The third match was already drawing to a close by the time Young Master Feng arrived at the arena.
Lan Ta's opponent was a skinny man. This person wasn't very famous, but he was exceptionally strong. Even when compared to Ye Qinglan, whom Gu Nan had fought before, this person still didn't lose out in strength. He was one of the trump cards on Lu Qi's side.
This kind of genuine yet obscure powerhouse was the real trump card. Nobody knew where Lu Qi found him.
But Lu Qi miscalculated this time, because Lan Ta's techniques were even more bizarre than his sister's, and his fighting instinct was also more mature. His tactics were noteworthy, even in the eyes of a top player like Gu Nan.
From the very beginning, the fight had fallen into Lan Ta's rhythm.
He first attacked with the same blue jets of water, forcing his opponent to move around. He waited until the enemy had taken several twists and turns to dodge the water jets with much difficulty and had unknowingly circled back to right in front of him before he suddenly revealed his trump card.
Six blue rays of light attacked in unison!
The skinny man miserably experienced being shot in the face by highly pressurized water, and after being marked by the Luxuriant Blossoms, he could only remain on the defensive for the rest of the fight. His defeat was already imminent.
Feng Zhuotang watched this scene with a slightly grave expression.
He knew the skinny man's strength very well. Originally, they intended to win this round, but they didn't expect for the other side to have also found strong helpers.
Including this round, his side had already lost two rounds now. This meant the pressure on him to win the next match had just increased.
Just then, however, he saw a young man approaching angrily. It was none other than his only son, Feng Lun.
"Ah Lun [1], what are you doing here?" Feng Zhuotang frowned, his expression darkening slightly. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the back area?"
Feng Lun, who was originally full of anger, curbed his emotions a little after his father's rebuke. He said resentfully, "Dad, Xuanji already suffered such heavy injuries…"
Feng Zhuotang instantly glared daggers at his son when he heard that. "What do her injuries have to do with you? Don't harass her anymore. You think I don't about your stupid crush?"
Feng Zhuotang was already very dissatisfied with his son's pursuit of Qin Xuanji, a woman of unknown origin. Now that he found out Qin Xuanji was also a bloodline user, it was even more impossible for him to allow his son to provoke her.
"Why?!" Feng Lun almost exploded on the spot and looked at his father with a flabbergasted expression.
Feng Zhuotang's expression darkened. He was about to give his son a good scolding when a person next to him whispered, "Lord Feng, Lady Lu is inviting you over."
Feng Zhuotang was slightly stunned by the words. He glanced towards the ring and saw that the winner for the third round had indeed already been decided. Lu Qi was giving him a slight nod, signaling that it was his turn to fight.
So this swordsman with the title of Tempest couldn't spare any time to teach his son a lesson and immediately stepped onto the ring.
Sure enough, Lu Yiming asked Gu Nan to fight this match. "Mr. Gu, please help fight this round."
"Okay." Gu Nan gave a small nod and stepped onto the ring in a few strides.
While Gu Nan already had quite a reputation on Heavenly Enterprise Star, news apparently hadn't reached the Sixth Region yet, so most people on Lu Qi's side didn't recognize this young man.
Only Lu Qi herself and a few of the combatants participating in the matches had slightly serious expressions.
Feng Lun was still sulking on the sidelines when he heard a clear voice asking in surprise from beside him, "Gu Nan?"
At the sound of this familiar tone, Feng Lun hurriedly turned his head and saw that Qin Xuanji had already re-entered the stadium. She had just finished applying ointment to herself and her body was still covered with wounds, but her face was full of astonishment.
"Xuanji, you know him?" Feng Lun pointed to Gu Nan in slight confusion while also feeling some inexplicable jealousy.
The Qin Xuanji in his impression always had that calm and self-possessed look no matter who she was facing. This calmness was precisely what fascinated him the most.
Even in the Sixth Region, those who paid constant attention to changes in the Star Ranking were few and far in between. After all, Star Ranker powerhouses were too far removed from the lives of ordinary people.
So these two clearly hadn't heard about Gu Nan's recent deeds, but Qin Xuanji still gave a heavy nod. "He's very strong."
Feng Lun was a little unconvinced. "Is this person stronger than my father?"
Qin Xuanji seemed to seriously consider this for a moment, then answered, "Hard to say. He was only in the Innate Realm a few months ago. Lord Feng has nothing to fear if he's careful."
"He was a mere Innate a few months ago?" Feng Lun almost laughed aloud and said disdainfully, "How can someone who just advanced to Prodigious be a match for my old man?"
Qin Xuanji didn't say anything. She never bothered to argue with people. She was like that from the first time Gu Nan met her.
Feng Lun also knew this aspect of her personality, so without waiting for her to speak, he said, "Just you watch, Xuanji. My dad will definitely send that guy down in a few strikes!"
Qin Xuanji remained silent and looked at the ring with a slightly serious expression.
She felt that she had made considerable progress recently and had basically reached her cultivation level goals. Then, what about Gu Nan?
'I wonder how far Gu Nan has progressed again?'
Her face made Feng Lun feel a little more sullen. He simply shouted at the stage, "Dad! Beat that fellow to death; he was only an Innate a few months ago!"
Feng Lun's voice wasn't soft, so the surrounding crowd heard it clearly. A few people snickered and started gossiping.
"Finding a newly advanced Prodigious to fight? It seems that the other side intends to throw this round."
"It's not like they can help it. It's not easy to invite true powerhouses to help, so using someone who just barely qualifies to fight Lord Feng is also a strategy!"
"That's true… Looks like victory will depend on the fifth match later on."
Feng Lun turned a little smug when he saw his words having an effect, but when he glanced at Qin Xuanji again, the latter remained expressionless.
In the arena, Feng Zhuotang had also heard his son's words, and his expression immediately turned ugly. Of course he understood Gu Nan's actual power, so he quickly spoke, "Mr. Gu…"
"Cut the crap. Let's fight." Gu Nan was already holding Blade of the Sanguine King in his hand, his expression cold.
Feng Zhuotang secretly sighed. He could only shut up and face the battle seriously. The domain under his feet slowly expanded. Countless long blades seemed to be flying in a dance, reflecting the light and illuminating him. He looked like a god descending to earth.
Feng Zhuotang knew how Gu Nan's battle with Ye Qinglan went, so he simply activated his domain as soon as the fight started, not giving Gu Nan any opportunity to make the first move.
When Feng Lun saw this, he became even more smug and pointed to the ring. "Xuanji, do you see that? That's the domain of a Domain Stage cultivator. I'm afraid Gu Nan won't even be able to step foot into the domain…"
He suddenly couldn't continue his sentence anymore, and even the laughter on this side abruptly stopped as well.
Because the instant Feng Zhuotang gripped a weapon, Gu Nan's figure suddenly disappeared and immediately reappeared right above Feng Zhuotang's head, swinging his blade straight down.
'Above me!'
Feng Zhuotang's reaction was extremely fast. He instantly extracted thousands of sword intents and poured it into his own katana, meeting Gu Nan's strike with one weapon while the others swept towards the enemy.
When Gu Nan killed Ye Qinglan, many people saw his techniques, so Feng Zhuotang was prepared this time.
With the support of a thousand sword intents, the katana finally managed to block the Blade of the Sanguine King without being sliced in half.
And the rest of the blades conjured by Feng Zhuotang's domain also hit Gu Nan, instantly opening many cuts on his body and turning him into a bloody mess.
Feng Lun finally let out a small sigh of relief when he saw this, but before he could say anything, he saw Gu Nan get pushed back one step and then simply stand still.
Feng Zhuotang, on the other hand, had a wry smile on his face. "The world thought that Your Excellency defeated Ye Qinglan by virtue of your divine weapon, but they never realized your control over your domain was so exquisite."
He understood what had just happened—just when he used the power of his domain to block Gu Nan's slash, Gu Nan's domain actually turned into countless fine threads, drilling into his tattered domain from every single weak spot.
His domain of blades was forcibly broken, and a field of shadows was currently underneath his feet.
"This battle is my loss," Feng Zhuotang said heartily, "Mr. Gu, thank you for being merciful."
In his opinion, his opponent stopped after merely one slash, which was naturally showing mercy. If Gu Nan hadn't stopped at one slash and had followed up with more attacks, then Feng Zhuotang would've suffered heavy and possibly even fatal injuries.
Gu Nan lowered his head to check his injuries. After waiting for three seconds, the skill Praise of Dawn had already activated, and his injuries were rapidly healing.
As a top player, trying to fight monsters while maintaining a full HP bar had practically become a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
So he nodded and said, "Don't mention it. I was just waiting out a cooldown."
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.｣