Supreme Sword Master - Chapter 14

"Supreme Sword Master - Chapter 14: The Endgame, the Gu Family's Ambush!"

Chapter 14: The Endgame, the Gu Family's Ambush!

"Who's there!"

The group was startled, quickly turning around with faces full of caution.

But upon seeing Gu Han, their wariness gradually gave way to excitement and greed.

"He... looks like that Gu Han, doesn't he?"

"No doubt about it. He matches the description on the bounty nine out of ten times—it must be him!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, we were just worrying about not being able to find this brat, and here he comes delivering himself to us!"

"Is he an idiot? How dare he expose his identity like this?"

"..."

As they spoke, the group slowly began to close in on Gu Han.

"Bad people!"

On Gu Han's back, A Sha spoke angrily.

"You don't even know Young Master—why do you want to kill him!"

"Just because he killed his father!"

From within the crowd,

The person with the highest cultivation level spoke with an air of righteousness.

"Killing him would rid the world of a menace!"

"We can get rid of this troublemaker and earn spirit crystals at the same time—why not?"

"Exactly! In my opinion, helping the Gu Family like this deserves more than just two thousand spirit crystals!"

"..."

The group exchanged words, angering A Sha until tears welled up in her eyes.

"You..."

"A Sha."

Gu Han remained expressionless as he slowly raised his sword.

"There's no point reasoning with them. Whether I killed my father or not is irrelevant now. What matters is that my life is currently worth two thousand spirit crystals!"

"Remember this!"

"Reasoning with unreasonable people is the stupidest thing you can do in this world!"

"Young Master..."

A Sha wiped her tears.

"What should we do?"

"It's simple!"

Gu Han's gaze swept across the group, and he calmly uttered a single word.

"Kill!"

Swish!

No sooner had the word left his lips than a fierce, foot-long strand of sword qi shot out, splitting into two mid-air before landing amidst the group!

Having reached the fourth level of Spirit Enlightenment,

He had successfully condensed his second strand of Great Yan Sword Qi!

"Ah!"

"Help..."

The sword qi was so fast that even cultivators at the Spirit Mastery stage would struggle to dodge it—let alone them.

Screams erupted one after another.

In the blink of an eye, several people collapsed, howling in agony!

"Attack!"

The leader of the group felt his heart sink and hastily shouted, "This brat isn't simple! Everyone attack together! If anyone dares slack off, they won't get a single spirit crystal..."

Swish!

Before he could finish,

Another streak of sword light flashed!

"...Divide it."

A cold sensation ran down his neck as he instinctively muttered his final words. The world spun, and darkness swallowed him whole—he was gone.

By this point,

The group finally realized how terrifying Gu Han truly was!

But... it was too late!

Accompanied by screams and wails, in just moments, the area had turned into a bloodbath. The slightly blackened soil was soaked with blood, its stench nauseating.

From start to finish,

The battle had been completely one-sided.

The prey had become the hunter.

And the hunters... had turned into helpless lambs with no means of resistance!

On his back,

A Sha's body trembled slightly.

With some of her soul energy replenished, she had regained many normal human emotions. Having lived in a daze for ten years, her mind had been blank, and suddenly witnessing such a bloody scene left her feeling lost and confused.

"A Sha, are you scared?"

"A... little."

"It's fine. You'll get used to it."

"Mm!"

Since he had decided to teach A Sha cultivation, Gu Han hardened his heart and began instilling in her the harsh truths of the cultivation world.

Survival of the fittest.

The strong survive.

These principles were especially evident—and cruel—in the cultivation world. If he had been strong enough before, how could Gu Tian have been ambushed and killed by his own family? How could he have been falsely accused of patricide and exiled to the outskirts of the city, nearly losing his life?

Everything...

Was because he wasn't strong enough.

If you're not strong,

Then become strong!

Quickly cleaning up the battlefield, he didn't linger and swiftly departed.

...

In the blink of an eye,

Half a month had passed.

During this time,

Gu Han frequently appeared, using himself as bait to lure others into attacking him.

As for the results... they were self-evident.

The wandering cultivators who came here

Were at most at the Spirit Mastery stage. As for those at the Spirit Accumulation stage, they were considered relatively strong within the Great Qi Kingdom. Either they claimed a territory for themselves to live freely, or they became honored guests of various families. Unless something urgent arose, why would they risk their lives coming to the Wilderness Forest?

After some time,

Almost everyone was terrified of him. No one dared mention the bounty anymore.

On a small hill,

Several people gathered, discussing endlessly.

"Did you hear? Yesterday, someone tried again to ambush that Gu Han, but he counterattacked and killed them!"

"Of course I know! One of them was someone I recognized—a ninth-level Spirit Enlightenment cultivator. I never expected him to lose either!"

"This Gu Han..."

One person's face was full of apprehension.

"How strong is he?"

"Who knows? At this point, even Spirit Mastery experts are hesitant to confront him. With our strength, we'd better abandon this idea. Spirit crystals are nice, but you need to stay alive to enjoy them!"

"Hmph, damn the Gu Family! They issued the bounty without mentioning Gu Han's strength—clearly setting us up!"

"Tch, I knew nothing good would come of it!"

"Hurry!"

Suddenly,

A cultivator rushed up from the base of the hill, his face pale with shock.

"I just... I think I saw that Gu Han heading in our direction!"

"What!"

"How did this killing god end up here!"

"Hurry, run!"

Without another moment's hesitation, the group scattered in all directions, disappearing without a trace!

Moments later,

Gu Han's figure appeared atop the hill.

"Young Master."

Beside him, A Sha looked around.

"They seem to have run away again."

"Yes."

Gu Han wore a mocking smile.

"Everyone fears death—even they are no exception."

Ever since being ambushed yesterday,

He hadn't encountered a single wandering cultivator. Even if he occasionally spotted someone from afar, they would flee as if seeing a ghost, staying as far away as possible.

"Young Master, shall we go after them?"

"No."

Gu Han took a deep breath.

"Time is almost up!"

Now that everyone feared him like a tiger, pursuing those wandering cultivators held no meaning. Besides, the qualification battle for the Martial Academy was only days away, and he needed to convert all the resources he had gathered into cultivation power!

Then...

Settle the score with the Gu Family!

"Young Master."

A Sha's gaze dimmed slightly.

"Are we going to avenge Uncle Gu?"

Though Gu Tian hadn't treated A Sha as his own child like he had Gu Han, he had still been kind to her. Naturally, she was deeply saddened by his death.

"Yes!"

Hatred burned fiercely in Gu Han's eyes.

"Blood debts must be repaid in blood!"

At this moment,

If anyone else were present, they would surely notice the deep malevolence emanating from Gu Han.

...

Soon,

Various pieces of news from the Wilderness Forest reached the Gu Family.

"Father!"

In the main hall of the Gu Family,

Gu Cheng looked at Gu Chang, seated at the head of the room, his face full of worry.

"What do we do now? These wandering cultivators are useless! Not only are the other families in the city laughing at us, but rumors are also spreading, saying..."

"Saying what!"

Gu Chang's expression darkened.

"That... Gu Tian was actually killed by us, and Gu Han is just a scapegoat!"

"Let them talk!"

Gu Chang sneered incessantly.

"It's clearly the work of those families! Once Gu Yang emerges from seclusion and secures a spot in the Martial Academy, they'll shut up obediently! Hmph, by then, the truth won't matter anymore! Our Gu Family will rise above Tianwu City, becoming something they can't even dream of reaching!"

"Father is right, but that Gu Han..."

Gu Cheng hesitated.

"With him around, he's always a thorn in our side!"

"This boy cannot be allowed to live!"

Gu Chang's eyes narrowed.

"I thought I had given him enough attention, but I still underestimated him! Take two people with you, withdraw five thousand spirit crystals from the treasury, and head to the Wilderness Forest. Under heavy reward, there will surely be brave souls willing to join. Use this to hire a few Spirit Mastery wandering cultivators and fully ambush him!"

"This..."

"Since we underestimated him before, we can't afford to be careless this time!"

"...Yes!"

...

Gu Han naturally had no idea how much effort Gu Chang had spent to deal with him.

At this moment,

Inside a hidden cave,

He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, surrounded by piles of spirit crystals, fully focused on increasing his cultivation.

Over this period,

His gains had been substantial.

More than a thousand spirit crystals, four ordinary spirit herbs, over ten bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills, over a hundred first-tier beast cores, and over twenty second-tier beast cores.

Moreover,

The most precious finds...

Were the two rare spirit herbs A Sha had helped him discover.

A bright red Zhu Fruit.

And a spirit herb Gu Han couldn't name.

Both were no less valuable than the Xuan Shen!

Suddenly,

Gu Han's aura fluctuated as he smoothly broke through to the sixth level of Spirit Enlightenment!

At this point,

The resources he had gained from those wandering cultivators were nearly depleted.

As before,

He didn't hesitate for a moment. Grabbing the Zhu Fruit and the spirit herb, he shoved them directly into his mouth.

Instantly,

A massive surge of spiritual energy flooded his meridians. The previously dwindling spiritual power was replenished, and with renewed vigor, it surged toward the remaining branch meridians.

...

Meanwhile,

In the Wilderness Forest,

The Gu Family issued another bounty.

This time,

It wasn't for capturing Gu Han but for reporting his location. It didn't need to be precise—just a general area would suffice—and the reward was a hundred spirit crystals!

This time,

The wandering cultivators were once again stirred into action.

A hundred spirit crystals, though far less than two thousand, required no risk at all—it was practically free money. Those who happened to see Gu Han's whereabouts eagerly rushed over to claim the reward.

Soon,

After spending hundreds of spirit crystals,

Gu Chang had pinpointed Gu Han's exact location.

Immediately afterward,

He led three wandering cultivators he had secretly recruited, along with two elders from the family, charging toward Gu Han's location with murderous intent!

...

Inside the cave,

Gu Han's aura fluctuated wildly as he was in the critical moment of breaking through.

Beside him,

A Sha, having eaten her fill, didn't disturb him. She rested her chin on her hands, staring at Gu Han with eyes full of affection.

Suddenly!

Faint voices of discussion drifted over.

"Is this the place? Don't let those people fool you!"

"Hmph, no one in Tianwu City dares deceive the Gu Family!"

"Enough, enough, search carefully!"

"Look! There's a cave on the cliff—it seems newly carved out!"

"..."

Inside the cave,

Gu Han's eyes snapped open!