Chapter 127 - 126: Innate Level 7
A flying saber shot straight into that Innate Martial Artist’s mouth, the tip piercing out from the back of his neck. The immense force sent his corpse hurtling seven or eight zhang backward, nailing him onto a stone wall by the street.
In an instant, the remaining members of the Inspection Team felt a bone-chilling cold, as if a basin of icy water had been poured over them in the depths of winter, drenching them to their very core. Everyone’s face went pale with terror, souls nearly scared out of their bodies.
Gu Zhan, unconcerned, drew another flying saber, casually pointed it at another Innate Martial Artist, and said indifferently, "You, speak."
That Innate Martial Artist trembled uncontrollably in fright, stammering, "Gu... Gu... Lord Gu, your subordinates are...are..."
"Pfft"
A flash of saber light split the air, the flying saber shot out like a meteor, piercing straight through that Innate Martial Artist’s chest, turning into a blood-streaked beam as it darted forth, pinning itself to the stone wall.
That Innate Martial Artist’s eyes widened in unwillingness as he slowly collapsed, blood gushing madly from his chest.
Gu Zhan took a sip of tea, his tone slow and deliberate: "You talk too slowly. It annoys me."
Immediately, one member of the Inspection Team rushed to spill, "Lord Gu, they’re in the mansion at the end of Da Xi Lane, guarded by ten or so Postnatal Realm Martial Artists. Shen Minghe hasn’t killed them—he wants to keep them alive to force them to testify that you’ve colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. I... I can take you there, they won’t be on guard!"
Gu Zhan slowly set down his teacup, nodded slightly, then gestured toward a subordinate.
The subordinate instantly understood, signaled to a few others, and brought out that Inspection Team member, leading a group of men away at once.
At this time, Gu Zhan slowly rose to his feet and turned to leave.
At this sight,
The remaining Inspection Team members all let out a long sigh of relief, feeling the exhilaration of surviving a disaster.
However, in the next instant,
Gu Zhan’s icy voice rang out once more:
"Leave no one alive!"
In a split second,
The members of the Inspection Team all erupted in panic and terror.
"Lord Gu, spare us! It was all Shen Minghe’s orders..."
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
In that instant, a dense shower of feathered arrows rained down, striking the Inspection Team members, issuing deep, drum-like thuds even more frantic and terrifying than any battle drum, forcing out groans and sending the wounded writhing and shrieking in agony,
"Lord Gu, spare us..."
"Gu Zhan, you’ll die a horrible death..."
"I’ll fight you to the death!"
"Ah!"
"..."
Waves of hysterical wailing, cursing, and begging for mercy echoed out,
The click-clack of crossbows firing exploded in the air,
Gu Zhan bit into a steamed bun and walked away slowly,
Soon, all was silent behind him, leaving only corpses strewn across the ground and the faint trickling sound of blood.
...
On the silent long street,
Gu Zhan strolled forward, the sound of hooves trailing behind him,
A large squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards rode up, some still stained with fresh, warm blood, some with longsabers dripping red, and some with feathered arrows in their quivers tinged with threads of scarlet.
Rong Yichu led over a strong, spirited stallion, with a Cold Iron Bow, dozens of feathered arrows, and two Horizontal Sabers on the saddle.
"My lord," Rong Yichu handed the reins to Gu Zhan, then passed him a silk handkerchief, saying, "Qi Qianyu is convening a martial assembly at Mist Rain Manor."
Gu Zhan nodded, took the handkerchief to wipe the blood from his face, and said, "Well done. I’ll leave the cleanup to you."
"Rest assured, my lord, I’ll handle it flawlessly," Rong Yichu nodded.
Gu Zhan handed the handkerchief back to Rong Yichu, vaulting onto the horse and riding off with a flick of the reins.
Watching Gu Zhan’s departing figure, Rong Yichu turned to several subordinates and said in a low, steady voice, "Contact all the major guilds immediately. Not one of those Yunzhou rats is to leave alive!"
The men cupped their hands and slipped away silently.
Rong Yichu glanced down at the blood-soaked handkerchief in his hand, a trace of gentle warmth on his face as he murmured, "Sigh, following my lord for so long, I’ve become far too ruthless. This isn’t good, doesn’t fit the way of a gentleman. I need to change, I must."
Rong Yichu let out a light sigh, but on his delicate, almost androgynous face surfaced a hint of yearning. He whispered, "But... but, my lord’s way—those who submit prosper, those who resist perish—truly...
So charismatic,
It’s intoxicating!"
...
Hundreds of Embroidered Uniform Guards charged rapidly,
Gu Zhan led at the front on horseback, summoned the system to check his Experience Points, which had already accumulated to over eighty thousand.
Gu Zhan made his choice to allocate points:
[Use 80,000 Experience Points]
[Fierce Sun Skill upgraded to Seventh Floor]
[Current Realm elevated to Innate Seventh Layer]
...
In the blink of an eye,
A surge of immense True Qi flowed from the Dantian, naturally spreading to all his limbs and bones, running through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians—without any accompanying commotion of a breakthrough, since each of Gu Zhan’s breakthroughs was never abrupt, but seamless.
Still, one change was glaringly obvious,
At the instant he stepped into the Innate Seventh Layer,
Suddenly, he felt the environment around him transform,
He seemed able, vaguely, to sense the way Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi flowed,
Though this seemed a minor shift,
In truth, it was a qualitative leap,
Any martial art, when executed in harmony with the rhythm of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, would show power on a whole other level,
This realm was called the Great Innate,
An absolute transformation.
Gu Zhan stroked the Cold Iron Bow. In that instant, he had a sudden realization—his Shadow Arrow Technique would now be vastly stronger,
When he touched his saber,
He could feel it clearly,
Smoother, and his blade—much deadlier!
After a long moment, Gu Zhan exhaled lightly, withdrew his focus, and swept a glance at the system panel:
Player: Gu Zhan
Realm: Innate Seventh Layer
Cultivation Technique: Fierce Sun Skill (Seventh Floor 0/100,000)
Skills:
Celestial Inquiry Three Slashes (Great Success)
Shadow Arrow Technique (Great Success)
Frenzied Lion Fist (Great Success)
Cloud-Stepping Step (Great Success)
Celestial Spirit Golden Body (Great Success)
Gale Palm (Great Success)
Celestial Yin Leg (Great Success)
Willow Leaf Flying Knife Technique (Minor Success 0/30,000)
Experience Points: 236
...
In a manor in Linjiang City.
The Heir of Marquis Chengyang, Ling Jing, was in a room raging, smashing things. The floor was littered with shattered vases and all sorts of smashed ornaments, his mouth spitting curses nonstop.
"That trash Shen Minghe! Yesterday, he swore to this Crown Prince it was foolproof—this is what he calls a guarantee?"
He was consumed by fury now,
As Military Supervisor, he’d abandoned the front lines without leave, bearing great pressure already. But he’d thought, if he could seize control over logistics, that pressure was nothing—in fact, it would help him suppress General Lifen Jing Zhan instead.
But he never could’ve predicted,
Despite Shen Minghe’s repeated ironclad promises, he’d failed!
Ling Jing, due to his status, couldn’t appear openly in Linjiang City, so he’d been holed up in the manor waiting for word. Who would have thought the message delivered would be that Shen Minghe was dead and the entire Inspection Team had been slaughtered.
"Useless scum!"
Ling Jing roared, "He died before dragging that bastard Gu Zhan down with him!"
After cursing for a while, Ling Jing finally calmed down somewhat.
Only then did an old man bow and say, "Crown Prince, Shen Minghe is already dead; there’s no point being angry. What you should consider now is, how do we deal with Gu Zhan? We’ve already alerted the snake this time!"