Gal Martial Saint

After all, Gu Chengming was merely an Outer Sect Disciple. If it were one of those core inner disciples who could break an Illusion Realm in an instant, that would be one thing. But for an unknown junior like him, aside from a Formation malfunction, there was truly no other explanation.

Ren Wencai, of course, knew that Gu Chengming had broken the Formation through his own skill.

But this man had always been deeply cunning. Instead of defending him, he rose to his feet with a grave expression and declared with righteous indignation:

"What my fellow elders say is absolutely correct! Matters of assessment concern the sect's fairness and must never be handled with the slightest carelessness."

With that, he turned his gaze to Gu Chengming below the stage and put on a stern face:

"Since doubts exist, this result cannot stand. Gu Chengming, do you dare undergo another test in public?"

Gu Chengming had just been about to say that he had already broken the Formation, but when he looked up, he met the gaze Ren Wencai cast at him.

Gu Chengming understood instantly.

He thought to himself, This Elder Ren really loves to put on a show. He thinks that last instant was too fast for anyone to see clearly, so he's setting up a stage for me to perform again.

Since that was the case, he might as well play along.

After all, Elder Ren had helped him quite a bit before. Now he was just asking him to show off a little.

With that thought, Gu Chengming's expression turned serious. He cupped his hands and declared in a clear voice:

"This disciple obeys and accepts the retest."

"Since it's a retest, we can't use this grand Formation again."

Ren Wencai stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping over the assembled elders before finally landing on Zhao Wuji with a smile:

"Junior Brother Zhao, as I recall, you are most skilled in soul Daoist Arts like the Spirit Guiding Art. Since everyone suspects the Formation was faulty, why not let Junior Brother Zhao personally conduct a solo test on this disciple? That way, fairness is ensured, and everyone will be convinced. What do you think?"

The surrounding elders nodded in agreement, finding the approach quite appropriate.

Only Zhao Wuji's expression turned strange.

This old bastard is usually the most protective of his own. If this disciple truly had no skill, he would have found a way to cover it up long ago. Why would he willingly offer up his own face for others to slap?

There must be a trick!

Zhao Wuji's mind raced through a hundred possibilities, but looking at the expectant gazes of the elders around him, he knew that backing out now would make him seem cowardly—or worse, as if he were targeting a junior, which would be beneath his dignity.

"Since Senior Brother Ren thinks so highly of me, I'll humbly oblige."

Zhao Wuji forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He slowly rose to his feet, and his originally murky old eyes suddenly turned deep and unfathomable. An invisible pressure radiated from his body, making the very air around them seem to congeal.

"Kid, this Old Man's Spirit Guiding Art is not as gentle as that Formation. If your mind is not firm, your Divine Soul may be damaged. Even a recovery of ten days to half a month would be considered light. If you regret this now, it's still not too late."

Gu Chengming's expression remained calm, Neither Humble nor Arrogant:

"Please, Elder, enlighten me."

"Good!"

Zhao Wuji snorted coldly and said no more.

He took a deep breath, crossing the index and middle fingers of his right hand to form a seal.

With a low chant from his lips, a faint light flickered at his fingertips.

Though this "Spirit Guiding Art" was no great killing technique, it excelled at dredging up the deepest fears and obsessions hidden in the Human Heart, seeping in through every crack. It was far more insidious than the Great Dream Floating Life Formation.

Gu Chengming did not dodge or evade. He let the faint light sink into his brow.

As the light entered his body, Gu Chengming only felt a slight coolness in his Sea of Consciousness. He was just about to speedrun through it again.

And then... there was no then.

Gu Chengming stood there, eyes closed, waiting for a long time.

Yet, one breath passed.

Three breaths passed.

Ten breaths passed.

All around him was still only the cool Mountain Wind and the faint chirping of birds in the distance.

Gu Chengming was a little puzzled.

What's going on?

Did Elder Zhao miss with his Daoist Art? Or does the Spirit Guiding Art have a casting delay?

Just as he was about to open his eyes in confusion to see what was happening, a line of text suddenly appeared in his vision:

[Hundred Bonesming's heart was greatly alarmed. Where is this?!]

A question mark popped up in Gu Chengming's mind.

"?"

Wait, how did you get in there?

PS: This chapter is three thousand words. There is at least one more chapter.

Chapter 53: Chapter Fifty – Supreme Merit Emperor Hundred Bonesming

Hundred Bonesming's experiences within the Illusion Realm began scrolling frantically across the system interface.

The text refreshed at a terrifying speed, as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button.

Gu Chengming hadn't even reacted yet, only feeling the dense stream of information surging in like a tidal wave, nearly giving him a dizzying sense of information overload.

He subconsciously wanted to rub his eyes, but realized he had no leeway to move at all.

--The scenes on that light screen had already begun.

[Hundred Bonesming saw a sea of blood surging all around, countless broken swords and severed limbs raining down from every direction—a horrifying sight never before witnessed in its cultivation career!]

[Hundred Bonesming anxiously called out to you, but all around, there was no response except the dead silence of the wind.]

[Finally, in a corner of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, it discovered a mangled "corpse."]

[Though the face was unrecognizable, the familiar aura, the handsome skeletal contours—without a doubt, that was you—Gu Chengming.]

[Hundred Bonesming was struck as if by lightning.]

[It ultimately faced reality.]

[Gu Chengming, you are dead.]

Gu Chengming stared at this bold, enlarged red line of text, his face full of dark lines, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.

You're the one who's dead.

He wanted to quip back, but the plot fed back from Hundred Bonesming through the system gave him no chance to catch his breath.

[Hundred Bonesming thought to itself that this world always seemed to target peerless geniuses like it.]

[Why? Why, just when it had met a Golden Finger that understood it, did this damned heaven have to take him away?]

[It was furious! It was unwilling!]

[But it didn't matter—it would avenge you!]

[Even if it were just a single cultivation method, it would still ascend to the peak of the immortal path and make every god and buddha in the heavens pay the price!]

[It would never forget its promise to you. When it became invincible in the world, it would definitely reshape your Physical Body and reverse the cycle of life and death!]

Seeing this, Gu Chengming's initial urge to mock faded somewhat.

Leaving everything else aside, Lao Bai's loyalty was beyond question.

Next, the text on the light screen began refreshing at a dizzying speed—those were the long years Hundred Bonesming experienced in the Illusion Realm.

[First year, Hundred Bonesming merged its body with a sword, lurking in the wilderness, day and night devouring the essence of the sun and moon to repair its broken form.]

[Third year, it passed by a mortal city, coinciding with the "Heavenly Treasure Pavilion" holding an auction. It sensed a piece of Primordial Refined Iron inside the pavilion—the perfect material to mend its cultivation body.]

[At the auction, a spoiled brat spoke rudely, mocking it as a piece of scrap metal. Hundred Bonesming sneered coldly, said nothing, but silently memorized that person's aura.]

[Late at night, the spoiled brat was found dead in the street, and the Primordial Refined Iron had vanished without a trace. Hundred Bonesming hid its merit and fame—this was the cruelty of the cultivation world: kill and seize treasures, heaven's natural law!]

Gu Chengming's eyelid twitched.

...Hey, that's not exactly the behavior of a righteous protagonist, is it?

[Tenth year, Hundred Bonesming broke into the "Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range." It encountered a fifth-rank demonic beast, the "Purple Flame Demonic Lion."]

[The demonic lion's ferocious might was overwhelming; it opened its mouth to swallow Hundred Bonesming whole. Hundred Bonesming, unhurried, pulled a freshly grilled fish from its storage space, sprinkled with special cumin and chili powder.]

[The aroma spread everywhere, and the demonic lion instantly started drooling.]

[Hundred Bonesming said, "Want some?"]

[For that single bite of grilled fish, the demonic lion shamelessly lowered its noble head. From then on, one method and one beast rampaged through the mountain range.]

Gu Chengming held his forehead.

[Fiftieth year, an ancient secret realm opened. The prodigies of various major sects gathered, vying for the legendary "Emperor Venerable Inheritance."]

[Everyone fought until heads were bloodied, but Hundred Bonesming took a different path—it leaped off a cliff!]

[Sure enough, there was another world beneath the cliff. A white-haired old man, a Remnant Soul, was waiting for the fated one.]

[Hundred Bonesming received the great power's inheritance, its cultivation skyrocketing. On the day it emerged from seclusion, it swept through the secret realm alone, suppressing all those so-called sect prodigies and looting their Storage Bags clean.]

[Hundred Bonesming looked at the spoils scattered across the ground, feeling a deep melancholy.]

[It thought to itself, Gu Chengming, if only you were here to enjoy these resources.]

The plot advanced rapidly. In the Illusion Realm, Hundred Bonesming was practically a cheat-code existence.

Picking up a dust-covered divine artifact at a roadside stall, blowing up a furnace while refining pills only to produce a peerless divine elixir...

Every classic protagonist trope from xuanhuan novels—it went through them all.

Finally, around the "five-hundredth year" mark in the plot, it tracked down the mastermind behind Gu Chengming's "death."

[After extensive investigation, Hundred Bonesming finally pinpointed a mysterious organization called the "Soul Palace."]

[This organization specialized in manipulating Divine Souls, insidious and ruthless—they were the true culprits who created the Illusion Realm and killed Gu Chengming!]

Damn! Even the Soul Palace showed up.

So I was the Medicine Elder all along?

The words on the light screen grew impassioned.

[On the day of the final battle, black clouds pressed down upon the city.]

[Hundred Bonesming, alone in his merit, charged into the Soul Palace headquarters.]

[In that battle, heaven and earth split apart, the sun and moon lost their light. Hundred Bonesming unleashed everything he had learned in his life, shattering the Soul Palace's Mountain Protecting Array to pieces!]

[Gu Chengming, watch! This is the fate of those who harmed you!]

[The Soul Palace Master begged for mercy in terror, willing to offer up all his treasures.]

[Hundred Bonesming said he didn't want treasures—he only wanted him dead!]

[Thus, the Soul Palace was destroyed.]

[In that moment, a rain of blood fell from heaven and earth. Hundred Bonesming hovered above the ruins, weeping like a downpour.]

[Gu Chengming, I have avenged you!]

Gu Chengming: "..."

Lao Bai, your vengeance for me is certainly tragic, but why can't I feel moved?

[After the revenge, Hundred Bonesming did not stop. He continued his cultivation, determined to fulfill his final promise—to reshape your Physical Body.]

[A thousand years, ten thousand years.]

[He traversed the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, seeking Divine Medicine; he broke into the Netherworld, flipping through the Book of Life and Death.]

[Alas, this was far, far too difficult.]

[Even though he had cultivated to become the Supreme Merit Emperor, even though he bore the Heavenly Abyss, held up the Hundred Bones Divine Palace with one hand, shouldered the mortal world, and was unmatched in the world, he still could not achieve resurrection.]

Can you stop? If you keep this up any longer, you're going to get sued for plagiarism.

[Thus, Hundred Bonesming changed his approach, entering seclusion to comprehend the Law of Time. This single sitting lasted a hundred thousand years.]

[Seas changed into mulberry fields, the years shifted. Finally, one day, that ancient longsword trembled violently, and a law force that towered above heaven and earth erupted with a roar.]