Heavenly Dragon Clan!

Ye Tianming left the hall holding Little Pagoda. Qin Lian did not pursue him, but his expression was ugly. If he had not been wary of Nanling Zhao, he would have attacked on the spot.

See Yang Lianshuang?

Who was Yang Lianshuang?

She was the founder of the Milky Way Sect. Unless the sect was in danger of destruction, how would he dare disturb someone like her? And that wretched pagoda had kept calling her Yang Lianshuang, using her name without a shred of respect. It was utterly rude.

After Ye Tianming left the hall with Little Pagoda, he saw that the Milky Way Sect Master had not followed and breathed a sigh of relief.

He had nearly gotten beaten up.

Little Pagoda was still somewhat angry. "Damn it! A tower brought low on the plains is bullied by dogs! I'm furious."

Ye Tianming comforted him. "Tower Ancestor, don't be angry. It's not worth making yourself sick over."

Little Pagoda remained indignant. "I really am angry!"

Ye Tianming: "..."

After a long while, Little Pagoda calmed down considerably. He said in a low voice, "Kid, I wasn't fooling you. I really do know the founder of the Milky Way Sect."

Ye Tianming nodded. "I believe you, Tower Ancestor. You have no reason to play that kind of joke on me."

Little Pagoda breathed a sigh of relief. He was still a little worried about damaging his towering, radiant, and magnificent image in the kid's eyes.

Ye Tianming added, "Our approach was wrong. We barged in and asked to see the founder of the Milky Way Sect, so of course the sect master wouldn't agree. Besides, even he probably can't see the founder whenever he wants... So, Tower Ancestor, can you contact the founder directly?"

Little Pagoda said helplessly, "No."

Ye Tianming immediately felt a headache coming on.

But a question suddenly occurred to him, and he asked, "Tower Ancestor, were you sealed?"

Little Pagoda said, "Yes."

Ye Tianming was shocked. "Tower Ancestor, you're so formidable. Who could seal you?"

Little Pagoda said, "I'm actually not very strong. My real strength lies in my wisdom. I possess great wisdom."

Ye Tianming: "..."

Little Pagoda said, "Don't worry. I know some other people too. We'll look for them one by one."

Ye Tianming asked, "Tower Ancestor, are all the people you know from a different era?"

Little Pagoda said, "Yes."

Ye Tianming thought for a moment, then said tactfully, "Going straight to people's ancestors like this might be a little offensive."

Little Pagoda: "..."

Ye Tianming was about to speak when the Inspector's Seal in the pagoda's hand began to tremble slightly. Then Nanling Zhao's voice rang out. "Where are you?"

Ye Tianming hurriedly looked at the Inspector's Seal. "Miss Zhao?"

Nanling Zhao laughed. "This seal can transmit voices. Where are you now?"

Ye Tianming said, "I'm in the Milky Way."

Nanling Zhao was surprised. "How did you end up in the Milky Way?"

Ye Tianming said, "It's a long story. Miss Zhao, did you need something?"

Nanling Zhao said, "Come to the Central Divine Province quickly... Actually, you probably don't know the way. I'll come get you."

The Inspector's Seal returned to normal.

Ye Tianming gently stroked the Inspector's Seal in his hand. No one knew what he was thinking.

Before long, Nanling Zhao found him.

Ye Tianming was about to speak, but Nanling Zhao grabbed him and pulled him along. "Come on, come on. We're going to the Central Divine Province right away."

Ye Tianming: "..."

Before long, the two arrived in the Central Divine Province.

Nanling Zhao took him to a mountain. Not far ahead of them stood a stone gate, bearing several large characters: Guanxuan Academy.

The plaque was already mottled with rust, and the two characters for "academy" had grown so faint they were almost illegible.

On the mountaintop beyond the stone gate stood several lonely halls. They had fallen into disrepair over the years, and much of their outer walls had peeled away.

Ye Tianming was puzzled. "Miss Zhao, this is... Guanxuan Academy?"

Nanling Zhao nodded. "This is the Guanxuan Academy of the Central Divine Province. And the Central Divine Province is also known as Sin Province."

Ye Tianming turned to Nanling Zhao. "Sin Province? Why?"

Nanling Zhao led him into the academy. "That goes back a thousand years. At the time, the Central Divine Province had a superpower, the True Dragon Clan. Of course, this doesn't have much to do with the True Dragon Clan. It has to do with the superpower behind them, the Heavenly Dragon Clan."

"The Heavenly Dragon Clan!"

Little Pagoda suddenly spoke.

Ye Tianming said in his heart, Tower Ancestor?

Little Pagoda said softly, "It's nothing. I just thought of an old acquaintance."

Ye Tianming thought to himself that Tower Ancestor probably knew the Heavenly Dragon Clan.

Nanling Zhao continued, "I don't actually know that much about the Heavenly Dragon Clan. I only know that their status and strength in the Guanxuan Realm back then were far above even the Nalan Clan's. They truly held power over court and country. Later, I heard that the Heavenly Dragon Clan committed a grave crime, and all its top experts were slain by the Guanxuan Sword Master. The remaining members were also exiled, never to return to the Guanxuan Universe..."

At this point, she glanced around. "The Heavenly Dragon Clan's ancestral land was the Central Divine Province. Because it was implicated by the Heavenly Dragon Clan, the academy began to abandon this place. Gradually, people started calling it Sin Province. The powerful sects and clans here at the time also moved away one after another to avoid being implicated. As those clans and sects left, this place slowly began to decline..."

Ye Tianming said, "Miss Zhao, did you bring me here because the academy here is willing to accept me?"

Nanling Zhao said, "My father is speaking with their academy master now. Don't worry. Since my father has personally stepped in, he must be confident."

Ye Tianming said softly, "Thank you."

Nanling Zhao glanced at him and smiled. "We're friends now, so there's no need to be so polite."

Ye Tianming nodded without speaking, but he had already quietly committed many things to heart.

Nanling Zhao suddenly grabbed him. "Come on, let's go secretly listen to what they're discussing."

Ye Tianming: "..."

Inside a very rudimentary hall, Nanling Xun sat opposite a plainly dressed old man. The old man was Song Shi, the current master of the Guanxuan Academy in the Central Divine Province.

Song Shi sighed softly. "Brother Xun, aren't you putting me in a difficult position? Look at what the Central Divine Province has become. Can we still withstand being targeted by the Xiao Family and Qingzhou Academy?"

Nanling Xun said, "Brother Kong, as far as I know, if the Central Divine Province comes last again this time, its right to establish an academy will be revoked, won't it?"

Song Shi's expression immediately turned ugly.

According to the rules of the Guanxuan Universe, an academy that finished last in ten consecutive Myriad Provinces Grand Competitions would have its right to operate revoked.

As it happened, the Central Divine Province had already finished last in nine consecutive Myriad Provinces Grand Competitions.

It wasn't that its people were incapable. There was simply no one participating...

Nanling Xun said calmly, "Since things have already gotten this bad, are you still afraid they'll get worse?"

Song Shi's face immediately darkened.

Nanling Xun added, "This young man made it through the Guanxuan Dao."

"The Guanxuan Dao!"

At those words, Song Shi flew into a rage. "Don't mention the Guanxuan Dao to me!!"

Nanling Xun said softly, "Is he still the same?"

Song Shi was expressionless. "What do you think?"

Nanling Xun sighed softly. "This young man is different. He's a monstrous talent. He came from a low-ranking clan and cultivated on his own, yet he actually reached the Minor Tribulation Realm... That's truly incredible. If you nurture him well, I can't promise the top ten, but there's definitely hope for the top twenty."

Song Shi still shook his head. "We can't withstand retaliation from Qingzhou Academy and the Xiao Family."

Nanling Xun continued, "Old Song, why did you stay here? Wasn't it because you didn't want this academy to lose its right to operate? And this young man is an enormous opportunity for you."

Song Shi still shook his head.

Nanling Xun said, "My Nanling Clan will sponsor your academy with one million spirit crystals."

Song Shi immediately said, "Deal."

Nanling Xun glanced at him, rose, and walked toward the exit.

Song Shi suddenly said, "Everyone outside is saying your girl has taken a fancy to him. Is it true?"

Nanling Xun shot him a glance and said irritably, "What the hell is it to you?"

With that, he walked outside.

Song Shi chuckled.

When Nanling Xun stepped outside, he saw Nanling Zhao and Ye Tianming standing beside a pillar not far away. Nanling Zhao wore a serious expression, with the words "I wasn't eavesdropping" written all over her face.

Beside her, Ye Tianming bowed slightly. "Thank you, Senior."

Nanling Xun walked over to them, his gaze falling on Ye Tianming. Nanling Zhao immediately grew somewhat worried.

Nanling Xun looked Ye Tianming over and nodded slightly. "Cultivate well here. In this world, without strength, even if your fury rises ten thousand feet, all you can do is pull weeds."

Ye Tianming nodded. "I'll remember that, Senior."

Nanling Xun nodded and looked at Nanling Zhao beside Ye Tianming. "Let's go home."

Nanling Zhao turned to Ye Tianming. "Although the academy here is very backward, the academy master and its only instructor are no ordinary people. Follow them, cultivate diligently, and improve your strength."

Ye Tianming looked at her. "Take care."

As he spoke, he handed her the Inspector's Seal.

Nanling Zhao took the Inspector's Seal, then pressed a storage ring into his hand and smiled. "Take care."

With that, she turned and left with Nanling Xun.

Ye Tianming gripped the storage ring tightly, watching Nanling Zhao's departing figure in the distance.

After father and daughter reached the sky, Nanling Zhao suddenly asked, "Father, you don't seem to care anymore whether I like him."

Nanling Xun said calmly, "Do you think I did all this on one condition-that you cut off all ties with him from now on?"

Nanling Zhao immediately said, "Father, you're not that kind of person."

Nanling Xun looked at her. "What I said to you before wasn't because I looked down on that young man, nor was I trying to force you to make a choice. As clan leader, I had to say those things to you, because what you did concerned the safety of our entire Nanling Clan."

He paused, then added, "And as your father, I'm proud of what you did. In the entire Guanxuan Realm, from the Outer Pavilion to the Inspectorate, the Inspection Court, and the Inner Pavilion... not a single person can compare to my daughter. They're all a bunch of rotten people. If you had lived in the Guanxuan Sword Master's era, you would have been a second Fang Yu. Our Nanling Clan would have been honored because of you."

Nanling Zhao's eyes grew moist. "Father..."

Nanling Xun said solemnly, "But I'm not just your father. I'm also the leader of the Nanling Clan. You must understand this, girl: you're not just an inspector, but also the next head of our Nanling Clan. When you act, you can't think only of yourself. You must think of the clan too. That's also your responsibility. Never be 'skilled at planning for the realm, but clumsy at planning for yourself.' I hope you'll live your whole life in peace and safety."

Nanling Zhao nodded. "Father, I understand."

Nanling Xun nodded in satisfaction.

Nanling Zhao added, "I made a mistake this time."

Nanling Xun looked at her. Nanling Zhao said coldly, "The children of noble clans and sects aren't all bad. If I want to accomplish something great, I can't rely on myself alone. I have to win over a group of like-minded young people from prominent backgrounds. I'll unite them and twist them into one powerful force. Then I'll crush the Xiao Family and crush every lawless clan and sect."

Nanling Xun nearly fainted.

You understand my ass.

So everything I just said was for nothing?