The old man gazed at Yang Ye as he said, “There’s a reason why you came here to look for me this time, right?”

Yang Ye hesitated for a moment before he said, “Senior, I’m very curious why you gave me that sword technique on that day!”

Yang Ye had never believed that a pie would just fall out of the sky, and even if one did fall out of the sky, it would definitely not be for him, Yang Ye.

The hunched old man chuckled and said, “Do you know? When you and that little girl arrived here that day, I originally intended to kill both of you. Because I don’t want anyone to come here, nor do I want others to know of my existence. But do you know why I didn’t kill both of you and gave you treasures and techniques instead?”

Yang Ye broke out in cold sweat when he heard the old man. So, this old man actually wanted to kill Su Qingshi and me. If he really made a move against us, then we would definitely perish.

Yang Ye asked curiously. “Why?”

The old man raised his head to look up at the clear azure blue sky. After a short while, he said, “There’s a type of people that act entirely as they like once they’ve attained a certain level of strength. It just so happens that I’m such a person. The reason I didn’t kill you on that day is that I was actually unable to see through your future. Yes, your future is completely chaotic and without any definite fate. This caused me to be extremely curious!”

See through my future? Yang Ye was shocked in his heart and said, “Senior, you’re actually able to see through the future?”

If one was able to see through the future of another, then that person’s strength would have arrived at an extraordinarily terrifying level....

The old man shook his head and said, “The future I speak of is a person’s blessing and misfortune, and not what a person would do in the future. Why would one want to know the future of another? There’s probably no one in this world that’s capable of that. However, so long as one has attained the Monarch Realm and has come into contact with one’s own destiny, then one would be capable of determining the blessings and misfortunes for a certain period of time in another’s future.”

“Senior’s strength is at the...?” Yang Ye asked in a careful manner because he was extremely curious about this old man’s strength.

The old man smiled and said, “Let me put it in this way, If I wanted to kill someone in the southern territory, then so long as I exert my entire strength, no one would be able to escape death.”

Yang Ye’s heart shook when he heard this, and then he bowed to the old man and said, “Senior, I have something to request of you!”

If the old man was willing to rescue his mother, then the Flower Palace would probably have no choice but to make a compromise. So, he naturally didn’t intend to let this opportunity slip by.

A wisp of curiosity flashed through the old man’s eyes, and then he asked. “Go on.”

Yang Ye was delighted in his heart, and then he told the old man about the matter between his mother and the Flower Palace.

After a short while, the old man shook his head after he finished listening to Yang Ye and said, “I refuse.”

Yang Ye’s face dimmed down when he heard this. However, he was still slightly unwilling to give up and said, “Even though it’s slightly rude, I still want to ask you why?”

The old man gazed at Yang Ye and said, “Kid, you possess extraordinary natural endowment. Not only have you comprehended Sword Intent, you’ve even attained the Enlightened Sword Heart. However, you’re merely at the First Heaven Realm now, and the reason for that is you lack tempering. Don’t tell me that you’ve experienced countless hardships throughout your life. In my opinion, those hardships of yours can’t be considered as hardships at all. Let not talk about anything else and just focus on the founding ancestor of your Sword Sect. Do you know that all those years ago, his entire family was killed, his right arm was severed, and he’d even been tortured by his enemies for a few tens of years? However, he wasn’t broken by all of this, and his will grew tougher and tougher instead while he cultivated more and more painstakingly every single day. You know the outcome of it. He reigned invincible throughout the southern territory. What do you think when you compare your hardships with his?”

Yang Ye shook his head and smiled bitterly. Because this old man had compared him to the founding ancestor of the Sword Sect, and he truly didn’t know if he should feel honored or angry.

“The reason I refused isn’t because I want you to experience similar hardships like the founding ancestor of the Sword Sect had. The true reason is that I’m temporarily unable to leave this place. Besides that, allow me to tell you something. It’s best to rely on yourself for everything because only in this way would you grow stronger and stronger,” said the old man.

Yang Ye bowed to the old man and said, “I understand!”

Actually, Yang Ye understood the principles that the old man spoke of. However, if he was able to allow his mother to experience less pain, then so what if he had to rely on others? But now it would seem like he couldn’t place his hopes on this old man. In the end, he still had to rely on himself!

Suddenly, the old man said, “Even though I’m unable to leave and go rescue your mother, I can provide you with guidance!”

Yang Ye was delighted, and he hurriedly said, “Thank you, Senior!”

Presently, what he lacked the most was the guidance of a good teacher. Because no matter if it was his sword techniques or Sword Intent, he’d relied on himself to gradually comprehend them, and the effects of this was truly too slow.

“Don’t be too quick to thank me!” The old man said, “On that day, I said that I had something to entrust to you when you return here after attaining the Monarch Realm. Do you still remember?”

“Of course I do!” Yang Ye nodded.

The old man said, “I originally just said that casually and didn’t take it seriously, because the difficulty to accomplish it was extremely great. Not to mention whether you’d be able to attain the Monarch Realm, you might not be able to accomplish it even after you attained the Monarch Realm. But now that you’ve comprehended Sword Intent and the Enlightened Sword Heart, I feel that you have a chance to accomplish it.”

“Actually, I merely agreed casually at that time, and I didn’t really commit it to memory!” Yang Ye spoke with slight embarrassment. “After all, the Monarch Realm is truly too far away from me. Moreover, life is constantly changing, and perhaps I wouldn’t exist in this world tomorrow.”

“That’s pretty frank of you!” The old man smiled, and then he said with a serious expression, “If you attain the Monarch Realm in the future, then I hope you help me do something. As for what it is, I’ll naturally tell you once you attain the Monarch Realm. Of course, as a reward, I’ll personally provide you with guidance and allow you to become an expert as soon as possible.”

Yang Ye fell silent. If it was any other person, perhaps that person would agree immediately. After all, only an idiot wouldn’t agree to obtaining the personal guidance of a peerless expert. However, Yang Ye didn’t become irrational before such conditions. Just think about it, the old man’s strength was at least at the Monarch Realm and might be even higher, yet it was something that even this old man was unable to accomplish. So, could it be something simple?

After a short while, Yang Ye nodded in the end. He didn’t have any other choice now because he truly urgently needed to become strong. He needed strength to participate in the Ascension Rankings, he needed strength to seize the first position on the Ascension Rankings, and he needed even more strength in order to rescue his mother from the Flower Palace.

With his current strength, it ought to not be a problem for him to participate in the Ascension Rankings and seize a position on it. However, if he wanted to obtain the first position, then even if he’d surmounted a realm of cultivation to annihilate his opponents on many occasions, he didn’t possess even the slightest bit of confidence. How many geniuses were there in total if the disciples of the imperial household, six great powers, and all the various clans and unknown powers were added together?

Yang Ye had always been confident of himself, but he was never conceited. He didn’t think that he was unmatched amongst the younger generation of the southern territory!

So, it was extremely necessary for him to improve his strength. Not only was he doing it for the sake of the agreement between him and Su Qingshi, but it was also for the sake of obtaining the Ascension Token that would spare his mother from suffering!

When he saw Yang Ye nod, the old man nodded lightly and said, “You hesitance proved that you’re a person that attaches extreme importance to your promises. This is very good. If you agreed without giving it any thought just now, then it’s very likely that I would go back on my word.”

Yang Ye said, “Actually, even if Senior doesn’t provide me with guidance, I would still come here after I attained the Monarch Realm. After all, I’d promised that I would come here after I attained the Monarch Realm.”

The old man smiled, and then he asked, “How is your cultivation in the Sword Control Technique?”

“It’s probably at the 1st level!” Yang Ye said, “I’m already able to control swords in an area of 30m around me. If it’s swords formed from energy, then I’m able to control over 100 of them, but I’m unable to control real swords!”

“Only an area of 30m?” The old man frowned and said, “Do you know from how far away the creator of this technique was able to control his swords?”

“How far away?”

“Wherever his senses could reach!” The old man said, “Taking the head of another than was 500km away. These words aren’t an exaggeration. All those years ago, this sword technique caused others to tremble with fear upon hearing of it. Even though it isn’t at the Heaven Rank, if it’s utilized by a genius in the Sword Dao, then it isn’t inferior to a Heaven Rank technique. But you’re only able to control swords in an area of 30m? What are the members of the Sword Sect even teaching you?”

Yang Ye was both shocked and delighted when he heard that it was capable of taking the head of another from 500km away. However, when he heard what the old man said at the end, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “I don’t have anyone to teach me at all because I’ve been expelled from the Sword Sect by the Sword Commanding Elder of the Sword Sect!”

“You’ve been expelled from the Sword Sect?” A wisp of surprise flashed in the old man’s eyes, and then he said, “You’re a true outstanding genius in the Sword Dao. How could the Sword Sect possibly expel you? Even if there is enmity between you and that Sword Commanding Elder, figures like the Sect Master and Supreme Elder probably have no enmity with you, right?”

When he saw that the mysterious old man seemed to be very interested in this matter, Yang Ye felt slightly helpless and could only repeat the incident between himself, the Sword Sect, and the Flower Palace.

After a short while, the old man shook his head and said, “That Sword Commanding Elder is truly foolish to the extreme....”