Chapter 228: Heavenly Tier Supreme

Xiao Qing sighed, then nodded at Gu Chen.

He then led the mercenary group's members to begin selecting spiritual artifacts.

They each chose spiritual artifacts suited to themselves, based on the spiritual artifacts they had previously selected in the Phantom Night Snow Fox Clan.

One for offense, one for defense; they complement each other perfectly.

However, they still exercised restraint, not opting for the highest‑grade spiritual artifacts possible.

After they finished selecting, Gu Chen gathered some cultivation resources he could use.

When Gu Han went to collect other resources, he had already told Gu Chen he could pick whatever he wanted.

But Gu Chen, having Jian Lao's help, wasn't especially eager for ordinary resources.

Gu Han looked at the piles of crystal iron ore, and his eyes lit up with bright enthusiasm.

"How can the He Family just pile these things here? Aren't they afraid of wasting storage space?"

Crystal iron ore's main use is for crafting and strengthening spiritual artifacts.

Normally, most people would consume all their crystal iron ore to boost immediate combat power.

It's uncommon for a family like the He's to let these resources flow out like this.

But for Gu Han, this is a great thing!

"Perfect; the stockpile of a proper family should be enough to upgrade my Dawn Dragon Roar Spear to a higher grade, right?"

To avoid drawing attention, Gu Han immediately stored all the piled‑up crystal iron ore into the system's storage space.

The Dawn Dragon Roar Spear also appeared in the storage space, beginning to devour the crystal iron ore as if starving.

At this moment, the Dawn Dragon Roar Spear felt as if it had been hungry for days and nights.

It started gobbling it up, and the spear's body blazed with even greater light.

During Gu Han's slaughter‑filled arrival at the He Manor, his Dawn Dragon Roar Spear had already devoured many evil spirits and spiritual artifacts.

Now, nourished by these crystal iron ores, the spear's aura surged suddenly.

"It's reached Heavenly Tier Supreme!"

Feeling the spear's destructive power rise another level, Gu Han was overcome with excitement he couldn't put into words.

But with a glance via his divine sense at the crystal iron ore piled beside the spear, he knew breaking through to King level was probably impossible.

"That's right; even a Martial King might not have a King‑level Combat Soldier, so making the spear breakthrough is no easy feat."

He let the Dawn Dragon Roar Spear finish devouring all the crystal iron ore.

Gu Han found it just as he imagined: aside from the light becoming deeper and more brilliant, its appearance hadn't changed much.

However, he could sense that the spear's spiritual wisdom had improved over before.

It could now engage in simple communication, rather than merely receiving one‑sided commands as before.

"Little Spear, can you rein in your light a bit?"

"Rein in?"

Hearing Gu Han's words, the Dawn Dragon Roar Spear flitted left and right in the storage space, and its light indeed faded considerably.

Although the spear still didn't look like an ordinary object, at least it was no longer as conspicuous as before.

Watching the spear flutter about like a newborn child in the storage space,

Gu Han watched it just as he would his own child, observing the spear, now endowed with childlike spiritual wisdom, dance about for a while.

He then withdrew his gaze and returned to the He Family's treasure vault.

At this moment, the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's members had each chosen their spiritual artifacts, donned their gear, and waited eagerly for Gu Han to speak.

Seeing Gu Han open his eyes, they all looked at him excitedly, eyes filled with admiration!

Over these past few days following Gu Han, the gains they've obtained likely surpass what they'd accumulated in the first several decades of their lives!

Even if Gu Han now told them to climb blades and plunge into flames,

they probably wouldn't even frown!

Gu Han glanced at Gu Chen, seated among a pile of cultivation resources.

Gu Chen was sitting cross‑legged in meditation, his brows furrowed, while the mountain of cultivation resources beside him had now lost a large chunk.

"Gu Chen, elder brother, is probably absorbing resources to break through his realm."

Gu Han quickly made that guess, though he couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile,

"but his ambition is too great—that's why Xiao Qing and the others have no ulterior motives."

"Otherwise, if we both were immersed in cultivation, once someone harbored ill intentions, our situation might not stay safe."

That said, Gu Han himself was merely projecting his divine sense into the storage space.

Even if Gu Chen fell asleep right then, the two of them would certainly not encounter danger.

However, Gu Han didn't know that Gu Chen also had a hidden ace up his sleeve.

Gu Chen was indeed rapidly consuming cultivation resources via the Nine Heavens Immortal Sword Technique.

But Jian Lao's consciousness had not been concealed.

If an enemy were to act rashly,

Gu Chen wouldn't even need to wake up; Jian Lao could dispose of the enemy for him!

All we can say is that each of them possesses a hidden trump card the other doesn't know about.

After Gu Han had gathered everything else, he stayed by Gu Chen's side to stand guard for a while.

After about the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from outside.

"Who dares to destroy my He Manor?!"

Immediately after, a feeling of earth‑shaking tremors came.

The members of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group only felt that the ground above their heads seemed as if it could collapse at any moment.

Everyone instantly trembled with fear, preparing to turn and run.

"Let's go quickly; if we don't leave now, we'll probably be buried alive here!"

But as they had just left the entrance of the treasure vault, they suppressed their inner fear, stopped, and looked toward Gu Han, who was still standing beside Gu Chen.

Xiao Qing said in a hurried, low voice,

"Gu little brother..."

Gu Han smiled, never expecting that in such a critical moment, the members of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group would still dare to risk danger and wait for them.

Even just a single inquiry already surpasses what too many people have done!

"You all leave first."

With Gu Han's strength, even if this underground tunnel truly collapsed, it could not bury him.

But these members of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group are different; they absolutely could not survive being buried alive.

As Gu Han's words fell, Gu Chen's palm rested on his shoulder.

"I'm done; let's go together."

Hearing Gu Chen's steady voice, Gu Han immediately gave a knowing smile.

"Alright, let's go together."

Gu Han immediately led everyone, rushing swiftly toward the surface.

Fortunately, perhaps because He Family's Family Head He Qintian worried that there might still be clansmen in the underground passage, he did not have the idea of directly destroying the underground passage.

After a moment, a group of nearly twenty people arrived at the ground above the He residence.

Immediately afterward, they saw the He Family's Family Head bearing surging anger.

The He Family's Family Head, arrogantly towering above the He residence.

He Qintian!