Elder Gu gazed coldly at Gu Feng. His slightly weathered yet piercing eyes were entirely devoid of warmth at that moment, resembling a frozen winter pool.
"My true qi has entered your body. With just a single thought from me, you will burst apart and die. You had better be honest and explain everything clearly."
Gu Feng felt a chill run through his heart, sensing that things were turning sour. He hastily blurted out, "Grandfather, everything I've said is the truth! If you don't believe me, you can examine me yourself!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Gu furrowed his brows deeply, the originally smooth skin on his forehead creasing into wave-like wrinkles.
This matter was simply too bizarre. He would never believe that Gu Feng had cultivated to the Blood-Changing Realm in a mere three years—not even if it killed him.
Yet, what if this person was not Gu Feng at all, but someone in disguise?
What would their motive be then?
To assassinate him?
A Sixth-Rank practitioner was far too weak. Even with the advantage of a sneak attack, it would take at least someone of Rank 7 or above to have any chance of a successful assassination!
Although Gu Feng's attack had elements of a surprise assault, it certainly could not be classified as an assassination.
The methods were far too crude; he had never even heard of such an assassination technique, let alone witnessed one.
Moreover, Gu Feng's confident demeanor—inviting inspection without hesitation—did not look like someone posing as him.
Elder Gu's brows gradually knitted into the shape of the Chinese character for "river." In the end, he decided to take things one step at a time and inspect Gu Feng first before making a judgment.
First, the old man carefully checked Gu Feng's face for any traces of disguises or face-changing techniques.
Then, using a special technique, he examined every single bone throughout Gu Feng's entire body, ultimately confirming that Gu Feng's bone age was indeed only fifteen years old.
Once the bone age was verified, Elder Gu's expression shifted completely.
Disguising one's appearance was easy, but altering bone age was exceptionally difficult.
By now, it was practically certain that this was a genuine, fifteen-year-old prodigy of the Blood-Changing Realm.
Yet within the Taicang Kingdom, no faction would ever risk a prodigy of this caliber.
Therefore, even though he found it hard to believe that anyone could reach the Blood-Changing Realm in just three years, Gu Cheng could not help but harbor doubts and half-believe it now. Perhaps his grandson truly was a peerless prodigy like no other?
"Grandfather, you should believe me now, shouldn't you? I really am Xiaofeng, not some impostor. Besides, nobody would have any reason to specially disguise themselves as me." Gu Feng watched the old man sitting motionless in deep thought, and spoke up quickly.
Elder Gu reached out and helped Gu Feng straighten up from his semi-crouching posture. Though skepticism still lingered in his heart, his tone softened considerably as he frowned and said, "The facts are before us, so naturally I believe you. However, this matter is simply too bizarre, and there are still some things I don't quite understand. Could you explain them to me in detail?"
"Of course! Grandfather, you can ask whatever you want."
Elder Gu pulled Gu Feng by the hand over to sit together on chairs, then looked at him with a benevolent gaze and asked, "Can you tell Grandfather in detail how your cultivation advanced so rapidly?"
Gu Feng hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the truth.
"This matter starts from the time Divine Doctor Chen left. I had just recovered from a severe illness back then, and my parents had me follow the family tutor to study foundational knowledge. Shortly after I began, I found that I could understand the literary and rational principles taught by the tutor at a single glance, even being able to draw inferences about other things from one instance. As for martial arts cultivation, my progress was even more astonishing, breaking through five consecutive realms in a single year."
"What did you say? You broke through five realms in a single year?!"
Elder Gu could no longer maintain his calm expression. He suddenly stood up, staring intently at Gu Feng as his grayish-white beard trembled with his facial expressions.
After a moment, once Elder Gu had calmed down, Gu Feng nodded and affirmed, "It's true that I broke through five realms in a single year."
Having finally regained his composure, Gu Cheng sat back down in his chair. After listening to Gu Feng's words, he asked with a puzzled expression: "Since you broke through to the Blood-Changing Realm two years ago, why are you still in the Blood-Changing Realm now? Judging by the cultivation speed you mentioned, you shouldn't still be lingering in the Blood-Changing Realm at this point, should you?"
Gu Feng spread his hands and gave a helpless, wry smile. "After entering the Blood-Changing Realm, for some unknown reason, my advancement became extremely slow. It took me a full two years to successfully complete blood-changing just once."
"Have you investigated what caused this?" the old man asked hurriedly, sitting up straight involuntarily.
"I've been observing over the past two years, and I finally discovered that it isn't because my talent has deteriorated. Rather, my physique seems to be out of the ordinary; the energy I require for a single blood-changing is a dozen times that of an ordinary person. I have a premonition that once I complete all my blood changes, both my potential and combat prowess will far surpass cultivators of the same rank," Gu Feng guessed with a nod.
A sharp gleam flashed in the old man's eyes as he muttered to himself, "A different physique? Could it be a legendary special physique?"
"Special physique? Grandfather, what is a special physique?" Although the old man's muttered words were very soft, Gu Feng still heard them clearly.
"It's nothing. It's just that when Grandfather was young, I once heard that there are some people in this world who possess unique physical constitutions. Every single one of them is a one-in-a-ten-thousand prodigy with terrifying cultivation speed."
"Grandfather, do you mean to say that I am one of those special physiques?"
The old man smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I can't be certain either. These special physiques are simply too rare; even I have never witnessed one, and only chanced to hear someone mention it inadvertently. However, judging by your description, it indeed bears a striking resemblance to a special physique. Do not ever mention this matter of a special physique to anyone else in the future, lest you invite disaster."
Without waiting for Gu Feng to reply, the old man continued without pause: "Your purpose in coming to find me today must be to ask the family to provide resources for your cultivation, right?"
"As expected of Grandfather, you guessed it." Gu Feng's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise as he flattered him with a grinning smile.
Elder Gu didn't buy into that routine. His expression turned solemn and his tone grew stern. "Hmph! Why didn't you come sooner? You've wasted two whole years for nothing!"
Seeing that his grandfather seemed genuinely angry, Gu Feng stopped joking around and said earnestly, "There were still too many things I wasn't sure about beforehand. I wasn't certain if my talent had suddenly dropped, nor was I sure whether my cultivation speed would continue to slow down or speed up after breaking through the Blood-Changing Realm. That's why I didn't dare ask the family to throw all their resources into helping me cultivate. Fortunately, these past two years haven't been wasted; not only have I gained a deeper understanding of my own physique, but I've also mastered a Sixth-Rank martial skill."
Hearing this, Gu Cheng's expression finally improved somewhat, and he said to Gu Feng, "Grandfather knows your starting point was good, but whenever there are important matters in the future, you must discuss them together. If you had spoken up sooner, these problems might have already been resolved," the old man reprimanded.
"Grandfather, I understand."
Listening to his grandfather's words, every single one filled with deep affection and concern for him, Gu Feng could not help but stand up with a grateful expression. He cupped his hands before him, bowed deeply from the waist, and offered three respectful bows to his grandfather.
"You should head back first. I will handle the matter of the cultivation resources in the next few days. From now on, the Gu Family will take charge of all your cultivation resources." Gu Cheng nodded in satisfaction and spoke to Gu Feng with a smile.
"Grandfather, I will take my leave then." Gu Feng spoke as he walked toward the outside.
Inside the secret chamber, Gu Cheng sat alone in his chair, seemingly reminiscing about something.
After a long while, Gu Cheng let out a lingering sigh: "Decades have passed, and this is the only chance I've ever encountered."
"Master, I will definitely help you exact your revenge."
The old man's eyes were completely bloodshot, as if a raging fire was burning fiercely within them.