I Have a Sword

Qu Chen didn't seem disappointed to hear that reply. He simply nodded and led the group away. The outcome was something he had already anticipated.

Just then, Fang Yu stepped forward and took out the Guanxuan Token that Ye Guan had given to him before saying, "Manager Lin Yue, you know that seeing this token is like seeing the Academy Master himself, right?"

Lin Yue stared at Fang Yu in silence.

Fang Yu stared into Lin Yue's eyes, and his face grew colder by the second as he remarked, "Manager Lin Yue, are you defying this token?"

Lin Yue replied calmly, "Academy Chief Fang, your actions are meaningless."

Fang Yu's eyes narrowed, fury blazing within them as he replied, "What are you talking about?"

Lin Yue nonchalantly replied, "Department Chief Fang, I'm older than you, so let me offer you some advice. Learn to read the room and learn to respect your peers. Burning a bridge is a stupid move that benefits no one."

Fang Yu was furious. "Don't change the subject. Are you going to follow the Academy Master's orders or not?"

Lin Yue's expression remained composed. "No."

Fang Yu was enraged. "How dare you?!"

"Department Chief Fang, a mere Guanxuan Token isn't enough to compel certain people into obeying you," Lin Yue remarked coldly. "With all due respect, while the Academy Master is indeed the head of the Guanxuan Academy, he is not the Pavilion Master of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.

"I only take orders from the Pavilion Master."

"Preposterous!" Fang Yu bellowed. "The Immortal Treasures Pavilion belongs to the Academy Master as well!"

"So what?" Lin Yue smirked. "He's technically not the Pavilion Master."

"You!" Fang Yu pointed angrily at Lin Yue.

Lin Yue stared coldly at Fang Yu and retorted, "Department Chief Fang, I must remind you to watch your words. You're a Department Chief, but this is the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.

"Not even the Academy Master can compel me to follow his orders!"

"You impudent…!" Fang Yu's fury reached its peak.

Sima Feng was as enraged as Fang Yue. He was about to lash out when Qu Chen suddenly said, "Let's go."

Qu Chen grabbed Sima Feng and Fang Yu before leaving.

Ye Guan glanced at Lin Yue and left while holding Zang Gang's hand.

Lin Yue's face was dark as he watched them leave.

"Ignorant fools," he muttered to himself.

Just then, an elderly man in black appeared beside him. The elderly man gravely said, "Manager, he's still a Department Chief, and he has a Guanxuan Token. Your actions are—-"

"Hmph!" Lin Yue interrupted, "He's just some nobody who got lucky. A Department Chief without real power isn't worthy of any attention."

There were thirteen Departments in total, which meant there were quite a few Department Chiefs. However, the status of the Department Chiefs varied.

Take the Department Chiefs of the Literary Department and the Martial Department, for example. They were figures with immense power and influence, formidable in both authority and strength.

Lin Yue, a mere manager of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion, wouldn't dare to provoke them. However, there were Department Chiefs like Fang Yu with no real power. Ignoring someone like him had little consequence.

The black-robed old man hesitated for a moment before saying, "Although he doesn't have much authority, he still holds the Guanxuan Token…"

Lin Yue dismissed the concern. "So what? He can't do anything to me."

The old man glanced at Lin Yue but decided to drop the subject, shifting the conversation instead. "Manager, both Sima Feng and Qu Chen have significant backgrounds, especially Sima Feng, who is a student of Li Qingru. Why not give them an Imperial-rank teleportation scroll and establish goodwill?"

"Forging ties with them means offending the Great Zhou."

"Still, I believe the actions of the Great Zhou this time were too excessive. The Guanxuan Committee and the Academy Master will surely not tolerate it."

"Why do you think that?"

"From how the Academy Master has severely punished the Heavenly Dragon Clan before, it's clear that he genuinely wants to make the Guanxuan Universe better. He will not let the Great Zhou's actions slide."

"You're overlooking something here. The strength and influence of the Heavenly Dragon Clan can't compare to that of the Great Zhou."

The old man fell silent.

Lin Yue was right. The Heavenly Dragon Clan was powerful, but it was still just a clan in the Guanxuan Universe. The Great Zhou, however, was a fully developed Tier Five Civilization. Its strength and influence were on an entirely different scale.

"And you're forgetting another key factor—the Empress of the Great Zhou." Lin Yue pointed out.

"What about her?" the old man asked.

Lin Yue said, "The Empress of the Great Zhou controls both the Immortal Treasures Pavilion and the Guanxuan Committee. She has been working tirelessly to integrate the Great Zhou into the Guanxuan Academy.

"The relationship between both parties has just been improving. If this matter gets exposed, their relationship will instantly deteriorate, which is something that the Empress and the Academy's high-ranking officials will never allow."

The old man said, "And that's the bigger picture?"

Lin Yue nodded slightly. "Fang Yu and the others are too insignificant to see something as complex as this. Even if they return to the Main Guanxuan Academy, the Academy and the Great Zhou will likely suppress this issue."

The black-robed old man hesitated, asking, "But what about the Abandoned Continent?"

Lin Yue shook his head. "A continent without any valuable resources holds no significance. As for the beings living there, to be blunt, they're all lowly commoners. Their lives and deaths have no value to the Academy.

"Without value, why would the Academy care about them?"

The black-robed old man was quiet for a while before muttering, "But we're talking about billions of lives here…"

Lin Yue calmly replied, "It's just a number."

***

The group found themselves drifting through the starry expanse. Sima Feng's face was extremely grim, and Qu Chen was sighing with a face full of complex emotions. He had never expected that Lin Yue would stand on the Great Zhou's side so decisively without even considering their request.

After all, Fang Yu was a Department Chief with a Guanxuan Token, which meant he had as much authority as the Academy Master.

Fang Yu stared silently at his Guanxuan Token, lost in thought.

He had been doubting everything he knew; he couldn't believe how arrogant people in such a remote region could be. Was the Guanxuan Token really nothing in their eyes?

For the first time, he felt utterly bewildered. What kind of world am I living in? Damn it! I might as well let the world burn!

"Our top priority is to return to the Guanxuan Universe. Only by going back can we resolve this crisis," Qu Chen remarked. Their only safe option now was to return to the Guanxuan Universe, as outside its borders, neither the Guanxuan Academy branches nor the Immortal Treasures Pavilion branches dared to offend the Great Zhou.

Fang Yu suggested, "We need to head to the Tianchen Star Field. There's a teleportation array there that connects directly to the Guanxuan Universe."

Qu Chen shook his head. "No, that won't work. The Tianchen Star Field is too far, and the Great Zhou definitely knows that it's an option. They must have stationed some of their people there by now."

Fang Yu's expression darkened.

Qu Chen added, "Given how things have progressed, the Great Zhou will never let us return to the Guanxuan Universe. I suspect they'll send more powerful experts after us. We need to be mentally prepared."

The experts from the Guanxuan Academy and the Immortal Treasures Pavilion brought by Qu Chen became visibly tense after hearing his words.

Sima Feng chimed in. "Dying isn't the most frightening thing. What's truly terrifying is dying in humiliation as well as dying with a guilty conscience upon abandoning the billions of lives on the Abandoned Continent.

"We can't give up on them. We must ensure that someone returns to the Main Guanxuan Academy."

Sima Feng's gaze fell on Fang Yu.

Qu Chen also turned to Fang Yu. "Department Chief Fang, only you can solve this issue. You must return to the Main Academy."

Fang Yu, however, shook his head. "Impossible."

Qu Chen frowned. "Why not?"

Fang Yu quietly replied, "There's no way they'll let me return. I'm their top target."

Both Qu Chen and Sima Feng fell silent. It was true. Under no circumstances would the Great Zhou allow Fang Yu to return to the Main Guanxuan Academy.

Just then, Fang Yu turned toward Ye Guan and Zang Gang. Staring deeply at Ye Guan, he asked, "Was it you who asked Lady Long Dai to deliver a message to me?"

Everyone's gaze fell on Ye Guan. They suddenly remembered that he was the reason behind this commotion.

Ye Guan nodded slightly. "Yes."

"How do you know me?" Fang Yu asked.

If they were in the Guanxuan Universe, it would be perfectly normal for someone to recognize him, but they were in a remote, isolated region.

Ye Guan knew that Fang Yu would ask that and calmly replied, "I've been in the Guanxuan Universe before, so I know you."

Fang Yu frowned, still suspicious, but before he could press further, Qu Chen interjected, "Department Chief Fang, now is not the time to dwell on this. Our priority is getting someone back to the Main Guanxuan Academy to report what's happening here."

Fang Yu stared at Ye Guan for a moment before he said, "He should go back."

Ye Guan, Sima Feng, and Qu Chen froze.

Fang Yu explained sternly, "Whether it's me, Qu Chen, or Sima Feng, we're all primary targets, but this young man isn't. The three of us can create a distraction while he heads back to the Main Guanxuan Academy."

"No!" Qu Chen objected. "Even if he makes it back alive, it won't matter. He's just a commoner; they won't even let him through the academy gates."

"That—" Fang Yu started.

Rumble!

However, the spacetime in the distance trembled violently.

Boom!

Immediately afterward, powerful auras rushed out of the rift.

Four Great Zhou Imperial Guards tore through the starry skies, radiating an aura of unstoppable dominance as they charged at Ye Guan and his group!