Just like that, a famous duel ended in a bizarre fashion.
Thanks to Tian Tianrong's earlier efforts to vigorously publicize the event, Gu Nan's terrible reputation had now gone up a notch.
He and Hu Wei's grudge was only a minor matter, but the death of Ye Qinglan, along with the extermination of the Ye family, was what really shocked many people.
Compared to the battle record of killing the Austere Sword Saint, Gu Nan's previous deed of exterminating the Seven Stars Team was negligible.
This was a Star Ranker powerhouse, a true Domain Stage veteran, and a grandmaster of the sword!
The Seven Stars Team was also known as the elite team that specialized in hunting and killing large beasts, but how could a beast's strategies and techniques compare to that of the human race?
...
A starship was slowly moving through the endless void. Its state was very strange. From the outside, it seemed to be at times fast and at times slow. Sometimes, even the hull would become blurred.
If someone knowledgeable saw this, they'd understand that this starship was in the middle of a hyperspace warp.
Inside the starship, an old man was holding a stack of documents and reading through them with a grave expression. The first sentence said:
[Target killed Austere Sword Saint Ye Qinglan in Heavenly Enterprise Star]
A young girl next to him said in a low voice, "Elder, this Gu Nan is too ruthless and cruel. If we accept him into our organization, once he wants to seize power, the consequences will be unthinkable!"
As soon as her voice fell, the man next to her spoke up, "Wei Rou, don't be an alarmist. Ye Qinglan was the one who openly challenged him. Don't tell me that Mr. Gu has to stand there and wait to be killed?!"
Wei Rou immediately sneered back, "Since it's a duel, it's natural to end it at that. Why did Gu Nan have to kill him?"
The man snorted disdainfully but didn't even bother to respond. Instead, he turned his head to look at the old man.
"Elder Qin, you can decide." The man smiled. "If you want to head back, it's not too late to have the captain turn around… but I want to remind Elder of one thing: it won't be easy to break our promise with that one."
Hearing the man's last words, Wei Rou's face changed slightly and she said in a deep voice, "Li Leyou, are you implying that we, White Mist, are afraid of him?"
Li Leyou shrugged wordlessly, but his meaning was already obvious.
Elder Qin waved his hand. "Alright. No matter how matters develop, since we promised that one, we should at least meet him."
Seeing that she couldn't influence Elder Qin's decision, Wei Rou could only stomp her foot angrily and walk away.
Elder Qin shook his head slightly when he saw this. "I heard that Old Wei and Ye Qinglan are acquaintances. It seems that the rumors weren't false… Leyou, make preparations. Don't allow her to step out of line when the time comes."
"Yes, Elder." Li Leyou bowed in response, but there was a strange smile in his gaze.
...
Putting aside that conversation in the endless void for a moment, Gu Nan was still on Heavenly Enterprise Star doing his own thing.
It took him a few days to finally study the nature of Maes, and he was almost done.
This golden eagle was indeed named Maes. Its origin was difficult to verify, but the writing on its body was in use at least 3000 years ago.
And it seemed the function of the Eye of Maes in producing drugs wasn't so simple either.
The blood of many races could produce stimulant drugs, but the effect was targeted.
A crystal made using human blood would be most effective on humans, while something made with pig's blood would have much less of an effect on humans, and vice versa.
In addition, the Eye of Maes seemed to be a bottomless pit. Even when it was continuously infused with hundreds of people's blood, it still didn't show any signs of being full—don't ask how Gu Nan knows this.
But these were all minor details. What Gu Nan was actually concerned about was the use of this drug.
Gu Nan slowly walked into the lab and stopped in front of a one-way glass panel, which separated Lin Yunyun from the outside world.
Lin Yunyun's condition didn't look too good right now. Heavy chains hung from her wrists and ankles. Her hair was disheveled, and the isolation room looked messy.
"How's the situation today?" Gu Nan asked.
"According to schedule, the target has ingested five units of Maes today. No abnormalities have occurred for the time being," an experimenter walked up to Gu Nan and reported in a soft voice.
Gu Nan nodded. "Continue to observe."
"Yes."
Gu Nan gave Lin Yunyun one last look before also turning around to leave. The isolation glass couldn't block his power of shadows—he could easily see Lin Yunyun's current condition.
'It'll probably take another ten or so days for her to reach the critical breakthrough point to Prodigious Realm.' Gu Nan accurately made a judgment.
Ever since feeding Maes to Lin Yunyun, the situation could no longer be reversed.
The effects of Maes had long been tested. The positive effect was to make people hyperactive and incidentally dissolve some disorderly internal energy, while the side effects were its strong hallucinogenic properties.
But when these two effects happened to Lin Yunyun, there was a world of difference.
Lin Yunyun's internal energy was incomparably complicated, piling up in her body. Originally, she had to resolve this overabundance of internal energy herself, little by little. However, the appearance of Maes became an opportunity.
Contrary to expectations, taking Maes helped her diffuse and absorb the internal energy inside her body, which actually increased her cultivation!
But the hallucinogenic properties of Maes also seemed to be particularly strong for Lin Yunyun. As soon as she took the drug every day, her mind would enter a confused state. Sometimes she fell asleep on the spot, while other times she ran outside, hacking and slashing at anything that moved.
Because of this, Gu Nan had to lock her up and raise her like an animal while giving her a certain dose of Maes every day.
He had a hunch that the trigger for the next event might just be Lin Yunyun's cultivation breakthrough.
...
Two days later, the Lu family came to ask Gu Nan to move, because the Sixth Region's Lu family side branch had finally arrived.
When Gu Nan arrived, Lu Yiming and Xu Yuanjun were already present, as well as Guan Shanxue from Yin Yang Tower, whom Gu Nan had met before.
In addition to these three, there was also a man and a woman Gu Nan hadn't seen before.
The man had blue hair and an indifferent expression. He looked like he wasn't good with words. The woman, on the other hand, looked more lively. When she saw Gu Nan, she cast a curious glance his way for a few seconds.
But Gu Nan frowned slightly when he saw these two.
Because these two were dressed in a very particular manner. They both wore blue robes with a mysterious flower-shaped pattern embroidered on the chest.
Very few people present could actually recognize this pattern. Not even Lu Yiming and Xu Yuanjun recognized that flower.
When Lu Yiming saw Gu Nan come over, he took the initiative to introduce the guests.
"This is Guan Shanxue of Yin Yang Tower. Gu Nan, you probably already know him." Lu Yiming then pointed to the three people next to him. "These two are Lan Ta and his sister Lan Si."
Then he introduced Gu Nan to everyone, and the two sides nodded to each other and exchanged greetings.
During this process, Gu Nan's gaze seemingly casually swept over the two again, reconfirming the pattern on their chests.
'Sure enough, I was right…'
They were apostles of the God of Luxuriant Blossoms.
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: Lu family's fighting arena, Heavenly Enterprise 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: Domain Stage
Chosen Core Skill: The Law of Shadow
Current Evil God Temple Quest:
→ Main Mission Objective/s:
-— Evil Event: N/A - Evil God Temple Issued
◈ Status: Pending
→ Side Quest Objective/s:
-— None. - N/A
◈ Status: N/A
Current Evil Points: 100
Overall Evil Points: 3875, Overall Evil Value: 130
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.｣