I Have a Sword

Let's go! King of Relying on Others? Ye Guan was completely confused. He turned but could not spot the person who had shouted it. He scanned the crowd again but still did not see anyone suspicious.

Was I hearing things? Ye Guan asked, "Master Pagoda, was I hearing things?"

Little Pagoda replied, "I don't think so."

Ye Guan's face fell. "You heard it too?"

"Yeap."

Ye Guan glanced around, noticing that the crowd was shouting, and the majority of them were cheering for An Mujin. He couldn't find anyone familiar, and he couldn't see anyone suspicious as well.

Ye Guan frowned. "Master Pagoda, was I actually hearing things?"

Little Pagoda remained silent for a while before saying, "Maybe."

Ye Guan shook his head and smiled.

Clan Leader Jing was helping him hide his true identity, so there was no way someone would know about it. In other words, there was a high chance that he was simply hearing things.

Shrugging it off, Ye Guan turned his attention to An Mujin not far away. At that moment, An Mujin's expression was a little grim. He seemed to have understood why Fu Ji had given up on this match.

An Mujin turned and glanced coldly at the Grand Elder of the An Clan.

The Grand Elder remained silent and did not respond.

An Mujin withdrew his gaze and looked at Ye Guan. "Brother Ye, you've won."

With that, he turned and walked away.

The crowd was in an uproar. Everyone was confused. What was going on here?

In the distance, the face of the An Clan's Grand Elder turned somber.

"There's something shady going on!" someone exclaimed.

"Shady! Something very, very shady! That guy surnamed Ye is controlling the match. If not, I'll eat ten pounds of crap, and it'll be the runny kind!"

"Heavens! The Sword Sect is so corrupt. First, Fu Ji withdrew, and now even An Mujin has withdrawn. For legal reasons, I'm not saying anything about a certain guy surnamed Ye…"

"The heavens are unjust and blind! Back in the Wanzhou Martial Contest, the Academy Master faced injustice, and in his anger, he overturned the heavens and earth, establishing an order.

"The Academy Master's ambitions had always been to clear the world of injustice and save the myriad beings, but within just a few years, someone actually dares to commit such blatant evil.

"Had the Academy Master died for nothing?"

"That guy surnamed Ye is up to something! He definitely has someone backing him. I ask the Sword Sect to investigate thoroughly and root out the evil forces behind him, restoring peace and order to this world!"

The crowd was filled with curses and accusations.

When Fu Ji withdrew from the match, people suspected something was amiss, but now that An Mujin had withdrawn as well, it was clear that something shady was going on.

On top of that, a certain someone had drawn empty lots for two rounds straight. Even a blind person could see what was happening. The curses grew louder and louder, like a rising tide.

Ye Guan was rendered speechless.

Seeing so many people cursing at him, Yang Yian, sitting in the stands, was infuriated. She turned to a man in front of her, who was pointing at Ye Guan and shouting, "Go! Hit him, don't be afraid. Everyone, let's charge at him together!"

Yang Yian kicked him in the rear.

Bam!

The man was sent rolling down the stands. "Fuck! A sneak attack. Unethical!"

***

Just then, Yue Qi appeared on the stage.

The curses around Ye Guan became even louder and louder.

Yue Qi scanned the area, and her voice was cold and commanding as she said, "I'll kill whoever is shouting the loudest."

Silence descended in an instant. The people of the Sword Sect were naturally afraid of their Sect Master.

Yue Qi looked at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan looked helpless and raised his hands. "I don't know what's going on either."

Yue Qi turned and addressed the crowd, "Anyone who isn't happy with him being the winner can come up and challenge him directly."

"I'll do it!" a young swordsman shouted. He took to the sky and landed in front of Ye Guan.

The young swordsman stared at Ye Guan and said, "I know you have someone backing you, but I'm not afraid of you. Go ahead and call out whoever's behind you…"

Ye Guan simply said, "Go ahead, make your move."

The young swordsman drew his sword and charged at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan stepped forward, not even drawing his sword. Before anyone could react, they saw the young swordsman flying backward. He was sent flying dozens of meters away, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Everyone was stunned. Wait, isn't he kind of good?

The young swordsman was taken aback as well. How did I get sent flying?

Ye Guan smiled at him and asked, "Want to try again?"

The young swordsman hurriedly got up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said in a low voice, "So you were pretending to be a weakling. My bad, my bad!"

He cupped his fist in apology and turned around to leave.

Ye Guan shook his head with an exasperated smile.

At this point, the onlookers had figured it out. Ye Guan was simply pretending to be weak.

Just then, someone appeared on the stage. However, he was not a swordsman.

He had a large frame, and he seemed to be a physique cultivator.

The sight of him astonished everyone. Physique cultivators were rare, after all!

The man sized up Ye Guan before saying, "I look forward to fighting with you."

Then, he charged like a raging wild bull toward Ye Guan.

Just as he reached Ye Guan, the latter leaped into the air and stomped down.

Bam!

The man collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently.

Ye Guan shook his head. "Your strength is decent, but your speed is lacking."

The man trembled on the ground for a long time before he managed to get up. He looked at Ye Guan, somewhat dissatisfied, and then threw a punch at the latter. His punch cut through the air, and the wind from his fist alone made the air tremble.

But in Ye Guan's eyes, his speed was like that of a turtle. He easily dodged the punch, and at the same time, he pointed his finger forward and tapped it on the man's shoulder.

Bam!

The man was blasted away, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

A complete defeat!

The surroundings became eerily silent.

Now, they were convinced that Ye Guan was truly skilled.

Yue Qi glanced at the unconscious physique cultivator on the ground and looked around. "Is there anyone else who wants to come up?"

No response.

Yue Qi calmly said, "Then he is the champion among the inner sect disciples."

"I object!" a young man in a black robe yelled and landed in front of Ye Guan. He was about to speak, but before he could say anything further, Ye Guan disappeared from where he stood.

The young man's face changed drastically. He was about to make a move, but the next moment, he was blasted away. He flew several dozen meters before crashing heavily to the ground. He convulsed violently before passing out.

"Any more objections?" Ye Guan challenged, looking around at the crowd before him. He knew that he had to be decisive and intimidate these people, or there would be more trouble in the future.

Hearing Ye Guan's words, the young men around him exchanged looks but dared not speak.

Yue Qi turned to look at Ye Guan and opened her palm. A storage ring flew toward Ye Guan. "These are the rewards for becoming the champion."

With that, Yue Qi turned around and disappeared.

Ye Guan glanced at the storage ring in his hand. The storage ring contained a Sky-grade sword technique, two thousand Pure-grade spiritual crystals, and several medicinal pills. Among them, the most valuable was undoubtedly the Breaking Realm Pill, which could allow one to make a breakthrough.

Ye Guan put the ring away and hopped onto his sword before flying toward Yang Yian.

Yang Yian grinned at him and said, "You're the champion!"

"This whole contest is suspicious," Ye Guan remarked and pulled Yang Yian with him to the skies.

Soon, they arrived at the courtyard where Fu Ji was staying.

An Mujin was there as well, and he was staring at Fu Ji.

"Did he threaten you?" asked An Mujin.

Fu Ji shook his head. "No."

An Mujin growled, "Then why did you forfeit? Aren't you a swordsman?"

Fu Ji did not say anything.

Ye Guan said, "I'm the one who told him to forfeit."

An Mujin turned to look at Ye Guan. "You...?"

Ye Guan nodded.

"Brother Ye, you…" An Mujin exclaimed, "You've insulted me! Both of you have insulted me!"

"You should go find that Grand Elder from your An Clan, not Fu Ji. Fu Ji's family only sells buns, so how can they possibly go against your An Clan? Your An Clan visited him to 'negotiate,' and if Fu Ji had been uncooperative, who could say for sure what would have happened to him?"

An Mujin was stunned.

"I see," An Mujin said and walked away. After a few steps, he stopped and then turned back to look at Fu Ji. "I'm withdrawing from the contest. You should go with Brother Ye and become one of the main contestants with him."

Fu Ji was stunned. "Brother An, you…"

An Mujin shook his head. "This is my An Clan's fault. I don't know why they came to find you. I apologize on their behalf."

Fu Ji hurriedly said, "Brother An, the Wanzhou Martial Contest—"

An Mujin interrupted, "My An Clan's actions were disgraceful."

With that, he soared into the air on his sword and disappeared.

Ye Guan watched An Mujin leave on his sword, feeling somewhat surprised.

Little Pagoda said, "He…"

Ye Guan stared quietly at An Mujin.

***

An Mujin went to confront the Grand Elder of the An Clan.

The Grand Elder's face was grim as he said, "Do you even realize what you're doing? You're the only one who can represent us. If you give up, there will be no one left to participate in the Wanzhou Martial Contest on behalf of our clan—"

An Mujin erupted in anger. "Grand Elder! Do you understand what you're saying?"

The Grand Elder was stunned at his outburst.

An Mujin glared at him. "Our An Clan is a family of Martial Gods. Martial Gods! Have you ever considered what our ancestors would think of your actions? They will certainly be ashamed.

"The Wanzhou Martial Contest is important, but so what? Who says that our An Clan must win at any cost? Even if we do win, it should be through an honorable fight; we shouldn't resort to such disgraceful methods!"

An Mujin turned around and walked away.

The Grand Elder shouted angrily, "An Mujin! Do you know what you're doing?!"

An Mujin stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath, and said, "Grand Elder, I know you're acting in the family's interest. However, our An Clan should accept both defeat and victory with grace.

"The previous generation of our clan already shamed our ancestors. Are we now really going to shame them again? A Martial God Clan can decline, but it must never resort to disgraceful means.

"Thus, I will withdraw from the Wanzhou Martial Contest."

An Mujin hopped onto his sword and disappeared into the distance.

Coca and Corlumbus's Thoughts

Bravo to him for standing by his principles. This moment really cements his place as one of the story’s moral anchors, I really hope he gets what he deseves. A truly admirable character