Supreme Sword Exalt

Yang Tong fell silent at Zuo Yang’s words. After a long while, he ordered, “Leave!”

Yang Xiong was unwilling to accept this. “Old Ancestor, you can’t trust his words! That woman has been gone for so long, she definitely won’t be coming back!”

Yang Tong said expressionlessly, “One more word, and I will strip you of your position as family head!”

Yang Xiong’s face paled, and he dared not make another sound.

Zuo Yang slid the pointed knife back into his waist. “Before you go, let me lay down my rules.”

***

Inside Ruyi Tower, the steward returned after only a short absence. He gave a slight bow. “Guest, my apologies, but the tower master is not seeing anyone at the moment.”

Gu Han wasn’t too surprised. “Not seeing anyone?”

The esteemed tower master, who could even disregard Murong Yuan’s face, wouldn’t care about a mere Essence Gathering realm cultivator like him.

He said seriously, “Please convey to the tower master that the chief disciple of Fengwu Court, Zuo Yang’s junior brother, requests an audience.”

The steward became somewhat awkward. “Well... Guest, to be frank with you, it is precisely because of your identity that the tower master does not wish to see you.”

Gu Han lost it. He had been screwed over by his senior brother again! For a moment, he was at a loss. Do I force my way in? That’s not appropriate. Doing so would likely thoroughly offend Ruyi Tower. Besides, with my cultivation level, I probably couldn’t do it anyway.Then should I butter him up? Hmm... That wouldn’t work either.

Given the tower master’s attitude, he was probably dead set on not seeing Gu Han.

Suddenly, he gritted his teeth. “Forget it! You’re forcing me.”

The steward misunderstood his meaning, his expression turning serious. “Guest, violence is prohibited within Ruyi Tower—”

Before he could finish, a foul stench assaulted his nostrils, and his face instantly turned green. He saw Gu Han gnashing his teeth while holding a black, strip-like object between two fingers. The unbearable, almost nauseating odor was emanating from that thing.

For a moment, the other guests in the hall cursed loudly, their eyes scanning around, trying to find the culprit.

“It stinks!”

“Even demonic beast dung isn’t this foul!”

“I can’t take it, I-I’m going to throw up!”

“Which bastard did this! Step forward now!”

Gu Han, barely suppressing his own nausea, swept a cold gaze over the crowd. “It’s me. Any objections?”

Upon seeing it was Gu Han, everyone collectively gasped, not daring to say another word. Forget it! It just stinks a little, I guess it’s better than losing your life.

The steward pleaded almost desperately, “G-Guest, please... please put it away immediately!”

Although Gu Han was also struggling to endure, he gnashed his teeth and stood his ground. “What do you know! This is a treasure seen only once in a hundred years! I specifically brought it to give to your tower master. Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t recognize its value.”

The steward wore a bitter expression. He was certain that Gu Han was acting out of resentment, deliberately trying to disgust the tower master.

The others also wore strange expressions. Treasure? If this is a treasure, I’ll twist my own head off right here!

Of course, if it were anyone else, they would have probably started mocking him already. Since it was Gu Han, they could only curse silently.

The steward could no longer hold back. “Guest, if you intend to cause trouble in Ruyi Tower, you’ve come to the wrong place—hmm?”

Mid-sentence, he seemed to hear something, and his expression turned odd. Although puzzled, he didn’t dare disobey the tower master’s instruction in the slightest. “Guest, the tower master requests your presence.”

Upon seeing his goal achieved, Gu Han wasted no time and immediately stored that piece of great demon flesh away.

He felt a lingering fear. That was close... A little longer, and I would have really vomited!

Watching Gu Han ascend the stairs, the crowd looked at each other.

“No way? Is that thing really a treasure?” one muttered softly,

Another person’s eyes flashed with a hint of lingering fear. “It must be! If we’re talking purely about lethality, it’s absolutely a top-tier treasure in the world!”

Everyone deeply agreed. Their awe of Gu Han increased a few more notches. To use a move that deals 1000 damage at the cost of 1200 to oneself, he really is a ruthless person!

***

The Yang family estate.

Zuo Yang had already left. Yang Xiong held the nearly crippled Yang Fei in his arms, brimming with hatred and unwillingness. He turned to Yang Tong, who was silent. “Old Ancestor, we’re really just letting him go like this?”

Yang Tong glanced at him. “What? Didn’t you hear what he said?”

Yang Xiong was unconvinced. “But what if he’s bluffing, and that woman simply won’t come back?”

Yang Tong simply flicked his sleeve and left without sparing him another glance. He said icily, “Won’t come back? Hmph, for the sake of a useless good-for-nothing, I cannot gamble with the lives of the entire Yang family!”

Yang Xiong didn’t dare speak again.

After a long while, an elder said cautiously, “Family Head, then this matter—”

Yang Xiong’s eyes were bloodshot. “Investigate! Find out exactly what happened! Fei’er is just a child, yet that person used such vicious force! How could I possibly let him off!”

The elder’s heart jumped. “Family Head, but Zuo Yang just forbade us from taking action...”

Yang Xiong gnashed his teeth in hatred. “I won’t act, but that doesn’t mean others can’t.”

“You mean...”

Killing intent surged in Yang Xiong’s eyes. “Hmph! I will get my revenge!”

***

Meanwhile, Zuo Yang had long since left the Yang family and had no idea of Yang Xiong’s thoughts.

“Next, it should be the Meng family’s turn, then Qixia Court, then Yuqing Sect. As for the Murong family, forget it, those people are fairly decent. Junior Brother seems on good terms with them too...” he muttered to himself, then sighed. “As the senior brother, I feel a bit ashamed having to rely entirely on senior sister’s reputation for everything! Maybe I should just go ahead and break through a realm.”

***

Inside Ruyi Tower, led by the steward, Gu Han arrived at the ninth floor.

Stopping before the door of an elegant, secluded quiet room, the steward said, “Guest, please, the tower master is inside.”

Gu Han cupped his hands in thanks, then entered. “Thank you for your trouble.”

The furnishings inside the quiet room were extremely simple, consisting of only a table and a chair. By the window, a blue-robed, middle-aged man stood with his back to Gu Han. He clasped his hands behind him, seemingly admiring the view below. For some reason, even though the man’s appearance was not particularly remarkable, the moment Gu Han saw him, a faint sense of peculiarity arose in his heart.

At that moment, the man said slowly, his voice actually carrying a sense of honor, “Kid, you’re quite the brave one!”

Hearing him speak, the feeling of peculiarity in Gu Han’s heart grew stronger. “Senior, what exactly are you referring to?”

The man laughed. “It seems you also know how rude it was to take that thing out in public?”

Gu Han said helplessly, “I had no choice, Since you refused to see me, I could only resort to this.”

The man laughed again. “Speak, why exactly did you want to see me?”

Gu Han got straight to the point. “I want that pill from the Ghost Physician.”

The man’s tone changed. “Hmm? What did you say?”

Gu Han took a deep breath. “That pill is of great use to me.”

The man laughed coldly. “Kid, since you know of the Ghost Physician, you should understand the immense value of this pill. With your mere Essence Gathering realm cultivation, you think you can take the pill from my hands? Even if Murong Yuan and the others were all here, there wouldn’t be the slightest chance.”

Gu Han shook his head. “Senior, I must have that pill.”

The chill in the man’s voice intensified. “Didn’t Zuo Yang tell you that I have some history with him?”

“He did.”

“Although I am not a petty person, and my grudge with him won’t extend to you, that is not a reason for you to act arrogantly before me.”

Gu Han sighed. “Senior, the fact that I brought out that item should be enough to demonstrate my sincerity.”

“What sincerity?”

Gu Han stared at him. “Senior, there’s no need to test me further. If I’m not mistaken, that item should be very important to you, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have seen me. I am willing to trade it for that pill.”

The man whirled around instantly. “Really?”

The moment Gu Han saw his face, he understood where that sense of peculiarity had come from. The man seemed like an ordinary person, except for the thumb-sized patches of fine silver scales on each side of his temples. Even his pupils were strikingly golden in color. Yet the two minor differences made his entire demeanor seem somewhat more demonic.

Demonic species! Although he had never seen one in person, that word flashed through Gu Han’s mind first.

As if guessing Gu Han’s thoughts, the man didn’t avoid the topic. “Did you figure it out? Strictly speaking, I carry part of a demonic beast bloodline. Indeed, I am not a pure human.

Gu Han had a striking realization of the history between Zuo Yang and this man. Although he didn’t know how many demonic beasts Zuo Yang had slaughtered and eaten, it probably was not a small number.

This history—no. This couldn’t even be called a history anymore. This is a blood feud!

He broke out in a cold sweat. Did I just deliver myself to the enemy’s doorstep? Indeed! I got screwed over by senior brother again! Thoroughly screwed!

The man naturally saw his concern and waved a hand. “There’s no need to worry. My grudge with him is another matter, unrelated to this. Besides, not just me, even demonic beasts do not consider those that haven’t taken human form and act only on instinct as their kind.”

Gu Han secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The man shifted the topic, bringing up another matter. “I heard that you just joined Fengwu Court?”

“Yes.”

“Then did you join Fengwu Court because of that piece of great demon flesh?”

Gu Han wore a helpless expression. “Senior, I was actually tricked into going there by my senior brother.”

“Tricked?”

Gu Han looked wistful. “Yes! Who would have thought that one of the two great courts, a notable power in the Northern Domain, would only have a cook and a tailor?”

The man seemed to remember something, his eyebrows rising slightly. “I see. That does sound like Zuo Yang’s usual style of doing things.”

Gu Han agreed wholeheartedly. “Mhm! Senior Brother is a bit of a trickster!”

After a moment of silence, the man shifted the topic again. “I saw your earlier actions clearly. Your cultivation level is low within the entire Eastern Wasteland. Still, in terms of foundation and talent alone, you could be considered outstanding. Moreover, your sword technique seems born for killing—”

Gu Han became alert. “Senior, even if I gave my sword technique to you, you—”

The man chuckled. “Why would I want it? It doesn’t matter how powerful a divine secret art is, if it doesn’t suit you, it’s useless. However, I do have a proposal. Would you like to hear it?”

Gu Han was taken aback. “A proposal? What proposal?”

The man’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at Gu Han. “A talent like you buried in Fengwu Court is a pity! Abandon Fengwu Court, and I will find another place for you to cultivate. It’ll be even better than all the sect powers in the entire Eastern Wasteland. What do you think?

Gu Han frowned slightly. “Senior, I—”

“Don’t refuse hastily. If you agree, any resource from Ruyi Tower will be at your disposal, without you having to pay any price. And also...” The man smiled, flipping his hand and producing a jade box. “I can give this pill from the Ghost Physician to you for free.”