The golden gates slowly opened.
A man dressed in magnificent golden robes stepped out. His expression was arrogant, and his presence carried the dignity of someone who stood above countless others.
However, the moment he appeared, three figures immediately dropped to their knees.
"Lord, please forgive us!" they shouted in panic.
The golden-robed man frowned.
"What happened? Why are you apologizing?"
One of them hurriedly pointed toward Lord Gu Jen.
"Lord, it was him! He is the reason we—"
Before the man could finish speaking, the golden-robed lord followed his finger and looked in that direction.
The instant his eyes landed on Lord Gu Jen, his entire body froze.
His pupils contracted.
His face turned pale.
For a brief moment, he couldn't even believe what he was seeing.
Meanwhile, Lord Gu Jen simply glanced at him.
Then, with a faint smile, he winked one eye.
"Hey."
That single gesture was enough.
"AAAAHHHHHH!"
The golden-robed lord screamed and immediately turned around, fleeing at full speed.
His sudden reaction left everyone standing there in complete confusion.
The three men who had been kneeling slowly raised their heads and exchanged bewildered looks.
What just happened?
Their lord had only looked at that man for a second. Yet he had reacted as if he had just encountered the greatest calamity in existence!
One of them finally shouted, "Lord! Where are you going?!"
Another cried out, "Lord, please wait for us!"
But the golden-robed man didn't even turn his head.
"WAIT?! ARE YOU INSANE?! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
His terrified voice echoed through the surroundings as he continued running.
"You fools have absolutely no idea who that man is!"
The three men stared at one another.
"Who is he?"
The golden-robed lord's voice came from a distance, filled with fear.
"He is known throughout the Immortal World as the Immortal Slayer!"
"Countless immortals have perished beneath his sword. His name alone is enough to terrify powerful experts across the Immortal World!"
"And you three idiots actually expected me to fight him?! Do you want me to throw my life away?!"
Having said that, he accelerated even further.
He had no intention of looking back.
To him, escaping with his life was far more important than his dignity!
However, what happened next would shatter his last hope.
### The Desperate Escape
Moments later, the golden-robed lord finally entered a vast region of distorted space.
There was nothing around him except endless darkness and strange spatial currents.
He stopped and looked behind himself, breathing heavily.
"Finally… I think I've escaped."
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.
"That monster shouldn't be following me anymore, right?"
But just as he began to calm down, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Who said I wasn't following you?"
The golden-robed lord's body stiffened.
Slowly, he turned around.
And there—
Lord Gu Jen stood directly behind him.
For several seconds, the golden-robed lord couldn't even breathe properly.
His legs trembled, and his face lost every trace of color.
How?!
How did he get here before me? I was moving at full speed!
Was the distance between us nothing more than a joke to him?!
Lord Gu Jen looked at him with an indifferent expression.
"Why did you run? Weren't you planning to fight me?"
The golden-robed lord nearly collapsed.
"N-No! Great Lord, please forgive me!"
He immediately fell to his knees and repeatedly lowered his head.
"I didn't know! I genuinely didn't know who you were! If I had known your identity, I would never have dared to offend you!"
Lord Gu Jen tilted his head slightly.
"Oh?"
He folded his arms.
"And what exactly do you think you know about me now?"
The golden-robed lord swallowed nervously before speaking.
"Great Lord, I now understand! You must be an ancestor of that mysterious family! I never imagined that a family in the Lower World could possess an expert of your caliber!"
He hurriedly continued, hoping to save his life.
"Your strength must place you among the very highest ranks of that family! Surely, someone as powerful as you must be its strongest ancestor!"
For a moment, the spatial region fell silent.
Then Lord Gu Jen burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
His laughter echoed through the endless darkness.
The golden-robed lord looked confused.
Did I say something wrong?
Lord Gu Jen finally stopped laughing and looked down at him.
"Strongest?"
He shook his head with an amused smile.
"What an interesting assumption."
The golden-robed lord's heart sank.
Lord Gu Jen continued casually, as though he were discussing something completely ordinary.
"Do you really think I'm the strongest in the Die Family?"
The golden-robed lord stared at him.
"Y-You mean… you're not?"
Lord Gu Jen smiled.
"Of course not."
He raised one finger.
"Within the Die Family, my rank is Sixth Ancestor."
The golden-robed lord's expression froze.
"Sixth… Ancestor?"
Lord Gu Jen nodded.
"That's right. I'm only the sixth strongest ancestor of the Die Family."
BOOM!
The words exploded inside the golden-robed lord's mind.
His face turned deathly pale, and his eyes widened with disbelief.
Only the sixth strongest?!
This monster, whose name alone is enough to terrify the Immortal World, isn't even the strongest in his family?!
His lips trembled as he struggled to process the information.
Then what about the fifth ancestor? The fourth? The third? The second?
And the First Ancestor…?
A terrifying possibility suddenly entered his mind.
Could the strongest experts of the Die Family have already reached the Great Emperor Realm?
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
He had always believed that the Lower World was merely a place inhabited by weak cultivators, a world that the Immortal World could look down upon.
But now, standing before Lord Gu Jen, he realized how foolish that belief had been.
The Die Family wasn't merely powerful.
It was a monster among monsters.
And Lord Gu Jen—the terrifying Immortal Slayer—was only their Sixth Ancestor.
The golden-robed lord lowered his head even further, trembling uncontrollably.
I've offended a member of a family whose true strength I can't even begin to imagine…
Just how terrifying is the Die Family?
Lord Gu Jen looked at the trembling man and smiled faintly.
"Now then…"
His voice suddenly became colder.
"Since you've learned a little about the Die Family, shall we discuss what you did earlier?"
The golden-robed lord's soul nearly left his body.
"G-Great Lord… please, let me explain!"
Lord Gu Jen took one slow step forward.
"I'm listening."