Supreme Sword Exalt

Under the gaze of the two bewildered men, Gu Han casually collected the pile of nearly untouched spirit food into his storage ring, acting as if no one else was around.

This is good stuff! Gu Han thought.

When he caught the two elders watching him, Gu Han offered an explanation. “I can’t let it go to waste.”

The corners of the two men’s mouths twitched.

After a long while, Elder Wu laughed bitterly. “This kid, he’s really unpredictable.”

Elder Feng laughed heartily. “Interesting! I’ve actually grown to like him a bit. Forget it, let’s head back too. Commander Zhou should be back by now.”

“Alright, then... wait, no!” Just then, Elder Wu seemed to suddenly remember something, his expression turning strange. “Did we... forget something?”

“Now that you mention it, I also—”

Suddenly, the two men looked at each other and said in unison, “Essence crystals!”

Earlier, when Gu Han was distributing the essence crystals, he had missed them.

“Devious!”

“Cunning!”

“Let’s go ask him for it!”

“Fine, you go!”

“Why don’t you go?”

“I can’t bring myself to do it!”

“And you think I can?”

Amid their bickering, the two men gradually went away. Only those who had lost all their belongings remained on the scene, appearing as if they had lost their souls.

Han Fu didn’t even glance at them, preparing to leave. “Let’s go.”

He Zhong sighed. “Instructor Han, they—”

“If you are willing to bet, you must accept the loss. It was their own choice, they can’t blame others.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Mei Yun’s enthusiastic voice came from behind. “Instructor Han, shall we go together?”

Han Fu suddenly sped up.

Mei Yun felt like crying again. Seems like even after my great luck, things aren’t much different from before...

***

Inside the rear residence.

Du Teng was acting out of character. His face was gloomy enough to drip water, yet he didn’t utter a single word. The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Bracing himself, Jiang Hong said, “Uncle, I will definitely make him pay for this!”

Yet, Du Teng’s face held no emotions. “You? Just forget it!”

Despite not being entirely clear about Gu Han’s strength, he deeply understood the terror of the Qingyun Pavilion, and knew that they favored no weaklings. Hence, he held no more hope for Jiang Hong.

Jiang Hong’s face flushed bright red.

Yu Hua gritted his teeth. “Elder Du, this brat is extremely cocky, he doesn’t respect you at all! We cannot let him off!”

Du Teng glanced at him but said nothing. The atmosphere grew even more tense.

After a long while, he suddenly brought up another matter. “In a few days, it will be the martial academy trial, venturing deep into the Wild Forest... Heh!”

Yu Hua seemed to realize something. “Elder Du, you mean...”

With a gaze full of implications, Du Teng slowly stood up. “I didn’t say anything. You can discuss how to handle things yourselves. If you need anything, you can go find Tian Heng. As for the rest, I won’t involve myself.”

Having said that, he stood up and left.

Jiang Yi’s eyes gleamed coldly. “Casualties? Right! Every martial academy trial, there are always some unlucky ones who end up dying in the Wild Forest.”

Chen Fang’s eyes lit up. “Great idea! If we take action in the Wild Forest, no one will know, no one will notice. We can push all the blame onto the demonic beasts.”

During the great gamble, these two had also staked all their belongings. However, rather than striking it rich, they ended up losing everything. They naturally hated Gu Han intensely.

Yu Hua frowned slightly. “The method is good. For the martial academy trial, the three deputy deans will definitely be present. Commander Zhou is one thing, but the other two... I’m afraid we won’t be able to hide it from them.”

Jiang Hong suddenly spoke up. “It doesn’t matter. I will speak to Commander Zhou about it. When the time comes, we can find some excuse to send the other two away.”

Defeated by Gu Han and repeatedly mocked by Du Teng, his pride and self-esteem were already shattered. He had largely lost interest in defeating Gu Han head-on, he just wanted the man dead.

Yu Hua was overjoyed. “Nice! To be safe, I’ll go discuss with Pavilion Master Tian. This time, we must not let him return alive.”

***

Inside the inn.

Murong Chuan was speechless when he saw Fatty and the others walk into the Heaven-class room with practiced ease. You really treat this place like your own home!

Not noticing his expression, Gu Han took out a storage ring. “Senior, there are ten million essence crystals here...”

Murong Chuan’s spirits lifted. Hmm? After freeloading for so long, could it be that this kid finally has a pang of conscience, and decided to offer some compensation?

With a serious expression, Gu Han said, “Senior, please pass these essence crystals to Brother Chen for me. Tell him that whether it’s pills, spirit herbs, or anything else, as long as it can replenish soul power, he must help me buy it no matter the cost.”

Murong Chuan, who had initially felt some disdain, sighed inwardly. This kid... he’d rather keep freeloading shamelessly in the Heaven-class room without spending half an essence crystal. But he’s also willing to take out so many essence crystals for the girl... He has a heart, I guess.

Murong Chuan nodded. “It’s a small matter. I’ll instruct Qian Liu later.”

Helping once was the same as helping twice, so he wouldn’t refuse. He couldn’t bear to.

Gu Han bowed solemnly. “Thank you, Senior!”

Murong Chuan was a bit skeptical. “Speaking of which... Where did you get ten million essence crystals from?”

Gu Han said with some pride, “I won them!”

Without hiding anything, Gu Han recounted the events of the banquet to Murong Chuan.

Murong Chuan’s eyes widened. “Poison pill? Du Teng’s reputation in the Yuqing Sect isn’t built on his cultivation, but on his insidious and hard-to-guard-against poison skills. You ate his poison pill, didn’t die, and even broke through to the next realm?”

Gu Han started spouting nonsense again. “Senior, I think I must possess the legendary Poison Immunity Physique!”

The corner of Murong Chuan’s mouth twitched. He was somewhat skeptical. As a member of the Murong family, his knowledge surpassed that of Elders Wu and Feng. Poison Immunity Physique? Did you just make that name up on the spot?

“Du Teng is sinister, vicious, and holds the deepest grudges. Those who offend him never come to a good end. You made him lose so much reputation. Even with those two present, he shouldn’t have let you leave so easily.”

Gu Han pondered. “I think it probably has something to do with the Qingyun Pavilion.”

Murong Chuan’s heart shook. “Qingyun Pavilion?! They sought you out?”

“They said they want to give me a test.”

Murong Chuan exclaimed, “No wonder even Du Teng didn’t dare to touch you! Being favored by them is like having an extra protective talisman from birth.”

Gu Han was curious. “Senior, you know the Qingyun Pavilion well?”

Murong Chuan shook his head. “I can’t say I know it well. I’m not a member of the Yuqing Sect. I only heard about these things from Murong Yan. The Qingyun Pavilion is extremely special within the Yuqing Sect.

“There are only a handful of people inside, but each one selected is many times stronger than trash like Jiang Hong. As for the true details of the Qingyun Pavilion, I’m afraid no one knows...”

Gu Han curled his lip. “So mysterious? No wonder they didn’t even greet me properly and went straight to testing me.”

Murong Chuan glanced at him. “Be grateful. In all my years in Great Qi, you are the first person they have actively sought out to test. This is an opportunity others beg for, yet you look displeased.”

Gu Han rubbed his chin. “Senior, I always feel the Qingyun Pavilion kinda clashes with me.”

Murong Chuan turned and left. Talking to this kind of person is too frustrating!

Just as he was about to go upstairs, he paused for a moment, seemingly recalling something. “Ah, about the Qingyun Pavilion, there’s one more thing.”

“What?”

“There seems to be a madman within their ranks.”

Gu Han was stunned. “Madman? Who?”

Murong Chuan shook his head. “Ive no clue. Once, Murong Yan had returned to the clan severely injured. Rumor has it, she suffered a loss at the hands of that madman. Even she claimed that person is the real deal.”

Gu Han was a bit surprised. A madman?

Although he didn’t know Murong Yan’s specific cultivation level, he was well aware of her immense physical strength. Someone who could defeat her had to be terrifyingly powerful. However, what did that have to do with being mad or not? He was about to ask more, but Murong Chuan had already disappeared upstairs.

He curled his lip and deliberately called out, “Senior, those ten million essence crystals, I got them by risking my life. You better not take any kickbacks, alright!”

Murong Chuan, who was in the middle of instructing Qian Liu, stiffened. He instructed with a stern face, “Remember to record every single expense in detail. Not a single essence crystal can be missing or wrong. Understood?”

Qian Liu was so scared he broke out in a cold sweat. “Y-yes!”

***

In the Heaven-class room, Fatty had apparently said something that angered Chief Steward Li again. Chief Steward Li chased after him and gave him a good beating. Ah Sha and Jiang Feng were watching with great interest.

Gu Han pretended as if he didn’t see it. After giving the two some instructions, he walked into a quiet room, and took out all the remaining resources he had.

After this incident, he felt the urgency of time even more keenly. Whether it was the Qingyun Pavilion’s test, or the threats from Du Teng and the others, he required great strength to deal with them. Relying on others was only a temporary expedient—true strength lay in one’s own power.

Thinking of this, he ate several spirit herbs and closed his eyes. The spirit qi in this room was originally extremely dense. Now, with the addition of a large number of essence crystals, it had almost turned into a mist, completely obscuring his form.

As the barriers of each acupoint broke one after another, his cultivation level began to rise at a steady pace.