Gu Warden

"Thank you." After a moment, Yulan finally spoke. "I thought too well of people. There really can't be a shred of mercy for someone so cold-blooded!"

It was good that she understood.

"You don't need to thank me. I know that even if those shots had hit you square in the back, they couldn't have killed you. With your strength, why would you be afraid of a few bullets..."

Jiang Yiming spoke as he walked down the stairs.

Yulan hurried after him. "Don't go! Do you know why I came today?"

Jiang Yiming shook his head.

"Because you've caught Elder Shen's attention!"

Jiang Yiming looked utterly bewildered.

Yulan explained, "Elder Shen is the Gu Warden of Qiuyang City. Even a hundred of you together wouldn't be his match."

"Gu Warden? What does that mean?" Jiang Yiming didn't understand.

"I'll have to start from the beginning." Yulan gathered her thoughts and explained, "Most people in the Gu World live deep in the mountains and forests. As time passes, the outside world becomes more and more unfamiliar to them."

"If a Gu Master fell onto the evil path and came out to cause trouble, the Gu Masters deep in the mountains and forests might not even hear about it."

"So, several hundred years ago, the Gu World began sending people to be stationed in various places. They could keep abreast of news from the outside world while also protecting the peace in those places."

"The people chosen to stand guard outside are Gu Wardens."

"Whether they're Gu Masters or Gu worms, as long as they've escaped from the Gu World, they fall under the Gu Wardens' control."

"Gu Wardens are very powerful. They usually don't act personally, preferring to have the younger generation handle things. But if someone catches a Gu Warden's attention, they won't mind stepping in themselves!"

"You mean the Gu Warden here wants to deal with me?" Jiang Yiming asked.

"Your strength isn't enough to catch a Gu Warden's eye, so it's not a matter of him wanting to deal with you," Yulan reasoned. "I guess he's interested in something else you have."

"You've raided the Rainbow Shopping Mall over and over. Elder Shen nearly came to sound you out himself! If he'd seen you kill someone, he wouldn't have given you a chance to explain."

"I was afraid you didn't understand the Gu World's rules and would do something out of line. So I insisted on keeping him from coming."

By this point, Jiang Yiming understood.

So, to keep Evil Gu Masters from disrupting social order, every place had a Gu Warden standing watch!

"Then I really should thank you this time." Jiang Yiming turned around and met Yulan's eyes, then continued, "But I still don't understand. You know someone deserves to die, yet you're not allowed to kill them. Is that really a rule of the Gu World?"

"It is a rule of the Gu World. Whether it's right or wrong, that's what the seniors in the village taught me," Yulan recalled. "They said that, in terms of strength alone, ordinary people are like children who haven't grown up when facing Gu Masters, so we should give way to them. Otherwise, if Gu Masters killed people everywhere, how would ordinary people have any room left to survive?"

"That's what your seniors think." Jiang Yiming suddenly asked, "What do you think? Did that man deserve to die?"

Yulan bit her lip and thought for a moment before saying seriously, "He did!"

"Isn't that enough?" Jiang Yiming smiled. "Let the people who made the rules follow them. I have my own sense of right and wrong, and I know what I should and shouldn't do."

"Besides, the example those seniors gave wasn't appropriate!"

"Adults give way to children because children's understanding is incomplete, and they can't clearly tell right from wrong. So at such times, adults should focus more on guiding them, not fighting violence with violence. But these killers are different. In terms of strength alone, they really are weak. But mentally, they're already mature and have long been capable of thinking for themselves. They knew it was wrong and did it anyway, so death was more than they deserved!"

"If we work ourselves to the bone cultivating to become strong just to pity weaklings whose hands are drenched in blood, then what's the point of cultivating?"

Yulan didn't know how to refute Jiang Yiming's words.

She knew clearly that he wasn't entirely right, but deep down, she also felt there was some truth to what he said.

"Your killing civilians has already violated the Gu World's rules. I can pretend I didn't see it, but you have to come with me to the mountain village and take a test."

"As a Gu Master, only by gaining recognition and a credential can you avoid being mistakenly killed by a Gu Warden." Yulan still wanted to take Jiang Yiming back with her.

"I still have things to do. I can't go to the mountain village with you."

With that, Jiang Yiming started to leave again.

Yulan ran in front of him and stretched out an arm to stop him. "Without a Gu Master credential, you'll die at a Gu Warden's hands within a month. If you absolutely refuse to come back with me, I'll have no choice but to tie you up and take you back."

Ever since his first defeat at Yulan's hands, Jiang Yiming had never had another chance to spar with her. Now that his strength had soared, he had long wanted another fight with her.

But when he looked at the sky, dawn was already approaching.

People nearby would soon be heading out. This was no time for a fight.

"Strength is the best way to solve a problem." Jiang Yiming looked at her. "Let's just have a fight."

"Let's set it for a week from now. If you win, I'll go to the mountain village with you; if I win, you let me go! Do you dare agree?"

"Why wouldn't I? Don't go back on your word when you lose." Yulan was brimming with confidence.

She had a faint feeling that she was close to breaking through to Second Grade. Moreover, she had received a magic treasure as a reward for completing the task of killing Lu Yan. She believed that once she had familiarized herself with the treasure, her strength would increase substantially in a week.

Jiang Yiming was just as confident. In another seven days, he would have finished catching the Gu worms on Sunless Mountain, and his strength would definitely rise to another level. Moreover, he would settle matters with Tu Ming within those seven days. Then, with nothing else on his mind, he would surely be able to bring out his full strength!

Each had their own thoughts. In the end, they sealed their oath with a clap of their hands and agreed to meet on the summit of Sunless Mountain a week later.