I Have A Sword-Chapter 1398: Chess Piece

Inside the tiny pagoda, Hao'er's hands were tightly clenched, and her beautiful eyes were wide with disbelief.

Ten years inside the pagoda was equivalent to one day on the outside! Could this man truly be Beixin Ci's disciple? But how could she take a fool like this as a disciple? Yet, if he weren't Beixin Ci's disciple, how could he possibly possess such a divine artifact?

For the first time, she was completely stunned.

Ye Guan led her out of the tiny pagoda. Looking at her seriously, he said, "Lady Hao'er, you must keep this a secret for me."

Hao'er snapped out of her daze.

"Idiot—ah, no."Realizing she had misspoken, she quickly corrected herself, saying, "Master, did that tiny pagoda really come from Beixin Ci?"

Ye Guan nodded earnestly, pretending that he hadn't heard her call him "idiot."

"Of course! My master told me that I'm a one-in-a-million sword prodigy, so she gave me that pagoda. However, I'm not sure if she created it herself. Either way, she gave it to me."

Hao'er stared at him intensely, as if trying to read him, but Ye Guan only revealed an honest smile. Suddenly, he asked, "Lady Hao'er, why don't you come with me?"

Hao'er was taken aback.

Ye Guan looked completely sincere as he added, "I'll treat you well."

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed her hands. Hao'er's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of disgust flashing in her eyes as she pulled her hands away.

"Master, I already have someone I like."

Ye Guan blurted out, "I don't mind!"

"The person I like is one of the three geniuses of the Old Lands. Do you even know what that means, Master?" asked Hao'er.

Ye Guan's curiosity was piqued. "What does it mean?"

"It means that they're one of the most monstrous prodigies of the younger generation in the Old Lands."

"Lady Hao'er, I'm invincible among the younger generation. I've never lost. Truly."

"Young Master Ye, you're amazing. I really admire you."

"Lady Hao'er, did you like that pagoda? If you like it, I can give it to you."

Hao'er's heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

"Yes, but..." Ye Guan nodded and trailed off, seemingly a bit embarrassed.

Hao'er immediately became cautious. "There's a condition?"

"Yes." Ye Guan nodded and muttered, "I-I want to be with you."

Little Pagoda was completely speechless.

Disgust rose in Hao'er's heart as her right hand slowly clenched into a fist. She really wanted to punch this idiot to death, but a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

Upon hearing it, her expression changed instantly. She quickly looked at him and said, "Young Master Ye, time's up. This session is over."

Before Ye Guan could say anything, she turned and hurried away.

He let out a quiet sigh, and then he turned around, sprawling on the bed.

Little Pagoda asked, "Kid, is someone watching you?"

Ye Guan inwardly replied, "Master Pagoda, you just realized that?" freewebnøvel.coɱ

"The ones watching me are probably from the Suiming Civilization's Strategy Pavilion," he added with closed eyes.

"How can you say that for sure?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Little Pagoda fell silent.

Little Soul said, "At first, Master wasn't completely sure if that lady was from the Suiming Civilization, but when he tested her, she revealed a flaw—she asked to see the pagoda for the second time. Am I right, Master?"

Ye Guan smiled. "Yes."

Little Soul giggled. "Master had four reasons for putting on a show. First of all, he wanted to appear weak to the Suiming Civilization... to make them think that you're brave but reckless, so they'd attempt to recruit him.

"That way, he'll be able to buy time, and he could even make use of them to become stronger."

"What's the second reason?" Little Pagoda asked.

"Master wanted to use the girl's eyes to show the Suiming Civilization how powerful the pagoda is, as trying to fool them with mere words wouldn't work. The best lie is one mixed with some truths, making the fake seem real, and the real seem fake.

"Once they saw the special spacetime in the pagoda, they'd have two choices—recruit him or eliminate him at all costs.

"However, it is likely that they wouldn't dare to act recklessly, as Beixin Ci is still acting as a major deterrent."

"What's the third reason?"

"The third reason was to test the intentions of the people behind that lady. As for what exactly Master was testing... Um... Little Pagoda, why don't you answer that one?"

Little Pagoda was completely clueless.

Ye Guan answered, "They know I'm here, but they have yet to send people to kill me. Instead, they sent someone to make contact with me. This means that they're afraid of the people backing me and don't dare to act rashly.

"However, at first, I wasn't sure how they planned to deal with me. It wasn't until that lady kissed me that I finally understood. They want to use someone else to get rid of me."

Little Pagoda doubtfully asked, "Use someone else? You mean, get another faction to target you?"

Ye Guan nodded. "That lady is definitely not an ordinary person. The fact that she kissed me will soon spread. In other words, before long, someone will come looking for trouble with me, and they'll have a perfectly justified reason to do so.

"That lady is most likely not from the Suiming Civilization. She is either from the Eternal Civilization or the Old Lands. Now, if one of those civilizations comes after me and I kill them, what do you think will happen?"

Little Pagoda said, "I know, I know! If you kill the small ones, the big ones will come! If you kill the big ones, the old ones will come. If you kill the old ones, then a whole group of old ones will come..."

Ye Guan nodded again. "Many times, conflicts arise from something that seems insignificant at first. Then, things will escalate until it turns into a major conflict."

Little Pagoda lamented, "We're in a really passive position right now."

Ye Guan said, "Yes, but there's no way around it. We're not strong enough. I revealed your abilities in the hope that they won't try to deal with me in such a roundabout way.

"Ideally, they'd recruit me. If they do that, I can surrender, and once I'm in the Suiming Civilization, I'll have a chance to breathe... a chance to grow."

What he feared most was that they would simply abandon all caution to the wind and go all out against him. If that were to happen, he wouldn't be able to hold out.

Right now, he could only rely on himself, and there was absolutely no way he could go up against an entire civilization. His only option was to avoid direct confrontation, bid his time, and plan his moves carefully.

Little Pagoda asked, "What do you think they'll decide to do in the end?"

Ye Guan spoke softly, "I don't know... I know nothing about them."

"Oh, right!" Little Pagoda exclaimed, "Weren't there four reasons? What's the last one?"

Ye Guan simply smiled without answering the question.

***

In the Strategist Pavilion, the surveillance hall was silent. Everyone was still in shock over Ye Guan's tiny pagoda. Its abilities were heaven-defying. They were completely at a loss for words.

Sui Gujin lightly tapped her chair with two fingers. It was a signal for everyone to speak.

A young man in a black robe stood up, bowed slightly to her, and said, "In my opinion, all of Ye Guan's actions in the Yuxian Residence were deliberate. His goal was to appear weak so that we would underestimate him.

"After all, how could a swordsman capable of establishing a Dao Lineage be so vulgar?"

The black-robed young man was Ran Heng, and he was a prominent representative of the younger generation within the Strategist Pavilion.

Sui Gujin tapped the table again.

Ran Heng added, "That means he already knows we are watching him. The reason he behaved that way is to make himself seem weak and to signal his willingness to surrender."

A lady asked, "Is he really Bei—her disciple?"

Ran Heng pondered for a moment before replying, "We cannot say for sure."

The lady said, "The issue right now isn't whether he's pretending to be weak or not. The real question is if he's actually that woman's disciple. If we kill him, and she visits us for revenge, what do we do then? But if he isn't, then where did he get that pagoda? What civilization could possibly create such an insane artifact?"

The room fell into silence.

In truth, none of them knew for certain if even the Suiming Civilization could forge such a divine artifact.

Although they were considered to be a high-tier civilization, they weren't really sure about the strength of their strongest experts. As a result, they weren't entirely sure just how powerful they were.

Ran Heng looked at the lady. "Yan Jin, in your opinion, is he really that woman's disciple?"

Yan Jin replied calmly, "I don't think that matters. What matters is the fact that the pagoda is a threat. He revealed that to threaten us!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many in the hall looked at her in shock.

Yan Jin stared intently at the screen and said, "As I just said, if that pagoda truly belongs to that woman, then if he dies within the Suiming Civilization, she will undoubtedly come for revenge.

"But if it doesn't belong to her, then it means that he has an extremely powerful force backing him. If we really intend to make a move against him, we must carefully weigh the consequences of provoking that unknown force.

"The problem is that we know absolutely nothing about them.

"My suggestion is that until we've determined the origins of that pagoda, we should not act against him. We cannot afford to take action without knowing whether we can bear the consequences or not."

Yan Jin slowly turned her gaze toward Sui Gujin.

Everyone in the hall also turned their attention to her.

Sui Gujin opened her eyes and calmly said, "Someone is setting the stage, using the Old Lands and the vast expanse as their chessboard. Our Suiming Civilization has become a mere chess piece."

Everyone present was shocked.

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