The capital's grand plaza was the site chosen by the government for this duel.
This place was often used for public performances. The structure resembled a basin; it was surrounded by rings of audience seats that increased in height the further back you went. This arrangement allowed every spectator to see the scene below.
The VIP seats were placed at the lower end of the audience seats towards one side. While it was considered an excellent location, it was also the closest to the arena.
What was in the VIP seats?
There was Tian Tianrong and a host of other VIPs, as well as that comrade in charge of the commentary, and… the prize.
In order to show sincerity, the Tian family had long since prepared the prize, which was currently placed in the center of the VIP seats and being shown to the entire audience.
And at this moment, Gu Nan was standing in front of the prize.
"The Eye of… Maes? So that's what it means." When Gu Nan saw the so-called prize, a hint of amusement appeared on his face.
The prize was a beautifully carved golden eagle. Its entire body was bright gold save for one left eye that was blood red, which was quite bizarre at first glance.
Gu Nan saw a line of small words engraved on the eagle's back—it was written in some kind of ancient script. Although he couldn't understand it, he didn't even need to read it to guess what it said.
This eagle was Maes, and its eye was the Eye of Maes.
"Mr. Gu, please return to the arena immediately. The duel is about to begin," A tall man came over and said stiffly.
The man, who was wearing a police uniform, looked at Gu Nan's actions and said in a deep voice, "If you can win the duel, the prize will naturally belong to you… Don't tell me that you want to abandon a martial artist's dignity?!"
Gu Nan's one outstretched hand had already landed on the golden eagle, while the other hand gave a light wave.
A slap fell onto the man's face. The terrifying force twisted his neck instantly. His head spun twice, then slowly fell down.
Gu Nan didn't even glance at the man as he calmly put the golden eagle away.
When his finger brushed the golden eagle's left eye, an inexplicable throbbing seemed to come out of it, but it was instantly crushed by his Evil God physique.
"Seems like something just escaped?" Gu Nan looked down suspiciously. "A pity that it's too weak."
The fall of the man in the police uniform seemed to make the surrounding crowd lose their voices. Lu Li's expression was a little ugly, while Tian Tianrong already had some panic on his face.
What made him panic even more was that his son actually picked this time to speak up.
"Gu Nan, y-you actually dared to kill someone in public? Do the Federation's laws mean anything to you?"
Tian Yuequan's voice was so stern that he felt like he had mustered all of his lifelong kingly aura at this moment. This chairman's son was still trying to use rule of law to restrict Gu Nan.
Gu Nan tossed the golden eagle up and down in his hand but still didn't receive an event completion notice from the Evil God Temple.
'The event isn't finished yet?' He rubbed his chin and glanced at Tian Yuequan in front of him. 'Could it be that the event is judged to be unfinished because NPCs also entered the fight for this item?'
When Tian Yuequan saw Gu Nan's lack of response, his originally nervous mood also calmed down.
'As expected, no matter how arrogant he is, he still won't dare to act wantonly in front of so many people!'
"Put down the prize immediately and come with me to the police station to surrender. If you do that, you can still…"
Clang!
Before Tian Yuequan finished his sentence, he felt a cold wind strike him, followed by the sound of metal clanging, rattling his eardrums.
When he looked up again, he saw Ye Qinglan standing in front of him, a small pitch-black sword at his feet.
"Mr. Gu, he has no hatred or grudge against you. To kill him just because of a verbal dispute—don't you think it's unseemly?" Ye Qinglan still had a distressed look on his face as he said calmly.
Only then did Tian Yuequan realize what had happened. Cold sweat dripped down his back, and he pointed a trembling finger at Gu Nan. "You… You homicidal maniac…"
"Watch out!" A soft cry came out of Ye Qinglan's mouth, but before he could make a move, a black sword stabbed through Tian Yuequan's back, directly piercing his heart.
Ye Qinglan was a swordsman; protecting people wasn't his strong suit. So when his imposing reputation failed to scare off the other party, Tian Yuequan was bound to die.
"Son!!!" A scream of grief came from the distance. Tian Tianrong had not yet recovered from the sudden change, but he had already fallen to his knees, his face full of grief and rage.
"Gu Nan!" This chairman practically spat out Gu Nan's name through gnashed teeth, "You perverse bastard who disregards human life. You…"
Before he finished speaking, Gu Nan's sword had already arrived.
Ye Qinglan's expression changed. He knew he wouldn't be able to protect Tian Tianrong in time, so he simply stabbed his sword towards Gu Nan's waist—he wanted to save his besieged ally by attacking Gu Nan and forcing him into the defensive.
Ye Qinglan believed that even if the other party was a Star Ranking expert, he still wouldn't be able to ignore… 'Huh?'
Ye Qinglan's sword stabbed Gu Nan without any obstructions.
But this Austere Sword Saint immediately sensed that the other party's body seemed to spontaneously transmit a repulsive force. His sword couldn't stab in any deeper.
Tian Tianrong's voice stopped abruptly. At the cost of being stabbed himself, Gu Nan pierced Tian Tianrong's throat and took his life.
All these changes happened so quickly that those in the VIP seats and even the surrounding audience only managed to react right now. They suddenly caused an uproar, running high on emotions.
The death of the Tian family's father and son, as well as Gu Nan's act of completely ignoring the duel and directly taking the prize, had completely enraged the people.
"Chairman Tian is dead? How is this possible?!"
"Thug! This is a thug!"
"Someone from Ruby Fish Star actually came to our Heavenly Enterprise Star to kill people. It's too much!"
"Sword Saint Ye, you must teach this bastard a good lesson!"
The clamor of the people didn't affect Ye Qinglan. His face was grave as he stabbed his sword towards Gu Nan's chest again, his speed faster than before.
However, this time, Gu Nan suddenly turned his head around, and a long blood-red blade slashed down.
Ye Qinglan felt alarms going off in his head and immediately flew back in retreat, not caring to attack anymore. He raised his hand and placed his sword horizontally in front of him, trying to block Gu Nan's attack.
Something he never could've expected happened.
The blood-red blade didn't even pause when it struck his longsword. It cut through his sword and continued to slash down!
Ye Qinglan dodge too late, only managing to turn to the side. The bloody blade instantly cut off his left arm.
At the same time, underneath his robes, a wound also appeared on Gu Nan's left shoulder unbeknownst to the audience, but then it quickly began to heal.
The fight in the VIP section was being played out by the projection crystal and reflected onto the big screen, which could be seen by the entire audience.
Then they all lost their voices.
Austere Sword Saint Ye Qinglan actually had his sword cut in half and his left arm severed in a single strike!
Even Lu Li, who had been watching from the sidelines, was dumbfounded. He knew Gu Nan was very strong, but not to this extent, right?
Ye Qinglan was also a powerhouse who had been granted a title. He was also a Domain Stage expert, and he had been in that stage for far longer than Gu Nan had. How could he not even have the strength to fight back?
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: Heavenly Enterprise Star Capital's Main square
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: Domain Stage
Chosen Core Skill: The Law of Shadow
Current Evil God Temple Quest:
→ Main Mission Objective/s:
-— Evil Event: Seize the Eye of Maes. - Evil God Temple Issued
◈ Status: On Going
→ Side Quest Objective/s:
-— None. - N/A
◈ Status: N/A
Current Evil Points: 100
Overall Evil Points: 3875, Overall Evil Value: 120
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:
— Resistance. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Your body will resist damage, and any damage taken will be reduced by 50%｣
— 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 3 ] ｢Allows the players to activate the skill "Hidden Shadows" at LVL 1 and unlocks the skill "Shadow Form" at LVL 2. If the 'Power of Shadows' reached LVL 3, the player will be able to use the 'Law of Shadow' to a much finer degree.｣
▸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
-— Blade of the Sanguine King. ｢High attack. Ignores external defense. Enhanced sharpness. Triggers the effect "Curse of Blood" on hit.｣
◈ Curse of Blood. ｢This is a cursed divine weapon. Whenever your attack hits your opponent, you will take equal damage.｣
→ 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:
→ Four Element Crossbow. ｢Was used in Chapter 9-104.｣