Chapter 136: Seventh-Rank War Emperor

Gu Sha, who had once been toppled from his pedestal by the opposition, has reappeared in the public eye, instantly setting global forums ablaze.

With his own strength, he slew the currently high-profile Red Feather Heavenly God, kidnapped three renowned War Sovereigns, and led tens of thousands of mutated beasts from the Taihang Mountains to carry out what is now being called the greatest kidnapping case in Earth’s history since the dawn of the New Era.

The debate over Gu Sha's true power is fierce, but most people are focused on the reaction of the four major divine factions in North Dragon. Gu Sha’s actions were tantamount to a slap in the face to these powers. Beyond the four War Sovereigns, among the thousands of transcendent warriors captured or killed, no fewer than two hundred belonged directly to these four factions, while at least two thousand others were disciples and retainers who had pledged allegiance to them.

This slap echoed loudly, dragging the reputation of the four factions through the mud. Even the prestige of the various powers from the Upper Realm has been severely diminished by Gu Sha’s actions. After all, these Upper Realm factions had previously projected an image of noble, invincible, and unconquerable gods. Gu Sha’s feat has caused many to question the so-called divinity—as it turns out, it is truly possible for a mortal to defeat a god; they are not as powerful as they claimed.

Naturally, the four North Dragon factions suffered the greatest blow to their authority, and their response was exactly as the world had anticipated. Shortly after Gu Sha posted his ransom list on the global forum, the four factions issued warning posts from their official accounts almost simultaneously.

The Lin family, the Wu family, and the Flying Sword Sect were relatively moderate, first condemning Gu Sha’s immoral conduct and then demanding he release the captives to stand trial, threatening military action otherwise. The Red Gold Crane clan, however, was different. They publicly declared that Gu Sha had offended the God Race and committed the heinous crime of ambushing and killing the Red Feather Heavenly God. They ordered him to release the captives and surrender for judgment in the North Dragon region within three days, or they would send elites to execute him without mercy, leaving him no shred of dignity.

...

While the internet was in an uproar, the Taihang Mountains were equally bustling. Gu Sha had used a sealing technique learned from his "Future Vision" to seal the source energy of all the captured transcendents, rendering them unable to channel their power.

With thousands of people in custody, he couldn't just let them be dead weight. Gu Sha was clear: even with their source energy sealed, their physiques remained powerful. He put them to work as laborers, tasked with restoring the ruins of the former Wentian Pavilion, which now served as the Taihang Mountain Gathering Hall.

With thousands of transcendents working, the construction projects moved swiftly, with both speed and quality guaranteed. The mutated beast packs in the Taihang Mountains were also in a frenzy, as the Beast Kings led their subordinates to strip the captives of their belongings—weapons, equipment, and resources like corpse cores and mutated fruits.

Gu Sha himself reaped the greatest harvest; he had looted the spatial rings of all four War Sovereigns. True to their background as members of major factions, they were incredibly wealthy, filled with heavenly treasures, cultivation resources, advanced weaponry, and secret manuals. In short, the Taihang Mountain bandit den had traded its bird muskets for cannons.

While Gu Sha could not accelerate his cultivation of secret arts, it was a different story for secret techniques. Using his "Future Vision" ability, he could retain the memories of practicing these skills, allowing him to master them in a heartbeat.

In a secret chamber, Gu Sha piled up the plundered resources and began his cultivation. The assets of the four War Sovereigns were impressive, propelling his cultivation from the sixth rank to the seventh rank of the War Sovereign realm.

Afterward, Gu Sha studied the secret arts he had seized. He didn't pay much attention to them, as he had seen in his visions: the secret arts practiced by these War Sovereigns from major factions were inferior to the "Great Dao Sutra" he practiced. After all, the sutra was created by the founder of the Wentian Pavilion, a legendary figure who had truly ascended to immortality. While the newer arts had undergone thousands of years of refinement, the essence of a technique created by an immortal was far superior.

What interested Gu Sha more were the secret combat techniques. Unlike secret arts, which focused on absorbing source energy to increase one’s realm, these techniques were methods of combat. They were subject to generational innovation, and generally speaking, modern combat techniques were more powerful than ancient ones of the same grade.

Gu Sha selected several high-grade techniques and activated his "Future Vision" repeatedly. In those visions, he left the Taihang Mountains, found a desolate place, and focused solely on practicing those techniques until he had achieved a masterful level.

After absorbing those memories, Gu Sha felt a sense of awe. This ability to foresee the future was a true cheat, providing not just foresight, but also the extraction of hard-earned experience, saving him countless years of cultivation. Though it seemed instantaneous to others, he had effectively lived through many years of practice. Thus, in terms of combat awareness, he believed himself invincible among his peers.

...

At night, on the plaza, a massive barbecue grill was roasting a pair of giant wings—the very wings torn from the Red Feather Heavenly God. Several nearby Beast Kings drooled with anticipation.

Sitting among them was a special guest: War King Feilong, who had spoken out against the injustice done to Gu Sha before the battle that day. Because Gu Sha had expressed an interest in recruiting him, Feilong and his followers had not been mistreated by the beasts and were even granted their freedom. Gu Sha had even told Feilong he was free to leave, a gesture that drew envy from many.

However, Feilong did not leave. Instead, he expressed his desire to follow Gu Sha. He had joined the Flying Sword Sect only because he had no other choice; the Upper Realm factions controlled Earth, and there was no local power capable of resisting them. If a local force could stand against them, few would be willing to serve as cannon fodder for these outsiders. Furthermore, he could feel that while the Upper Realm factions spoke kindly, they treated Earthlings with a condescending, arrogant attitude, never truly valuing them—many of them treated humans as little more than servants.

As a bandit chieftain, Gu Sha was more than happy to have experts join his ranks. The more, the better; after all, his "one hundred and eight chairs" were far from full. Moreover, he had no fear of betrayal—with his "Future Vision," he could nip any treachery in the bud.

"Come, come! Eat some chicken wings!" Gu Sha invited his subordinates to the feast.

Feilong, holding his phone, looked somber. "Boss, the four major factions will never pay the ransom; it would mean losing all their face. The warnings they posted are likely real. They might truly send their top experts to attack the Taihang Mountains!"