Chapter 17 – Departure
Four months quietly passed.
Day after day...
Li Tianyu followed the same routine.
Enter the battlefield.
Steal Gu worms.
Exchange them for low cost Gu.
Feed them to Ember Spark Gu.
The Dao Repository continued expanding.
Finally...
The required number had been gathered.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred Rank One Gu worms.
Li Tianyu slowly opened his eyes.
"Ember Spark Gu..."
"Deduce your Rank Two advancement recipe."
The tiny crimson ant emitted a brilliant crimson glow.
The countless Dao fragments stored within its Dao Repository ignited one after another.
A thought entered Li Tianyu's mind.
Deduction initiated.
Estimated completion time:
Two weeks.
Immediately afterward...
Ember Spark Gu entered dormancy.
Its aura rapidly weakened.
The crimson glow faded.
For the next two weeks...
It remained completely silent.
Li Tianyu simply continued entering the battlefield.
Stealing Gu worms.
Exchanging them for worthless ones.
Accumulating even more Dao fragments.
...
Two weeks later...
A brilliant crimson light erupted from within his aperture.
Ember Spark Gu slowly awakened.
The instant it regained consciousness...
An overwhelming torrent of knowledge flooded directly into Li Tianyu's mind.
The refinement materials.
The refinement sequence.
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Every successful variation.
Every possible point of failure.
Every minute detail.
Within moments...
Everything settled.
Without wasting any time...
Li Tianyu spent nearly all of his remaining primeval stones purchasing the required refinement materials.
One week later...
The refinement finally came to an end.
The crimson flames gradually subsided.
The tiny crimson ant had disappeared.
In its place...
Floated another crimson Gu.
Its body had grown considerably larger.
Its aura had become far more profound.
Tiny burning embers continuously drifted from its shell.
Rank Two—
Burning Ember Gu.
Li Tianyu slowly smiled.
His greatest foundation...
Had finally advanced.
...
Inside a rented House Gu...
Li Tianyu quietly sat in silence.
After a long while...
He slowly opened his eyes.
"I suppose..."
"It's time to leave."
During the past several months...
His gains had been astonishing.
If everything he had earned were converted into primeval stones...
It would exceed thirty million.
Most of that wealth, however...
Had already been transformed into Dao fragments through Ember Spark Gu.
Very little remained as actual primeval stones.
Even so...
Such wealth was theoretically enough to purchase several ordinary Rank Five Gu worms.
However...
Gu of that rank were rarely traded.
Even those wealthy enough often had nowhere to buy them.
The difficulty of refinement...
Combined with the constant shortage of Rank Four and Rank Five Gu...
Made them virtually priceless.
Yet...
Money itself wasn't the true problem.
The problem...
Was him.
A mere Rank One Gu Master.
Originally born with D-grade aptitude.
Who had somehow raised himself to A-grade.
Possessing seemingly inexhaustible primeval essence.
Repeatedly escaping Rank Two Gu Masters.
Stealing Gu worms one after another.
Never revealing the source of his inheritance.
Never revealing his master.
Never revealing the true nature of his killer moves.
Every mystery surrounding him only attracted more attention.
Meanwhile...
The beastmen had already placed a bounty upon his head.
One million primeval stones.
His reputation had spread throughout the battlefield.
Among humanity...
He had become a rising genius.
Among the beastmen...
He had become a thorn that had to be removed.
...
The war itself...
Had never been about hatred alone.
Territory.
Resources.
Resource points.
Future generations.
Every super clan poured enormous manpower and wealth into the battlefield.
Victory expanded humanity's territory.
Defeat surrendered precious lands to the variant humans.
The battlefield also served another purpose.
It tempered countless young Gu Masters.
Among them...
A handful would eventually become Gu Immortals.
Even more importantly...
Periods of war and chaos greatly increased the chances of Lifespan Gu appearing.
Because of that...
Neither side truly desired complete peace.
War...
Was itself a resource.
...
Li Tianyu slowly shook his head.
"I've already attracted enough attention."
Recently...
Whenever he joined a hunting squad...
He could clearly sense countless probing gazes.
Curiosity.
Greed.
Suspicion.
Officially...
No one questioned him.
He had become one of humanity's symbols upon this battlefield.
A talented thief path Gu Master who constantly weakened the enemy.
Openly targeting such a person...
Would severely damage the reputation of the righteous path.
But...
Li Tianyu understood human nature far too well.
Reputation could restrain greed.
It could never eliminate it.
Some people had already begun thinking...
What if they could recruit him?
What if they could control him?
What if those miraculous killer moves became their own?
Such thoughts...
Were becoming increasingly common.
Li Tianyu looked toward the newly refined Burning Ember Gu.
His expression gradually became solemn.
"Rank Two deductions..."
"Require Rank Two Dao fragments."
His previous methods...
Would no longer suffice.
To continue growing...
He would inevitably begin stealing Rank Two Gu worms.
The moment that happened...
Everything would change.
A Rank One repeatedly stealing Rank Two Gu...
Even the super clans would no longer remain indifferent.
Some would attempt to recruit him.
Others...
Would simply choose the easier option.
Control him.
Li Tianyu had no intention of gambling with his freedom.
Without hesitation...
He instructed Burning Ember Gu.
"Deduce a killer move capable of removing the battlefield mark."
The deduction required little time.
That very night...
Li Tianyu secretly activated several expendable Rank Three Gu worms.
He had purchased them at an exorbitant price from shady Gu Masters during his months on the battlefield.
Their purpose was simple.
Conceal his aura.
Disguise his appearance.
Disturb the deductions of Wisdom Path Gu Masters.
Each Gu worm could only be used once.
Its effect would last for a single week.
For Li Tianyu...
That was more than enough.
Only then...
Did he quietly depart from the battlefield camp.
No farewells.
No hesitation.
Only silence.
...
One week later...
Deep within an ordinary mountain forest...
Li Tianyu activated the newly deduced killer move.
The mark upon his wrist gradually faded.
Then...
It completely disappeared.
The battlefield formation...
Had finally lost track of him.
The expendable Rank Three Gu worms also reached the end of their lifespan.
One after another...
They crumbled into ashes.
____
That very day...
Inside the battlefield camp...
The door of Li Tianyu's rented House Gu was violently kicked open.
Several elders hurried inside.
The room...
Was completely empty.
No Gu worms.
No belongings.
No traces.
Only silence remained.
One elder's expression immediately darkened.
"Impossible..."
"The battlefield mark..."
"Has disappeared."
Another elder's face became extremely unsightly.
"Someone actually removed a mark created by our battlefield formation..."
For a long while...
No one spoke.
Finally...
An elder slowly sighed.
"He has fled."
Soon afterward...
An official announcement spread throughout the entire battlefield.
Li Tianyu...
Had deserted humanity's war against the variant humans.
From that day onward...
He was officially branded a demonic Gu Master.
Overnight...
The rising genius of the righteous path...
Became a wanted criminal throughout the Southern Border.