Darkness.

Flickering firelight.

The Wine God Seat, eyes closed, sensed the rolling "extraordinary power" in Xu Yan's body solely through mental fluctuations.

He frowned.

The darkness was gradually illuminated by the blazing light. Immense heat gathered at the center of Xu Yan's brow, where his originally fair skin slowly cracked, as if a third "fiery vertical eye" was about to condense!

Xu Yan's Fire Thief was replicating Gu Shen's Blazing Fire!

The fiery vertical eye merely cracked a slit.

Xu Yan's expression was already as pale as paper.

The Fire Thief had replicated many abilities, but never one… as difficult as Blazing Fire.

As this wisp of flame cracked, a huge amount of extraordinary source material began to gather at Xu Yan's brow.

He was almost driving all the power he had cultivated to this point.

Wanting to condense even a wisp.

A minute later, Xu Yan looked somewhat horrified.

The inward collapse of the extraordinary source material did not slow down at all, and was getting faster and faster.

Just a tiny wisp… was it so difficult?

The next moment!

With a "chi" sound.

The flame went out.

The cracked vertical eye slowly closed.

Xu Yan's expression was ashen, and he suddenly lowered his head, spitting out a mouthful of blood… When he raised his head again, his face was full of disbelief.

This was the first time!

The Fire Thief had failed to replicate!

And ironically… Xu Yan had stolen so many abilities, but this time Gu Shen's ability was truly fire.

Could it be that the Fire Thief could not really steal fire?

Intense tearing pain resounded in his skull.

After the failed fire theft, he was paying the price for his "presumptuous behavior"... Xu Yan raised a hand, touching the center of his brow, which was still scalding hot. He lowered his head and saw his reflected face in the pool of blood.

Above his brow, there was a burnt scar.

"This… this?"

Xu Yan's voice trembled slightly.

He looked at the Wine God Seat in fear.

The Wine God Seat's expression did not seem to change.

In fact.

Judging solely from the image that Xu Yan had condensed, the Wine God Seat had not "seen" anything unusual.

The appearance of this kind of backlash phenomenon could only mean one thing.

Gu Shen's Blazing Fire was of a higher grade than Xu Yan's Fire Thief, and much higher.

The young god slowly extended his palm. His fingers, like a gentle breeze, touched the center of Xu Yan's brow. This was a great reward, and Xu Yan's fearful expression gradually became peaceful.

He once again felt that gentle divine power.

Like a hot spring, it reached his limbs and bones, eventually converging at the center of his brow.

The power of the Wine God Seat.

Was healing this scar… but a terrifying thing happened.

The original injury could be greatly recovered in just a few dozen breaths.

But at this moment, the small "scar" on Xu Yan's brow was healing extremely slowly.

This seemed to be a wound that was difficult to heal.

However…

A god, after all, was still a god.

Under the power of the Wine God Fire Seed, the scar on Xu Yan's brow scabbed over and fell off.

The young man withdrew his palm, lost in thought.

From the "touch" just now, he seemed to have sensed a bit of the characteristic of replicating Blazing Fire, perhaps not completely… but it was interesting enough.

Xu Yan did not know what the god had noticed.

But he heard the god's evaluation.

"A... strange ability."

…

…

"Mental link... established."

"Mental link... disconnected."

The Safety Committee Building.

A test ended.

Du Wei stared at the main control screen, somewhat uneasy.

Although he was Luo Yu's friend and supported Gu Shen mentally, if Gu's report really had a problem, he would not be able to suppress the abnormality against his conscience. However, the test results came out quickly... This was almost the most beautiful report Du Wei had ever seen.

"Gu Shen's mind is very stable."

A member of the team took out the image captured by the Feng Tong (Wind Pupil). In the safety assessment test of the extraordinary person's mental power, the real picture of the battle scene was also considered an important part of the assessment.

Many details could be captured from the images and pictures.

In the battle between Gu Shen and Xu Yan, the buildings on Mu's Long Street were hardly damaged.

Only because they "broke through the wall" did the two people's battle shatter a few courtyard walls. Apart from that, there was no loss… and in the video uploaded to the deep water area of ​​Snow Forbidden City, which caused countless attention, the sea of ​​fire in Long Street was actually just powerful in appearance.

Gu Shen deliberately created a big scene…

Du Wei instantly understood the reason for the birth of the "sea of ​​fire."

Then he sincerely sighed, this was really amazing control.

"Shen Hai's (Deep Sea) score for Gu Shen's mental stability is 99 points." The team member marveled, "One point short of a perfect score... This is the highest score I've ever seen. Bai Xiu only got 95 points."

Deep Sea would give an overall score for the mental assessment of extraordinary people.

The lower the score, the greater the risk of loss of control.

What often determined whether an extraordinary person would continue to be detained in the Safety Committee Building... was whether he could get a passing score in this test. Actually, this was not difficult.

However… Shen Li, an old acquaintance of the Safety Committee, often hovered around 60 points before meeting Gu Shen, failing several times.

Extraordinary abilities have a risk of loss of control.

This was a general concept.

Anyone, any ability, any age, could lose control... At present, the Federation did not have a systematic explanation, of course, some extraordinary forces had their own unique understanding of loss of control.

For example, Master Gu Qilin bluntly told Gu Shen that loss of control was an attack launched by the ominous.

The more stable the mind was normally, the easier it was to resist loss of control.

80 points was a very high score.

Those who reached 90 points were all ruthless people with solid training... Rare, but this set of scoring system, in addition to evaluating mental stability, did not have much reference value. The greatest possibility for an extraordinary person with a mental stability score of 85 points was that he was a weak newcomer who had just started training and knew nothing.

The later the stage, the more powerful the ability, the more powerful mental power was needed to control everything.

In Nagano, applying for the second breathing technique also required passing the Safety Committee's "mental test" to determine the score.

"Little Gu, congratulations."

Du Wei took the report and went straight to the detention room of the building.

He sincerely congratulated, "According to this report... you can leave the building in at most 45 hours."

"How is the report?"

Gu Shen asked curiously.

"It's arguably the most beautiful report in history." Du Wei said frankly, looking at Gu Shen with incredible eyes, and said seriously, "Your mental stability score is 99 points. If you are still detained here afterwards, then every extraordinary person in Snow Forbidden City should be arrested."

"The 99 points were given by me." Chu Ling said slowly, "The one point less is to prevent you from being proud."

Gu Shen smiled.

He was not in a hurry to go out at the moment, it did not matter to stay here for two days.

This time, Luo Yu would handle the aftermath of the incident on Mu's Long Street, so he could basically rest assured.

Most importantly, the treatment here was very good.

The Safety Committee had arranged a single room for him.

There was a bed, quilt, heating, and virtual glasses for Deep Sea connection, which seemed like a vacation.

However… for some reason, Gu Shen did not see an interrogation table in the detention room, and was a little unaccustomed to it.

He was different from normal detained prisoners.

All of his own permissions were retained.

And he could get a link with Deep Sea at any time.

In other words... he was just cultivating in another place.

After Du Wei left, Gu Shen silently circulated the Spring Breathing.

If.

Nothing unexpected happened.

These 45 hours would pass quickly.

…

…

"I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this..."

In front of the Wine God Seat's small courtyard.

Zhu Wang spoke faintly, then looked at the man in the wheelchair beside him.

Gu Lushan's expression was calm.

This was their second meeting today.

The first time was on Long Street.

At that time, Zhu Wang simply thought that Gu Lushan had taken action because Gu Qilin had taken action… and recalling the past year, the New Faction had thrown several olive branches at him.

However… the water in the Gu family was too deep, and he was aware of his own limitations.

He could not afford to offend either side.

Zhu Wang did not want to get involved in this muddy water… so he could only politely reject the New Faction's several warm invitations.

But now.

Many things from the past year could be understood.

The Wine God Seat had only lived in Snow Forbidden City for half a year.

And Gu Lushan… perhaps he had long been in contact with Central Continent.

It had long been heard that some of the five major families in Nagano had violated the rules of the past and were seeking the power of other continents to break the balance… Zhu Wang only thought this was a rumor, nonsense, but now he realized.

The biggest undercurrent was hidden under the deepest reef.

To violate the rules, why need so many people?

One, two, was enough.

"Grand Arbiter, I don't know what you're talking about… I just came here for a casual stroll." Gu Lushan said lightly, "What a surprise to meet you here."

"..."

Zhu Wang was silent.

After the storm on Mu's Long Street dissipated.

Gu Lushan left pushing the wheelchair. The two people did not have much interaction. Half an hour later, they both appeared in front of the Wine God Seat's small courtyard.

Seeing Zhu Wang's silent expression.

Gu Lushan suddenly smiled, "Just kidding… don't you really think there is anyone in this world who is willing to be a good person?"

No one would stand up for a "stranger" for no reason.

Zhu Wang had rejected so many good intentions from the Gu family's New Faction.

At the time of Long Street.

He, Gu Lushan, should not have come forward!

Gu Qilin was a very ruthless person… if the situation today had not been controlled, then Gu Qilin would really have taken action.

"That old man has a fierce personality. If it weren't for Brother Zhu, I definitely wouldn't have gone to the scene today."

Gu Lushan laughed self-deprecatingly, "You know, over the years, people have been saying… that my legs were broken by him."

Yes.

As early as when the Gu family broke out in civil strife, Zhu Wang had heard such remarks.

At first, he also believed it a little.

It was just that later the New Faction gained the upper hand… and the old man had no choice but to compromise. Everyone realized that the matter of Gu Lushan's broken legs was probably not that simple.

Zhu Wang had always thought that the division of the Gu family was because Gu Lushan was strong enough.

But now it seemed.

Perhaps, all of this was not that simple.

Being able to suppress the Old Faction and exert pressure for a long time…

How long had Gu Lushan maintained contact with this person from Central Continent?

"I… don't want to talk now."

Zhu Wang sighed lightly, his eyes flickering.

He stood in the shadows of the alley, and the wind blew, blowing his Grand Arbiter robe.

The word justice floated in the void's gloom.

Swallowed by darkness.

"I can see that you are in a complicated mood now."

Gu Lushan exposed him and said lightly, "You and I are both figures who have climbed to the top of Nagano. I understand your feelings. Many years ago, I was also like this. I thought that there was nothing in this world that could make me sell my conscience and bottom line. It's just that later that thing still appeared."

Zhu Wang narrowed his eyes and looked at Gu Lushan.

"Today you also saw that the old fellow's domain is called 'Unweighable Scale'."

Gu Lushan said meaningfully, "Anything in this world can be weighed, and conscience and bottom line are no exception… so it is not surprising that people sell anything, as long as the weight on the other side is sufficient. And for those who have mastered the ultimate power, if they want to go further, the price they have to pay is naturally extremely heavy. In comparison, conscience and bottom line are nothing. To blame, you can only blame the temptation placed on the other side of the scale being too heavy."

"Is that so?"

Zhu Wang said calmly, "Perhaps, you have overestimated your own bottom line."

Gu Lushan raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Since we are already on the same boat… then some words might as well be made clear."

Zhu Wang said faintly, "I am different from you. At least I reached the top of Nagano by myself, and you… are likely relying on selling your conscience. Since you have been doing such things many years ago, how can you possibly understand me?"

If he had not met Gu Lushan in front of this small courtyard.

Then such words would never have been spoken from Zhu Wang's mouth. As the Grand Arbiter, as the smooth-talking head of the Nagano Arbitration Office, he needed to mediate among all forces. He had to hide his true thoughts, and the Gu family's New Faction… before the merger, would never be a force he wanted to offend.

But now, it was different.

Zhu Wang exhaled the accumulated frustration in his chest, looked at Gu Lushan, and said coldly, "So, you… cannot understand my feelings at this moment at all."

Gu Lushan was not angry.

On the contrary.

He laughed.

"Anyone… has a first time."

Gu Lushan said faintly, "I am the same, and you are the same, it's just that I woke up a little earlier."

"Look at what I am holding now…"

Gu Lushan stretched out a hand, clenched his fist, and said softly with a smile, "I have almost grasped everything I want, what about you?"

Zhu Wang was truly silent.

He was speechless.

"You seem to have grasped everything too…"

Gu Lushan emphasized the word seem.

His voice was filled with a slight sadness, and even more sympathy, "Don't deny it, we are all the same… the same pitiful bugs. In fact, we have not grasped anything, and we have not climbed to the so-called top at all. We are just climbing very high. Once we fall, we will be smashed to pieces."

The top of Nagano?

No… Nagano did not have a top at all… There were several big mountains here. Zhu Wang had only climbed one of them, and Gu Lushan had also climbed one of them. However, looking up, the highest mountain peak was hidden in the brilliance of the Qingzhong (Clear Tomb), making everyone breathless.

That was the real top.

Hidden in the clouds, hidden in the admiring gaze of the world.

"Nagano has been peaceful for too long."

Gu Lushan said softly, "Mortals can never shake the god… To change a new era for Snow Forbidden City, we can only rely on the power of God. Now that the god has arrived, Nagano is going to change, are you sure you don't want to take this opportunity to climb to the real summit?"

Zhu Wang's expression was somewhat dazed.

"Brother Zhu…"

"In front of you, there will always be such a choice, that is, not to enter this courtyard."

Gu Lushan smiled softly, "It's just… in that case, you will lose everything. If you are really different from me, why not prove it?"

He pushed the wheelchair and slowly entered the courtyard.

And before leaving, he did not forget to close the wooden door.

Zhu Wang just stood in front of the wooden door.

He watched the wooden door close, as if it was closing a door of fate.

At this moment, his expression was filled with pain, struggle, and entanglement.

After a long time… all of these disappeared.

His face was only filled with numbness.

Zhu Wang stretched out his hand.

"Squeak--"

He pushed open the wooden door and walked into the courtyard.