The next day, after Gu Yuexuan woke up, all the disciples of Chenxin Pavilion gathered together—except for Gu Qing’er, who was nowhere to be seen.
“Dong Hao, that little slut didn’t come back at all since last night?”
The disciple named Dong Hao hurriedly replied, “Senior Sister, Gu Qing’er… hasn’t returned.”
“That filthy wench! Just met someone on the first day and already slept with him. Disgraceful!” Gu Yuexuan was fuming, having barely slept the entire night.
“Hehe, what could have happened to make my dear Xuan’er so angry? Come, tell Uncle Wang about it,”
At that moment, the main hall doors were pushed open, and an elder walked in, smiling as he looked at the furious Gu Yuexuan.
For this Chenxin Pavilion trial, there were over a dozen teams, each usually led by two or three elders at the Tribulation Realm.
This elder, who called himself “Uncle Wang,” was Wang Zhong—the elder assigned to lead Gu Yuexuan’s team.
Unlike the other teams, Gu Yuexuan’s team had only one elder escorting them, but Elder Wang Zhong’s strength alone surpassed that of two or three elders combined in other teams.
This arrangement was personally made by the Deputy Pavilion Master—after all, this was the team that included his daughter.
“Uncle Wang!” Upon seeing him, Gu Yuexuan immediately put on a pitiful expression.
“It’s Gu Qing’er! Last night she got involved with some man she just met and didn’t come back the entire night. She’s completely disgracing Chenxin Pavilion!”
“Why should someone like her still be allowed to stay in the Pavilion and tarnish our reputation?”
“Oh? Something like that happened?” Wang Zhong glanced around, and everyone nodded in agreement.
Still, Wang Zhong didn’t completely believe it. He knew exactly what kind of person Gu Yuexuan was—spoiled and willful, always throwing her weight around in the sect because her father was the Deputy Pavilion Master.
Anything she said had to be taken with a grain of salt.
Bang—
Just then, the main doors were pushed open again.
“Elder Yang? Why are you only just returning…?”
The newcomers were another team from the trial.
If Gu Changqing had been there, he would have recognized them immediately—they were the Chenxin Pavilion disciples he had casually saved not long ago.
“Why are there only a few of you? Where’s Elder Ruo Mei, Elder Ping, and the other disciples?”
Seeing that only a few had returned, Elder Wang looked puzzled.
“They’re all… dead,” Yang Zhen said heavily, his voice full of sorrow.
“What!”
“All dead?”
Everyone’s faces changed drastically.
Each team had at least twenty to thirty disciples. Now, only a handful had come back—such casualties were disastrous!
“What happened? What exactly took place?”
The death of dozens of disciples was no small matter.
After all, this trial was meant for the elite disciples of Chenxin Pavilion—core disciples, inner sect members, and a few outstanding outer sect disciples.
Every life lost was a significant blow to the Pavilion.
The loss of dozens of disciples was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Chenxin Pavilion.
“During our trial, we encountered a King-rank Demon King! Elders Ruo Mei and Ping fell while trying to buy us a little time to escape.”
Boom—
Everyone was shaken to their core.
“What!?”
“A King-rank Demon King? Old Yang, are you joking with me?” Wang Zhong’s voice was deep and heavy.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Elder Yang—he knew Yang Zhen’s character well, and he wasn’t the type to make up stories to shirk responsibility—but this was just too unbelievable.
How could a King-rank Demon King appear in the shallow sea region?
“How would I dare to joke about something like this? Many people witnessed it firsthand. It won’t be long before word spreads across the entire sea region,” Yang Zhen said.
“Then how did you survive?” Wang Zhong asked again.
If they had truly encountered a King-rank Demon King, it shouldn’t have been possible for any of them to escape.
“We were saved by a passing King-realm expert. Otherwise, our entire team would have been wiped out,” Yang Zhen replied bitterly. He was still full of guilt over failing to protect the Pavilion’s disciples.
Wang Zhong sighed and patted Yang Zhen on the shoulder.
“This is not your fault. Against a King-rank Demon King, not just you—even if it were me, or even the Pavilion Master himself—we would still stand no chance.”
“The fact that you survived is already a blessing.”
“We must return to the sect immediately and report this to the Pavilion Master.”
Bang—
Just then, the door was pushed open again, but this time, it wasn’t gently pushed—it was blasted open!
Gu Changqing entered, bringing Gu Qing’er with him.
“Well, well, you little slut. You actually have the face to come back—and you even brought your lover,” Gu Yuexuan sneered the moment she saw Gu Qing’er standing beside Gu Changqing.
Without a word, Gu Changqing raised his hand and slapped her.
Boom!
With a muffled thud, Gu Yuexuan’s body was sent flying, blood spraying everywhere. She didn’t even have time to scream.
The sudden scene happened without any warning.
Everyone was stunned.
No one had expected Gu Changqing to actually strike Gu Yuexuan—right in front of Elder Wang Zhong and Elder Yang Zhen.
Wang Zhong hadn’t expected it either.
When he came back to his senses, his expression was extremely grim.
He was already feeling agitated over the disciples who had fallen. Now, someone had dared to strike a Chenxin Pavilion disciple right in front of him without saying a word—and that person was Gu Yuexuan, the very girl the Vice Pavilion Master had personally instructed him to protect!
If anything happened to Gu Yuexuan, how could he possibly explain himself to the Vice Pavilion Master?
Just as he was about to act, Yang Zhen’s sudden words made him freeze mid-motion.
“Senior? It’s you?” Yang Zhen stared at Gu Changqing in shock.
The impression Gu Changqing had left on him was simply too strong—he had slain a King-rank Demon King with a single sword strike! It was terrifying beyond words.
But he hadn’t expected to meet Gu Changqing here again.
“Senior?”
Wang Zhong looked at Yang Zhen in confusion but refrained from taking action.
Yang Zhen’s respectful address had set off alarm bells in his mind.
As an elder of Chenxin Pavilion, Yang Zhen was at the sixth level of the Tribulation Realm. Although he wasn’t as strong as Wang Zhong, for someone of his standing to address another as “Senior”…
“This senior is the very King-realm expert I mentioned earlier—the one who saved us!” Yang Zhen announced.
Boom—
Everyone’s heart shook violently.
Gu Changqing was a King-realm expert?
What kind of joke was that!
Except for Yang Zhen, Huang Yingying, and a few others who had witnessed it firsthand, everyone else instinctively refused to believe it.
A King-realm expert in his early twenties?
That was pure fantasy…
Gu Changqing recognized Yang Zhen and the others too but chose to ignore them.
At this point, his impression of Chenxin Pavilion was extremely poor.
Behind him, Gu Qing’er covered her mouth in shock.
Brother Changqing… was a King-realm expert!?
On the ground, Gu Yuexuan slowly struggled to her feet.
Gu Changqing’s slap had left her completely dazed.
The right side of her face was a bloody mess. Clutching her face, her eyes were full of disbelief.
She… had been hit?
From childhood until now, even her own father had never once hit her…
“When you humiliated Qing’er, did you ever think this day would come?” Gu Changqing said as he slowly walked toward Gu Yuexuan.
“Senior, please…” Wang Zhong began.
Boom—
Before he could finish, he was blasted off the sea ship!
“Plead for her again, and you die!” Gu Changqing said coldly.
The disciples of Chenxin Pavilion felt their scalps go numb.
Elder Wang Zhong…
One of the Pavilion’s strongest elders, had been sent flying without being able to take a single move!
At this moment, they fully believed Yang Zhen’s earlier claim.
A King-realm expert…
This young man was truly a King-realm expert, someone even stronger than the Pavilion Master!
Many among them were witnessing a King-realm expert for the first time, and their hearts were in utter turmoil.
“Daring to bully my cousin—tell me, how do you want to die!?”
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