Chapter 83: They Ran Into Gu Changqing as Soon as They Entered

Gu Changqing wrapped the Blood Prison around the Turtle and Snake Eight Trigrams Lantern, then raised the lantern above his head. Instantly, a fiery red light enveloped him. At the same time, a pair of brass knuckles appeared in his hands, and with a powerful push off the ground, he shot toward the guards.

This scene startled Ning Ze, Pei Yuntai, and the others. They all knew Gu Changqing had a temper, but they hadn't expected him to be this volatile—attacking the guards the moment he entered.

Yet, with Gu Changqing charging ahead, the others exchanged glances. Ning Ze drew his blade, while gusts of fresh wind began swirling around Pei Yuntai.

"I've been sick of the guards for a long time!" Xu Jin, who wore glasses and appeared refined, suddenly pulled out two pistols and rushed after Gu Changqing. Despite his scholarly appearance, Xu Jin was the most hot-tempered among them, having brawled with the guards several times before at the branch.

Seeing Gu Changqing make his move, Xu Jin couldn't restrain himself any longer.

"You've no idea how high the sky is, used to throwing your weight around in small places—do you really think you can act invincible?" The leader of the guards, Fei Li, had been hesitating about whether to teach Gu Changqing a lesson, but seeing the other rush straight at him, he sneered coldly.

With a flick of his hand, finger-thick golden spikes appeared in midair, then shot toward Gu Changqing like a rainstorm.

Gu Changqing didn’t even bother to block; the spikes struck the red light as if hitting a wall—they bounced off harmlessly.

"What is that?" Fei Li had been wondering what the red light was, but hadn't expected it to deflect his golden spikes so easily. Not only was he stunned, the others present were as well.

Fei Li watched Gu Changqing charge at him like a wild beast, quickly condensing a metal shield before himself.

But Gu Changqing’s arm suddenly bulged, bringing down an unstoppable sharp force onto the shield.

Boom!

The shield shattered, and Fei Li saw a mountainous, violent fist barreling toward him, with a black pupil on the knuckles that seemed to draw his spirit into it.

“Not good!” Fei Li bit his tongue to regain focus, but it was already too late.

“You’re not going anywhere!” The guards had tried to block Chongming’s other members, but hadn’t expected their strongest member, Fei Li, to be overwhelmed so quickly by Gu Changqing. They all struck out to stop him.

Yet no matter what attacks they tried, everything bounced off the red light as if striking a wall.

Gu Changqing grinned savagely and punched Fei Li in the face. Fei Li’s neck stretched unnaturally, and he flew backward.

Gu Changqing wasn’t done; he kicked Fei Li’s waist, slamming him into a large stone. Fei Li’s bones snapped in unknown numbers, blood spraying wildly as he hung in the air.

Gu Changqing landed, a ferocious smile on his face, lunging toward the nearest opponent.

Boom!

In barely two seconds, Gu Changqing grabbed another guard by the head and smashed him into a rock.

Bang, bang, bang!

After three strikes, the stone shattered. Gu Changqing finally released his bloodied opponent.

Seeing Gu Changqing take down two men in mere seconds, the rest of the guards were terrified and furious. “Are you insane? You really dare?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? If you die here, who would know it was me?” Gu Changqing sneered, his aura growing even more menacing.

But his words were like cold water poured over the guards, chilling them to the core. Even Chongming’s other members were shocked, their actions faltering.

“Don’t panic, just kidding! A little sparring, that’s all!” Gu Changqing laughed, chasing the third man and stomping on his waist. Everyone heard the crack of breaking bones.

“Madman, madman!” The guards’ bodies went cold.

They couldn’t believe Chongming’s people dared act so ruthlessly and ferociously. Fei Li hadn’t lasted three seconds against Gu Changqing.

This man felt like a beast ready to devour anyone, his whole body radiating violence.

And none of the guards trusted Gu Changqing’s words. Fearing he might really kill them, several turned and fled into the mist to report back.

Seeing them run, Gu Changqing spat disdainfully, “Damn, I thought the guards were supposed to be tough, but they're trash!”

“Stop running, take your people back. Just sparring, didn’t expect you’d break so easily. Must be my natural strength!” Gu Changqing shouted with a grin.

“Am I really naturally gifted?” He turned to Ning Ze and the others, then laughed wildly, “So I’m actually born strong! First time I knew!”

He cast a contemptuous glance at the distant guards, then pushed off, laughing uproariously as he floated away.

In a few seconds, Gu Changqing’s figure vanished, but his wild laughter continued to echo in the wind.

Ning Ze and the others immediately followed, leaving the guards staring at each other, faces dark, almost grinding their teeth to dust.

“Let’s head back!” They carried Fei Li and the others away.

...

Yan Hao watched as everyone entered the mist, giving the guards a perfunctory smile, then turned back to his office.

At last, those kids were inside. He could finally rest.

He guessed they wouldn’t be out for several days.

But less than half an hour later, Jian Lan rushed in, “Minister, something’s wrong!”

“What is it? Has the mist changed?” Yan Hao’s eyes snapped open, sharp and alert.

“No…it’s the guards. A group has come out, three severely injured…”

“How? What happened to them?” Yan Hao was stunned. Calculating the time, it seemed that group got injured immediately after entering?

Could they have encountered danger outside?

“Not good!” Yan Hao instinctively felt something was wrong inside the environment, starting to worry about those he’d sent in.

“They ran into Gu Changqing…”

“What?” Yan Hao almost didn’t react.

“They encountered Gu Changqing, and three were badly hurt…” Jian Lan couldn’t even manage an appropriate expression.

Yan Hao knew Gu Changqing was trouble—he’d just provoked the guards in front of everyone—and hadn’t expected him to cause such chaos so quickly.

“No discipline, no organization!” Yan Hao slammed the table in anger.

He’d repeatedly instructed everyone to set aside prejudices and work together inside.

But that guy apparently ignored everything, immediately attacking the guards and injuring three.

“Yan Hao, come out here!” came a furious shout from outside.

...

“This direction seems correct, right?” Gu Changqing stood atop a mountain, holding a map. This area had already been explored, so overlapping mountains and rivers were marked on the map. In the distance, the map was blank.

“We’re off by fifteen degrees,” the team’s only woman, Shi Qiu, checked the map and calculated.

She drew a line with her finger, “We’re here on this mountain. We need to pass between these two, cross this one, and head northwest.”

“You keep track of the direction. If we’re off, let me know!” Gu Changqing tossed the map to Shi Qiu.

The group set off again.

At noon, Ning Ze hesitated to speak. Not just him; the others were also curious about the red light on Gu Changqing earlier.

They could understand the Demon Suppressing Hammer—spiritual gear could have all sorts of effects, and they assumed Gu Changqing had gotten some special equipment somewhere.

But the red light that blocked the guards’ attacks defied their understanding.

Gu Changqing, however, had no intention of satisfying their curiosity.

(End of chapter)