"Senior Brother Gao? Is that really you? You've come back!" Before Gao Han could snap at the two gate guards, a voice quivering with excitement and tears rose from behind him.
The voice sounded familiar, and Gao Han turned to look. "Wu Yan? What are you doing here?"
It was none other than Wu Yan—the personal attendant Gao Han had chosen, and the first person he had befriended upon joining the sect.
Yet Wu Yan was in a pitiful state. His robes had not been washed in what felt like ages; only upon close inspection could Gao Han tell they had once been blue. His face was ashen, his frame gaunt and skeletal—nearly as thin as Gao Han himself had been after his recent seclusion, if not thinner.
Did this fellow go into secluded cultivation too? Gao Han wondered to himself.
Fan Xiaoniu and Yue'er stared at Wu Yan in astonishment. "This is Wu Yan? No wonder he serves you, Young Master—he even looks the same after seclusion!"
At the sight of Gao Han, Wu Yan was overcome with emotion and burst into tears.
Gao Han frowned. After a moment, he realized Wu Yan was not crying merely from joy at his return. Half a year was but a blink of an eye to a cultivator, and his return should have called for celebration, not sorrow. Something was deeply wrong.
"Wu Yan," Gao Han said gravely, "what has happened here?"
"Senior Brother…" Wu Yan began, only to be cut off by the two gate guards.
"Who did we think it was? Just Wu Yan! Useless trash!"
"Wu Yan, go fill Senior Brother Gu's water jars and chop our firewood. Or you'll regret it tonight!"
Gao Han's face darkened. Even without Wu Yan speaking, he understood. The Gu brothers were behind this.
Worse still, two lowly gate guards dared to bully Wu Yan—an open insult to him personally. He would not stand for it.
"Wu Yan, you are now at the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Condensation! Why fear these lackeys? Teach them a lesson for me!" Gao Han's voice was icy, and the temperature around them plummeted.
The guards shivered violently at the sudden chill, exchanging confused glances.
"Wu Yan, you dare! Do you not fear Senior Brother Gu's wrath?"
"Yeah, you still counting on that worthless outer-sect first-ranked disciple Gao Han to save you? Dream on! Senior Brother Gu has reached the True Essence realm now—he's the real outer-sect number one!"
"That's right! And his brother, Senior Brother Gu Yunbie, has been promoted to inner-sect disciple! Can you afford to offend them?"
The guards bluffed fiercely. Though they had powerful backers, their cultivation was lower than Wu Yan's, and they feared he might take Gao Han's words to heart and attack them regardless of the consequences.
Wu Yan hesitated, terrified that Gao Han was no match for Gu Yunbie. If he struck now, he would surely be killed. "Senior Brother… this isn't wise."
As a mere handyman disciple, his life meant little. An inner-sect disciple could slay him with only a token punishment to follow.
Seeing Wu Yan's hesitation and excuses, Gao Han realized the tales of his triumphs in the Spirit Kingdom's imperial capital had not reached this far—or had spread only among the upper echelons, not the rank and file.
The distance between the capital and the Qiling Mountains was great; news traveled slowly. But had Li Changtian, Nian Hua, and the others not spread word? It puzzled him.
Gao Han sighed softly. One raised within the sect could never be utterly obedient to his every command.
"Fan Xiaoniu, go slap both of them," Gao Han said, turning away from Wu Yan.
This was no longer just about standing up for Wu Yan—it was about establishing his authority. He would make everyone know he was not to be trifled with, and that those under his protection would not be preyed upon.
"Yes, Young Master!" Without hesitation, Fan Xiaoniu stepped forward toward the guards.
The two guards, both at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, could sense Fan Xiaoniu was a mere mortal who had not even reached the first layer of Qi Condensation. Enraged at the thought of being struck by a commoner, they would not submit.
"You fool! You seek death!"
"How dare you lay hands on us! We shall kill you to uphold the dignity of the Misty Sect!"
They drew their weapons and stabbed at Fan Xiaoniu, but he continued forward without flinching.
Their blades were inches from his flesh, and grins spread across the guards' faces.
Whoosh!
A frigid aura materialized out of thin air, spreading swiftly to their feet and surging upward through their bodies. The guards froze solid in an instant, their inner energy locked in place.
The frost stopped just below their necks, holding them motionless as statues.
Slap! Slap!
Two crisp cracks rang out. Bright red handprints bloomed on the guards' cheeks, their faces swelling instantly.
"You…! How dare you lay hands on Misty Sect disciples! You've come here to cause trouble! Help! Intruders are attacking the sect!"
One guard was stunned that a mortal had struck him, a sixth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator. He flew into a rage and shouted at the top of his lungs.
These were not empty words. The Misty Sect's mountain gate was sacred; such a cry would bring even outer-sect elders running. Any intruder would be arrested, and those who resisted would be executed on the spot.
Moments after his shout, several figures darted rapidly toward the gate from the distance, drawing closer by the second.
Gao Han burned with anger. As a sect disciple, he knew the weight of that cry. He had not expected a lowly gate guard to recklessly unleash such a call.
His gaze fell upon the approaching figures, and he sneered.
Among them was a familiar face—Gu Yunli of the Gu clan, who had once challenged him.
Times had changed. Gu Yunli was now a True Essence realm disciple.
Gu Yunli spotted Gao Han at once and burst into mocking laughter. "Hahaha! Gao Han! We meet again! But I am now in the True Essence realm. You shall die here today!"
He drew his longsword and charged downward at Gao Han, true essence surging along the blade, stirring up dust in his wake.
Wu Yan's face turned ashen, his sun-darkened skin going deathly pale.
Gao Han smiled coldly. "The glow of a firefly dares to compete with the bright moon!"
He merely raised his right palm to meet the sword, channeling no true essence whatsoever.
"Hmph! He's courting death, fighting without inner energy!"
"So what if he uses physical strength? Can he possibly block Gu Yunli's strike?"
The cultivators behind Gu Yunli sneered. They were all True Essence realm outer-sect disciples, biding their time to take the inner-sect examination in one go and rise to high status.
Under Wu Yan's terrified gaze, and the vicious stares of the guards and Gu Yunli, palm and sword clashed.
Clang!
To everyone's shock, Gu Yunli's body was sent flying backward, faster than he had charged.
A trickle of blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth.