Gu Zhan picked up the Killing Fist secret manual and began to read through it,

Sure enough, just like its name, this fist technique was filled with killing intent—it was entirely a technique designed for killing, unpredictable, sometimes fierce and forceful, sometimes sinister and subtle, sometimes blending hardness with softness, sometimes soft yet containing steel, attacking horizontally, thrusting forward, or withdrawing inward.

Mo Beiyan, seeing Gu Zhan so engrossed in the manual, didn’t disturb him and simply turned to leave.

Gu Zhan continued flipping through the secret manual,

Very soon,

The system sounded a notification—both martial arts had been recorded. Gu Zhan glanced at the system interface:

Player: Gu Zhan

Realm: Celestial Destiny Realm

Cultivation Technique: Profound Yang Skill (Tenth Floor 0/10 million)

Skills:

Willow Leaf Flying Knife Technique (Great Success)

Creation Golden Body (Great Success)

Four Seas Unification Blade Technique (Great Success)

Lingxi Sword (Great Success)

Wangchuan Swordsmanship (Great Success)

Frost Ice Finger (Great Success)

Killing Fist (Uninitiated 0/100,000)

Netherworld King’s Array-breaking Saber (Uninitiated 0/800,000)

Experience Points: 1,460,541

...

[Use 800,000 Experience Points]

[Netherworld King’s Array-breaking Saber upgraded to Entry Realm]

...

In that very instant,

Gu Zhan seemed to find himself on a battlefield, yellow sand billowing, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses charging and slaying, the dull clash of arms resounding endlessly, unceasing. The smoke and dust thickened, becoming a massive curtain, blood rivers flowing, murderous intent saturating the air.

He was charging into battle,

Facing a thousand armies alone,

His saber, had slain countless men,

He fought alone with one blade, breaking through the ranks,

He single-handedly guarded the pass, none could break through,

In a daze,

Gu Zhan seemed to have experienced countless battles.

After a long while,

Gu Zhan slowly opened his eyes, killing intent raging within them,

This was the saber technique stirring the killing intent inside him.

He exhaled a heavy breath,

And turned his gaze to the Killing Fist:

[Use 100,000 Experience Points]

[Killing Fist upgraded to Entry Level]

...

[Use 500,000 Experience Points]

[Killing Fist upgraded to Minor Success Level]

...

Gu Zhan was no stranger to fist techniques,

Back in Linjiang City, he had cultivated the Rong Family’s inherited fist technique, but that technique was only Profound Tier Martial Arts; compared to this Killing Fist, they were not on the same level at all.

However, when it came to martial arts secret manuals,

Gu Zhan had always liked to cultivate more rather than less,

Most people, limited by their energy, would typically only choose to train one or two martial skills according to their cultivation; after all, if you try to eat everything, you chew nothing, and being a jack of all trades is not as good as mastering one.

But Gu Zhan had no need to worry about this,

On his path so far, every martial arts secret manual he took a fancy to, he cultivated to Great Success—this was also why he could absolutely crush those of the same realm, and it was common for him to defeat enemies above his level,

It was because his foundation was simply too deep,

In this world, there were many who dabbled in all kinds of martial arts, but those who could reach proficiency in every one were extremely rare—let alone cultivating them all to the Peak of Perfection Realm.

...

The stagnant waters of the Pingyang Prefecture martial world, silent for many years, had since last winter been rocked by ceaseless turmoil, one storm following another,

The disturbances only grew larger,

So much so that now, a sweeping purge from top to bottom had taken place, with six of the seven long-established top-tier factions annihilated.

The entire martial world was gripped by fear and anxiety,

The news of the complete destruction of the five great sects’ leadership in Yujiang County spread rapidly,

There was no need to pay special attention to know,

For during this period, the Embroidered Uniform Guard continued to display the legendary might of the exterminating Yama, flattening the five great sects, hunting down their remnants throughout the martial world, as well as many of the second- and third-rate factions who participated in the siege against the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Yet while common folk trembled in terror,

The perceptive had already foreseen that the Pingyang martial world was about to enter a phase of destruction and renewal, and the opportunity of this moment lay within the Embroidered Uniform Guard itself.

In no time,

Within Pingyang Prefecture, many members of smaller factions proactively sought to join the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

This naturally fit perfectly with the current needs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard,

The resources left behind by the six major factions were simply too many—for the Gu Family alone it would be impossible to digest them all, so the Embroidered Uniform Guard was forced to allocate a portion to other factions.

And at this time,

It was first come, first served,

As a result, turmoil erupted in the Pingyang martial world,

And many factions who seized the moment found a chance to rise.

Still, the greatest beneficiary was naturally the Gu Family,

Not only did many of their elders enter the Beidou Bang Kaiyang Sub-Branch, but many high-level figures also joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard; at the same time, most of the resources seized from the six great sects—after the Embroidered Uniform Guard took what it needed—were poured into the Gu Family,

Thus, many in the Gu Family announced their closure for secluded cultivation,

Among them, quite a few were Martial Artists at the Innate Peak,

This round of closure meant several Great Cultivators would emerge from the Gu Family, as well as a whole new crop of core pillars.

Furthermore, Patriarch Gu, Gu Fengwei, personally proposed allowing the Embroidered Uniform Guard to station in all Gu Family territories, turning over powers of inspection and other such authority to the Guard. He even publicly declared that all Gu Family members would obey the orders of Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand Households Gu Zhan without condition.

...

As the Pingyang martial world was swept by storms,

Canglan City, too, was stirred into a mighty tempest by these events.

Third Master Liu, Liu Ziyuan of the Liu Family, was dead,

The Kaiyang Sub-Branch pinned upon him a series of charges—colluding with Demon Dao, attempting to murder the Sixth Young Master—which were presented directly to the Beidou Bang headquarters, sparking a huge uproar.

The Liu Family and the Eldest Young Master’s faction flatly denied the accusations, demanding a thorough investigation, but progress was slow. The Fourth Young Master’s faction intervened, insisting that the Kaiyang Sub-Branch had already submitted the evidence; witnesses and material proof were all present, and the case was watertight.

For a time, the two factions were at each other’s throats.

Inside a manor in Canglan City,

The Eldest Young Master, Mo Yan’an, slammed his palm on the table in a fit of rage, roaring, "That damned Fourth, he’s deliberately making things difficult for me!"

Sitting across from him was a middle-aged man, Patriarch Liu, Liu Qingming. He consoled, "Yan’an, there’s no need to be so upset. Wasn’t this all as expected? Given your current situation with the Fourth Young Master, him stepping in to obstruct you is only natural. The key to all this is what the Dragon King will say!"

Mo Yan’an’s expression was dark as water: "The trouble in Pingyang Prefecture was caused by that wretch Mo Beiyan. Even if he’s lowborn, his identity speaks for itself—no matter what actually happened in Pingyang, for the sake of Beidou Bang’s stability and reputation, Father will never take the initiative to investigate."

Liu Qingming narrowed his eyes and said, "Then let’s end the matter here."

"What?" Mo Yan’an exclaimed. "Uncle, that was Third Uncle! He was killed—how can you expect me to just let it go? That’s impossible!"

Liu Qingming took a deep breath and said, "Ziyuan was your third uncle, but he was also my blood brother—of course I want revenge! But right now, Fourth Young Master and his group are just waiting for you to seek revenge. This is a critical moment; if you make a move against Mo Beiyan now, you’ll be handing them leverage, ruining everything!"

Mo Yan’an clenched his fists and said, "Then...I’ll kill that brat named Gu Zhan!"