Chapter 3: Sorrow (Part 1)

When the pressure from the soul vanished, countless professionals flew toward the square, knowing that something serious had happened here. Besides those from the Star Sect, professionals from other places who were active in the city also rushed over. Of course, some experienced professionals not only failed to come but instead fled outside the city.
It was those who fled who would be able to survive in the long run. If Guo Shier and the others were evil high-level professionals, like Qi Wu Zhen back then, it would be very difficult for the professionals in this city to escape. But Guo Shier wouldn’t commit acts of city slaughter. Even with the hatred from that massacre, he only targeted professionals, not ordinary people.
Guo Shier looked at Huo Bao with emotion, then turned his gaze to the other three, examining them carefully. With Huo Bao around, he easily recognized the other two and said, “Hong Shi, Chen Bing, who is this?”
Chen Bing was the middle-aged man who had called out to Huo Bao earlier. He hadn’t advanced to the Virtual Form Altar, so his appearance had become very aged. He said, “This is Wu Chongren, a high-level Grand Sage. We’ve been traveling together for over ten years.”
Wu Chongren said, “I’ve met your seniority.”
Guo Shier shook his head. “I’m not a seniority figure.” He felt guilty toward Huo Bao and the others. If he had taken them along back then, perhaps they would have already reached the Altar level. He was right—he wasn’t a seniority figure but rather the master followed by Huo Bao and the others. Only that he hadn’t been a good master.
Wu Chongren was slightly stunned. He sensed that Guo Shier was extremely powerful, but he couldn’t tell what level he was at.
Guo Shier was surprised to discover that the Star Sect still had two Altar-level professionals. They weren’t those at the Virtual Form Altar but experts at the Real Form Altar—one with a three-layer altar and the other with a four-layer altar. Clearly, these two were the Star Sect’s trump cards. Then he noticed that there were three more professionals in the crowd who possessed Virtual Form Altars.
After Luo Zhan set up his altar in the air, those restless experts immediately calmed down. A professional with a five-layer altar was beyond their ability to deal with.
Guo Shier said, “Baozi, let’s talk later. For now, wait here.” After saying that, he also flew into the air and said indifferently, “You, and you… all of you come here. And those three hiding in the crowd—do you want me to pull you out?”
The several Altar-level experts, identified by Guo Shier, didn’t dare leave but set up their altars and focused on defense, fearing that Guo Shier might attack suddenly. Even now, they still couldn’t determine what level Guo Shier was at.

Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Wow, I never expected the Star Sect to be so powerful, hiding so many altar-level experts. No wonder they can dominate the Star Continent. They look down on outsiders who are professionals and always like to fight… I wondered why they haven’t faced retribution yet—turns out it’s for this reason.”
Guo Shieru nodded and said, “Their strength is comparable to that of declining ancient clans. These two must be the ancestors of the Star Sect.”
The professional from the fourth-tier altar flew to about a hundred meters in front of Guo Shieru, hovering in the air, and said, “Ancestor of the Star Sect, professional from the fourth-tier altar, Ao Ao.”
Guo Shieru thought to himself, “What the hell is that name? Ao Ao? Like a howl?”
Another professional from the third-tier altar stepped forward and said, “Ancestor of the Star Sect, professional from the third-tier altar, Zhang Lang.”
Guo Shieru laughed and said, “Ao Ao, cockroach… What a weird name.”
Ao Ao and Zhang Lang didn’t understand why he said that and exchanged puzzled looks. Ao Ao asked, “May I ask who you are, senior?” He couldn’t figure out Guo Shieru’s strength and couldn’t help but ask.
Guo Shieru didn’t hide it either. He revealed his own altar and said, “Wandering professional, eighth-tier altar, Guo Shieru.”
A wave of noise erupted. Seriously, among the professionals active in this area, no one had ever seen an eighth-tier altar professional; many had never even heard of such a thing. Ao Ao and Zhang Lang’s legs turned weak. They didn’t know what to say, feeling both chilled and heated inside. They also noticed that Guo Shieru called himself a wandering professional, which made things even more terrifying.
Advanced wandering professionals were extremely dangerous because they had no home or ties, were unrestrained, and acted without restraint. If provoked, they would unleash a massacre, and even if someone had strong backing, they wouldn’t know who to retaliate against. So, without absolute certainty, even large sects and ancient clans wouldn’t dare provoke an advanced wandering professional.
A hint of sadness flashed in Huo Bao’s eyes. He knew that from the start, they had been unable to keep up with Guo Shieru, and now the gap had grown even wider.
Eagle Demon also revealed his altar and said, “Wandering professional, Eagle Demon.”
One eighth-tier altar and two fifth-tier altars—with such strength, it would be easy to destroy the Star Sect. It wasn’t even a problem at all.
Guo Shieru said, “Zhang Huai, weren’t you so impressive just now? Let my brother give you a strike.”

Zhang Huai was already collapsed on the ground, unable to utter a word, trembling violently. The other party wanted to kill him as easily as crushing an ant; even if Ao Ao stepped forward, it would be suicide. Ao Ao might be able to withstand the attacks from Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, but he could definitely not take on Guo Shier’s strike.

Seeing that Zhang Huai remained silent, Guo Shier turned and asked, “Leopard, explain what just happened. I’m not here to bully anyone. If my men were rude, we’ll just leave. If it was your men who started trouble, don’t blame me.”

It was simple: Huo Bao and his group had captured a level-9 mutated talisman beast—a severely injured Earth Blood Dragon, whose strength had been reduced by at least half. With their fierce determination, the four of them wore the Earth Blood Dragon to death. After collecting the materials, they went to the city of Star Sect to sell some of them.

Unbeknownst to them, a disciple of Star Sect, a Grand Sage, took an interest in them and demanded the materials right away. Naturally, the four refused, leading to a conflict. With Huo Bao’s strength, he injured his opponent in the fight. After escaping, that guy immediately brought in eight Grand Sages to surround Huo Bao and the others.

Guo Shier had seen this kind of thing many times. There was a saying from his past life: “Never show off your wealth.” The materials from a level-9 mutated talisman beast meant nothing to Guo Shier, but on this continent, they were quite valuable.

Such incidents had happened countless times in the city of Star Sect. Given Star Sect’s tyrannical behavior, it was better for outsiders who were professionals not to resist. If they dared to resist, they would be destroyed along with their possessions. Many outsiders knew not to sell precious materials in this city, or they might lose both their lives and their wealth.

Guo Shier sneered, “Hmm, quite tyrannical.” He had already witnessed the shameless tyranny of Star Sect’s professionals, so he had no good feelings toward them at all. “Well then, what explanation does Star Sect have for this?” he said mockingly.

Although Ao Ao disapproved in his heart, Guo Shier in front of him couldn’t be deceived. He had no choice but to say, “Who provoked them? Come out yourself!”

Soon, a thin man as frail as a bamboo pole ran out. Trembling, he said, “Elder, it was them who started it… It’s not me… He’s lying!” At this point, he had to desperately shift the blame to try to save his life. He had used such tactics to steal many materials, killing at least a dozen professionals. But this time, he ran into bad luck. As the saying goes, those who walk by the river often get their shoes wet.

Guo Shier didn’t help but laugh and said, “Are all the people of the Star Sect such shameless scoundrels?”
Ao Ao was furious. He only wanted to resolve this trouble quickly and had no interest in listening to the excuses of this troublemaker. In fact, he didn’t need to be told what kind of people the professionals of the Star Sect were—he knew better than anyone.
“Why are you eight surrounding those four?”
Ao Ao ignored the man who kept pleading for his life and turned to ask the other Great Saints.
One of the Great Saints said, “It was he who asked us to come. He said we’d get half of whatever materials we captured from them.” He had seen it clearly—someone had to be made a scapegoat; otherwise, the anger of that high-ranking figure couldn’t be appeased. So he betrayed that guy without hesitation.
Ao Ao didn’t want to hear any more excuses from that guy. Suddenly, he formed a virtual talisman hand and swung it down viciously under the man’s stunned gaze. With a loud explosion, the man was reduced to flesh paste. Raising his head, Ao Ao said, “It’s the fault of our Star Sect. Please forgive us, senior.”
Killing his subordinates so efficiently, Ao Ao planned to move on from this matter.
Guo Shier sneered and said, “Impressive indeed. Hehe, as for the other eight who participated in the attack…”
Before Guo Shier could finish, Ao Ao and Zhang Lang acted simultaneously, killing those eight in an instant. Guo Shier was stunned. He hadn’t intended to kill them all—he just wanted to teach them a lesson. He didn’t expect the two elders to be so eager to shirk the Star Sect’s responsibilities as to kill them without hesitation. Although the Great Saints were among the strongest fighters in the Star Sect, when it came to the sect’s safety, as elders, they chose to eliminate threats immediately to remove potential dangers.
Guo Shier, Eagle Demon, and Luo Zhan were all surprised. The same thought flashed through their minds: These two are truly ruthless.
They could easily guess the purpose behind Ao Ao and Zhang Lang’s actions. Killing these people wasn’t to let Guo Shier and the others vent their anger, but to ensure they had no reason to pose a threat to the Star Sect. Of course, if Guo Shier were an unreasonable person, their actions wouldn’t have mattered much. But Ao Ao was smart—since Guo Shier hadn’t used force from the start, it meant he hadn’t intended to take action unless provoked.
Ao Ao said, “Senior, it’s our Star Sect’s fault. We apologize.”
The onlooking professionals let out surprised murmurs, likely discussing Ao Ao’s methods. Guo Shier couldn’t help but praise, “What remarkable guys. No wonder the Star Sect can remain dominant to this day.”

The Eagle Demon said, “Yes, cruel to others and cruel even to their own people.”
Guo Shieru found it amusing that he had been forced by this guy not to lose his temper. But after thinking about it, he decided not to act—after all, he was a high-level altar professional, and it made no sense to trouble these lower-level professionals. He said, “Arrange lodging for us; we need to rest here for a while.” As for robbery, forget it— a sect from a high-level continent wouldn’t have anything really valuable. His standards were now so high that ordinary things couldn’t satisfy him anymore.
Ao Ao and Zhang Lang felt greatly relieved. Unconsciously, their backs were already sweaty from being scared by Guo Shieru and the others. If the three of them lost their temper, they really wouldn’t know how to deal with it—it would be a disaster that could destroy their sect.