Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao

Chapter 1637 - 146: Stirred

Zhou Yan sighed softly, apparently realizing that he had overestimated the cultivators of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.

After all, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect possessed the Path of Heavenly Mechanism through the Thirty-Three Heavens. No matter how weak they were, they should at least be able to pass the first level.

In Zhou Yan’s judgment, Zhuge Qiyan should be able to pass at least three levels of trials.

But in reality, the result was—

A complete defeat, and none of them passed the first level.

Even Zhuge Xiye, who had experienced this once and felt the changes of the Heavenly Road throughout the process, could not complete even half of the first level.

Zhou Yan felt an inexplicable sense that the entire Heavenly Mechanism Sect had become a group of worthless people.

But Zhou Yan knew that this was just a misperception, as his starting point was different, causing his view of the problem to differ as well.

It wasn’t that the entire sect was worthless, but rather that the Path of Heavenly Mechanism was indeed too powerful.

Or perhaps, because this world did not have the existence of the True Illusion Realm as a Tao, the cultivators of this world had almost no defensive capability against the true influence of the True Illusion Realm.

With a sigh, Zhou Yan quickly realized the crux of the problem.

Even with these explanations, deep down, he was still somewhat disappointed.

He did not hide his feelings, so his expressions were completely visible to Zhuge Xiye.

Seeing this, Zhuge Xiye felt extremely ashamed.

"Surely, you’ve explained the specifics to them, but the results are still so poor. Honestly, just let it be—try a few more times. Today there is no soul force consumption and no time restriction, so it can provide you all with significant training."

"After today, it’s up to your own abilities."

Zhou Yan said.

He knew that whether Zhuge Qiyan or those Elder Hall Masters, even if they left, they would certainly not go far.

Therefore, when Zhou Yan spoke, he slightly raised his voice so that these people could hear him.

As for what they would do, Zhou Yan did not care.

Zhou Yan had already arranged everything for the Path of Heavenly Mechanism through the Thirty-Three Heavens, even forming a perfect integration with the Yellow Bell.

The Yellow Bell was something Zhou Yan also did not need; for him, it was merely better than having nothing.

Outside the scope of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, Zhou Yan was unable to fully trigger the Yellow Bell to release its ultimate power.

Within the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, such ultimate power would only devour some remaining energy, leaving it to serve as a guardian in usual times.

"Senior Brother, perhaps the Sect Master is not quite suited to this, or maybe the Sect Master wants to find a quiet place for focused training. After all, we are experiencing this for the first time. Later, we will certainly not disappoint you."

At this moment, Zhuge Xiye approached Zhou Yan and said, feeling very ashamed.

Besides shame, Zhou Yan also saw a confident and determined look in her eyes.

At this moment, Zhuge Xiye seemed to return to her previously calm and confident state.

Zhou Yan nodded slightly, saying, "Mm, you should also return to your sect gate for now. I’ve learned everything necessary, so there’s no need for a maid."

"Senior Brother, are you looking down on me, Zhuge Xiye? Even if you look down on Xi Ye, Xi Ye’s promises will definitely be kept."

Zhuge Xiye said.

Zhou Yan heard this and thoughtfully glanced at Zhuge Xiye.

Zhuge Xiye did not avoid Zhou Yan’s gaze, instead looking directly at him.

"Alright, go back to the mountain."

"I’ll go check on the Sect Master first, then return to train."

Zhuge Xiye hesitated for a moment before saying.

Zhou Yan nodded, then his entire figure once again transformed into a beam of light, disappearing from that place.

A moment later, Zhou Yan returned to his own Secondary Main Peak.

On the summit of the Secondary Main Peak, Zhou Yan sat down and began condensing soul energy.

In just a moment, Zhou Yan entered the Thirty-Three Heavens Road.

At this time, Zhou Yan felt a terrifying sense of reality that was very much like a ’dream’ he once had.

"Huh?"

"Isn’t this the bizarre world I encountered upon the path while searching for Wan Ling, at the Word Spirit Race’s Heavenly Road? How can this be so similar?"

Zhou Yan was startled.

At that time, in the Word Spirit Race, Zhou Yan had gone through a dark descent akin to a dream, followed by an almost fantastical and bizarre experience that he remembered vividly.

Back then, some unknown calamity seemed imminent, and Zhou Yan took some Holy Spirits from the Word Spirit Race to a vibrant, kaleidoscopic environment.

Zhou Yan remembered the place deeply but knew nothing about the rest of the information.

Yet here, on the altered first level of the Heavenly Road, Zhou Yan discovered that the glows and colorful hues, along with the various soul energies in the space, were nearly identical to the scenery.

"When I created it, the scene wasn’t like this at all!"

"However, the difficulty indeed increased very much, but I didn’t expect this situation to be like this!"

"No wonder Zhuge Xiye and the others couldn’t even break through the first level; perhaps some unknown change occurred?"

As Zhou Yan pondered, he already noticed many differences.

However, Zhou Yan didn’t pay attention to these differences, instead, he gathered all his thoughts and began sensing his own condition.