Ran Min

Yet the world was vast, and it had never revolved around any one person. Gu Han's disappearance disappointed only those in the martial world who believed he had obtained Patriarch Bodhidharma's legacy and grasped the secret to breaking into the Legendary Realm. To everyone else, it caused no concern whatsoever.

Especially the Barbarian King A Yanda and his followers in the north. Upon learning that Gu Han had vanished and no longer appeared in the martial world, they were beside themselves with joy, believing he had truly fallen victim to Wang Zhongyi's poisonous scheme and died at the hands of some martial artist.

Thus, in the 328th year of Great Yan, after the barbarian army had utterly defeated King Ming Zhu Hong in Fangnan Prefecture of Jiangnan and seized the entire land south of the Yangtze, then spent several full months recuperating, they once again marched north, intending to take the richest northern lands of Yan.

Unfortunately, the Barbarian King A Yanda had ultimately underestimated the strength of the northern vassals. Perhaps they had heard of the barbarians' savagery, or perhaps their blood as a people had been stirred, unwilling to become slaves beneath another's heel.

After the barbarians successively captured several northern cities under the Barbarian King's threat, the Three Kings finally cast aside their former grievances. Disregarding the hatred born from more than a decade of conflict, they joined hands.

They then contacted eighteen vassals of every size, including Prince Liu, gathered an army of over a million men, and formed a temporary alliance known as the "Eighteen Vassals Anti-Barbarian Alliance." With Qinghe City, a vital northern stronghold, as their first line of defense, they blocked the barbarians' northward advance. For a time, even the barbarians could do nothing against them, and the two sides remained locked in stalemate.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

Qinghe City, Prince Liu's Estate, outside the Martial Lecture Hall.

"Tap, tap..."

A series of hurried footsteps rang out. A martial artist in short blue clothing rushed excitedly across one road after another, ignoring the countless martial artists who greeted him along the way. With delight written all over his face, he ran to the outside of a luxurious room and shouted inside.

"Hall Master, Hall Master, good news, wonderful news! The person you ordered us to find back then has been found. However, by the time I found them, they had already been murdered by the barbarians. Only their grandson remained, and I rescued him."

"The jade pendant and everything else belonging to that family all matched, and their surname, experiences, and other details also matched what you described, Hall Master. I am now eighty percent certain that he is the person you sought. When would you have time to come confirm it?"

Outside the door, the blue-clad martial artist knelt on one knee and called out respectfully. Remembering the Hall Master's promise, his heart brimmed with excitement and anticipation.

"Mm. I understand. Bring him here immediately. If I confirm that he truly is the person I have been looking for, choose some free time over the next few days and come see me. I will personally guide you in breaking through to Blood Tempering and fulfill my promise to you."

Inside the room, Gu Han, dressed in black robes, possessed mature and handsome features, his black hair carelessly draped down his back. Hearing this, he set down the ancient thread-bound martial arts manual in his hands and answered indifferently.

"Yes! Thank you, Hall Master!"

Hearing the voice from within, the blue-clad martial artist's delight deepened.

Blood Tempering was the closest realm beneath the Internal Qi Realm giants in the martial world. Such martial artists could be called minor giants, and even in the vast martial world, they counted as First-rate Masters!

Do not be fooled by the fact that he had already reached the peak of Muscle Tendon Strengthening and could be considered a top-tier second-rate expert. The gap between him and a Blood Tempering martial artist was still far too great. To put it harshly, they were as far apart as heaven and earth.

Before a Blood Tempering martial artist, he might not even be able to withstand one or two moves.

But if he found the person the Hall Master sought this time, then, under the Hall Master's guidance, broke through into that realm he had dreamed of day and night, he would be able to roam the martial world alone in the future even after leaving the Martial Lecture Hall, dominating an entire region with few rivals!

The blue-clad martial artist savored the thought happily, then swiftly withdrew.

As for Gu Han, he did not take this matter to heart in the slightest and simply picked up the manual in his hands once more to continue studying it.

Guiding a martial artist into the Blood Tempering Realm was nothing more than a trivial matter. He had been able to accomplish it easily even when he himself was at Blood Tempering, let alone now, after breaking through into Internal Qi. His understanding of the body's qi and blood had deepened by several degrees.

If, in the past, he could only guide martial artists who were already fairly talented and had some hope of breaking through to Blood Tempering even without anyone's instruction—

Then now, so long as they were not truly astonishingly worthless in talent, like the peerlessly useless trash that was this body of his, forcefully raising them to the Blood Tempering level posed no difficulty at all for Gu Han.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Less than half a cup of tea after the blue-clad martial artist left, another knock sounded outside the door, followed by a familiar voice.

"Hall Master, I have brought him."

"Mm, come in."

Gu Han casually waved a hand. The Inner Qi within him erupted instantly, stirring the air currents. In the next moment, the door opened on its own without wind, creaking as it revealed two figures outside.

One was the blue-clad martial artist who had delivered the news. The other was a child who appeared to be around eleven or twelve years old.

"Mm, what is your name?"

Gu Han ignored the respectful blue-clad martial artist outside the door entirely. He merely looked at the child with a smile and asked, without conducting any further confirmation.

The instant he saw this child, Gu Han was already certain that he was Jingyuan's parents' grandson. Though the child was only Jingyuan's nephew, for some reason, he looked far too much like Jingyuan in his youth.

Seeing him was like seeing Jingyuan from several decades ago.

With such an identical appearance, what else was there to confirm?

"Replying to you, sir, my childhood name is Gou Dan, and my formal name is Ran Wen. But later, I gave myself another name: Ran Wu. It means that I hope to learn martial arts in the future and slaughter every last barbarian!"

When Gu Han questioned him, the child was not timid in the least. His eyes were filled with determination and hatred, though he also looked at Gu Han with a trace of yearning.

He knew that the blue-clad martial artist was already very powerful. A few days ago, he had effortlessly killed more than a dozen barbarians and saved him.

And this lord before him, who could make even that blue-clad martial artist behave with such reverence, had to be even stronger. Only by following someone so powerful could he fulfill his wish in the future.

"Oh? Slaughter every barbarian? Your words are quite grand. But what makes you think you can slaughter every barbarian?"

Hearing the child's words, Gu Han looked at him with interest and asked.

"Because I am hardworking enough, and because my talent is excellent! The master who taught boxing in our town said that my talent was extraordinary, the best he had ever seen. If I encounter a famous master in the future, I will definitely become one of the greatest experts in the world!"

"Then I will command great armies and surely slaughter every barbarian!"

The child, Ran Wu, clenched his fists, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

"Hehe! Little fellow, you are not very old, yet your killing nature is not small. Still, your talent truly is good. From now on, study martial arts under me. I guarantee that you will become the most formidable expert beneath heaven. How does that sound?"

Before Gu Han had even finished speaking, his body moved. Like the teleportation spoken of in legends, he appeared at the child's side, lightly patted him several times, and nodded.

"Yes! This disciple greets Master."

The child was instantly overjoyed. He immediately knelt and kowtowed, making the blue-clad martial artist at the side stare so greedily that he nearly drooled.

Gu Han smiled at the sight.

"Mm, not bad. Since you have taken me as your master, you should obey my commands. I see that the killing aura in your fate is too heavy. You are liable to become too unyielding and snap easily."

"So there is no need to add the character 'Wu' to your name. Keep the original 'Wen' instead, to serve as a balance. Then add a gate above the character Wen, locking in your literary qi so it does not scatter, allowing it to contend against martiality."

"From this day onward, you shall be called..."

"Ran Min. How does that sound?"

A thought stirred in Gu Han's heart, and the name suddenly slipped from his mouth.

"Yes! This disciple, Ran Min, shall respectfully obey Master's command!"

As soon as Gu Han's words fell, the child Ran Min's body trembled as though struck by lightning. Only after a moment did he recover, clasping his hands in salute and shouting loudly.

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