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Chapter 265: Chapter 262 Perfection
Xie Xiaowan’s expression changed slightly.
"I’ll tell you why, because at the time, your family was in a dire strait, urgently needing a powerful backing to help your family weather the crisis, and I, as the Purgatory Sect Elder Lianshen who is willing to take you as a disciple, am indeed the best choice."
Gu Jinlai said.
"I... Although I intended to find a support for my family through the crisis, I had never thought of becoming your disciple..."
Xie Xiaowan insisted with difficulty.
"Never thought of it? You’ve accepted the benefits I offered, and you’ve used the cultivation resources. If you really can’t accept being the disciple of an elder from the Demon Sect, I didn’t see you discard your martial skills once you joined the Yellow Sky Sect. Aren’t you still using the cultivation achieved with the resources I gave you, obtaining the status of a true disciple of the Yellow Sky Sect?"
Gu Jinlai looked at his fourth disciple: "In the end, you want the benefits and the reputation too, right? What do they call this kind of behavior?"
"Playing the saint while acting the whore."
Gu Luochen immediately interjected.
These words turned Xie Xiaowan’s face pale.
"If you have such integrity now, then don’t say I never gave you a chance... You maim your martial skills and betray your sect, and I will no longer pursue the matter."
Gu Jinlai said indifferently: "My request is completely reasonable, right?"
"Maim my martial skills..."
Xie Xiaowan looked at Gu Jinlai, bit her lip, and made up her mind: "Are... are you serious?"
"Of course."
Gu Jinlai said: "With my current status, I wouldn’t stoop to deceive you over such a trivial matter."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he turned to Fang Yichen: "I also offer you a way out. Aren’t you a true disciple of the Yellow Sky Sect? I remember someone saying that as a true disciple, one must follow the tenets of the Yellow Heaven Dao Sect, eradicate demons, and support the order of the Yellow Sky Sect. Therefore, I give you an opportunity. Right in front of you is a discarded disciple of the Purgatory Sect who has been crippled and lost a great deal of cultivation. If you kill her, I will spare your life."
"You..."
A look of helplessness flashed in Xie Xiaowan’s eyes.
Her gaze turned towards Fang Yichen.
Fang Yichen felt her gaze but glanced at Gu Jinlai instead.
He knew that the Lord of Star State just wanted to humiliate Xie Xiaowan in this manner.
If he truly did as Gu Jinlai suggested...
Xie Xiaowan, even in death, would not rest in peace.
But...
He didn’t want to die.
Even knowing the Lord of Star State’s intention, he...
Still wanted to take the gamble.
To bet that the Lord of Star State was a man of his word.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but let his gaze fall on Xie Xiaowan, trying to infuse a hint of deep emotion into his voice: "Xiaowan."
"You’re going to strike at me?"
Xie Xiaowan turned to Fang Yichen, a trace of pain flickering in her eyes.
"You betrayed Governor Gu... He will never let you off no matter what, today... you’re bound to die without a doubt. Rather than dying in vain, it’s better to... before dying..."
Fang Yichen also felt his request was too much to ask, yet he still shamelessly said: "Help me one more time..."
"Spouses are like birds in the same forest, who fly separately when disaster strikes..."
Xie Xiaowan murmured softly.
She gave Gu Jinlai a look, her eyes filled with hatred.
But more than that, it was sorrow.
Of course, with her personality, she was simply sorrowful for herself.
"Unless one is the rule maker, in this world, who can have all the best things?"
Gu Jinlai met her gaze: "Sadly, you are not."
Xie Xiaowan fell silent for a moment then said: "I’ve learned my lesson."
She looked at Fang Yichen: "I have some regrets, but this was ultimately my own choice, and I must own up to it. You promised to live and die with me, so..."
Suddenly, she moved, snatching the sabre from Gu Luochen.
The blade swept across her neck.
Blood splattered.
In this process, Gu Luochen of course could have reacted, but he did not intervene.
In his view, traitors deserved to die.
"Xiaowan!"
Fang Yichen cried out in horror, but his eyes swiftly moved to Gu Yunxin’s sabre.
"Since you’ve promised to live and die with him, then accompany her in death; credibility is a person’s second business card, I can’t allow you to be a man without honor."
Gu Jinlai said indifferently.
The next moment, Gu Yunxin drew his sword.
Explosive force erupted from within him.
A Middle Level Demon... Or rather, a Middle-level War General’s strength, facing Fang Yichen, a newly inducted Hugging Pill, swordless against the sword, it was an overwhelming force.
"No!"
Fang Yichen had just managed to scream before the Gang Qi exploded out of him, but as Gu Yunxin’s sword came down, he was completely obliterated, both body and Qi, by a single stroke.
The explosive power formed a hurricane, scattering in all directions.
But before it could fully harm the surroundings, Gu Yunxin’s sword blade spun rapidly, lifting the force into the void, thundering high in the sky hundreds of meters above.
Gu Jinlai looked at Xie Xiaowan’s body and said: "Clean this up, let’s prepare to return."
"Yes."
Gu Yunxin and the others respectfully answered.
...
Now that he had received the Immortal Essence Gold, Gu Jinlai, who never intended to occupy Yellow State indefinitely, kept his word.
Early the next day, the army set out, returning to Star State.
However...
Although Gu Jinlai no longer occupied Yuntian City, during his time there, he had implemented the system of Lingxiao City within its walls.
As a result, when he decided to leave, hundreds of thousands of Yuntian City citizens chose to depart with his army.
Not just Yuntian City.
Along the Jade Belt River, there were also people from several cities who yearned for the peace and tranquility of Star State.
Under these circumstances, by the time Gu Jinlai’s army was about to leave the border, their numbers had swelled from more than a hundred thousand to over one hundred and thirty million.
This number...
Was equivalent to relocating an entire mid-to-large-sized city, including the main city and its counties.
The Yellow Sky Sect naturally expressed some protest.
But with Gu Jinlai’s firm refusal, they did not dare persist.
Otherwise, if they upset Gu Jinlai, and he decided not to leave those cities, they would have no recourse.
Compared to losing a third of Yellow State and a population of tens of millions, merely one million plus being taken away...
Was hardly worth a sneer.
...
Once the army entered Star State, Gu Jinlai left Gu Chaoyang and Cheng Wanli behind, leading a hundred thousand elites and the citizens to slowly advance.
He himself, with a hundred of the most elite Demon God Guards, quickly returned to Starlight City.
Gu Jinlai always valued propaganda work.
The news of Lingxiao City’s victory over the Tianhe Demons in Yuntian City, the defeat of the Tianhe Demons’ army of seventy to eighty thousand in one battle, and the slaying of the Champsosaurus King, the leader of the Tianhe Demons, by Gu Jinlai himself, had already spread far and wide immediately after the victory.
All the citizens of Star State felt great pride over this.
As Gu Jinlai rode his signature Mechanical Tyrannosaurus to the outskirts of Starlight City, there was no need for Gu Changfeng, who was temporarily in charge there, to organize anything; countless citizens had already spontaneously come out of the city to welcome him.
As soon as they appeared on the horizon, everyone who knew about the battle in Yuntian City began to shout with all their might.
"Victory to Lingxiao City!"
"Victory to the Great Sun’s Lord!"
Their calls echoed thunderously around the outskirts of Starlight City.
And as these sounds spread, it seemed that Starlight City itself also realized that Gu Jinlai was leading the victorious return, and ecstatic shouts followed closely behind, the intense sound waves seemingly about to overturn the entire Starlight City.
"Governor."
Within the welcoming crowd, Gu Changfeng, accompanied by Gu Xiangyang and others, came to meet him from afar.
Gu Jinlai nodded in response.
In public, to maintain the dignity of Gu Jinlai, it was natural for them not to address each other as brothers.
Gu Chifeng, who had returned with Gu Jinlai, watched this scene and said, "We should hold a grand victory ceremony. Defeating the Tianhe Demons will surely establish the confidence of all the people in Star State to fight against demons, and it’s a good topic for propaganda."
Gu Xiangyang glanced at him and smiled, "Even young brother Chi Feng understands this propaganda stuff now."
"Having seen a lot by the Patriarch’s side, naturally I have learned a thing or two," Gu Chifeng replied modestly.
"The victory ceremony needs to be held, but not for us. It should be for the Heavenly Master-led cannon team and other Demon God Guards," Gu Jinlai stated.
At the same time, he looked at Gu Changfeng, "Have the new batch of Demon God Guards been selected? We still have plenty of Demon Blood Essence to convert into combat power as quickly as possible."
He had come ahead of time precisely to handle this matter.
"They have been selected, all skilled in refining the organs and beyond, and their background can withstand scrutiny," Gu Changfeng replied, pausing before adding, "However, the expansion of the Demon God Guards has been too rapid, and no matter how stringent our selection process, it’s inevitable that some might infiltrate."
"No worry, such things are unavoidable, we just need to control every checkpoint," Gu Jinlai said.
Currently, only he and Zhang Lihuo had the ability to purify the demonic nature from the Demon Blood Essence.
As long as he controlled this aspect, there was no concern that the Demon God Guards would develop any notions of betrayal.
Of course, the possibility of absolutely no issues was very small, but what he could do was to further reduce that probability.
"Soon, we will have a force of ten thousand Demon God Guards," Gu Jinlai said with a slight smile.
This power, compared to Dragon Sparrow Manor or Yellow Sky Sect, was unsurpassed.
Although the Demon God Guards could only serve as middle management, developing to this extent in just a few years was already very satisfying to Gu Jinlai.
"Now, let us head to the Demon Refining Hall," said Gu Jinlai. "This time, even though most of the demons were killed by Sword Heavy Cannon, the number that died by my hand is certainly not small, especially the Demon Demon King Champsosaurus... I wonder if it can be exchanged for a Dao Artifact."
As he spoke, he was already somewhat eager.
...
As Gu Jinlai rushed to the Demon Refining Hall in Starlight City.
Blue Star.
In a highly confidential laboratory, a surge of irrepressible cheers suddenly erupted.
In the lab’s core area, a banner was swiftly replaced.
"Nuclear Fusion Engine Ignition Experiment, Perfection Completed."
The laboratory’s leader, with a proud expression, extended his arms towards the researchers below, "Congratulations to us, to everyone. From today onward, we can proudly declare to all, Controlled Nuclear Fusion Technology has been completely mastered by our country!"
