Near the entrance to the palace of eternal love a interesting conversation was going on.
"There is two more weeks until the trial ends, how many couples do you think will make it here" a women asked.
"There should be a few, you know some will wait until the last minute to complete the trial. Some are aware of our plans, while others will be cautious. We will wait here for them, those rats have no right to compete against us. We have been carful to let all the bigwigs through first. Only the riff-raff should remain now" the man said.
"Right, I guess will just wait" she said as she gave him a suggestive wink.
Gu Zhi and Gu Xiao followed the road until they saw a huge city in the distance.
"That should be it... love city, after we reach it we should have completed the trial" Gu Xiao said.
"Let's go, perhaps all the other couples have already made it" Gu Zhi said.
Gu Zhi and Gu Xiao moved closer and closer until something unexpected happened.
They were almost in front of the city gates, the city had grasslands around it so visibility wasn't an issue. Because of this they rushed towards the gate as they saw they had a chance to finally complete this trial.
'I guess whatever scheme they hatched doesn't matter for now' Gu Zhi thought.
That was until an illusion broke just as they were getting close.
Like an invisible curtain that was lifted, Their surroundings suddenly had much more than just wild grasslands. From corner to corner there was suddenly people, and not just one or two couples. They were completely surrounded. From all sides there was so many people you couldn't count them all. There was a least more than thirty people. The illusion covered their make-shift camp by the road. Gu Zhi and Gu Xiao were caught completely unprepared by this sudden and clever ambush.
'I remember elder Ming said something about people dying to illusions, I didn't even realize how true that statement was. This clearly isn't the first time this strategy has been used, it's too good.'
As they were completely surrounded a man came out in front of the group looking like their leader. He had black hair, a pompous aura to him, and a striking sword attached to his hip.
"Surrender and we can make your death's quick and painless. If you fight we will make sure to make your deaths painful" he said.
"*Sigh* you would kill us for what? For simply and fairly looking for a better future for ourselves. You would kill us to merely have someone who is not you attain benefits you can't have? Is that why you put in all this effort?" Gu Zhi said.
The man had a cold look to him.
"Shut up pussy, a coward like you makes me sick. So what if I want you dead, you will be dead like a dog from my simple command. Let's see how far your words get you then."
The man then raised his hand about to give the order to kill.
"So be it" Gu Zhi said as he drew upon an emotion he hadn't felt in a very long time.
Gu Zhi was a very stoic man, he got sad, mad, happy just like everyone else, but he rarely showed it. Most of the time he quietly pressed forward calm, and steady. For panic never seemed to help, stress was never good for health, and worry was the doom of your mental state. So he always tried to remain calm, collected, not emotionless, but put together.
Now however with his life, and his wife's life at threat, from a pompous asshole who thought he ruled this world, Gu Zhi stopped holding back.
He let free his rage that was building up as he activated the one combat technique he knew... blood berserk.
Hot lava seemed to fill his veins as a rushing torrent of blood seemed to make him feel alive. Like a switch that was activated in his head his normal stoic personality changed to one of extrema focus and bloodlust. His heart beat like a roaring drum, his eyes bloodshot and full of intensity, as his muscles seemed to squirm and come alive under his skin.
Gu Xiao gave him a quick glance and a horrified expression appeared on her face. She knew exactly what he was doing, and what he was about to do. It was the reason for her horrified expression, she was not fearful towards Gu Zhi, but what he was about to do. She quickly made up her mind as she started casting a defensive spell immediately.
Seeing them prepare for battle the youth with black hair gave the lax command to kill the couple. He had seen many couples put up a last stand realizing that they would be killed regardless of what they did or said. The result was the same each time, even if they managed to injure or possibly kill one of his men or women, it didn't matter much to the group's overall strength. It was just one more couple that wouldn't make it to the next round of trials. That meant that it was one less person they had to compete with, one less couple they had to deal with after the palace of eternal love closes. The benefits were so high sometimes that many people made it their mission to not let others even have the chance to acquire it. In the world of cultivation if you could not have a treasure, then it was better to destroy it, sell it, or make sure no one else could get it.
That was exactly this groups purpose. A group made for the sole purpose to make sure others couldn't get any treasures. A group that was about to face an enraged Gu Zhi using blood berserk.