Chapter 55 The Venerable Master
"I heard it—she called Fourth Young Master Gu 'Father'!"
All eyes turned to Gu Zhan, suspicion etched into their faces. Wasn't Fourth Young Master Gu's daughter rumored to be a useless good-for-nothing? Yet that earlier strike was hardly inferior to her father's.
"She is my precious daughter," Gu Zhan said with a faint, weary smile—tinged not with weakness, but with pride.
A collective gasp rose from the surrounding crowd. Murmurs of astonishment rippled through them as they began to praise Gu Qingli's formidable strike, her strength appearing to rival Gu Zhan's own.
Everyone knew Gu Zhan was an eight-star grand warrior—already an exceptional talent. But to think a twelve-year-old girl could also be an eight-star warrior—it was nothing short of terrifying.
Meanwhile, Gu Qingli had just struck down the fourth-tier magical beast. The creature, seemingly aware of its impending demise, dragged its battered body toward the forest, attempting to flee. But Gu Qingli would not let it escape.
A fourth-tier magical beast was of immense value—if it got away, the Snow Tiger Corps would suffer a devastating loss.
Man and beast began a relentless chase, time slipping by unnoticed—half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Gu Qingli had long seen that the creature could not last. She remained on its heels, waiting patiently for it to collapse from blood loss and exhaustion.
At last, they reached a towering cliffside, at the base of which stretched a vast, shadowed valley. The beast finally gave out—its colossal form crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, sending dust and earth into the air before lying utterly still.
Cautious, Gu Qingli did not approach immediately. She waited in silence, watching. Only when no trace of breath or energy stirred from the beast's body did she step forward, drive her blade into its skull, and carve open a cavity in its head—revealing a softly glowing magic core of pale green.
It was her first time seeing the core of a fourth-tier magical beast—roughly the size of a fist, gleaming with a crystalline luster. This, above all else, was the creature's most valuable treasure.
After a brief inspection, Gu Qingli's lips curved into a satisfied smile. She turned to leave—when a sudden change shattered the calm.
Without warning, a terrifying spiritual pressure descended from above, pinning her body flat to the ground.
Gu Qingli had no idea what had arrived—but one thing was clear: a supreme powerhouse had come. Heart pounding, she dared not move an inch.
Then, from the horizon, two streams of ochre light streaked across the sky like shooting stars, heading straight toward the great valley.
That suffocating pressure emanated from those two lights—and Gu Qingli's heart trembled with dread.
Ochre light—was that not the hallmark of the Revered Stage? King, Saint, Revered, Emperor—each step upward was a mountain few could ever climb.
What kind of cursed fortune was this? Some people lived their entire lives without glimpsing a Revered Stage cultivator—yet here she was, face to face with not one, but two!
She remembered her master, Dongfang Kunlun, had already reached the Revered Stage—and figures of such caliber ranked among the ten greatest powerhouses on the Honggu Continent.
Gu Qingli held her breath, her limbs locked with tension, cold sweat trailing down her brow.
With the arrival of these two figures, a suffocating stillness fell over the entire valley. Before such overwhelming might, she was nothing more than an ant beneath their feet.
The first beam of light crashed down with thunderous force, causing the entire valley to tremble.
The second descended more quietly, its form hovering above a deep crater. Yet the aura it released sent Gu Qingli's qi surging chaotically, as though her chest were crushed beneath a massive boulder.
At last, the blinding radiance faded, revealing a thin, grey-robed elder. Even from a distance, Gu Qingli did not dare lift her eyes to meet his face.