All the others were stunned. Obviously, they hadn’t expected Dugu Jian to challenge Yang Ye.
Yang Ye was slightly stunned as well. Because he hadn’t expected Dugu Jian to challenge him as well! To be honest, even if Dugu Jian was inferior to him, it would have still been possible for Dugu Jian to fight him for a while. After all, Dugu Jian possessed Void Rank sword intent as well. Yet now…. Not to mention Dugu Jian was by himself, even 100 experts on par with Dugu Jian would be no match for him!
“What? You don’t dare?” Dugu Jian spoke abruptly when he saw Yang Ye remain silent.
Yang Ye glanced at Dugu Jian, “Are you sure?”
Dugu Jian replied, “Absolutely!”
Yang Ye nodded, “Then go ahead!”
“Let’s head over there!” Dugu Jian was about to turn around and walk to the side once he finished speaking, but Yang Ye said, “There’s no need to go to such trouble. Just attack right here and now.”
Dugu Jian gazed at Yang Ye, and a short while passed before he nodded, “Alright!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Jian held tightly onto his sword with his right hand while Void Rank sword intent surged out from within him. But his Void Rank sword intent instantly dispersed upon leaving his body!
It had dispersed and not surged back into him!
Everyone here was stunned by this scene, including Dugu Jian. Obviously, he’d never expected that to happen.
Dugu Jian hesitated for a moment before he urged his Void Rank sword intent forward again. However, just like before, it immediately dispersed upon leaving his body. It hadn’t been destroyed, and it had just dispersed on its own!
At this moment, all of them were astounded, and their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief as they gazed at Yang Ye. Even Dugu Jian was the same.
Why? Actually, all of them had come to an understanding, and it was exactly that understanding which caused their shock.
Yang Ye glanced at Dugu Jian, “You’ve lost.”
Dugu Jian’s face turned pale, “You… you’ve surpassed the Void Rank….”
Yang Ye nodded, “Indeed.”
All of them had complicated expressions in their eyes when they saw Yang Ye admit it. Besides Jian Wuji, the 2nd person who’d attained sword intent above the Void Rank throughout the history of Dark Hell Continent had appeared. He’d appeared right before them.
“I… I’ve lost!” Dugu Jian’s face was ghastly pale, and he seemed to be visibly lost. A short while passed before he closed his eyes slowly, “I, Dugu Jian, obtained the inheritance of a sword cultivator by chance and devoted myself to it for over a dozen years. I’d thought that I would be able to shock the world, but…. Hahaha! As expected, there’s always someone greater.”
Dugu Jian suddenly opened his eyes and gazed at Yang Ye, “I, Dugu Jian, accept my loss, but I, Dugu Jian, will absolutely not allow myself to suffer humiliation!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Jian twisted his wrist and waved his sword towards his throat.
Everyone here was stunned by this scene.
Suicide!
They hadn’t expected that Dugu Jian would actually take his own life!
Suddenly, a ray of light flashed.
Bang!
Dugu Jian’s sword was instantly obliterated while his figure was pushed over 30m back.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Dugu Jian gazed at Yang Ye, “You want to humiliate me?”
“Humiliate you?” Yang Ye chuckled, “I’m not that perverse. You made a bet with me before this, and you lost. Now, you lost again. I think that since you lost, you should keep your word and not use suicide as a means of escape. Suicide seems like a very great way to go, but it actually represents that you can’t accept defeat. Doesn’t it?”
“Exactly!” Huan Kong suddenly gazed at Dugu Jian, “Dugu Jian, do you think it would be over with your death? No! Not only would it show that you can’t accept defeat, it’s a foolish move as well, and it’ll even bring harm to us and your Violet Thistle City. Just think about it, who would Violet Thistle City blame if you take your own life? It’ll definitely blame all of us! So, if you really want to take your own life, then wait for us to make our demands, and you can take your own life once you’ve completed them!”
All the others were speechless.
Yang Ye glanced at Huan Kong, and then he gazed at Dugu Jian, “My 1st condition is actually not difficult, or it should be said to be very simple. Just apologize to all of us. Because your previous actions were truly quite annoying, so you have to apologize for that.”
He wants Dugu Jian to apologize!
All the others had a trace of surprise in their eyes as they gazed at Yang Ye. They hadn’t expected that Yang Ye would actually raise such a condition. However, it was exactly what they wanted. Even though Dugu Jian had been arrogant, conceited, and domineering, it hadn’t brought any harm to them. So, Dugu Jian didn’t deserve death, and just an apology was within reason!
He wants me to apologize! Dugu Jian’s face became quite unsightly. Since he was born, had he, Dugu Jian, ever apologized?
Suddenly, Yang Ye said, “What? Is it very difficult?”
Dugu Jian asked, “Can you raise a different condition?”
Yang Ye chuckled, “I’m already going easy on you by asking you to apologize. Trust me, I don’t like to waste my breath. If you don’t want to apologize, it’s fine as well. Just take your own life right now. As for Violet Thistle City? That’s fine as well. If they dare to blame me for it, then I’ll destroy Violet Thistle City as well!”
“Don’t you dare!” Dugu Jian was furious. However, Yang Ye suddenly appeared in front of him before a sword stabbed at the center of his forehead. The sword pierced through his skin and threads of blood immediately seeped out from there.
Yang Ye smiled, “There’s nothing I dare not do. I’ll ask you one last time, will you apologize or not? If you do, then we can discuss the rest; if you refuse, then there’s no need for any discussions.”
Dugu Jian gazed at Yang Ye for a long time before he said, “I’ll apologize!”
Yang Ye withdrew his sword and moved aside, “This is how I do things. If you’re friendly to me, then I’ll be friendly to you; but if you act arrogantly to me, then to be honest, even I can’t control myself once I start to act arrogantly. Besides that, you should feel lucky that I’ve been in a good mood lately, otherwise you wouldn’t even have the chance to apologize.”
As soon as Yang Ye finished speaking, he gazed at Dugu Jian while slowly tightening his grip on his sword. If Dugu Jian showed even the slightest intention to take his own life, then Yang Ye wouldn’t hesitate to kill Dugu Jian instead.
Yang Ye was surprised to see that Dugu Jian didn’t reveal any viciousness or killing intent towards him. Dugu Jian just took a deep breath and said, “I, Dugu Jian, accept my defeat, so I’ll apologize.”
He turned around and bowed slightly to everyone, “It was my mistake, and I apologize for what happened before this!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Huan Kong waved his hand, “How can anyone stay without any mistakes in this world? You’re a good child for being able to recognize your mistakes and correcting them. Right, you should keep a low profile next time. Just look at Yang Ye. He didn’t even say that he was Yang Ye. How humble of him! As for you, you should learn from him. Humility is the key to success!”
Yang Ye was speechless.
The corners of Dugu Jian’s mouth twitched. He ignored Huan Kong and gazed at Yang Ye, “Tell me what your 2nd request is!”
Yang Ye gazed at Dugu Jian for a short while and said, “At least you act like a man. You can go now!”
All of them gazed at Yang Ye with shock. Obviously, they hadn’t expected Yang Ye to just let Dugu Jian go. Even Dugu Jian himself hadn’t expected it. He was stunned for a short while and hesitated for a moment before he walked over to Yang Ye.
After that, the others watched with astonishment as Dugu Jian slowly knelt down before Yang Ye, “I’ll take you as my master!”
This time, it was Yang Ye’s turn to be stunned.
The others were stunned as well. After all, they were in a life and death situation just moments ago, yet now, Dugu Jian wanted to take Yang Ye as his master. Their minds were in chaos.
A short while passed before Yang Ye gazed at Dugu Jian and asked, “Why?”
Dugu Jian looked up at Yang Ye and said, “Because I want to defeat you, but you’re the strongest sword cultivator on the continent right now. So, I have to learn from you if I want to defeat you. Otherwise, I might not be able to defeat you in this lifetime!”
Yang Ye gazed at Dugu Jian for a long time before he said, “I don’t take disciples. But I’ve established a Sword Alliance. If you want, you can join my Sword Alliance. As for learning, I’ll frequently spar and carry out exchanges with the members of the Sword Alliance who are sword cultivators. There’s no end to the path of the Sword Dao. Even though I’ve surpassed the Void Rank, I believe that only endless learning will allow myself to go further on this path of the Sword Dao!”
“The Sword Alliance!” Dugu Jian hesitated for a moment before he asked, “You’re even willing to share your experiences related to advancing above the Void Rank of sword intent?”
The others gazed at Yang Ye when they heard Dugu Jian.
Yang Ye nodded, “Of course. So long as you join my Sword Alliance, I’ll treat you as my own. I’m never stingy to one of my own.”
Dugu Jian immediately said, “I’m willing to join the Sword Alliance!”
Suddenly, a voice arose from the side, “Can… can I join?”
Yang Ye looked over and saw that it was the linen robed man from before, Zuo Lang.
Yang Ye smiled. He was just about to speak when Huan Kong spoke as well, “Can I join as well?”
Lin Fan asked, “I want to join as well!”
It didn’t take long for everyone besides Qin Zhuyao to express their interest to join the Sword Alliance. After all, the temptation of advancing above the Void Rank was something that even Jian Xu couldn’t refuse.
Presently, Yang Ye could be considered the last person on the continent to have attained sword intent above the Void Rank. If they wanted to improve their sword intent and go farther on the path of the Sword Dao, following Yang Ye was their best choice.
Yang Ye glanced at them and said, “Let me tell you in advance that while you can join my Sword Alliance, you’re no longer independent cultivators once you’ve joined. You’ll be part of an organization, and you must obey my orders. If you can’t do that, then it’s best if you don’t join. I don’t want us to become enemies!”
All of them instantly started feeling slightly hesitant when they heard him. They were independent cultivators and were used to their freedom. So, being restrained was definitely quite difficult to accept for them.
Meanwhile, Yang Ye added, “Of course, the Sword Alliance doesn’t just belong to me, it belongs to everyone. If you’re not convinced of my strength, you can challenge me at any time. Our Sword Alliance only respects strength. If you’re the strongest, you can be the boss; but if your strength isn’t sufficient, then be a subordinate. So, it all depends on your own ability. Besides that, I will not stop all of you from leaving if you want to. However, so long as you stay in the Sword Alliance, you must obey my commands. Those are my conditions!”
“Only strength is respected!” Meanwhile, Dugu Jian said, “The strongest is the boss. I have no objections!”
“I have no objections as well!” Meanwhile, Huan Kong said, “That’s how the world is. The strongest is always the boss. Besides that, we sword cultivators should stick together or there won’t be a place for us on this continent.”
“We should!” Lin Fan nodded with agreement.
“I have no objections as well!”
“I agree….”
