Blood splashed across the sky. Gu Nan stood alone in the air with sword in hand. A drop of blood slid down the tip of the sword.
Liu Wei's body lost all strength and quickly fell from mid-air, revealing the horrified faces of everyone behind her.
"You…" Someone pointed a trembling finger at Gu Nan but couldn't complete that sentence.
Not that Gu Nan had any intention of letting him finish. He lunged forward instantly and sliced them to death one by one with his astonishing strength and speed alone.
Swish!
Another Infinitesimal Stage expert was cut in half. At last, the people in the Bloodline Alliance branch office lost all thoughts of resistance and instantly scattered—no matter how loyal they were to the Alliance, running straight to their deaths was still impossible.
Unfortunately, how could their fleeing speed keep up with Gu Nan? The Blink skill was practically made for pursuing and hunting down enemies.
As far as the eye could see, Gu Nan's figure was changing every second, constantly appearing behind people's backs and taking a life with each slash.
In just a few seconds, all these bloodline users who dared to stand out had already been slaughtered by him, leaving only a petite girl.
"Don't… Don't kill me…" When Gu Nan approached her, the girl was already brought to tears, begging for mercy.
She had just advanced to Prodigious Realm and happened to see Gu Nan stirring up trouble. In a moment of hot-bloodedness, she rushed out alongside her seniors.
Gu Nan was still expressionless. The sword in his hand was already in front of the girl, but he froze slightly in the next second.
The girl noticed this pause and raised her head in amazement. She saw Gu Nan's figure become slightly fuzzy, and his body gradually turned dark. Even his face was swallowed up by the shadows coming from his body.
Gu Nan suddenly turned into a shadowy humanoid, yet under the girl's stunned gaze, the sword continued on its path.
Stab!
Blood splattered in all directions.
...
On the other side, Wang Chen flung a door open. Qin Xuanji was sitting peacefully in the room, looking at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Wang Chen seemed relieved when he saw that Qin Xuanji didn't escape, then said with a serious face, "Miss Qin, it's good that you're still here… Please come with me."
Qin Xuanji just looked at him coldly and asked contemptuously, "Does Branch Head Wang plan to hand me over to Gu Nan?"
"So what if I am?" Although her words exposed Wang Chen's intentions, he still replied righteously, "You gave the Alliance such a powerful enemy—what else do you have to say for yourself?"
Qin Xuanji paused slightly, then immediately understood. Yue Qianleng probably didn't reveal the King of the Deep Sea's involvement. Otherwise, no matter how stupid Wang Chen was, he still wouldn't make an enemy of a Void Cutter Realm existence.
A cold smile immediately appeared on her face. Of course she wasn't kind enough to tell Wang Chen about this. Besides…
"Do you really think Gu Nan is going to spare you?" Qin Xuanji asked, looking at Wang Chen like she was looking at a fool.
Her icy words surprised Wang Chen, and his common sense finally recovered. The sense of anxiety in his heart grew stronger.
The next moment, a shadow appeared behind him.
"Who are you?!" Wang Chen instantly turned around and shouted angrily, but what he saw was an incomparably eerie scene.
It was a figure holding a sword. Although it looked exactly like Gu Nan, both the figure and the sword it held were pitch black—this was truly a shadow!
The shadow swung its sword down with surprising speed. Fortunately, Wang Chen wasn't caught by surprise, so he had time to unsheathe his own sword and block, although the strike still swept him aside.
The blow also forced the shadow back a few steps, but he slowly walked forward again, and in the process, the black began to fade away bit by bit.
When the black color completely dissipated from the former shadow, Gu Nan's original body was standing in its place.
"This…" Wang Chen looked like he'd seen a ghost and couldn't help glancing at the window.
In his perception, Gu Nan had always been outside. 'How did he…'
"An exclusive law that allows your true body to switch places with your clones… is this the power you gained after your breakthrough?" Qin Xuanji's face looked grave. Her reaction was faster than Wang Chen's, and her eyes had already glanced away from the window.
Just now, she saw Gu Nan's original body turn into a shadow that offhandedly killed the last girl outside.
At this time, Wang Chen also understood what had happened, and his heart sank to rock bottom.
Only people who reached this realm could understand the significance of Gu Nan's actions just now—this was a sign that Gu Nan had started to create his exclusive law and was half a step into Void Cutter Realm!
The essence of Tier 4, or Void Cutter Realm, was to obtain a deep understanding of one's innate ability and further develop it. Based on their innate abilities, cultivators would then create their own original laws.
From this perspective, Yue Qianleng really did have a high realm. His law of reflection was almost at Tier 4. All he lacked was time and accumulation.
And when Gu Nan reached 300 Evil Value, the shadow arcana he awakened— "Substitution" —was also a law whose power was comparable to normal Tier 4 laws!
As the core skill Power of Shadows levels up, it will unlock three abilities: Hidden Shadow, Shadow Form, and Shadow Domain.
In fact, none of those skills were weak. It's just that Gu Nan hadn't yet encountered an opponent where Shadow Form could come in handy.
So this skill's tyrannical side was truly revealed only after obtaining the Substitution skill.
The purpose of Shadow Form was precisely to allow Gu Nan to switch freely between his main body and clones!
Gu Nan gaze rested on the two people's faces, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile. From the very beginning, he'd decided to exterminate the entire Bloodline Alliance branch office and locate Qin Xuanji.
That's why he let Yue Qianleng go but secretly sent a clone to tail him. After Yue Qianleng met Wang Chen, the clone then followed Wang Chen to find this place.
"Mr. Gu…" Wang Chen wasn't as strong as Yue Qianleng. His heart had already grown weak after many years of peace overseeing Heavenly Enterprise Star, losing the pride he had as one of the strong. He wanted to beg for mercy as soon as he started speaking.
But Gu Nan didn't give him any chance to. A bloody glint flashed, and the head of this distinguished powerhouse on the level of a Dao Lord had already fallen to the ground.
At the same time, a gash also appeared on Gu Nan's own neck—in order to ensure an instant kill, Gu Nan specially equipped Blade of the Sanguine King.
Of course, with Gu Nan's current strength and the Resistance skill's terrifying 80% damage reduction, the effect of Curse of Blood was practically negligible.
The corresponding injury from killing Wang Chen recovered in the blink of an eye.
Throughout the process, Qin Xuanji looked on coldly.
Shouts and screams continued outside the window as Gu Nan's clones faithfully executed his order of slaughtering the entire Bloodline Alliance branch.
"I didn't think you'd really dare to come over," Qin Xuanji said thus to Gu Nan with a calm and indifferent expression, "despite knowing that a powerful figure is backing me…"
As she spoke, the ground underneath her feet gradually lit up, revealing an array that had been prepared long beforehand. This was precisely the array she used to summon the Tier 4 powerhouse, the King of the Deep Sea, a while back.
This array couldn't be moved and was a one-time consumable. Qin Xuanji originally thought it couldn't possibly come in handy.
But she didn't expect that Gu Nan really would be bold enough to slaughter his way directly to the Bloodline Alliance's branch office!
She glared at Gu Nan coldly. "Since you're looking for death… ah…"
Before her words finished, she saw Gu Nan slash the ground. The terrifying power of shadows instantly gushed out, smashing through the array.
"If I knew you had a big shot behind you…" Gu Nan grinned and looked at her, "yet still waited for you to summon him, wouldn't I be stupid?"
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: Bloodline Alliance Branch Office, 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: A Half-Step into the Void Cutter Realm
Chosen Core Skill: The Law of Shadow
Awakened Arcana Skill: Substitution
Current Evil God Temple Quest:
→ Main Mission Objective/s:
-— None. - N/A
◈ Status: N/A
→ Side Quest Objective/s:
-— None. - N/A
◈ Status: N/A
Current Evil Points: 200
Overall Evil Points: 5475, Overall Evil Value: 302
Core Skill Acquired
— Shadow. ｢Also known precisely as 'The law of Shadow' - its one of the highest-ranked laws in the game. In addition, if the player reached the level of arcana for the core skill - this would already possessed the same tyrannical attribute as the law of light, allowing it to sweep away everything in its path. Skill 'Power of Shadows' LVL +1｣
Normal Skills Acquired:
— Resistance. [ Passive Ability ] [ LVL 3 ] ｢Player's body will resist damage, and any damage taken will be reduced by 80%｣
— Blink ｢Can teleport behind any target in the player's line of sight to attack｣
— Righteous Judgment ｢In the name of justice, cause true damage to the target based on the amount of health they had already lost｣
Exclusive Skills Acquired:
— Deceitful Steps. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Movement Speed increased by 30%. Attack Speed increased by 50%｣
— Power of Shadows. [ LVL 3 ] ｢As the core skill 'Power of Shadows' levels up, the player will be able to use the 'Law of Shadow' to a much finer degree. In addition to that, it would unlock the following skills: "Hidden Shadows" at LVL 1, "Shadow Form" at LVL 2, and 'Power of Shadows' at LVL 3. ｣
▸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.｣
▸Shadow Domain. [ Passive Ability ] ｢?｣
— Substitution. ｢When there is a clone created by the skill "Shadow Form", allow the player to switch places freely with the 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.｣