Supreme Sword Exalt

Everything went completely silent, dumbfounded. The profound jade, which they had exhausted every ounce of effort to light up, was shattered just like that!

Gu Han stiffened, realizing he had accidentally used too much force.

The sound did not escape the big man. His eyes widened even further, fixed dead on that piece of profound jade. “B-broken...? It’s broken?”

He snatched the profound jade into his hand, staring blankly at the crack, temporarily forgetting about Gu Han.

Gu Han quietly retreated.

Ah Sha gently tugged at his sleeve. “Young Master. Earlier, didn’t he say that this was their academy’s treasure?”

Gu Han forced himself to stay calm. “I think he did.”

Ah Sha’s face instantly fell. “W-we can’t afford to pay for it!”

Gu Han was already starting to panic. “Mhm.”

He was very broke right now.

Ah Sha was also a bit panicked. “Young Master, let’s not eat the roasted meat... Let’s just... run?”

Gu Han snapped back to reality. Run? Right! We have to run immediately!

Just then, the big man raised his head, his eyes locking dangerously onto Gu Han. “Stop! Where do you think you’re going?!”

An overwhelming aura bore down on Gu Han.

Gu Han’s heart dropped, and he pulled Ah Sha behind him. “T-this isn’t my fault!”

The big man was taken aback. “Hmm? What do you mean?”

Gu Han’s mind raced. “This profound jade is too fragile! You also told me to go all out! You never said breaking the profound jade would require compensation. You bear full responsibility!”

Upon hearing this, the others were so ashamed they wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Too fragile? This is just too insulting!

The big man was speechless. “When did I ever say you have to pay?”

Ah Sha timidly peeked her little head out. “... You just said this profound jade was your academy’s treasure.”

The big man burst into boisterous laughter. With a flash, he was already in front of Gu Han, ecstatically slapping him on the shoulder. “You are our academy’s treasure, Junior Brother! From today on, you are the chief disciple of Fengwu Court!”

Gu Han’s eyes lit up. “So, I don’t have to pay?”

The big man waved his hand grandly. “Of course not! This profound jade was meant for testing anyway. Now that we’ve found the right candidate, whether it’s broken or not, it doesn’t matter! Besides, you’re my junior brother now. Even if you tore down the entire Fengwu Court, I wouldn’t blame you in the slightest!”

Gu Han subconsciously glanced around. Would there even be any difference whether it’s torn down or not?

From the crowd, someone finally reacted. “Then what about us?”

The big man shook his head, somewhat regretful. “My apologies, but you failed to pass Fengwu Court’s test. Still, I can’t possibly let your trip go to waste?”

After thinking for a moment, he took out over ten strips of dried meat from his storage ring. The corner of Gu Han’s mouth twitched violently. Ah Sha was practically drooling.

The big man didn’t care whether they wanted it or not, shoving the dried meat into their hands. “Take it! You came all this way! I can’t let you return empty-handed!”

The crowd felt extremely awkward. Accepting it felt a bit humiliating, but it was better than letting all their efforts go to waste. Moreover, they had all tasted the beast meat roasted by the big man, and understood how terrifying the hidden spirit qi in such an unremarkable strip of dried meat could be.

After much hesitation, they gave Gu Han a look and silently left. Their strips of dried meat swayed gently in the wind, giving off a peculiar sight.

Having seen the others off, the big man finally turned to Gu Han, full of relief and excitement. “Junior Brother, come! Follow me up the mountain to meet your senior sister!”

“Wait—” Gu Han only managed to utter that one word before he and Ah Sha were swept up by the big man’s spirit qi.

In the blink of an eye, they had arrived before two thatched huts halfway up the mountain.

The big man could no longer contain his joy. “Junior Sister, we found one! Hahaha, after so many years, we finally found one!”

Someone with a gentle and soft voice exclaimed, “Is that so!”

The next moment, a woman in a yellow dress slowly emerged from the thatched hut. She was a demure beauty with a refined temperament. In her hands were a piece of half-cut cloth and a gleaming jade needle.

Gu Han’s eyes widened. Isn’t this just a seamstress? A cook and a seamstress... Fengwu Court is really unreliable!

The woman curiously looked Gu Han up and down. “Is this him?”

Excitement overflowing, the big man opened his palm, showing the profound jade. “It is! Junior sister, look!”

“B-broken? Senior brother...” The woman was clearly shocked as well. When she looked at Gu Han again, there was already a hint of admiration in her eyes. “You’ve really stumbled upon a treasure this time!”

The big man scratched his head with a modest expression. “Hehe! Just good luck, just good luck.”

Gu Han’s face darkened. Stumbled upon? Did you mean to say scammed?!

The woman smiled gently, turning to look at Ah Sha. “Little girl, what’s your name?”

“I-I’m Ah Sha.”

The woman laughed. “Ah Sha? Not bad at all. To have such pure spirit qi at such a young age is quite rare.”

Meanwhile, the big man grabbed Gu Han enthusiastically. “Come, come. This is your senior sister, Yu Miao. I am your senior brother, Zuo Yang. From today on, we are a family!”

Gu Han was speechless. A family? This is too much!

After a thought, he decided to explain clearly. “You two, actually, I—”

Yu Miao interrupted him. “Senior Brother, Junior Brother just arrived today, you must treat him properly!”

Zuo Yang facepalmed. “Right! I was so focused on the examination, I almost forgot the main event! Junior Brother, just wait, I will show off my skills.”

Under Gu Han’s stunned gaze, he ran a few steps into the other thatched hut and carried out a large black pot. With another point of his finger, a cluster of spirit fire ignited beneath the pot.

Gu Han was completely at a loss for words. What kind of main event is this?

He tried explaining again, “Actually, I—”

Zuo Yang waved his hand. “Nothing is more important than eating! Eat first, talk later!”

He drew a stream of clear spirit water from his storage ring, then grabbed several strips of dried meat, as well as various spirit fruits, herbs, and many unknown powders.

In an instant, a strange aroma wafted out. Just by smelling it, Gu Han felt his spirit become several times more active. That long-lost urge to break through to the next realm surged up again.

Yu Miao glanced at Gu Han. “Oh? Junior Brother is about to break through?”

With the urge growing ever stronger, Gu Han couldn’t even muster a response. He simply sat down cross-legged, slowly guiding his spirit qi to converge.

The Essence Gathering realm was about converging the spirit qi from the meridians and the various acupoints to open up a spirit pool between the eyebrows. The stronger the spirit qi, the wider the spirit pool that could be opened.

Without a Supreme Stage foundation, ordinary cultivators could open at most a ten-zhang spirit pool, no matter how hard they tried. However, Gu Han was different. With the Qi Condensation and Acupoint Unsealing at Supreme Stage, he was bound to open up an unprecedented spirit pool.

He was full of anticipation about where exactly his limit was. His spirit qi surged to its maximum, roaring louder and louder, so powerful it could even be heard from outside.

Yu Miao grew more and more astonished. “Senior Brother, this is such an impressive spectacle! Junior Brother is truly remarkable!”

Zuo Yang sighed with emotion. “Of course! I was almost dumbfounded earlier. Across the entire Eastern Wasteland, apart from that place—no, even that place probably couldn’t produce someone with a more solid foundation than him. Junior Sister, you’re right, we really did pick up a treasure this time. When Senior Sister returns, we can give her a proper account!”

Exchanging a glance, the two were of one mind: they absolutely couldn’t let go of this kind of talent!

Meanwhile, Ah Sha didn’t hear what the two were saying. She kept drooling, completely mesmerized by the large black pot.

Gu Han was fully focused on breaking through, so he couldn’t register their conversation either. With his will, he guided the violently surging spirit qi toward the space between his eyebrows. Opening a spirit pool was far easier than breaking through the acupoint barriers.

A light cracking sound echoed between his eyebrows. A spirit pool about one zhang square, existing somewhere between reality and illusion, instantly opened. Having found an outlet, the turbulent spirit rushed in madly.

Ten zhang! Thirty zhang! Fifty zhang! In the blink of an eye, the spirit pool had expanded to a circumference of ninety zhang. The size was enough to make countless prodigies bow their heads in shame. Yet it wasn’t over yet.

Gu Han’s remaining spirit qi poured entirely into the spirit pool. The spirit pool expanded into one hundred zhang. Since ancient times, almost no one could open one, apart from a very few lucky ones.

***

The area between eyebrows was very close to the consciousness space. Hence, the commotion of Gu Han’s breakthrough was faintly sensed by the black shadow.

With a look of despair, he stared upward, muttering to himself, “H-he broke through? Didn’t he say he was about to die?”

He had spent the past few days suffering, waiting for Gu Han to die so he could finally escape. To prevent any unexpected mishaps, he had even formulated a very meticulous plan to become stronger. Everything was set—all that remained was to wait for Gu Han’s death.

And yet, no matter how long he waited, Gu Han just wouldn’t die. The black shadow grew more and more anxious inside, but he didn’t dare ask, much less urge. He could only silently pray for Gu Han to die quickly. Who would’ve expected Gu Han to break through instead?!

His heart shattered. “Brat, just tell me! Are you going to die or not?!”