After Gu Nan's identity received the elders' approval, the Gu family finally began to create momentum for Gu Nan with all its might instead of pushing the envelope as before.
So within a very short amount of time, not only was the matter of Gu Nan crippling Long Quan's leg widely publicized, but his fabricated identity also began to spread at a godly speed.
Some people claimed that he was a secluded genius and a secret weapon the Gu family hid away, just waiting for the chance when he could make a critical appearance and decide victory or defeat in one fell swoop.
Others claimed that he was an anomaly. Originally, he simply belonged to an insignificant side branch of the Gu family, but step by step, he walked to his current position through his outstanding talent.
There were also people who said…
No matter which rumor people believed, for the various families living in Ruby Fish Star's capital, another person had now been added to the list of people who shouldn't be messed with.
And Gu Nian also began to take Gu Nan along to events in high society. Today they went to a banquet, tomorrow they cut the ribbon at an opening ceremony, and the day after that, they went to watch a Martial Arts Competition… In short, she wanted to make Gu Nan a familiar face in high society as soon as possible.
"Eldest Miss, Young Master Nan. Thank you both for attending my daughter's birthday party…"
Wine goblets and gambling chips were intertwined at the scene of the banquet. A middle-aged man in a silver suit stood in front of the Gu siblings with a smile on his face. His attitude was extremely humble.
Naturally, Gu Nian was the one who dealt with this middle-aged man. This was the tacit understanding between Gu Nan and herself—after all, this was already the sixth banquet in only fifteen days, so even if they didn't have any tacit understanding before, they did now.
The two were led by the middle-aged man himself. Gu Nian walked forward while being greeted by a chorus of "Eldest Miss," while Gu Nan ran to one side and sat alone.
Gu Nian was naturally the center of attention everywhere she went, and many people also recognized Gu Nan because of his frequent appearances recently.
A few young girls next to him were holding glasses of wine. They turned their eyes this way.
"This is that person from the Gu family, right?"
"Yes! I heard that he's a martial artist who can be called 'Prodigious Realm,' just like Miss Gu!"
"So incredible..."
Gu Nan naturally heard all these conversations, but he was too lazy to show any expression in response. He merely sipped mouthful after mouthful of his drink, which was… juice.
The role Gu Nan was currently playing was that of a genius youth with a cold and aloof temperament—in a sense, he was playing as himself.
"He's so handsome, even when he's drinking juice!"
Gu Nan's hand stopped for a moment, then returned to normal.
These young girls came from big families but had little martial arts talent themselves, so they were completely raised as flower vases. They worshipped such genius youths like Gu Nan the most.
"You're quite leisurely, hiding and watching from the sidelines every time," Gu Nian had reached his side at some point and said with a light smile as she sat down.
"Not interested in dealing with them." Gu Nan said very straightforwardly, then asked with some confusion, "You don't need to go over there?"
"I'm just going through a mere formality today and meeting two people later while I'm here." Gu Nian casually replied, "The Martial Arts Competition will start in a few days. The martial arts hall over there is going to accept a group of newcomers. Do you have time to go there and take a look?"
Gu Nan looked at her and seemed to be recalling something. "The martial arts hall is recruiting new people? All right, I'll go tomorrow."
After the matter was settled, Gu Nian didn't stay by his side much longer and continued to participate in the banquet.
Gu Nan, on the other hand, unexpectedly met a pair of familiar faces after he sat alone for a while and greeted several waves of people.
"Young Master Nan…" Shi Tianjing was standing behind Gu Nan along with his sister. Shi Tianjing had a slightly cautious smile on his face while Shi Miao'er, his younger sister, still had an unresigned look.
Gu Nan turned his head and glanced at the two. "Oh, it's you guys… What's up?"
Shi Tianjing had all but lost his initial imposing manner. His smile looked a little fawning. "This humble one specially brought my sister over to apologize to you, Young Master Nan…"
While saying that, he squeezed Shi Miao'er's shoulder hard.
Only then did the latter lower her head and speak in a low, muffled voice, "Sorry."
Gu Nan ignored them and just casually waved his hand.
Seeing that Gu Nan didn't reply, Shi Tianjing didn't dare to say anything else and hurriedly took his sister away.
Only after putting considerable distance between them did Shi Miao'er shake off her brother's hand with a resentful expression. "Elder Brother! Even if he's in the Prodigious Realm, there's still no need for us to humble ourselves this much, right?!"
"Like you weren't the one who caused all this trouble," Shi Tianjing retorted with a light snort. He was also in a bad mood after experiencing a tactful rejection.
"What do you mean I caused this? He was clearly the one who hit me first!" Shi Miao'er suddenly became angry, and even her voice got louder, scaring Shi Tianjing so much that he quickly covered her mouth.
Luckily they were far away, and it seemed like Gu Nan didn't hear her.
When Shi Miao'er saw her brother acting like this, she stomped her feet in anger and walked away alone. However, their voices attracted another person.
A young girl with light makeup and a petite figure walked over and placed a hand on Shi Miao'er's shoulder.
"What are you talking about?" Jin Dian's expression looked eager for gossip. "Someone actually dared to hit our Miss Shi. Are they tired of living?"
Jin Dian was precisely the protagonist of today's banquet and Shi Miao'er's bosom friend.
The Jin family and the Shi family were of comparable status; they were both second-tier families in the capital. In these families, full knowledge of Gu Nan's identity was limited to the decision-makers within the family.
As the daughter of an affluent family, Jin Dian only cared about perfume, sports cars, and other luxury goods. Where would she have the time to pay attention to matters between families?
When Shi Miao'er realized that Jin Dian didn't know, she also didn't want to mention the disgrace, so she simply replied casually, "It's someone from the Gu family."
"That fellow?" Jin Dian pointed to Gu Nan. She saw the Shi family siblings come from over there.
"Yeah... Don't go looking for trouble!" Shi Miao'er hurriedly persuaded when she saw her best friend's expression. "...So that you don't offend the Gu family for no reason."
Shi Miao'er's coverup only made things worse. Jin Dian completely ignored her words.
"So what if it's the Gu family? Can you be unreasonable as long as you're from the Gu family?" Jin Dian snorted coldly. "Just you watch!"
Shi Miao'er watched Jin Dian's figure leave and felt both a vengeance-like pleasure in her heart and also a hint of worry.
...
Jin Dian went to the back of the banquet and immediately found her target after she checked the guest list.
"Gu Nan? A nobody!" Miss Jin laughed disdainfully. "Hmph, to think he'd even hit a woman. Is he still a man?"
She casually beckoned a maid over and handed her a list that she had just written.
The maid took the list and easily remembered the names on it. She asked hesitantly, "M-Miss, do you want to inform e-everyone on this list?"
"That's right. Don't miss a single person!" Jin Dian glared. "Find other people to help if you can't finish in time. In any case, I want all the people on this list to be ready before the banquet starts!"
The maid hurriedly took the list and went down to prepare, but in her heart, she was speechless.
'I wonder who offended the Miss, for her to actually mobilize such a huge network of people… If so many young masters and ladies band together, I'm afraid no one can afford to mess with them.'
A smile reappeared on Jin Dian's face as she watched the maid leave. She threw the files on Gu Nan to the side.
Devotee's Game System Inspired Note
» This section of the chapter is a Fan based created system to mock-up or simulate the 'Status Information' of our MC - Gu Nan. This implies that you are free to skip reading this and continue your journey onto the next chapter.
» All catalog data below is a summary of various information achieved by Gu Nan that corresponds till the end of the related chapter and is compiled into a singular 'Status Screen.' Additionally, the invented system below would continue to evolve as we progress and learn more about the novel itself.
MC's Status Information
Name: Gu Nan
Current Location: At a banquet birthday party somewhere at Ruby Fish Star
Current Soul Location: N/A
Status: ⟪ Evil God ⟫
Advancement Direction: Agility Type
Current Evil God Rank: Tier 3
Equivalent/Current Martial Art: Prodigious Realm
◈ Comprehension of Innate ability: Infinitesimal Stage
Chosen Core Skill: The Law of Shadow
Current Evil God Temple Quest:
→ Main Mission Objective/s:
-— Evil Event: Ruby Fish Star's Martial Arts Competition. - Evil God Temple Issued
◈ Status: On Going
→ Side Quest Objective:
-— None. - N/A
◈ Status: N/A
Current Evil Points: 1500
Overall Evil Points: 3775, Overall Evil Value: 97
Core Skill Acquired
— Shadow. ｢Also known precisely as 'The law of Shadow' - its one of the highest-ranked laws in the game. Skill 'Power of Shadows' LVL +1｣
Normal Skills Acquired:
— Locked ｢N/A｣
— Locked ｢N/A｣
— Locked ｢N/A｣
Exclusive Skills Acquired:
— Deceitful Steps. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Movement Speed increased by 30%. Attack Speed increased by 50%｣
— Power of Shadows. [ LVL 2 ] ｢Allows the players to activate the skill "Hidden Shadows" at LVL 1 and unlocks the skill "Shadow Form" at LVL 2..｣
▸Hidden Shadows. ｢The power to manipulate shadows to a fine degree.｣
▸Shadow Form. ｢An incomparable handy skill that allows the player to manipulate shadows to create things, like weapons and armor. At the highest level of mastery, it could even create a humanoid clone.｣
Equipment being worn
→ Armor
-— Dawn Sage's Robe. ｢Basic level defense. If you are not attacked within 3 seconds, you will receive the "Praise of Dawn" effect.｣
→ Weapon
-— Four Element Crossbow. ｢A Tier 2 crossbow weapon that can generate four types of elemental arrows—earth, water, wind, and fire—based on the user's needs and does not need to load arrows.｣
→ Accessories - Facial Accessories, Necklace, Earrings
-— Observer Eyepiece. ｢An eyepiece that have a fixed Tier 2 magic 'Insight' inscribe in it.｣
-— Dragon Heart Pendant. ｢Allows players to activate the skill "Dragon Power". This skill cannot be upgraded｣
-— Shadow Earrings. ｢Skill 'Power of Shadows' LVL +1｣
Equipment Skills Acquired:
-— Insight. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Ability to obtain high-precision data analysis when looking at people or objects.｣
-— Dragon Power. ｢Greatly enhances the player's strength and physique. Duration: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes｣
-— Praise of Dawn. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Increases self-healing ability by 300%｣
Item/s owned:
→ None.