I Have A Sword-Chapter 1354: Yi Nian

He was trying to devour the sword spirit!

This broken sword was known as "Eclipse Sun," and it was once the personal sword of the Emperor Sword Clan's Supreme Emperor. Thus, it had an extremely high status in the clan.

Gong Shuang dared to take the enormous risk of devouring it for three reasons.

First of all, Eclipse Sun had never acknowledged him as his master. No matter how many times he tried to subdue the sword, the sword spirit would always refuse to accept him.

Secondly, Eclipse Sun was an Emperor-grade weapon. If he could devour its spirit, his strength would rise drastically. Quasi Emperor experts weren't all equal in strength, so absorbing Eclipse Sun's spirit could help him reach the peak of the Quasi Emperor Realm.

Lastly, the sword was severely injured. If it weren't for that fact, he wouldn't dare to entertain such thoughts at all.

As soon as Eclipse Sun entered his sea of consciousness, Gong Shuang was overwhelmed with excitement. The next instant, however, his expression changed drastically, and his eyes widened in sheer terror.

"T-this is impossible! Wait, wait, waaaait! Noooo!"

Boom!

Gong Shuang trembled violently as countless sword lights flickered chaotically in his eyes. After a long time, he finally calmed down, but a sword light was now glowing in his eyes. He looked down at his own hands and sneered, "A mere ant like you actually dared to dream of making me your sword?

"You should have known your place!"

As a sword that once followed a Sword Sovereign, how could he possibly submit to someone weaker than a Sword Sovereign?

Eclipse Sun decided to stay in Gong Shuang's body. Through this body, he could seize control of the Emperor Sword Clan.

When he recalled how Gong Shuang was planning to conspire against Ye Guan, his gaze turned cold as he muttered, "Fool. You actually dared to scheme against a Supreme Emperor? Utterly ridiculous.

"It's one thing to be a fool yourself, but you even tried to drag the entire Emperor Sword Clan to ruin with you. How Infuriating."

Despite everything, Eclipse Sun still held a sense of kinship toward the Emperor Sword Clan. After all, it was a clan established by its master, a place that he had built with his heart and soul.

After a while, Eclipse Sun stepped outside. It was time to take full control of the Emperor Sword Clan.

***

Diyi Jingzhao went straight to her private garden, while the entire clan was trembling with fear outside.

Their clan leader was furious!

Every time she was furious, she would retreat to her private garden. At times like these, no one would dare to approach her, except for Diyi You.

Seated beside a small pond, Diyi Jingzhao stared at the fish swimming inside with a face as cold as ice. Even the fish could sense her rage, and they all swam away to the other side of the pond to avoid her.

Diyi Jingzhao's eyes were filled with undisguised disappointment. Soon, that disappointment turned into confusion, and then finally she became calm once more.

After a long while, she stood up and left.

***

Ye Guan was leaning against a derelict wooden pillar in the abandoned courtyard of a random house. He was completely engrossed in the book in his hands.

The book was astonishingly detailed, documenting scenic wonders, societal customs across different eras, folklore, notable figures, ancient rituals, artifacts, medicine, divination, and astrology.

It covered just about everything. It was a true encyclopaedia that spanned ancient and modern times.

The Era of Emperors had produced countless brilliant talents. Besides the Supreme Emperors, many remarkable individuals managed to leave an indelible mark on history despite failing to become a Supreme Emperor.

From this book, Ye Guan also discovered something significant. The Era of Emperors and the Ten Desolate Universe had a Heavenly Dao with an incredibly long lifespan.

Emperor Mu even wrote his own observation of it, saying, "Over the past six hundred[1] billion years Supreme Emperors have risen and fallen, but the Heavenly Dao has remained eternal."

Six hundred billion years? Ye Guan frowned. The lifespan of a Heavenly Dao was naturally far longer than that of ordinary beings, but to say it had survived for six hundred billion years seemed excessive.

In fact, he actually sensed the presence of that Heavenly Dao. When he became a Supreme Emperor, all Laws and Daos submitted to him, including the Heavenly Dao itself.

However, he hadn't paid much attention to it.

After finishing the book, he gained a clear understanding of the Ten Desolate Universe's history, the Supreme Emperor Clans, and the Immortal Clans.

A total of eleven Supreme Emperors appeared over six hundred billion years, and they were often accompanied by the rise of a new superpower.

These superpowers included the Supreme Emperor Clans—the Jun Clan, Mu Clan, Qin Clan, Yuan Clan, Diyi Clan, and the Di Clan. There were also the four Immortal Clans—the Divine Clan, Dao Clan, the Royal Clan, and the Emperor Sword Clan.

The name of this starry region, "Ten Desolate Universe" indicated that each Supreme Emperor Clan and Immortal Clan occupied their own "desolate" region but were united as one.

When the Di Clan declined, they were expelled from the Ten Desolate Universe and forced to a remote region. Their former territory was then divided by the remaining Supreme Emperor Clans and Immortal Clans.

The Di Clan's fate was the most tragic of them all, and it was all because of the lack of successors.

After Emperor Yuan's fall, the Di Clan went through several generations without producing a single strong contender to become a Supreme Emperor. As a result, they became an easy target for the other clans to bully and suppress.

As for the so-called Era of Emperors, it was both a time period and a group of starry regions. Those starry regions were independent places that each Supreme Emperor Clan had created for themselves.

It was similar to vassal states in ancient dynasties.

They all existed within the same empire, yet were self-governing entities.

Beyond the Ten Desolate Universe were two special regions...

One of them was the Forbidden Wildlands in the North. Ye Guan once explored that region with his divine sense as a Supreme Emperor, and he stumbled upon mysterious experts as well as primordial beasts in the Forbidden Wildlands.

The Forbidden Wildlands were vast and shrouded in mystery.

Strictly speaking, the Forbidden Wildlands were still a part of the Ten Desolate Universe. However, a boundary separated them, making it extremely difficult to travel between the two regions.

Crossing from one side to the other was expensive, which was why they never really made an attempt to invade each other. Of course, if a Supreme Emperor were to appear, everything would change. The entire Forbidden Wildlands would immediately submit to that Supreme Emperor.

The second special region was the Suiming Ruins, a place more mysterious than the Forbidden Wildlands. To this day, the Ten Desolate Universe had yet to fully explore it.

According to historical records, despite countless years of effort, they only uncovered less than one-tenth of its secrets.

The Suiming Ruins were regarded as the most dangerous and mysterious location in the Ten Desolate Universe. It held great significance because the very first Supreme Emperor, the founding ancestor of the Diyi Clan, had emerged from the Suiming Ruins before he became a Supreme Emperor.

Ye Guan had deliberately searched for records on where those Supreme Emperors had disappeared to, but the records provided very little information.

Many of them had simply vanished without a trace, while one Supreme Emperor was confirmed dead, Emperor Yuan of the Di Clan.

There's no way they vanished just like that... Ye Guan was certain that this mystery was linked to the Suiming Ruins.

After a long while, he put away the book in his hand. Then, he took out another book with a title that said, "The Suiming Historical Records."

This book contained information from before the Ancient Era. However, even Emperor Mu knew very little about events that took place more than six hundred billion years ago.

This book was compiled based on ancient relics discovered within the Suiming Ruins.

While reading the book, Ye Guan's brows furrowed deeply. The book primarily recorded ancient artifacts, containing very little information about the Suiming Ruins.

As he continued reading, however, he made an unexpected discovery. The book mentioned a tree that could bear a Life Fruit!

Upon reading that, Ye Guan couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy shit!"

The Tianxing Civilization!

When Zhou Zhou talked about the Suiming Civilization, she told him that a woman named Beixin Ci had stolen a tree from there. Later, in the Diyi Clan, he saw that so-called stolen tree.

Connecting all the clues, his instincts screamed at him that the Tianxing Life Tree from the Tianxing Civilization was definitely linked to the Suiming Ruins.

More importantly, the Tianxing Life Tree within him was probably incomplete!

Unfortunately, he was unable to return to the Guanxuan Universe at the moment. Otherwise, he would have visited the tree and questioned it himself.

Thinking about the Tianxing Life Tree, his mind drifted to Yi Nian, Fu Wu, and Jing Chu. Yi Nian! He had asked his aunt about Yi Nian before, and she simply told him not to worry about her.

As for Fu Wu and Jing Chu... he had no idea what they were up to.

Ye Guan shook his head. He wasn't too worried about them. Yi Nian was with his aunt, who would surely take care of her. Aunt Qingqiu had taken away Fu Wu, while his uncle had taken in Jing Chu.

Ye Guan was certain that they would all give him a huge surprise the next time they would meet, especially Jing Chu and Fu Wu. Those two were monstrous talents, after all.

As for Yi Nian, he had to admit that he really missed that little troublemaker who loved to set things on fire. He wondered how she was doing and if she was getting bullied by anyone.

He let out a sigh and retracted his thoughts. After flipping through the Suiming Historical Records for a moment, he put it away. It seemed like he would be better off visiting that place.

Leaving the dilapidated courtyard, he stepped onto the street. Looking up at the sky, he saw dark clouds and noticed raindrops falling from the sky.

He found a tavern and stepped inside to seek refuge.

As soon as he entered the tavern, the drizzle transformed into a torrential downpour.

He took a seat by the window.

Soon, a young man hurried over and respectfully asked, "Sir, what would you like to eat?"

Ye Guan found the young man's voice to be oddly familiar. When he looked up, he was stunned. He was staring at the young man who had a habit of gambling for dragon eggs.

The young man, Gu Chen, looked confused upon seeing Ye Guan's stunned face.

"Sir?" he asked.

Ye Guan chuckled. "I've seen you before. I saw you at the Mu Pavilion earlier. You were gambling for dragon eggs."

Gu Chen fell silent.

Ye Guan asked, "Why are you working here?"

Gu Chen let out a soft sigh. "I used to be a student at the Diyi Academy, but I spent all my living expenses for the next six months just to gamble. I have to find a job, or I won't survive."

After ordering a few dishes, Ye Guan grinned. "You know the chances of hitting it big with a dragon are low, right?"

Gu Chen nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Really?" Ye Guan was curious. "So why do you gamble?"

Gu Chen sighed again. "Brother, judging by your clothes, you're definitely not an ordinary person. You have no idea how hard life is for the people at the bottom. I somehow got into the Diyi Academy, but my parents are just regular folks.

"I have no connections and no powerful backers. Trying to make a name for myself is as difficult as reaching the heavens. But if I get my hands on a dragon egg, everything will change."

Gu Chen's eyes lit up with hope. The next moment, however, they dimmed again as he said, "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm about to be expelled. Once my parents find out..."

Ye Guan asked, "Why are you being expelled?"

Gu Chen smiled bitterly. "Debt."

Ye Guan was about to respond when a shaky voice suddenly came from the side. "Chen'er..."

Ye Guan turned toward the entrance and saw an old man glaring at Gu Chen in fury. A woman was standing beside him, and the two of them were dressed in simple, worn-out clothing.

The old man's right foot seemed injured, as he was using a crutch.

Gu Chen's face turned pale, and fear flashed in his eyes upon seeing them.

With a limp, the old man moved toward Gu Chen. He raised his crutch and smacked Gu Chen with it. "You ungrateful brat! We worked so hard to get you into the Diyi Academy, but instead of cherishing that opportunity, you wasted your money and time gambling on eggs!

"Now look at you! The academy is about to expel you! Y-You..."

The old man's voice was choked with his sobbing, and tears streamed down his wrinkled face.

The woman next to him was also weeping uncontrollably.

"Father, I-I swear, I'll never gamble on eggs again! If I do, I won't even be human anymore!" Gu Chen cried out.

The old man chased after Gu Chen for a long time, but his injured leg made it impossible to catch up. In the end, he collapsed to the ground, wailing in despair, while the woman beside him couldn't stop her tears from falling.

After crying for a long time, the woman walked over to Gu Chen. Her hands were trembling as she took out a pouch filled with spiritual crystals and handed it to him.

"Chen'er, we have already pleaded with the academy. As long as you repay your debts and promise to turn over a new leaf, they're willing to give you another chance. Y-You must change your ways!"

Gu Chen accepted the spiritual crystals, looking confused. "Mother, where did you get so much money?"

The woman wiped her tears away. "Your father sold our ancestral home."

Gu Chen froze and turned toward the old man. The old man was slumped against the wall, beating his chest in anguish while crying.

The woman gripped Gu Chen's hands and earnestly pleaded, "Please... don't gamble on those eggs anymore, okay?"

Gu Chen was deeply moved, and tears welled up in his eyes. "Alright, alright! I swear, I won't gamble again. I'll focus on my studies from now on..."

With that, Gu Chen helped his parents up and left the tavern with them.

Watching them walk away, Ye Guan smiled and murmured, "Turning over a new leaf is the greatest good ever."

After finishing his meal and settling the bill, he left the tavern and headed to the Immortal Pavilion Guild, intending to purchase a map of the Suiming Ruins.

He had to visit the Suiming Ruins to find out what happened to the Supreme Emperors and the mystery behind the Tianxing Life Tree.

The moment he stepped into the Immortal Pavilion Guild, he froze.

A young man was leaning over the counter in the distance. He slammed a pouch onto the counter and stretched out five fingers. His eyes blazed with excitement as he shouted, "Five! I want five eggs!"

The young man was none other than Gu Chen!

1. The author wrote six hundred instead of sixty billion ☜