At the Gu Residence, within an elegant residence compound, a young man paced back and forth across the courtyard, appearing restless and agitated.
After a long while, the main door opened, and only then did the young man breathe a sigh of relief.
A handsome young man with refined features emerged while fastening his belt. “What is it? You came looking for me so early in the morning. Is something wrong?”
“Young master Feng, that bastard Gu Yi is still alive!”
“Moreover, he actually broke through to the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement in the short span of a single day!”
“Last night, Gu Hao went to harass gu yi's maidservant An'an and was beaten into a cripple by Gu Yi. He was too ashamed to come see you, so he asked me to bring you a message.”
Gu Feng furrowed his brows deeply and asked in a low voice, “What message?”
“Gu Yi said that the clan tournament is an unrestricted competition in which life and death are permitted. He told Gu Hao to tell you that you're doomed!”
“What?”
Gu Feng flew into a rage and suddenly slammed his palm against the doorpost beside him, leaving a deep palm print in it.
“Even if Gu Yi gained great fortune and broke through from the first layer of body tempering to the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement, he is still nothing but a useless cultivator in the body refinement realm. What qualifications does he have to challenge me?”
“Could it be that, with my cultivation level at the true essence, third layer, I should actually be afraid of him?”
Gu Feng was furious, sinister anger surging from him. He sneered, “Two years ago, I was able to turn him into a cripple. Two years later, I can still kill him!”
“He actually wants to kill me in the clan tournament and regain the favor of the clan elders? What a pipe dream!”
……
Just after breakfast, Cloud Seven Pavilion Courtyard, where Gu Yi lived, received a visitor.
He was a fat man about the same age as Gu Yi. His single-lidded eyes looked even narrower on his large, fleshy face.
With a solemn expression, he shouted, “Gu Yi, something terrible has happened!”
Gu Yi glanced at him and revealed a faint smile. This man's name was Xu Santong, Gu Yi's childhood companion. When Gu Yi had been a genius, they had been friends; after Gu Yi's fall, Xu Santong had never abandoned him.
“Why is it so terrible? Have you eaten? There are still some flatbreads here. If you—”
Before Gu Yi could finish speaking, Xu Santong grabbed a flatbread from the dining table and began eating. Between bites, he said, “I haven't eaten all morning. I'm starving.”
“Gu Yi, do you know? Overnight, your portrait was posted throughout Dinggong City. It says that an old man on the verge of death is offering a huge reward to find you. Merely providing a lead earns one hundred taels of silver. If the information is truly reliable and enables them to find you, they will directly award ten thousand taels of gold!”
“An old man on the verge of death?”
Gu Yi was slightly stunned, then immediately remembered the old man he had encountered at Xuanyang Lake the previous night.
“One hundred thousand taels of gold! I almost reported you and claimed the reward, but fortunately, I held myself back at the last moment. Then I rushed over to warn you.”
Xu Santong smacked his lips and said worriedly, “Gu Yi, tell me honestly, did you rob someone's ancestral grave? If there's danger, you should flee first!”
Gu Yi shook his head with a laugh and said, “Don't worry. They probably need something from me. Go report me and claim the reward. One hundred thousand taels of gold is enough to keep you fed and clothed for the rest of your life.”
“Really?”
Xu Santong blinked, somewhat incredulous. His thoughts quickly turned, and he said, “Then should I go now? Once we get the one hundred thousand taels, we'll split it fifty-fifty!”
After saying that, he turned and ran, afraid someone else would get there first.
Before Xu Santong had gone far, a loud crack rang out beyond the main gate, followed by a tremendous boom as it was blasted open from outside.
More than a dozen people surged in with great momentum.
At the front was a middle-aged man in a purple robe, with thick brows and large eyes. He angrily strode into the courtyard and shouted, “Gu Yi, come out here!”
The dozen or so people behind him included both elders and members of the younger generation.
Gu Feng was among them as well. However, he stood toward the back and was already considered one of the lower-ranking members of the group.
A trace of coldness and schadenfreude showed in Gu Feng's eyes as he muttered, “Gu Yi, looks like I won't need to kill you in tomorrow's clan tournament. You won't even live through today...”
Gu Yi frowned, walked out of the house, and looked toward the group of uninvited guests in the courtyard.
The man in the purple robe at the front was the current clan patriarch of the Gu Clan, Gu Chengqian. His cultivation level had reached the seventh layer of the violet palace realm.
Among the people behind him, apart from Gu Feng, all were powerful elders of the family. Even the weakest had reached the body refinement tenth stage, while the strongest was only one layer below Gu Chengqian in cultivation level.
“Elder uncle, esteemed elders, why have you come looking for me?”
Gu Chengqian was Gu Yi's biological elder uncle. He glared angrily at Gu Yi and said in a low voice, “Do you really not know why we've come looking for you?”
“Tell me, how did you offend General Liu?”
“General Liu? Which General Liu?” Gu Yi was utterly baffled.
“Still pretending to be ignorant?”
Gu Chengqian shouted angrily, “Overnight, your portrait was posted throughout the entire city. It was General Liu Fang, deputy commander of the imperial guard, who ordered your arrest.”
“You are merely a useless cultivator at the first layer of body tempering. How could you offend General Liu and provoke such a massive citywide manhunt? Could it be that you have brought down a calamity of unimaginable proportions?”
An old man with graying hair and beard wore a face as dark as still water and said in a low voice, “clan patriarch, there is no time to delay. I suggest executing Gu Yi at once and taking his corpse to General Liu to atone for his offense.”
“Exactly! Clan patriarch, there is no need to waste words on this useless wretch. Kill him directly!”
“His father, Gu Chengjiao, is a jinx who offended the Li Clan in the Imperial Capital and left us Gu Family members struggling through hardship for more than a decade.”
“And this gu Yi is no good either. He actually offended General Liu!”
“General Liu is not only the deputy commander of the imperial guard; his cultivation level has reached the Four Symbols Realm, and he is even half a student of the imperial preceptor! If we do not kill Gu Yi to appease General Liu, our Gu Family will surely face a great calamity soon!”
Everyone talked over one another in anger, eager to tear Gu Yi to pieces alive!
Gu Feng watched with a broad smile, overjoyed.
Gu Yi engraved each of their ugly faces in his heart and mocked, “You call yourselves clan elders, yet whenever trouble arises, you do not distinguish right from wrong. You only think of severing ties and avoiding disaster. You are truly skilled at chasing profit and avoiding harm!”
These were the very people who had frequently suppressed Gu Yi and his father over the years. If Gu Yi had not displayed extraordinary cultivation talent from a young age, along with a diligent spirit of cultivation that placed him far ahead of his peers on the path of martial training, the father and son would have suffered even more.
However, ever since his cultivation level had plummeted two years ago and he had become a cripple, these people had grown increasingly vicious in humiliating them. They heavily cut back on their daily food and clothing, and during clan activities, they mocked them with cold sarcasm, as though they would only be satisfied once the two of them dropped dead!
“You insolent wretch! You offended General Liu and brought disaster upon our family, making yourself a sinner for all eternity. Yet you still refuse to repent and continue spouting sharp-tongued nonsense here?”
Gu Chengqian's face turned livid. He raised his right hand and suddenly waved it, shouting, “Who will subdue this rebellious son for me? Make him kneel and explain clearly how he offended General Liu!”
“Let me!”
A middle-aged man parted the crowd and strode toward Gu Yi.
“Seventh uncle!”
Gu Yi looked at the newcomer, his gaze turning cold.
This was Gu Yi's biological seventh uncle, Gu Chengyun. His aptitude was mediocre, and his cultivation level had reached only the body refinement tenth stage.
Yet, in their eyes, the body refinement tenth stage was more than enough to deal with Gu Yi!
Gu Chengyun strode forward, killing intent flashing in his eyes and a savage expression on his face. “You worthless brat who does not know your own mortality! You actually gravely injured my Hao'er last night. Just watch me break both your legs!”
Gu Chengyun was none other than the father of Gu Hao, who had smashed the Cloud Seven Pavilion Courtyard plaque and harassed An'an the previous night!
Gu Yi laughed coldly without fear. “What a fine father seeking revenge for his son. Do you know why Gu Hao was beaten by me?”
Gu Chengyun laughed angrily. “Wasn't it merely youthful recklessness, an impulse to take liberties with your personal maidservant An'an? She is nothing but a lowly slave. Was she really worth beating my son half to death over?”
An'an stood trembling beside them, her vision blurred with tears. She felt that she had caused trouble for the young master and hated herself terribly!
Gu Yi's voice rang out with force. “Of course she was worth it. Just for harassing An'an, he deserved to die!”
“Moreover, Gu Hao conspired with Gu Feng and the others to kill me, which makes him even more deserving of death! I spared his life, yet you are ungrateful enough to come seeking revenge? Good. Very good...”