NOVPUBStepping into the Grinding Blade Hall once more,
Gu Yang immediately felt a terrifying Blade Intent filling the air, giving him a chilling sensation.
Seeing this,
Gu Yang’s expression turned solemn.
He understood.
This was a sign of his father’s strength advancing yet again.
Gu Qingfeng’s strength seemed to be improving every moment, and such a rate of improvement could only be described as astonishing.
"You’ve arrived!"
Gu Qingfeng opened his eyes, which seemed to flash with a cold, bloodthirsty light, instantly raising the hair on Gu Yang’s body and making him feel as if he was facing a terrifying being.
Although the feeling came quickly and left just as fast, Gu Yang’s back was already soaked with cold sweat.
"Father!"
Gu Yang took a deep breath, steadied the shock in his heart, and then bowed ceremonially.
Gu Qingfeng asked calmly, "Tell me, has something happened?"
It was unnecessary.
Gu Yang would almost never come to the Grinding Blade Hall to disturb him.
This was also Gu Qingfeng’s instruction.
The Grinding Blade Hall was his place for secluded cultivation, and only a few people like Gu Yang were allowed to enter and leave freely, but they would not come unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Father, some time ago, Pei Jing led an attack on Guangyang Prefecture, and the court suffered a major defeat," Gu Yang reported solemnly. "Now, a hundred thousand soldiers from the Divine Martial Army are marching directly toward White Stone Dao.
The intention of the Divine Martial Army is clear. In this battle, father, what do you think we should do?"
Gu Yang spoke with a grave tone.
Gu Qingfeng’s expression remained unchanged as he glanced at him faintly.
"What do you have in mind?"
"I believe that our Gu Family Manor, after so much effort over the years, should not abandon our current foundation, for that would be equivalent to giving up years of hard work."
Gu Yang spoke without any hesitation, directly stating his view.
"Over these years, I’ve established White Stone Dao as our base, while secretly raising a strong force. Now we can muster nearly a hundred thousand troops. If it comes to a head-on battle, we don’t necessarily have to face defeat.
The only problem is the existence of the Tianyang Sword Sect backing Pei Jing.
I’ve heard that the court’s defeat was due to the intervention of experts from the Tianyang Sword Sect!"
At the end,
Gu Yang looked toward Gu Qingfeng, waiting for his decision.
Withdrawing was not something he was willing to do.
But if they decided not to withdraw, they needed to assess whether there was any chance of victory.
If it were just the hundred thousand Divine Martial Army, then Gu Yang had confidence in fighting them. After all, the army had been secretly trained for some time, lavishly resourced and instructed in Martial Arts; they were no ordinary troops.
Now,
these soldiers were only one battle away from a transformation into a truly elite force.
But the most pressing issue at hand was the Tianyang Sword Sect.
If they could hold off the Tianyang Sword Sect, then the hundred thousand troops would not be a problem, but if they couldn’t withstand the Tianyang Sword Sect, defeating the hundred thousand troops would be pointless.
In this world, might was still revered.
A common Martial Artist would find it difficult to survive being surrounded by a large army, but for top fighters, being killed by an army was extremely difficult.
Furthermore,
if the opponent wished, they could completely opt for a decapitation strike.
Therefore,
without top-level fighters to hold the fort, no matter how large the army, it would be useless.
Of course,
nothing was absolute.
If the top-tier fighters truly resolved to fight to the death, the likely result would be dying from exhaustion.
"Tianyang Sword Sect..."
Gu Qingfeng’s eyes flashed coldly upon hearing this name, and then he spoke.
"The problem with Tianyang Sword Sect is not significant, I’ll intervene myself when necessary."
Having said this,
Gu Qingfeng’s palm transformed, capturing and attracting the Evil Slayer Blade, which seemed to be pulled by some force, directly into his grasp.
Afterward,
Gu Qingfeng handed the Evil Slayer Blade to Gu Yang.
"Keep this blade with you, so even if a Master makes a move, it can protect your life!"
"Thank you, Father!"
Gu Yang received the Evil Slayer Blade with both hands, feeling the terrifying power contained within the sheath, as if the unsheathing of the long blade would be an earth-shattering event.
Holding the Evil Slayer Blade,
Gu Yang instantly felt a surge of confidence within.
Furthermore, Gu Qingfeng’s words had solidified the thoughts in his heart.
Without delay,
Gu Yang took his leave.
If he was to fight, then he must win this battle; otherwise, his loss in this first battle would turn the subsequent struggle for supremacy into a joke.
Shortly after Gu Yang left, someone entered the Grinding Blade Hall.
"Greetings to your honor!"
"How goes the intelligence gathering on Tianyang Sword Sect?"
Gu Qingfeng asked Gu Er, looking at the man before him.
Although the Hidden Guard was now under Gu Yang’s control, Gu Qingfeng still had the authority to command the Hidden Guard. A year earlier, he had ordered them to secretly gather intelligence on the Tianyang Sword Sect.
After all, his rift with the Tianyang Sword Sect was beyond mending, and it was essential to know both the enemy and oneself; otherwise, a direct confrontation could lead to being caught off guard.
Gu Er replied, "To report to your honor, the Tianyang Sword Sect has a robust foundation, with thirty-six elders within the sect. Each elder is either in the Innate Realm, or a Magician from the God Fusion Realm."
"At the same time, the Sect Master of Tianyang, it is rumored, broke through the barriers of the God Fusion Realm thousands of years ago and stepped into the fabled Transformation Realm.
However, for several centuries now, the Sect Master of Tianyang has been in seclusion, rarely making public appearances."
"Some messages have surfaced, suggesting that the Sect Master of Tianyang hasn’t appeared because previous life-and-death battles caused signs of an Evil Spirit revival within him, and thus he has been suppressing its resurgence all this time.
There are also rumors that the Sect Master of Tianyang is in seclusion, attempting a breakthrough to a realm above Transformation.
But the precise details are unknown to me at this time."
Gu Qingfeng nodded slightly at Gu Er’s words.
It was no easy feat for the Hidden Guard to have gathered such information; uncovering the Sect Master of Tianyang’s secrets would naturally not be simple.
The God Fusion Realm and Transformation Realm mentioned by Gu Er are two realms of Magicians.
Spirit-controlling Realm Magicians are only comparable to those in Refining Organ and the ordinary Innate.
God Fusion Realm Magicians are on par with True Intent Masters and the pinnacle can even match a Great Grandmaster.
The so-called Transformation Realm,
even at the initial entry, is not inferior to a Martial Arts Grandmaster.
Based on these statements, it was conservatively estimated that there would be a peak Transformation Realm Magician in Tianyang Sword Sect; as for whether that Sect Master of Tianyang had broken the shackles of the Transformation Realm, stepping into a higher tier,
Gu Qingfeng deemed the probability rather low.
According to Gu Qingfeng’s understanding, the peak Magicians of various Immortal Families and sects around the world are at the stage of the Transformation Realm.
Although it appears that the Transformation Realm is only equivalent to a Great Grandmaster, in reality, the two are entirely incomparable.
The reason is very simple.
A Great Grandmaster’s life spans eight hundred years.
A Transformation Realm Magician’s life spans three thousand years.
That,
is the difference.
With a lifespan of three thousand years,
one could outlive several Great Grandmasters without issue.
Speaking bluntly, in the face of such a long lifespan, a Great Grandmaster naturally doesn’t compare to a Magician of the same level.
