Willingly Admitting Defeat

Gu Fang's calm words rang out, but to Gu Yao's ears, they were like thunder!

The more confident he had been when he spoke those words before, the more restless and uneasy he felt now. He simply could not imagine that a Dou Master could overwhelm him in the number of battle skills.

Even though he had already admitted defeat in his heart, the pride he had carried since childhood made it difficult for him to say the words "I concede."

He wanted to say they could fight again later, but for some reason, a sense of powerlessness stopped him from uttering those words!

Before an absolute disparity, "we'll fight again later" was less an expression of unyielding resolve and more like a clown's final frenzy.

Everyone present fixed their eyes on Gu Yao. Gu Yao felt as though a tremendous weight pressed down upon him. The gap was simply too great—that many battle skills...

It had already surpassed the amount that could normally be used. It had become a form of showing off one's skills!

That number of battle skills alone was already an insurmountable chasm, not to mention Gu Fang himself.

Gu Yao did not know why someone as talented as Gu Fang was so weak in strength, but he knew it was only temporary. When Gu Fang had previously used the Ancient Emperor Seal,

the golden phantom had replicated Gu Fang's body, yet when the phantom shattered in the end, Gu Fang remained unharmed. That proved one thing...

When Gu Fang used the Ancient Emperor Seal, his body had undergone growth!

One test, a breakthrough in strength, a breakthrough in his body...

With such talent, could the gap between a Dou Master and a Dou Emperor truly be considered a gap?

All his unwillingness turned into helplessness before that final, absolute disparity!

Gu Yao slowly lowered his head. A bitter smile surfaced on his face. His once-upright spine remained just as straight,

but it alone had lost a trace of spirit!

As Gu Yao lowered his head, a sense of powerlessness began spreading through the surroundings. One head after another lowered. This was submission, but it was not merely submission to Gu Fang!

It was also submission to the future and to hardship!

In an instant, it seemed as though ten thousand years had passed. Gu Fang stood there, Gu Yao and the others stood there, and the clan leader and the onlookers did the same.

No one said a word. They simply waited in silence, until...

Gu Yao raised his head with a bitter smile and stared directly at Gu Fang. "You're stronger than me. I acknowledge that you have the qualifications!"

Gu Yao's voice was neither loud nor soft, but with the aid of the trial platform, it reached everyone's ears!

A Dou Emperor yielding and admitting defeat to a Dou Master would likely cause an enormous uproar anywhere,

but here and now, no one was surprised, because...

Gu Fang had already proven himself through his actions and strength. His hundred Earth Rank battle skills had sealed the mouths of every mocker with their sheer shock!

Hearing Gu Yao's words, Gu Fang smiled and walked forward until he stood before him. He raised a hand, clenched it into a fist, and lightly bumped Gu Yao's chest. "My qualifications were not given by you, nor do I need your acknowledgment.

I achieved all this through my own talent and through cultivation day and night, not through anyone's charity.

Let me give you one final sentence...

I'll wait for you at the next crossroads. I hope that when that time comes, you and I can still meet again!"

As his words fell, Gu Fang calmly turned to look at his father, Gu Yuan, and the Three Immortals. His respectful voice rang out. "Three Immortals, Father!"

Gu Yuan nodded lightly, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

"Well done!"

Gu Dao nodded slightly before sweeping his gaze over everyone else. "Your greatest enemy will always be yourself, not others.

The next test will begin in fifteen minutes: the Pill and Herb Identification Test!"

The moment the final word fell, the Three Immortals and Gu Yuan had completely faded away.

"The greatest enemy is oneself?"

Those words came from the mouths of all ten people present at once.

Gu Yao slowly raised his head. His unfocused pupils gathered toward the center before finally settling on Gu Fang's retreating back. In a low voice like an oath, he said,

"At the next crossroads, I'll climb to the next crossroads. I hope that when that time comes, you...

won't disappoint me!"

Gu Qingyang glanced sideways at Gu Yao beside him and murmured inwardly, Another terrifying opponent!

He could sense it...

The spirit that had vanished from Gu Yao earlier had returned, and it now carried several more traces of madness than before.

Those who fell into the depths and climbed back out often became even more terrifying than they had been before!

If Gu Yao had previously been a competitor worthy of his attention, then this time, he had become a competitor Gu Qingyang would have to face with all his strength.

Gu Fang had already been removed from Gu Qingyang's list of competitors. He was Gu Qingyang's goal—the goal he had to surpass!

"This is getting more and more interesting!"

"Old Demon Han, why aren't you properly refining your pills? What are you doing here?" Gu Nanhai tore through space and blocked the path of a hunched old man, speaking with a hint of teasing.

"I felt like it. What's it to you?" Elder Han's figure swayed, and he passed right through Gu Nanhai.

Gu Nanhai sensed the old man crossing his defenses, and his expression changed. "Old man, did you break through to Five-star Battle Saint?"

"Just luck!"

"Even if you're a Five-star Battle Saint, you still can't go to the Ancient Realm. Besides, you're from the Pill Tower. You'd better think this through!" Gu Nanhai's tone had already taken on a threatening edge.

"Enough, enough. What an old fossil!" Elder Han said as he rummaged through his spatial ring. A calling card then appeared in his palm,

which he gently pushed toward Gu Nanhai.

Gu Nanhai frowned slightly. He caught the calling card with Dou Qi and carefully examined it before taking it into his hand. Although he knew the other party would not dare attack him here, once bitten by a snake, one feared ropes for ten years!

The other party was not merely strong. His pill-refining arts were also unfathomable. Even with his strength as a Four-star Battle Saint, Gu Nanhai had been tricked by him several times!

After confirming there was no problem, Gu Nanhai held the card in his palm. "Specially inviting Gu Fang's master to attend the ceremony!"

There were only a few simple words, without any signature, yet Gu Nanhai knew there was no issue.

That was because the aura within those words had been left by the clan leader. With Gu Yuan's strength at the Peak Nine-star Battle Saint, no one could imitate that unique aura.

Even so, Gu Nanhai still frowned. Staring intently at Elder Han, he asked, "Didn't you old fellow take in a closed-door disciple many years ago?"

"When the Dou Emperor closes a door for you, he opens a window for you. This is my foremost disciple through that open window!"

With that, Elder Han waved his hand, snatched back the calling card, and vanished in a flash!

Gu Nanhai stood where he was, the corner of his mouth twitching. "What kind of Soul Clan logic is that? Gu Fang...

That name sounds familiar!

Hiss... the clan leader's son?"

At this point, a playful look flashed across Gu Nanhai's face. A jade slip appeared in his hand, which he crushed before vanishing in a flash!

"I'll have the people below hold things down for now. I need to go over and take a look!

For someone who could make Old Demon Han swallow his own words and fabricate some nonsense about a window disciple, being merely the clan leader's son definitely wouldn't be enough.

He must possess talent in pill refinement beyond what ordinary people could ever attain. By my reckoning...

it should be time for the Pill and Herb Identification Test.

There's a good show to watch!"