Supreme Sword Exalt

In Gu Han’s eyes, the fatty was far more terrifying than Mei Yun at this moment. “Stay away! Don’t you dare come over!”

The fatty squeezed his eyes shut and vomited. Up until the moment his foot hit that pile of dung, he could’ve sworn nothing was out of place.

Fatty’s exasperated voice echoed through the silent Wild Forest. “Mei Yun, I will kill you!” 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Upon hearing this, Gu Han and Jiang Feng quickly backed away, maintaining their distance from Mei Yun.

Mei Yun was completely oblivious. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a pile of faeces. Wipe it off and it’s fine? Here’s some advice, don’t shout randomly. Although the demonic beasts have been driven into the trial grounds by the deputy deans, there’s no guarantee one or two didn’t slip through the net. If you attract a high-tier demonic beast, we’ll have a huge problem in our hands.”

Gu Han’s expression changed drastically as he moved to cover Mei Yun’s mouth. “Don’t jinx it.”

However, it was too late. Before Mei Yun even finished speaking, the ground already shook.

From the dense forest, a demonic beast over ten zhang long charged out, stopping right in front of the group. “GRRRR!”

Judging by its aura alone, it was at least Tier 4.

Jiang Feng’s face turned pale. “We’re done for... It really came.”

Gu Han lost it. “Instructor Mei, this demonic beast is all yours, we’re getting out of here first!”

Without wasting a second, he grabbed Jiang Feng by the shoulder and disappeared in an instant.

Mei Yun shouted anxiously, “Don’t go! It’s just a Tier 4 demonic beast, I can crush it with one hand—ah!”

Upon seeing Gu Han and Jiang Feng fleeing without a trace, he turned his head and glared viciously at the demonic beast. “You... The chance I worked so hard to get to bond with them, it’s completely ruined by you! I’m going to turn you into stew today!”

***

Listening to the enraged roars of the demonic beast coming from behind, Gu Han felt a lingering fear. I was careless! I shouldn’t have been soft-hearted when dealing with Mei Yun...

Jiang Feng was also filled with regret. “Brother Gu, next time... we must think carefully.”

Gu Han was speechless. He finally understood how those previous students had died or gone mad. How was anyone supposed to withstand such a situation?

The fatty hurried as fast as he could\ and finally caught up. His eyes were bloodshot and fixed dead on Gu Han. “Bastard, this is your doing! I’m not done with you!”

Catching a whiff of the faint, lingering odor on the fatty, Gu Han and Jiang Feng instantly retreated several steps, with their faces full of disgust.

The fatty was on the verge of a breakdown. “I just washed up, is the smell still there?”

Jiang Feng stated the truth, “Yes.”

Gu Han also nodded. “Mhm. The smell is quite strong...”

The fatty completely broke down, lunging at Gu Han. “Bastard, I’ll kill you!”

***

After sending the students into the trial grounds, the group of instructors stayed outside, waiting for the final results of the trial.

In a dense forest, Yu Hua, Jiang Yi, and Chen Fang gathered together.

“So, when do we make our move?”

“Wait a bit longer. Acting now could startle the snake!”

“This time, we must be clean and efficient!”

Chen Fang glanced upwards. “What about the two deputy deans... Could there be a problem?”

“No. Commander Zhou has already reached an agreement with him. When the trial has been going on for a certain time, he will find an excuse to lead them away. Hmph, that will be our chance to strike.” Yu Hua shook his head, his tone full of hatred. “They won’t be able to escape even if they grow wings.”

Jiang Yi was somewhat hesitant. “But... if the Seventh Prince is with him, then...”

Yu Hua sneered. “Him? His Highness has made it clear that his seventh brother is very disobedient... You know what to do!”

The two looked at each other, their hearts chilling. As expected, within the imperial family, there is not a trace of familial affection to be found!

Chen Fang took a deep breath. “Let’s hope we succeed in one go.”

Yu Hua grinned fiercely, saying with utmost confidence, “Don’t worry! This time, no one can save them.”

There were some things he left unsaid. This time, besides the three of them, they had also prepared an extremely powerful backup plan. Aside from him and Jiang Hong, no one else knew.

***

Gu Han naturally knew nothing of Yu Hua’s conspiracy. Amid the bickering and noise, the three of them soon arrived at the pre-designated trial grounds.

As soon as they entered, the roars of various demonic beasts became incessant.

Upon seeing Gu Han’s curiosity, Jiang Feng explained, “There are sound-isolating arrays set up here. It’s to avoid disturbing the high-tier demonic beasts deep inside and disrupting the martial academy trial.”

Gu Han suddenly understood. “So that’s what it is. Then, if we lure Yu Hua here and kill him, the commotion won’t spread outside, right?”

Jiang Feng smiled wryly. Brother Gu... why are you still hung up on this?

The fatty, full of pent-up anger, wanted to find a target to vent on. “When the time comes, you stay far away! Targeting me again and again, does he really think I’m a pushover? This time, I’ll definitely kill him.”

Jiang Feng had no strength left to dissuade them. “But even if we want to take action, how do we lure him here...?”

Gu Han shook his head. “No need to lure. He was acting very strange. I have a feeling he will definitely come for me. When the time comes, we’ll teach him who is the hunter and who is the prey—hm?”

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. The fatty and Jiang Feng also noticed something unusual. They stared at the ancient tree ahead, so massive that even several people couldn’t wrap their arms around it.

Someone was under the tree. He wore black martial attire, with a cold and stern expression. Leaning diagonally beside him was a large spear that was a full zhang long.

Gu Han and the fatty hadn’t sensed his presence at all. This person was definitely strong and certainly not a student of the Great Qi Martial Academy.

Gu Han and the fatty exchanged a glance, instantly reaching a judgment. “Let’s go.”

Gu Han immediately prepared to leave, not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble. After all, the person’s intentions were unclear, and it was impossible to tell whether they were friend or foe.

The man’s gaze swept over the three of them as he said slowly, “Wait. Which one of you three is Gu Han?”

Before Gu Han could speak, the fatty sold him out first. “Him! Guaranteed genuine, I swear on his honor, it’s him!”

A vein throbbed on Gu Han’s temple. Fucking fatty. I’ll deal with you later.

The man looked at Gu Han a few times. “Are you Gu Han?”

“I am.”

“Supreme Stage?”

“Yes.”

The man nodded, taking hold of his spear. “Great. Then let’s begin.”

Gu Han frowned deeply. “Begin what? And who are you?”

The man paused. “Me? Yang Ying from Qingyun Pavilion.”

Gu Han narrowed his eyes. “So, you are the test they mentioned.”

Yang Ying nodded. “It seems like you already know.”

Gu Han’s expression gradually turned cold. “I never agreed to this test. Matters you decided on your own have nothing to do with me.”

Yang Ying’s expression remained. “That’s not important. Whoever Qingyun Pavilion decides to test must accept, regardless of whether they agree or not.”

In an instant, Yang Ying’s entire aura underwent a transformation. Earlier, he had suppressed his qi. With no detectable fluctuations, he seemed no different from an ordinary person. Now, he was like an unsheathed blade, his aura sharp to the extreme. His cultivation level was at least the eight stage of Essence Gathering.

Just standing there gave Gu Han immense pressure.

Even the fatty wore a grave expression, pulling Jiang Feng as they retreated to a distance. “Step back.”

Jiang Feng was somewhat worried. “May I ask, if the test isn’t passed, what will happen?”

Yang Ying shook his head. “I don’t know. He might die, or get crippled. It all depends on his strength.”

Gu Han laughed angrily. “I never expected the Qingyun Pavilion to act so tyrannically.”

Yang Ying slowly raised the long spear, and a strand of qi also locked tightly onto Gu Han. “How Qingyun Pavilion conducts itself requires no explanation to others. You only need to accept the test.”

Just then, a Tier 2 demonic beast charged directly out from the dense forest, rushing head first towards the two. “GRRR!”

It seemed to have been chased into a panic and fleeing blindly.

In spite of that, Yang Ying was unfazed. “Are you ready?”

Gu Han pushed his spirit qi to its limit, screaming angrily, “Ready your ass!”

Operating at such an overload actually caused a slight discomfort even in his incredibly resilient meridians. With a turn of long sword, nine strands of the Great Evolution Sword Qi slashed towards Yang Ying. Gu Han went all out from the first move.

Yang Ying’s eyes lit up slightly. “You’re good.”

Instead of evading, he raised his spear. His aura had almost doubled compared to before. Then, he thrust his weapon directly at Gu Han. “First, take my spear.”

The qi of the two collided, stirring up a violent spirit power tide. The demonic beast exploded into a mist of blood without making a sound.