The Gu Family was located in the east of Dinggong City. Its estate was enormous, with countless residence compounds.
Cloud Seven Pavilion Courtyard.
The home where Gu Yi had grown up.
Gu Yi had just returned to the Gu Family. Standing outside the entrance to Cloud Seven Pavilion Courtyard, his expression turned incomparably gloomy.
The stone plaque inscribed with 《Cloud Seven Pavilion Courtyard》 had actually been smashed onto the ground and broken into several pieces!
Furthermore, all the green vines growing on the walls on either side of the courtyard entrance had been cut down.
The entire courtyard entrance had become utterly dilapidated!
At the same time, Gu Yi heard a lewd voice coming from inside the courtyard.
“An'an, that cripple Gu Yi is already dead. This young master has always treated you with affection. From now on, just follow me and enjoy the good life!”
Immediately afterward, a soft and fragile voice rang out: “In your dreams! Even if I die, I will never go with you! Besides, young master Yi will not die. I do not believe it!”
“Slap!”
A resounding slap rang out!
“You lowly wretch who refuses a toast only to be forced to drink! Since you refuse to leave with me, I will have my way with you right here in Cloud Seven Pavilion Courtyard! Hahaha!”
Gu Yi's eyes instantly narrowed into slits. With a cold snort, he strode inside!
Inside the courtyard, a young man dressed in blue young master robes was reaching out to grab a beautiful girl of no more than fourteen or fifteen years of age.
The young man was Gu Hao, Gu Yi's cousin.
The girl was named An'an, gu yi's maidservant.
Half of An'an's cheek was bright red, with a clearly visible palm print.
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she retreated step by step. Though frightened, her expression remained stubborn!
Gu Hao pressed closer to An'an, laughing wildly and arrogantly: “That old bastard Gu Chengjiao has been locked in the dungeon, and that cripple Gu Yi is dead. Cloud Seven Pavilion Courtyard has no master anymore. You cannot escape my grasp!”
“Who says I am dead?”
Gu Yi stood at the main entrance, his gaze icy.
An'an was facing this way and spotted Gu Yi at a glance. She immediately cried out in delight, “young master!” Then she broke into a run toward him!
Gu Hao thought he had heard incorrectly. He turned around in disbelief, his expression filled with uncertainty: “Gu Yi, how are you, you cripple, not dead?”
Gu Yi sneered. “Seeing me return alive from the Qin Family, are you disappointed?”
Gu Hao snorted contemptuously. “So what if you returned alive? You are merely a cripple at the first layer of body tempering now. I can kill you with a single finger!”
Gu Yi asked coldly, “Were you the one who smashed the plaque at my courtyard?”
“I smashed it. What can you do about it?” Gu Hao laughed loudly, showing not the slightest fear.
Gu Yi did not waste another word. He instantly set off, charging toward Gu Hao at astonishing speed!
Gu Hao's smile froze on his face. What kind of movement technique was Gu Yi using?
So fast!
Gu Hao possessed the cultivation level of the body refinement eighth stage. Yet before he could make any defensive response, Gu Yi's fist struck him squarely in the face!
With a muffled boom, blood gushed from Gu Hao's mouth and nose as he was knocked backward through the air, his head thrown skyward!
“This is for insulting my father!”
Gu Yi's footsteps shifted unpredictably, and he instantly appeared beside Gu Hao as he flew backward.
He raised his leg over his head and whipped it downward like a whip. With tremendous force, the heavy kick struck Gu Hao in the waist and abdomen midair!
“This is for taking part in the plot to kill me yesterday!”
Thud!
Gu Hao crashed heavily into the ground, smashing the flagstones beneath him and sending spiderwebs of cracks radiating outward!
Countless bones in his body shattered in an instant as well!
Gu Yi showed no intention of stopping. The moment Gu Hao bounced up after hitting the ground, Gu Yi kicked him viciously back into the air!
“This is for smashing the plaque at my home!”
Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom!
Fists and kicks battered him, every strike landing solidly, every strike drawing blood!
The vines he had cut down, An'an whom he had humiliated, and the floor he had smashed—all were reasons for Gu Yi to beat him!
Gu Hao became like a human flesh sandbag, with nothing left to do but groan miserably as Gu Yi sent him flying one moment and slammed him onto the ground the next.
An'an stood to the side, staring in stunned disbelief.
“How did young master suddenly reach the cultivation level of the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement? How did he suddenly become so powerful?”
She did not pity Gu Hao in the slightest. Excitedly, she clapped her little hands until they turned red, shouting, “young master, keep it up! Young master, keep it up!”
Boom!
Ssss…
Gu Hao was slammed onto the ground, and the tremendous force sent him sliding more than ten meters backward. His entire face scraped along the ground until it became a bloody, mangled mess.
If Gu Yi had not shown mercy, Gu Hao would have died long ago!
Yet even though he was alive, nearly every bone in his body was broken, his internal organs were damaged, and he had become a cripple.
He vomited a mouthful of blood and struggled to crawl up. Looking at Gu Yi with terror, he seemed to be looking at a devil.
“You—you cripple! How did you suddenly—suddenly become so powerful?”
Only now was he finally able to speak a complete sentence.
Gu Yi looked at him coldly and said indifferently, “Do not say another word. If you do not want to die, get out of here at once!”
A trace of venom flashed through Gu Hao's eyes. He did not dare say anything else, dragging his battered body away with his tail between his legs.
“Wait!”
Suddenly, Gu Yi called out and stopped him.
Gu Hao's body shuddered violently. He stopped, then slowly turned around and stubbornly said, “Gu Yi, since you already told me to leave, why are you stopping me? How can you go back on your word?”
Gu Yi looked at the yellow liquid flowing between Gu Hao's trembling legs. He frowned deeply, then snorted contemptuously. “Useless trash! I only want you to deliver a message to Gu Feng.”
Gu Hao shamefully grabbed the hem of his clothes to cover himself. “W-what message?”
Gu Yi said coldly, “The clan tournament is an unrestricted match in which life and death are permitted. Tell Gu Feng that he is doomed!”
Although the brothers and sisters of the Gu Clan frequently competed and suppressed one another in their daily lives, the family strictly forbade anyone from fighting to the death.
That was why Gu Feng and the others had gone to such lengths to borrow the hands of Qin Huaichong and Qin Xianglin to kill Gu Yi.
However, the clan grand tournament held once every two years was different. Its unrestricted matches were rules of competition established by the main clan.
It was a match in which victory and defeat could only be determined by completely deciding between life and death!
Gu Yi's murderous intent toward Gu Feng was already absolute!
As for Gu Hao, Gu Yi would temporarily let him live and return to deliver the message. If he killed a fellow clansman of the main clan within the Gu Family estate, it would inevitably cause some trouble.
Gu Hao left in a sorry state. An'an excitedly came before Gu Yi, blinking her eyes in delight as she asked, “young master, how did you suddenly become so powerful?”
Bright, large eyes, fair skin, and a slightly flat chest.
Although An'an was only fifteen, she was unquestionably a beautiful young woman in the making.
Ever since Gu Yi's cultivation level had plummeted two years ago and he had fallen completely into ruin, An'an had remained by his side, caring for and serving him devotedly. In Gu Yi's eyes, she was no different from his own younger sister.
He affectionately touched An'an's swollen, reddened cheek and asked with a smile, “Does it still hurt?”
“It does not hurt. Seeing young master makes it stop hurting!”
Although An'an said it did not hurt, she pouted and involuntarily began sobbing and shedding tears.
She had truly been terrified just now! Seeing young master shed his former dispirited appearance, she felt both excited and aggrieved, as though she had suddenly found someone to rely on.
“Do not worry. From now on, no one will be able to bully young master, and no one will be able to bully you either.”
Gu Yi vigorously rubbed the top of her head and made her a promise.
“Mm!” An'an nodded forcefully, wiped away her tears, and smiled brightly.
“Young master, I saved all your food for you. Go eat while it is still warm.”
Gu Yi smiled, went inside, packed the dishes into a food container, and also placed a jug of wine inside. When he came out, he said, “Go clean up the odds and ends at the entrance and wait for me to return.”
An'an asked curiously, “young master, where are you going?”
“The dungeon.”
Gu Yi waved his hand and walked outside.
“The dungeon? Are you going to see master?”
An'an cried out in alarm. “The family has a rule that, unless it is a holiday, no one may visit prisoners without cause. The dungeon is guarded by jailers under the penal law elder. He will not let you in, young master.”
Gu Yi did not even turn his head, leaving behind only four words.
“Do not worry.”