I Have a Sword

Ye Guan stood over the woman's lifeless body with bloodshot eyes. His killing intent swirled around him like a storm. He knew he had made a grave mistake.

He sensed the old man's malice earlier, but he chose to ignore it. He thought the residents could not pose a threat to him, as they had no cultivation bases.

However, the moment of carelessness had cost an innocent lady's life.

Ye Guan understood a bitter truth. Mercy toward one's enemies could bring about the suffering of others.

Without another word, Ye Guan returned to the courtyard.

The old man was already dead.

Ruler Qi smiled faintly. "I saw him trying to escape, so I dealt with him."

Ye Guan was about to speak when a panicked voice echoed from outside.

"Mother!"

Ye Guan and Ruler Qi turned and saw a boy—no more than fourteen years of age—kneeling beside the middle-aged woman's corpse. He was wailing sorrowfully over the corpse.

Ye Guan sighed deeply at the sight.

The boy suddenly raised his tear-filled eyes toward Ye Guan and Ruler Qi. His grief morphed into rage, and with trembling hands, he picked up a stone, ready to hurl it at them.

But before he could act, a voice echoed. "Ah Yong! It wasn't them…"

A limping old man slowly approached. He knelt beside the boy, letting out a long sigh. "Lai San and his men killed your mother…"

"Lai San!"

The boy, Ah Yong, froze for a moment before throwing himself onto the body of one of the assailants. In a frenzy, he bashed the corpse with the stone until the face was unrecognizable.

The old man approached Ye Guan and Ruler Qi, bowing deeply. "This child grew up without a father. His mother raised him alone. Now that she's been murdered by bandits… can the two of you grant him a gift of fate?"

Before they could respond, Ah Yong, his face streaked with tears, turned with sudden desperation.

"Uncle Qie, I don't want any gift. I just want my mother back!"

He collapsed beside the middle-aged woman's body, clutching her hand.

Ye Guan knelt beside her as well. After a while, he said, "She can still be saved."

Ah Yong's head snapped up.

Ye Guan wasn't lying. The middle-aged woman's soul hadn't been destroyed, and it was still within her body. In the world of cultivators, this was akin to merely being injured rather than dead.

However, Ye Guan didn't have the power to revive her. Without hesitation, he grasped the middle-aged woman's arm and closed his eyes. He wanted to bring the middle-aged woman into the tiny pagoda.

Ruler Qi chimed in, "If you do that, you'll get sealed like me. It's too strong of a seal."

Ignoring her warning, Ye Guan activated his profound energy. A burst of violet light erupted from him, and at the same time, a golden beam of light struck him from above.

Boom!

Ye Guan collapsed to the ground.

However, the middle-aged woman's body had vanished; it had been safely stored in the tiny pagoda.

Ruler Qi gazed at the unconscious Ye Guan with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Sometime later, Ye Guan found himself staring at the night sky dotted with stars on a mountain peak somewhere.

"Awake?" A voice drifted over from nearby.

Ye Guan turned and saw Ruler Qi standing a short distance away. She was still in her black robes, and the starlight cast a striking glow on them.

Ye Guan felt a dull ache in his head. Slowly, he sat up and moved to stand beside her. From their vantage point, they could see the entire Multiverse City.

"The boy has been taken care of," Ruler Qi said softly.

Ye Guan nodded, saying nothing.

Ruler Qi rested her chin on her hand, gazing thoughtfully down at the old city down below. The lights within the homes twinkled in the distance.

Ruler Qi smiled. "I'm surprised."

"Surprised that I saved her?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Did it occur to you that saving her could have resulted in your death?"

"No."

"If you had known, would you have done it regardless?"

Ye Guan nodded without hesitation.

Ruler Qi studied him for a long moment.

Ye Guan's voice was calm as he explained, "My parents taught me to live with a clear conscience. She died because of me, so I couldn't just turn a blind eye."

Ruler Qi's gaze lingered on him. Ye Guan chuckled, "Do you think I am naive?"

"No, I'm envious."

"Of me?" Ye Guan asked, surprised.

Ruler Qi looked down at the glowing city. "You see, to me, lives have long since become nothing more than numbers. Take this city, for example. All those people down there—they're just numbers to me."

"In the world of mortals, emperors often view their subjects as expendable. In their eyes, the death of commoners is meaningless, just numbers on a page.

"The same is true in the world of cultivators. I lead the Devourer Civilization, and over the years, I've signed orders that led to the destruction of countless low-tier civilizations.

"All it takes is a single stroke of the pen, and millions will vanish. But to me, it's still just numbers."

Ye Guan murmured, "That's divinity for you."

"Yes, the stronger we become, the more indifferent we become to life. We become like gods, treating others' lives as ants. They are living creatures, too, but do we feel guilty when we crush them? Do we mourn the death of a few hundred ants?"

Ruler Qi stared at Ye Guan and added, "That's why I envy you. You still have emotions. You don't need to be completely rational. But people like me… we've become like machines.

"All that matters is Great Dao and nothing else. I understood that boy's pain as he cried, but I couldn't truly empathize with him. In my eyes, they aren't cultivators. They're going to die sooner or later, anyway."

Ye Guan suddenly asked, "Do you care about anyone or anything?"

Ruler Qi shook her head. "I don't care about other people, but I care about one thing—surpassing my current limits."

"And after that?"

"Then I'll break the next limit," Ruler Qi replied.

Ye Guan chuckled softly. "That doesn't sound too bad."

Ruler Qi reclined on the ground, and her slender figure stretched beneath the starlight. Folding her hands behind her head, she gazed up at the stars and muttered, "In my eyes, living and the Great Dao are the most important things. Everything else is trivial."

Ye Guan glanced at her but remained silent.

"Haha." Ruler Qi laughed. "Do I sound selfish?"

"Everyone has their own path. It's not my place to judge."

Ruler Qi gazed at him for a long moment before saying, "Rest for now. Tomorrow morning, we'll visit the place where the Multiverse Emperor once lived."

Ye Guan raised a brow. "You know where he lived?"

Ruler Qi was about to reply when Ye Guan cut in, "I should have guessed. With your abilities, you could have come here any time you wanted. That stone gate couldn't have forced you in. You chose to enter this place yourself."

"I did make that choice, but I underestimated the Multiverse Emperor," Ruler Qi replied, "I didn't expect his seal to be this strong."

Ye Guan nodded and lay down beside her. He folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

They said nothing more that night.

The next morning, the two set off early.

Ruler Qi led the way, and after about an hour, they entered a vast mountain range. The terrain was harsh, and with their cultivation sealed, the journey was exhausting.

It took them two hours to cross the mountains, and when they finally emerged from it, they found themselves facing an endless desert. Ye Guan sighed at the sight of the boundless sand.

Ruler Qi wiped away the sweat from her brows. "I miss being able to fly."

Ye Guan laughed. "Let's keep moving."

They entered the desert. When they reached the middle of it, Ruler Qi was already struggling. Ye Guan fared better thanks to the fact that his fleshly body was forged of sword intent.

Ye Guan hesitated before speaking, "Ruler Qi, if you don't mind—"

"I don't mind!" Ruler Qi interrupted immediately.

Without further delay, he hoisted her onto his back and continued walking.

Ruler Qi chuckled. "I've been tired for a while now."

"I could tell," Ye Guan replied.

"So why didn't you carry me sooner?"

Ye Guan felt awkward. "We are of different genders…"

"We're all cultivators; the body is just a shell. What's there to mind...?"

"You really don't mind at all?"

"Not at all."

"Then... can I touch you?" asked Ye Guan with a teasing smile.

Ruler Qi was at a loss for words.

About an hour later, Ye Guan finally saw an ancient ruin amidst the desert.

Looking at the ruined city, Ye Guan softly asked, "Is that the place?"

Ruler Qi replied, "I don't know."

Ye Guan immediately frowned.

"There are very few records of the Multiverse Emperor. All I know is that he came from a clan called the Void Clan, located a few hundred kilometers to the right of Multiverse City. As for whether it's really here, I can't say for sure."

"Let's go check it out first."

With that, Ye Guan continued forward while carrying Ruler Qi on his back.

Just then, an unexpected danger arose. A blood-red snake suddenly shot out of the sand in front of him. Ye Guan's expression changed instantly, and he swung his right fist forward with a powerful punch.

Boom!

The snake was sent flying, but Ye Guan and Ruler Qi were also blasted away.

They were sent tumbling across the sand.

Ye Guan quickly got to his feet, but the surrounding sand wriggled as if something was moving underneath.

Ye Guan's face darkened. He looked at Ruler Qi, whose face had turned a bit pale.

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed. "You're afraid of snakes?"

Ruler Qi quickly straightened up and sternly replied, "What nonsense are you spouting? I'm the leader of a Tier Six civilization! How could I be a-a-afraid—"

"Speak properly!" Ye Guan exclaimed, looking exasperated. "And stop groping around—Wait, not there!"

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