants."

"Do you really think that anyone will dare to try and kill me?"

"Normally, I don't think so," Jimo Lan replied, "This situation is just too strange, but there are always those who often act without thinking about it. Many deadly feuds start from small misunderstandings. My advice is to act a bit... pretentious."

Ye Guan raised an eyebrow. "Pretentious? How so?"

"Honestly, I’m not very good at it myself."

Ye Guan chuckled. "I’m not great at it either."

Little Pagoda was speechless.

Jimo Lan suggested, "Maybe you could just exaggerate your prowess? Just a bit will do."

"Exaggerate?" Ye Guan repeated.

"Yes.”

After thinking it over, Ye Guan asked, "How about I claim that my whole family is invincible?"

"No, no!" Jimo Lan quickly protested. "That's too much. It wouldn’t be believable. You need to exaggerate in a way that sounds somewhat realistic."

Ye Guan and Little Pagod were speechless.

Jimo Lan added, "You could just say that your father is beyond the Path Creation Realm.”

Little Pagoda almost groaned in frustration.

Ye Guan considered it and nodded. "All right, that sounds great."

At this point, Jimo Ku chimed,. "I think that's still a bit too unrealistic."

Ye Guan had no idea what to say.

"No, it's fine," Jimo Lan said, shaking her head. "If you downplay it too much, people won’t take you seriously."

Jimo Ku sighed. "Alright."

Jimo Lan then looked at Ye Guan and said, "Young Master Ye, I’ll help spread the word. It won’t take long before everyone hears that your father is a top-tier supreme elite beyond the Path Creation Realm.

"Once you've arrived at Dao Street, remember to be as high-profile as possible. You need to make people believe that you have an incredibly strong backer; they need to think that your father is really strong."

"Understood. When the time comes, I’ll be as high-profile as possible."

"I understand. But what is this 'Dao Street'?"

"Dao Street is a special place in the Ascension World. It's a street where people visit to trade or barter items. There's no formal order, but it’s not chaotic, either. The people who go there are strong, so everyone is cautious, which keeps things pretty peaceful."

"Got it."

Jimo Lan glanced at the Dao Fruit in front of her and hesitated.

"Lady Lan, this is for you. Please accept it."

"Thank you, Young Master Ye." Jimo Lan bowed and accepted the Dao Fruit. In truth, she felt a bit uneasy accepting it since she hadn’t done much to deserve such a precious gift. She had only provided some information, but she had actually received something so valuable in return.

However, she couldn’t refuse it, as she recognized the fruit.

It was a Dao Fruit from the Shui Clan's Immortal Dao Tree. In the past, the Dao Fruit wasn't that precious to the Jimo Clan, but they had declined massively since their glory days. In other words, the Dao Fruit was incredibly important to her.

Jimo Lan could only think of other ways to further assist Ye Guan in exchange for the Dao Fruit. With that in mind, Jimo Lan added, "Young Master Ye, my Jimo Clan isn't as powerful as it once was, but we still have some influence in the Ascension World. If anything happens, I will inform you right away."

"Thank you for that."

Jimo Lan quickly shook her head. "No need to thank me. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."

"I might just take you up on that."

"Of course, Young Master Ye. I’ll go and spread the word that your father is a powerful cultivator beyond the Path Creation Realm. Once that rumor spreads across the Ascension World, go ahead and visit Dao Street. Remember, you must act with confidence as if you have a formidable backing."

"Alright, I’ll make sure to act confidently by then."

Jimo Lan nodded in agreement and left with her brother.

Once they were gone, Ye Guan looked up. His goal was to reach the Second Heaven.

Tian Qi was strong enough, but the Great Dao's suppression had eroded his strength to the extent that he didn't pose a significant threat to Ye Guan. He needed to find a stronger opponent, someone who could truly push him to the brink of death.

Beyond that, a plan began forming in his mind. There were Nine Heavens here, which meant at least nine powerful elites, and they were being suppressed by the Great Dao here. If he could somehow make these nine cultivators submit to him...

He believed that he could take down the Evil Dao Alliance by then!

Ye Guan felt a surge of adrenaline at the mere thought of it, but he calmed down quickly. The further up he went, the stronger they would become. They wouldn’t submit easily, so he had to be very careful. If he carelessly revealed the Qingxuan Sword, he could end up inviting disaster instead of gaining allies.

Emptying his mind, Ye Guan entered the pagoda and soon found himself on an island. The second Immortal Dao Tree had finally matured and had produced over twenty unripe Dao Fruits.

Ye Guan grinned at the sight. He now had around sixty Dao Fruits.

And Dao Fruits were incredibly enticing to anyone at the Path Creation Realm...

This was all thanks to the special spacetime inside the tiny pagoda. Ten years inside the pagoda was only a day outside, which allowed him to harvest the fruits so quickly.

Otherwise, his grandchildren would be the ones to reap the rewards when he was the one who planted the trees. The only downside was the spiritual energy consumption of the Immortal Dao Trees. Each tree consumed at least a hundred Ancestral Veins every century.

Ye Guan still had a decent supply of Ancestral Veins, but the consumption rate was simply alarming. Knowing that, Ye Guan knew that he needed to find a way to make more money.

Cultivating each Immortal Dao Tree until it bore fruit required at least a thousand to two thousand Ancestral Veins, and the consumption rate was the reason Ye Guan had yet to plant a third tree.

After spending some time cultivating inside the tiny pagoda, Ye Guan left and headed out of the First Heaven.

Soon, Ye Guan found himself standing in front of a certain street—The Dao Street!

Ye Guan suddenly asked, "Master Pagoda, do you know how to act confidently? Hehe..."

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