Stronger by Killing

Gu Shanyun’s whole body shook as he exclaimed excitedly, "Are you sure? He’s really Big Brother’s son?"

Gu Rou pondered for a moment, then said, "I’m not too sure either. This is all the information I could gather. He comes from Yundong Linjiang County, and his father’s name was indeed Gu Shanjiang, but he died two years ago. As for Gu Zhan, it seems he offended someone and fled to Pingyang City. Dad, was Big Brother’s son named Gu Zhan?"

Gu Shanyun shook his head and said, "He wasn’t called Gu Zhan. At that time, he was too young and hadn’t been entered into the family records yet, so we only used his childhood name and never gave him a formal name."

Gu Rou nodded and said, "Dad, if you follow this clue, it should be easy to confirm. Actually, I don’t think it’s even necessary to look too deeply. Just looking at Gu Zhan’s appearance is enough to tell—he looks way too much like him!"

Gu Shanyun took a deep breath and said, "We must be sure about this. Besides, I need to go back and discuss it with the clan. Gu Zhan’s identity is not an ordinary one. If he wants to recognize his ancestors and return to the family, it’s not going to be so simple."

"Why?" Gu Rou asked in confusion.

Gu Shanyun said in a low voice, "The First Household probably won’t let Gu Zhan return so easily. In your generation, your big brother Gu Mo has already made the First Household wary. If there’s another Gu Zhan, they won’t be able to suppress our Second Household anymore. I need to make absolutely sure that the First Household can’t find a reason to interfere; otherwise, bringing Gu Zhan home would only bring him more trouble."

Gu Rou nodded and said, "Sigh, if he’s really Big Uncle’s son, that would be great. Dad, he’s not even that much older than I am—just a couple years. You know the name ’God of Slaughter.’ He’s a genius even more terrifying than Brother Gu Mo."

God of Slaughter—so many young people in our Pingyang Martial World admire him these days. If he really joined our Gu Family, we’d be so proud. But you’re right, Dad. Our Second Household already has one big brother, and if we add Gu Zhan, in a few years we’d be on equal footing with the First Household. They definitely wouldn’t be happy about that."

Gu Shanyun narrowed his eyes slightly and said nothing more.

...

Inside the Hundred Households Office,

Gu Zhan and Mo Beiyan were discussing the next step of their plan,

when a guard from Shuixie Manor stepped in and handed Mo Beiyan a box.

After sending the guard away,

Mo Beiyan opened the box with a smile and said, "Brother Gu, I noticed you like using a saber, but before you mentioned that the Saber Technique you’re cultivating is just Profound Tier, a bit unworthy of your Great Cultivator level. So, I’ve spent some time looking for a secret manual for you."

As he spoke,

Mo Beiyan took out a finely bound book from the box and said, "To be honest, I’ve managed Shuixie Manor for some years, but I don’t have much talent in Martial Arts. The manuals in my manor aren’t high-level, so I could only find this one for you. But this is an Earth Tier Middle Grade Saber Technique, it should be enough."

Gu Zhan raised his brows,

Earth Tier Middle Grade—as for martial arts of this grade, even in Canglan City, countless people would fight over it. Many first-rate sects’ inherited secret manuals are just at this level,

even among the seven top-tier factions of Pingyang Prefecture, several True Sect Martial Arts are only this rank.

Mo Beiyan spoke nonchalantly, but the price he paid was definitely not small.

"Brother Mo," Gu Zhan said deeply, "I’m a martial artist. I know well what Earth Tier Martial Arts mean. This is way too valuable!"

Mo Beiyan handed the manual to Gu Zhan and said, "The two of us are on the same boat now. I’m counting on your protection. Helping you is helping myself. It’s just a pity I can’t get things from Canglan City. Otherwise, my father has quite a few advanced secret manuals in hand."

After he spoke, Mo Beiyan smiled and said, "This Saber Technique also has quite a history. It’s the signature Absolute Technique of a Saber Dao Grandmaster over a hundred years ago, called the Four Seas Returning Blade Technique. It was renowned in Yunxi back then. Unfortunately, after the Grandmaster’s death, his descendants declined more and more,

like they say, ’A man is innocent, but holding a treasure brings trouble.’ In the end, their family was wiped out because of this Four Seas Returning Blade Technique. Afterwards, it leaked into the open. Some big auction houses in Yunxi have it. As long as you’re willing to pay, you can buy it."

"It’s not cheap, right?" Gu Zhan asked.

Mo Beiyan smiled and said, "No, it’s not cheap. It took up seventy percent of Shuixie Manor’s resources. Besides, it was Ninth Sister’s people who managed to deliver it safely to Pingyang City."

Gu Zhan nodded, not being pretentious, and accepted the manual, saying, "Brother Mo, thank you!"

Mo Beiyan smiled and said, "I heard you’ve always been obsessed with Martial Arts—a secret manual tempts you more than a beauty. I won’t disturb you then."

With that, Mo Beiyan left directly.

In the study,

Gu Zhan quickly flipped through the manual.

This Four Seas Returning Blade Technique truly lived up to being an Earth Tier Middle Grade martial art—extremely difficult to cultivate, and requiring a very high Saber Dao talent. Only a blade fanatic could master it, and the resources needed for most people were enormous too.

This Saber Technique only had three moves, but once performed, it was like gathering the aura of all four seas into the blade. Where the saber light flashed, foes would feel as if thrown into a sea of blades.

This was a dominating Saber Technique, somewhat resembling Demon Dao martial arts—immensely powerful, but with severe backlash if one wasn’t cautious, and required very strong mental fortitude.

Ordinary people mustn’t be hasty when cultivating it.

However, none of this mattered to Gu Zhan.

Once the system recorded it, he immediately started adding points:

[Spent 100,000 Experience Points]

[Four Seas Returning Blade Technique upgraded to Entry Realm]

...

The Saber Technique was mastered to the first move in an instant,

and in that moment, the room was suddenly filled with a gust of wind, like ocean waves churning. The bookshelf shook, just like the sea before a storm, the pressure was terrifying.

As Gu Zhan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air,

the aura instantly disappeared.

Gu Zhan glanced at the system screen:

Player: Gu Zhan

Realm: Enlightenment Realm

Cultivation Technique: Creation Skill (Eleventh Floor 0/1,000,000)

Skills:

Shadow Arrow Technique (Great Success)

Willow Leaf Flying Knife Technique (Great Success)

Creation Golden Body (Great Success)

Four Seas Returning Blade Technique (Entry Level 0/500,000)

Experience Points: 220,541

...

The storm of the Embroidered Uniform Guard reconstruction swept across the entire Pingyang Prefecture like a hurricane.

Outside Pingyang City, two new Hundred Households Offices were built in the east and west. In addition, each of the sixteen counties under Pingyang Prefecture set up a Hundred Households Office of its own, each with an Innate Martial Artist appointed as the Hundred Households.

In just two months,

all eighteen Hundred Households Offices were successfully established,

and the local powers cooperated, all according to the previous joint declaration, funding the construction of the offices. In name, they acknowledged the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s right to supervise and investigate mines, markets, trade routes, and so on,

but it was just in name.

As the saying goes, "The higher-ups have policies, the lower-downs have countermeasures."

During this period, the reports from each Hundred Households Office often left Gu Zhan and Mo Beiyan speechless.

In the trade records supervised by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there was even a market that claimed to earn just one tael of silver in a whole month—only submitted a few copper plates as tax.

However, for this sort of thing,

it was all within Gu Zhan and Mo Beiyan’s expectations. During this time, they madly recruited people in droves, to the point where the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a personnel overflow, and then dispatched them in batches all over the province.

This led to a bizarre scene in Pingyang Prefecture’s towns and trading districts: often, before one group of Embroidered Uniform Guard inspectors left a shop, another group would arrive, completely disrupting business. Clashes erupted frequently, with fights between Martial World People and the Embroidered Uniform Guard happening almost daily,

yet the major factions kept things in check,

so far, there had been no major incidents with casualties.

Until midday this day,

Gu Zhan and Mo Beiyan were reviewing the latest reports sent in from all over,

when Zuo Yang rushed in hurriedly and whispered, "Lord Gu, Lord Mo, something has happened! The Hundred Households Office in Youyang County was wiped out overnight—not a single survivor. The whole office was burned to ashes!"