Chapter 346: Holy Sword, Third Rank Heavenly Position

Chapter 346 Holy Sword, Third Rank Heavenly Position

"I’m going to kill him myself!"

Gu An’s voice echoed through the great hall, and the flickering flames seemed to sway even more violently, as if they too had been startled by his words.

The Soul Master of Demon Punishment, whose shoulder was pinned by Gu An’s hand, felt a chill in his heart. Even with the Holy Prime Minister extending goodwill, the Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path still acted with such dominance—it was clear this man never forgot a grudge.

The Holy Prime Minister fell silent after hearing this.

Gu An wasn’t in a rush. He waited patiently for the Holy Prime Minister’s response.

He wasn’t blinded by hatred. He was using this opportunity to make clear to the Holy Court where his bottom line stood—and to show that his only target was the Great Ming Saint King.

“The Saint Kings of the Holy Court are highly respected. Even if one must die, it should be handled by the Holy Court itself.” The Holy Prime Minister’s tone had lost its earlier levity.

The Soul Master of Demon Punishment tensed. If these two started fighting, both he and the Heavenly Prison would be screwed.

Then the Holy Prime Minister changed tack. “If you’re willing to join the Holy Court, I’ll personally deliver the Great Ming Saint King to you. You won’t need to take on any fortune-ranking role—just join in name only. The Holy Court won’t assign you any duties, unless the Heavenly Spirit Great Realm faces total catastrophe.”

Join in name only?

Gu An immediately thought of the Immortal Dynasty. After all, they had tried to recruit him before.

With the Immortal Dynasty as a potential rival, it was understandable that the Holy Court would be cautious of someone with an unknown background.

Even if they didn’t know Gu An’s true identity, it didn’t matter. What mattered was letting the world know that the now-famous Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path had joined the Holy Court.

Gu An wasn’t opposed to joining. Without an allegiance, enemies would come from all sides. What he rejected was the fortune-based ranking.

“Fine,” Gu An replied with a single word.

The Holy Prime Minister raised his hand, and a golden command token flew toward Gu An. He lifted his right hand and caught it.

It was light—like a feather. Nearly twenty centimeters long and four fingers wide, its edges were carved with the body of a dragon. At the top were two fire phoenixes, talons interlocked in perfect symmetry. Beautifully crafted.

Three characters were engraved on the token: Holy Sword Three.

The Holy Prime Minister explained, “Holy Sword is the title I’ve given you. The ‘Three’ beneath it is your heavenly rank. Saint Kings are also ranked third class. A Divine Soul Immortal of your caliber deserves more, but since you refused a fortune rank, the Holy Court can’t fully trust you. I hope you understand.”

“This token is made from the same material as other Holy Orders, but I haven’t placed any additional restrictions on it—to avoid arousing your suspicion. It serves only one purpose: to show others your identity. The material is unique and can’t be replicated by other factions.”

Gu An thought to himself, So this guy had me pegged from the beginning?

Still, he had to admit, the Holy Court had serious clout. They had the power to back this kind of confidence.

Above the Saint Kings were the Saint Gods. If a Saint King could reach the Dao-Void Celestial Immortal Realm, then a Saint God reaching Divine Soul Immortal wasn’t impossible. And atop it all was the Holy Heaven—just thinking about it was intimidating.

Most importantly, the Holy Court didn’t just have high-level cultivators—they had them in terrifying numbers.

Now that Gu An had reached the Divine Soul Immortal stage, he could observe fortune flows. The Holy Court’s fortune was greater than the rest of the Heavenly Spirit Great Realm combined—including the Immortal Dynasty.

“From this moment on, you are the Holy Sword of the Holy Court. This title is made exclusively for you. The world will soon know it. I’ll have your Holy salary delivered to the Taicang Continent. You don’t need to visit the Holy Court. Are you satisfied?” the Holy Prime Minister asked.

“Of course. Thank you, Holy Prime Minister,” Gu An replied.

The Holy Prime Minister chuckled, “From now on, let’s call each other Dao friends. The Heavenly Prison doesn’t share in the Holy Court’s fortune, but it still serves the Court. If you don’t like this Warden, you can kill him. I’ll arrange for someone else.”

The Soul Master of Demon Punishment looked devastated. He begged, “Please, senior, spare me… senior…”

Gu An released his grip. The Soul Master dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly.

This once Free Soaring Immortal now looked utterly pathetic—nothing like the lofty cultivator he once was.

“Let him keep the job,” Gu An said casually.

The Holy Prime Minister smiled and transformed into a beam of golden light that shrank and vanished.

The Soul Master was overjoyed and kept kowtowing in gratitude.

“Take care of yourself.”

With those words, Gu An disappeared.

The Soul Master raised his head and saw that Gu An was gone. He exhaled deeply.

“Great Ming Saint King, your day has finally come!”

Just imagining the Saint King’s fate filled him with glee.

He was incredibly grateful to Gu An. It was clear the Holy Prime Minister had already discarded him, yet the Sword Sovereign had spared him. How could he not be grateful?

He silently swore to himself—he’d definitely curry favor with Gu An in the future.

This could be his chance!

Gu An returned to Xuan Valley, heading into the Eight Views Celestial Realm, where he sat beneath the Spirit Tree. He pulled out the Holy Token, deep in thought.

He’d already inspected it. No traps, not even a real magical artifact.

He had to admit, the Holy Prime Minister’s sincerity was undeniable.

Even if Gu An didn’t like the man before, the effort was enough to win him over. Someone who could rise to the position of Holy Prime Minister—there was no way that was just luck.

Still, Gu An had no intention of getting too close. Joining the Holy Court was simply to avoid unnecessary trouble.

That Divine Soul Immortal Stage, Ninth Level cultivation of the Holy Prime Minister did exert pressure on Gu An.

He didn’t want to test his combat prowess against someone at the same level. He preferred the simple strategy: high realm beats low realm.

Now he needed to start stockpiling lifespan, so he could reach the Ninth Heaven of the Immortal Dao as soon as possible!

Being weaker than others made him feel vulnerable.

With the Holy Court’s nature, who knew when they might turn against him? Gu An had to keep getting stronger.

The Spirit Tree seemed to sense his thoughts and extended two vines to gently knead his shoulders.

Gu An closed his eyes and began to relax.

Now it was just a matter of waiting for the Holy Prime Minister to deliver the Great Ming Saint King.

If he really did give him up, the Saint King wouldn’t go down without a fight. There would definitely be a good show to watch.

By the time night fell, Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley.

The autumn night sky was filled with stars—radiant, like a painting.

Standing below the building, Gu An gazed at the moon.

Long Qing ran over, arms wide open. “Pick me up!”

Gu An lifted him up with a smile. “Aren’t you too big to be carried like a baby? What happened to being a little man?”

The five-year-old Long Qing wore an exquisite blue robe. His adorable face and bright eyes were full of mischief.

Hearing that, he tugged at his lower eyelid and stuck out his tongue. “I don’t care! I want Master to hold me!”

Gu An couldn’t help pinching his little nose. Why does it feel like An Xin’s raised him with a girlish touch?

“Master, have you ever been to the stars?” Long Qing suddenly asked, pointing at the sky.

Gu An answered casually, “Nope. You want to go?”

“Yeah! I dreamed the other night that I was flying between the stars…” Long Qing said with wonder.

Gu An listened patiently while his mind drifted to Long Xin and Lu Qiuxian as children.

Chu Lu had a kid too—sadly, he was killed by the Black Profound Emperor when the baby was only one.

Though Gu An carried the memories, and could feel the emotions within them, he wasn’t trapped by them. After all, those past three lives were far removed from this current life.

He firmly believed that this version of himself was the true self. Reincarnation was just a method for gaining power.

He was the original. The others were just reflections.

Perhaps reaching certain realms required such reincarnation trials—like Ji Xuanyu.

As Gu An’s thoughts wandered, he suddenly sensed a Dao-Void Celestial Immortal aura erupting in the distance.

Focusing his gaze, he saw one fly out of the Holy Court, heading swiftly into the cosmos.

Then—a colossal hand stretched from the darkness above the universe, capturing the fleeing cultivator at lightning speed.

The Dao-Void Immortal had nearly reached the edge of the Oblivion Domain, just a step away from escape.

Gu An could tell—it was a Divine Sense projection.

The Holy Prime Minister!

The aura was unmistakably his, only stronger than before.

Once the giant hand caught its prey, it vanished—along with the Dao-Void Immortal.

Gu An noticed many powerful Divine Senses probing from within the Heavenly Spirit Great Realm, including ones from Divine Soul Immortals—only from two places: the Holy Court and the Immortal Dynasty.

As expected, many powerhouses still hid in this world.

Good thing I’ve avoided making too many enemies, Gu An thought. Every breakthrough I make is shielded by a lifespan barrier—otherwise, I’d be dead by now.

A Dao-Void Immortal getting publicly captured? Gu An was almost certain it was a calculated show of power by the Holy Prime Minister.

There was no way that guy could’ve escaped on his own.

Even Gu An felt wary—let alone those factions without a Dao-Void monster of their own.

Of course, only Mystic Celestial Immortals and above could truly perceive what happened. Free Soaring Immortals might feel the pressure but wouldn’t understand a thing.

Gu An retracted his Divine Sense and carried Long Qing upstairs.

Listening to the little guy talk about his dreams made him laugh.

An Xin rolling around on a star, the Ox Demon King brawling with a planet—it was all so ridiculous.

Five days later.

Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley from the Nianchu Cave Dwelling, in a great mood. He found Shen Xinzi and started chatting about Journey to the West.

Shen Xinzi already knew Gu An was the author, but Gu An insisted it was a tale he heard and rewrote from dreams—making Shen Xinzi revere the story even more.

Because of that, even when their interpretations differed, Shen Xinzi stood by his own view and even tried to convince Gu An.

They debated for a long time.

“You think you understand Journey to the West better than Pan An?” Gu An finally said.

Shen Xinzi didn’t even blink. “Pan An? He’s just a writer. What does he know about it?”

Gu An was so mad he gave him a thumbs-up. “Fine, you win!”

With that, he flung his sleeve and walked off.

Shen Xinzi remained unfazed and kept reading.

Gu An flew toward the Outer Sect City, sensing two powerful auras emerging on the continent’s edge—both from the Dao-Void Celestial Immortal realm.

One of them was the very cultivator the Holy Prime Minister had captured five days ago—now severely weakened.

Gu An hadn’t expected the Holy Prime Minister to move this fast.

So, the Great Ming Saint King had been delivered already.