Benefits of winning

"Well, that is good to hear," Chen Wei nods, still maintaining a simple smile on his face.

"I believe you all heard Huo Tie's words and do not disagree with his decision, correct?" Chen Wei asks as calmly as before to the other Gu Masters of the Huo Clan, who were now all conscious.

As he expected, none of them raised their voices to disagree or made any attempt to do so, even after several seconds of silence.

In fact, the only thing he could see in all of them was fear, varying in intensity. It was clear to his experienced eyes that none of them were at ease, due to the effect of the Lady's Torment Gu.

"...Good to know, as this will lead to a better outcome for everyone," Chen Wei says with satisfaction in his heart.

"I will inspect your apertures, and I hope you cooperate by using your will in your Gu to let me refine them instantly..."

"...unless you wish to deal with my Theft Path Gu, which does not tend to end well for Gu Masters in your positions." Despite his relaxed heart, he maintains an impassive expression and speaks in a dry tone.

He repeats this while looking at each one, making sure there would be no problems. To his great relief, he sees that their fear has not only not diminished but also given rise to despair.

Of course, this relief does not come from not having to take the lives of the Gu Masters, but from the great loss of Gu belonging to them that would definitely all be destroyed before their deaths, something he could do nothing about.

He would also lose a valuable hostage that he could use to extort more Gu and resources from the Huo Clan, which he would desperately need to feed his Gu and the primeval stones that would ensure he escapes his current state of absolute poverty in theory.

Chen Wei quickly shakes his head, clearing these trivial thoughts, and cautiously advances toward Huo Tie without daring to lower his guard as a fool might do carelessly.

Without saying another word, Chen Wei, still appearing ready to retreat or attack at any moment, carefully places his left hand on a specific point on the belly, just above the navel but below the ribs of Huo Tie, while his right hand is raised, ready to take his life with a fluid movement.

'This... I was really not disappointed!' Chen Wei exclaims in his heart when he sees the aperture of Huo Tie, worthy of a team leader.

He can see nine Gu swimming happily or floating in an almost infinite sea of rich primeval essence of a beautiful red color. Four of them emit an aura belonging to Rank 2, and the other five have an aura belonging to Rank 1.

Chen Wei quickly recognizes most of the Gu, starting with the famous Rank 2 Continuous Flame Gu, which is a auxiliary Gu, as it allows any Fire Path Gu to continuously fire flames with great fluidity and efficiency at only a quarter of the usual primeval essence cost if a Gu Master were to simply use their Gu nonstop.

Rank 2 Flame Demon Gu, which is generally used as a trump card, as it would turn into a flame demon that indiscriminately attacks everything—enemies or allies—after the Gu Master's death.

Rank 2 Last Flame Gu is known for being quite capable in obtaining information when a body is left as a clue, but unfortunately, there is no known recipe for refining it to Rank 3.

Finally, as he expected, he does not recognize the last Rank 2 Gu, which takes the form of a small flame serpent. He imagines this to be Huo Tie's vital Gu due to its similar aura.

"...The Gu in the shape of a flame serpent is unfamiliar to me... it must be your clan's unique Gu, correct? What is its name, uses, specifications, and details?" Chen Wei calmly asks, having already deduced the obvious reason why he does not recognize the Gu while he evaluates the Rank 1 Gu.

They are a Healing Burns Gu, which allows any flames, regardless of their origin, to heal the Gu Master instead of causing damage—a great combination of defense and healing for Gu Masters who use fire as their attack method.

Spark Gu, which allows creating a small spark with no combat capability that Chen Wei knows of, but given the Huo Clan's focus on the Fire Path, he imagines they have a use for it that may be related to strengthening the flames created by their clan's main Gu.

Desert Lotus Gu, a basic storage Gu widely used in the Southern Border for its low feeding cost and reasonable storage capacity.

Foot on Fire Gu, one of the most well-known movement Gu for many Gu Masters, used by a large number of Gu Masters throughout the Southern Border.

"It is the Rank 2 Fire Serpent Gu... and your deduction is correct..." Huo Tie replies after a while, his voice hoarse with hesitation. "...This Gu originates from our clan's main Gu, the Fire Shot Gu, which is why you do not recognize it."

Chen Wei nods and asks no further questions, as he does not intend to provoke Huo Tie into thinking he is betraying his clan, nor does he intend to actually use this Gu in any fight.

"Well, a unique artificial Gu... I would expect nothing less from a clan of this stature," Chen Wei says while using his will to instantly refine all the Gu without the slightest resistance from Huo Tie, who has a blank look on his face.

*Cough* *Cough*

Huo Tie coughs violently right after having his vital Gu refined by Chen Wei, who quickly moves to heal him.

"My deepest apologies for this... but unfortunately, there is no way to avoid the backlash after having one's vital Gu refined," Chen Wei says in a way that would make someone unaware of the situation even think he is a kind and concerned friend.

Without even caring about Huo Tie's response regarding his health, Chen Wei quickly reaches Huo Hei, who looks as pale as a ghost, appearing to be one step away from death.

Seeing his condition, Chen Wei realizes there is little to say and perhaps no way to communicate, so he simply heals him to a better state before starting to refine the Gu in his aperture, who lacks the ability to resist, not even by instinct.

The Gu he takes from him are the two Rank 2 Gu, Flame Spear Gu and Separate Flames Gu, and the Rank 1 Healing Burns Gu, Foot on Fire Gu, Heat Vision Gu, Desert Lotus Gu, and Fire Maker Gu.

'Hmm, I imagine this combination of Gu might be a standard for the Huo Clan...' Chen Wei places his hand on his chin while thinking, '...especially considering they have an entire mountain to themselves. Such a pattern is easy to create without an external competitor.'

'Besides, it's an efficient and versatile combination...'

To verify this thought, Chen Wei wastes no time and quickly begins to inspect and refine the Gu of all the Huo Clan Gu Masters, who, by this point, are too hopeless to even think about resisting.

As he expected, the basic pattern of Rank 1 Gu remained consistent for all the Huo Clan Gu Masters, even for those whose main path was not Fire.

Which, for Chen Wei, is great news, as it not only shows that he can now anticipate the combat abilities of the Huo Clan's Gu Masters but also that his experiences in dealing with them in this battle will be even more valuable in the future, given that their Gu and combat methods are standardized throughout the clan.

But, of course, there were also Gu belonging to Gu Masters who did not follow this pattern, as not all of the Huo Clan's Gu Masters are cultivators of the Fire Path. Additionally, it is natural that there are differences in combat methods and preferences, as well as wealth, resources, and fortuitous encounters that vary from one Gu Master to another, so their Gu sets would always vary somewhat.

Moreover, throughout the entire clan, there are Gu Masters who choose to go against the clan's norms—either due to personal talent for a different path, the luck of finding a heritage left by a Gu Master of the past, or because they specialize in a specific area of Gu usage that is in high demand within the clan.

This can be seen with Huo Lee, who, apart from a Desert Lotus Gu similar to the other Gu Masters of the Huo Clan, has entirely different Gu like: Rank 2 Scavenger Lizard Gu, Rank 2 Reptilian Regeneration Gu, and Rank 1 Lizard Scales, Rank 1 Lizard Feet, Rank 1 Burning Claws Gu, Rank 1 Sharp Teeth Gu, Rank 1 Disgusting Stomach Gu.

'Hmm, apart from the Reptilian Regeneration Gu, none of these Gu are particularly geat...'Chen Wei quickly thinks while walking slowly, '...but I'm not willing to turn into a lizard to use it also.'

This is due to two reasons: primarily because this transformation into a lizard would require Transformation Path Gu, which would conflict with his Blood Path methods.

The second reason is simply that, after looking at Huo Lee's face, which had been transformed by his Transformation Path Gu, Chen Wei wasn't willing to have that face that only a mother could love.

'Besides, the Disgusting Stomach Gu combined with the Scavenger Lizard Gu... Is this guy eating corpses or something similar to need these Gu?' Chen Wei shakes his head, trying to clear his mind and focus on the other Gu he has obtained.

Returning to the same logic as before, one of the reasons for a Gu Master to deviate from the clan's standard could also be that the clan's primary path does not have the capabilities the Gu Master needs for their type of combat.

A good example is Huo Tan, who focuses on a combat method that uses strong defense to be like an immovable force in front of enemy attacks.

But this type of defense is not achievable purely with the Fire Path, as can be seen from his set of Gu, which are almost all Earth Path Gu, at least partially.

These are Rank 2 Hard Magma Gu, Rank 2 Charcoal Armor, and Rank 1 Rock Fists, Rank 1 Mud Pit, and Rank 1 Unmoveble Dirt—all, without exception, Gu that, even when focused on offense, still have significant defensive properties and weight.

Of course, everything has exceptions, as the only Rank 2 Fire Path Gu he has is the Tracking Flame Gu, one of the best publicly known tracking Gu for the Fire Path in this era, and the Gu that Chen Wei imagines was used to track and follow him.

'Honestly, if he had any movement Gu suitable for his fighting style instead of the Foot on Fire Gu, he could have escaped...' Chen Wei reflects, looking at Huo Tan's helpless end.

'Perhaps a Fat Mole Gu or Ceaseless Digger Gu could have made that possible, but who knows...'

Chen Wei thinks as he casts his gaze over Huo Xue, who destroyed his Gu, perhaps out of instinct or because he believed all the clan members would die just like him.

Well, either way, it's already enough to make Chen Wei wish he had made a more painful cut on the young man, as denying him the benefits of his hard work is truly a petty act that leaves Chen Wei feeling helpless in his heart.

'At least he was the only one, and this gu master gave me the Rank 2 Miraculous Burns Gu, which is a great healing Gu, along with this Rank 2 Good Fire Gu...' Chen Wei hastens his steps towards the red lizard while thinking about Huo Hui's Gu. 'This Rank 1 Burning Vitality Gu might be even better than both if it were at Rank 2... ah, too bad I don't know the recipe to refine it to this rank.'

Chen Wei just shrugs since there isn't much he can do about it, as he doesn't imagine the Huo Clan would provide the recipe even if extorted with dedication, and he has things he needs more urgently to extort from them.

'And finally...' Chen Wei looks at the Gu he plans to begin actively cultivating in parallel with the Blood Path.

These are the Strength Path Gu of Huo Ni Ma, which for a long time was a path at the forefront of Chen Wei's mind as a future priority due to the Three Kings' Inheritance. Still, he never actively used Gu of this path because he wanted to avoid the strong conflicts that Strength Gu would have with the Blood Path, which has always been his focus.

But now, since he is heading straight for the Three Kings' Inheritance, he has already begun to adapt to this path in advance.

Of course, Chen Wei's original plan wasn't to use these Gu to carve Dao Marks of the Strength Path on his body now but rather to do it right before reaching the Three Kings' Inheritance.

However, the vital Gu he obtained from Huo Ni Ma made him change his mind, as, unlike his other Strength Path gu like the Rank 2 Strong Healing, which is not very impressive even among the Strength Path Gu, or the Rank 1 White Wolf Gu, Rank 1 Black Wolf Gu, and Rank 1 Wolf Speed Gu, which are among the most common and unimpressive combinations among any Strength Gu Masters, the Rank 2 Man's Might is different.

In fact, the moment he deduced that the young man had this Gu, he decided to obtain it to achieve a great initial advance in his cultivation in the Strength Path.

This is because it is one of the rare remaining Gu that makes Strength Path cultivation still prosperous in the lower ranks, to the point where it could even be considered a great treasure if it appeared in Fang Yuan's era!

'Well, it's time to get out of here...' Chen Wei quickly mounts the red lizard while placing the blood-bound bodies of the Huo Clan's Gu Masters right behind him.

'I imagine Mei'er must be worried waiting for me...' Chen Wei has a small, helpless smile on his face that quickly fades as the lizard starts running wildly, almost tripping as if it couldn't see what was in its path.

'And it probably can't see...' Chen Wei sighs in his heart as he guides the cross-eyed lizard, holding tightly to the reins.