Ye Guan was still in a fierce battle with Chief Enforcement Officer Sui Sui—no, it was more like he was getting beaten up.
Even though his strength had greatly increased, there was still a significant gap between him and Chief Enforcement Officer Sui Sui.
To make matters worse, Sui Sui was holding back, otherwise, he'd be in a much worse situation.
However, he obtained many insights during the beatings. For example, Sui Sui's sword could no longer shatter his Invincible Sword Intent.
His Decisive Strike[1] had become even stronger as well.
Of course, the greatest gains were in his... spirit, momentum, and confidence!
He still couldn't defeat Sui Sui, but he was becoming more and more confident at fighting.
The thought he once had of defeating his father and grandfather reemerged.
Not being able to do it now wasn't terrifying; what was terrifying was not even daring to think about it!
One had to dare to dream and dare to act!
Whenever Ye Guan thought about the day he could pound his father and grandfather into the ground, he'd feel incredibly excited as if he had been injected with adrenaline.
Meanwhile, Sui Sui was surprised to notice Ye Guan's rapid improvement, especially the rapid improvement of his sword intent.
Ye Guan's talent and comprehension had exceeded her expectations.
After an unknown amount of time, Sui Sui stopped and smiled. "This stage ends here."
Ye Guan looked at Sui Sui, a bit surprised. "It's still the first stage, right?"
"That's right," Sui Sui nodded and explained, "There are three stages to the Chief Enforcement Officer. The first stage is despair. The purpose of making the participants feel despair is to see what choices they'll make and their mindset during those moments."
Ye Guan said, "I see. So, what's the second stage?"
"Follow me," Sui Sui said with a smile and sheathed her sword behind her back before walking away.
Ye Guan put his sword away and followed.
A human being and a fruit headed toward the distant light.
Ye Guan glanced at Sui Sui beside him and asked, "Senior, are you real?"
Sui Sui looked at him with a smile. "Are you trying to ask whether I'm dead or alive?"
Ye Guan nodded. "Yes."
Sui Sui gave a playful smile. "That's a secret."
Ye Guan was dumbfounded.
Sui Sui looked into the distance and muttered, "Each generation of Chief Enforcement Officers has their own responsibilities, and I also have mine."
Responsibilities... Ye Guan looked into the distance. Don't I have my own responsibilities as well?
Sui Sui suddenly said, "I'm a bit curious. Since you're not a fruit, why did they let you in? There must be a reason behind that, so what is it?"
Ye Guan collected his thoughts and replied, "I married one of your fruits."
Sui Sui's eyes widened instantly. "What?"
Ye Guan was confused.
Sui Sui stared at Ye Guan, and her big eyes blinked as she asked, "Really?"
Ye Guan nodded.
Sui Sui gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive, impressive!"
Ye Guan had no idea what to say.
"Our civilization is rather proud, and our fruits are pretty arrogant as well. We've always looked down on other civilizations. For you to marry one of our fruits is really impressive." ȓ
"Honestly, for various reasons, I didn't like your Tianxing civilization at first, but not all your fruits are bad. Some are really, really good, including you."
"Every civilization has its own share of good and bad people."
"That's true."
Just then, a star gate appeared in the distance.
Sui Sui led Ye Guan to the star gate and turned to him with a smile. "Do you want to know what the second stage is?"
Ye Guan nodded. "Mmhm."
The man stared at Ye Guan. "But they let you in?"
Ye Guan nodded again.
"You're not a fruit, yet they let you in? How did you manage that?"
Ye Guan said, "I'm not a fruit, but I married one of your fruits."
"What?"
The man was shocked. "You married one of our fruits?"
Ye Guan nodded.
The man's interest grew. "They agreed?"
Ye Guan said, "They didn't agree at first, but we fought, and I think they finally accepted me."
The man glanced at Ye Guan and then said, "Did you hire a substitute to fight for you?"
Ye Guan was speechless.
Seeing Ye Guan's expression, the man laughed. "Pfft! You're strong, but there's no way you could have beaten those fruits outside."
Ye Guan changed the subject. "Are you a Chief Enforcement Officer, Senior?"
The man nodded. "Name's Bu Xuan, the second-generation Chief Enforcement Officer."
Ye Guan was curious. "You and Senior Sui Sui don't seem to harbor much hostility toward outsiders."
The man smiled. "They don't have any hostility toward outsiders. They just look down on them, but that's normal. Any civilization that reaches a certain level will view others with contempt until they encounter a civilization stronger than themselves. I'm sure they value you because you're strong, or perhaps your backers are strong."
Ye Guan nodded. "That's true."
The man continued, "Since they let you in, it means they consider you one of their own. You made it through Sui Sui's stage, and you even obtained her sword.
"In other words, Sui Sui values you highly, so I won't go all out against you. However, we still need to follow the protocols."
Ye Guan hesitated and then asked, "You're going easy on me?"
The man smiled. "Yes."
Ye Guan was quiet.
The man added, "If you don't want me to go easy, that's fine too. It doesn't bother me."
Ye Guan thought for a moment and then said, "I don't want you to go easy on me."
The man looked at Ye Guan. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Ye Guan nodded. "I want to rely on my own strength..."
Boom!
Bu Xuan abruptly swung his fist.
Ye Guan's expression changed instantly. How come this guy had no sense of sportsmanship despite his esteemed position?! Fortunately, Ye Guan had been on guard all along, so he reacted quickly, slashing out with his sword.
His Invincible Sword Intent surged out of him like a tidal wave!
When Bu Xuan's punch landed, however, Ye Guan's sword intent was suppressed. Then, he felt as if he had been struck by a hammer weighing millions of kilograms in the chest.
Boom!
Ye Guan was blasted away, and his fleshly body crumbled in midair.
By the time he stopped, his fleshly body had already disintegrated, leaving only his soul, which was barely visible.
Ye Guan was stunned.
Meanwhile, Bu Xuan clenched his right hand tightly, and the starry skies quivered. A myriad stars transformed into beams of starlight and merged with his right fist.
The next moment, a terrifying pressure burst out of Bu Xuan.
Just as Bu Xuan was about to swing his fist again, Ye Guan hurriedly shouted, "I've changed my mind!"
1. previously translated as Determining Strike ☜