King Tang

In the Scripture Library, Gu Han followed the guidance and took three books, then wasted no further time and began his formal cultivation.

Day after day, month after month!

Gu Han cultivated diligently, utterly unaware of the passage of time.

Until...

An autumn breeze once again swept across the land, blowing countless withered yellow leaves from a large tree in a remote corner of Treasure Pearl Temple, scattering them to the ground to become fertilizer for the tree's growth the following year.

Only then did Gu Han, beneath the tree, cease his cultivation.

At this moment, a full year had passed since Gu Han had last broken through to the Great Completion of Skin Tempering and learned of the chaos engulfing the world.

In that year, the entire land of Great Yan had undergone upheavals unseen in the previous centuries.

In this single short year, the whole realm seemed turned upside down—beacons of war blazed everywhere across the land, flames of conflict never ceasing, countless common folk displaced, starving corpses littering the ground, all suffering bitterly from the ravages of war.

And though Treasure Pearl Temple in Fangnan Prefecture of Great Yan was a place beyond the mundane world, after a year of peace, it could not escape the invasion of that warfire from the foot of the mountain, disturbing the tranquility of this thousand-year ancient monastery!

For just a few days prior, at the foot of the mountain, King Tang Ling Hanhai—who had made Fangnan Prefecture of Great Yan his foundation, successively conquered the three surrounding prefectures of Yunhai, Zhencang, and Lanling, and now ruled the entire Jiangnan region of Great Yan—had finally set his gaze upon Treasure Pearl Temple within his own stronghold of Fangnan Prefecture. He declared that today, he would come to pay a visit to the mountain!

"Senior Brother Jingming! Senior Brother Jingming, I knew you'd be here. I searched all over the temple for you and couldn't find you, so I figured you must have sneaked off here alone to practice martial arts again."

Beneath the large tree, Gu Han was sitting cross-legged on the ground, savoring the martial realm he had just broken through, when a delighted voice came from afar at just the right moment.

"So it's Jingyuan! What's the matter? Is King Tang about to arrive?"

Looking at the familiar face of the approaching person, Gu Han smiled faintly and asked.

This person was none other than the first little monk Gu Han had met when he first transmigrated into this world—Jingyuan.

Over these three years, although the two were not as inseparable as before due to being in different halls, they still often exchanged ideas and mutually verified their martial arts.

Now, after three years of tempering, the childishness on this little monk's face had long since faded away.

At this moment, as the senior disciple of the Jing generation in the Prajna Hall, he had not only long broken through to the Minor Completion of Muscle Tendon Strengthening in martial arts, but his eyes were also full of confidence—a completely different person from the little monk Gu Han had first met.

"Amitabha! Senior Brother guessed correctly! Today is the day King Tang pays his visit to the mountain. And according to what the junior brothers at the foot of the mountain said, King Tang's ceremonial procession is already five li outside the temple and will soon ascend the mountain.

Therefore, the Abbot has issued a decree, ordering all of us disciples of Treasure Pearl Temple to quickly gather outside the Great Hero Hall to welcome His Majesty King Tang."

Jingyuan smiled faintly upon hearing this, pressed his palms together, recited a Buddhist invocation, and replied.

"Mm, if that's the case, then let us go and meet this King Tang."

Gu Han nodded slightly at the words, his gaze full of calm indifference, speaking of King Tang as if he were just an ordinary person.

After three years, he was no longer the youth who had panicked upon learning he had transmigrated into the Suicide Squad. Now, with his temperament, though he had not yet reached the point where nothing in the world could stir his heart, he would no longer have his mind's lake churn with alarm at every turn.

So what if it was King Tang?

No matter how vast his power and influence, was he not still just an ordinary man?

Killed, he would die! Shaken, he would be startled! Frightened, he would feel fear!

One could regard this man with importance, but not with terror.

Besides, he himself was not a native of this world. Even if he died, so what? It would only cost a few Simulation Points to start another life—why should he fear him?

Moreover, he was not without confidence.

Gu Han's mind stirred.

The next moment, ripples spread across the void before his eyes, and a transparent attribute panel visible only to him slowly materialized.

Name: Gu Han

Level: 2

Realm: Bone Forging Minor Completion, Muscle Tendon Strengthening Minor Completion

Techniques: "Vajra Body Refining Fist," "Arhat Fist" (First Stage Great Completion), "White Tiger Muscle Tendon Refining Fist" (Second Stage Minor Completion)

Skills: "Moon Chasing Steps" (First Stage Minor Completion), "Seventy-Two Demon Subduing Palms" (First Stage Great Completion)

System Skills:

① Simulation: Can consume a certain number of Simulation Points to conduct simulations, generating a new identity in the myriad worlds and beginning a new life.

② Insight: Can gain insight into characters not exceeding 20 levels above the host, obtaining detailed information without consuming Simulation Points.

Current Simulation Points: 0

The dazzling data lay before Gu Han's eyes. Compared to when he had first transmigrated, his strength had increased more than tenfold!

Not only had his martial realms of "Bone Forging" and "Muscle Tendon Strengthening" both entered the Minor Completion stage, but also, by leveraging the complementarity of martial arts from two worlds and the top-tier body-refining technique of the Dragon Elephant Vajra Temple in the real world—the "Vajra Body Refining Fist"—his physical constitution was now fully comparable to, and perhaps even slightly superior to, the ordinary Organ Refining martial artists of Yue Kingdom and the ordinary Blood Tempering martial artists of Great Yan.

More importantly, a year ago in the Scripture Library, he had also successfully learned a Blood Tempering-level offensive technique, the "Seventy-Two Demon Subduing Palms," and a life-saving Lightness Skill—the "Moon Chasing Steps"!

As for the "Seventy-Two Demon Subduing Palms," it was nothing more than an ordinary Blood Tempering-level palm technique.

But the "Moon Chasing Steps" was different. This footwork was said to have been realized by a high monk of the Internal Qi Realm from Treasure Pearl Temple a century ago while meditating under the moonlight, and it had three stages.

If one could cultivate this skill to the Great Completion of the third stage, it would provide a tremendous boost even to Internal Qi Realm experts. As for those below the Internal Qi Realm, it could be considered a supreme divine movement technique!

Gu Han recalled the martial arts techniques of this world, their classifications rising clearly in his mind.

In this world, whether it was body-tempering cultivation methods or combat techniques that increased one's strength, they all had at most three realms, corresponding to the three stages of martial arts: Skin Tempering, Muscle Tendon Strengthening, and Blood Tempering.

As for Internal Qi experts, they had already surpassed the limits of ordinary martial artists, achieved only through innate talent and a deep foundation, with no dedicated cultivation methods or martial skills to train with.

This was likely why Internal Qi Realm experts were so rare and so difficult to produce in this world.

Gu Han pondered this as he followed Jingyuan out of the Great Hero Hall.

The two moved swiftly, and after about a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the designated location, returning to their respective courtyards to stand and await the arrival of King Tang.

"The King of Tang has arrived!"

When the sun had passed its zenith, the many monks of Treasure Pearl Temple had been waiting for who knows how long, and many could not help but grow impatient.

Outside the temple, a luxurious sedan chair finally arrived belatedly—nearly one zhang high and seven chi wide, carried by over a dozen bearers, extravagantly adorned with pearls and treasures, its silk embroidered with four-clawed golden dragons, and within it, the sounds of beautiful women laughing and teasing. It was a sight of sheer opulence.

"So this is the King of Tang? He doesn't live up to his reputation!"

Seeing such a grand display, Gu Han felt not awe but secret contempt.

He had thought that a man who could seize Jiangnan must be a figure of great ambition and talent, but now it seemed he was nothing special.

Throughout history, those who achieved great things before they truly succeeded were invariably low-key, frugal, and skilled at concealing themselves.

But this King of Tang was the opposite. In these times of chaos, with flames of war rising across the land, he flaunted such a sedan chair embroidered with dragons—an act of overstepping his bounds. Truly, he had no idea what he was doing, as if he feared no one would notice the bird that stuck its head out first.

Such petty triumph would not last long.

Watching all this, Gu Han shook his head silently.

As for the Abbot of Treasure Pearl Temple, Ben Zhen, upon seeing King Tang's display, did not dwell on it. He led the many disciples in reciting a Buddhist chant, then bowed slightly toward the sedan chair and said in unison:

"Amitabha. I am Ben Zhen, Abbot of Treasure Pearl Temple in Fangnan Prefecture, Great Yan. Together with all the disciples of Treasure Pearl Temple, I welcome the King of Tang!"

"Hmm. Rise!"

A lofty voice came from within the sedan chair. Then, the curtain of the sedan slowly parted, lifted gently by a thinly clad beauty inside, revealing a man who resembled a mountain of flesh.

This man was the King of Tang.