After chatting with Ye Guan for a while longer, Zong Gu had formed a basic understanding of Ye Guan's background and backing. In the end, he came to the conclusion that Ye Guan was indeed a second-generation cultivator with a fairly strong family behind him, but they weren't too strong. At the very least, they were probably not stronger than the Jun Clan. Of course, he didn't fully believe everything Ye Guan said. That was just his nature; he only ever believed seventy percent of what others said, while remaining doubtful of the remaining thirty percent. Before leaving, Zong Gu cupped his fists and earnestly said, "Brother Ye, from today onwards, the Zong Clan is on the same side as you. If you need anything at all, just give the word." Ye Guan replied with a look of "heartfelt emotion," saying, "Brother Zong, you must be careful as well. If you're ever in danger, be sure to contact me. No matter how far away I am, I'll come to your aid." Looking at his honest and sincere face, Zong Gu sighed inwardly. After exchanging a few polite words, he turned around and left. Ye Guan escorted him to the gate, and then he walked away. On the way, he ran into Old Ji, who was clearly waiting for him. Old Ji hesitated for a moment and asked, "Young Master Ye, forgive my boldness. What exactly did Zong Gu discuss with you?" Ye Guan said, "Brother Zong couldn't stand the Jun Clan's actions, so he defected to my side." Old Ji looked at him carefully. "And you believed him?" "Of course," Ye Guan said, nodding. "He even brought me some of the Jun Clan's confidential plans, how could it be fake?" Old Ji grew curious. "May I take a look?" Ye Guan nodded and handed over the scroll Zong Gu had given him. After reading for a moment, Old Ji's expression turned serious. "Young Master Ye, this information here is indeed real, but most of it consists of plans the Jun Clan has already carried out. Do you understand what I mean?" Ye Guan smiled and replied, "Senior, Brother Zong and I hit it off right away. We talked for a long time just now, and he's a very open, honest man. Worthy of trust, just like Brother Nan. Don't worry." With that, he walked away into the distance. Old Ji stood in place, silent for a moment. Then, he let out a soft sigh and muttered, "An honest, young man, huh..." Ye Guan arrived at the entrance of his courtyard. Just as he was about to enter his room to continue cultivating, a voice suddenly called out from behind him. "Little swordsman." Ye Guan turned around and saw Sang Mei. She sized him up and said, "Wow... You're really handsome today." Ye Guan's face darkened. "Are you about to ask for money?" Sang Mei looked shocked. "How did you know?!" Ye Guan's face turned as black as coal. "No, No. I'm not lending you anything." With that, he turned around to leave. Sang Mei quickly grabbed his arm and pleaded, "Just a bit more, just a few million! I promise I'll pay you back later..." He stopped and turned to look at her. "You already spent the two million crystals I lent you before?" Ye Guan was stunned. "What did you even spend it on?" Sang Mei's gaze drifted evasively. Ye Guan said, "Don't try to fool me." "Hehehe." Sang Mei giggled. "Nothing much, really..." Ye Guan stared at her sternly, saying nothing. Knowing she couldn't talk her way out of it, she finally admitted, "I bought food." A confused look appeared on Ye Guan's face. "Food?" "Yes." Sang Mei nodded. Then, she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "Come on, I'll show you." Ye Guan sighed helplessly. "I still need to cultivate." Sang Mei immediately perked up with curiosity. "Ah, right, how's your cultivation going lately? Let me take a look..." Ye Guan smiled and opened his palm. A sword intent appeared in his hand, and with a gentle flick, the sword intent trembled slightly. The spacetime around them suddenly shifted in a strange and eerie way. On the left side, time was flowing slowly, while on the right side, it was moving rapidly! Sang Mei was visibly surprised. "Delayed time, huh? This spacetime isn't from the tiny pagoda; you created it!" "Yes," Ye Guan said with a smile. Sang Mei looked at him. "Why didn't you just use the spacetime inside the tiny pagoda?" Ye Guan thought for a moment and replied, "I could do that but doing that means not actually learning anything. Over the years, I've been researching the spacetime my aunt left behind in the tiny pagoda, hoping to uncover its mysteries and turn it into something of my own." Sang Mei exclaimed, "Metacognition!" "Metacognition? What does that mean?" "In simple terms, it means absorbing, digesting, transforming, and innovating... something along those lines!" "Your aunt left behind that spacetime probably because she didn't want you to use it directly. Otherwise, with her ability, she could have easily transferred it to you and let you control it as you pleased, but she didn't do that. "Obviously, she wanted you to use that spacetime as a reference point, a distant goal to aim toward. Even if it seems far away now, if you keep moving in that direction, you won't stray from the path." "I understand. Sang Mei, take a look at this spacetime I created. What do you think?" "The flow of time in your spacetime is about twice as slow as that of normal spacetime. It's far inferior to your aunt's, but the main point is that it's yours. That makes it very meaningful. It's quite an achievement." Hearing Sang Mei's approval, Ye Guan broke out into a smile. Sang Mei added, "From what I can see, your current combat strength makes you practically invincible compared to anyone else below the level of a Main God. If you face a Main God and use your delayed spacetime technique, you should be able to fight them on even ground." Ye Guan asked, "What if I add my Qingxuan Sword into the mix?" "Most ordinary Main Gods won't stand a chance against you, especially now that you've learned time-based suppression. These kinds of universal Daos far surpass the strength of typical experts at the Main God level. "Of course, you'll still need to be cautious when dealing with some of the more... unusual Main Gods." Ye Guan nodded thoughtfully. Sang Mei said, "Come on, let's talk while we walk." Ye Guan agreed, "Alright." The two of them headed toward the exit of the residence. Just as they were about to leave, Old Ji appeared in front of them and said, "Are you both heading out?" Old Ji hurriedly said, "Young Master Ye, Lady Sang, it's not safe outside right now." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 Sang Mei chuckled. "Don't worry, old man. The gods will protect us." As she said that, she grabbed Ye Guan's hand and pulled him outside. Old Ji was left dumbfounded. He mumbled to himself, "The gods... You actually believe that? You both are seriously naive..." A moment later, he snapped back to reality and exclaimed, "Someone! Send people to protect them in secret!" Soon, several hidden experts quietly followed them from the shadows. As they walked on the streets, Sang Mei said, "I have to remind you not to underestimate the Main Gods despite your current level of strength. The faith power they wield is far beyond that of the Higher Gods below them, especially those Main Gods with official positions; they possess special divine artifacts as well. "They have a seat that is no weaker than a Fate artifact, possibly even stronger! So if you're going to fight a Main God, your best bet is to strike first with your trump card and catch them completely off guard." "All right." Ye Guan nodded. "I guess I'm still not strong enough." Sang Mei glanced at him and smiled. "For your age, your strength is already heaven-defying." Ye Guan smiled bitterly. "But my enemies are never normal." "Actually, that's a good thing." "I once studied the stages of sentient beings. What I found is that all sentient beings go through three stages in life—the Comfort Phase, the Panic Phase, and the Enlightenment Phase. The Comfort Phase, simply put, is when you're doing what you're most familiar with. "In this phase, all you're doing is reinforcing your current knowledge and skills. Day in and day out, you repeat simple tasks, without challenge, without change, and you'll eventually lose your desire to pursue more. "Most people stay in this phase forever." "And the Panic Phase?" "The Panic Phase is driven by ambition. It's when you're no longer content with your current state and want to do something more, but to do that, you have to leave the Comfort Phase and start learning new knowledge. "Unfortunately, it is a painful process. You'll be doing things you're not good at, or things you don't even understand. The knowledge you encounter goes far beyond what you're used to, and the suffering you'll endure is something your comfortable self could never imagine to withstand. "You're currently in this Panic Phase; It's hard, as what you're enduring right now isn't something you're supposed to endure at your stage. You probably haven't even realized it yourself, but once you get through it, you'll be reborn. "After some time, when you look back, you'll realize the hardships and enemies you're facing now were things you could laugh off. That's what growth is." Ye Guan was silent for a moment before asking, "What about the Enlightenment Phase?" Sang Mei turned to look at him and smiled. "You're still a bit far from that..." "The Panic Phase really is painful, and it's so long..." "Are you familiar with silkworms?" "After spinning their cocoons, silkworms will attempt to break out in seven to fifteen days. Some silkworms manage to breathe in fresh air and fight hard to break free from the confines of their cocoons and transform. "However, some struggle a few times, fail to break out, and start believing that the cocoon is the entire world. In the end, they'll stay inside until they suffocate to death. "If those silkworms had only realized that there was a bigger world outside the cocoon and struggled harder, they could have been reborn. It's the same for us. Many times, it seems like we're trapped in a predicament, but really, we're just stuck in the cocoon of our own perception. "You're in the Panic Phase; you think you're suffering injustice, but from another perspective, aren't you just in the process of breaking out of your cocoon? "In fact, a person's whole life is about breaking out of cocoons, just like birth itself. For example, little swordsman, your very birth was a brutal process of that. "Think about it, to be born at all, you had to defeat billions of little tadpoles—Ah!" Sang Mei suddenly covered her face. "I shouldn't have said that...!" Ye Guan was utterly speechless.