Chapter 11: Advancement to Rank 5
Gu Zhan’s blade was the Horizontal Saber,
three feet five inches long, weighing two pounds.
This length and weight—for the average person, let alone using techniques, even randomly swinging it without any form wouldn’t last more than a moment. But for Gu Zhan, now already a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, it was just right!
The Horizontal Saber flashed out from his waist like lightning, swung forth like wind and rain, and in the blink of an eye, he slashed four or five times in succession.
This was the Wind-Breaking Saber Technique,
an utterly common saber technique, focused primarily on the word "break"; no fancy or tricky moves, just fast, precise, and ruthless.
Gu Zhan had mastered this saber technique to the peak of perfection, and taking advantage of surprise, unleashed a full combo—so even Liu Hong, whose cultivation was higher, couldn’t dodge entirely; in a split second he was struck by two blades.
Blood drenched the ground,
Liu Hong roared in pain, rolling in a sorry state across the ground, only then finding a chance to draw his broadsword.
"Are you looking for death?!" Liu Hong roared.
In that instant, a sudden string of deafening metallic clashes of blades erupted in the small courtyard, gusts of force sweeping out.
The entire courtyard plunged into chaos,
especially the commoners, who had no idea what had started the fight.
In their eyes, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Celestial Water Gang were already colluding together, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were just another band of villains.
Now, with violence erupting, everyone fled in panic, even pushing down the picket fence wall in a stampede, scattering in all directions.
Once they managed to hide far enough away, the commoners finally slowed.
Almost all were secretly cheering,
Dog eat dog, whoever got killed, the people would rejoice!
Meanwhile,
in the courtyard, both the Celestial Water Gang members and the Embroidered Uniform Guard snapped back to their senses; there was no time to think, and a battle was about to break out at any moment.
But once fighting started,
the Celestial Water Gang was no match at all.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard were all elites, and there were three Captains among them—all bona fide Fifth and Sixth Grade experts. In contrast, the Celestial Water Gang members, fearsome as they seemed, were mostly just strong ordinary men, with only seven or eight Martial Artists among them, none of particularly high grade.
After all, they had come to deal with a group of civilians, so there was no need to mobilize the elites; only their Hall Master, Liu Hong, was truly a Fifth Grade Martial Artist. However, he’d been ambushed by Gu Zhan, wounded by two cuts as soon as it started—his injuries unclear.
When everyone came back to their senses,
Chen Fei was also the first to support Gu Zhan,
one was Gu Zhan, whose every move was lethal; the other, a real Fifth Grade Martial Artist.
Liu Hong, gravely wounded, faced the two in close combat with barely any power to resist. Soon, Gu Zhan slashed his wrist tendons, sending his broadsword clattering to the ground.
"Hall Master..."
"Hall Master!"
Several Celestial Water Gang members rushed over in panic.
Liu Hong glared at Gu Zhan, snorted coldly, and said, "Lord Gu, all rivers eventually meet. Today I’ll admit defeat, but this matter is not over!"
Leaving behind those harsh words, Liu Hong turned and shouted to his men, "Go!"
Seeing this, Chen Fei and the others all heaved a sigh of relief.
However, just as that sigh left their lips, Gu Zhan suddenly let out a cold snort: "Did I give you permission to leave?"
Liu Hong started, clutching his wounded wrist as he turned, shouting angrily: "Lord Gu, what more do you want? Don’t push your luck! You really think our Celestial Water Gang is made of clay?"
Gu Zhan shook his head slightly, speaking softly: "Nothing else, just letting you know, this official always keeps his word—says it, does it, so..."
Before he finished,
Gu Zhan tapped the ground with his foot; his silhouette flickered ghost-like, wrist twisting, saber momentum shifted from chop to drag, waving out, two flashes of blade light swept by,
accompanied by the sound of blood spraying,
the two Martial World thugs guarding Liu Hong let out stifled grunts almost simultaneously, blood spurting from their necks as they crashed to the ground.
[Experience Points +41]
[Experience Points +33]
A flicker of terror flashed in Liu Hong’s eyes; he shouted, "You—!"
"Puchi!"
The blade plunged into Liu Hong’s chest,
Gu Zhan gave a fierce push, driving the blade through Liu Hong’s chest and shoving him straight into a stone wall. The saber pierced through, Gu Zhan yanked back savagely, blood spraying everywhere,
Liu Hong’s lips trembled; blood gushed forth, his body slumped against the wall, sliding down slowly—a pair of eyes fixed in a dead stare at Gu Zhan.
[Experience Points +175]
Gu Zhan gripped his saber, coldly said, "I’m a man of my word—if I said I’d send you to meet Cao Feng, then to Cao Feng you go!"
"Uh...uh..."
Blood kept flowing from Liu Hong’s mouth; he tried to speak, but no sound came. His head slumped sideways, dying with open eyes.
"Hall Master!"
"Hall Master..."
"Call for help, go get help..."
At this, the Celestial Water Gang thugs started shouting, all of them frantically running for the exit.
"Seize them all!"
Gu Zhan shouted to the dazed Embroidered Uniform Guard, then charged out, saber in hand; he stamped his foot, activating the Big Goose Skill, leaping out over a zhang in an instant like a released arrow, savagely slashing the back of a Martial World thug.
"Aaaagh!"
The man gave a shrill scream. Without stopping, Gu Zhan spun about like a ghost, both hands gripping the Horizontal Saber, blade flashing blindingly as he struck unstoppably at another man’s neck!
A blood line opened up across the man’s neck,
and his body crashed to the ground.
[Experience Points +29]
[Experience Points +15]
Gu Zhan surged forth again, swiftly hacking down two or three more people,
finally bringing the chaotic scene under control.
The rest of the Celestial Water Gang members were soon subdued by other Embroidered Uniform Guard as well.
Several corpses lay on the ground,
blood still flowing,
all the Embroidered Uniform Guard looked uneasy; forced into this fight, none of them really wanted to offend the Celestial Water Gang—they simply couldn’t afford to.
So though the scene looked chaotic,
in reality, only Gu Zhan actually killed anyone; the others, at most, just wounded people, never going for the kill.
Gu Zhan understood their concerns and didn’t press them. He said, "Leave a few people to clean up the scene. The rest, take these thugs and bodies back to the Hundred Households Office. Assaulting the Embroidered Uniform Guard in broad daylight—what, is the Celestial Water Gang planning a rebellion?"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard all moved to act,
but everyone looked grim and heavy-hearted.
Several Captains walked alongside Gu Zhan in silence. After a while, Chen Fei quietly said, "Sir, I’m afraid we’ve brought disaster on ourselves now. The Celestial Water Gang won’t let this go!"
Gu Zhan replied in a deep voice: "The Celestial Water Gang forcibly occupied homes, poisoned and murdered civilians—in the end, they tried to silence witnesses and attacked the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The evidence is clear. Would they dare lodge complaints with the Court?"
Chen Fei and the others traded glances,
bitterness in their hearts,
This Lord Gu is still too young!
For a moment, the mood was suffocating.
As they walked, Gu Zhan summoned the system to check his experience points—he’d accumulated a total of 331 points.
He immediately chose to use them.
[Used 300 Experience Points]
[Profound Yuan Skill upgraded to Fifth Floor]
[Current Realm upgraded to Fifth Grade]