What's There to Fear About Admitting What Happened Back Then? Playing the Good Guy Requires Confidence
What’s There to Fear About Admitting What Happened Back Then? Playing the Good Guy Requires Confidence
“Young Master of the Gu Family? What do you mean by this?”
“At a time like this, are you actually planning to shelter her?”
Gu Changge’s appearance not only made Grand Commander Haomiao’s expression change, his brows furrowing, but also caused all the other cultivators and living beings to widen their eyes in disbelief.
Many people knew one thing... the relationship between Gu Xianer and Gu Changge was far from pleasant. There was conflict between the two of them.
It had been that way ever since Gu Xianer first joined the Skyward Schloss.
And now, at a moment like this, Gu Changge had stepped forward. Could he be planning to back Gu Xianer up?
This scene left many people stunned, countless thoughts flashing through their minds, utterly shocked.
All the disciples and Elders of the Skyward Schloss were incomparably shaken at this moment.
They had guessed that someone might step forward for Gu Xianer at a time like this, but they truly never imagined that person would be Gu Changge.
Anyone who had cultivated at the Skyward Schloss should understand one thing: never get too close to Gu Xianer, because doing so would provoke and offend Gu Changge.
So... Gu Xianer actually didn’t have a single friend in the entire Skyward Schloss.
At this moment, gazing from afar at that young man in white robes with wide sleeves high up in the sky.
Many young female disciples began imagining all sorts of versions of the story, their gazes turning exceedingly strange.
Toward Gu Xianer, they suddenly felt envy.
“You’re asking what I mean?”
Gu Changge spoke as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world, his tone abruptly turning cold and condescending.
“At this point, do you still not understand? Xianer is a member of my Gu Family. I can bully her, but if you lot bully her, then go die!”
Weng!!
The instant his words fell, heaven and earth abruptly darkened. From all directions came the vast rumbling of Ancient Battleships. Starting from Supreme Peak, one Copper Ancient Battleship after another emerged, incomparably towering and ancient.
Boundless demonic qi and killing intent resounded through heaven and earth.
Honglonglong!!
The many experts of the Primal Celestial Temple stationed here descended upon this place aboard the Ancient Battleships, sealing off the void within eight thousand li of the Skyward Schloss.
Terrifying divine light flowed across the Ancient Battleships, interweaving there as if an entire Astral River was converging.
Between heaven and earth, the Great Dao Dharma Body behind Gu Changge also struck out, boundlessly vast, as if it could encompass heaven and earth and cover the universe with its palm. Facing a being of the Sacred Lord Realm, it showed no fear whatsoever and directly descended!
He struck out with overwhelming force. Though his cultivation on the surface was only at the Partial-Enlightened Realm, he was actually making a move against a Sacred Lord.
This scene was no different from a mayfly trying to shake a tree, yet it made everyone’s eyes go wide with utter horror.
Wasn’t this far too arrogant? Directly ignoring the terrifying pressure of a Sacred Lord Realm expert and brazenly attacking?
“Young Master of the Gu Family, you...”
“For the sake of one Gu Xianer, do you truly intend to go to war with my clan?”
Grand Commander Haomiao’s face abruptly turned ashen. He became furious. Gu Changge’s sudden attack had completely exceeded his expectations.
Moreover, the eight thousand li in every direction of heaven and earth had all been sealed off. This was the Primal Celestial Temple’s signature Eight-Thousand-Li Lockdown, capable of trapping cultivators within and slaughtering them to the last!
It was clear that Gu Changge harbored complete killing intent toward them.
Hong!!
Facing Gu Changge’s strike, Grand Commander Haomiao naturally paid it no mind. With a casual wave, Sacred Lord laws abruptly manifested between heaven and earth, forming an enormous millstone that erased the attack.
The gap in cultivation between the two of them could truly be described as one in heaven and one on earth.
No matter how terrifying Gu Changge’s talent was, it couldn’t possibly bridge such an enormous disparity.
But what Grand Commander Haomiao found inconceivable was that Gu Changge had moved against the Ancient Sea Palace for Gu Xianer’s sake.
This meant the two great lineages were tearing off all pretenses, and the most terrifying of wars might very well break out!
It was true that the Ancient Sea Palace feared the Longevity Gu Family.
That was precisely why they had picked a soft persimmon to squeeze, targeting Gu Xianer in order to seek justice for the Seventh Princess.
Otherwise, how could they hold their heads up among the great lineages?
They knew that the biggest reason Gu Xianer had been able to slay the Seventh Princess was because Gu Changge had interfered from the sidelines.
But... was one Gu Xianer really worth him doing all this?
In Grand Commander Haomiao’s understanding, Gu Changge should have been delighted. How could he possibly come to stop them?
This left him both utterly enraged and baffled.
“Why is it that even though what this guy says is infuriating, I somehow feel a little moved...”
Listening to Gu Changge’s words and watching him stand before her, Gu Xianer felt an incomparable sense of security for a moment.
How similar this scene was to back then. Within the Celestial Ancient Continent, facing the vast and mighty forces of the Ancient Sea Palace, Gu Changge had appeared just like this.
This time he was even more direct, speaking out before everyone, forceful and domineering.
Although it was more likely that Gu Changge was just putting on an act.
At the very least, he really did do it.
“Actually, this was all calculated by him long ago. He didn’t kill the Seventh Princess with his own hands just so he could draw the Ancient Sea Palace’s wrath today, create such a huge sensation, and attract the attention of every power in the Boundless Heaven... and then build momentum for me?”
Gu Xianer thought to herself. Her mind wasn’t slow.
Combining this with what Gu Changge had said before, she instantly connected all the dots.
Now... how could she possibly still hate Gu Changge?
Her emotions were complicated to the extreme.
“Why wouldn’t it be worth it?”
Hearing this, Gu Changge smiled openly. “I might as well take advantage of today’s occasion to let the whole world know.”
“Xianer is Gu’s little sister, and even more so the little princess of my Longevity Gu Family. All these years, Gu has wronged her and has always carried guilt in his heart, merely lacking the opportunity to make amends.”
“But... if the Ancient Sea Palace dares to bully her, then today I shall flatten your Ancient Sea Palace. What of it?”
His voice wasn’t loud, yet it reverberated through heaven and earth.
Like a bolt of thunder, it left countless living beings and cultivators stunned, speechless for a long while.
No one had expected such an outcome.
Quite a few lineages and powers who knew the inside story were dumbfounded. In their view, there was no way Gu Changge would actually do something like this.
Once the matter of the past was exposed, not only Gu Changge, but even the Longevity Gu Family would lose all face.
Was Gu Changge really going to do this?
And flatten the Ancient Sea Palace, no less?
What boldness and dominance! Truly worthy of Gu Changge!
Such words coming from his mouth didn’t seem out of place at all. On the contrary, they felt perfectly natural.
It made everyone feel his invincible might!
“Gu Changge...” Gu Xianer was once again stunned by Gu Changge’s words.
Judging by his demeanor, was he really planning to make the bone-digging incident of the past known to the whole world?
This brought Gu Changge absolutely no benefit whatsoever!
If he wanted to acknowledge her identity, he could have done it in a completely different way.
“Gu Changge, how have you become so foolish now? This isn’t like you at all...” Gu Xianer couldn’t help but murmur, her crystalline eyes dazed.
“Flatten my Ancient Sea Palace? Young Master of the Gu Family, what a big tone you have. Since you insist on shielding this little girl, then don’t blame me...”
“The Sea King has decreed: today we must capture Gu Xianer and deliver justice for our Seventh Princess.”
Hearing this, Grand Commander Haomiao’s face turned ashen as he spoke coldly.
Terrifying Sacred Lord pressure swept and crushed across the sky. The void trembled, and the stars themselves seemed to shift.
He had brought tens of thousands of the sea race with him. If they were to retreat and flee just because of a single oppressive sentence from Gu Changge, where would the Ancient Sea Palace’s face go?
Don’t forget how many cultivators and living beings were watching the show nearby.
Everything that happened today would absolutely spread to every heaven and every realm in a sensational fashion.
By then, there would be no good way to wrap things up!
In the distance, the expressions of many cultivators and living beings changed drastically as they hurriedly fled, knowing that a world-toppling battle might erupt here, one beyond imagination.
“What does the Sea King amount to? Today, I, Gu, will leave these words right here: whoever dares touch Xianer, my Gu Family will annihilate their entire sect, down to the last member... not a single one left.”
“You may doubt the truth of my words, if you truly dare to test them.”
Gu Changge stood high in the sky with his hands clasped behind his back.
Hearing this, he merely smiled faintly, casual and dismissive, full of contempt and indifference.
The Ancient Sea Palace seemed powerful, but compared to the hidden forces behind Gu Xianer, they amounted to little more than experience points at best.
If the Ancient Sea Palace truly intended to kill Gu Xianer, then the masters behind her would absolutely never let the matter rest.
For powerhouses of that level to have come this far, how could they possibly lack hidden backing?
Gu Changge’s choice to step forward was, from every possible angle, the most advantageous move for him.
At this moment, hearing Gu Changge’s words, everyone couldn’t help but hold their breath, feeling the terrifying deterrence and killing intent.
Even the ruler of the Ancient Sea Palace had become a mere “what does he amount to” in Gu Changge’s mouth.
This made all the living beings of the Ancient Sea Palace collectively erupt in fury, glaring at him with rage, wishing they could kill Gu Changge on the spot.
Accustomed to throwing their weight around in the Boundless Sea, when had they ever suffered such contempt and humiliation!
This was no longer a simple provocation.
“The Young Master of the Gu Family is as forceful and confident as ever. He doesn’t even put the Ancient Sea Palace in his eyes. But he really does have the capital for it. Looking across the entire younger generation today, who can truly stand shoulder to shoulder with him?”
“Never mind anything else, just this boldness alone—how many people could match it? Chatting and laughing at ease while standing against a Sacred Lord Realm expert of the Ancient Sea Palace!”
Many cultivators couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
The Elders and disciples of the Skyward Schloss also fell silent one after another.
Then, figures began to appear, standing behind Gu Changge.
After all, Gu Changge had another identity: the successor of the Skyward Schloss!
In today’s situation, everything he had done truly won the admiration of many Elders, inspiring respect in them for a junior.
“If only I had a big brother like that, how wonderful it would be.” Many young maidens fantasized in their hearts, their eyes shining with unusual brilliance.
Toward Gu Xianer, they felt nothing but envy.
Didn’t this count as Gu Changge standing against the entire Ancient Sea Palace for her sake?
“Hehe, laughable. Young Master of the Gu Family, you are far too arrogant. The Sea King’s Decree is right here. Even if an Old Ancestor of the Gu Family stands behind you now, so what? Do you really think you can contend against my clan?”
“The foundation of our Ancient Sea Palace far exceeds your imagination!”
Grand Commander Haomiao laughed coldly, his voice frigid and merciless.
He knew everything that had happened within the Celestial Ancient Continent. A Sacred King Realm being of the Feathered Clan had been slapped to death by an Old Ancestor of the Gu Family with a single raised hand.
So, just in case, he had brought a Sea King’s Decree with him. That decree was no simple object—it was something the Sea King had refined over a long period, containing a single full-power strike from his peak state.
Even if the Gu Family’s Ancestors stood at the Sacred Emperor Realm, they could still contend against them!
Not to mention that behind them lay the vast, intricately intertwined Sea Race—since ancient times, the most prosperous, most ancient, and most populous of all clans.
If an Immortal War truly broke out, they wouldn’t necessarily be afraid!
“If the Ancient Sea Palace wants to court death, then I’ll oblige you.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly at this, his hands clasped behind his back.
As his words fell.
A terrifying, rumbling aura emerged between heaven and earth. Across the various Ancient Battleships of the Primal Celestial Temple, runes flowed densely, radiating divine light.
Obeying his command, they were brewing a horrifying strike, one that seemed capable of sinking the very heavens and earth.
The Primal Celestial Temple and the Longevity Gu Family had always been branches of the same tree—this was no secret anywhere in the Beyond.
A dazzling brilliance, resplendent beyond compare, was gathering and interweaving, like divine splendor piercing through the primordial chaos, enough to blast everything into ash.
“You dare!”
Seeing this, the Grand Commander Haomiao’s expression changed drastically as he roared.
He was enraged. A colossal palm that blotted out the sky pressed forward, tens of thousands of zhang wide. The firmament trembled, everything was obscured, and a terrifying pressure swept across the entire Skyward Ancient City.
At this moment, let alone the surrounding Cultivators, even quite a few old fossils who knew nothing of this matter and had been slumbering were jolted awake.
“The might of a Sacred Lord truly possesses the great terror of overturning everything,” an old man spoke with a heavy expression.
In the current era, a Sacred Lord was already powerful to the point of invincibility.
After all, Perfect Prodigies were the foundation-level strength of Ancestors of the various clans and lineages—every emergence from seclusion or awakening came at a great cost.
How could one possibly see them on ordinary days?
“Primal Intent, all converge upon my body.”
Watching this scene, Gu Changge’s gaze flickered slightly, and then he spoke.
With his true strength at the Quasi-Sacred Realm, employing his many methods, contending against this Sacred Lord was still somewhat possible.
But he could not expose that right now.
So, Gu Changge thought of another method.
The secret technique of the Primal Celestial Temple.
It just so happened that numerous Primal Battleships were now gathered from all directions—he could draw upon all of this power.
An ordinary person certainly couldn’t control it; their body and Primordial Spirit would be burst apart.
But Gu Changge would not. His true cultivation far exceeded his current realm.
No matter how inconceivable his performance became, he could fob it off as talent.
The next moment, streams of runes converged from the Copper Ancient Battleships like an ocean, cascading down toward Gu Changge, like a sheet of starlight bearing everything up.
His Great Dao Dharma Body abruptly became vast and surging, grand and awe-inspiring.
Gu Changge’s aura climbed ceaselessly.
His fingers trembled, and as he raised his hand, wisps of Sword Qi bloomed forth, like a peerless immortal sword, ringing zheng zheng, erupting with sword light as thick as mountain ridges.
With a rumble, it was as if he were pushing mountains, rivers, sun, and moon forward—enough to slash down the stars beyond the thirty-three heavens!
Sword intent crisscrossed, transforming into Sword Qi several hundred zhang long, slicing toward that enormous palm.
In just an instant, terrifying fluctuations erupted there, like countless stars exploding all at once.
The void shattered, and endless radiance surged into the sky.
“What?”
A trace of astonished doubt appeared on Grand Commander Haomiao’s face. He could actually feel his palm strike being blocked—instead, wisps of sharp sword intent were seeping back toward him.
“That’s the secret art of the Primal Demonic Temple! I never imagined that in Gu Changge’s hands, it could grant the means to contend against a Sacred Lord!”
Many of the older generation of Cultivators were shaken, recognizing the method Gu Changge had just used—he was borrowing the power of those Primal Battleships from all directions.
Otherwise, with Gu Changge’s own strength, forcibly withstanding a strike from a Sacred Lord Realm being would be simply impossible.
Only an extremely small number of Primal Celestial Temple disciples could master this secret art.
Because the slightest loss of control meant facing the fate of one’s body exploding.
At this moment, Gu Changge’s strength had already risen to the level of an existence that could contend against a Sacred Lord.
This made countless hearts tremble—especially the younger generation, whose eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.
“As expected of a Walking Taboo. An ordinary Young Prodigy absolutely couldn’t withstand this power, let alone control and wield it. Is this the terrifying gap between a Walking Taboo and a Young Prodigy?”
“The gap between us and Gu Changge has already grown so wide that we’re no longer on the same level!”
They couldn’t help but tremble as they spoke. Although Gu Changge had accomplished all this through a trick, it was already enough to demonstrate his power.
Even if they were given the chance to use such a trick, they might not be able to pull it off.
After all, not everyone could be Gu Changge!
“A Sacred Lord is nothing more than this. With just this much, you dare come demanding justice?”
Gu Changge spoke with calm indifference, having withstood a Sacred Lord Realm strike as if it were nothing at all.
The implication was all but spoken aloud: is this all a Sacred Lord amounts to?
“But since you want justice, then today I’ll let you learn.”
“What justice is.”
He continued speaking.
“You snot-nosed brat, this is simply bullying people too far! Gu Xianer killed people of my Ancient Sea Palace first—in all things, a life must be paid with a life! No matter how domineering you are today, Gu Changge, are you going to throw all reason aside?”
Hearing these words, Grand Commander Haomiao’s face turned livid with rage, veins bulging, his expression so dark it seemed about to drip water.
This was the first time he had ever seen someone so tyrannically unreasonable, caring nothing for the facts of the matter.
To put it bluntly, the man simply didn’t regard the Ancient Sea Palace as worth anything at all.
He didn’t even care about a Sacred Lord Realm being!
Arrogant, domineering, and unreasonably overbearing!
“On the territory of the Skyward Schloss, you only need to remember one thing: what I say is justice.”
“Now I say that the Seventh Princess was killed by Xianer on my orders—so she was killed by me. What can you do about it?”
Seeing that the moment to draw hatred had about arrived.
A strange glint flashed through Gu Changge’s eyes, and then his voice, carrying faint mockery, rang out once more.
It carried an even more terrifying coldness and dominance.
Weng!!
At the same time, he swept his sleeve, and terrifying sword light descended from the edge of heaven and earth, humming and trembling, as if hundreds of millions of swords were firing at once, ringing zheng zheng!
At this moment, everyone stared blankly at this scene, an indescribable feeling flowing through them.
About him, there was an otherworldly, invincible grace.
“Gu Changge...”
Gu Xianer was also stunned. She didn’t know how much truth lay within Gu Changge’s words.
Whether it was true or false no longer mattered.
At least right now, Gu Changge had truly stood in front of her, fulfilling everything he had said.
“This Ancient Sea Palace is nothing special after all! Back then, they saw Gu Xianer as a soft persimmon and squeezed her, but now they’re probably riding a tiger they can’t dismount!”
“In the end, it’s Gu Changge’s attitude that’s too domineering—the Ancient Sea Palace doesn’t even dare make another move...”
The many Cultivators were shaken, then began speculating and guessing.
At this moment, Gu Changge raised his palm, and hundreds of millions of sword lights descended from the heavens!
Standing before the forces of the Ancient Sea Palace and a supposedly invincible Sacred Lord Realm being, his was the bearing of: though ten thousand stand against me, still I go.
Those who had already admired Gu Changge greatly before were now filled with fanatic fervor.
“Gu Changge, you’d better think this through. Once you tear off all pretenses with us, won’t you be afraid that what you did back then will become known to the whole world?”
“Wouldn’t the Gu Family’s face be ruined too?”
“Would your Gu Family dare admit it?”
A powerful expert of the Ancient Sea Palace, killing intent and hatred flickering in his eyes, simply couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted loudly.
Pu!
But upon hearing these words, Gu Changge turned his head and fixed him with a stare. A streak of sword light slashed out, directly cleaving the man’s body, along with his divine soul, into two halves.
This sword was so fast that even Grand Commander Haomiao failed to react in time.
The eruption of this wisp of sword light instantly pierced through the firmament, illuminating the distant starry sky.
Countless Cultivators felt chills run through their entire bodies, horrified to the extreme, eyes wide as they watched this scene.
“Say one more word and see what happens,” Gu Changge said lightly.
At the same time, a wisp of resplendent sword light—one that seemed capable of severing past and present, space and time itself—burst forth from between his finger bones with a chi.
Deathly silence, annihilation, terror...
No one could accurately describe the divine might contained within this sword light. It was as if even a True Immortal could perish beneath its edge.
Without beginning or end, its causality impossible to trace.
“You...” Grand Commander Haomiao’s expression changed drastically, his divine soul trembling with a sense of dread.
Immediately after, the killing intent on his face grew even denser, but knowing that a Gu Family Ancestor was hiding in the shadows, he didn’t dare act rashly.
“At a time like this, stop pretending to be some good person, Gu Changge!” he sneered coldly.
“What did that man just say? What Gu Changge did back then?”
“Could there really be some hidden secret? It seems there must be some grudge hidden between Gu Xianer and Gu Changge.”
In the distance, many Cultivators stared with wide, shocked eyes, utterly astonished. They had caught the words spoken by that Ancient Sea Palace expert just now.
Could it be that those very words had brought about his death?
What exactly was it? Something that could even disgrace the Longevity Gu Family?
It had to be said, those words planted doubt in everyone’s hearts.
Quite a few Cultivators who vaguely knew some of the secrets also found their expressions shifting.
If such a matter were spoken aloud, it would be tantamount to mortally offending the Longevity Gu Family.
Who among them would dare speak of it lightly?
For a moment, the way many people looked at Gu Changge changed, waiting to see what he would say.
Gu Xianer opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, the words didn’t come out.
In this matter, she was entirely the victim.
Once it was exposed to the world, the Gu Family would inevitably lose face, just as the Ancient Sea Palace had said.
She still held deep feelings for the Gu Family, so she had chosen to conceal the matter rather than make it public.
Now, in Gu Xianer’s eyes, Gu Changge’s actions meant he would very likely openly confess to what he had done back then.
As the Young Master of the Gu Family, for him to do this...
Gu Xianer couldn’t help but tremble at heart.
She could no longer find any reason to hate Gu Changge.
“What happened back then—why wouldn’t I dare admit it? Pretending to be a good person requires having the confidence to back it up.”
At this moment, seeing everyone looking toward him, a strange smile couldn’t help but appear at the corner of Gu Changge’s mouth.
For this moment, he had been laying preparations for a long time.
Keeping that Great Dao Bone, which was already useless to him, was also in wait for this day.
Right then, Gu Changge exchanged for an Absolute Detachment Bone from the System Shop, taking the place of the Great Dao Bone.
“However, this matter has nothing to do with the Gu Family—it was my doing alone. Pinning every blame on the family? I’m not as shameless as you lot...” he spoke slowly.
“Might as well take this opportunity today to return this bone.”
As he spoke, before the shocked and horrified gazes of Gu Xianer, of Gu Nanshan hiding in the shadows, and of everyone present.
The resplendent Sword Qi erupting from between Gu Changge’s finger bones suddenly rose, then fell!
With a pu, it pierced through his own chest!
Dazzling blood splattered out, astonishing divinity interweaving within it, resplendent beyond compare, illuminating the entire firmament.