CHAPTER 119: SURNAME GU IS EVIL

The next day, Yu Xuan woke up feeling refreshed. After a bath and a change into crisp, clean robes, he glanced around his modest room one last time.

Today, he would return to the Main Peak — this was a quiet farewell.

He descended the stairs to the inn’s reception area, where the familiar purple skinned, bald disciple with a massive build was once again hunched over the same book: Philosophy of Cosmic Balance and Constructs: Volume VI.

Yu Xuan briefly wondered if there even was a Volume VII.

He didn’t linger.

After a simple breakfast, an egg dish, well seasoned and satisfying he left town behind.

The journey to the Main Peak would take about ten hours on foot, but he didn’t mind. With his cultivation at the 7th layer of Qi Condensation, travel had become significantly easier. He even jogged lightly along the path, enjoying the morning air.

Along the way, Yu Xuan entertained the idea of exploring random caves — maybe he’d stumble upon a forgotten legacy or a powerful weapon sealed within. It was a classic protagonist move, and who was he to deny fate?

At one point, he checked the map function embedded in his medallion. The direction was clear.

He also considered, for a brief moment, renting a spirit beast from town, it would have made travel far more convenient. But he wasn’t sure how his master would react to him bringing back a random mount.

Probably not well. So, he’d wait until the right time, after summoning his own contracted beast.

Two hours passed smoothly.

Eventually, the terrain changed. Trees grew denser, and the path narrowed as he approached the vast and familiar forest belt that marked the border of the Main Peak.

Yu Xuan walked lightly, humming a carefree tune. If he stumbled across some long lost legacy along the way, he thought, he might just donate it to a random disciple while posing as a mysterious elder.

"Yup, I’ll definitely do that at least once," he mentally added to his growing checklist of "things to do as a hidden expert."

But just as he rounded a bend in the trail, danger arrived — fast.

Without any sound or warning, a spear shot through the air, aimed straight for his chest.

Yu Xuan’s senses screamed in warning, and he reacted instinctively. It was too late to dodge completely, but not too late to survive.

In the blink of an eye, he activated his [Telekinesis] taking complete control of the surrounding 15 meter area, then he subtly altered the spear’s trajectory.

Instead of piercing his heart, the spear scraped along his right thigh, cutting deep.

Blood trickled down his leg, warm and steady.

Yu Xuan turned around slowly, his expression unreadable, face devoid of emotion, eyes calm.

There was no one in sight.

But judging from the direction the spear had come from, his attacker wasn’t far.

And they had just made a very bad decision not ending his life in one go.

Yu Xuan was no longer in the mood to play.

Without hesitation, he activated his trait — [Soul Vision].

The world around him shifted. Colors dulled, outlines sharpened, and spiritual signatures flared like lanterns in the mist.

Within moments, he locked onto a soul presence roughly a hundred meters away, hiding behind a dense cluster of trees.

But the moment his gaze settled on the figure, a sharp, searing pain lanced through his eyes.

"Agh—!" He staggered, clutching his face.

It felt like his pupils were on fire.

Quickly, he reached into his storage ring, retrieving a bottle of high grade alchemical solution. He splashed it over his eyes, the sting fading slightly — but not the tension. Not the danger.

He couldn’t afford to lower his guard.

’What the hell was that?’ he thought, blinking rapidly as his vision recovered.

And then the answer clicked into place.

’Their soul level... it’s far above mine. No, it’s like different dimension altogether.’

For the first time, Yu Xuan was ready to even send an emergency distress signal to his master.

But just then, the attacker stepped out of the woods — slowly, deliberately.

And Yu Xuan paused, because he recognized this attacker.

He let out a long sigh.

At first, he had assumed the assailant was some powerful cultivator far beyond the Supernatural Realm. But if that were truly the case, there’s no way he would’ve been able to deflect that spear, not even partially.

Unless... they were just toying with him.

That thought made his eyes narrow.

Once again, he was reminded of the cruel, unpredictable nature of the cultivation world. The blood was still dripping from his right leg, so without a word, he took out a healing pill and swallowed it. Warmth spread through his body as the wound began to mend.

Then, from between the trees, a familiar figure emerged.

"Surname Gu," Yu Xuan said aloud, watching Gu Yifan approach him with that same eerily calm smile.

Yu Xuan raised a hand flatly.

"Stop right there. Your smile’s ugly. Don’t smile."

Gu Yifan paused, his smile frozen halfway between amusement and offense.

Yu Xuan stared flatly. "Seriously. You look like a tax collector with a crush. It’s disturbing."

Gu Yifan only chuckled in reply, though his eyes remained unreadable.

Then he spoke, voice calm and composed, "You don’t look nervous at all. Just a moment ago, I saw you panicking."

Yu Xuan’s brow twitched. He narrowed his eyes and replied in a low, deep tone, mimicking Gu Yifan, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Gu Yifan didn’t flinch. "Able to wield intermediate level Sword Intent at Qi Condensation realm... and it seems you have a Heavenly Eye as well. What a talent." His tone remained serene, almost admiring. "Even I’m envious. That’s why, I want it."

Yu Xuan let out a slow breath, it seems his opponent had confused his trait [Soul Vision] with a heavenly eye, but it didn’t matter now because only one of them would walk alive from here and he decided that.