Chapter 14 - The Plot Unfolds, The Gu Family Strikes!

“Who are you?!”

Everyone was startled and turned around instantly, their faces full of vigilance. However, when they saw Gu Han, their expressions shifted from wary to excited and greedy.

“That... looks like Gu Han?”

“There’s no doubt. He matches the bounty description almost perfectly. It has to be him!”

“

Tsk tsk,

we were just worrying about not being able to find this kid, and here he is, delivering himself to us!”

“Is he stupid? How could he expose himself like this?”

As they spoke, the group slowly advanced toward Gu Han.

“Bad people! You don’t even know him, so why are you trying to kill him?!” Ah Sha said angrily.

The cultivator with the highest cultivation level in the crowd replied with righteous indignation, “Because he killed his father!”

“Killing him would rid the world of a scourge!”

“Eliminating a menace and earning essence crystals at the same time. So, why not?”

“Exactly! In my opinion, the Gu family is paying too little. Two thousand essence crystals aren’t enough for this favor!”

They spoke one after another, making Ah Sha so angry that tears welled up in her eyes.

“You people...”

Gu Han’s expression remained cold, and he slowly raised his sword. “Ah Sha, it doesn’t matter whether I killed my father or not. What matters is that my life is worth two thousand essence crystals right now. Remember this. Trying to reason with the unreasonable is the stupidest thing in the world!”

“Then what should we do?” Ah Sha wiped her tears.

“It’s simple.” Gu Han’s gaze swept over the crowd as he uttered a single word. “Kill.”

As soon as the word left his mouth, a sharp, unstoppable blade of sword qi shot forth. Midway, it split into two, slicing into the crowd. After reaching the fourth stage of Meridian Opening, he had successfully condensed a second blade of Great Evolution Sword Qi.

“Ahhh!”

“Help!”

The sword qi was so fast that even cultivators at Acupoint Unsealing couldn’t dodge it, let alone these people. Screams rang out in succession. In just the blink of an eye, several people collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.

The strongest among them felt his heart sink and quickly shouted, “Attack! There’s something off about this brat! Attack together! If anyone dares to hold back, they can forget about getting even a single essence crys—”

Before he could even finish, another flash of sword light streaked past.

“...tal.”

A chilling sensation spread across his neck. His remaining consciousness barely managed to force out the last syllable before the world spun. His vision darkened, and all awareness faded.

Only now did the others finally realize how terrifying Gu Han was, but it was too late. Screams and wails filled the air. Within seconds, the scene had transformed into a slaughterhouse. The soil was now soaked with blood, its pungent stench nauseating.

From beginning to end, the battle had been completely one-sided. The prey had become the predator. And the hunters had become helpless lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

On Gu Han’s back, Ah Sha trembled slightly. For ten years, she had lived in a foggy daze, her mind blank. But now, with a portion of her soul power restored, her emotions had also begun returning to normal. When she suddenly witnessed such a bloody scene, it left her bewildered and at a loss.

“Ah Sha, are you scared?”

“A little...”

“It’s fine. You’ll get used to it.”

“Okay!”

Since he had decided to teach Ah Sha how to cultivate, Gu Han hardened his heart and began instilling the principles of the cultivation world into her. Survival of the fittest. The strong live, the weak die.

Nowhere was this reality more brutal than in the world of cultivation. If he had been strong enough before, how could Gu Tian have been murdered by his own family? How could Gu Han have been accused of killing his father and exiled beyond the city, barely escaping death?

Everything happened simply because he wasn’t strong enough. And if he wasn’t strong enough, then he would become stronger.

After quickly looting the corpses, Gu Han didn’t linger. He disappeared once again into the distance.

***

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Gu Han frequently revealed himself, using himself as bait to lure people into attacking him. As for the results, they were nothing surprising.

Most of the rogue cultivators in the Wild Forest were at the Accupoint Unsealing Realm. As for those in the Essence Gathering Realm, they were considered experts even on the greater scale of the Great Qi. Most either controlled their own territory or served as honored guardians of noble families. Unless absolutely necessary, why would they risk their lives entering the Wild Forest?

After several encounters, people were struck with fear by his killing spree. The bounty on Gu Han’s head was now rarely mentioned.

On a small hill, several people were huddled together, whispering.

“Did you hear the news? Someone tried to ambush Gu Han yesterday but got slaughtered instead!”

“Of course I heard! One of them was someone I knew. He was at the ninth stage of Meridian Opening, but he still wasn’t Gu Han’s match!”

“Just how strong is Gu Han...” One of them turned pale in fear.

“Who knows? But even those at the Accupoint Unsealing Realm don’t dare to attack him now. We should drop the idea too. Essence crystals are great, but you need to be alive to spend them!”

“Fuck the Gu family. They put up a bounty without warning us about Gu Han’s strength. This was a trap all along!”

“Yeah! I knew there had to be a catch!”

Suddenly, someone rushed up from below the hill, his face full of panic. “Quick! I just saw Gu Han heading this way!”

“What?!”

“Why is that monster coming here?!”

“Run, now!”

No one dared to hesitate. In the blink of an eye, they scattered in all directions, vanishing without a trace. Moments later, Gu Han appeared on the hill.

Ah Sha looked around. “They ran away again.”

“Yeah. Anyone with a brain fears death. They’re no exception.” Gu Han sneered.

Since yesterday’s ambush attempt, he hadn’t seen another rogue cultivator. Even if one caught sight of him from afar, they would flee as if seeing a ghost.

“Young master, should we keep hunting them?”

Gu Han took a deep breath. “No. It’s almost time.”

Now that everyone feared him, there was no point in chasing after rogue cultivators. More importantly, the Great Qi Martial Academy’s qualification tournament was only a few days away. He needed to use this time to convert all the resources he had gathered into cultivation, and settle the score with the Gu family.

Ah Sha’s gaze dimmed slightly. “Young Master, we’re going to avenge Uncle Gu, right?”

Although Gu Tian hadn’t treated her like his own child, he had been kind to her. His death had saddened her deeply.

“Yes. An eye for an eye.” Hatred burned in Gu Han’s eyes.

At this moment, if anyone else had been present, they would have sensed the murderous aura radiating from Gu Han.

***

Back at the Gu estate, news of the Wild Forest had finally reached Gu Chang. Inside the main hall, Gu Cheng looked at the elder seated above him, his expression full of concern.

“Father, what do we do now? The rogue cultivators are useless. Not only are the other noble families mocking us, but rumors are starting to spread saying that...”

“Saying what?!” Gu Chang’s expression darkened.

“Saying... that we were the ones who killed Gu Tian, and Gu Han was just a scapegoat.”

Gu Chang laughed coldly. “Let them talk! It’s nothing more than those families playing tricks. Once Gu Yang secures his spot at the Great Qi Martial Academy, they’ll shut up.

Hmph

, by then, the truth won’t matter anymore. The Gu family will rise above Tianwu City, beyond their reach.”

“Father, that makes sense, but... about Gu Han...” Gu Cheng hesitated. “As long as he’s around, he’s a troublesome threat. He cannot be allowed to live!”

Gu Chang’s eyes narrowed. “I thought I had taken him seriously, but I still underestimated him. Take two men with you, withdraw five thousand essence crystals from the treasury, and head to the Wild Forest. With a hefty reward, there will always be someone willing to take the risk. Use it to hire a few Accupoint Unsealing rogue cultivators. Kill him at all costs! We underestimated him before. This time, we won’t be careless.”

“Understood.”

***

Gu Han had no idea how much Gu Chang had spent in his attempt to kill him. At this moment, in a secluded cave, he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, surrounded by a heap of essence crystals, focusing entirely on advancing his cultivation.

Over the past few weeks, he had gained more than a thousand essence crystals, four common spirit herbs, over ten bottles of Spirit-Gathering Pills, over a hundred Tier 1 beast cores, and more than twenty Tier 2 beast cores.

Other than that, the most valuable finds were the two different rare spirit herbs Ah Sha had gathered for him. One was a bright red Vermillion Fruit. The other was a spirit herb so unfamiliar even Gu Han couldn’t name it. Both were on par with the Black Ginseng.

Suddenly, his aura surged, and he effortlessly broke through to the sixth stage of Meridian Opening. At the same time, the resources he had obtained from the rogue cultivators were nearly exhausted.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the Vermillion Fruit and the unknown spirit herb and swallowed them whole. Instantly, a massive wave of spirit qi flooded his meridians. His previously depleted energy was revitalized, surging forward and spreading toward the remaining unconnected meridians.

***

Meanwhile, another bounty was issued in the Wild Forest. However, this time it wasn’t for capturing Gu Han. Instead, it was a bounty on his location. No precise details were needed, just a rough area. The reward was a hundred essence crystals.

This offer made the rogue cultivators restless once again. Although a hundred essence crystals was nowhere near two thousand, it carried zero risk. It was practically free money. Any rogue cultivator lucky enough to catch sight of Gu Han rushed eagerly to claim the reward.

Soon, after spending a few hundred essence crystals, Gu Chang pinpointed Gu Han’s exact whereabouts. Without any more delay, he took two Gu family elders, as well as three rogue cultivators he had recruited in the meantime, and set out toward Gu Han’s reported location.

***

Inside the cave, Gu Han’s aura fluctuated. He was at a critical moment of his breakthrough. Meanwhile, Ah Sha had just finished eating and drinking her fill. She didn’t disturb him. Instead, she rested her chin on her hands while staring at Gu Han adoringly.

Suddenly, the faint sound of voices drifted in.

“Is this the place? Don’t let those guys fool you!”

“

Hmph,

in Tianwu City, no one dares to deceive the Gu family!”

“That’s enough. Search carefully!”

“Look! There’s a cave on the cliffside. It looks like it was recently excavated!”