After hearing Gu He's words, Gu Qingfeng looked down at the vast clouds of smoke below the warship, his heart filled with shock for a long time.
His son was actually a peerless genius?
A gloomy look appeared on his face, and his eyes were filled with regret.
If he had been more tolerant of his son, Gu Chen would definitely not have ended up in exile in the wilderness.
Could it be that he had been wrong all along?
Seeing Gu Qingfeng's expression, Gu He sighed softly.
Everyone knew that Gu Ci, the son of the Northern Territory War King, was a genius. Not only did he advance to a rare class early, but he was also accepted into the Shangjing Academy.
But who knew how much resources Gu Qingfeng had invested in Gu Ci?
Only two kinds of people can advance to the Dragon Knight class: one with dragon bloodline, and the other with the blessing of the Dragon God.
Gu Ci did not have any dragon bloodline in his body. To ensure his successful advancement, the resources expended on him from childhood to adulthood almost equaled the annual military expenditure of the Northern Territory!
It's no exaggeration to say that if these resources were piled onto a pig, they could create a final boss with a million HP.
And what about Gu Chen?
From childhood to adulthood, the Gu family's investment in him only covered the cost of living there for a single month.
Comparing the two, who is the true peerless genius?
Sighing, Gu He continued, "Your Majesty, haven't you always thought that the eldest young master has fallen into depravity and is hopeless?"
Gu Qingfeng frowned slightly, "Why, is there another hidden story?"
"I found out that the eldest young master grew up in a farmer's family. He lived a hard life, suffered from hunger and poverty, and was often bullied by some powerful children. But despite this, his grades have always been very good." "
It was not until he entered high school that the farmer couple died one after another. The young master was left without anyone to rely on, and even basic living became a problem."
"So, the young master had no choice but to run around among the vendors. In order to earn a few hundred yuan a month, he even had to skip school to go out and work."
"We all thought he was neglecting his studies and blamed him for not making progress and being self-degrading, but we were wrong! It's not that he is not enterprising, but that he is unable to make progress!"
"You hated him for being self-degrading and neglecting his studies before?"
"He's not stupid. He knows better than anyone that as long as he studies hard now, even if he can't change jobs or enter a higher education institution in the future, he can still become a high-paid employee and live a better life."
"But he can't! Every day he goes to school means a day's less income, a day's hunger."
"The better life a few years from now is too far away for him. If he doesn't skip school to earn money, he'll probably starve to death in a week."
At this, Gu He's face showed a complex expression, a mixture of pathos and absurdity.
Gu Qingfeng's son, the eldest son of the Northern Territory royal family, had fallen to the point of nearly starving to death!
It was hard to imagine the suffering he had endured over the past eighteen years.
Silence.
Gu Qingfeng's expression froze, and he fell into an unspeakable silence.
Before, he hadn't understood how Gu Chen, with his cowardly character, could kill Li Renjie.
But now, he understood.
What would be the fate of a farmer's son targeted by Lincheng's most powerful family?
Suppressed, controlled, with no hope of success from now on.
The complete blockade of information on the Hell-level dungeon's completion, the scramble for admission, was a prime example.
Faced with such oppression, no matter how talented he was, he couldn't escape the Li family's control.
This left him with only two options:
submit to slavery and be content to be a lackey of the Li family.
Or renounce the Li family and fight to the death.
Clearly, Gu Chen chose the latter.
He wasn't using such extreme means to force anyone; he simply wanted to survive, to grasp the few gifts fate had bestowed upon him.
For him, simply staying alive was exhausting.
Gu Qingfeng took a deep breath, his heart trembling violently, as if pierced by thousands of needles.
He couldn't believe that for eighteen years, Gu Chen had lived a miserable existence in the cracks.
He had thought that hardship would be a test for Gu Chen, but he was wrong. Hardship was just hardship, not worth pursuing, and it wouldn't make Gu Chen any better.
No wonder Gu Chen chose to sever ties with the Gu family. At that moment, Gu Qingfeng realized his mistake.
Grief and indignation surged within him, and a rage suddenly rose from the depths of his heart.
"The Lincheng Li family, you dare to bully my son, Gu Qingfeng! I will annihilate your entire Li family!"
Gu Qingfeng turned to gaze at the misty sea of clouds beneath the warship, then towards Lincheng, his eyes radiating a chilling murderous intent.
"Gu He, inform the royal guards to annihilate the Li family, leaving no one alive!"
"Yes!"
Gu He received the order and immediately informed the guard commander.
The moment the message arrived, hundreds of royal guards stationed outside the Li family compound in Lincheng drew their razor-sharp swords and charged into the Li family manor.
Soon, every member of the Li family within the manor was slain. This was only a small fraction of the Li family; the majority had already fled deep into the wilderness.
But it didn't matter. They were all hunting Gu Chen, already on the kill list, with no escape possible.
This was the northern border. Anyone Gu Qingfeng wanted to kill couldn't escape, even if they had wings.
Deep in the wilderness.
Just as Lin Yuan and the others had guessed, although Gu Chen was heading towards Linyuan Pass, his destination was the Bone Burial Dungeon south of it.
"Brother Chen, look, if you keep going this way, you'll reach Linyuan Pass."
"Fifty years ago, the Abyss invaded that place, and it's now alien territory. Last year, five teams went in on missions, mostly Tier 4 warriors, and only three emerged alive."
A young man in a mage's robe, compass in hand, walked beside Gu Chen within the black fog.
His name was Xu Xia, whom Gu Chen had met at the Zhenyuan Army base.
Unlike the other professionals in the wilderness, Xu Xia wasn't there to kill aliens. He had arrived at the Zhenyuan Army base to search for a rare material.
This material, found only in the Tier 2 Abyss Bone Burial Dungeon, was essential for crafting Level 10 epic equipment.
Upon learning Xu Xia's desire to craft epic equipment, Gu Chen knew he had encountered another tycoon.
So, after learning that Gu Chen had cleared the Hell-level novice dungeon and received an SSS-level rating, Xu Xia generously offered 800,000 yuan and asked Gu Chen to take him to the Bone Burial Dungeon.
Xu Xia looked at the compass in his hand for a moment, then turned sideways and pointed to an area in the black fog.
"Brother Chen, that's the direction of the Bone Dungeon. If we walk, it will take at least three hours to get there."
Xu Xia said, snapping his fingers, and the dark silver ring on his ring finger flashed with a barely perceptible light.
The next second, the black fog before him surged, and a sleek dark blue sports car appeared on the ground next to him.
"But if you take my floating coupe, it will only take half an hour at most."
"Floating... coupe?"
Looking at the luxurious sports car in front of him, which looked like a dark blue beast, Gu Chen's mouth twitched slightly.
This car must cost at least tens of millions, right?
"By the way, what's your profession? Space Mage?"
"No, I failed to change my profession, so I'm just an ordinary person."