Upon hearing Ji Zhan's words, the Great Daoist Brush Master frowned and was about to speak when Taigu Qing coldly added, "We must eliminate him completely." His gaze, too, was fixed on Ye Guan. Looking at Ye Guan, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. He was a monstrous talent that was simply too dangerous to keep alive. Geniuses , if not eliminated, would become an endless threat. If the roots weren't pulled, the spring winds would make them sprout again! Seeing their faces, the Great Daoist Brush Master naturally understood their concerns. He calmly said, "Brother Zhan, once we've taken down the Celestial Clan, how about you leave him to me to deal with?" Ji Zhan turned to him. The Great Daoist Brush Master smiled. "Don't worry. Once the Celestial Clan is destroyed, I promise you, he will never appear before you again." Ji Zhan replied flatly, "Fine." With that, he turned back to Ye Guan, and his eyes radiated killing intent. Taigu Qing gave the Great Daoist Brush Master a look but said nothing. He, too, was wary of this man. The Great Daoist Brush Master wasn't just powerful; his background was far too mysterious. If he could avoid offending him, he would. Still, Ye Guan had to die. Even if the Empire refrained from killing him, the Taigu Clan would kill him. If Ye Guan were allowed to survive, he'd never forget his grudge against the Taigu Clan. In the skies above the Celestial Clan, layers of glowing barriers shimmered. Below them, hundreds of thousands of beams of light rose up, sustaining the massive defensive shield. The Celestial Clan's ultimate defense array—Divine Realm Guardian Array! Once activated, not even Transcendent Realm elites could break it so easily. One person wasn't enough, but what if there were multitudes? This array, created by the founding ancestor of the Celestial Clan, had only been used once in history, which meant that this was the second time. One after another, columns of terrifying energy surged from deep underground, feeding into the glowing dome above, reinforcing it with overwhelming power. Inside the Celestial Clan, Ye Guan stood at the front, staring through the glowing screen at the Great Daoist Brush Master and the others. Just then, Tian Yan and Tian Lian appeared beside him. Ye Guan said, gazing at the Great Daoist Brush Master, "It's not time yet." The Great Daoist Brush Master chuckled. "Not time yet? Ye Guan, because of you, one of the Transcendent Realm cultivators of the Celestial Clan died, and Tian He died as well. "Are you planning to drag the entire Celestial Clan down with you?" Ye Guan clenched his fists slowly. Suddenly, Tian Yan coldly said, "You killed our clan leader. What does it have to do with Young Master Ye?" The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at Tian Yan and smiled. "If Tian He had chosen to flee alone, he would have escaped." Tian Yan retorted, "Enough with the mind games. The Celestial Clan now lives or dies with Young Master Ye!" "Hahaha." The Great Daoist Brush Master gave a light laugh. "Then soon, the Celestial Clan will be no more." Tian Yan glared at him. "Even if our clan is wiped out, you won't get away unscathed, either!" The Great Daoist Brush Master ignored him and turned to Ye Guan. "Surrender now, and the Celestial Clan will be spared. I give you my word." His true aim wasn't to destroy the Celestial Clan; it was to force Ye Guan to surrender. Beside Ye Guan, Tian Lian suddenly said, "He's trying to break your will." Ye Guan looked at her. Tian Lian stared back at him. "The Celestial Clan will never surrender. For my father, for our clan leader, we will have our vengeance. As long as you don't yield, the Celestial Clan will follow you to the end." That meant handing his fate to his enemy. It was the most foolish move one could make. Tian Yan also looked at Ye Guan, worry on his face. Right now, Ye Guan was the clan leader. If he chose to yield, the blow to morale would be devastating. And the grudge between the Celestial Clan and the Empire? Irreconcilable. Same with the Taigu Clan. Even if the Celestial Clan wanted to let things go, the Empire and Taigu Clan certainly wouldn't. At this point, it was a fight to the death, no other outcome. Ye Guan turned to the Great Daoist Brush Master and smiled. "Still trying to mess with my head at a time ? Don't you think that's a bit pointless?" The Great Daoist Brush Master narrowed his eyes. "You'd really drag the Celestial Clan down with you?" Ye Guan replied calmly, "The Celestial Clan shed blood for me, I'll never forget that. But let's be honest, the moment you sided with the Empire, weren't you already planning to destroy them? Am I wrong?" The Great Daoist Brush Master's expression darkened. If he said yes, the Celestial Clan would fully side with Ye Guan. If he said no, the Empire would start doubting his loyalty. "Pfft!" Ye Guan suddenly laughed. "What? Are you going to pretend you never wanted to wipe out the Celestial Clan? That you're using the Empire just to get to me?" The Great Daoist Brush Master replied evenly, "Trying to sow discord?" Not far away, Ji Zhan stood expressionless. Taigu Qing glanced at the Great Daoist Brush Master but said nothing. Ye Guan suddenly looked at Ji Zhan. "Do you know what the Great Daoist Brush Master's real goal is?" Ji Zhan didn't answer. Ye Guan laughed. "You really think he came here for some 'Great Dao Contest' with me? Let me tell you, it's not that. Not even close." Ji Zhan said nothing, but Taigu Qing suddenly asked, "Then what is it?" The moment he asked, Ye Guan realized that he had made a mistake. He glanced at the Great Daoist Brush Master and laughed awkwardly, "No offense, brother." The Great Daoist Brush Master ignored him, staring at Ye Guan. "Go ahead, keep stirring the pot. I'd love to see what nonsense you'd come up with." Ye Guan grinned. "Sure. You're totally right, no ulterior motives at all. You came here purely for the Great Dao Contest. You're helping the Empire out of the goodness of your heart." The Great Daoist Brush Master's expression grew uglier by the second. Taigu Qing looked between the two, frowning. The Great Daoist Brush Master had yet to reveal his background. As for his goal, he only ever said it was Ye Guan. However, it didn't quite add up. A Great Dao Contest? That was it? Who were they kidding? Just then, Ji Zhan said, "Ye Guan, do you really think we'll fall for your tricks?" Ye Guan just smiled silently. The Great Daoist Brush Master's face was still grim. He knew that Ji Zhan was already suspicious of him. He was only playing along for the bigger picture. The trust between them was gone. Still, the Great Daoist Brush Master didn't care too much. As long as the Celestial Clan was destroyed and Ye Guan surrendered, he could recover his strength. And once he had recovered... the rest of them would be mere ants. Ji Zhan turned to the Great Daoist Brush Master. "Brother, any way to break this array?" The Great Daoist Brush Master glanced at the glowing barrier not far away. "It'll take some studying." Ji Zhan asked, "How long?" A few days? Taigu Qing's eyelid twitched. Damn it, this was the Celestial Clan's strongest defense array. You're telling me you can crack it in a few days? Ji Zhan smiled. "Then we're counting on you, brother." The Great Daoist Brush Master nodded. Ji Zhan looked one last time at Ye Guan, said nothing, and vanished. Taigu Qing glanced at them and disappeared. The Great Daoist Brush Master turned to Ye Guan. "This time, you're finished." Ye Guan replied, "We'll see." The Great Daoist Brush Master grinned. "Looking forward to it!" Ye Guan said nothing more and turned to leave. Watching him walk away, the Great Daoist Brush Master's gaze turned icy. He didn't believe that Ye Guan could possibly turn this around. Elsewhere, a woman watched Ye Guan's fading silhouette as well. It was Sang Han. Her expression was complicated. She knew Ye Guan hadn't betrayed the Empire by choice; the Empire had abandoned him. She had never expected things to go this far, but now, none of that mattered. They were enemies now. And when the time came to fight, she wouldn't hold back. In the Qin Clan's main hall, Qin Yun stared at the secret letter in front of him, completely stunned. Ye Guan... had become the Celestial Clan's Clan Leader!? His face turned pale as a sheet of paper, and his mind went blank. Just then, Qin Xue rushed in. "Grandfather, what's wrong?" Qin Yun passed her the letter. Qin Xue read it, and her face instantly went as white as his. "W-w-what?!" Qin Yun laughed bitterly. "That Young Master Ye actually became the clan leader of the Celestial Clan!" Qin Xue's voice trembled. "Grandfather, we're still setting up that Guanxuan Academy for him. Strictly speaking, doesn't that mean we're aiding an enemy of the Empire?! I-I'll go shut it down immediately..." Qin Yun shook his head. "It's already too late." Qin Xue looked at Qin Yun, who said softly, "Even if we shut down the Guanxuan Academy, it's already too late! Once Young Master Ye's identity spreads, the Empire will definitely use us as an example... "Even if they don't, our Qin Clan will still be branded as traitors. That label, we won't be able to shake it off, we just can't..." Qin Xue trembled a little. "Grandfather, what should our Qin Clan do?" Qin Yun closed his eyes, his face full of bitterness. Immediately, Qin Xue said, "No, we can't just sit here and wait to die. We need to distance ourselves from that Ye Guan right now, make our stance clear. We can't let the Qin Clan be destroyed —" Qin Yun suddenly stood up and fixed his eyes on Qin Xue. "It's too late! It's completely too late to back out now. The Qin Clan has only one path left..." Qin Xue asked, "What path?" Qin Yun clenched his fists tightly. "We go all the way down this road; we keep running the Guanxuan Academy. Not only will we continue, but we'll double down on it!" Qin Xue looked utterly confused. "Grandfather..." Qin Yun's expression turned a bit twisted. "What if... I'm saying what if—what if the Celestial Clan wins, and Young Master Ye returns in triumph?" Qin Xue immediately said, "That's impossible!" Qin Yun's voice trembled. "But if, just if... if he really wins... Then damn it, I'm betting on it! I'm going to bet against the odds... Either we soar, or we return to ashes!"