Chapter 3

As Gu Jinlai stood at the classroom door, overjoyed, the Four Evils of Xingzhou exchanged glances, their expressions gradually turning grave.

"Something's not right."

The second of the four said, "Do you think there's a possibility that the ancient demon first requested a transfer to Changjun City, then pretended to go mad, actually feigning weakness to lure out his enemy—the deputy head of the Hellfire Demon Sect, Lin Xiao?"

"There's no faking his madness. The leader of the Orthodox Daoist Sect went to the ancient demon's residence and recreated the scene with the Mystic Mirror Technique. He indeed suffered a significant loss of power, and at present, his strength is no more than that of a Core Formation realm practitioner, and he can't even fully utilize it. We four have cooperated for many years, and our coordination is seamless. Even against a Core Formation realm practitioner, we can retreat unscathed. What is there to fear?"

The third one said.

"Stay alert. If things go wrong, prioritize your life!"

The eldest one said.

The four were extremely decisive.

When the time comes, act decisively!

"Four Evils Formation! Activate!"

The four shouted in unison, simultaneously moving to form the battle formation.

And as soon as they moved, they poured all their strength into it.

These four possessed demonic bloodlines, and as they attacked, they seemed to transform into four ferocious beasts, each unleashing terrifying auras from four directions, surrounding and attacking Gu Jinlai.

Cultivating Qi into Gang! Gang Qi takes form!

Before they even reached him, the shadowy forms of the ferocious beasts formed by Gang Qi were already roaring and charging down.

Gang Qi, with its devastating power.

A thousand elite soldiers of the Great Qian could trap a True Qi realm practitioner, but in the face of invincible sword Gang Qi and saber Gang Qi, they would be easily broken through.

A peak Gang Qi realm practitioner, when fully unleashed, could cleave a path of blood several meters wide with a single sword strike.

Now, the four Gang Qi practitioners were surging from four directions, and each of the ferocious beasts they manifested could shatter a boulder weighing several tons.

Unfortunately...

As Gu Jinlai said, coming early is not as good as coming at the right time.

He, who had comprehended the subtleties of the Red Lotus Sword Qi, needed someone to test his results.

As the four ferocious beasts formed by Gang Qi charged at him, he swung his treasured sword, and a red lotus composed of sword light seemed to bloom around him. Dozens of sword qi petals shot out, cutting through the four ferocious beasts formed by the Gang Qi with a peculiar frequency, as if they had a life of their own.

"Buzz!"

In an instant, the four ferocious beasts formed by Gang Qi shattered into pieces.

"Such sword technique!? Not good! The old demon is devious!"

One strike, and the depth of his power was revealed.

Gu Jinlai, possessing such sword technique, could be considered a standout even among Core Formation realm practitioners.

"We were too careless! Let's retreat!"

"Retreat!"

The Four Evils of Xingzhou made a decisive decision!

"Retreat!?"

Gu Jinlai fell silent for a moment.

The next moment, a fierce killing intent erupted from him, like a volcano spewing forth, carrying endless flames, shooting straight into the sky.

"Retreat!? When you were chasing me, you were like four mad dogs, biting down on me relentlessly. Now that you've caught up with me, you want to retreat!?"

"Clang!"

The sword pierced the sky.

A cold light, like a star tearing through the night, carrying a cold and brilliant radiance, struck with the speed of lightning.

"Who allowed you to retreat!?"

Before he even reached them, the Gang Qi of his sword arrived first.

A Gang Qi practitioner, in the world of Great Qian, could be called a master.

If clad in mystic armor and charging into battle, they could break through a thousand enemies.

But reaching the Core Formation realm was the ultimate goal for countless cultivators.

Gu Jinlai's Gang Qi whistled, and the cold killing intent made the Four Evils of Xingzhou's hair stand on end.

The four took a deep breath, their true qi circulating and boiling, pulsing at a special frequency!

"Thousand Vibrations!"

"Buzz!"

As the four's true qi vibrated, Gu Jinlai felt his aura being interfered with, causing a slight disruption, and his sword technique scattered, leaving a flaw in his lightning-fast strike, almost allowing the four to counter it.

"Desperate struggle!"

However, his Red Lotus Sword Qi, after two moments of enlightenment, had reached a high level of mastery, like a thousand hammer blows, perfectly controlled.

When his true qi was disrupted, he immediately turned it to his advantage, transforming it into even colder sword qi, like threads of blood, slicing out from his sword!

Piercing the sky!

"Be careful!"

"Retreat!"

The eldest and second of the Four Evils of Xingzhou shouted simultaneously, and their battle formation was disrupted by the blood-colored sword qi.

"I'll see how long you can hide!"

Gu Jinlai roared, his clothes fluttering, his sword whistling like a dragon, his true qi surging, and his killing intent spreading in all directions.

His sword tip turned sharply, and at the moment the four's formation was broken, he suddenly lunged toward the third one, who was closest to him.

"Brother Three!"

"Bang!"

The cold light reflected the frost, swift like a meteor.

The third one was directly consumed by the sword light, torn to pieces.

"Gu Jinlai!"

The eldest of the Four Evils of Xingzhou's eyes widened in fury.

"Die!"

After killing one, Gu Jinlai's sword turned again, like a meteor piercing the moon, charging toward the second one.

Facing Gu Jinlai's meteor-like sword strike, this Gang Qi practitioner took a deep breath and let out a fierce roar at the moment the sword reached him.

"Roar!"

True qi vibrated!

Secret Technique: Tiger Roar and Thunder Sound!

The sound waves scattered, disrupting the flow of Gu Jinlai's true qi.

"Return my third brother's life!"

Taking advantage of this, the other two charged in.

The eldest of the Four Evils, with Gang Qi flowing through his arm, transformed it into a ferocious beast's claw, slicing in like lightning, and fiercely deflected Gu Jinlai's sword that was about to pierce his face.

"Clang!"

The sword cried out!

Gu Jinlai's treasured sword, as if struck by a giant hammer, made a deep, resonant sound, splitting his palm and shaking free from his hand.

No!

As the sword was shaken from his hand, he reacted quickly, using the force of the deflection to throw the sword, instantly piercing the head of the second one of the Four Evils.

"Brother Two!"

"Stop!"

Blood splattered, accompanied by the other two's anguished cries.

Without his treasured sword, Gu Jinlai's movements did not slow. His eyes flashed with cold light, locking onto the fourth one. His body turned diagonally, and as he lunged, his true qi condensed into Gang Qi, forming a sword, like a world-class weapon unsheathed, carrying an invincible edge, tearing through the air!

"Bang!"

The fourth one's head, like a watermelon hit by a sniper bullet, shattered and scattered.

"Whoosh!"

Only after the fourth one was instantly killed did the piercing sound of the sword, formed by the friction between the Gang Qi and the air, echo in the space less than ten meters away, creating ripples.

"No..."

In the blink of an eye, the Four Evils of Xingzhou were reduced to one.

The sudden blow finally woke the remaining eldest one, his eyes filled with fear and shock.

Having killed three, Gu Jinlai, covered in blood, was filled with a fierce nature.

"You all liked to laugh so much, laugh for me, laugh loudly for me!"

These past few days...

Since crossing over, in the past month, he had been under immense pressure, and not being driven mad was a testament to his strong will.

Now, facing these sin-laden enemies, he unleashed all his negative emotions without restraint.

Seeing the somewhat deranged Gu Jinlai, the eldest of the Four Evils of Xingzhou shuddered, no longer hesitating, turned, and fled!

"The demon is too cunning!"

"You dare to run!?"

Gu Jinlai's killing intent erupted, his true qi boiling, and his body moved like a blood cloud, flying to chase, covering dozens of meters with each step.

As he moved, he picked up the treasured sword that had killed the second one.

With the sword in hand, a blood-red lotus seemed to bloom and spin rapidly behind him, and in the moment of spinning, it shot out thirteen sword qi, targeting the eldest of the Four Evils, whistling through the air.

The sword light cut through trees, and grass flew.

Each sword qi left several-meter-long marks on the ground as it passed.

This was the Core Formation realm!

If a Gang Qi practitioner could only break through a thousand soldiers, a Core Formation realm practitioner, given time to recover his true qi, could destroy a thousand soldiers.

Under this relentless attack of sword qi, the eldest of the Four Evils of Xingzhou was doomed.

First, a sword qi grazed his waist.

Even with his true qi protecting him, he stumbled, and was immediately pierced through the thigh by the second sword qi, followed by the third through the chest, the fourth through the throat, and the fifth through the head...

"I..."

Running forward, he continued for a moment, but ultimately, his body, torn apart by the sword qi, disintegrated into blood, collapsing to the ground.

...

Gu Jinlai, chasing after, looked at the dismembered body of the leader of the Four Evils, moved forward for a moment, and slowly stopped.

He clearly felt his weakness.

To ensure the enemy didn't escape, his inner core had fully erupted, making his state somewhat unstable.

This world was not one where a higher realm could easily crush dozens or hundreds of lower realms. Without cultivating movement techniques, chasing the fleeing eldest of the Four Evils of Xingzhou, he had to use his ultimate move, which was extremely draining.

"Survived!"

Gu Jinlai looked at the body, barely recognizable as human, and said.

The Four Evils of Xingzhou, who wanted to kill him, were dead.

He had survived.

"When someone is killed, they die."

Gu Jinlai looked up, seeing the sunlight filtering through the leaves, his eyes unfocused.

His thoughts drifted to the past month.

He wanted to turn over a new leaf, facing those who tested him, he endured and yielded. During the ten days of being hunted, he showed mercy to the Orthodox Daoist Sect.

But it was useless, instead, it emboldened them, making them more aggressive.

Thinking of this, he collapsed to the ground, trembling despite being a Core Formation realm master, his hands and feet cold.

Can this world ever be good?

Hell is empty, and devils are on earth!

How can he live to satisfy those who hunt him?

Looking at the mangled body of the eldest of the Four Evils, and the blood on his hands...

He felt lost.

This cultivation world is filled with the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak. When will he, a law-abiding, reformed Blue Star human, find peace?

After a while, Gu Jinlai calmed down from the intense emotional fluctuations.

Having been hunted for so long, he was already clear.

Weakness earns no pity, only a quicker death.

He is Gu Jinlai.

One of the Ten Great Demon Sects, an elder of the Hellfire Demon Sect, a great evil, Gu Jinlai!

The sun was obscured by clouds, casting a shadow over him.

"You eliminate demons and defend the righteous, it's natural, I explain, you don't listen..."

Gu Jinlai stood up from the ground, shaking off the grass.

"Then my survival and your death are also natural."