Inside the imperial palace of the Central Continent, everything was already in a state of chaos.
Just last night, the Merfolk Royal Court mobilized an army of eighty thousand, the Underground Royal Court twenty thousand, the Wulei Sect ten thousand, and the Cloud Palace twenty thousand, totaling one hundred and thirty thousand troops. Claiming to be a "Million-Strong Army," they surged toward the Central Continent like a tide.
Although the Central Continent was unified, rich in resources, possessed numerous Legacies, and had deep foundations, its population was relatively sparse, and it could only mobilize forty thousand troops.
However, they were not without a chance of victory, because they still had Gu Yue Fuqi.
Gu Yue Fuqi possessed a Rank Five Peak cultivation, primarily cultivating Sword Path while minoring in Human Path. His vital Gu was the Rank Five Great Sword Gu.
He mastered a Human Path mortal Killer Move called "Peoples Hearts Are Drawn To." Under the enhancement of this Killer Move, he possessed the terrifying combat power of a half-step rank six.
But at this moment, Gu Yue Fuqi was in secluded meditation to comprehend a new Killer Move and had not yet emerged.
Without him, the Central Continent would surely be defeated. At this critical moment when the building was about to collapse, Li Seek Defeat and Ancient Moon Deep Love finally rushed back to the Central Continent.
Several years had passed, and while the Central Continent seemed the same as before, Li Seek Defeat was no longer the man he used to be. His cultivation had reached Rank Four high stage, and Ancient Moon Deep Love had reached Rank Four initial stage.
Li Seek Defeat primarily cultivated Blood Path and minored in Servitude Path. He had not only refined Blood Droplets but also raised over ten thousand Blade Wing Blood Bats.
During these years, Li Seek Defeat had slaughtered over ten thousand people in the Western Cloud Continent, causing both the righteous and Demonic Paths to join forces to hunt him down.
To evade the pursuit of two Rank Five experts, he fled to the North Darkness Mermaid Continent, where his cultivation broke through to Rank Four high stage. He slaughtered another ten thousand people before making his way to the East Sun Tai Continent.
The East Sun Tai Continent was densely populated but lacked a unified power, making it a "paradise" for Li Seek Defeat.
He was like a fish in water here, slaughtering another hundred thousand people; it could be called his most "prosperous" period.
However, his atrocities finally incited public outrage. The various forces of the East Sun Tai Continent were forced to unite, listing him as a public enemy of the people.
Facing an overwhelming number of enemies, Li Seek Defeat had no choice but to abandon this "paradise" and flee back to the Central Continent once again.
After a journey of displacement, his Blood Droplets and Blade Wing Blood Bats had suffered countless losses. It just so happened that war had broken out in the Central Continent, giving these surviving blood bats a chance to continue "feeding."
With Li Seek Defeat's assistance, the Central Continent's chances of victory increased greatly. Just as the ministers in the palace breathed a sigh of relief, another urgent report arrived:
The East Sun Tai Continent had raised an army of fifty thousand, swearing to take Li Seek Defeat's head.
As it turned out, Li Seek Defeat had forged countless blood feuds in the East Sun Tai Continent, including many involving the extermination of entire clans.
However, the Central Continent did not take these people seriously—the cultivation of Gu Masters in the East Sun Tai Continent was generally low; they were merely a disorganized rabble, a heap of loose sand.
What truly worried them was the allied army of the Western Cloud Continent and the North Darkness Mermaid Continent.
The Central Continent and the Western Cloud Continent had been enemies for generations and knew each other's combat strength well; however, the strength of the North Darkness Mermaid Continent remained an unknown threat.
The first to arrive on the battlefield was the army of the Cloud Palace. They were all flying Gu Masters and had the fastest marching speed.
However, the Central Continent was well-prepared. A Servitude Path Gu Master who had obtained the Legacy of Eagle King Yang Poying commanded nearly a hundred thousand eagles and falcons. Combined with Li Seek Defeat's Blood Droplets and blood bat army, they successfully repelled the Cloud Palace's attack.
Subsequently, the flying ships of the Wulei Sect and the warriors of the Merfolk Royal Court arrived one after another. The battle instantly became incredibly tragic and fierce.
The Sect Master of the Wulei Sect had actually hidden his cultivation, revealing Rank Five middle stage strength at the critical moment. A single Killer Move nearly killed Li Seek Defeat instantly and wiped out his blood bat army entirely, allowing them to capture a city in the process.
At the same time, the Merfolk Royal Court's army also suffered a heavy blow. The merman units of the Central Continent deliberately lured them into a deep-sea abyss where a Desolate Beast Dragon Fish lay in wait.
The mermen did not know that Dragon Fish are naturally gentle and initiated an attack; as a result, four thousand of them were killed instantly by the Dragon Fish's breath.
As for the Stone Men and the army from the East Sun Tai Continent, they were not a threat at all. The Central Continent specifically deployed Li Seek Defeat to deal with the East Sun Tai Continent, and he easily routed their army.
The allied forces suffered successive setbacks, and their morale plummeted. Just then, the twenty thousand Stone Man army from the Underground Royal Court finally arrived.
Previously, they had been ambushed at sea. Fortunately, Rock Desolation used an Earth Path Killer Move, "Moving Mountain," to lift rocks from the seabed and repel the ambushers, allowing them to arrive safely.
The arrival of the Stone Man army greatly boosted the morale of the allied forces. They advanced with irresistible force, causing the Central Continent's army to retreat repeatedly, losing three cities in a row.
At this moment of crisis, Gu Yue Fuqi emerged from his seclusion, joining the battlefield forcefully with his newly created Killer Move, "United Will."
This was a Human Path defensive Killer Move that could form a moving city wall around the army. The more troops there were and the more united their hearts, the higher and sturdier the wall became.
With Gu Yue Fuqi's joining, the allied forces were thwarted once again. Under the enhancement of the "Peoples Hearts Are Drawn To" Killer Move, Gu Yue Fuqi became the strongest Rank Five Gu Master on the battlefield, quickly reclaiming the lost territory.
He also assisted his side's Servitude Path Gu Masters in enslaving schools of Shuttle Arrow Fish and water cockroaches in the sea, as well as herds of Pegasus and Azure Wolf on land, greatly enhancing their combat power.
Soon, the allied forces were utterly routed. Meanwhile, Gu Yue Fuqi's side, relying on the "United Will" Killer Move, maintained the geographical advantage and suffered minimal casualties.
The allied forces began to collapse, and the first to break was the Wulei Sect Master. They wrote a letter of surrender overnight, expressing their willingness to serve Gu Yue Fuqi as their lord.
Gu Yue Fuqi readily agreed. Using the Wulei Sect as internal support, he launched a night raid on the allied camp and crushed the main force of the alliance.
The betrayal of the Wulei Sect triggered a chain reaction.
The Underground Royal Court followed suit and defected, offering up a city as a sign of loyalty. Yu An, the lord of the Cloud Palace, saw that the situation was lost and had no choice but to offer one hundred thousand primeval stones to beg for forgiveness.
Gu Yue Fuqi forgave them one by one and took the opportunity to apply pressure, forcing the three major powers to become his vassals. The Merfolk Royal Court, left without support, fled back to the North Darkness Mermaid Continent in disgrace.
The war ended with a total victory for the Central Continent, and they even took the opportunity to annex the Western Cloud Continent.
When the news reached the Heavenly Palace, Yuan Fang was completely stunned. He had intended to suppress the Central Continent to prevent Gu Yue Fuqi's Immortal Ascension, but he hadn't expected that instead of stopping him, he had made the opponent even stronger.
What made him even more furious was that Gu Yue Fuqi actually used the Dragon Fish, Pegasus, and Azure Wolves he had raised to deal with the allied army.
Thus, Yuan Fang immediately dispatched Ma Hong Yun as an envoy to the Central Continent.
Above Gu Yue Fuqi's imperial palace, a flash of red light streaked down, plunging directly into the palace gates.
The guards immediately stepped forward to challenge him, only to see a handsome young man with dark skin, wearing bright clothes they had never seen before, with an earring in his right ear.
"Who are you! How dare you trespass into the imperial palace!"
Facing the guards' questioning, Ma Hong Yun activated a Gu worm called the "Soporific Butterfly," releasing a wonderful fragrance that instantly knocked out all the guards.
Then, he swaggered into the royal court.
Gu Yue Fuqi looked at the young man with a puzzled expression. At this time, Ma Hong Yun was already a Rank Five Gu Master, and the Rank Five aura he emitted made even Gu Yue Fuqi turn serious.
Not long ago, Gu Yue Fuqi had just conferred titles upon the Wulei Sect Master, the Lord of the Cloud Palace, and the King of the Underground Royal Court, ordering them to manage the Western Cloud Continent and discussing the provincial system in the court.
Gu Yue Fuqi's eyes flickered, signaling a small eunuch beside him to step forward. The eunuch, still immersed in the discussion of the provincial system, asked in a high-pitched voice:
"Which province are you from?"
Ma Hong Yun scratched his head, clearly not understanding what "province" meant. But his eyes quickly darted around, and he replied with a cheeky grin:
"I was born from my mother."
"Pfft!" Gu Yue Fuqi almost burst out laughing. Obviously, Ma Hong Yun had misheard "which province" as "which birth," and he was completely unaware of it.
The little eunuch was also struggling to hold back his laughter and asked again:
"Where did you come from?"
"Born from my mother." Ma Hong Yun replied with a serious face; he certainly wasn't lying.
"No! You... cough, what is your purpose here?"
Only then did Ma Hong Yun explain his purpose. He came from the Heavenly Palace to convey the decree of the Immortal Yuan Fang:
The Immortal Yuan Fang believed that Blood Path Gu Masters killed too many people and that all Blood Path Gu Masters must be suppressed.
He also announced that every year from now on, someone would be sent to publish a list of Blood Path Gu Masters who appeared that year.
Anyone who could eliminate a "Blood Scourge" would receive the blessing and protection of the Immortal Yuan Fang.
Gu Yue Fuqi fell into a dilemma. The victory of this war was largely due to the contributions of the Blood Path Gu Masters.
Because of Li Seek Defeat's involvement, all the Blood Path Gu Masters in the Yuan Fang Blessed Land had come to help.
In one battle, Gu Yue Fuqi had fallen into an ambush by the Cloud Palace. At the critical moment, dozens of Blood Path Gu Masters suddenly charged out and fought a bloody battle, which saved him from huge losses.
However, the people of the Western Cloud Continent hated Blood Path Gu Masters to the bone and expressed their agreement with Yuan Fang's proposal one after another.
Just as Gu Yue Fuqi was in a bind, the old minister Yan Xuanwu stood up:
"I have heard an old saying in the Central Continent: 'Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot.' Your Majesty should practice benevolent governance and educate the people. You can help Demonic Path Gu Masters turn to good and help Blood Path Gu Masters switch to other paths. In this way, Your Majesty can become the co-lord of the world."
Gu Yue Fuqi was overjoyed upon hearing this. But a Feathered Man official from the Cloud Palace jumped out and publicly opposed it:
"Why should we forgive bad people just because they've done countless evils and then put down the butcher's knife when they're tired? Black is black, and white is white. If you've done something wrong, you should be punished!"
These words sounded righteous and stern, but in reality, someone had specifically arranged for him to undermine the situation.
How shrewd was Gu Yue Fuqi? His gaze immediately turned to Yu An, the lord of the Cloud Palace, and he asked coldly:
"Yu An, what is your view on this matter?"
Yu An smiled slightly and cupped his hands:
"I believe these words are too radical, but they are enough to show the profound disaster of the Blood Path. Your Majesty should use both kindness and authority, making an example of one to warn a hundred, and eliminate the main culprit to uphold our imperial discipline."
Rock Desolation also immediately chimed in, saying righteously:
"This plan of the Cloud Palace to 'kill the chicken to scare the monkey' is very good! Without killing, there is no way to strictly govern; without killing, there is no way to appease the people's resentment; without killing, there is no way to convince the hearts of the people! Thus, if we do not kill, there will be chaos; if we kill, the world will be auspicious, and the common people will all praise Your Majesty's decisiveness!"
Gu Yue Fuqi saw through their trick at a glance. These two were playing along with each other, clearly wanting to borrow a knife to kill someone and get rid of Li Seek Defeat.
They were switching concepts, as if as long as he didn't kill Li Seek Defeat, he could not truly sit firmly on the throne of the Human Emperor.
But how could he risk political instability for the sake of one Li Seek Defeat?
While he certainly didn't want to kill Li Seek Defeat, the military power of the Western Cloud Continent still existed, and he had to make a compromise.
Thus, Gu Yue Fuqi finally made a decision:
"From now on, Li Seek Defeat shall be the public enemy of all the people!"