Ji Zhan threw a punch, and the immense pressure instantly suffocated Ye Guan. Death was getting closer! Ye Guan's expression turned grave. Faced with this terrifying punch, he did not retreat. Instead, he charged forward. Decisive Strike! A streak of sword light flashed as Ye Guan attacked Ji Zhan's fist light. The sword light shattered, and Ye Guan was blasted away. When he finally stopped, his fleshly body was destroyed, leaving behind his faint, illusory soul. Ji Zhan didn't give Ye Guan a moment to breathe and was about to strike again. "Hahaha!" Loud laughter suddenly rang out. "Ji Zhan, bullying the weak , don't you find it a bit dull?" A terrifying aura forcefully pierced the Sumeru Spacetime. Moments later, a middle-aged man appeared in front of Ye Guan. Ji Zhan looked at the man. "Tian He!" He was none other than Tian He, the Clan Leader of the Celestial Clan. Ji Zhan hadn't expected the clan leader to show up in person. Tian He glanced at Ye Guan in the distance and smiled. "Impressive. Indeed, each generation brings forth new talent. The young will indeed surpass the old, hahaha!" He suddenly waved his sleeve. A pitch-black divine wooden staff floated above Ye Guan's head, and in an instant, waves of pure soul energy surged into Ye Guan's soul. His previously faint soul recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Ye Guan looked at Tian He. "Thank you, senior." "No need to be so polite, young friend." Tian He smiled. Then, he turned to Ji Zhan in the distance. "Still want to fight? If so, I'll accompany you." Ji Zhan looked over at the Great Daoist Brush Master. The latter shook his head; he was powerless in his current state. Had his power not been sealed, he would have slain Tian He with ease. However, he was greatly weakened. Tian He suddenly looked at the Great Daoist Brush Master and smiled. "You're the new Grand Preceptor of the Empire, aren't you?" The Great Daoist Brush Master replied with a smile, "What of it?" Tian He gave him a once-over. "Why are you so weak?" The Great Daoist Brush Master was dumbfounded. "Hahaha!" Tian He laughed heartily and turned to Ye Guan. "Come, young friend. Let's go." Ye Guan nodded. "Alright." Tian He turned around and was about to leave with Ye Guan when a powerful divine sense locked onto the two of them. Tian He turned back to look at Ji Zhan. "You think you can just walk away?" Ji Zhan growled. Tian He laughed. "If you want a fight, then I'll give you one!" As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from where he stood. In the distance, Ji Zhan trembled and disappeared as well. In an instant, golden light soared tens of thousands of meters high as his imperial might crashed down on Tian He and Ye Guan. Tian He laughed. "Good! Come on!" Just as he spoke, Ye Guan was gently pushed away by a soft force, sent out of the battle zone. Four mysterious black-armored warriors stood behind him, and they were Transcendent Realm cultivators! They stood beside Ye Guan. Ye Guan looked at the blurry Sumeru Spacetime. As if remembering something, he suddenly turned to where the Great Daoist Brush Master had been. Seeing Ye Guan look over, the Great Daoist Brush Master turned around and fled. Ye Guan said, "Seniors, kill him!" "Young Master Ye, our orders are to protect you..." The leader of the four black-armored guards hesitated before replying. Afraid that Ye Guan would misunderstand, he added, "You are seriously injured. If we leave, your safety will be at risk." Ye Guan said nothing. He truly wanted to kill that damned Great Daoist Brush Master, but he knew that even four Transcendent Realm experts couldn't kill that man. Even worse, the guy could run fast, too. Besides, the empire's experts were likely on their way here now, too. Damn it! Ye Guan felt a headache coming on. The Great Daoist Brush Master was almost impossible to kill. It was absolutely infuriating. His gut told him that aside from his own family, no one else could take that guy down. However, he wouldn't give up. As long as there was the slightest chance, he would try. Elsewhere, the Great Daoist Brush Master let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the four Transcendent Realm experts hadn't given chase. In his current state, he couldn't handle even one of them. Damn it. That little bastard really is trying to kill me at every turn! Ji Wuchen and the others had finally arrived. The Great Daoist Brush Master looked toward the people beside Ji Wuchen. His face darkened. "Where is that girl?" Ji Wuchen was puzzled. "Who?" "The woman who was always with you..." the Great Daoist Brush Master said. Ji Wuchen smiled. "You mean Lady You? She—" He turned and found that You Lian hadn't followed them. Realization struck, and his face went pale. The Great Daoist Brush Master coldly said, "She's from the Celestial Clan." "...What?" Ji Wuchen's face turned uglier by the second. The Great Daoist Brush Master swept his gaze across the group. "I underestimated the Celestial Clan." He had always been in control, orchestrating events from behind the scenes. Aside from a setback at the YangFfamily, he'd never been played before. After coming here, he only had eyes for Ye Guan and regarded him as a half-threat. In truth, the real opponents in his eyes were Ye Guan's family, not Ye Guan himself, but now, he knew that he could no longer afford to be careless. If he were to let his guard down again, he'd suffer dearly. The Great Daoist Brush Master focused. "What's the situation on the Empyrean Star Battlefield?" Crown Prince Ji Xiao gravely said, "It's still a stalemate..." The Great Daoist Brush Master said, "Let's go there." Ji Xiao hesitated. "Grand Preceptor, but my father..." "He's fine. With his strength, no one can kill him. He's holding off the Celestial Clan leader and several Transcendent Realm experts. If we head to the Empyrean Star Battlefield now, we can catch them off guard and gain an advantage..." He knew the Great Daoist Brush Master was right. However, if those experts ganged up on his father... no, nothing would happen, but his absence could instill doubts in everyone's heart. What would they do then? Seeing that both Ji Xiao and Ji Wuchen were silent, the Great Daoist Brush Master's face darkened. "Have you forgotten what your father said? Seeing me is the same as seeing him!" Ji Xiao said, "How about this? I'm going to leave several Transcendent Realm experts here, and the rest will head to the Empyrean Star." "Cowards!" The Great Daoist Brush Master roared. "Useless! Damn it, you're worse than that little traitor!" Everyone was dumbfounded. The Great Daoist Brush Master was furious. The Crown Prince and Ninth Prince weren't stupid, but they were far too fixated on personal gain. Their vision was too narrow. All they could see was the throne. What a failure of education! The Great Daoist Brush Master said no more; he understood them. In their eyes, only by becoming the emperor could they access the empire's most powerful techniques and inheritances. He turned to the edge of the starry skies, and his gaze fell on Ye Guan. Sensing something, Ye Guan looked back, and their eyes met. Ye Guan looked away and closed his eyes to restore his fleshly body. The Great Daoist Brush Master said nothing and left. The Crown Prince and Ji Wuchen were both annoyed. He was the Grand Preceptor, he acted far too arrogantly. Still, neither said anything. They weren't yet sure of the Great Daoist Brush Master's exact status in their father's eyes. Sang Han looked at the edge of the starry skies with a complicated light in her eyes. She hadn't expected things to escalate ... Ninth Prince Ji Wuchen looked the most grim. He hadn't realized that You Lian was from the Celestial Clan. They had planted a spy right beside him, and he had no idea. Beside him, Ji Xiao's expression was equally dark. He suspected that there could be spies around him as well... Meanwhile, within the Boundary of Truth and Illusion, two terrifying auras erupted. The space distorted and blurred. Not long after, cracks spread like broken glass across the space. The four Transcendent Realm experts immediately pulled Ye Guan back tens of thousands of meters away and erected a powerful barrier around him. Moments later, a terrifying explosion erupted. The space around Ye Guan was violently shaken. Ye Guan's expression was serious. Tian He and Ji Zhan's strength was far beyond ordinary Transcendent Realm powerhouses. Still, he felt that those two still fell short compared to that man. If he were to face that man, he still wouldn't stand a chance. Against those two, however, he could probably hold his own. In the distance, Ji Zhan and Tian He finally stopped fighting. Powerful forces swirled around them along with mysterious Dao energies. Tian He looked at Ji Zhan and smiled. "You're much stronger than your father back then." Ji Zhan calmly asked, "Do you really think you can protect him?" Tian He smiled. "Can't I?" Ji Zhan said nothing, but golden chains suddenly appeared all around like a prison, locking down the Boundary of Truth and Illusion. A golden seal glowed on his brow. The Imperial Seal—the Empire's most powerful divine artifact! Realizing something, Tian He turned sharply toward the four guarding Ye Guan and shouted, "Protect him and get him back to the Celestial World at all costs!" As soon as his words came out, the four Transcendent Realm experts instantly tensed up.