Chapter 23: The Underworld King Calls the Roll, Striving to Rival Heaven Itself!
The next morning.
Father and son, Gu Changchuan and Gu Lin, arrived at the Tongxing Escort Agency to state their purpose.
Chief Escort Lin smiled and agreed at once.
Gu Lin now carried his talisman of protection—he wouldn’t even need to bribe the patrol officers along the way.
And beyond that, everyone had already witnessed his true strength firsthand.
“Come,” Chief Escort Lin said, stepping into the main courtyard, selecting five caravan guards and ten laborers, his voice carrying authority:
“This grain-escort run will be led by Young Master Gu. Does anyone have any objections?”
The group answered as one:
“None!”
Who in all of Shiyang County didn’t know Young Master Gu’s reputation by now?
Chief Escort Lin fixed his gaze on Gu Lin and spoke with weighty conviction:
“Tongxing Escort Agency—the mission will be completed!”
Gu Lin nodded firmly.
“Tongxing Escort Agency—the mission will be completed!!”
The caravan guards raised their escort banners, beat the Seven-Star Gong and Drum, the laborers arranged the grain carts, and the group set out toward their final destination: the Golden Valley Grain Shop in Anfu County.
Before departure, Gu Lin, with the chief escort watching, solemnly warned the caravan guards and laborers that every order must be followed without exception, or they would face the agency’s harshest internal discipline!!
***
The escort caravan left Shiyang County, but rather than following the pre-established route, they took to nothing but narrow mountain trails—as long as the grain carts could pass, the more remote the path, the better.
Though the caravan guards and laborers harbored no shortage of doubts, none dared voice them.
Besides, along the way, Young Master Gu paid out of his own pocket, buying them wine, spiced beef, and fruit—far better treatment than the usual dry rations they were used to gnawing on!
A full seven days passed before the group finally reached Youxi County, then continued east.
Still avoiding the official roads, still sticking to remote mountain paths.
Several of the caravan guards had already caught on—Young Master Gu was clearly out here to enjoy the scenery.
Gu Lin rode at the head of the column, the escort banner on his horse’s back fluttering in the wind.
By evening, he instructed the laborers to make camp where they stood, gather firewood, and cook.
Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, and the sky turned dark by the Hour of the Rooster, the entire escort caravan drifted off to sleep.
Gu Lin sat cross-legged in the darkness, meditating.
Whenever he had spare time, he cultivated.
But he had to admit it—his own talent was simply too poor. Without the Book of Merit, three months of his own cultivation wouldn’t match what an ordinary person could absorb and refine from heaven-and-earth spiritual energy in a single day.
He was just about to lean against a tree and sleep.
Crack—
From somewhere in the distance, the sound of a branch snapping suddenly rang out.
Gu Lin’s eyes snapped open. He remained perfectly still.
A long moment passed with no further sound.
Then, abruptly—
From all sides of the forest, dense footsteps thundered like war drums, over a dozen torches lighting up the darkness.
Mountain bandits.
“Not good!”
The caravan guard behind him blanched, hastily reaching into his robes for the official travel documents.
Gu Lin raised a hand to stop him, rising to his feet with perfect calm.
The bandit leading the group had a face thick with scarred flesh, a knife-wound running straight through eye, nose, and mouth, all the more ghastly in the darkness.
A group of bandits stood armed with blades, swords, axes, and clubs, their eyes burning with hunger as they fixed on the row of grain carts.
Scarface gripped the hilt of his blade, tip pointed down, cupped his other fist, and laughed:
“Rules of the road—if you want to pass through here, leave behind your toll!”
The caravan guards and laborers huddled together, faces pale, trembling like leaves in a storm.
Gu Lin studied Scarface in silence.
The fluctuation in his internal energy suggested Energy Condensation Fifth Tier. The remaining underlings ranged from Meridian Opening realm up to two at Energy Condensation Third Tier and one at Fourth Tier; judging by his position in the group, that last one was likely second-in-command.
Seeing Gu Lin make no move to produce silver, Scarface’s smile twisted into something feral, and he bellowed:
“Stingy bastard, won’t part with your money? Well, I don’t care whose blood spills, only whose bodies get buried!!”
The words had barely left his mouth when a fierce gust swept through, fallen leaves whipping wildly across the ground.
A figure moved fast as lightning, appearing instantly before him.
Scarface swung his blade in a furious downward arc, the blade’s aura razor-sharp, the strike a flawless execution of the Golden Blade Technique, honed to perfection.
But in that very instant, his blade froze mid-swing.
His entire arm began visibly burning before his eyes, a searing, tearing agony spreading through every organ in his body, and Scarface let out a shrill, tortured scream.
“Kill him!”
The sudden turn of events sent chills down every bandit’s spine, and they struck as one.
Gu Lin deployed Wave-Treading Steps, his movements fluid as a dragon in flight—not only did no blade so much as graze him, not even a fallen leaf touched his robes. The Three Yang Bloodline-Severing Mark struck out again like a hawk’s razor-sharp talons, and Nine Heavens Thunder-Runner Leg exploded through the air with a kick like rolling thunder crashing into the earth.
Tendons snapped!
Organs ruptured, torn to pieces!!
In less than ten breaths, seven men, including the gang’s leader, lay dead, their bodies twisted into horrific, wretched shapes.
The caravan guards and laborers stood frozen, mouths hanging open in shock.
They’d known Young Master Gu was strong.
How else could he have claimed a seeded spot?
How else could he have defeated an opponent three realms above his own?
But witnessing it with their own eyes—the impact of that was beyond anything words could capture!!
Young Master Gu looked, in that moment, like the very King of the Underworld himself, flipping open the ledger of life and death, calling the roll—whoever’s name he called was marked to have their life harvested.
Most unnerving of all, Young Master Gu killed with an almost graceful elegance, not the slightest trace of struggle in him, as relaxed and at ease as a man taking a leisurely stroll after dinner.
Corpses lay scattered through the forest, and the remaining bandits, every hair on their bodies standing on end, scattered in every direction, fleeing for their lives.
How could Gu Lin possibly allow that?
He deployed his lightness footwork in pursuit!
One after another!
Half an incense stick’s time later, he caught up with the very last bandit.
Crack—
His hand closed like an iron clamp, snapping the man’s neck with brutal force, ending his life in an instant.
Having slaughtered every last bandit, Gu Lin drew a steadying breath and cleared his mind.
In that instant, points of golden starlight gathered before his eyes, converging into the three great characters: “Book of Merit.”
【Slew “Grade Six, Ding Rank,” “Grade Five, Ding Rank,” “Grade Five, Ding Rank Evildoer”……. Reward: Maxed-Level Striving to Rival Heaven Itself】
【Martial Dao Merit: 2085/4000】
【Confucian Dao Merit: 359/1000】
【Arcane Dao Merit: 0/1000】
【Witchcraft Dao Merit: 0/1000】
In that instant—the internal energy within Gu Lin’s dantian surged violently once more, two crisp, resonant sounds echoing through his body like metal striking stone, his whole form growing noticeably lighter, internal energy flooding through all seven meridians and eight channels like a rushing tide.
Energy Condensation Fifth Tier!
Gu Lin couldn’t suppress his smile.
Sin was graded First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Fourth Grade—and though this band of bandits had carried nothing higher than Fourth Grade sins, even the smallest sparrow still had meat on its bones; gathered together, they’d added up to a truly satisfying feast!
Eight, nine days now, and he’d avoided the proper roads entirely, sticking only to remote mountain trails.
Finally, he’d caught one.
Gu Lin steadied his surging emotions and began searching the bodies, pulling twenty-six taels of silver from the more than a dozen corpses.
He pocketed it happily.
Returning to the forest camp—seeing Young Master Gu perfectly unharmed, not a single drop of blood staining his blue robe, the caravan guards and laborers were struck with an admiration so profound they nearly prostrated themselves on the spot.
As for facing repercussions from the authorities over the slaughter, there was no need to worry about that at all—the Tongxing Escort Agency was officially registered with the government, carrying proper documentation issued by the authorities themselves. Clearing out bandits might well earn them a reward instead!!
“Here, split this evenly among yourselves,” Gu Lin said, pulling out six taels of loose silver and holding it out.
Everyone firmly refused.
Gu Lin spoke sternly:
“This journey’s been genuinely exhausting for all of you, and providing for your families isn’t easy. Take it.”
“This…”
The group hesitated, but seeing Young Master Gu’s resolute manner, they accepted the silver, deeply and sincerely grateful to him.
Gu Lin smiled and added:
“There are a few fine blades lying beside the bodies—if any of you want one, feel free to take it.”
“Yes, sir!”
Several caravan guards cupped their fists in respectful thanks, beaming with excitement.
***
Deep into the night.
Gu Lin took stock of his gains.
Breaking through to Energy Condensation Fifth Tier was a wonderful surprise in itself, and on top of that, he’d gained a secret art as well.
Striving to Rival Heaven Itself!
The name of this secret art alone spoke to its overwhelming, unrivaled power.
Deploying this art would forcibly raise his cultivation by two full tiers within the span of a single incense stick, causing not the slightest damage to his meridians or dantian—though the price paid afterward would be his internal energy cultivation dropping back one full tier once the effect wore off.
‘Not something to use lightly—only in the most dire, desperate circumstances!’
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