Chapter 46: Were All of These Done by Gu Chen?

After squeezing out of the crowd, Lin Yuan and his two companions did not head directly to the teleportation array; instead, they went to borrow money first.

Teleportation also required money.

Especially teleportation arrays leading directly to the abyss like this one; they were exceptionally expensive.

Consequently, many people preferred spending money to clear dungeons within the city rather than venturing into the abyss.

However, for Lin Yuan and the other two, they preferred heading to the Bone Dungeon.

After all, the teleportation array could transport them straight to the plaza at the entrance of the abyss, sparing them from battles with alien races across the wilderness.

As long as they arrived at the abyss entrance ahead of time, they would definitely be able to camp out and wait for Gu Chen.

Following Gu Chen into the abyss meant the risk was close to zero, while the potential rewards were terrifyingly high.

They had already experienced this once; how could they possibly give it up easily?

Unlike the mood of Lin Yuan and his companions, Gu Qingfeng's expression was currently livid. When he learned that Gu Chen was fleeing toward the direction of Linxuan Pass, boundless fury surged from the depths of his heart, nearly causing him to lose his sanity.

Linxuan Pass had been invaded by the abyss fifty years ago and had long since been completely reduced to a contaminated zone.

The adjacent Bone Dungeon possessed a notorious reputation, with a high mortality rate year-round, and its clearance difficulty directly surpassed ninety percent of the second-tier abysses in the Shenxia Empire.

Back when he was at level 15, he hadn't dared to enter the Bone Dungeon himself, let alone Gu Chen.

"Li Xiao!"

"Die for this King!"

Amidst a roar of fury, the phantom of a holy sword appeared beside Gu Qingfeng, as dazzling as a scorching sun, and slashed toward Li Xiao with the momentum to destroy the heavens and the earth.

"No—"

Li Xiao was pierced through by the holy sword phantom, his health points instantly depleted to zero, and the entire Li family estate was reduced to ruins under the might of that single sword strike.

Li Xiao's corpse crashed heavily onto the ground.

Dead!

However, the next second, blazing holy light emanated from his corpse.

[Resurrection Cross: Revives the user in place upon being killed, granting 30% of their maximum health points.]

Priced at ten million each on the Trader Platform, how could Li Xiao, as the head of the Lin City Li family, possibly lack such a life-saving item?

"Spare my life, Your Majesty!"

"This humble wretch knows his crime, I beg Your Majesty to show mercy!"

The moment he revived, Li Xiao scrambled and crawled to kneel at Gu Qingfeng's feet, kowtowing repeatedly.

At this moment, he had no time to care about his injuries; the fear of death caused his entire body to tremble violently.

Having just died once, he was practically frightened out of his wits.

The Resurrection Cross could only take effect once every twenty-four hours. If Gu Qingfeng were to strike with his sword again, he would definitely be completely finished.

Driven by despair, Li Xiao could only bite the bullet and say, "Please calm your wrath, Your Majesty. Young Master Gu Chen is still alive. I beg you to give me one day—just one day, and my entire Li family will mobilize in full force to ensure the young master returns safely!"

"Just you? Hmph!" The holy sword in Gu Qingfeng's hand vanished into thin air as his entire body soared into the sky, flying toward the airborne battleship.

"Personal Guard Battalion, seal off the Li family estate. Without this King's personal decree, no one is allowed to enter or leave!"

"This King has said it before, if my son suffers even the slightest mishap, not just the Li family, but everyone involved will die!"

At this moment, Gu Qingfeng was like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment. His words boomed like thunder, causing the hearts of everyone present to tremble and their faces to turn pale.

Upon seeing this, Gu He and Qin Yun quickly flew up onto the airborne battleship. The massive steel beast churned the clouds and sped rapidly toward Linxuan Pass, reaching the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Gu Qingfeng departed aboard the battleship, while warriors clad in black armor guarded the Li family estate to prevent anyone inside from seizing the opportunity to escape.

The crushing pressure of death receded like a tide, and Li Xiao stood up shakily, his face filled with despair.

Recalling the previous events, his expression grew even paler.

At this moment, he no longer cared about the grief of losing a son.

If a son died, another could be born, but offending Gu Qingfeng was a capital crime that would result in the extermination of one's entire clan and the confiscation of all property.

All for the sake of a recommendation quota for Capital University, the Li family had actually hunted Gu Chen down into the depths of the wilderness. Li Xiao now regretted it so much that his intestines were turning green.

Yet if everything could start over, who could have predicted that a farm boy who had grown up in Lin City for eighteen years would actually be Gu Qingfeng's son!

Had he not experienced it firsthand, even if someone held a knife to his throat, he would never have believed that Gu Chen was Gu Qingfeng's son.

"Family Head, what should we do now?"

"Go to the ancestral hall."

"Huh? What is in the ancestral hall that is more important than the survival of the Li family?"

"Go burn a few extra sticks of incense for our Li family ancestors. May the departed spirits of our ancestors bless us and allow Gu Chen to turn danger into safety out in the wilderness and return safely."

Disregarding his injuries, Li Xiao limped toward the direction of the ancestral hall.

The War King's personal guards were stationed right outside the doors, leaving no chance of escape. Now, all they could do was pray that the souls of their ancestors could protect the Li family.

...

"Gu He, have you found out clearly? What was the exact reason between Chen'er and the Li family?"

Gu Qingfeng stood atop the airborne battleship, feeling a wave of vexation and restlessness.

In his impression, Gu Chen was unmotivated, wayward, and forever seemed like mud that couldn't be plastered onto a wall.

Yet why had he acted so radically this time, even killing Li Renjie and fleeing into the wilderness?

Was he using this extreme method to force himself to compromise with him?

Or was there some hidden story behind all this?

"Your Majesty, it has already been investigated. The root cause of all this is that the Li family attempted to seize Young Master Gu Chen's recommendation quota."

"A recommendation quota?"

Gu Qingfeng furrowed his brows slightly. Gu Chen wasn't even a professional class holder; what kind of recommendation quota could he possibly have?

Could it be that the principal of some prestigious institution had learned that Gu Chen could not undergo class advancement and attempted to curry favor with him through such means?

"Indeed. Although the young master failed his class advancement test in Gubei City, for some unknown reason, after returning to Lin City, he successfully underwent class advancement."

"Oh? Such a thing actually happened?" A flash of astonishment erupted on Gu Qingfeng's face.

Such occurrences were not entirely unheard of, but they were exceedingly rare. He hadn't expected it to happen to Gu Chen.

"What? Gu He, now is not the time for jokes." Qin Yun's expression changed instantly.

Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly; she had never heard of such a thing before.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, after the young master advanced to the Summoner class, he entered the novice dungeon, Temple Ruins, with four teammates. He rose to level 10 within a single day and cleared a hell-difficulty dungeon that nobody had cleared for decades."

Gu He recounted the gathered intelligence step by step. "Clearing a hell-difficulty dungeon grants an SSS-rank evaluation. According to Lin City's policy, students who achieve an SSS-rank evaluation receive a direct recommendation quota for Capital University."

"As for that Li family heir, Li Renjie, because he failed to secure the recommendation quota for Capital University, he used the Li family's influence to suppress the news of the young master clearing the hell-difficulty dungeon, attempting to forcefully steal the young master's quota."

"The cause of death is also quite simple. Li Renjie and Li family collateral branch member Li Wenhui went to Lin City No. 1 High School, tracked down the young master in his dormitory building, and coerced him into leading them through the hell-difficulty dungeon."

"The young master refused to agree, so he took action and killed Li Renjie, then fled into the wilderness."

"Li Renjie was a level 13 Spirit Psychic, a rare class, but for some unknown reason, he was easily killed in counter-attack by the level 10 young master."

Upon hearing the steward Gu He's report, the vexation in Gu Qingfeng's heart was entirely replaced by intense shock.

Successfully advanced classes, reached level 10 within a day, cleared a hell-difficulty dungeon, obtained an SSS-rank evaluation, and secured a recommendation quota for Capital University!

And he had even crossed levels to kill a rare class holder three levels higher than himself!

With such achievements, let alone in Lin City, even in Gubei City, he would crush the vast majority of genius professional class holders.

Gu Qingfeng opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Were these things... all done by Gu Chen?

His son, Gu Chen?