Outside.
The members of the Gu Family looked at the longsword with anger and apprehension, but no one dared to approach it.
In recent days,
they had naturally heard a lot about what Gu Han had done in the Barren Forest.
Now that the main fighting force of the Gu Family was absent, they dared not stop him, nor could they.
However,
curses and insults were inevitable.
"Quick, go inform the Great Clan Elder!"
"What does this bastard want to do? Is he trying to tear down the ancestral hall?"
"He truly is a wolf cub! He's repaying kindness with enmity!"
"Nonsense!"
A Sha could no longer hold back and argued with the crowd.
"Young Lord didn't wrong the Gu Family; it was the Gu Family that wronged Young Lord!"
However,
her voice was quickly drowned out.
"The biggest mistake Gu Tian ever made was bringing him back!"
"Don't mention him. Hmph, he always favored Gu Han. He doesn't deserve to be the Family Head. Dying by the hand of this bastard can be considered his just desserts!"
"..."
"You..."
A Sha's eyes welled up with tears from anger.
"You're talking nonsense..."
...
Inside the ancestral hall.
"Foster Father."
Gu Han carefully wiped the dust from the memorial tablet, murmuring non-stop.
"You heard it."
"We fought for the Gu Family for so long, step by step raising the Gu Family to its current position, but they are all blind; they can't see!"
"Foster Father, the Gu Family is rotten!"
As he spoke,
he slowly closed his eyes.
"Then... there's no need for it to exist!"
...
Inside the consciousness space.
"Oh?"
The black figure's expression brightened when he saw Gu Han again.
"Kid, you're here again! How is it? Have you thought it through? I told you before, becoming Lord's Disciple, that little girl... Hmm?"
Mid-sentence,
he suddenly noticed Gu Han's unusual state.
"Tsk tsk tsk, such heavy malevolence!"
Before,
although Gu Han's words and actions also contained malevolence, it was far less than one-tenth of today's!
"Unexpected."
The black figure looked surprised.
"You're a natural for cultivating demonic arts! How about it, consider becoming Lord's Named Disciple?"
"I want revenge."
Gu Han said directly.
"Help me with something."
"Help you? Why should I?"
"Consider it me owing you a favor."
"Joke, what good is your favor? Lord doesn't care... cough cough!"
Looking at the dozens of Sword Intent hovering around him,
his expression turned serious.
He instantly backed down.
"Cough... Tell me, what kind of help? Although Lord is a demonic cultivator, he is also a warm-hearted person!"
"My Foster Father."
Gu Han's voice was low.
"Was harmed by someone! By those clansmen he trusted the most... they harmed him! So..."
After listening to his narration,
the black figure uncharacteristically fell silent.
Previously, he had been sleeping for most of the time, only knowing that the golden seal had suddenly fallen into Gu Han's hands. He didn't understand much about what had happened to Gu Tian.
"So that's how it is!"
After a long while,
he suddenly sighed.
"Betrayed by the people you trust most... Lord understands that feeling! Fine, Lord will help you with this today!"
...
Tianwu City.
At the center of the inner city,
stood a ten-zhang wide, bluestone-built martial arts arena.
At this moment,
the area around the martial arts arena was surrounded three layers deep, packed tightly.
In front,
a dignified-looking middle-aged man in a brocade robe sat in the very center. He was Liu Yuan, the City Lord of Tianwu City.
On either side of him,
were seated the Family Heads of various families within the city.
However, apart from Gu Chang, the other Family Heads had rather grim expressions.
They naturally understood.
This competition was merely a formality; with Gu Yang's current strength, winning the championship would undoubtedly be effortless.
Liu Yuan naturally didn't care.
As the City Lord,
he only needed to maintain the stability of Tianwu City. As for the various families... the more fiercely they fought, the better.
"Reporting to the City Lord!"
Just then, a guard stepped forward, "The time has come!"
"En."
Liu Yuan nodded, somewhat distracted.
"Then let's begin."
After speaking,
he subconsciously glanced at the quiet room behind him.
Sitting inside was
the Seventh Prince!
...
"Soul Seizing Art!"
Inside the consciousness space,
the black figure explained to Gu Han: "Strictly speaking, it's not a Divine Ability, but merely a technique for utilizing Soul Power! Your Soul Power is powerful, far surpassing others..."
At this point,
his heart was bleeding.
All that Soul Power... it's all Lord's!
This bastard, ever since Lord met him, nothing good has happened!
"Good!"
Gu Han nodded.
"I understand."
This Soul Seizing Art was naturally carefully chosen by the black figure; it was perfectly suited for the current situation.
"By the way."
Before leaving,
Gu Han suddenly turned back.
"That favor is still valid!"
Bah!
The black figure cursed incessantly.
What kind of favor? Lord doesn't care!
"However..."
He mused, "This kid, he's quite loyal and righteous... No, no!"
Mid-sentence,
he suddenly shook his head.
"Can't be soft-hearted!"
"Still have to find a way to kill him!"
...
Outside.
The Gu Family members cursed more and more vigorously.
Suddenly,
the ancestral hall's main door opened again, and Gu Han slowly walked out, holding Gu Tian's memorial tablet.
In an instant,
there was dead silence!
"A Sha."
Gu Han ignored the crowd and drew his longsword.
"Let's go."
"En!"
A Sha wiped her tears and glared fiercely at everyone.
"Young Lord, these people are too bad. I never want to come back!"
"Then we won't come back."
Behind them,
everyone looked at Gu Han's back, wishing they could devour him.
"By the way."
Gu Han suddenly stopped.
"One more thing."
Buzz!
The longsword trembled slightly, and two incomparably sharp Sword Qi suddenly flew out!
Rumble!
Under the despairing and venomous gazes of the Gu Family members, the grand and imposing ancestral hall instantly turned into a pile of ruins!
...
Inside the martial arts arena.
Bang!
A crimson glow circulated around Gu Yang's long spear, instantly striking his opponent!
The person spat out a mouthful of blood, falling directly off the stage!
"Come!"
Gu Yang didn't even look at him, brandishing his long spear.
"Next!"
"Young Lord Gu Yang is too formidable!"
"Who else dares to go up? No one is his match!"
"Tsk tsk, it seems there's no suspense for this martial academy qualification!"
"..."
Around the arena,
everyone discussed animatedly, satisfying Gu Yang's vanity to the extreme.
In contrast,
on the seats in front, the expressions of the various Family Heads were incredibly grim.
First, there was Gu Han!
Now there was Gu Yang!
What kind of great fortune had the Gu Family encountered?
"Not bad."
Liu Yuan nodded, looking at Gu Chang beside him.
"He has some potential!"
"City Lord flatters him."
Despite his deep cunning, Gu Chang still couldn't hide the smile on his face, "If Gu Yang can go to the martial academy, it will be a blessing for my Tianwu City, and even for the City Lord!"
"That's true."
Liu Yuan naturally wouldn't refuse his show of goodwill.
"I have some old acquaintances at the martial academy. Before Gu Yang goes, have him come to the City Lord's Mansion!"
"Thank you, City Lord!"
Gu Chang's smile could no longer be contained.
Liu Yuan also came from the martial academy. With his recommendation, even if he couldn't gain the Seventh Prince's appreciation, his future would still be bright!
"Heh heh."
Suddenly,
a sarcastic voice came from afar.
"Although Gu Yang is excellent, he's still a bit lacking compared to Gu Han!"
"Not just a bit, but a lot!"
The two who spoke
were the Family Heads of the Zhang Family and Wang Family in the city, the only two major families that could barely contend with the Gu Family.
"What do you mean!"
Gu Chang's expression darkened.
"Such a parricide deserves to be executed! What does it matter how talented he is!"
"But your Gu Family offered such a huge bounty, yet he's completely unharmed!"
"Heh heh, your Gu Family, you'd better be careful!"
The two were naturally not speaking up for Gu Han.
They were simply genuinely annoyed and wanted to provoke Gu Chang.
"Hmph!"
Gu Chang sneered.
"You two don't need to worry about that. At most, within half a day, that scoundrel will surely die!"
On the arena,
Gu Yang was calm and composed, his gaze occasionally looking towards the quiet room behind Liu Yuan.
That distinguished person...
must have seen his potential, right?
...
Inside the quiet room.
"Cough cough..."
The Seventh Prince coughed violently twice, his complexion appearing even paler.
"Your Highness!"
Behind him,
Chief Steward Li quickly stepped forward, pouring spiritual power into his body as if it were worthless.
"That's enough."
The Seventh Prince waved his hand.
"Save your strength, it's useless."
"Your Highness."
Chief Steward Li was heartbroken.
"What's so good about this martial academy qualification battle? Your body is so weak, you might as well be with Old Xue, seeing if he's come up with a solution yet."
"Heh heh."
The Seventh Prince smiled.
"If he could think of one, he would have already. Alas, these past years, it's been hard on Old Xue."
"While I can still move,"
he looked outside.
"I should indeed see more of the world's beautiful scenery! Besides, this person looks so young, yet his strength is truly impressive. I never thought such a Genius would appear in a small Tianwu City!"
"Him?"
Chief Steward Li scoffed.
"Can such a person be considered a Genius? If you want to talk about true potential, Old Xue and I met one in the Barren Forest..."
Thinking of Gu Han,
his face darkened.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing! Your Highness, let's go back to Old Xue's place. This competition is almost over; there's nothing left to see."
"Alas, alright."
The Seventh Prince slowly rose.
"This time, I'll have to trouble that old man again."
...
Outside.
"What?"
Gu Yang, seeing no one come onto the stage for a long time, smiled arrogantly.
"Is there no one left?"
"Heh heh, as expected, they're all useless things that only look good!"
Below,
being so humiliated by him, the disciples of the various families clenched their fists tightly, their faces flushed red. However, due to Gu Yang's strength, no one dared to step onto the arena again after all.
"City Lord."
Ignoring the grim expressions of the other Family Heads, Gu Chang smiled smugly.
"In my opinion, this competition no longer needs to continue."
"There's no need."
Liu Yuan slowly rose.
"Since that's the case, then this martial academy qualification..."
"Wait!"
Suddenly,
a low, hoarse voice came from afar.
"Who's speaking?"
Everyone looked at each other, but there were too many people here, making it difficult to find the owner of the voice for a while.
"En?"
It was Liu Yuan.
With his cultivation at the third stage of Gathering Yuan, he could naturally easily pinpoint the source of the voice.
"Gu Han!"
"It's him!"
Discovering it a little later were naturally Gu Chang and the Family Heads of the various families.
"Gu Han? Which Gu Han?"
"Nonsense, who else could it be?"
"What does he mean by coming back now? Does he still want that martial academy qualification?"
"What the hell! A parricide, can the City Lord tolerate him?"
"..."
Amidst the discussions,
the crowd parted, forming a path.
Gu Han, holding Gu Tian's memorial tablet in his left hand and pulling A Sha with his right, walked slowly to the edge of the arena, his expression blank under the various gazes.
"Gu Han!"
On the arena,
Gu Yang's face instantly darkened!
"The martial academy qualification."
Gu Han looked at him calmly.
"It's mine. If you want it, you have to ask me first!"