Chapter One Hundred and Two: The Astonished Tycoons

Seeing this outcome, Gu Xiaopang and Bai Ling'er, who had been hiding in the crowd, finally let go of all their burdens. They set off once again, traveling toward the Shura Prefecture in the center of the Southern Region to continue their training.

Within a single week, too much had happened.
The Purple Gold Border Army’s surprise attack was ambushed, leaving countless corpses behind.
The former Sage Mountain National Preceptor, Zang Mo, was publicly executed before the battle lines.
A beast tide emerged from the Endless Forest, laying siege to the Sage Mountain Imperial City.
Sage Mountain exhausted its national treasury to pay humiliating reparations.
The Tuoba army, having suffered losses of one hundred thousand while attempting to cover their retreat, arrived too late to provide reinforcements.
The mentally impaired Crown Prince Tianyou was deposed.
A letter of surrender from Sage Mountain was delivered to the Purple Gold Imperial Court.
For the next twenty years, the Sage Mountain Imperial Court would be required to pay annual tributes to the Purple Gold Imperial Court.
All other kingdoms, whether friend or foe, were shaken to their core.

During the ensuing training period, Gu Xiaopang was kept incredibly busy.
Old Man Qin, whose soul body had been drained by Gu Xiaopang’s repeated borrowing of his power, grew somewhat faint. After all, being a soul entity, every bit of loss was permanent; unlike cultivators with physical bodies, he could not constantly recover. Feeling guilty, Gu Xiaopang found a secluded spot deep in the mountains and began the long-neglected task of alchemy. Of the pills he refined, aside from the necessary healing and spirit-replenishing elixirs, eighty percent were various types of soul-nourishing pills.

Inside the cave, Gu Xiaopang sat cross-legged beside a waist-high alchemy furnace, refining continuously. Bai Ling’er sat at the cave entrance, silently cultivating while keeping her senses spread out to act as his guard.

"Ignite!"
"Ignite!"
"Open!"
"Open!"

Quickly recalling the alchemy formulas of various ranks passed down by Elder Mu Huo, azure and crimson wooden and fire-attributed spirit dragons rampaged within the furnace. Gu Xiaopang used his spiritual power, augmented by his nascent divine sense, to closely monitor the transformation of herbs into liquid and the subsequent condensation of pills. His hands moved in a blur, executing the techniques for condensing elixirs. Batch after batch of pills were produced, while the piles of third, fourth, and fifth-rank spirit herbs stacked on either side of him steadily dwindled.

"Open!"
"Ignite!"

Having swallowed several restorative and spirit-replenishing pills, Gu Xiaopang refined without pause for three days and three nights. By his side, over a hundred transparent pill bottles were scattered, each filled to the brim.

Bai Ling’er, whose inner energy circulated in a self-sustaining cycle, had kept a wisp of her consciousness on Gu Xiaopang throughout the process. Over these three days, she was filled with shock. She sighed to herself countless times; the young Gu Xiaopang not only cultivated all five elements but also possessed the powers of wind and space. Beyond his skill in artifact forging, his alchemy was equally extraordinary. It seemed that everything he produced was of a rare, top-tier quality.

If she had known that he went far beyond this—that he also cultivated lightning power, possessed a hidden spirit-artifact bracer never shown in combat, and carried a seemingly ordinary but heaven-defying stone pendant around his neck—she would have been even more stunned. Even so, this was enough to solidify her conviction that choosing Gu Xiaopang as her destiny-bound partner had been a remarkably wise decision.

At this moment, Gu Xiaopang, who had suppressed his cultivation to the late Foundation Establishment stage, could only refine third and fourth-rank top-tier pills. He had managed only one batch of fifth-rank pills before exhausting himself completely. Yet, even this would have been enough to make Elder Mu Huo of the Ethereal Sect drop his jaw. Although Elder Mu Huo had advanced to the rank of Grandmaster Alchemist, he was only a sixth-rank grandmaster, meaning he could at most refine sixth-rank top-tier pills. Gu Xiaopang, by barely managing a fifth-rank top-tier pill, was effectively a fifth-rank grandmaster—a status that would earn him a position of immense power in any sect.

The constant expenditure of mental energy had brought Gu Xiaopang an unexpected result: his spiritual power and divine sense had both broken through to a new level. His mental energy had leaped from a state of mere peripheral perception to a state capable of direct combat manipulation. He had also succeeded in tapping into his divine sense prematurely, a feat usually reserved for the Golden Core stage. Seeing the countless bottles of soul pills he had collected, Old Man Qin was filled with gratification and imprinted a heaven-tier mental attack technique called the "Heaven-Defying Art" into Gu Xiaopang’s mind.

With the "Medicine King’s Divine Refining" constantly tempering his mental strength and the "Heaven-Defying Art" enhancing its application, Gu Xiaopang had become significantly more formidable. Although Bai Ling’er did not know exactly what had happened, she could clearly sense that Gu Xiaopang’s strength had changed, becoming several times sharper.

Subsequently, Gu Xiaopang spent two days using the rare, heavy, and incredibly durable metals he had stolen from the Endless Forest to craft a set of artifact armor. A pair of boots imbued with earth and wood elements and bolstered by wind, he named the "Gale Boots." A pair of half-finger gloves imbued with water and fire elements and bolstered by wind, he named the "Gale Gloves." A dull-colored bracer on his right arm, imbued with metal and lightning elements, he named the "Gold-Thunder Bracer." Paired with the invisible, spirit-artifact Battle God bracer on his left arm—which he had already claimed and kept nourished with his five-element energy—Gu Xiaopang was now truly armed to the teeth. Because the materials were exceptionally heavy, wearing the set was equivalent to constant physical training.

Gu Xiaopang was not stingy with Bai Ling’er either. Using several lightweight and highly flexible materials, he custom-crafted a set of water-attributed silver armor for her, including pauldrons, elbow guards, hip guards, and white light boots that could generate wind-attribute energy. All of these were spirit artifacts.

When the two stepped out of the cave, one appeared as a beautiful, ethereal fairy, while the other walked with the heavy, thundering tread of a massive beast.

Time passed quickly. When they arrived within the territory of the Shura Prefecture, there was only half a month left until the White Sect disciple tournament. Upon receiving the news, Nangong Kang, the leader of the Ethereal Sect, immediately sent people to welcome them, leading them to a magnificent and opulent residence.

Every sect under the jurisdiction of the Shura Prefecture placed great importance on this tournament, and the Ethereal Sect was no exception. When Gu Xiaopang brought Bai Ling’er into the main hall, he found the three Supreme Elders, the Sect Leader, his grandfather Gu Laowu, the six Peak Masters, and the heads of the Body, Artifact, Alchemy, and Array Pavilions all gathered together.

"Inner disciple Gu Changqing pays respects to the Supreme Elders, the Sect Leader, and the Peak Masters."
"Enough, we all know who you are, boy. Spare us the formalities."

"Right, Xiaopang, quickly introduce this young lady to your grandfather." Gu Laowu, sharp-eyed, had been staring at Bai Ling’er since they entered, his wrinkled face creased into a smile as if he were looking at his granddaughter-in-law.

"Ahem!"
"Disciple Bai Ling’er of the Tianji Pavilion, student of Master Shensuanzi, pays respects to all seniors."
"The Tianji Pavilion? The student of that old man Shensuanzi?!"
"Good, very good!"

Just as Gu Xiaopang was coughing in embarrassment at Gu Laowu’s shameless gaze and words, Bai Ling’er had already politely bowed to the gathered dignitaries. As seasoned veterans of the world, these leaders understood the significance of a student of Shensuanzi—a man whose duty was to assist his chosen "destiny-bound person." As they looked at Gu Xiaopang again, their eyes gleamed. Everyone present understood exactly what this implied.

"You brat, come here! Let your Seventh Grandfather test how much you’ve improved during your training."
"Use your full strength to attack me."
"Eh? Seventh Grandfather, is that really a good idea?"
"You brat, what’s wrong with it? Are you afraid you’ll actually hurt me?"
"Alright, Seventh Grandfather, don't blame me for not holding back."

Just as Ouyang Jun, the Seventh Peak Master, took his stance with his hands behind his back, Gu Xiaopang—his mental energy now vastly increased—manifested his five-element spirit dragon rings, compressed to their limit. Bolstered by the powers of wind and lightning, he flashed forward and struck.

*Clack-clack-clack.*

Ouyang Jun, caught off guard, retracted his arm to block, his face grimacing in pain as he was forced back several steps. The bluestone floor beneath his feet shattered. The entire hall fell silent, save for the sound of cracking stone.

"Good lad! Your Seventh Grandfather underestimated you."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're still holding back, aren't you?"

Seeing the smug smile on Gu Xiaopang’s face, everyone gasped. Ouyang Jun was a veteran at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Even if he had been careless, the power Gu Xiaopang displayed was still exaggerated—and the fact that he was still hiding his true strength was shocking.

"Brat, tell us honestly, what is your current combat level?"
"If I don't use my trump cards, I should be able to fight someone at the peak of the Golden Core stage and win easily."
"You insolent brat, what do you mean by 'if you don't use your trump cards'?"
"You brat, how dare you play games with us?!"

With that, several Peak Masters swarmed the smug Gu Xiaopang and gave him a thorough beating. The rest of the crowd, including the three Supreme Elders, laughed heartily. Bai Ling’er watched with gentle eyes and a faint smile, perhaps thinking of her late master, Shensuanzi, who had loved her so dearly. Only Chen Shiming of the Body Pavilion and Nangong Xun of the Artifact Pavilion took a moment to observe the heavy artifact armor Gu Xiaopang was wearing, nodding in silent approval.