Chapter 1 "Senior... is that you?!"

Zhong Fan froze on the spot, then suddenly understood.

The final arrow Uto fired was definitely a sealed item beyond A-grade!

At such a critical moment, the only people in East洲 capable of using mental power to forcibly manipulate him to dodge... could be counted on one hand!

But the "evil spirit senior" he met in the Ice Sea Ruins must be one of them!

"So..."

Gu Shen didn't respond to that.

He put the "evil spirit mask" on his own face and asked, "Tonight's assassination wasn't a plan arranged by Nagano, but your own private action?"

"...Yes."

Zhong Fan gritted his teeth and said with difficulty, "I kept this matter from Lord Nanfeng."

"Gu Nanfeng is also in West洲?"

"Because of the two-continent agreement... transcendent beings above the title level need to apply to cross continents. Lord Nanfeng was delayed for a few days, but should arrive in West洲 today."

At this point, Zhong Fan was a little confused. He looked at the evil spirit in front of him.

The reason for forging this mask...

was because the previous battle in the Ice Sea was too shocking.

He would always remember the scene of "evil spirit senior" tearing apart the two titled powerhouses, Giant Deer and Black Tortoise. A large part of the reason for forging the mask was out of awe.

If the shot in the Ice Sea was just a coincidence...

then meeting in Guang Ming Cheng was definitely not a coincidence.

Zhong Fan didn't believe that this "evil spirit senior" just happened to be passing by... To be able to say his identity and Lord Nanfeng's name, it was obvious that this senior was from East洲!

But why couldn't he guess the other party's identity at all?

Such great strength, and looking so young, how could he have remained unknown all this time?

"I originally planned to escape from West洲 immediately after this matter was over."

Zhong Fan said in a low voice, "If I can live, then I'll live. If I can't... it wouldn't matter if I killed Uto."

Now that he had calmed down, Zhong Fan felt that he was too stupid.

Because he couldn't control his angry emotions, he fell into the enemy's trap.

"Don't do this kind of thing again in the future."

Gu Shen said calmly, "Only by living is it possible to take revenge."

"..."

Zhong Fan was silent. He was about to say something when he coughed violently again, and the blood hole in his shoulder tore open with the coughing.

He groaned and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

"Killing Uto isn't that simple."

Gu Shen squatted down, placed a palm on the blood hole, and said slowly, "That arrow just now wasn't prepared for you... that arrow is enough to kill a fourth-order stronger than you. Even if you live, you will be stained with the 'aura of light', and what follows will be the endless pursuit of the Holy Tribunal. There's no use in you escaping to the ends of the earth."

The fire of vitality surged out.

Zhong Fan looked blankly at the evil spirit senior, "What do you mean?"

Gu Shen said, "It might be a little painful next, bear with it."

The light and fire in the darkness swirled into a wind, enveloping the two of them.

Where Gu Shen's five fingers pressed...

the fire of vitality was poured out, seemingly burning flesh, but in fact, a large amount of "vitality" was injected into it.

Zhong Fan's pupils shrank instantly, and a tearing sensation that ran through his soul came from his shoulder.

He clenched his teeth tightly and didn't utter a sound.

Quite stubborn, Gu Shen looked at this young junior and chuckled, "If it hurts, you can shout."

Zhong Fan shook his head, signaling with his eyes to continue.

Gu Shen's five fingers embedded into the flesh, and the majestic Chi Huo spiritual force also swept into Zhong Fan's body.

The blood of this young body was filled with the golden lines of light from the [Chi Huang Nu] (Red Phoenix Crossbow) arrow. In the spiritual vision, Zhong Fan looked like a "puppet on strings." What flowed in his meridians was no longer his own blood, but the lines of Guang Ming Cheng!

The moment that arrow pierced through, the temple left a unique mark of Guang Ming Cheng in his body!

Gu Shen was very familiar with this method. After killing Meng Xiao that year, he secluded himself on the Xuankong Shan (Suspended Mountain) in Central City and devoted himself to studying the various methods of searching for enemies in Guang Ming Cheng.

Once this mark was placed on Zhong Fan, it would be difficult to completely remove... After that line of light pierced through the body, it split into hundreds and thousands of strands. Unless each strand was carefully picked out, the golden line would continue to multiply. At that time, with just a little manipulation, one could sense the mark.

This arrow was very vicious.

But unfortunately, it ran into Gu Shen.

Gu Shen reminded him one last time, "Bear with it."

His Chi Huo spread instantly, and Zhong Fan's whole body tensed up in an instant, an unprecedented pain piercing through his skull.

Gu Shen moved extremely fast.

The next moment, his five fingers had closed together, like pulling up a large net, and he pulled out thousands of strands of spiderweb-like light threads from Zhong Fan's wound.

"Ugh!"

Even Zhong Fan couldn't help it at this moment.

A mouthful of blood spurted out.

He collapsed to the ground, watching the evil spirit senior's five fingers of flame contain the fine lines.

"Chi chi chi—"

With a wave of his hand, the Chi Huo burned, and the fine lines of light turned into smoke in an instant, disappearing completely!

"Thank you, Senior... for saving my life."

At this time, Zhong Fan still did not forget to perform Nagano's ancient etiquette.

"Alright, stop talking, I'm afraid you'll die suddenly."

Gu Shen squatted down and said lightly, "If you really want to thank me, then do me a favor."

……

……

"Lord Yao, we have chased far out of Guang Ming Cheng. We could have caught up long ago, so why let the target continue to flee?"

A small cloud ship was flying at low altitude.

Yao Jin opened his eyes and looked out the window.

A night had passed.

The speed of "that guy" who was shot with an arrow was getting slower and slower, but in the end, it was no different from what he had expected... This person fled from the southern suburbs of Guang Ming Cheng, and finally fled to the east, which meant that he wanted to escape far away after one failed attempt.

The final coordinates were located at "Ghent City Port."

And coincidentally...

Gu Nanfeng, the young master of the Nagano Gu Clan, arrived at Ghent City Port early this morning. In Yao Jin's understanding, there were never any coincidences in this world.

The reason why he let the target escape was to wait for the moment when these two clues converged.

"That's enough."

Yao Jin took the hot towel handed over by the Holy Tribunal member, gently wiped his face, and said softly, "Ghent is below... let's go meet that mysterious 'behind-the-scenes person.' I hope he still has a breath left."

The cloud ship landed.

Surrounded by a team of Holy Tribunal members, Yao Jin went directly to the location of the Gu Clan delegation. This time, the Gu Clan's journey to West洲 could be described as grand and justified.

Gu Nanfeng's relationship with Guang Ming Cheng was complicated.

Gu Nanfeng's master, Rust Bone, had cultivated in Guang Ming Cheng for a long time, and even fought with Gu Changzhi when he was young... They were good friends back then.

It was because of this relationship...

that Gu Nanfeng was able to meet and become acquainted with the Light Maiden.

This time, the Gu Clan delegation's journey to West洲 was to witness the trial ceremony of the Light Seed, and also for the young master of the Gu Clan to see his old friend from back then.

Reasonable and justified.

The Gu Clan's giant ship docked at Ghent Port early in the morning. The "Night Watchers" were on alert all night, setting up a long cordon. Now that dawn had just broken, Yao Jin wanted to approach with the Holy Tribunal members, but was stopped far away.

"Guang Ming Divine Temple, Holy Tribunal."

Yao Jin sat in a wheelchair. After he sent someone to reveal his identity, he waited patiently, not in a hurry at all.

Before long, a voice rang out from afar.

"Just landed in Ghent, and the Holy Tribunal is here to welcome us?"

The speaker stood at the bow of the ship, his iron hand on the railing.

Yao Jin smiled and said, "Mr. Luo Yu, I have long admired your name."

He had thoroughly read the East洲 archives, knowing the names of countless officials, large and small, in the Nine Districts, Three Offices, and Five Great Clans. The unremarkable fatty in front of him was Gu Nanfeng's right-hand man, and also the person who was most likely to take over the Nagano Command Post in the future.

"The young master said that he has been traveling all night and wants to rest for a while."

Luo Yu was too lazy to be polite and directly issued an order to leave: "You can go back."

"I'm sorry... Although Yao is responsible for the grand ceremony reception, this trip is not for this matter."

Yao Jin said softly, "I am here on the order of the Divine Temple to investigate a case. Last night, a serious criminal escaped from Guang Ming Cheng... Yao is here to investigate and capture the criminal."

"Oh?"

Luo Yu said expressionlessly, "Are you suspecting that the serious criminal is from the Gu Clan delegation? Do you know that we have just arrived here and have been docked all the time. No one from the delegation has left even half a step?"

"Mr. Luo Yu is being too serious."

Yao Jin shook his head, "The Gu Clan delegation is a distinguished guest of our Guang Ming Cheng. This trip is with gifts, how could they collude with such a dirty and filthy person? Yao is just worried... that this kind of serious criminal has mixed into the delegation, causing a bad influence on the Gu Clan."

Luo Yu's eyes darkened, "What exactly do you want to say?"

"The Holy Tribunal will not wrong a good person, nor will it wrongly kill an evil person."

Yao Jin said sincerely, "Last night, the Divine Temple left a trace on the criminal. Seeing him flee all the way here, I came here specifically to arrest him... I hope Lord Luo Yu will not make things difficult for me. I will bring people in to arrest him, and it will be over in a short time."

Luo Yu stared coldly at the youth in the wheelchair, "What if I don't allow it?"

Yao Jin sighed softly.

He raised his hand.

The shadow of the cloud ship hovered and pressed down, a huge darkness falling on the top of the Gu Clan delegation's docking point.

An invisible pressure enveloped half of the harbor.

"Yao is ordered to arrest people. Whoever blocks today's matter must be dealt with... If the Gu Clan insists on blocking, Yao can't help it."

The sickly man in the wheelchair raised his head and smiled gently, "It's just that this place is West洲 after all. Lord Luo Yu, have you thought about it? Are you sure you want to oppose the Divine Temple?"

"..."

Luo Yu was still relying on the railing.

The Holy Tribunal members and the Night Watchers were deadlocked, and the scene was once frozen.

At this moment, a figure slowly walked out. That person was tall and straight, with a jade-like demeanor. The black cloak behind him fluttered in the sea breeze, and a wooden sword was hanging on his waist.

The Gu Clan members lowered their heads one after another.

Gu Nanfeng held his sword with one hand and stood at the bow of the giant ship, at the highest point.

He looked down at the Holy Tribunal members and Yao Jin, and asked softly, "What great prestige... Is this the way West洲 treats its guests?"