Chapter 139: Chen Daoling, Come Out Here Now!

As soon as Gu Changqing returned to the Martial Extreme City, he almost thought it was already night.

He soon realized something was wrong. Time here had always been synchronized with the Daye realm; since it was morning over there, it should be morning here as well.

Standing at the doorway and looking up at the sky, he saw a thick layer of clouds pressing down, only a few hundred meters above the ground, completely blocking out the sunlight.

"Something's not quite right here..." Gu Changqing looked at the endless expanse of clouds and raised an eyebrow.

After staring at them for a long time without making out anything unusual, he summoned his flying boat. However, when he was still a hundred meters away from the cloud layer, he stopped, raised his hand, and sent a river of blood surging into the clouds.

A moment later, the river of blood returned to his hand. He found nothing out of the ordinary within the clouds, yet common sense told him the situation was deeply suspicious.

Furthermore, he had a lingering sensation that something was lurking inside that cloud layer.

Recalling how this world had inexplicably transformed into its current state before, he suspected there might be some connection between the two.

Gu Changqing had no intention of taking unnecessary risks. After all, with so many awakened ones around, he could simply toss a couple of them up later to test the waters.

Having made up his mind, he steered the flying boat southward, heading back toward the point of entry.

A day later, Gu Changqing stowed the flying boat and flew into the white mist himself.

He was still using the Wind-Riding Qi Control Technique; even the Yu family ancestor had apparently only mastered this one method, which left Gu Changqing somewhat disappointed.

A moment later, he emerged from the white mist. Outside, an unknown number of people were bustling about, and in the distance, concrete walls were actually under construction.

Clearly, others had sensed the changes within and wanted to enclose the Qingjiang battlefield with walls.

Seeing Gu Changqing emerge from the mist—and doing so by flying—many people were stunned.

Especially since Gu Changqing had short hair when he entered, but now wore a cascade of long hair down his back. His skin was as smooth and flawless as jade, radiating an extraordinarily comforting luster all over his body.

Had he not been wearing white trousers and a shirt with a few unbuttoned buttons, along with a pair of leather shoes instead of socks, others would have mistaken him for an entirely different person.

"Captain Gu?" Jian Lan had been waiting here for Gu Changqing over the past few days, and upon seeing him floating in mid-air, she parted her lips in astonishment.

"Chen Daoling, get your ass out here!" Gu Changqing shouted, his voice rolling like thunder and echoing across the entire camp.

Everyone was startled, their eyes widening in disbelief as looks of sheer shock washed over their faces.

Who was Chen Daoling?

He was a scion of the royal family and currently the only seventh-tier awakened one in southern Chu.

How could anyone dare tell him to get his ass out?

Who had gone mad?

"Who goes there?" A woman appeared in the distance, her willow eyebrows raised in anger. She was the commander newly dispatched here by the Garrison, having arrived less than twelve hours ago.

"Gu Changqing? You actually returned, and you dare to insult Mr. Chen? Where is Han Shoulu?" the woman demanded sharply.

Although she saw Gu Changqing floating in the air, it never crossed her mind that he had already achieved foundation establishment, possessing strength equivalent to a seventh-tier awakened one!

"Gu Changqing!" Yan Hao also appeared not far away, a hint of anxiety on his face.

Gu Changqing simply raised his hand, and a river of blood surged forth, sweeping directly toward the woman.

"You still dare to act with violence?" Shocked by the formidable momentum of the blood river, the woman hastily slapped the ground, causing a wall of earth to rise and form a solid barrier in front of her.

Yet the moment they made contact, the earth wall was instantly shattered into pieces. The woman was swept straight into the river of blood, managing only half a scream before dissolving within it. A single skeleton flashed once amidst the crimson currents before disappearing entirely.

"Gu Changqing, you..." Yan Hao never expected that upon emerging, Gu Changqing would immediately kill a sixth-tier awakened one from the Garrison.

While he might have accepted such behavior from the figures inside the ruins, Gu Changqing's current methods were far too ferocious.

What shocked him even more was Gu Changqing's sheer power; the woman had barely possessed any room for retaliation before him.

"Where is Chen Daoling?" Gu Changqing landed directly in front of Yan Hao and demanded, his mind entirely consumed by the thought of beating Chen Daoling to death.

"Could you... have actually reached the seventh tier?" Seeing Gu Changqing's ferocious expression as he relentlessly pursued Chen Daoling's whereabouts, an incredible thought flashed through Yan Hao's mind, sending tumultuous waves crashing through his heart.

The seventh tier! There were only ten seventh-tier awakened ones in the entire world.

How long had Gu Changqing even been awakened? Although his growth rate was astonishing, he had previously been merely a sixth-tier awakened one. How could he have broken through again so quickly?

Almost every few days, Gu Changqing's strength would surge forward by leaps and bounds.

"Naturally. My return this time is specifically to beat Chen Daoling to death!" Gu Changqing sneered.

Yan Hao's mouth hung open, his mind completely blank.

By this time, other awakened ones had also rushed over, eager to see who was being so wildly arrogant, only to find Gu Changqing and Yan Hao standing there.

"Let's go back and talk!" Yan Hao finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said.

For southern Chu right now, there was good news and bad news.

The good news was that southern Chu now possessed two seventh-tier awakened ones.

The bad news was that, judging by Gu Changqing's demeanor, the animosity between these two seventh-tier powerhouses ran extremely deep.

Especially given Yan Hao's understanding of Gu Changqing, who was accustomed to acting with utter lawlessness, there was virtually no room for reconciliation in this matter.

In the past, although Gu Changqing was reckless, there were still forces capable of keeping him somewhat in check.

Yet now, if he had truly broken through to the seventh tier... Yan Hao could not even imagine who could possibly restrain him.

Especially since Gao Wenxin had gone missing after the Danyang Mountain incident, and her chances of survival were slim.

"Director Yan, where did Director Jiang go?" At that moment, several fifth-tier Garrison awakened ones stepped forward to ask. They had seen the newly arrived Director Jiang heading this way earlier, but upon arriving, they couldn't find him anywhere.

In truth, Gu Changqing's movements were so lightning-fast that by the time these people arrived, the matter was already over.

While a few bystanders had witnessed it, they were now struck dumb with terror and dared not utter a single word.

"Your Director Jiang..." Yan Hao's mind raced. Shrugging these people off with an excuse might have been easy in ordinary circumstances, but too many people had witnessed Gu Changqing's strike just moments ago; it was impossible to cover up.

To fabricate a lie now to dismiss them would be the worst possible strategy.

"Your Director Jiang... was beaten to death by me!" Gu Changqing floated straight up into the air, grinned at the Garrison members, and flashed a mouthful of white teeth, looking like a vicious beast.

"The Garrison is fierce enough when bullying our own, but outside you turn as spineless as boneless creatures—a bunch of cowardly trash who bully the weak and fear the strong."

"You..." The Garrison members broke into an uproar. Gu Changqing's words struck a raw nerve, making them lose all face as their complexions alternated between pale and ashen.

Back on Danyang Mountain, the faith of these Garrison awakened ones had already been shaken. It had taken them all this time to barely recover, only to have Gu Changqing tear the scab right off again.

Yet, despite his words, no one dared to doubt him.

After all, everyone on Danyang Mountain had witnessed with their own eyes how he had slaughtered several sixth-tier Garrison awakened ones.

Torn between inner trepidation and lingering dread of Gu Changqing's overwhelming might, not a single person dared to step forward for the moment.

Luo Xiu watched this scene from the crowd, gazing at Gu Changqing suspended in the air, her mind thrown into a tumultuous whirl.

With a cold sneer, Gu Changqing turned and departed alongside Yan Hao.

Upon returning to Yan Hao's office, Yan Hao asked impatiently, "Have you really broken through to the seventh tier?"

Gu Changqing let out a disdainful chuckle.

Seeing this, Yan Hao knew the breakthrough was real, and another wave of turbulent shock swept through his heart.

"Chen Daoling... what kind of conflict do you have with him?"

"You don't need to know that. All you need to know is that I am going to beat him to death!" A fierce glint flashed in Gu Changqing's eyes whenever the topic arose.

Naturally, he had no intention of revealing how the enmity between them had started.

Even though the gap in their strength back then had been astronomical—with a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator and a Foundation Establishment master being worlds apart—Gu Changqing still valued his pride.