The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 180 The Greater the Pressure, the Less Pressure (Part 2)

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

Ever since Gu Fangchen made it onto the Little Heaven Ranking, the discussion among the younger generation has remained high.

Moreover, the unexpected outcome of the true and false princes further increased Gu Fangchen's own topicality.

If the Great Wei Dynasty had Weibo, then Gu Fangchen's name would probably have been trending at number one for a long time...

Regarding Gu Fangchen's sudden reversal in strength and public opinion, there are those who admire her, those who question her, and those who speculate about conspiracy theories.

The changes in the top ten of the Little Heaven Ranking were already a complex issue, and the fact that Gu Fangchen herself was controversial only added fuel to the fire.

What practitioners seek is either fame and fortune, or enlightenment.

Both of these can be achieved by climbing the rankings, both large and small. The former is self-explanatory, while the latter often involves finding targets on the rankings to challenge.

If someone is bold enough and confident in their own abilities, they might even challenge their way up the rankings.

Therefore, in the matter of Gu Fangchen's inclusion on the list, what has attracted much attention is not only Gu Fangchen himself, but also the attitudes of those who were pushed down by him.

Especially that unlucky guy who was originally in tenth place.

This unfortunate fellow, named Wang Mingzhi, happened to be the young prodigy of the Wang family of Jiangnan, with a cultivation level at the peak of the sixth rank. He had just surpassed Gu Lianxian and ranked tenth.

The Wang family is the second most powerful family after Dugu, and they should not be underestimated.

Compared to the immortal sects that claim territory but disdain associating with the common people, the development of aristocratic families is more down-to-earth. In terms of wealth, companions, laws, and land, they have perfected the two aspects of wealth and companions.

These powerful families control chambers of commerce, with countless restaurants and shops under their control, catering not only to ordinary people but also to cultivators.

Since it's a business, advertising is inevitable.

And the most suitable people to help with advertising are naturally the experts among the younger generation of their family.

If you mention where the sword he uses or the clothes he wears come from, a large number of people will immediately rush to imitate him.

Unfortunately, their family's hard power was indeed lacking.

The strongest among the younger generation, Dugu Xian, is only third on the Little Heaven Ranking, still below Xiao Yinghao and Gu Youren.

The Wang family only has one son, Wang Mingzhi, and despite all their efforts, he only managed to rank tenth.

It should be noted that when it comes to rankings, people only really remember the top ten.

We can't compete for the top three, but we have to hold onto tenth place, right?
As a result, Gu Fangchen suddenly appeared and pushed Wang Mingzhi down to eleventh place. Overnight, even the Wang family's business suffered a major blow.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents!

When the Wang family received the news, they almost immediately sided with Gu Yuandao and condemned Gu Fangchen, believing that he must have used pills or secret techniques to achieve such rapid progress in his cultivation.

He openly and covertly said that he had colluded with the evil cult and used its evil magic.

But not long after, it was revealed that Gu Yuandao was the one who colluded with the Demonic Sect, and he was even taken away by the Sage to reflect on his mistakes!
This time, the Wang family really shot themselves in the foot, and their business plummeted.

If the Wang family wants to turn things around, the only way is to defeat Gu Fangchen head-on and prove that he is all show and no substance.

Although cultivators may recognize other things, in the end they recognize strength.

If Wang Mingzhi's fist is strong enough, then all other factors become secondary...

However, the problem is that although Gu Fangchen's battle record is unknown, the near-first-grade sword in her hand is no fake!
There are even rumors that Gu Fangchen is actually a disciple of the Martial Saint, but this news was previously suppressed by the Prince's Mansion.

Martial Saint Ding Xingfeng appeared at the Ziji Hall on the day of the victory celebration to support his disciple!
As a result, Wang Mingzhi's chances of winning are even more dismal; even taking medication might not be enough...

Therefore, the Wang family, in a desperate move, decided to poison Gu Fangchen!

……

"How many are there now?"

The servants of the Dugu family were all talking amongst themselves, watching the martial arts arena in the center.

At the head of the table is Dugu Xia, the current head of the Dugu family, who is also Ning Caiyong's maternal uncle and Gu Fangchen's maternal uncle.

Sitting next to her was Ning Caiyong, who wore a veil and an elaborate red dress, exuding an air of elegance and nobility, and radiating a faint sense of authority in front of outsiders.

Although Ning Caiyong is a junior, as a princess, her status is equal to that of Dugu Xia.

Next to Ning Caiyong was Gu Fangchen, who had moved a chair over, was waving a folding fan, and was sitting in a very arrogant posture.

This is actually an illusion created by a "mirage".

However, ordinary illusions are not as vivid and lifelike.

Like the illusions of Lao Ding and Qing Jian that Gu Fangchen created at the Qionglin Banquet, they couldn't even speak, otherwise they would have been exposed very quickly.

To be on the safe side, Gu Fangchen left a wisp of his own divine will within this "mirage array," so that the illusion could also be controlled by his will and could be indistinguishable from himself.

As a sixth-grade master, separating his divine thoughts does not affect his physical body.

With his current spiritual strength, he is fully capable of multitasking.

However, this places higher demands on the "mirage array," as it is no longer a disposable item like before.

Therefore, Gu Fangchen chose a bracelet worn by Ning Caiyong as the object to which the "Mirage Array" would attach.

As the Princess Consort of Zhenbei, Ning Caiyong possessed mostly top-quality spellcasting materials.

Gu Fangchen engraved a "mirage array" on the bracelet, enhancing the intensity of the illusion and allowing it to carry a wisp of his divine thought.

The downside is that the illusion must stay by Ning Caiyong's side at all times. To outsiders, they are basically inseparable, and although they only live in the same courtyard, they still appear to be very close.

However, Gu Fangchen and Ning Caiyong were basically in the same situation before.

Before he was sixteen, he even often stayed in Ning Caiyong's courtyard.

Only in the last two years, due to repeated mistakes, have there been some estrangement between him and Ning Caiyong, and they are no longer as close.

To outsiders, this is simply further evidence of Gu Fangchen's previous concealment of her abilities.

The princess is probably also an accomplice in helping Gu Fangchen hide. She deliberately distanced herself from Gu Yuye to lower his guard. This girl is indeed very cunning!

No wonder he was able to fool the "Sage of War"!
Gu Fangchen narrowed her eyes and looked at the training ground in the middle.

Xuexiang, who was standing next to him, took a round fan and carefully fanned the prince, remembering to remind him not to touch the illusion's body.

To others, it seemed as if even Gu Fangchen's own personal maid was somewhat afraid of this guy, afraid of not serving him well enough. Even when fanning him, she had to be so careful with the force, afraid of being too strong or too weak!
Seated below were the younger generation of the Dugu family, including Dugu Yue and Dugu Zhuo.

Dugu Yue also held a folding fan, but the words on it were much better than Gu Fangchen's scrawled handwriting.

The inscription reads "Guangfeng Jiyue" (meaning "a clear breeze and a bright moon") and is accompanied by a painting of bamboo in ink, making it very elegant.

In addition, Dugu Yue's gentlemanly appearance and demeanor made everyone who saw him exclaim, "What a true gentleman!"

Dugu Yue glanced sideways at Gu Fangchen, especially at the fan in his hand, and a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes, which maintained a gentle smile.

They pretend to be cultured, but they're not willing to put in even the slightest effort.

This handwriting is worse than even the three-year-old child of the Dugu family!
Then look at the pretty girl next to him. She looks like she's been bullied by this guy a lot. She looks pitiful and has suffered a lot! I've heard that Gu Fangchen is ruthless and perverted when it comes to women. He doesn't know anything about cherishing women.

Zhu Xiuxiu, the most beautiful courtesan in Huangtian City's Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment venue), was originally redeemed by him and wanted to return to her hometown of Gushu.

Unexpectedly, Gu Fangchen was deliberately setting a trap. She caught up with Zhu Xiuxiu's carriage on the road, stopped it, and brought her along to continue treating her as her own. She is currently imprisoned in the room and not allowed to come out.

It's like a cat playing with a mouse.

Furthermore, his servants witnessed that when Zhu Xiuxiu got off Gu Fangchen's carriage, she was barely breathing and her body was as light as a feather. She seemed to have suffered a great shock and was so weak that she was completely disoriented and looked like she had just recovered from a serious illness.

This shows just how cruel Gu Fangchen really was!

Along the way, it's inevitable that those around you will suffer.

Such a pitiful little beauty... to fall into the hands of this prince is truly a waste of talent!

It's better to keep it in your own hands; at least you had some tender moments...

Those few from the Wang family can be a good opportunity to test this guy's true strength. If he's all bark and no bite, he's not as powerful as he seems in the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion here, where he can just do whatever he wants!
Dugu Yue's eyes darkened, and she just shook the fan in her hand, trying to shift her gaze, when she met Gu Fangchen's ambiguous smile.

"!"

He was startled and almost lost his composure.

how come? !

Isn't this guy a pure martial artist? Everyone knows he's a sixth-rank martial artist, so how could he sense the gaze of a fourth-rank divine being?

For cultivators of the Divine Path, who are at a higher level than cultivators of the Martial Path, their perception shielding is virtually all-encompassing and without any blind spots.

In their eyes, martial arts practitioners were no different from dumb geese with muscles.

No, it must be a coincidence...

Dugu Yue steadied himself and felt a slight sense of relief when he realized that Gu Fangchen had only glanced at him before turning away again.

He's overthinking it.

"The young master's subordinates are indeed full of talented people! Even a guard has such strength!"

Dugu Zhuo watched the two clashing in the martial arts arena, his eyes shining with amazement.

He wore a sword at his waist, indicating he was a sword cultivator, and naturally he was very interested in battles between other sword cultivators.

Especially when their combat skills are quite good.

In the past few days, cultivators from the Lesser Heavenly Ranking have been coming to Gu Fangchen's door, intending to make a name for themselves by challenging her.

In their view, although Gu Fangchen had the certification of the Eye of Heaven and possessed a precious sword, as a noble scion, she would likely cherish her reputation and not use it easily.

The public opinion previously released by the Wang family still has an impact, with many people still hoping that Gu Fangchen's cultivation level is due to drugs and evil magic.

—In a sense, they were not wrong, but they did not know what it meant to be strong enough to make a brick fly.

As long as the value is high enough, what does it matter whether the cultivation level is real or not?
But these speculators who wanted to gamble completely misunderstood the premise.

Gu Fangchen is currently an illusion and cannot be touched by anyone. Otherwise, once the illusion dissipates, others will be able to see at a glance that he is just a divine thought or concept.

Therefore, he has not accepted any challenge in the past two days.

According to him, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry is qualified to fight him; otherwise, wouldn't he, as the heir apparent, be disgraced?

To challenge him, you must first defeat his guards.

That is, Xu Zhenguan!

Therefore, Lao Xu has been the absolute MVP these past few days.

He can take on seven or eight fights a day, and the opponents are generally much stronger than him.

But this is nothing to a bodhisattva in adversity...

The greater the pressure, the faster his cultivation improves; the faster he improves, the higher his cultivation level, and the less pressure he faces.

When Xu Zhenguan first arrived in Gushu, he only had the cultivation level of the early seventh rank, and it was not very stable.

But now, in such an intense battle, he is already approaching the sixth rank!
A challenger of the seventh rank would not be able to exchange more than a few blows with him.

These people are generally ranked between 20 and 50 on the minor ranking list.

Only those ranked above 20 are considered to be of the sixth rank.

In other words, it is expected that Xu Zhenguan's name will appear on the minor imperial list in a few days.

Ding Xingfeng stood in the shadows, watching Xu Zhenguan defeat another challenger, and shook his head.

"What a fucking weirdo..."

Old Ding has probably gotten the hang of teaching Gu Fangchen these past few days, and seeing such a promising talent, he's given her a few pointers as well.

But soon, he was speechless.

Under normal teaching, Xu Zhenguan was simply a piece of rotten wood!
Even more outrageous than Gu Fangchen, who wasn't born at dusk or evening!

After trying a few times, Ding Xingfeng finally understood why this guy had been unknown before and could only work as a menial disciple in the Sword Pavilion.

I have no idea where Gu Fangchen came from to find such an oddball!
"Concession!"

Xu Zhenguan sheathed his longsword with a cold and solemn expression. He felt the bottleneck of the sixth rank loosening slightly, and he was overjoyed. He was even more grateful to Gu Fangchen.

The young master kept him here; he clearly wanted to train him!

It's not just about training his skills, but more importantly, training his mindset!

In the past few days, countless masters he once looked up to have become his defeated opponents, and the slight inferiority complex he once felt has gradually disappeared.

Just as the young master once said, he is becoming a true swordsman!

He deserves the precious sword the young master gave him!

The man opposite gritted his teeth, his face showing resentment, but in the end he still clasped his hands in a salute:
"Han Nan, ranked twenty-third on the Junior Heavenly Ranking, admits defeat!"

Then he slunk away.

Xu Zhenguan walked up behind Gu Fangchen and solemnly said:

"Sir, you have fulfilled your mission!"

Gu Fangchen nodded slightly, shook her fan, and said:
"Good job, you have lived up to my expectations. Keep up the good work."

Xu Zhenguan's face immediately lit up with joy:
"Thank you for the compliment, young master!"

The other members of the Dugu family stared wide-eyed, their expressions subtle, all feeling that Xu Zhenguan had been completely bewitched.

Such a casual remark, without any substantial reward, could actually make such a genius serve him?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I recommend a book by a close friend, *The Parasite of the Heavenly Demon* (a world-building novel similar to *Mortal Flow*, with an amber-themed setting, the Fourth Calamity, a micro-ensemble cast, and micro-behind-the-scenes elements). Check it out if you're interested! A brief introduction and link are below!
(End of this chapter)