A Second Visit to the Gu Clan, Han Feng Seizes the Flame, the Simulation Ends!

[This time, thanks to your status as a sixth-grade alchemist, Ling Quan had no objection to your appointment as a Third-Rank Guest Elder of the Gu Clan, though his words carried a clear hint of contempt.]

[He thought you were merely an outsider. Lady Xun'er had been stranded in the outside world for too long and had never seen the many prodigies of the Ancient Realm, which was why she treasured you. Once she returned to the Gu Clan, she would surely cast you aside like a worn-out shoe.]

[In the third month, your group arrived in the Central Plains. You and Lady Xun'er visited the Pill Tower, the renowned holy land of alchemists in the Central Plains.]

[You exchanged ideas with the alchemists in the Pill Tower, and inspiration surged. On a sudden whim, you improved the fourth-grade Yangyan Pill and devised your own fifth-grade Youthful Beauty Pill formula. After refining the pill, you gave it to Lady Xun'er.]

[You attached a line of poetry: "Nothing in this world can be made to stay; rosy beauty leaves the mirror, flowers leave the tree." You hoped Lady Xun'er's beauty would remain unchanged, unfading through a hundred lifetimes.]

[Lady Xun'er's eyes shone. She had never expected you to possess such talent. She accepted the pill and rewarded you handsomely with an Earth Tier Low Grade Sound Wave Dou Technique.]

[The Dou Qi Continent had many kinds of Dou Techniques, broadly divided into six categories: attack, defense, movement, body tempering, sonic, and flight.]

[Beyond these, there were also rare, exclusive secret arts. Ordinary people could never come into contact with them; only factions with long-standing legacies might preserve one or two.]

[Among the six categories, attack and defense were the most common. Movement and body-tempering Dou Techniques were quite precious, their value far exceeding the first two, and their prices often a full minor grade higher. As for the last two, it was no longer a matter of being precious—they were simply exceedingly rare.]

[Few experts above Dou Zong would study Flying Dou Techniques. Experts at that level already commanded spatial power, making flight a trivial matter to them. Thus, Earth Tier Flying Dou Techniques were rarely found in the world.]

[As for Sound Wave Dou Techniques, they were top-class Dou Techniques capable of attacking the soul. Their creators needed considerable mastery of both sound and the use of soul power, something ordinary people could never attain.]

[You thanked Lady Xun'er for her generosity and began studying your newly acquired Earth Tier Low Grade Sound Wave Dou Technique—the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Subduing Roar. This art had three stages: Heavenly Dragon Roar, Elephant King Roar, and Dragon-Elephant Roar in Unison.]

[To gain an initial grasp of this Dou Technique, you specially refined third-grade Throat-Protecting Pills, gulping them down as you trained day and night.]

[In the fourth month, you arrived in the Ancient Realm. You gained an initial grasp of the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Subduing Roar and reached the Heavenly Dragon Roar stage. A single roar could force ordinary Dou Huang experts to give you a wide berth, and your cultivation also broke through to Eight-Star Dou Wang.]

[In the sixth month, you broke through to Nine-Star Dou Wang. Using the contribution credit granted by your status as a third-rank guest elder, you exchanged it with the Gu Clan for the Emperor-Breaking Pill formula and began refining this Sixth-Grade Pill.]

[This formula was also a closely guarded secret of the Gu Clan, never disclosed to outsiders. Taking the pill offered a forty-percent chance of breaking through to Dou Emperor. Its value was far greater than that of the King-Breaking Pill, making it exceedingly precious. At the very least, the seventh-grade alchemist legacy you had obtained contained no such formula.]

[In the seventh month, you gathered all the ingredients and successfully refined the Emperor-Breaking Pill. You entered seclusion to break through to Dou Emperor.]

[In the third year, the years hurried by and time flowed on. Five months had already passed since your breakthrough to Dou Emperor. Your cultivation reached Three-Star Dou Emperor, and you had mastered all three Earth Tier Dou Techniques in your possession.]

[You asked Lady Xun'er how Jia Nan Academy had been doing. Knowing that you had always cared about Jia Nan Academy, she had kept people gathering information about it. She then handed you the intelligence she had already organized.]

[You took the intelligence and began reading. Then you flew into a rage and shouted, "Han Feng, you little thief! You're courting death!"]

[According to the intelligence, upheaval had erupted at Jia Nan Academy the previous year. The Fallen Heart Flame suppressed at the bottom of the Heaven-Blazing Qi Refining Tower had escaped. Medicine Emperor Han Feng of the Black-Corner Region had brought allies and joined forces with Earth Demon Old Ghost of Demon Flame Valley to invade Jia Nan Academy.]

[During the fierce battle, Earth Demon Old Ghost severely wounded Vice President Hu Gan, while Han Feng seized the opportunity to steal the Fallen Heart Flame. A mysterious person pursued Han Feng, only to be gravely injured by Earth Demon Old Ghost. Jia Nan Academy suffered devastating losses.]

[Soon afterward, Medicine Emperor Han Feng broke through to Dou Zong and descended upon Jia Nan Academy. Once again joining forces with Earth Demon Old Ghost, he pressured the academy to hand over Xiao Yan.]

[When he learned that Xiao Yan had already disappeared, he began a slaughter, venting his anger by brutally killing many of Jia Nan Academy's students in an attempt to force Xiao Yan out. Hu Gan's granddaughter, Hu Jia, was among those who were nearly killed.]

[At that critical moment, two gray-robed figures at Peak Dou Zong appeared within Jia Nan Academy. They killed Earth Demon Old Ghost, severely wounded Han Feng, and recovered the stolen Fallen Heart Flame. They had intended to kill Han Feng as well.]

[Unexpectedly, a mysterious Dou Zun expert rescued Han Feng. Even working together, the two gray-robed figures could not harm that expert in the slightest and could only give up.]

[Fury burned in your heart. You asked Lady Xun'er where Han Feng was now. With a solemn expression, Xun'er told you that Han Feng had joined the Hall of Souls, a top faction in the Central Plains, and was serving under a venerable elder named Mu Gu. She urged you not to act rashly.]

[You drew a deep breath and thought, "If this can be tolerated, what cannot? I must kill Han Feng, or Jia Nan Academy will never know peace."]

[In the fourth year, you consumed pills like mad, without restraint. In just one year, your cultivation broke through to Nine-Star Dou Emperor, and you mastered the Elephant King Roar. You then sought out Gu Qingyang, one of the Gu Clan's Four Great Commanders.]

[Among the younger generation of the Gu Clan in the Ancient Realm, Gu Qingyang possessed the greatest talent after Xun'er. His cultivation had also reached Dou Zun. He was modest, fair in rewards and punishments, and always willing to help his fellow clansmen. He enjoyed great prestige among the Gu Clan's youths and was a strong contender to become the next Black Annihilation King.]

[You found Gu Qingyang and explained what you had been through. With tears streaming as you spoke, you told him of Hu Gan's kindness in raising you, Han Feng's cruelty, and the Hall of Souls' atrocities...]

[Finally, you asked him to intervene and keep Mu Gu occupied so that you could kill Han Feng and avenge your adoptive father.]

[After hearing you out, Gu Qingyang's expression grew solemn. He immediately agreed, saying that since you had joined the Gu Clan, it was only right for the clan to help you.]

[Deeply grateful, you arranged with Gu Qingyang to act a month later.]

[Afterward, you tried to seek out the other three great commanders in the Ancient Realm, hoping to obtain their help. Unfortunately, all three turned you away, so you abandoned the attempt.]

[In the second month, you and Gu Qingyang headed to the Sea Demon Hall, one of the Hall of Souls' Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Branch Halls.]

[This was the Hall of Souls branch hall under Mu Gu's command. As an eighth-tier alchemist, Mu Gu enjoyed an exalted position in the Hall of Souls. Though he ranked below the Nine Heavenly Venerates, he stood above ordinary venerable elders, with status equivalent to a regular heavenly venerate. Thus, he could command a branch hall on his own.]

[Gu Qingyang led the Black Annihilation Army in breaking through the Sea Demon Hall's defensive formation. Enraged, Mu Gu revealed himself. Gu Qingyang attacked, instantly driving Mu Gu back. Blow after blow left Mu Gu utterly unable to fight back.]

[With no other choice, Mu Gu unleashed the sea heart flame and only then barely managed to withstand Gu Qingyang's bombardment.]

[By then, fighting raged throughout the Sea Demon Hall as the Black Annihilation Army clashed with the branch hall's members. The battle was almost entirely one-sided. The Black Annihilation Army was the Gu Clan's most elite force, whereas the Sea Demon Hall was merely a minor branch of the Hall of Souls, itself subordinate to the Soul Clan.]

[It was nothing more than the underling of the Soul Clan's underling. How could it possibly withstand the Black Annihilation Army's assault?]

[Amid the chaotic battle, you found Han Feng, whose Heavenly Flame had been taken and whose injuries had yet to heal. You immediately charged after him, roaring, "Die, you filthy thief!"]

[You unleashed an Elephant King Roar, directly shaking Han Feng's soul. Empowering the Azure Flame Asura Blade with the green lotus core flame, you severed his head with a single slash beneath his shocked gaze!]

["Boom!" Suddenly, an earth-shaking crash erupted in the distance.]

[You looked up and saw a colossal, sky-supporting finger a hundred zhang long slam down. Radiating an aura that would annihilate everything, it crushed Old Man Mu Gu to death in an instant!]

[Heaven Tier Dou Technique, Great Annihilation Finger!]

[Pale-faced, Gu Qingyang collected the sea heart flame and called for you and the rest of the Black Annihilation Army to retreat at once. The commotion caused by a Heaven Tier Dou Technique was too great; the Hall of Souls headquarters would soon notice.]

[Not daring to delay, you lifted Gu Qingyang and turned, racing toward the Ancient Realm.]

[Yet in the next instant, before any of you could react, a brilliant streak of black-and-white light shot toward you and transformed into two elderly figures. They were two heavenly venerate-level experts from the Hall of Souls!]

["Go on ahead!" Gu Qingyang's expression changed drastically. He swallowed an Eighth-Tier Pill, instantly restoring his Dou Qi, and stood alone before the group. He handed you the sea heart flame and told you to take everyone away at once.]

[Your expression grew solemn. Knowing this was no time to get in the way, you spat out a mouthful of blood essence and fled for your life!]

["Even if I have to burn my blood essence today, I must survive!" Gritting your teeth, you burned your blood essence furiously and swallowed pill after pill: Wind-Speed Pills, Blood Recovery Pills, Qi Cultivation Pills...]

[However, a surprised voice shattered your hopes.]

["Hmm? Why is there a little mouse here carrying two Heavenly Flames?"]

[In the next instant, a pitch-black palm descended. The spatial power of a Six-Star Dou Zun froze the surrounding space for a moment. As though sliced apart by countless threads, your body instantly became innumerable fragments.]

["It's Space Strangulation..." Your eyes widened as this thought crossed your mind just before death.]

[This simulation has ended—]

[You may choose any one of the following three items]

[1. Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Subduing Roar (Earth Tier Low Grade)]

[2. Green lotus core flame]

[3. Sea heart flame]