Chapter 133: The Gu King Sharpens His Blade

Who exactly were these people? Su Ye and the other two were startled, turning their heads toward the sound. Even Jiu Yaye, who had been lying on the ground, froze and hastily stood up in alarm.

In the distance, a group was approaching, holding torches that flickered fiercely in the strong sea wind. Although the wind blew strongly, the flames, ignited by some unknown material, stubbornly refused to go out.

"Still using torches?" Su Ye thought to himself. To be honest, they all came from a modern society where technology was inseparable, even amid an era of widespread martial cultivation. Even in the remote Fotianding village, electric generators were installed in the rivers, and every household had electric lights. Many of those who had come used modern cold flares or flashlights, but torches were extremely rare.

However, since this was Thunder City, a seemingly isolated illusion, the use of torches made sense.

Leading the group were several elders, weathered and dusty, their faces each carrying a different expression.

"Ah, there’s even a lightning-attracting pearl! Haha! After losing it for so many years, who would have thought we’d find it right here today," said one of them.

Su Ye disliked remaining passive. While discreetly counting, he noticed there were over twenty people. They showed no signs of releasing true energy, so it was hard to discern their martial ranks.

"Esteemed elders, our group accidentally fell into the sea and was stranded here. May I ask where this place is?" Su Ye asked solemnly.

"Hahaha, young man, why pretend ignorance? Aren’t you all here searching for Thunder City? Tell me, where are you from?" a tall man, over two meters in height, spoke loudly.

"The legendary Thunder City, naturally everyone wants to find it. It seems you are too. We come from Yang City and belong to the Martial Alliance. We were brought here by the Gu witches of Fotianding. My name is Su Ye. May I ask the names of the respected elders?" Su Ye knew some formalities were necessary among warriors, especially since friend or foe was still unknown.

"Yang City, Martial Alliance?" The tall man hesitated, clearly having heard of the Martial Alliance, then introduced himself: "I am Wu Bozhong, and this is my uncle, Wu Yan. Over twenty years ago, we also traveled to Yang City. In recent years, many of your people have come here."

Hearing this, Su Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief; the other side seemed reasonable.

Jiang Liuying chimed in, "Greetings, Elder Wu. I thought we might meet villains, but we’ve encountered such upright elders instead. We’re lucky! You said people from Yang City came three years ago? Perhaps we even know each other!"

"Heh, young lady, you have a sweet tongue. Rest assured, we came from Huaxia too, but once inside, no one leaves. If we killed everyone here, living alone would be meaningless," Wu Bozhong waved his hand, signaling his warriors to quickly scout the coast while continuing, "Those who came three years ago were much stronger—they brought the Thunder Veins! How many of you came this time?"

Su Ye’s heart stirred; he wanted to ask if the woman with the Thunder Veins was Luo Gui from the Yu family. If so, his greatest enemy was here! He could finally seek revenge, but also faced grave danger.

"We had over a hundred, but they fell into the sea and haven’t come ashore yet," Su Ye replied.

Wu Yan, who had been silent for some time, stepped forward, gazing toward the dark sea. "Over a hundred? If you meet the city slaves, surviving with half is already lucky."

Su Ye and Jiang Liuying exchanged worried glances, knowing the "city slaves" must be sea beasts. Their minds were full of concern for the Jiang family, still awaiting news of Jiang Ziyang.

Seizing the moment, Su Ye asked more about the legendary Thunder City—what allure drew so many warriors risking their lives to find it?

Wu Bozhong seemed unwilling to explain much. "This is Thunder City, but we can’t enter the true city within. What lies inside, we don’t know! No need to ask further. You’ll be here for most of your lives; there’s plenty of time to learn."

Su Ye found this puzzling—once inside, was it impossible to leave?

Before long, more warriors had climbed ashore. Cries for help came from many directions. Wu Bozhong scattered the Thunder City warriors to gather the survivors. Su Ye and Jiang Liuying, eager to find Jiang Ziyang and others, joined in the search. After a long while and many familiar faces from the Martial Alliance and Gu witches, Jiang Ziyang and Ouyang Yunfeng were nowhere to be found.

"Could something have happened to them?" Jiang Liuying panicked. If her father were gone, she feared she would collapse.

"Don’t worry! Their cultivation is high; they’ll be fine. Trust me," Su Ye said, forcing calm despite his own anxiety.

Eventually, on another shore, they found three Jiang family warriors and a soldier named Steel Reinforced. They were exhausted, lying weakly, except Steel Reinforced who remained alert and vigilant.

Jiang Liuying rushed over to question them, but the answers were unsatisfactory.

Steel Reinforced’s mind was as rigid as reinforced concrete: "Miss Jiang, the sea surface was too dangerous; we were scattered by the waves. We didn’t find the Jiang family head or Yunfeng."

"No news means they’re still alive. Maybe they’re resting on another shore," Su Ye said, fearing Jiang Liuying might recklessly go searching.

He suggested, "Let’s regroup with Elder Wu Bozhong and return with them. If the Jiang family head has come ashore, he’ll be with us."

Jiang Liuying looked at the dark sea and nodded. At this point, they were truly powerless.

By now, dozens had crawled ashore and Wu Bozhong gathered them.

He said loudly, "I know you have many questions. Come with me into the city! Right now, the ‘Gu King Sharpening His Blade’ still deters the city slaves. Once it stops, danger follows."

The group agreed.

Under the flickering torchlight, they followed the path leading to a massive city on the island.

Due to darkness, even with their best efforts, they could not see the city’s full extent.

Among the group were the Gu witches from Fotianding, including Miao Ba, who tidied his wet clothes and asked, "Brother Wu, what does ‘Gu King Sharpening His Blade’ mean? We Gu witches haven’t seen a Gu King for many years."

Wu Bozhong suddenly raised his voice, silencing everyone.

Sure enough, a chilling sound echoed from above—a sharp, grinding noise like a blade being sharpened.

All the Miao warriors were startled, as the sound was all too familiar. Their tribe chief required every warrior to sharpen their blades together every morning.

Ssss! Ssss!!

The harsh, bone-chilling sound descended from the sky.

Everyone listened in silence, trying to locate the source but found nothing.

"Who’s sharpening the blade? Could it really be the Gu King? Even we have never seen the Gu King," Miao Quan asked quietly. Even Gu witches had no contact with the Gu King, so why was there such a legend in Thunder City?

Wu Yan waved impatiently and urged them forward. "The Gu King sharpening his blade is nothing strange! We’ve been here many years and never seen him. Every month, there are three nights when the sharpening noise sounds. As long as no one kills during those nights, nothing happens."

"What if someone kills?" another asked.

"Hmph! Then the Gu King, having finished sharpening, will test his blade on you!" Wu Yan said coldly.

Everyone realized this “Gu King sharpening his blade” was likely a strange phenomenon or a restless spirit.

They said no more and walked on as the grinding noise intensified.

They imagined an invisible giant above them fiercely sharpening a blade, though unseen. Suddenly, a strange light rain fell—tiny in area, lasting less than a minute before stopping.

Wu Yan explained this was the Gu King washing the blade, which sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

Jiang Liuying grew fearful and clutched Su Ye’s arm tightly, nearly pressing against him.

Su Ye patted her pale arm to calm her and was struck by a strange thought that even he found odd: "Why does the Miao chief require all Miao warriors to sharpen their blades together? Does it relate to the Gu King sharpening his blade?"

After a short while, the grinding noise ceased.

They finally arrived before a massive ancient city.

Glowing objects hung on the city walls, illuminating the surroundings for the first time.

The city gave an illusion of an impregnable fortress, as if no force could chip even a fraction from the walls. Everyone looked up; the walls were as tall as thirty stories, impossible to climb by hand even for warriors.

"This is Thunder City?" many exclaimed. After so long searching, they had finally found the legendary city.

But soon they noticed the massive gates were tightly sealed, seemingly unopened for thousands of years—sealed so thoroughly that not even a crack existed.

"Come—everyone follow me, to the city tower! Enter the city!" someone shouted.

Su Ye looked and realized that “entering” meant climbing a special wooden scaffold by the side to scale the walls and sneak in.

Every warrior was eager to discover the city’s secrets and none hesitated. The scaffold was well-built like a staircase, allowing rapid ascent.

Su Ye finally climbed up and stood atop the city wall, at last seeing clearly the legendary Thunder City...