227: An era without saints!? (Twenty-six)

“Central Province.”

“Gu Family.”

“Gu Yun.”

Three phrases, six characters, sounded calmly across the battlefield.

After a brief, deathly silence, the Human Race side erupted in fervent cheers that shook the mountains and seas.

“Gu Yun! It's Dao Child Gu Yun!”

“The legendary figure of the Central Province from twenty years ago, he has returned!”

“Heaven does not wish the Northern Plains Human Race to perish! The Dao Child has descended; the Northern Plains Human Race is saved!”

Countless soldiers who had fought bravely until they were drenched in blood were moved to tears at this moment, raising their weapons high and frantically shouting this name.

Morale, at this instant, soared to its peak.

In contrast, the Yao Race army was seized by panic and confusion.

They looked at the corpse of the Golden Lion lying in a pool of blood, completely devoid of life, their eyes filled with disbelief.

That was the Royal Heir of the Golden Lion Clan, a true Yao Race Prodigy.

He was actually... slain?

Fear spread like a plague.

It was unclear which Yao Race member let out a piercing shriek, but the Yao Race army's formation instantly collapsed.

Like a receding flood, they frantically retreated backward, keeping a great distance from the Fortress, only daring to watch from afar with frightened eyes.

Below the city wall, the defending general Lin Xiao quickly stepped forward, his expression excited and respectful, cupping his fists toward Gu Yun in greeting.

“So it is Dao Child Gu Yun in person! Lin Xiao apologizes for the disrespect!”

Without hesitation, he immediately took out a communication jade slip and imprinted his Divine Thought onto it.

“Dao Child Gu Yun of the Gu Family, an Ancient Saint Clan from the Central Province, descended upon the Undying Fortress front lines and slew the Yao Race Royal Heir!”

Buzz.

The jade slip transformed into a streak of light and instantly vanished into the horizon.

He wanted to spread this incredible news throughout the entire Northern Plains, relaying it to all the Human Race powers who were still struggling to hold on.

Gu Yun's gaze swept past Lin Xiao, finally settling on the Fortress that was stained by the fires of war.

His return was only the beginning.

The name Gu Yun reappeared in the world after twenty years.

This news, centered around the Undying Fortress, quickly swept through the entire Northern Plains and spread even faster toward the various places in the Five Domains.

The Five Domains trembled.

The Cultivators who remained in the present age, struggling desperately, regarded this name as the sole focus of this decaying era.

However, within the center of the storm, inside the Undying Fortress, the first wave of conflict was already brewing.

“Gu Yun? Just a coward who hid for twenty years. Is he worthy of being called the Central Province's number one Prodigy?”

On a Training Ground inside the Fortress, a sharp-tempered young man wearing silver battle armor snorted disdainfully.

He was the son of the Fortress's Deputy General, Li Tianyang. At only seventy years old, he was already at the Guiyi Realm Middle Stage and held a high reputation among the younger generation within the Fortress.

“We have guarded this pass for years, fighting the Yao Race in bloody battles. But he? He hid in his Family's greenhouse and now runs out to steal the credit?”

“Perfect. Let me, Li Tianyang, measure the weight of this so-called 'Dao Child'!”

Battle Intent flared in Li Tianyang's eyes. He could not tolerate someone from the Central Province stealing the glory that belonged to their Northern Plains Prodigies.

The next moment, he rushed out of the Training Ground, and with a few flashes, he arrived at the city wall where Gu Yun stood.

Without any pleasantries, he drew his longsword, pointed it directly at Gu Yun, and his voice boomed, spreading in all directions.

“Gu Yun! Do you dare fight me!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding garrison troops were greatly alarmed.

Lin Xiao's face changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward to reprimand him.

“Li Tianyang, stop this nonsense! Quickly apologize to the Dao Child!”

“Apologize?”

Li Tianyang laughed wildly.

“I only recognize strength! If you want me, Li Tianyang, to bow my head, speak with the sword in your hand!”

“He's just a shrinking turtle.”

His words were utterly provocative; he intended to blow the matter up.

However, Gu Yun merely glanced at him calmly, his look resembling that used for viewing a mere clown.

“You wish to fight?”

“Then fight.”

Gu Yun spoke indifferently.

He didn't even move his feet; he simply raised his hand casually, pointed his fingers like a sword toward Li Tianyang, and waved.

There was no heaven-shaking Aura, no dazzling Dao technique.

But Li Tianyang's pupils instantly shrank to the size of needle points.

In his perception, as that finger strike arrived, the world before his eyes vanished.

Replacing it was a void of Grandmist Chaos currently being pioneered.

His proud Sword Dao and his Guiyi Realm cultivation base were as insignificant as dust before this power.

“No...”

Li Tianyang only managed to let out a desperate cry of alarm.

Pfft.

A barely perceptible line of blood appeared between his eyebrows.

The arrogance and Battle Intent on his face froze, and the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed.

Thud.

Li Tianyang fell straight backward, all life extinguished.

Everyone stared blankly at this scene.

A renowned Northern Plains Prodigy at the Guiyi Realm Middle Stage was suppressed and killed by a single finger, without even touching the corner of his opponent's clothes.

What a terrifying gap in strength!

“A Realm far surpassing 'potential'... could it be that this Dao Child of the Gu Family has already touched the Dao...”

Lin Xiao's voice was dry, and the look in his eyes toward Gu Yun was filled with unprecedented reverence.

He knew that the strength of this Dao Child of the Gu Family had far exceeded the scope of what they could understand.

It was at this moment.

Several powerful Auras rapidly approached the Undying Fortress from the distant horizon.

“Gu Yun! Get out here and die!”

A shrill cry filled with monstrous hatred echoed through the sky.

A streak of seven-colored light broke through the sky, and a Lapis Lazuli Immortal Palace, pulled by Divine Birds, descended above the Fortress.

The Ji Family Divine Maiden of the Central Province had arrived.

She stood before the Immortal Palace, her beautiful eyes filled with cold killing intent.

The scene from the Falling Star Mystic Realm twenty years ago was a nightmare she could never shake off in this life.

Today, she had come specifically to sever her Heart Demon.

Immediately following.

On the other side, a massive Black Tortoise carried a dao platform, tearing through the void. The Wang Family Qilin Son stood with his hands behind his back, his Dharma Eye opening and closing, locking firmly onto Gu Yun.

For him, Gu Yun was also a thorn on his Dao Heart that absolutely had to be removed.

It wasn't just them.

Southern Border, Western Desert, Eastern Domain... one after another, top Prodigies renowned in the current age who had chosen not to seal themselves away, gathered at the Undying Fortress.

They came either seeking revenge or seeking fame.

But they all had only one target.

Gu Yun.

For a time, the atmosphere above the Fortress was tense and hostile, suppressed to the extreme.

This Fortress, which should have been the site of a bloody battle between Humans and Yao, instantly turned into an arena for Human Race Prodigies to compete.

Lin Xiao watched, burning with anxiety, feeling both joy and worry.

However, Gu Yun, the center of the storm, remained perfectly calm.

He stood atop the city wall, his gaze slowly sweeping over the figures with powerful Auras in the sky.

His voice was calm, clearly entering everyone's ears.

“Human Race Prodigies gather here, yet instead of contemplating how to resist foreign enemies, they turn their swords against their own kind.”

“Truly a monumental joke.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the Ji Family Divine Maiden and the others changed.

Gu Yun ignored them. He raised his hand and pointed toward the endless Northern Plains Yao Race army outside the city, which had just retreated but was still watching fiercely from a distance.

“Your invincible reputations should be forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, not the blood of your own kin.”

He withdrew his gaze, looked at the crowd before him, and slowly spoke.

“Instead of arguing here for bragging rights, why not make slaying the Yao the theme, and judge heroes by military merit?”

“Whoever slays the most Yao, whoever slays the strongest Yao, that person shall be the number one Prodigy of this age.”

When his voice fell, the entire audience was astonished.

These words forcibly shifted the focus of everyone's conflict from “challenging Gu Yun” to “competing over who kills the most Yao.”

Before the Ji Family Divine Maiden and the others could refute.

The defending general Lin Xiao was the first to react. His eyes erupted with brilliant light, and he loudly agreed:

“Dao Child Gu Yun is truly noble! This is a blessing for our Northern Plains Human Race!”

He immediately announced.

“In the name of the Undying Fortress defending general, I announce that the Great You Divine Dynasty is willing to bear witness to this competition! Your achievements will be recorded using Military Merit Plaques, and the one with the highest merit can enter our Fortress Treasury and choose any treasure!”

Lin Xiao's strong support completely cut off everyone's retreat.

The Ji Family Divine Maiden and the Wang Family Qilin Son turned ashen, their expressions extremely ugly.

They had been placed over the fire of righteousness and could not possibly refute him.

If they refused, they would be disregarding the greater Human Race cause and would certainly become a laughingstock in the Five Domains.

They could only grit their teeth and nod begrudgingly.

“Fine! We will follow your suggestion!”

In their hearts, however, they were plotting how to secretly assassinate Gu Yun while hunting the Yao Race.

For a time, everyone started to agree.

“We respectfully heed the words of Dao Child Gu!”

“Let Yao blood prove my path to invincibility!”

The proposal to “make slaying the Yao the theme” swept like a storm once again through the Northern Plains and across the Five Domains.

Far away in the Great You Divine Capital, a majestic man wearing dragon robes clapped his hands and laughed upon hearing the news.

“What a Dao Child of the Gu Family, he possesses the bearing of a Human Emperor!”

Gu Yun's reputation for having a “heart for the Human Race and world-shaking spirit” completely overshadowed the rumors of him being a “coward who secluded himself for twenty years.”

From the unseen depths, waves of magnificent Human Race Luck gathered toward him.

Above the Undying Fortress, the originally tense “challenge match” transformed, through Gu Yun's casual words, into a “Prodigy Hunting Competition” sweeping across the entire Northern Plains battlefield.

A much greater storm had already begun.