Chapter 1 The Dojo Falls Silent

The entire dojo fell silent in an instant.

A chilling frost instantly covered the arena, and the Fourth Trial Dojo was filled with a cold mist—

Gu Shen's "Pure Land" domain had already enveloped the entire dojo!

"Brother Gu?"

Gong Yun was taken aback, his expression freezing. The silver light in his hand instantly dissipated, and he quickly forced a smile. "It's just a misunderstanding between me and Junior Brother Shen… What brings you here?"

"Gong Yun, reaching fourth rank isn't easy, but it's not too hard either. There will always be people who stand higher than you. Having some seniority means you should cherish it. It's always better to have a friend than an enemy."

Gu Shen said, "The hierarchy in Nagano isn't for you to use when suppressing juniors. A challenge should be reciprocal, with wins and losses. If you're willing to fight, you have to accept defeat."

"Yes, yes, yes… Brother Gu is absolutely right."

Gong Yun nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.

He hadn't participated in the tundra extermination mission, but the brothers around him had already exaggerated the events of the mission.

The most dazzling figure among them was Gu Shen—

[Snow Cage]'s top thirty criminals, killed with a single strike!

What terrifying combat power that was!

In one night, he had killed four fourth-rankers… and in the end, Gu Shen had even carried out the "closing mission" alone, directly facing the point of impact of the Heaven-Sheathing Weapon [Childlike].

He, Gong Yun, couldn't beat such a "big shot," and couldn't afford to offend him.

Even if his master came, he would have to nod in agreement today.

Gong Yun's previous arrogant attitude underwent a complete 180-degree transformation, leaving everyone on both sides of the dojo speechless.

They had thought he was a tough nut to crack.

Who would have thought he was a spineless coward?

It was hard to hit a smiling face, and since Gong Yun was being so ingratiating, there was no point in arguing with him given his current status.

Gu Shen withdrew his domain and said in annoyance, "Remember this lesson, and get lost."

With the Pure Land gone, the atmosphere in the dojo instantly lightened.

Gong Yun bowed and scraped, not forgetting to drag his remaining junior brothers from the dojo arena before leaving. These actions didn't resemble a fourth-ranker at all… In fact, he had always been like this in Snow Forbidden City, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. He wasn't particularly evil, and wasn't even considered petty.

When his junior brother was beaten, he took the opportunity to teach the "outsiders" a lesson, protecting his own and saving face, with his teacher taking care of things later.

In any case, the Fourth Arbiter's eldest disciple was about the same strength as Gong Yun.

He clung to his sectarian prejudices, guarding his own little territory in the dojo, without any lofty ideals.

But when Nagano encountered danger before, he had stepped forward and shed his blood.

Gong Yun could distinguish right from wrong when it came to major issues.

This was what "most people" were like.

Mr. Gu Changzhi had raised a sun for Nagano.

There were "Mu Qingyang" types who fearlessly followed behind, regarding him as an idol and ideal, desperately chasing after him.

But not everyone in this world wanted to be the sun.

So there was only one "Mu Qingyang."

But there were many, many like "Gong Yun."

…

…

"Brother Gu, do you need something from me?"

Shen Li rubbed his hands together, a bit regretful. "Too bad, it would've been better if you'd come a little later."

"If I'd come a little later, you probably would have been beaten by Gong Yun."

Gu Shen shook his head and smiled. "You don't think you could beat him, do you?"

"I even fought Mu Qingyang to a 'fifty-fifty' draw a few days ago…" Shen Li said with emotion, "Even though I know he was letting me win, I still completed transcendent state in the third rank, so maybe I could fight to a forty-sixty?"

He looked at Gu Shen.

Gu Shen smiled meaningfully.

"Thirty-seventy?" Shen Li changed his tune.

He looked again.

Gu Shen still had the same smile.

"Twenty-eighty… Fine, ten-ninety. That's my last bit of stubbornness."

"Accept reality. Ten-ninety isn't possible."

Gu Shen used the most understated tone to pierce the Little Iron Man's heart. "Even if Gong Yun doesn't use his domain, he'd still be whipping you like a top. Your junior brothers will see the Gluttonous Iron-Eater crawling all over the ground."

Shen Li's face twitched.

He turned his head slightly and saw the adoring gazes of the crowd behind him.

"Luckily you came early…"

The Little Iron Man let out a long breath and said, "Otherwise, I really would have fought that guy."

"Wait…"

Shen Li suddenly realized something. Gu Shen had been in a state of disappearance for some time. He wasn't surprised by this, because Gu Shen often went into seclusion, and when he disappeared, he was completely gone.

He knew that Gu Shen was cultivating in seclusion.

As an S-rank, Gu Shen possessed the highest privileges in Nagano City.

Apart from a very few people, no one knew where he was.

Of course… the place where he went into seclusion was always fixed, either Qingzhong or Mount Shenci.

The former had Mr. Bai Zhu stationed there, and the latter was in charge of covering up by the Li Clan.

Both were forbidden areas.

For the Little Iron Man who loved sparring, this was undoubtedly a major "bad news." Thanks to Gu Shen's unreserved guidance in his early years, his spirit had become quite stable, and he hadn't experienced "gluttony" for so many years. However, further improvement had become slow. He often missed the days when Gu Shen had guided him.

But youth was gone and could not return. Gu Shen's seclusion lasted for several months.

He would never come out unless something major happened.

"You've come out of seclusion… because of the Southern Continent's affairs?"

The Little Iron Man's intuition was sharp. Gu Shen had come to find him as soon as the Sangzhou Abyss incident happened. Although he didn't know the arrangements made by Nagano's upper echelons, the answer seemed obvious.

"Yes, congratulations, you've been chosen by me."

Gu Shen smiled. "I'm going to the South, would you like to come with me?"

His choice of Shen Li was simple.

This guy was his choice for his second apostle… there was no escaping it.

This mission was a good opportunity to bring the Little Iron Man under his wing and completely turn him into "one of his own."

"Woo-hoo!"

Shen Li was overjoyed, then suppressed his excited voice and cautiously asked, "Brother Gu! How many people in total? Am I the first one you've come to find?"

"…"

Gu Shen was amused. "The situation in the Sangzhou Abyss isn't clear yet. I won't bring too many people, maybe three or four? You're the first."

"Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo!"

Shen Li continued to be overjoyed, then he suddenly thought of something and said gloomily, "Who else is there? It's not Mu Qingyang, is it?"

"Mu Qingyang needs to stay in Nagano."

Gu Shen smiled. "The two continents' merging has officially begun. He needs to take over the handover matters for the Central City's envoy… He can't spare the time right now, so this mission has nothing to do with him."

"Phew…"

Shen Li let out a long breath, a big, satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Gu Shen couldn't understand.

Why was this guy happier knowing that Mu Qingyang couldn't go than knowing that he himself could?

…

…

A corner of Snow Forbidden City.

Mu Qingyang, who was attending a merger conference at the embassy, suddenly sneezed twice.

"Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"

He looked up blankly.

The conference was extremely tedious, and Mu Qingyang was struggling to stay awake.

Two months had passed, and he somewhat regretted returning to Nagano. He had thought that even if it wasn't as thrilling as the tundra mission, he would at least have the opportunity to cultivate and spar with Gu Shen every day, or at least have some fun with that Little Iron Man… But he never expected that after returning, he would be faced with mountains of documents.

With Nagano merging, Gu Shen was the absolute pivot—

Mu Qingyang was Gu Shen's appointed "left arm," responsible for the preliminary liaison tasks. This involved many discussions with fortresses and the Jiangbei region, which were extremely complex and tedious tasks… The two continents needed to cooperate closely, and these matters required one meeting after another for confirmation.

He couldn't be absent.

This "left and right arm" of the merger mission was like a seemingly magnificent net. It seemed like a high position, but in reality, it was a job for those willing to be caught, doing all the hard and tiring work.

He had been caught.

The only thing that was somewhat comforting was that there really were two "left and right arms."

There was another old acquaintance who was suffering with him.

Across the conference table, Li Qingsui was sitting upright, full of energy…

The Li Clan was the other side of the left and right arms.

Li Qingsui was the other "merger" teammate named by Gu Shen.

Mu Qingyang had wanted to talk to her several times, but hadn't found the opportunity. This future head of the Li Clan had a very busy schedule, and was burdened with other trivial matters besides the "two continents' merger."

He didn't quite understand how Li Qingsui could face these boring meetings so seriously when she was already so busy.

Moreover… the little girl seemed to have a cold face all this time, and didn't talk much to other people. Even mentioning Gu Shen's name didn't work. Could it be that Li Qingsui was having a conflict with Gu Shen?

Mu Qingyang rubbed his nose. He was feeling dejected.

The current Nagano was not as good as Jiuning.

He was just a martial artist, a rough man.

How could he have imagined that he would have to deal with so many documents?

He was overwhelmed and restless every day.

Fortunately, the head of the clan cared about him very much and came to visit him every now and then. But in addition to the visits, the more important thing was to give encouragement, asking him to persevere, persevere, and persevere again.

He didn't know how long he would have to endure before he could get through these days.

…

…

Deep alley, solitary, desolate.

Shen Li was a little apprehensive.

He never expected that Gu Shen would bring him to this place… the Bai Clan's ancestral hall!

"Brother Gu, the third person you mentioned, it's not that guy, is it?"

Shen Li had always had a bad impression of Bai Xiu.

In his early years, discussions about the "Gu and Bai" duo in Nagano were rampant. To this day, there are still many people who believe that in terms of strength, Bai Xiu is the number one among the younger generation in Nagano!

As a "loyal supporter" of Gu Shen, he certainly didn't like Bai Xiu.

Even after he learned that Gu Shen and Bai Xiu were actually on good terms… he still couldn't change this impression.

Because Bai Xiu's relationship with other people wasn't good.

Little Xiu was a very "real" person.

He pursued the great Dao and broke through himself.

On this path, he would only remember the strong who were at his level.

Apart from Gu Shen, the only other person he could remember was Mu Wanqiu, who barely counted as half… As for Shen Li, Bai Xiu had only heard the name, knowing that Shen Li had a good relationship with Gu Shen. He wasn't interested in anything more, and wouldn't remember it.

"What, are you afraid of him?"

Gu Shen smiled.

Shen Li puffed out his chest, trying to make his voice louder. "Who's afraid of him…"

However, the second half of his voice gradually faded.

Because a figure had walked out of the deep alley.

After Shen Li said the last two words with a guilty conscience, he found that the figure that had walked out was a graceful woman.

"Gu Shen, you're here."

Bai Lu, draped in a black cloak, glanced at Shen Li without concealing anything, and said, "The head of the clan has already told us about the Sangzhou Abyss incident… Little Xiu isn't interested in those transcendent creatures."

Shen Li hid behind Gu Shen, watching the witch cautiously.

When Gu Shen went to the Northern Continent before, he had been tormented by this witch quite a bit, causing him to still be afraid when he saw her now.

After confirming that he was safe, Shen Li quickly said loudly, "Brother Gu, I take back what I said earlier. Bai Xiu is actually quite good. In short, don't let this crazy woman in!"

"???"

Bai Lu's phoenix eyes were filled with anger. With a wave of her hand, a small whip appeared. "Do you believe I'll whip you to death?"

"Miss Bai."

Gu Shen sighed softly and smiled. "Since you're already here, why don't you let me go in and have a seat? I'll tell him myself… If he's really not interested in the Sangzhou Abyss, I won't force him."

"Alright."

Bai Lu nodded, her gaze still fixed on Shen Li. She said coldly, "In that case… you can go in alone."

"Brother Gu, no! You have to save me!"

Shen Li felt a chill down his spine and sensed a strong sense of foreboding.

"Thank you…"

Gu Shen bowed, and then without the slightest hesitation, he abandoned Shen Li and walked into the deep alley.

The Little Iron Man's personality needed to be beaten a bit—

But he was thick-skinned, so he should be able to withstand Bai Lu's whip.

…

…

Outside the alley, Thorns of Dream bloomed everywhere.

Shen Li's Gluttonous Iron-Eater was a pretty good strong attack ability, but unfortunately, it was completely countered when it met Bai Lu. He couldn't escape even if he wanted to… Their realms were similar, but the fight was one-sided.

A moment later.

Thorns of Dream withdrew.

The long whip was like a vine, circling and binding Shen Li, tying him heavily to the ground. Bai Lu stepped heavily on the Little Iron Man's back with her high heels, arching him backwards.

Bai Lu's eyes were full of triumph. She leaned down with a smile and asked, "Do you know you were wrong?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong."

Shen Li hurriedly begged for mercy, bowing his head repeatedly. "Good sister, spare me."

Bai Lu's pretty face flushed red at the sound of "good sister."

She snorted softly and then stepped heavily on Shen Li's back again.

"I've already begged for mercy, why are you still hitting me?"

Shen Li was at a loss.

Bai Lu snorted coldly and said nothing more.

She looked back at the alley, thinking it should be over soon… With Little Xiu's stubborn personality, once he made up his mind, he never changed it.

Even if the head of the clan personally tried to persuade him, he probably wouldn't budge.

But the next moment.

The door of the deep alley was pushed open with a smile.

Gu Shen and Bai Xiu came out one after the other.

The former's face was clearly full of smiles.

Bai Lu vaguely heard the end of their conversation.

"Then that's settled… if a fight breaks out…"

"Except for Vermillion Bird, I'll leave the others to you."