Chapter 56

The long-haired man stared at the distant sword cultivator, his eyes filled with fervor. "Finally, someone not weak has come."

In the distance, the sword cultivator glanced at the long-haired man and smiled. "You’re not weak either."

As soon as these words were spoken, a commotion arose around them.

The powerful figures lurking in the shadows looked at the sword cultivator with confusion in their eyes. Was this guy so arrogant? Didn’t he know who he was facing?

The long-haired man stared at the sword cultivator. "You only have one chance to draw your sword."

The sword cultivator nodded slightly. "I usually don’t draw a second sword."

As he spoke, he suddenly drew his sword.

Buzz!

With a resounding sword cry, a beam of sword light shot through the air.

The sword light was unremarkable, causing no ripple in space.

This sword seemed to not exist in this world.

When the long-haired man saw this sword, his pupils suddenly constricted to pinpoints. He clenched his fists tightly, and his arms instantly turned a fiery gold. At the same time, an invincible aura surged from within him, turning the starry universe into dust in an instant. The top-tier spectators in the shadows were instantly shocked and retreated wildly, as even a mere thread of this aura was enough to crush them!

The long-haired man swung his fists, and in an instant, he unleashed nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine punches, each containing a great truth. When he delivered the final punch, the momentum of his punch suddenly increased a thousandfold!

Invincible Punch!

One punch, and he was invincible!

However, when the sword light struck, his invincible punch began to shatter inch by inch...

The sword light was unmatched!

When he saw his punch being effortlessly torn apart by the sword cultivator, the long-haired man’s eyes filled with disbelief. Soon, he felt a kind of momentum he had never felt before.

Invincible momentum!

That was also an invincible momentum, and at that moment, he suddenly understood what true invincible momentum was...

He had an epiphany!

He roared, swinging his fists again, each punch now hundreds of times more powerful than before. Not only that, his punches became increasingly terrifying. When he delivered the final punch, it was like a million volcanoes erupting simultaneously, sending terrifying waves of momentum toward the sword light.

"Return to the true essence..."

Somewhere in the shadows, a man in a Daoist robe watched the long-haired man swinging his fists, somewhat surprised. "Interesting!"

The long-haired man’s punches were countless times stronger than before, and his momentum was unprecedentedly strong. However, they still could not stop the sword light, though they did slow it down slightly.

When he saw the sword light still coming toward him, the long-haired man’s eyes turned bloodshot. He swung his fists wildly, sending wave after wave of terrifying momentum toward the sword light.

At that moment, his punches shook millions of star civilizations, and countless powerful figures looked up at this star region, all in shock.

Under the relentless hammering of the long-haired man’s fists, the sword light did not stop, but it slowed down more and more. When the sword light was half a丈 (zhang, a traditional Chinese unit of length) away from him, it finally came to a halt.

The long-haired man looked up at the sword cultivator, who was smiling at him. "Not bad, but you still don’t have the qualifications to make me draw a second sword."

As he spoke, his body became ethereal, and the sword light in front of the long-haired man trembled slightly. In an instant, all of the long-haired man’s momentum vanished, but the sword light did not strike him; instead, it disappeared on the spot.

Seeing the sword cultivator’s body gradually become ethereal, the long-haired man’s pupils constricted. This sword cultivator was not the main body but a clone.

The long-haired man stared at the ethereal sword cultivator. "In this life, I will defeat you!"

The ethereal sword cultivator smiled. "I’ll be waiting."

When the sword cultivator completely disappeared, the long-haired man stood in silence for a long time. Suddenly, he punched himself in the head.

Boom!

He entered the cycle of rebirth!

After the battle, he realized that his fist path still had many shortcomings. He decided to forget his memories and start anew, perfecting his fist path to achieve true invincibility.

...

In the valley, Ye Zong punched one mountain after another, leveling them with his fists...

...

In the Central Earth, Guanxuan Academy.

Ye Tianming suddenly sat up in bed, looked around, and then let out a deep sigh of relief before lying back down.

Ye Tianming slowly closed his eyes. After a long time, he asked, "Grandmaster, when I merged with the earth, was it not a dream?"

The small tower replied, "No."

Ye Tianming grinned, and his smile gradually widened.

Merging with the earth, although he could only merge with a small part of it now, was undoubtedly a new direction for him, and the potential of this direction was limitless.

At that moment, Mu Guanchen entered with two bowls of rice.

Ye Tianming quickly got out of bed. "Teacher."

Mu Guanchen handed one bowl of rice to Ye Tianming and smiled. "Eat first!"

Fried rice!

Ye Tianming grinned. "Thank you, teacher."

The teacher and student sat at the door, and Ye Tianming ate large mouthfuls of rice, as he was indeed hungry.

After eating, Ye Tianming wiped his mouth. "Teacher, I received the inheritance of a super-civilization. They gave me a divine object and a tower."

Mu Guanchen asked, "What are the conditions?"

Ye Tianming nodded. "They asked me to promise them one thing: as long as I live, the super-civilization will always exist."

Mu Guanchen nodded slightly but said nothing.

Ye Tianming asked curiously, "Teacher, where does Xiao Bei rank among the young generation in Guanxuan World?"

Mu Guanchen smiled. "Average."

Ye Tianming turned to look at Mu Guanchen, who smiled. "If it were in my time, he wouldn’t even be considered average."

Ye Tianming asked curiously, "Teacher, where did you rank in your time?"

Mu Guanchen smiled. "That’s all in the past."

Ye Tianming pressed, "Teacher, can you tell me?"

Mu Guanchen put the bowls aside and said, "Tianming, what do you think makes a true genius?"

Ye Tianming said, "Of course, it’s strength."

Mu Guanchen nodded. "Anything else?"

Ye Tianming was silent for a moment. "Please enlighten me, teacher."

Mu Guanchen was about to speak when Fu Cang suddenly appeared with a bowl of rice. She walked straight to the teacher and student, staring at Ye Tianming. "Why didn’t you bring me food?"

Ye Tianming: "..."

Mu Guanchen explained for Ye Tianming, "He was severely injured and unconscious before, and he just woke up."

Fu Cang opened her palm, and a storage ring flew to Ye Tianming. "Bring it next time."

She then turned and left.

Ye Tianming: "......"

"Fu Cang, wait."

Mu Guanchen suddenly spoke.

Fu Cang turned to look at Mu Guanchen, who smiled. "Sit down, let’s chat."

Fu Cang frowned, clearly unwilling, but did not refuse. She sat down.

Mu Guanchen looked at the two of them and smiled. "There are now only two types of geniuses: innate geniuses and acquired geniuses."

Ye Tianming was puzzled. "Innate geniuses?"

Mu Guanchen nodded. "In the Guanxuan universe, noble families and sects are numerous. Their disciples are innate geniuses because from birth, they have access to the best cultivation resources and educational resources in the world. Even if their innate qualities are not good, it doesn’t matter; they have the means to change their innate qualities. If they wish, they can even cultivate a pig to become an emperor-level powerhouse."

Ye Tianming was silent.

Fu Cang ate her rice without speaking.

Mu Guanchen continued, "Acquired geniuses are ordinary talented people. Even if they have great talent, they lack good resources, so their achievements are ultimately limited. Of course, there are those who start from ordinary backgrounds but go very far, but they are very few."

He shook his head slightly. "The resources in this world are limited, and with the new order established by the Guanxuan Sword Master, a new class of nobles has emerged, leaving even fewer resources for the lower classes."

Ye Tianming said solemnly, "The Guanxuan Sword Master established the order for fairness and justice..."

Mu Guanchen sighed softly. "Throughout history, there has never been absolute fairness and justice. It’s just a set of agreements reached by people at different times and places... Laws and morals are often used by rulers to constrain the masses. Of course, this isn’t necessarily bad because the world does need some constraints, but the ruling class should also be constrained."

Ye Tianming looked at Mu Guanchen. "Teacher, that’s difficult."

Mu Guanchen smiled. "Of course, it’s difficult. I just want to tell you that whether it’s Xiao Bei or other noble family and sect disciples, their achievements are largely due to their families. If an ordinary person were in their position, they could also achieve the same... Of course, this isn’t absolute; some people in noble families are indeed very talented."

Ye Tianming was silent.

Mu Guanchen continued, "Like me, I was quite good in the Guanxuan universe back then... But I know my starting point was much higher than most people. The resources I enjoyed were far beyond what ordinary people could have. So, although the world calls me a genius, I know it’s just because my starting point was much higher. There’s nothing to be proud of."

Ye Tianming nodded. "Teacher, I understand."

Fu Cang continued to eat her rice without speaking.

Ye Tianming said, "Teacher, now our universe is dominated by noble families and sects, who control most of the resources. The lower classes are increasingly resentful of them..."

"You’re wrong."

Mu Guanchen interrupted Ye Tianming and said seriously, "Tianming, what the lower classes condemn and resent is not their power and wealth, but their abuse of power and wealth, and the means by which they obtain power and wealth."

Ye Tianming looked at Mu Guanchen, who continued, "Think about it. If all officials were like Fang Yu and all the rich were like the Guanxuan Sword Master, would the lower classes condemn and resent them? No, they would hope for more such people."

After thinking for a while, Ye Tianming nodded. "Teacher, I understand."

Mu Guanchen nodded and was about to speak when Song Shi suddenly appeared. He looked at Ye Tianming and handed him two scrolls. "Two people have sent you letters."

Ye Tianming stood up and took the scrolls. When he opened them, he was stunned.

One letter was from Nan Lingzhao, and the other was from An Yan.

Song Shi asked, "Are they inviting you to the ‘Guanxuan Debate Competition’?"

Ye Tianming nodded. "Yes, Dean, what is the ‘Guanxuan Debate Competition’?"

Song Shi laughed and glanced at Mu Guanchen. "You should ask your teacher. He was the champion of that debate competition."

Ye Tianming turned to look at Mu Guanchen, who smiled. "The ‘Guanxuan Debate Competition’ is an official debate competition organized by Guanxuan Academy. They invite some outstanding young people to debate. In simple terms, it’s a competition where the two sides debate a certain issue, testing the students’ thinking, reaction, and comprehensive abilities."

He paused and added, "You can participate. There, you will meet many outstanding peers and be exposed to many different ideas."

Song Shi also nodded. "You should participate. If you win a prize, there will be rewards."

Ye Tianming became interested. "What rewards?"

Song Shi smiled. "The rewards for each debate competition are different. Your teacher won three ancient books and the freedom to enter the various libraries of Guanxuan Academy. He could also participate in some special cabinet meetings... Most importantly, he received the title of ‘First Scholar of the Academy.’”

Mu Guanchen shook his head and smiled. "Just some empty titles."

Ye Tianming looked at Mu Guanchen and grinned. "I didn’t expect you to be so impressive back then."

Song Shi said meaningfully, "Your teacher was even more impressive than you can imagine. He was..."

Mu Guanchen suddenly laughed. "Old Song, that’s enough. It’s all in the past, why bring it up?"

Song Shi shook his head and said no more.

Mu Guanchen looked at Ye Tianming. "You can participate in this debate competition... Fu Cang, you can participate too."

"No!"

Fu Cang refused outright.

Mu Guanchen said, "If you place in the top ten, you can train in the Martial Pavilion for a month. The Martial Pavilion will be very beneficial for you."

Martial Pavilion!

Fu Cang frowned.

If there was anything in the Guanxuan universe that could interest her, it was undoubtedly the legendary Martial Pavilion.

Fu Cang remained expressionless. "No one invited me."

Mu Guanchen said, "That’s a small matter. I’ll take care of it."

Fu Cang added, "I only fight, I don’t read."

Mu Guanchen smiled. "You and Tianming can participate together, representing the Central Earth Academy. The reading part can be handled by him."

Fu Cang was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Ye Tianming without speaking, and directly threw a storage ring at him.

It contained ten thousand spirit crystals!

Ye Tianming took the ring and grinned. "My dear senior, leave it to me. You just watch."

Fu Cang shook her head. "You’re really poor."

Ye Tianming: "???"

...