Inside the station belonging to Seven Stars League, Black Hawk was calmly studying his opponent. No matter how he looked at it, this big boy who was all too eager to start seemed to match their conjectures.
A genius cultivator that a certain powerful organization trained in secret. He had the power of a Void Cutter, but he rarely ventured out into the world.
It was definitely like this.
Xu Yan, who was on the sidelines, became increasingly certain that his conjecture was extremely correct, so he suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
This loud shout came very abruptly and stopped Lou Wanying, who was already prepared to attack. He immediately glared resentfully at Xu Yan.
This feeling was like a person who was just about to open their mouth to sing at a karaoke when someone suddenly cut off the song.
It was no longer convenient for Xu Yan to say anything to Black Hawk, and it was even more impossible to say that Black Hawk would surrender right now. He could only express his attitude again in his own way.
He wanted to pave the way for his backup plan.
Xu Yan came up to Gu Nan and said to him, "Since that little brother accepted the challenge, then for the sake of fairness, Your Excellency also has no reason to stay out of it, right?"
"No matter whether that little brother wins later or my friend wins, the loser should still have a chance to challenge Your Excellency."
Xu Yan stared at Gu Nan with bright eyes. It seemed that as long as Gu Nan uttered a "No," he would immediately provoke public anger.
Xu Yan's words were very clever. He didn't explicitly say who would be defeated, so it seemed like he was speaking up for both participants in the match, making him look like a fair person.
Even Lou Wanying felt there was some truth in this statement when he suddenly heard it. He didn't mind the match, but there was no reason for a third person to take advantage of the situation created by this match!
Xu Yan's heart suddenly relaxed greatly when he noticed Lou Wanying's gaze.
As long as Lou Wanying approved of his words, then his plan was a success. No matter what attitude this Gu Nan had, it was impossible for him to wash his hands of this matter!
But the other party's reaction was somewhat unexpected.
Gu Nan frowned, then turned to Jiang Tingwei and asked, "Do you only need two people?"
Jiang Tingwei seemed as if she couldn't see the "schemes and intrigue" happening right in front of her. She nodded calmly and answered, "That's right. There are only two vacancies on our team."
"Good," Gu Nan replied. Then his figure suddenly disappeared right under Xu Yan's stunned gaze.
The next instant, he'd already reappeared behind Black Hawk, grabbed the latter's hair with one hand, and forcefully slammed his head into the ground!
How fast was Gu Nan's speed?
As early as Tier 4, Gu Nan was already able to overwhelm other Void Cutters in terms of speed with just his body alone, so it was even easier now that he'd advanced to Tier 5.
Black Hawk was a grand Void Cutter expert, but he only felt his vision blur for a second, and then his entire head flew down rapidly, making close contact with the floor.
Bam!
A muffled and incomparably ghastly sound could be heard. Gu Nan dusted his hands off and walked back while blood continuously seeped into the ground behind him. Black Hawk was lying softly on the floor, motionless.
"There are only two people now." Gu Nan said to Jiang Tingwei, "Let's go. I'm in a hurry."
It all happened so fast. Xu Yan only just reacted, and he was already staring so hard his eyes almost popped out.
'Black Hawk… was actually… defeated in one blow!'
Xu Yan stared at Gu Nan like he was a monster, but he didn't dare utter a word. He hurriedly ran to Black Hawk to check his injuries.
Lou Wanying was similarly stunned. His gaze kept flickering between Gu Nan and Black Hawk, and he seemed shocked by Gu Nan's brutality.
Even Jiang Tingwei, who'd always been calm and unruffled, couldn't help looking at Gu Nan with astonishment. After a long time, she said, "Please follow me, gentlemen."
She even forgot about the test she was supposed to administer. Clearly, this expert of the Seven Stars League wasn't as calm as she appeared.
...
Gu Nan and Lou Wanying followed the Jiang siblings and soon reached the inner hall. There was already a girl waiting here. She immediately started shouting when she saw the four people coming over.
"Big Sis, Big Sis!" The girl jumped up and looked at Gu Nan. "Are they the new teammates? Hello, my name is Situ Jing, pleased to meet you!"
The last sentence was directed at Gu Nan and Lou Wanying. The girl named Situ Jing wasn't introverted at all.
"H-Hello, I'm Lou Wanying." Lou Wanying was obviously more shy when facing girls.
Gu Nan continued his previous routine of nodding and introducing his name. Then he glanced at Jiang Tingwei. "When will we leave?"
"We can leave right away if you two don't have any problems with it. Unforeseen events might occur at any time for the two currently deadlocked in Star Realm." Jiang Tingwei said seriously, "I've heard about all your requirements, and I already found a good spot."
The situation in Star Realm had been at a standstill for so long that no one knew when an unforeseen event might occur. As long as those two powerhouses even changed a single thought of theirs, it might spell the difference between life and death for this team.
"I have no problem with it!" Lou Wanying answered immediately. That eager expression surfaced again.
Gu Nan, of course, was even less likely to have a problem with this, so after sharing the coordinates, the five immediately set off for Nirvana Heaven.
...
"So this is Nirvana Heaven!" Situ Jing didn't have the bearing of a Void Cutter expert at all. She was staring up at the sky with keen interest. "Sure enough, it's the same as what the books said…"
Nirvana Heaven's biggest characteristic was that the sky here was forever both black and white. Half was day and half was night. They were distinctly separate from each other, and the border in between them wasn't blurred.
Every once in a while, the black and white would even switch places, but this was also a sudden change, and there was no gradual process at all.
As soon as Gu Nan saw this strange scene, he was immediately certain that this was Zuo Zuo's astral world. Wasn't this kind of half-and-half sky just like Zuo Zuo himself?
"Nirvana Heaven is divided into sixteen domains. We're currently in Qinggu Domain, and the Ancient Castle up ahead is the target of our operation this time," Jiang Tingwei informed everyone about the enemy's situation.
The Ancient Castle was their target this time; it contained all the items the three parties needed.
Gu Nan wanted the life-death stone, Lou Wanying wanted a special spring water called death spring, while Jiang Tingwei's three-person team wanted the head of a Void Cutter cultivator inside the castle.
Of course Jiang Tingwei didn't pick her temporary team members randomly. She fully took care of the needs of all three parties so that they could work together and wouldn't dissolve into internal strife before the battle due to disagreements over how to distribute the spoils.
The reason Gu Nan and Lou Wanying had to wait a while earlier was precisely because she was confirming the information of all parties.
"There are four Void Cutter cultivators guarding Ancient Castle, and there's also a protective barrier." Jiang Tingwei had a grave expression. She said in a low voice, "Taking into account the needs of our three parties, our strategy will tentatively be—"
"I'll smash open the barrier. You guys can mount a sneak attack on the target when those four Void Cutter cultivators come out," Gu Nan interrupted.
Jiang Tingwei took a deep breath. There were no problems with what he suggested. If they couldn't even kill their target through a sneak attack, then their operation would be a joke. It's just that…
"This is a Void Cutter Realm barrier. What if it doesn't break? Won't we inadvertently alert the enemies inside?!" Situ Jing always spoke her mind and had already blurted out.
Before she finished speaking, Gu Nan had already taken a step toward the other side, and his figure instantly appeared in the sky above Ancient Castle.