Chapter 299: Chapter 261: Attaining Grandmaster

"Boom!"

The cliff collapsed, and the giant boulder rolled down, crashing down with terrifying force. It instantly sent a tremor through the earth, creating a massive crater on the ground,

toppling the trees that were crushed violently, with dust billowing into the sky. It surged toward the mountain cliffs, and a fierce roar echoed through the air.

Seeing the chaotic scene,

Xiao Chen felt a lingering sense of fear. If not for Gu Zhan’s timely appearance, Ghost Fang’s plan would have succeeded, and he would surely have been reduced to a bloody pulp.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath and slowly lifted his head to look at Gu Zhan. His pale face broke into a simple, honest smile as he cupped his hands, "Thank you, Brother Gu. If not for your timely arrival, my Iron Hammer would be a dead hammer by now!"

Gu Zhan smiled faintly, picked up the bow and arrow that lay on the ground, and walked towards Xiao Chen, saying, "Protector Xiao, no need for thanks. We’re all family. Let’s go, I’ll take you back to heal."

"Then I must trouble you, Brother Gu."

Gu Zhan circulated his energy to adjust his breath and slowly summoned the system, checking his experience points, which had accumulated over a billion.

He had gained twenty-five million from slaying the Demon Dao Grandmaster Xiao Xiangzi, then killed many members of the Five Poison Sect, and slayed quite a few from the Demon Dao on his way to Beidou Bang, now killing Ghost Fang had added sixty million, bringing his experience points over a billion.

He didn’t hesitate and immediately chose to allocate points:

[Use 1 billion experience points]

[Profound Nether Spell upgraded to the Sixth Floor]

[Current Realm upgraded to Divine Thought First Realm]

...

In that instant,

Gu Zhan’s true essence surged dramatically, and its purity elevated several notches,

Of course, his most profound sensation was a heightened perception of the Great Dao between heaven and earth,

The person remained the same,

yet, walking in the night, he felt one with nature. The world in his eyes underwent a substantial change, appearing unusually harmonious.

His consciousness collided with the Great Dao in that instant, making him feel as if he could communicate with the Great Dao at any moment, coalescing a Dharma Golden Body.

However, unlike most breakthroughs to Grandmaster,

his was in a natural state,

No heavenly phenomena, just the natural progression,

And, he leaped directly to Grandmaster Peak, just a step away from the Grandmaster.

Grandmaster, achieved!

Yet it felt so plain and natural.

In mere moments, he had ascended from a Peak Great Cultivator to a Peak Grandmaster. He glanced at the system page:

Player: Gu Zhan

Realm: Divine Thought First Realm (Grandmaster)

Cultivation Technique: Profound Nether Spell (Sixth Floor 0/500 million)

Skills:

Netherworld King’s Array-breaking Saber (Great Success)

Twelve Arrows of No Regrets (Great Success)

Mahayana One Slash (Great Success)

Lingyun Soar (Great Success)

Water Manipulation Skill (Minor Success 0/50 million)

Melancholy Soul Sword (Entry Level 0/1.5 million)

Dragon Elephant Palm (Entry Level 0/1.5 million)

Celestial Imprisoning Leg (Entry Level 0/1.5 million)

Silent Extinction Divine Finger (Entry Level 0/1.5 million)

Experience points: 1,054,296

...

As Gu Zhan approached Xiao Chen,

the feeling was different from before. Earlier, when facing Xiao Chen, a Peak Grandmaster, he felt as if the other hardly existed within this world. Although right in front of him, he couldn’t sense him at all.

But now, not only could he sense Xiao Chen’s existence, he could also feel the intense instability of Xiao Chen’s blood and energy.

Gu Zhan glanced at the massive iron hammer on the ground, hesitated for a moment, then decided to leave it behind,

The pair of massive iron hammers were too heavy, and Gu Zhan did not take them but instead lifted Xiao Chen’s arm and leaped into the air.

With his Qinggong, carrying a five- or six-hundred-pound brawny man like Xiao Chen wasn’t a problem, but adding the nearly thousand-pound hammer would have been troublesome, especially on this mountain.

With his current Cultivation at Grandmaster Peak, using Lingyun Soar was naturally extraordinary,

Moreover, he was unlike usual martial artists,

Most Martial Arts Cultivators specialized in one discipline, so their Dharma Golden Body often correlated with their specialty. Gu Zhan was special; he mastered many skills including archery, saber technique, Qinggong—any of which could allow him to cohesively form a Dharma Golden Body.

...

When Gu Zhan brought Xiao Chen back to Great Desert City,

The chaos in the city had subsided, and people from various factions were busy putting out the fires,

Beidou Bang managed to extinguish the fire the fastest because they chose a location close to the river, making it convenient to divert water.

But the fire was so tremendous,

Though it was extinguished fairly quickly, it still resulted in chaos, leaving destruction in its wake.

Arriving at Beidou Bang’s base, despite the chaos, there remained a semblance of order, thanks to numerous high-ranking members commanding there.

Seeing Gu Zhan supporting Xiao Chen appear,

A crowd of high-ranking members rushed over hastily.

Gu Zhan looked at the high-ranking members and said, "Keep your guard up, don’t relax your vigilance; prevent the Demon Dao from launching a surprise attack!"

The high ranks immediately ordered their subordinates to intensify patrols.

Just then,

a streak of light streaked across the night sky and quickly fell, it was Mo Jingzhou, whom the Ghost King Sect Leader Yunzhong Jun had apprehended earlier, holding Xiao Chen’s pair of iron hammers.

"Big brother!" Seeing Mo Jingzhou safe, Xiao Chen heaved a long sigh of relief, and exclaimed joyfully.

"Leader!" "Leader!" "Dragon King..."

The crowd of members collectively eased their hearts.

In Beidou Bang now, Right Protector Yun Weiyuan was at Canglan Dao, Cloud Protector Xiao Chen had already been severely injured. If Dragon King Mo Jingzhou had ended up in trouble too, Beidou Bang would be left without anyone to preside over the situation.

"As long as you’re okay," Mo Jingzhou patted Xiao Chen’s shoulder and said, "I fought Yunzhong Jun a few times; he aimed to stall me rather than fight to the death. After he retreated, I followed your direction, seeing Ghost Fang’s corpse there, I knew you were alright, so I brought your iron hammers back!"