The bruised girl on the ground looked up at Gu Chen, her wide, tear-filled eyes locking onto his pitch-black pupils. When she caught the faint, dangerous smirk flickering across his lips and heard the low, raspy laughter echoing from his chest, a wave of sheer, instinctual terror seized her heart. To her fragile mind, the terrifying aura he had unleashed moments ago felt less like the aid of an orthodox savior and more like a monster peering down at an ant.
Gasping in utter panic, she didn't utter a single word of greeting, nor did she answer his question. Scrambling backward on her hands and knees, she clutched the cracked low-grade spirit stone tightly to her chest, stumbled to her feet, and bolted down the narrow bamboo alley as fast as her battered legs could carry her.
Gu Chen stood motionless, making no effort to chase after her. To a former Sovereign, pursuing a panicked mortal insect was entirely beneath his dignity.
Instead, as her figure disappeared around the bend of the stone pathway, Gu Chen extended a subtle strand of his divine consciousness. Like an invisible razor, his soul sense effortlessly swept over her retreating form, piercing past her skin and locking directly onto her dantians.
‘Fascinating...’ Gu Chen evaluated, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.
Deep within her soul origin, tucked behind her clogged, stagnant meridians, lay a dormant, fragmented residual soul, perhaps when Gu Chen had unsealed his Abyssal Sovereign Intent to crush the bullies, her body had absorbed a stray sliver of that primordial pressure, briefly jolting the sleeping entity awake.
It was a dual existence within a single vessel. Thus, when Gu Chen saved her, the rigid System had recognized two distinct soul signatures being preserved.
With a subtle flick of his index finger, Gu Chen sent a speck of pitch-black Abyssal Qi flying through the air. The black light glided silently across the dirt, merging seamlessly into the girl's fleeing shadow.
‘An Abyssal Soul Mark,’ Gu Chen mused cold , quiet, smirk settling on his face. ‘Run all you like, little ant. Wherever you hide within this sect, your secrets will belong to me now.’
Glancing up at the sky, Gu Chen offered a silent nod of acknowledgment toward the fleeing girl. Because of her bizarre dual-soul state, she had unwittingly served as the final key to completing his quest quota ahead of schedule.
Now, he could finally inspect the new function unlocked by the entity in his mind.
‘As for you, parasite...’ Gu Chen thought, turning his consciousness inward to observe the glowing golden interface hovering in his dantian. ‘So far, you have provided Qi stones, alerts, and spatial functions without attempting to corrupt my soul or interfere with my core cultivation. But no entity in the higher realms bestows power without a price. You may play the benevolent benefactor for now, but the moment you display your true teeth, I will destory you’
Being ever-cautious, Gu Chen refused to lower his guard. For now, the System was a remarkably useful tool, and he intended to exploit it to its absolute limit.
Returning to the outer disciple residential grounds, Gu Chen unlocked the wooden door to his modest private courtyard. Stepping inside, he activated the basic noise-isolation array embedded in the stone walls, sat cross-legged upon a woven meditation mat, and closed his eyes.
‘System, display the unlocked World Travel Protocol.’
DING!
A brilliant, crystalline blue window expanded before his mental vision, revealing a complex array of newly activated runes and spatial coordinates:
[SYSTEM FUNCTION UNLOCKED: WORLD TRAVEL PROTOCOL]
Dimensional Teleportation: The Host can construct a temporary spatial tear to travel between the Grand Azure Continent and lower sub-realms, ancient pocket dimensions, or foreign worlds.
Realm Anchor: The Sun-Moon Sect is established as Primary Coordinate Zero. Time Dilation Active: Every six days spent within an external sub-realm equates to precisely one hour in the Grand Azure Continent.
Target Conversion: Saving, subjugating, or harvesting high-tier entities in foreign realms yields direct System rewards, high-grade spirit herbs, and raw soul essence to accelerate cultivation.
Gu Chen’s dark violet eyes gleamed with intense, calculating satisfaction as he read through the parameters.
‘A six-to-one time ratio...’ Gu Chen calculated, his ancient mind instantly formulating a plan. ‘The spiritual Qi in this backwater mortal realm is far too thin. Cultivating through standard meditation here would take months just to break through a single minor stage. But with this protocol, I can enter a foreign realm, slaughter or subjugate high-tier targets for high-grade resources, and return before anyone in this sect even realizes I have stepped out of my chamber.’
To execute this without triggering suspicion, he needed a airtight cover story. He would inform Su Yan that he was entering a short period of secluded, closed-door cultivation. While the sect believed he was meditating behind locked doors, he would harvest external worlds.
Meanwhile, on the fiery peaks of Sun-Refining Peak, a vastly different scene was unfolding.
Inside a grand, marble-tiled hall three outer disciples were groveling on the cold stone floor. Blood had dried beneath their noses, their robes were torn, and their knees trembled violently as they faced the wooden throne at the end of the hall.
Seated upon the throne was Senior Brother Han Lie, a prominent Inner Disciple of Sun-Refining Peak and a core loyalist to Huo Tian’s faction. Dressed in gold-and-red inner court robes with a blazing flame crest embroidered across his chest, Han Lie’s fierce, sweltering Early Foundation Establishment aura pressed down heavily upon the kneeling men.
"Trash! Absolute trash!" Han Lie roared, slamming his heavy, leather-bound fist onto the carved wooden armrest.
BOOM!
A wave of scorching Fire Qi flared outward, singeing the sleeves of the three groveling disciples.
"Three outer disciples, one at the 8th-Stage of Qi Refining, beaten into submission by a newly admitted 5th-Stage nobody?!" Han Lie sneered, his eyes burning with intense fury. "And you claim he didn't even raise a weapon?!"
"S-Senior Brother Han, please hear us!" the lead bully stammered, his forehead slammed flat against the stone floor. "That brat... he isn't human! The moment he stepped forward, the sky turned black in our minds! It was as if an ancient demon emperor was crushing our souls! He... he was brought in directly by Senior Sister Su Yan and admitted by Peak Master Meng Xue!"
Han Lie’s eyes narrowed dangerously at the mention of Su Yan. Huo Tian had been pursuing Su Yan for two years, only to be constantly rebuffed by her icy, untouchable demeanor. Hearing that a nameless 5th-Stage brat was casually walking around under her personal protection was an insult to Sun-Refining Peak’s prestige.
"Recruited by Su Yan... and admitted by Master Meng Xue himself," Han Lie muttered, his tone dropping into a cold, suspicious growl. "Lotus-Phoenix Peak thinks they can parade a backdoor cripple around to mock the Sun refining peak?"
Han Lie turned his sharp gaze toward a tall, quiet lieutenant standing in the shadows of the hall.
"Find out everything about this Gu Chen," Han Lie ordered sharply. "Investigate his origins, his background, and whatever cheap mental technique he used to frighten these useless insects. If he possesses backing by peak master meng xue then we act with caution. But if he is merely a talentless nobody...."
A cruel, bloodthirsty smirk carved across Han Lie’s face.
"The Outer Sect Trial in the Black-Mist Forest is only a few weeks away," Han Lie continued, resting his hand on the pommel of his fire-sword. "If he dares to step into that forest, make sure his meridians are shattered and his limbs are fed to the spirit beasts."
Back in the outer disciple quarters of Lotus-Phoenix Peak, the quiet atmosphere of Gu Chen’s private courtyard was broken by the soft creak of the wooden gate.
Gu Chen opened his eyes as Su Yan stepped into the courtyard. Wrapped in her radiant, warm aura , her long hair was pinned neatly with jade clasps, and her cheeks carried a healthy, rosy glow following her meridian checkup.
"Gu Chen," Su Yan called out softly, her ruby eyes softening as she looked at him. A faint, subtle warmth flushed across her neck as the lingering memories of their midnight dual-cultivation session flashed through her mind, but she quickly smoothed her expression into her usual calm, dignified composure.
"Senior Sister Su," Gu Chen greeted, standing up unhurriedly and smoothing the sleeves of his dark charcoal robes. "You have returned."
"I have," Su Yan nodded, stepping closer to him. "Master Meng Xue’s inspection went smoothly. The residual poison in my core has been suppressed thanks to... our previous session."
She cleared her throat slightly, shifting the subject. "However, I came here immediately because Master Meng Xue specifically asked for you."
Gu Chen raised an eyebrow, a flicker of genuine amusement passing through his dark violet eyes. "The Peak Master wishes to see me?"
"She wants to personally inspect your cultivation progress" Su Yan explained, her tone growing serious. "Furthermore, she mentioned an urgent, important matter regarding the Lotus-Phoenix Peak."
‘Inspect my progress?...