Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
On this day, from Cloud Cover Continent, a huge light burst into the sky.
Light in the colors of the rainbow was shining in the sky, shooting into the sky like a beam from the heavens.
It was so dazzling, all of the hairy men on Black Hair Continent, White Hair Continent, and Yellow Hair Continent only needed to raise their heads to see it.
“This is the work of immortals!” The hairy men sighed.
If this were in the past, the three continents would only have rumors and vague legends of Gu Immortals.
But after Lang Ya land spirit’s personality changed, the situation changed completely.
Lang Ya land spirit sent out orders, imitating the imperial court contest, to stir up competition in the three continents to select elite candidates to cultivate in Cloud Cover Continent.
The war between the three continents affected all hairy men, and the ‘immortal miracle’ of Cloud Cover Continent stirred the passions of the hairy men.
“Becoming an immortal…” Black Hair King looked at the sky, his eyes shining with brilliant light.
As the light faded, Black Hair King made up his mind: “Send out my imperial decree. The immortal miracle is an auspicious sign. We will hold a martial competition in remembrance of this. The winner of the martial competition will be able to choose a treasure from our treasury!”
“Yes.” The guard who received the order answered as they left in a bowing position.
Black Hair King’s idea was not new, he had thought about it for a long time already.
The war between the three continents made Black Hair King realize that the mindset of Gu refinement being important above all needed to be abandoned. To deal with the future battles, he needed elite Gu Masters skilled in combat.
With Black Hair King’s order, a huge commotion spread out from the imperial city, rapidly projecting outwards and growing larger and larger.
Soon, half a month later.
Steel Thread City had an esteemed guest.
This guest was received by Steel Thread City Lord personally, because he was also a city lord himself.
“Hua Feng City Lord, is there anything you need by coming here?” During the banquet, while drinking, Steel Thread City Lord asked.
“Steel Thread City Lord, you are an insightful person, you know my intentions in coming here already.” Hua Feng City Lord smiled, pointing at the hairy man Gu Masters behind him: “The king wants to hold a martial competition, but each region can only send three people. And in our region, there are both of our cities. The Gu Masters behind me are the ones I am going to send to the competition. But because the king has limited the number of people, we can hold a contest here first and decide who goes to the martial competition!”
“Hahaha. Very good, I have the same idea.” Steel Thread City Lord laughed, clapping as she summoned the hairy man Gu Masters onto the stage.
Both sides dispatched a person each and started to fight.
After several rounds, Hua Feng City won all of their matches, while Steel Thread City lost all of theirs.
Hua Feng City Lord laughed, drinking wine casually, while Steel Thread City Lord had a grim expression, she had a heavy feeling: “To think that Hua Feng City Lord came prepared, he picked such elite Gu Masters. Oh no, if we do not win any battles, this would definitely become widely spread news. For the next few years, we will live under the pressure of Hua Feng City.”
“There is only one match left, Steel Thread City Lord, please send your participant.” Hua Feng City Lord urged.
Steel Thread City Lord snorted coldly, she placed her gaze on a hairy man.
But this hairy man Gu Master was breaking out in cold sweat, this situation made him feel a strong burden. Precisely so, he felt a lack of confidence.
Not just him, the higher-ups of Steel Thread City in the banquet also felt no confidence in him.
At this moment, an elder in the city transmitted to Steel Thread City Lord secretly: “City Lord, I know someone who can salvage our reputation.”
Steel Thread City Lord heard this and was overjoyed, she quickly asked who it was.
This elder answered: “City Lord, did you forget, you recently bought a human slave, he has rank five cultivation level.”
Steel Thread City Lord was stunned, her expression was bitter as she transmitted: “This is inappropriate! My contest with Hua Feng City Lord is an open, fair and just matter involving our reputations. If I send out this human slave, so be it if we lose, but if we win, he will be sent to participate in the martial competition. If the king sees that my Steel Thread City sends a human instead of hairy men, would he not reprimand me?”
The elder laughed.
He knew that this was just Steel Thread City Lord’s excuse.
The truth was, Steel Thread City Lord was just reluctant.
That slave called ‘Fang Yuan’ had been visited by the city lord almost every night since he was bought. This had made a lot of the higher-ups unhappy.
The elder continued: “City Lord, don’t worry. The current king is magnanimous, he only cares about talent. Among the elders assisting him, there are no lack of snowmen and feathermen. City Lord, if you send Fang Yuan and he loses, he can take full responsibility. If he wins, our reputation will be salvaged, and he would be sent to the competition, the king would surely hold a good opinion of you, he might even think of you as a friend, who knows.”
Steel Thread City Lord looked at this elder deeply, thinking: “This old fox is really scheming! Isn’t the reason simply because I have neglected the nephew that you sent to me? This is such a vile plan. If we win, I will send Fang Yuan away. If we lose, I will have to kill Fang Yuan and throw the responsibility to him. Regardless of victory or defeat, I will lose Fang Yuan.”
“Oh, forget it!” Steel Thread City Lord sighed: “How can I be someone who gives in to lust and neglects the important matters?”
Even though Steel Thread City Lord visited Fang Zheng every night and was obsessed with him, she was a hard-hearted person, a hairy man who pursued authority and power.
In her heart, looks were nothing.
Thus, Steel Thread City Lord swapped that hairy man and summoned Fang Zheng, informing him.
After learning of the reason, Fang Zheng walked onto the stage.
“It is a rank five Gu Master!” Hua Feng City Lord’s heart jumped, sensing Fang Zheng’s rank five aura, he immediately was on alert.
He smiled: “According to the rules, my side will decide the content of this round. In the previous few rounds, we competed using battle strength, now how can the traditions and essence of us hairy men be discarded? This round, we will compete using Gu refinement.”
Once he said that, Steel Thread City Lord almost berated him in anger.
The elders from Steel Thread City also looked towards Hua Feng City Lord with distaste.
But Hua Feng City Lord had been a city lord for many years, he was unabashed, he ignored these glances.
Steel Thread City Lord could not rebuke him, after all, the rules were set earlier, she waved to Fang Zheng: “Go and compete. Display all of your capabilities, remember, you must win at all costs. If you lose, you will lose your life to compensate for the loss.”
Fang Zheng heard this and was expressionless.
He had been utterly humiliated these last days. Steel Thread City Lord had a strong desire for night activities, she liked all sorts of stances and positions, they did it seventeen or eighteen times a night, she had no restraints, Fang Zheng felt like he was better off dead.
Fang Zheng really wanted to simply die, but as a slave, he was under their control, he could not even die if he wanted to.
Steel Thread City Lord threatened him with death now, to him it was a form of release.
In his mind, there was a thought: “Do I still want to live? I might as well surrender and die!’
But at this moment, a voice appeared in his mind: “Idiot! A true man needs to be able to give in and put down his pride at times, this humiliation is nothing. If you have guts, take revenge in the future, cut all of these enemies who humiliated you into a million pieces. This is the act of an outstanding individual!”
“Who are you?!” Fang Zheng was shocked, he screamed out loud.
On the other side, Hua Feng City’s final hairy man Gu Master stepped onto the stage.
He thought Fang Zheng was talking to him, he puffed out his chest and said: “I am Mao Shi Ba!”
Fang Zheng did not respond.
He had regained his freedom, he could use many Gu worms now, but the voice in his mind appeared and vanished instantly, he could not find any traces of it no matter how much he inspected his body.
“Scum, you dare to humiliate me?!” Mao Shi Ba was furious.
He gave his own name, but Fang Zheng ignored him, it was as if he was too high and mighty to introduce himself, Mao Shi Ba was extremely angry.
“Why is this guy so angry?” Fang Zheng was startled into awareness by Mao Shi Ba, he thought this to himself.
Because of this misunderstanding, before the contest started, there was huge animosity.
Under everyone’s gazes, the contest started.
Mao Shi Ba was the strongest Gu Master in Hua Feng City, he was skilled in both the pen and the sword, not only was he good at fighting, he was also skilled at refining Gu.
In contrast, even though Fang Zheng cultivated in Immortal Crane Sect for some time, he mainly cultivated enslavement path, he had only explored refinement path a little.
The contest had just started, but Mao Shi Ba already took the lead.
During the middle of the contest, Mao Shi Ba had already left Fang Zheng in the dust, his advantage was immense.
In the final moments, the hairy men watching, be it from Steel Thread City or Hua Feng City, did not think that Fang Zheng could win.
Even Fang Zheng thought the same.
“Am I going to lose, so be it, death is release after all.” He sighed internally.
“Bullshit!” At this time, the voice spoke again.
Fang Zheng was shocked, his hands trembled, the half complete Gu went up in smoke.
“Hahaha.” Hua Feng City Lord laughed.
Steel Thread City Lord had an ugly expression.
Inside Fang Zheng’s mind, the voice continued: “How can a true man falter in the face of such a small setback?”
“You, you are… Fang Yuan?!” This time, Fang Zheng recognized the voice.
“Hehe, my main body is already dead. Only this will is left in your mind. As my brother living in this world, you are not thinking of improving yourself, you do not seek revenge, I truly cannot watch anymore!” Fang Yuan’s will scolded angrily.
Fang Zheng snorted, thinking: “You are already dead, why are you still coming out to interfere in matters?”
He was familiar with Lord Sky Crane’s soul, who helped him cultivate in the past, it was easy for him to converse with Fang Yuan’s will, in fact, he even felt a sense of nostalgia.
But on the surface, the hairy men could not see anything. They only thought that Fang Zheng was completely dazed and had a blank expression.
Fang Yuan’s will felt Fang Zheng’s animosity and laughed nonchalantly: “Since I am dead, why did you use my name to impersonate me?”
Fang Zheng was silent.
Fang Yuan’s will continued: “You were humiliated and tortured, but you refused to expose your real name, this shows that you still have a sense of shame, anger, and hatred. Then why are you not using this chance to improve and get stronger? You know the situation, if you win this, you will be able to join the martial competition, freeing yourself from being a slave and regaining freedom!”
“I want to win too, who doesn’t want revenge and freedom? But my loss is assured!” Fang Zheng said angrily.
“Haha.” Fang Yuan’s will laughed: “As long as you follow my instructions, you can surpass Mao Shi Ba and win this.”
Fang Zheng was stunned, he asked: “What scheme is it this time?”
“Hmph.” Fang Yuan’s will snorted: “Even though I am dead, I am indignant! I want revenge! None of the hairy man Gu Immortals who killed me will escape. You are my hope for revenge! Aren’t you using my name now? Then take revenge for me!”
“Why must I help a demon who slaughtered his entire clan like a monster take revenge?!” Fang Zheng replied furiously.
Fang Yuan’s will replied: “There is no time for you to squabble. Follow my instructions. Start the fire, put in the three different kinds of gold. Remember, profound gold, ice gold, and tear gold, place them inside the cauldron in order.”
Fang Zheng gritted his teeth, even though he did not want to listen to Fang Yuan, his words gave him some hope of victory, and this concerned his life.
Hesitating for a while, he stretched out his hand.
Refining Gu again!
The audience laughed loudly upon seeing this.
But in a few minutes, they could not laugh anymore, they looked at Fang Zheng in shock.
He raised his right hand, holding the Gu worm, he had refined it under everyone’s gazes.
“I won!” He breathed in deeply, declaring loudly.
In the hall, nobody spoke.
Even his opponent, Mao Shi Ba, could not accept this fact, he was staring blankly.
The atmosphere was quite unique.
The hairy men did not want to acknowledge that a human had defeated an expert hairy man Gu Master in a competition of Gu refinement!
After a while, someone said: “Quickly look, the rainbow light from Cloud Cover Continent is fading!”
Everyone followed what the voice had said.
Dozens of gazes looked through the entrance of the hall, indeed, the rainbow light coming from Cloud Cover Continent was vanishing.
From the rainbow light, a figure walked out.
“It seems you have recovered.” Lang Ya land spirit looked at this person and smiled.
“Yes.” This person nodded: “This is all thanks to first supreme elder.”
As he spoke, the rainbow light faded, showing his appearance.
If Fang Zheng saw this person, he would be shocked.
This person was naturally Fang Yuan!
Lang Ya land spirit laughed: “If you want to thank me, isn’t it simple? Give Dang Hun Mountain, Luo Po valley, or wisdom Gu to me.”
Fang Yuan smiled: “Giving is impossible! But we can make a trade. I wonder what price first supreme elder is willing to pay?”
“Ugh.” Lang Ya land spirit’s laughter stopped: “This…”
He was hesitant, awkwardness was written all over his face.
