Seeing that Gu Zichen’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest, Ye Zichen couldn’t help but recall how, back in his sea of consciousness, his eyes had reddened with unshed tears over Yang Jian.
That didn’t seem fake, so why was he attacking Yang Jian so viciously now?
Suddenly, Gu Zichen spoke. “Do you know what the Star of Slaughter is?”
Then he snorted contemptuously, “the Star of Slaughter is supposed to be hidden, concealed, disguised…. It exists to catch the enemy off guard and deal a fatal blow.”
He smiled faintly, then turned to Ye Zichen. “Do you think I’m being too harsh with Yang Jian? You should know, I’ve already held back. If I wanted to, I could’ve killed him many times over. I’ve held back over and over again in hopes that he’d glean some enlightenment from it, but how has he repaid me?”
He stood, then approached Ye Zichen and Yang Jian.
“Gu Zichen.”
“I won’t do anything to him. There are just a few things I’d like to say to him directly,” said Gu Zichen. “Mind getting out of my way?”
“Brother Ye, let him through. I refuse to believe this b.a.s.t.a.r.d can hurt me,” said the still-injured Yang Jian with a disdainful smirk. Ye Zichen paused for a while but made way. He had no choice: no matter what he did, Gu Zichen could easily kill them both if he wanted to.
The fundamental problem was that they were still too weak
Even so, his gaze was heavy as he watched Gu Zichen approach. “You’ve better not do anything out of line.”
Gu Zichen looked at him inquisitively and shrugged. Ye Zichen stepped to the side.
Yang Jian looked at Gu Zichen, who was now directly in front of him, and snorted. “Well? Out with it. What the h.e.l.l did you want to say to me?”
His speech was coa.r.s.e and distasteful, especially at a time like this. The onlooking immortals all feared that he’d provoke that expert.
But Yang Jian didn’t seem concerned at all. By now, he wanted nothing more than to teach this guy a lesson and would have if it weren’t for the fact that he had no chance of victory.
The guy hadn’t just possessed his bro’s body: he’d even beaten the s.h.i.+t out him. As War G.o.d Yang Jian, he naturally couldn’t swallow this sort of insult.
“Don’t you see? This is just one of many reasons why you are unworthy of the Star of Slaughter.”
In response to Yang Jian’s curses, Gu Zichen didn’t get upset. He simply jeered at him,“you’re too straightforward. When you dislike someone, you make it far too obvious. Do you know why I was able to sense your position even when you hid yourself?”
“Isn’t that just because your cultivation is higher than mine?” said Yang Jian disdainfully. “If I was on your level, I’d consider it my loss I didn’t beat you until you cried for mommy and daddy.”
“I can’t prove otherwise,” Gu Zichen smiled and nodded, “but I’d be able to sense your position even if I suppressed my cultivation down to your level. Do you know why?”
“Bragging, huh? Anyone can do that,” said Yang Jian, pursing his lips. After inheriting the Star of Slaughter, his head was full of its battle techniques. He knew full well how strong its concealment abilities were, yet this b.a.s.t.a.r.d still spoke so shamelessly
For this, he felt nothing but contempt.
“Perhaps the Star of slaughter mentioned this when you inherited it, but its fighting strategy is to flit around like a devil or ghost, unseen and unfathomable. It always hides in the dark, inspiring terror in its enemies. You need to be patient and wait for targets to lower their guard before delivering the final blow.”
By the time Gu Zichen finished speaking, Yang Jian was speechless.
When he’d inherited the Star of Slaughter, he truly had been told something along those lines. As further proof, he’d watched the Star of Slaughter’s fighting style with his own eyes.
“It appears you did,” said Gu Zichen, gleaning some hints from Yang Jian’s expression. “But what did you do? In truth, you blended perfectly into the air with no flaws whatsoever. I couldn’t find you until just before you prepared to attack. Do you know why?”
He couldn’t find him?
Yang Jian’s heart shook. This guy was saying that, when he hid, he had no way of finding him.
Until the moment he struck, then he found him every time….
“Why?” asked Yang Jian.
“Killing intent,” replied Gu Zichen. “When you started to attack, your killing intent was too obvious. You ought to know that even an expert at your level is has strong senses, much less someone like me. The instant you released your killing intent, you revealed your location.”
“So that’s why!” Yang Jian knit his brows thoughtfully. Looking back to their fight, it seemed that his killing intent had truly been a bit overly intense.
But he didn’t understand: It was only natural to have killing intent when facing an enemy. How did the former Star of Slaughter manage to avoid being discovered?
“Then do you know how to control killing intent?” asked Yang Jian.
“You’ll have to figure that out for yourself. Since you inherited the Star of Slaughter, you will naturally acquire methods for reigning in your killing intent. For now, though, you’re too worked up and haven’t fully internalized the true meaning of the Star of Slaughter.”
The current Gu was just like a teacher; Yang Jian would ask him a question and he’d answer it, over and over again.
Time flew by.
After explaining how he’d discovered Yang Jian, Gu Zichen squinted up at the pure white sky.
Suddenly, his face paled, and he trembled slightly.
To avoid letting the others catch on, he instantly returned to his chair and sat down.
By now, the power of the stars had long since healed Yang Jian’s injuries. Even so, he sat there motionlessly, internally processing everything Gu Zichen had taught him. All things considered, he felt that a gate had opened up for him
“I detest you but suppose I’d still better thank you,” said Yang Jian. His expression was unwilling, but he nevertheless bowed subtly to Gu Zichen. He just how he was: he had a strong sense of grat.i.tude. If you treated him kindly, he’d do the same in turn
“But don’t get too excited. Just wait. Once I’ve understood all this, I’ll definitely give you a good beating.”
……
“Hey, bro, it’s actually quite impressive that you could summarize the true meaning of the Star of Slaughter in just a couple sentences. Like, I don’t even know if I inherited the Star of Slaughter or you did.”
“You can only blame your own stupidity for that,” said Gu Zichen. “Enough, leave me alone, go do the rest of your research on your own.”
“Tch, you think you’re so cool? Don’t get c.o.c.ky. Once I’ve understood all this, I really will come back and beat you up,” said Yang Jian.
A dusty, ancient memory suddenly resurfaced in Gu Zichen’s mind. Despite his best efforts, his eyes dampened with tears.
Yang Jian noticed, and couldn’t help but look at him inquisitively. “What? You got scared so easily? Calm down, I’m not some kind of villain. At worst I’ll beat you until you can’t get out of bed for half a year.”
“Alright, I’ll be waiting,” said Gu Zichen. He reigned in his emotions and smiled.
Yang Jian sneered. “Just wait, then.”
“I will.” Gu Zichen nodded calmly on the outside, but internally, he sighed.
“Bro, if only the person in front of me really was you! Didn’t you once tell me you’d beat the c.r.a.p out of me? Now look at you! Where are you now?”