Chapter 140 - Subjectivity and Objectivity

The scene of Gu Hai placing the saber on Long Wanqing's neck left countless cultivators flabbergasted.

"What's going on? Why is Gu Hai holding the Ascendant Hall Lord hostage?"

"Didn't Gu Hai came to rescue Ascendant Hall Lord?"

"What does he want?"...

The cultivators who somehow crawled their way out of the wreckage were unable to comprehend this scene.

Li Haoran's face turned ashen. Even the army of Divine Battalion disciples looked confused. Who would have thought that Gu Hai would take Long Wanqing hostage?

"Gu Hai!" Li Haoran shouted in a foreboding tone.

"Step back, Commander Li!" Gu Hai warned Li Haoran indifferently.

Nonetheless, Li Haoran stayed right where he was, staring coldly at Gu Hai.

"Gu Hai, are you crazy?" Long Wanqing flared up, fuming with anger.

Why is this happening to me? Just after I was abducted by Ding Rui, I have been taken hostage by Gu Hai, again! Do you lots treat me, this Hall Lord, as nothing!?

"Hall Lord, pardon my offense!" Gu Hai stated in a deep voice.

"Hmph, Gu Hai, you sure have big guts! Don't think that just because you saved me a moment ago, I will forgive you! If you don't let me go, all the merit for saving me previously will be gone, and you too will be guilty of rebelling against your superior!" Long Wanqing shouted in fury.

"Hall Lord, you are wrong!" Gu Hai stated in a calm and poised manner.

"Hmm?"

"I saved you, not because I wanted to render meritorious deeds. Even now, I don't know much about the Ascendant Hall! So, why did I come and save you, disregarding life and death? Meritorious deeds? No, I only wanted to repay you, that's all! When I received the news of your imprisonment, I rushed straight to the Song Jia Sect from the Clear River Sect, and then, from the Song Jia Sect to the Ding Long Clan, only because you have helped me achieve the Xiantian Stage in the past, nothing more, nothing less!

"I don't need any credit for saving you, neither do I want to render meritorious service! I just want to hand you over to Grandmaster Liunian. Once I am done, I will have repaid you for everything.

"Now, we are on our last legs. I beg Hall Lord to wait patiently for a moment!" Gu Hai explained in a calm voice.

Upon hearing Gu Hai's explanation, Long Wanqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Repay me? Alright, consider your debt repaid, you can let me go now!" Long Wanqing said, a wry smile on her lips.

"No, Hall Lord, it's not that I don't want to let you go, I just think that you are not thinking clearly at this moment. If I let you go now, you will immediately push yourself into a dead end once again. Then, everything I have done would be for nothing!" Gu Hai stated calmly.

"I am not thinking clearly? What do you mean by that?" Long Wanqing demanded, refusing to give in.

"Aren't you? You have just heard from Ding Rui's mouth that Li Haoran is your mother's killer! Whether it's true or not, shouldn't you be at least a bit vigilant against Li Haoran? But you aren't! Rather, you are readily listening and accepting his advice. You even set your mother's death aside!" Gu Hai rebuked her in a heavy voice.

"I said it's not Li Haoran, didn't I?!" Long Wanqing shouted in fury.

"Can you guarantee that?" Gu Hai asked in a heavy voice.

"Guarantee, why would I need to? He was sent by my Grandfather to protect me, and not to mention, he has saved my life in the past! He won't harm me. Ding Rui was just crazy!" Long Wanqing shouted angrily.

"But, he killed Ding Rui to silence her, don't you find it even a bit odd?" Gu Hai retorted in a cold manner.

"He made a mistake!" Long Wanqing justified, but her voice was depressed.

"That is what you think!" Gu Hai countered in an indifferent manner.

"Gu Hai, what do you mean?" Long Wanqing shouted aloud.

"I have always said to my sons that you cannot be subjective in regards to any matter. It's necessary to look at the problem from an objective point of view. And now, you are speculating subjectively! How are you even going to avenge your mother? Not only will you not be able to take any revenge, you would put yourself in danger!" Gu Hai stated in a calm voice.

"Why are preaching to me like my Grandfather? Hmph, I am not your son or daughter, you don't need to teach me!" Long Wanqing said sourly.

"Then let me ask you, do you know who killed your mother?" Gu Hai asked calmly.

"I don't know, so what?"

"You don't know, then how can you be sure that Li Haoran isn't the murderer? Because he saved you, or because you admire him?" Gu Hai countered indifferently.

"You!" Long Wanqing's fury had reached her limit.

"Anyone could be the murderer before the truth comes to the surface!" Gu Hai stated, calm and poised.

"It's none of your business! Let me go!" Long Wanqing shouted.

"Hall Lord, I'm sorry. I don't care about your business. However, I need you to wait for a moment. Once Grandmaster Liunian arrives, I will let you go. Please wait, just for a short while, okay?" Gu Hai continued calmly.

"You...you...you… Gu Hai, I will definitely make you, a madman, look good!" Long Wanqing stuttered in fury.

"I am not crazy, I just don't believe Li Haoran! Once Grandmaster Liunian is here, I will apologize to you," Gu Hai stated calmly.

"Hmph!" Long Wanqing let out an angry harrumph, helpless to do anything.

Gu Hai, holding Long Wanqing hostage, glared coldly at Li Haoran before him. "Commander Li, if you truly came here to protect Hall Lord, please step back, and wait for Grandmaster Liunian to arrive!"

Nonetheless, Li Haoran didn't step back. On the contrary, he coldly glared back at Gu Hai as the corner of his lips rose into a sneer. "Gu Hai, oh Gu Hai! Ever since I first heard about you from the Xiantian Endgame World, I hated your name! Only now did I find that you are even more annoying than your name!"

Li Haoran, instead of stepping back, stepped forward.

"Step back!" Gu Hai said, glaring at Li Haoran.

Li Haoran, wearing a sneer on his lips, said, "Do you dare to hurt Long Wanqing? Do you?"

Li Haoran took another step forward.

Gu Hai's face fell as he jumped back.

Still holding Long Wanqing hostage, Gu Hai retreated to another peak, as if he was scared.

In the distant, countless cultivators looked confused at the sight of this scene. What's going on? So strange!

Seeing Gu Hai retreat, Li Haoran, reaching out for a yard after taking an inch, stepped forward once more.

"You don't dare, you don't dare to harm Long Wanqing, am I right? You just said that you are repaying her! If you hurt Long Wanqing, then, it would be returning kindness with ingrat.i.tude. How can that be called repaying?" Li Haoran stated coldly, flying towards Gu Hai.

Gu Hai retreated once more, jumping to another peak.

"Let Long Wanqing go, otherwise, I won't be polite!" Li Haoran flew over once more, his tone getting colder.

Swiftly, Gu Hai retreated to a mountain valley.

"You already have no place to go anymore. Let Long Wanqing go, otherwise, I will bury you in this valley with just one finger!" Li Haoran said emotionlessly.

While speaking, he stretched one of his fingers out, a finger aura pointing straight at Gu Hai. It gave the impression that Gu Hai's head would be pierced in the blink of an eye, with just a flicker of thought!

"Gu Hai, let me go, you aren't Li Haoran's opponent!" Long Wanqing demanded anxiously.

"Hall Lord, did you notice? Li Haoran simply refused to step back for you!" Gu Hai said as a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Gu Hai, you don't have any more s.p.a.ce to step back. Since you so want to die, then don't blame me!" Li Haoran said coldly.

"Step back? You think I was retreating?" Gu Hai countered, his voice suddenly growing colder.

Suddenly, billowing clouds appeared out of nowhere behind Li Haoran, blanketing a few peaks in the vicinity in the blink of an eye.

"What?" A sliver of a surprise showed up on Long Wanqing's face.

Right then, she saw a Fang Tian Hua halberd swinging down from the cloud of mist behind Li Haoran.

"With such big strength, I can remove a mountain; With the lofty quality, I am matchless in the world!"

With a thunderous shout, the Fang Tian Hua halberd cut down directly with terrifying power!

"Be careful!" Long Wanqing cried out in shock.

Li Haoran's face also warped. It had never crossed his mind that someone would launch a sneak attack from behind him!

With a flip of his hand, the finger aura disappeared as a golden longsword appeared instead, which he swung up, greeting the strike from above.

WIth a thunderous bang, the golden sword and the Fang Tian Hua halberd collided with each other! Under the immense rebound, the valley started to shake fiercely as countless rocks flew into the air everywhere.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gu Hai quickly jumped to the edge.

"28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array?"

"No, isn't Gu Hai holding Long Wanqing hostage? Then, who is manning the grand array?"

"Why is there a 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array here?"...

Astonishment was clearly written on the faces of countless cultivators.

While the Fang Tian Hua halberd and the golden longsword were locked in a stalemate, two shares of dreadful auras fiercely clashed with each other, giving rise to storms again and again.

Inside the misty cloud, hundreds of Gu Hai's subordinates, with Shangguan Hen as the leader, protected Gu Qin at their center.

Gu Qin's hand was pressing on a weiqi board packed with spirit stones, a ferocious look on his face. Meanwhile, Gu Hai's subordinates were sending their True Qi into Gu Qin's body in turns.

"Father, your son didn't arrive late, did I?" Gu Qin shouted as he broke into laughter.

Gu Hai, holding Long Wanqing, made a long jump towards the grand array.

"You arrived just on time, sooner than I have expected!" Gu Hai answered, laughing as well.

"It's thanks to the flying s.h.i.+p!" Gu Qin replied.

"Hmph, your death is at hand and you still have time for nonsense?" Li Haoran let out a cold snort.

Right then, a dazzling golden brilliance bloomed from the golden longsword in his hand as his strength suddenly soared.

BOOM!

Under his tremendous strength, it seemed that the Fang Tian Hua halberd would be pushed back.

"Not good, father!" Gu Qin's countenance distorted in shock and horror as he cried out.

"Place the piece on the Tian Yuan position!" Gu Hai shouted aloud.

Tok! Gu Qin placed a piece inside the grand array...

"I am Xiang Yu, I am invincible! Argh!" Suddenly, a giant figure congealed inside the grand array!

The giant figure grabbed the Fang Tian Hua halberd and pushed down with its entire strength.

BOOM! Under a tremendous impact, the valley floor under Li Haoran's feet directly sank down from the pressure. The golden longsword was blocked!

"28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array?" Li Haoran's face was frigidly cold.

"Golden force, Break!" A golden brilliance suddenly tore out from Li Haoran, dyeing the entire sky in gold in the blink of an eye, like a rising sun.

BOOM! With a deafening thunderclap, the huge valley was blasted apart instantly. The peaks in the vicinity also shattered into countless pieces. Under this terrifying power, the Fang Tian Hua halberd was immediately smashed to pieces, together with the 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array!

"Ah!"

Gu Qin, Shangguan Hen, and the rest of Gu Hai's subordinates were sent flying by this terrifying power.

The grand array manned by a few hundred of Gu Hai's subordinates couldn't hold off even a single angry strike from Li Haoran!

With the array broken, everyone crashed down in the vicinity of Gu Hai, crying out in pain.

Li Haoran, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with anger, stared at Gu Hai in their center.

"Father, your son hasn't mastered the array sufficiently, I brought shame to father!" Gu Qin said, agonized over his failure.

"The 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array is just so-so!" Li Haoran stated. There was a disdainful look on his face.

Gu Hai's face turned ashen as he reached out towards the token, wanting to take out Li Qinghe's head. However, he didn't know whether Li Qinghe's head could deal with Li Haoran or not...

Suddenly, a voice rose from behind Li Haoran. "Just so-so? Then, you haven't seen the true 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array!"  

"Ninth Young Master!" Gu Hai's eyebrows twitched as an astounded look came over his face.

"Commander, be careful!" the distant Divine Battalion disciples cried in shock.

Once again, countless clouds rose behind Li Haoran out of nowhere. From these clouds, a peac.o.c.k plume congealed out of the clouds out of nowhere. As the peac.o.c.k plume swung by, two sets of storms rose on either side of it, giving out sharp screams. Upon hearing them, everyone's hearts skipped crazily.

"Under the azure plume, all law will be destroyed, CUT!"

The peac.o.c.k plume cut towards Li Haoran, accompanied by a bone-chilling voice!