Section 137: A Heart of Innocence

Tang Tian looked at the wounded strewn across the ground, feeling completely satisfied.

The fight today had been truly exhilarating. Most importantly, he had finally achieved a resounding, triumphant victory. How magnificent! He stood there with his arms crossed, head held high, looking utterly triumphant and smug.

His heart was blooming with joy!

The only regret, if there was one, was that he still hadn't grasped the killing move of the Monument Palm.

However, the ecstatic Tang Tian quickly brushed this minor flaw aside and simply basked in his victory.

The other groups of men hung back in fear. Even Chi Lan had been taken down in a single exchange; the way the crowd looked at Tang Tian had turned to terror.

Where on earth had such an expert come from?

Tang Tian held his pose for a long time, but when no one dared to step forward, he finally grew impatient. For a veteran school bully, handling this kind of situation was second nature.

"Keep your eyes peeled!" Tang Tian pointed his thumb at himself, his face fierce. "From today on, she's under my protection! Whoever doesn't know what's good for them, I'll break their legs!"

Every school bully knew lines like these by heart.

A hackneyed threat, set against a backdrop of wounded men and echoing with their moans and screams, was not funny in the slightest.

No one dared to laugh.

Having delivered his ultimatum, Tang Tian ignored the huddled masses. Gu Xue and Mu Lei’s expressions were stiff, bordering on bizarre—a look of sheer bewilderment. They stared at Tang Tian as if they had seen a ghost.

Tang Tian was puzzled. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

But then, he immediately realized and let out a hearty laugh. "You must be shocked by a god-like youth like me, right?"

Gu Xue and Mu Lei remained dazed.

"Right? Right?" Tang Tian leaned in, wearing an expectant expression.

"Yes, truly shocked," Gu Xue swallowed hard, nodding instinctively.

Tang Tian’s grin stretched from ear to ear. He put his hands on his hips, tilted his head back, and laughed loudly, his nostrils flared. "Your experience is just too limited. But in time, you will come to have a profound, new understanding of this god-like youth!"

Gu Xue felt incredibly strange.

Was this guy just pretending before...

She really couldn't reconcile the mature, steady youth who had saved her life with the crude, goofy, and thick-headed person before her.

Even though he had saved her again, still...

Gu Xue truly didn't know how to describe her feelings at this moment.

Pleased by the validation, Tang Tian was in high spirits. He looked left and right, and seeing that the wounded men left him almost no room to stand, he said loudly, "Excuse me, I need to rest. Let me see you all out first."

With that, he grabbed two warriors from the ground and tossed them aside as if they were nothing.

*Thud! Thud!*

The two warriors hit the ground and immediately fell unconscious. Tang Tian was lightning-fast, his movements like a gale. A flurry of figures flew through the air, and soon, the courtyard was cleared.

Mu Lei was secretly startled. What incredible arm strength!

He could tell at a glance that Tang Tian was using pure muscular power to throw these people. Those heavy-bodied warriors were like weightless objects in his hands, tossed seven or eight yards away with a casual flick.

It wasn't just Mu Lei who noticed; the warriors who had been itching to move also saw it. It was like having a bucket of ice water dumped over their heads, and they dared not move a muscle.

What kind of immense strength did this require!

Feilin Star was under the control of the Black Soul, but to possess such astonishing power before even awakening one's bloodline was truly rare.

Tang Tian finally grew tired.

He yawned, and immediately a thin veil of mist welled up in his eyes. So sleepy!

He glanced at the dazed Gu Xue and Mu Lei, who was still forcing himself to look tough, and waved his hand. "I’m going to sleep first. So sleepy!"

With that, he found a patch of open ground by the fire, picked up a piece of wood as a pillow, and lay down to sleep.

Ten seconds later, his snoring sounded like a rising tide, growing louder and louder.

Gu Xue stared, her expression stiff, watching the sleeping Tang Tian on the ground.

There were still enemies outside... it wasn't safe here... danger could strike at any moment...

But...

Tang Tian was already sleeping like a log.

After a while, Gu Xue’s expression melted, and she let out a soft laugh.

What an unusual person!

She studied his face. In his sleep, Tang Tian looked like an infant; his mouth was slightly open, looking incredibly silly, with a faint trace of drool at the corner of his lips. She watched him, mesmerized, her own lips curving upward involuntarily.

In her mind, the image of Tang Tian rushing toward her back at White Water Gully surfaced unbidden.

At that moment, Tang Tian had been like a sharp-witted beast.

Gu Xue had seen many young, talented, and exceptional youths, but Tang Tian was different from all of them.

A heart of innocence?

Mu Lei let out a muffled groan, snapping Gu Xue out of her reverie. Noticing Mu Lei’s deathly pale complexion, she stood up in alarm. "Uncle Mu, are you alright?"

Mu Lei laughed heartily. "Don't worry, Miss, Old Lei isn't dying yet!"

The Azure Flame on his body was continuously devouring the deep blue spreading from the wound on his waist. As the last bit of blue was consumed by the flame, Mu Lei finally let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. The Azure Bloodline within him was capable of purifying toxins.

"We really owe him today!" Mu Lei whispered. "I didn't expect him to be willing to help us."

"Yes!" Gu Xue’s tone carried a sense of inexplicable emotion.

Mu Lei was silent for a moment, then said, "Miss, you should rest. I will keep watch."

Gu Xue was worried. "What about them?"

She pointed to the warriors lurking in the street corners, who were staring at them, wanting to strike but not daring to move.

"They've been scared out of their wits; they are nothing to fear!" Mu Lei’s tone was filled with disdain, though thinking back on his own reaction to Tang Tian’s ferocity, he didn't seem much better. He blushed slightly and added, "With me keeping watch, Miss, you can rest easy."

Mu Lei’s combat experience was vast and his eyes sharp; he could see at a glance that those warriors no longer had the desire to attack. They had lost their nerve.

Even for Mu Lei, the thought of Tang Tian’s breathtaking performance made his heart race. He was lucky he hadn't encountered such a terrifying opponent himself!

Mu Lei pushed the distractions from his mind, sat cross-legged, and began to circulate his true energy.

He knew the real battle was yet to come, and he needed to recover as quickly as possible.

Though Tang Tian was fierce, one pair of fists could not hold off four hands, and besides...

The depth of the Gu family’s roots was something outsiders could not imagine!

***

Tang Tian was likely the person sleeping most soundly in all of Black Mountain City.

Single-handedly, he had repelled several waves of the Gu family’s offensives. The number of warriors who had fallen by his hand was countless, and the entire Gu family had reached a stalemate.

Black Mountain City was shocked!

Black Mountain City was the Gu family’s city. The Gu family was the largest clan in Black Mountain City, their influence deep-rooted and unshakable.

This was a private family matter!

The other clans had no intention of intervening. Internal competition within the Gu family had always been brutal; no one dared to get involved.

News that Gu Xue possessed the latent Snow Rainbow bloodline had spread throughout the city. Everyone understood that while the various branches of the Gu family might fight over her, if any outsider dared to lay a hand on her, they would surely meet a miserable end.

People speculated that with such a strong backer, Gu Xue’s branch might still have a chance to turn the tables.

The upper echelons of the Gu family had just experienced a violent upheaval, and Gu Xue’s branch had been caught in the crossfire, leading to their current tragedy.

The elders' council chamber was thick with smoke. Each of the elders sat there, puffing away, silent and brooding.

The morning sun shone through the windows but could not pierce the heavy haze.

Gu Anxiong, sitting at the head of the table, looked terrible. He had been clan leader for only three days, and already this had happened. Gu Wu had failed to capture her, and the secret of Gu Xue’s bloodline could no longer be kept under wraps.

All five elders were present.

Gu Anxiong had managed to become clan leader because he had the support of more than three elders. But on the matter of Gu Xue, not a single elder would back him.

If their own branch could produce an heir with the Snow Rainbow bloodline, that branch would become the undisputed number one in the Gu family.

"In any case, regardless of which house Gu Xue eventually chooses, it is no loss to our Gu family," the Great Elder said in a deep voice. "However, one thing is certain: Gu Xue’s safety must be guaranteed! This concerns the future destiny of our Gu family. On this point, there is no room for negotiation!"

Gu Anxiong knew the Great Elder was saying this for his benefit; the destruction of Gu Xue’s house was directly linked to him.

He didn't hesitate. "Exactly! The interests of individual houses cannot come before the interests of the Gu family!"

The other elders nodded in agreement.

"I heard she was ambushed by the Night Curtain swordsman, Qi Ya, on her way home! Heaven bless our Gu family! This must never happen a second time!" A murderous glint appeared in the Third Elder’s eyes. "It seems we need to ring the alarm for certain people. Hmph, does our Gu family look like it can be bullied by anyone?"

"Agreed!" The Fourth Elder also wore a grim face. "We must retaliate!"

The Great Elder hammered his decision home: "Such things must never happen again!"

"It seems it would be better to bring Gu Xue back to the main family. Given our family's destiny, we cannot afford mistakes." Gu Anxiong suddenly asked, "Does anyone know his background?"

The elders looked at each other; no one recognized him.

"How can we allow someone of such unknown origin to stay by Gu Xue’s side?" Gu Anxiong said with a stern face.

His reasoning was high-sounding, and based on his understanding of the elders, these old men would never entrust the lifeblood of the Gu family to a stranger.

Sure enough, all the elders nodded in agreement.

The Great Elder spoke up: "In that case, Ling Xu, you go!"

"Yes!" An ordinary-looking young man stood up, turned, and left.

A subtle, imperceptible smile touched the corner of Gu Anxiong’s mouth. With Ling Xu dispatched, that mysterious youth was doomed!

Without any cards left to play, Gu Xue had absolutely no chance of a comeback.

A centipede dies but never falls over; Gu Xue’s parents had been sabotaged, but that didn't mean her entire branch was wiped out. There were many people in Gu Xue’s house who were outside Black Mountain City and had suffered no losses.

Time—he could not give Gu Xue the time to rally these people.

Once Gu Xue married into any of the houses, her own branch would completely collapse.

At that point, Gu Xue would be nothing more than a breeding machine!