Flames Soaring to the Heavens

"The general is dead! Everyone run!"

In the chaos, no one knew who had suddenly shouted, but the Barbarians brought by Wang Lang had lost all their earlier cruelty and mockery, their faces now filled with nothing but terror.

"Mad Wolf Butcher" Wang Lang—a First-rate Master at the third martial realm, Blood Tempering, in its perfected stage. With his innate divine strength, his overall power was only a hair weaker than those who had just entered Inner Qi. Such a formidable warrior was rare even among their mighty Barbarian Tribe, surpassed only by the chieftains of a few major clans.

Yet this very powerhouse, who had even forcibly broken through to Inner Qi at the brink of death, was still killed with a single punch by the monk before him.

The monk's strength was thus made clear—could he perhaps rival the great Barbarian King himself?

Every Barbarian present was gripped by terror, cursing their parents for giving them too few legs as they poured all their strength into fleeing, desperate to escape this fearsome killing star.

But since Gu Han had made his move, how could he easily let them go?

"Where do you think you're going?"

Gu Han's eyes narrowed, a sliver of killing intent rising from the depths of his heart. With a thought, divine wind seemed to stir beneath his feet, his body as light as a swan's feather. In a single step, he crossed several zhang, and then...

"Thump, thump, thump, thump..."

A series of dull impacts rang through the air. Dozens of frantically fleeing Barbarians were swiftly caught up by Gu Han, who then struck them mercilessly with his legs, fists, palms, or knees.

In that moment, Gu Han's body seemed to transform into the most fearsome weapon in the world, every part of him becoming a tool of combat. Almost every blow claimed a Barbarian's life.

In less than thirty breaths, Gu Han had effortlessly dispatched all the Barbarians. Each one lay with blood oozing from their seven orifices, their bodies crushed like they'd been hit by a heavy hammer, bones shattered, reduced to piles of mud.

"Let's go!"

Seeing that they had already wasted some time, Gu Han's heart tightened, and he urged them on.

Since the Barbarian army had sent Wang Lang to patrol and ambush here, there was no guarantee others weren't around.

Running into one or two Inner Qi masters, or even dozens or hundreds of Barbarian soldiers, would be manageable. But if they encountered a large force, they'd be in danger.

After all, though Gu Han was powerful, he wasn't invincible. If surrounded by thousands of troops, or caught by the Barbarian King A Yanda, he too would fall. So they had to leave quickly.

"Uncle (Senior Brother), you, how could you..."

Hearing Gu Han's urging, most of the young monks, except for a few, unexpectedly didn't move. Instead, they stepped back from Gu Han, staring at him with fearful eyes, as if they were looking at some hellish demon.

Monks were supposed to be compassionate and abhor killing.

Moreover, these were just novices or recent initiates in the temple, the oldest no more than fifteen.

In their daily lives at the temple, though the various uncles, masters, and elders were strict, when they made mistakes, the worst punishment was reciting sutras or carrying water. They had never seen blood, let alone killed anyone.

So, even knowing these Barbarians were vicious and deserved death, seeing them all slaughtered by Gu Han in such gruesome ways was hard to accept. They were terrified of Gu Han, drenched in blood as he was.

"Fools!"

Seeing the cowardly behavior of these young monks, Gu Han's anger flared. He felt that the sacrifices of Huizhen, Yuanyin, and the others had been thrown away like feeding dogs.

Ahead, their elders were still fighting desperately to buy them time. Behind, these monks were creating rifts among their own and wasting time because he had killed some damned foreigners. They were as stupid as pigs and dogs.

"Forget it. Once we reach the foot of the mountain and find a safe place to settle them, I'll leave on my own. From then on, their fate is in their own hands. At least I won't have failed Huizhen's trust."

Gu Han thought to himself, then prepared to shout at them again. But suddenly...

"Boom!"

On Treasure Pearl Mountain, a blaze of orange fire shot into the sky, followed by a rumbling roar. Countless pavilions and towers that had stood on the mountain for hundreds or thousands of years collapsed in an instant, engulfed by the raging flames. The fire soon dyed the entire sky red, as if blotting out the sun above, staining the blue heavens with a bloody hue.

Beneath that blood-red sky, excited Barbarian shouts rang down from the mountain:

"Roar! Agada! Agada! Roar! Agada! Agada..."

The voices reached Gu Han's ears, making him close his eyes, his heart heavy with grief.

Because in that moment, he knew that Treasure Pearl Temple—founded by the legendary Patriarch Bodhidharma, standing for a thousand years in the Great Yan Kingdom, hailed as the foremost sacred site of its martial world—

had been destroyed.

"Agada!"

That was a Barbarian phrase, which in the language of Great Yan meant something like "mighty, victory."

For the past decade or so, whenever the Barbarians won a great victory and captured a city, they would roar this cry to vent their joy and excitement.

Now, with flames spreading on Treasure Pearl Mountain and the Barbarians shouting like this, the fate of Treasure Pearl Temple was all too clear.

"Grandmaster, Master, Senior Brother..."

Seeing this, the young monks beside Gu Han were stunned at first, then seemed to understand everything. They collapsed to their knees, wailing loudly, tears and snot streaming down their faces, filled with endless sorrow.

For these monks, who had grown up in Treasure Pearl Temple, the temple was their home. Now their home was destroyed, their loved ones dead—how could they not grieve?

"Enough! Stop crying! Don't you know how much the Abbot and the others sacrificed for you? If you want to honor them, stop throwing tantrums. Train hard in martial arts, and one day drive these Barbarians out of the Central Plains and rebuild Treasure Pearl Temple.

Otherwise, you might as well not live. Stay here and let the Barbarians send you to meet the Abbot. At least you won't waste food lingering in this world!"

Seeing this, Gu Han roared at them.

He still felt a bond with Treasure Pearl Temple and couldn't bear to see the disciples Huizhen and the others had fought to save sink into such pathetic despair.

"Yes! Disciple humbly accepts the teachings of Senior Brother (Uncle) Jingming. In the future, we will train hard, drive out the Barbarians, and restore the glory of Treasure Pearl Temple."

The disciples, tempered by this ordeal, seemed to have matured in an instant. Hearing Gu Han's scolding, they didn't take offense but accepted it humbly, weeping as they spoke.

"Good! Then follow me!"

Gu Han nodded inwardly, but his face remained cold as he took the lead and strode forward.

Behind him, the disciples quickly rose, wiping away their tears as they followed.