Chapter 2199: Chapter 2243: The Saint Changes His Tune

After speaking, Fuyun Great Sage closed her eyes and silently communicated with the Saint.

"Trying to poach my ward? Naive!" Jian Wuchou thought. He closed his eyes and also silently communicated with the Saint.

In the unseen realm, their consciousnesses merged into a space as pitch-black as ink. An indescribable existence breathed, each exhalation filled with profound holy resonance.

Fuyun Great Sage’s consciousness spoke respectfully, "Greetings, Saint. This junior has two matters to report."

The Saint remained silent.

Fuyun Great Sage paused before continuing, "First, the Seven Swords of Sword Central have yet to return. Has an accident befallen them?"

From the darkness, a long, ancient voice finally echoed, as if traveling from tens of thousands of years ago.

"Still safe."

Fuyun Great Sage frowned. "Safe" meant they weren’t dead. "Still" implied that while they were alive, their situation was far from optimistic. Since the Saint was already aware, he surely had his own arrangements. She did not dwell on the matter, but instead respectfully said, "Second, this junior would like to apply to be the Tao Guardian for the final Sword Saint inheritance candidate, Liu Qingxian."

The moment these words were spoken, Jian Wuchou respectfully interjected, "Saint, Liu Qingxian is a Sword Saint candidate of my Sword Central City. What reason is there to hand her over to Divine Strategy City?"

Fuyun Great Sage countered, "Jian Wuchou has not nurtured her with any care. Instead, he has bullied and oppressed her at every turn, to the point that any random Divinity Transformation Realm cultivator in Sword Central City can humiliate her. If she remains in Sword Central City, she will have no chance at the Sword Saint inheritance. I ask the Saint to judge clearly."

Jian Wuchou hurriedly argued, "Saint, that was the tempering I arranged for Liu Qingxian! As an inheritor of the Sword Saint, if she cannot withstand the slightest setback, how can her edge be forged?"

The darkness fell silent. A full three breaths later, the ancient voice echoed again.

"As before."

It meant Liu Qingxian’s Tao Guardian would remain unchanged.

Fuyun Great Sage knitted her brows deeply. "This shouldn’t be. Why would the Saint refuse?" she thought. Her cultivation was far superior to Jian Wuchou’s. Personally acting as Liu Qingxian’s Tao Guardian, she should undoubtedly be able to cultivate the girl better.

At that moment, she noticed Jian Wuchou shooting her a sidelong glance, his eyes revealing a trace of mockery. Only then did Fuyun Great Sage realize that the Saint was showing favoritism toward Jian Wuchou. The fate of the Seven Swords was unknown. If they perished, Sword Central City would have no successors. As the sole remaining Three Calamities Realm expert, Jian Wuchou would have to shoulder the burdens of Sword Central City in the future. Therefore, the Saint did not want to put him in an awkward position and harbored a bit of bias.

Fuyun Great Sage found herself in a dilemma. She had confidently promised Jiang Fan that she would become Liu Qingxian’s Tao Guardian. In the end, Liu Qingxian was still going to fall into Jian Wuchou’s Demon Hand. How was she supposed to explain this to Jiang Fan?

Jian Wuchou sneered, "Elder Fuyun, tell that old geezer that I will discipline his wife well! Tell him to rest absolutely assured!" With that said, his consciousness dissolved into specks of light and slowly withdrew.

Fuyun Great Sage sighed repeatedly. Once the Saint had spoken, it could not be changed. She, too, prepared to withdraw silently. But right at this moment, the Saint’s voice suddenly echoed from the darkness.

"Who is that?"

"Hmm?" Fuyun Great Sage was bewildered. Jian Wuchou, who had already left, returned as well. Who was the Saint asking about? Quickly, the two came to their senses. The Saint knew every living being within the Martial Vault. How could he not know someone’s identity? Only an outsider—and a highly extraordinary one at that—could prompt the Saint to ask personally. And right now, the only outsider was Jiang Fan.

Jian Wuchou frowned and said, "Is the Saint asking about that wretched old geezer? He seems to be an outsider. He is arrogant, domineering, and commits all sorts of atrocities. He even laid his hands on Liu Qingxian. If it weren’t for Fuyun Great Sage protecting him, I would have already brought him to justice." While introducing Jiang Fan, Jian Wuchou didn’t forget to file a complaint against Fuyun Great Sage.

Fuyun Great Sage’s expression shifted. She hurriedly said, "Saint, he is actually..."

This time, the Saint did not wait for her to finish and spoke directly.

"A New Saint."

"Eh?" Fuyun Great Sage froze, wondering if she had misheard the word. A New Saint? A new Saint Realm expert? Jian Wuchou was also stunned on the spot, equally doubting his own ears.

The Saint did not elaborate, merely stating, "Liu Qingxian’s Tao Guardian is changed to Fuyun. Nurture her well, and do not fail the New Saint’s expectations." Immediately after, the Dark World receded.

Their consciousnesses returned to their physical bodies, but both stood rooted to the spot, their eyes filled with utter bewilderment. Fuyun Great Sage stared blankly at Jiang Fan. This little brother she had picked up out of nowhere was... a New Saint of the Central Earth? To the extent that even the Saint was willing to alter his previously spoken holy decree for him.

Jian Wuchou also stared at Jiang Fan, his face completely enveloped in disbelief. "How could this be possible? How could this old geezer possibly be a New Saint?" he thought. He had never heard of a new Saint Realm expert being born in the myriad heavens. Moreover, his cultivation didn’t look like that of the Saint Realm at all!

Jiang Fan looked at them with a strange expression. "Why are you two looking at me like that?" Weren’t the two of them communicating with the Saint? It had nothing to do with him.

Liu Qingxian nervously clung to Jiang Fan’s arm and asked, "Elder Fuyun, what did the Saint... say?" If the change of her Tao Guardian failed, she didn’t dare to imagine what would happen to her upon returning to Jian Wuchou’s side. Let alone the Sword Dao inheritance, even her personal safety would be completely unguaranteed.

Fuyun Great Sage looked at Jiang Fan, utterly baffled, before flashing a beaming smile at Liu Qingxian. "Of course it succeeded. From now on, you will stay by my side. No one will be able to harm a single hair on your head." As she spoke, she shot a sidelong glance at the experts of Sword Central City.

The crowd felt extremely bitter inside. Wasn’t Fuyun Great Sage’s warning a bit redundant? This wretched old geezer had already slaughtered everything in his path for Liu Qingxian. Who would be so blind as to dare provoke her now?

"Ah! Thank you, Elder! Thank you, Elder!" Liu Qingxian cheered in pleasant surprise. She was finally free! She would never have to be under Jian Wuchou’s control again!

Fuyun Great Sage’s mouth twitched, and she said meaningfully, "You should really thank this old geezer."

Thank Jiang Fan? Liu Qingxian was confused for a moment but then reconsidered. Fuyun Great Sage had only agreed to be her Tao Guardian out of respect for Jiang Fan. So, she grabbed Jiang Fan’s face and gave him a kiss. "Thank you! Hehe!"

Looking at her genuinely happy smile, Jiang Fan also felt deeply satisfied. With Fuyun Great Sage looking after her from now on, he wouldn’t need to worry about Liu Qingxian anymore. Once he finished browsing the texts in the Martial Vault, he could leave in peace.

"Sister, can I still read the texts of Sword Central?" Jiang Fan glanced at the dense crowd of Sword Central experts. Barging into someone’s home, beating them up, and then turning around to demand access to their texts felt somewhat like a bandit raiding a village.

Fuyun Great Sage rolled her eyes at him. "So you realize that now? You were having such a great time killing earlier, but now you know it’s going to be tricky?" If it hadn’t been for the massive battle just now, with her status, no one would have raised an objection to letting Jiang Fan read Sword Central’s texts. But after this incident, it would be a miracle if Sword Central was willing to let him browse!

Jiang Fan sighed. Sword Central was the place that stored the most texts, making it the most likely location to find the answers he sought. It seemed he would have to go to the other cities.

Right at that moment, a woman’s voice drifted out from the crowd.

"Old gentleman, I will vouch for you to enter our Sword Central text vault."

A woman with an ordinary appearance, carrying a precious sword on her back, arrived via Instantaneous Movement. Jiang Fan looked over, revealing a look of surprise. This woman was none other than Jian Qingmei!

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