Chapter 42 Old Yu, Xu Fang, and Little Gu

Old Yu and Xu Fang, sitting far away in the audience, were in a state of nervous anticipation. Seeing Xie Zheng and Qi He go to war, they felt both conflicted and apprehensive.

No matter how much Liu Quan hid his strength, he was, after all, a disciple they had brought out.

If he were sent to the Safety Committee, he would at best be investigated, and at worst be placed under surveillance.

Seeing a Judge willing to stand up for Liu Quan, they breathed a sigh of relief.

But they didn't expect that one Judge's intervention would not only fail to quell the situation but would instead escalate it.

Because of a "forbidden sealed item," the Vice-Chairman of the Safety Committee was implicated, and even the first-ranked Judge was drawn in... How could this matter end well?

The two held their breath nervously.

At the same time, they noticed that Mr. Gu beside them seemed calm throughout.

Although Old Yu and Xu Fang came from out of town, they weren't fools.

This young man surnamed Gu beside them had accurately predicted the direction of the "recruitment trial" several times in a row. Clearly, his insight and realm were far beyond theirs. Plus, that surname...

...Could his identity be ordinary?

Both of them had already come up with bold guesses. Perhaps this Mr. Gu was a transcendent recruited by the Gu Clan from a Qinghe subsidiary family, with some background, or perhaps he was an official from one of the other two headquarters of the Three Great Sanctuaries?

In short...

The boldest guess kept lingering in their minds, but they dared not make it.

Because it was simply too significant.

Seeing the figure that suddenly appeared on the arena, the two subconsciously turned their heads... The seat beside them was already empty.

Mr. Gu was gone.

To be precise, Mr. Gu was on the stage.

The water swords above the arena solidified into ice, and the flames around the arena stopped churning.

A figure had appeared in the very center of the arena, no one knew when.

Ice and fire intertwined and collided, producing a large amount of mist. This mist not only blocked the sight of the crowd but also isolated mental perception.

The powerful pressure that had been shrouding Xie Zheng's head completely disappeared at this moment.

He looked blankly at the figure shrouded in mist before him.

Who was this? How did he get here?

His mental power hadn't captured it at all!

The transcendents in the arena's viewing area were even more confused about what was happening.

Judge Zhou E... Hadn't he already made a move?

Why had the arena fallen silent after those water swords condensed into ice swords?

The arena suddenly fell silent, so silent that the sound of heartbeats could be heard.

"Thump." "Thump." Zhou E silently lowered his head.

He looked at the cyan frost spreading under his feet, his heart almost stopping.

Qi He's expression was even more unsightly than crying because he had already guessed the identity of the person in the mist.

Coincidentally. Unfortunately.

That's how things are in this world. Some things have a small probability of happening, but they do happen.

A transcendent who has never experienced the entanglement of the [Blazing Fire] and [Pure Land] Grand Domains can never understand what that kind of pressure feels like...

The figure in the mist slowly spoke.

But he wasn't speaking to Zhou E or Qi He. Instead, he looked at Hu Yanbo, who was not far from the arena.

"Will the Hu Yan Family become the Gu Clan's most valued subsidiary family in the Jiu Ning District?"

His voice wasn't loud. But it was very clear.

It was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears, not only Hu Yanbo, Zhou E, Qi He, and Du Wei, but also everyone in the stands.

"I don't think so."

The Hu Yan Family was big, but not that big.

In the Jiu Ning District, the Hu Yan Family was considered among the top ten families. Even in Changye, the head of the Hu Yan Family was considered a prominent figure...

But there are people in this world who can decide the fate of such a family with just a few words, though not many.

Gu Qilin, the old master, was one of them.

This was the reason why Hu Yanbo dared to say those words to Du Wei earlier. If Old Master Gu was willing to support them, even with just a word or an attitude, it would be enough for the Hu Yan Family to complete a historic "leap."

Unfortunately.

The meaning of the word "few" meant that there was more than one.

Such important figures could make a family prosper with one word, and they could also make a family decline and fall with one word.

"You..."

Hu Yanbo looked at the misty figure in the arena. His throat rolled, and then he used respectful language.

"You... have arrived?"

"I've always been here."

Gu Shen spoke lightly and then waved his sleeve to disperse the mist. This time, he no longer concealed his face with the [Ghost Mask], but appeared with his true face.

The mist dissipated, revealing the familiar face that everyone knew.

"Gu Shen!" "Gu Shen!!"

Exclamations rose and fell in the arena.

Old Yu and Xu Fang had wonderful expressions on their faces. The latter's mouth was so wide open that he could swallow a cow.

Recalling the way they had talked and laughed earlier.

And the words he had jokingly said while patting "Gu Shen" on the shoulder.

Xu Fang felt like he was dreaming... So the Mr. Gu who had been sitting next to him all along was the legendary Mr. Gu?!

"Always been here..."

The smile on Hu Yanbo's face had already frozen. He couldn't smile anymore.

The meaning of the words "always been here" was that this Mr. Gu had seen everything that had happened in this arena from beginning to end.

Hu Yanbo also knew.

Although his conversation with Du Wei earlier had been very secretive, it was impossible to escape the perception of a transcendent of this level.

"The Hu Yan Family... has disappointed me greatly."

After Gu Shen spoke, he didn't look at Hu Yanbo again. He looked at the first Judge opposite him.

"Zhou E, you have also disappointed me greatly."

[Pure Land] enveloped the arena, and Zhou E's water element Grand Domain was completely covered. His legs were frozen by the cyan frost, but what really made him fall into an ice cellar was Gu Shen's words at this moment.

Gu Shen looked calmly at the first Judge.

He decided to give Zhou E a chance: "I heard what you said earlier, but I didn't hear it clearly... Now that there are so many people here, can you say it again?"

Gao Shu told Gu Shen in the Sanctuary Mountain that the Tribunal was discussing the matter of a "Grand Judge" in recent years.

Gu Shen felt a little gratified at the time.

Because the Tribunal did need a Grand Judge.

As for who this person was, Gu Shen didn't care. He only cared whether the future "Grand Judge" possessed the ability, courage, and qualities corresponding to this position.

In Changye, which is greater, the fist or the principle?

There is no answer to this question.

Principles are dead, but people are alive. If it were according to the Safety Committee's regulations, he should have accepted "supervision" and "isolation" after awakening.

It was because of Tree's protection.

That he is who he is today.

In the world of transcendents, there is a need for those orderly guardians who follow the rules, and also a need for those challengers who dare to break the rules.

So today's "Qi He" and "Xie Zheng" were not wrong.

As for Zhou E...

He was biased, which was expected and understandable.

If this guy was really so selfless that he turned a blind eye to his junior being beaten, Gu Shen would instead feel "admiration."

What Gu Shen was doing now was actually the same as what Zhou E was doing.

This was also the reason why he was willing to give Zhou E a chance. Wanting to strive for the top, wanting to become a Grand Judge, was not a mistake... If Zhou E really wanted to be a Grand Judge and his will was very strong, it would instead be a good thing.

Gu Shen spoke with a calm expression, encouraging Zhou E to speak.

"...Say it."

This ordinary voice fell into Zhou E's heart, but it was like a thunderclap.

Zhou E's Judge's windbreaker was soaked with sweat, and then the sweat condensed into dense ice crystals.

He felt like his whole body was like a piece of iron, and he couldn't control anything.

He tried his best to barely control his gaze, moving it upward little by little.

He wanted to look directly at the figure in the center of the frost and snow.

But the enormous pressure from his heart made him unable to even do the simplest direct gaze.

Gu Shen and Jia Wei's battle in the Red Lake was hailed as the battle closest to "God."

Most transcendents could only see the brilliant arc of light overflowing the lake through the images—

Only true powerhouses knew where the real horror of this battle lay.

But experiencing it through images was different from experiencing it firsthand.

Zhou E suddenly felt very desperate.

It turned out that when he met a transcendent of this level, he couldn't even "look directly."

Zhou E felt that the pressure on him was not heavy. His feeling was not wrong.

The wind and snow of the [Pure Land] Domain seemed chaotic and lingering, but Gu Shen didn't deliberately put pressure on Zhou E at all.

His "encouragement" was "encouragement" in the true sense of the word.

It was a pity that Zhou E was not up to par. His Adam's apple bobbed, but in the end, he didn't make a sound.

He really wanted to repeat what he wanted to say.

But he just couldn't open his mouth.

He couldn't open his mouth even for one word.

"If you can't even do this, then forget about the position of Grand Judge."

Gu Shen shook his head in disappointment.

This scene directly stunned Xie Zheng.

He had only exchanged one move with Zhou E, and he knew that he was not his opponent... There were several chasms between Fourth Order transcendents. Zhou E's ability to rank first among the eighteen Judges for several years in a row was not an empty name. This man's strength was second only to titled transcendents.

But...

Could it be that Zhou E, a figure like that, couldn't even "speak" in front of Gu Shen?

Of course, Xie Zheng had also watched the final battle of the Red Lake Selection.

Although he spent his days in seclusion, tempering and creating sealed items, everyone in the world knew about the great events in Light City.

The entire arena was shrouded in wind and snow.

But Xie Zheng felt that the pressure on his heart didn't seem so strong.

He slowly landed beside Gu Shen and then plucked up the courage to speak: "Are you... the legendary Mr. Gu?"

Gu Shen looked at Xie Zheng with a smile.

"I have something to say, I don't know if I should..."

Xie Zheng took a deep breath, his eyes full of anticipation. He suddenly understood why he had suddenly felt a strong premonition in his heart today that he must come to the arena for the recruitment trial.

And why Liu Quan, this child, would have an "attraction" to him.

Perhaps, it was for this moment, to "meet" Gu Shen.

Gu Shen smiled and spoke, still those two words: "...Say it."

"Mu Qingyang told me that I must come to Changye, I must join the Tribunal, and if I have the opportunity to meet you... I must ask you to be my teacher."

Xie Zheng's age was not young, but it was not old either.

Gu Shen was stunned, looking at this young man who was only a few years younger than him.

He knew that Xie Zheng was brought over from the Tundra by Mu Qingyang, but he didn't expect that Mu Qingyang would have said such a thing to Xie Zheng.

To ask him to be his teacher?

Xie Zheng raised his head, mustered his courage, and spoke word by word: "So... I want to become your disciple."