"Bold of you! Release Brother Chu at once!"
Just then, a booming voice rang out from not far away.
Gu Changge looked up and saw a disciple dressed in Tianyuan Academy robes.
"I am Luo Bingxuan, Dao Child of the Ice Soul Sect and a core disciple of Tianyuan Academy. Could you give me some face and release Brother Chu?"
Luo Bingxuan said.
The Blazing Flame Sect and the Ice Soul Sect had been friendly for generations. Chu Yanyun and Luo Bingxuan had also been friends for many years, entering Tianyuan Academy together to study. Now that he saw his friend in trouble, Luo Bingxuan spoke up.
"Release him? Fine. Hand over your storage pouch, then kowtow three times in his place."
Gu Changge said.
"Damn it, don't push people too far! Here is my storage pouch. Take it. I only hope you will release Brother Chu."
Luo Bingxuan took out his storage pouch and reluctantly tossed it to Gu Changge.
Gu Changge said, "You don't need to kowtow, but the two of you must open your minds."
After pondering it again and again, Chu Yanyun said, "Fine, but I hope you won't go back on your word."
"I would never stoop to becoming that kind of person."
Gu Changge said.
"What about you? What do you say?"
Gu Changge looked at Luo Bingxuan and said.
Luo Bingxuan gritted his teeth. "Fine."
Thus, Chu Yanyun and Luo Bingxuan opened their minds.
With a thought from Gu Changge, two pairs of strange-shaped Gu insects appeared in his hands. They were precisely the Emperor Grade Low Rank Mother Child Gu.
With a wave of Gu Changge's hand, the child Gu from the two Mother Child Gu burrowed into Chu Yanyun's and Luo Bingxuan's bodies.
Gu Changge now controlled eight Mother Child Gu whose child Gu had already been planted: the Second Prince of the Shihun Divine Dynasty in the Southern Region, Lu Jinxin, Zhao Zongqing, heir of the Longevity Zhao Family, Li Qianzheng, heir of the Longevity Li Family, Wang Xinze, heir of the Longevity Wang Family, the Holy Sons of Tianshui Holy Land and Lihuo Holy Land, as well as the Gu he had planted today—Chu Yanyun, Dao Child of the Blazing Flame Sect in the Northern Region, and Luo Bingxuan, Dao Child of the Ice Soul Sect.
"You have now been implanted with the Emperor Grade Gu insect, the Mother Child Gu. The child Gu are inside your bodies, while the mother Gu are in my hands. If the mother Gu dies, the child Gu—and their hosts—will die with it. If the child Gu die, however, it will have no effect whatsoever on me, the holder of the mother Gu."
"In other words, your lives are now in my hands. Understand?"
Gu Changge said.
Chu Yanyun and Luo Bingxuan looked utterly despondent. Clearly, they were not feeling well.
"Brother Luo, I'm sorry. I dragged you into this."
Chu Yanyun sighed.
"Brother Chu, say no more. We have known each other since childhood; though not brothers by blood, we are closer than brothers. What happened today was my own choice. You need not bear this burden in your heart."
Luo Bingxuan said with an open smile.
"Now, tell me about the current situation among Tianyuan Academy's core disciples."
Gu Changge said.
Gu Changge could encounter core disciples coming to challenge him at any time. Everyone wanted the position of Dao Child in order to obtain more cultivation resources.
Faced with this headache-inducing situation, Gu Changge decided to first learn more about Tianyuan Academy's core disciples.
"Tianyuan Academy currently has several hundred thousand menial disciples, tens of thousands of outer disciples, several thousand inner disciples, and more than a hundred core disciples."
Chu Yanyun said.
"Among those hundred-odd inner disciples, who are the strongest?"
Gu Changge asked.
"The ten strongest core disciples are as follows: first, Xu Ningbo, Dao Child of Tianxing Hall; second, Ji Haowei, Dao Child of Xuanjing Sect; third, Huo Yuzhe, heir of the Longevity Huo Family; fourth, Xuan Ruihan, Dao Child of Hanhai Sect; fifth, Xu Leizhu, Holy Son of Thunderclap Holy Land; sixth, Hou Chenchen, Dao Child of Emerald Stone Gate; seventh, Zheng Ruize, Holy Son of Wind Riding Holy Land; eighth, myself; ninth, Brother Luo; and tenth, Wenren Tianchen, Dao Child of the Heavenly Punishment Sect."
Chu Yanyun said.
"It seems that all of Tianyuan Academy's top ten core disciples are Dao Children and Holy Sons from major factions."
Gu Changge said.
"Of course. Aside from a handful of peerless geniuses who joined Tianyuan Academy as Rogue Cultivators, nearly all core disciples come from the various major factions."
Luo Bingxuan said.
"However, academy disciples from outside factions like us will ultimately only be passing travelers in Tianyuan Academy. So although we are the ten strongest among the core disciples, our treatment may not necessarily be the best."
"Those Rogue Cultivators, on the other hand, will one day put down roots in Tianyuan Academy like fallen leaves taking root. That is why they receive better treatment than we do."
Luo Bingxuan added.
"I never expected Huo Yuzhe to rank third among the core disciples."
Gu Changge said.
"What, do you... Your Highness have a grudge against him?"
Luo Bingxuan began, then remembered that his life was already in the other man's hands and quickly changed his wording.
"From now on, just call me Your Highness."
Gu Changge said.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Luo Bingxuan and Chu Yanyun said.
"That's right. Ever since I came to Tianyuan Academy, this Huo Yuzhe has made things difficult for me at every turn. I've long found him an eyesore."
Gu Changge said.
"Huo Yuzhe is indeed exceptionally gifted and is held in high hopes by the Longevity Huo Family. Since childhood, he has been continuously nurtured with all kinds of heavenly treasures, which has also fostered his arrogant personality."
Chu Yanyun said.
"However, since Your Highness defeated me so easily, defeating Huo Yuzhe should be no trouble at all."
Chu Yanyun said.
Gu Changge nodded slightly.
"Enough. Go back if there is nothing else. I am going into seclusion to cultivate."
Gu Changge said.
"Yes."
Chu Yanyun and Luo Bingxuan cupped their hands in salute and returned to the mountain peak where the core disciples resided.
Gu Changge entered his cave residence on First Peak and began cultivating in seclusion.
On the fourth day, an arrogant voice rang out from afar.
"That brat called Gu Changge, our Huo Family's young master, Huo Yuzhe, has come to challenge you! Get out here at once!"
I just broke through to the third level of the Tendon Lengthening Realm. This fellow will make a fine sparring partner.
Gu Changge said to himself.
"Presumptuous! Is this the attitude you core disciples should have when speaking to this Dao Child?"
Gu Changge walked out of his cave residence. His long hair drifted freely, and his white flying-cloud battle robe fluttered in the wind. Wearing a pair of flying-cloud battle boots, he looked like an immortal exile who did not belong to this world as he strode swiftly toward First Peak's duel arena.
Basically, every mountain peak in Tianyuan Academy had a duel arena, meant to make sparring between disciples more convenient.
At the duel arena, Huo Yuzhe, dressed in green and surrounded by a crowd of Huo Family disciples, stood naturally in the center and said, "Today, I will take back my position as Dao Child."
"Sigh, being a Dao Child really is troublesome. It's hard to get even a few peaceful days."
Gu Changge could not help sighing at that moment.
Yet in Huo Yuzhe's ears, that complaint became a deliberate, barely veiled display of superiority.
"Damn brat! Today, I'll make you regret this!"
Huo Yuzhe moved. Using an evasion technique, he rushed rapidly toward Gu Changge.
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