As the Patriarch looked around the room, his killing intent had become practically solid.
——–so someone had already planned this for a while to kill off my son.
The Patriarch’s gaze fell onto Gu Qing Shan.
This time, his gaze became truly gentle.
“I heard that it was you who saved the young master on the battlefield?” he asked.
“Not at all, it was actually the young master who saved me” Gu Qing Shan replied.
The Patriarch frowned in surprise.
He thought of a certain possibility, then gestured for Gu Qing Shan to continue.
Gu Qing Shan sincerely said: “The young master was a true force on the battlefield, killing numerous enemies by himself. But as we were outnumbered, surrounded by layers upon layers of monsters, everyone fell one by one, leaving the young master to fight alone against the enemy forces, only to be knocked unconscious at a moment of distraction——- I merely woke him up. When he noticed that the situation was not salvageable, the young master immediately used a teleportation technique to return and save this humble servant’s life”
The room fell silent.
All the Elders gave Gu Qing Shan a look of wonder, then turned to young master Zhang.
Young master Zhang was stunned.
I was clearly only there to have fun.
——-was I that brave?
However, he quickly understood the implications of that and subconsciously straightened his back, displaying a rebellious expression of a hero.
The Fei Yu Patriarch remained silent and paced around the hall. His expression displayed nothing, but he was silently delighted.
Once Gu Qing Shan’s words spread, the essence of the matter would change.
His son would turn from someone deceived to be on the battlefield into a fierce and formidable Combatant who was not afraid to stand at the frontlines.
Such a reputation was extremely crucial for an heir of an entire clan.
The Patriarch paused his steps and sternly declared:
“Regardless of how this idiotic son of mine performed on the battlefield, it was still thanks to a servant waking him up at the most crucial moment, otherwise he would have already died in battle!”
This was the conclusion.
This matter had been set in stone, which would then be publicly announced, slowly redeeming the young master’s reputation.
Gu Qing Shan lowered his head and stayed quiet.
Since the Patriarch had already made the tacit decision to use his version of the story, anything else he said about the matter would be like drawing legs while painting a snake.
The Patriarch turned to Gu Qing Shan, then pondered: “Our Fei Yu clan had always been partial, handing out punishments when punishment is due and rewards when a contribution had been made. As you’ve managed to escort the young master back to the clan, you’ve made a great contribution”
Madam Patriarch’s wife continued: “This is how it should be. Then, Li San, tell us what do you wish for as a reward?”
Everyone turned to Gu Qing Shan with complicated expressions and feelings.
It took this youngster a few words to accomplish what the Patriarch’s faction wished to achieve for a very long time, while at the same time ruining the long-term planning of many other factions.
Gu Qing Shan only clasped his fist and raised his voice: “This humble servant doesn’t wish for anything other than to join the clan’s School in order to further contribute to the sect”
——-this was a critical turning point.
Gu Qing Shan had also been pondering for a long while before he reached this decision.
To be chosen as the young master’s aide, this original identity must have undergone countless confirmations and testing, which would ensure authenticity.
Gu Qing Shan originally planned for this, disguising as a person whose identity couldn’t possibly be under suspicion and would easily be overlooked.
With a clean identity, he would slowly grow stronger, gradually win the trust of this world’s VIPs and organizations, infiltrate their upper brass to pry into the world’s deeper secrets, and learn more information.
——–in fact, even someone like young master Zhang only had half-baked knowledge about many things in this world.
Without reaching a certain level of strength, those in this world were not allowed to learn too many secrets.
But this rule was actually a form of protection.
That was why, after much consideration, the first step Gu Qing Shan wanted to take was to join the clan School.
The Fei Yu Patriarch silently listened and smiled.
“So you were a good man, but after joining the clan School, you would have to frequently brush up against death——- like your young master has always been, aren’t you afraid to die?”
“I am, but this humble servant desires to work for the sake of the clan, as this is this humble servant’s lifelong wish” Gu Qing Shan replied.
This was a standard answer.
In a situation like this, a standard and cookie-cutter answer like this was required.
He couldn’t answer something like ‘This Li San doesn’t even have a name, only after joining the School would I be qualified for a name’.
As servants, they were naturally taught a few things from the School, but only the most basic of basics, learnt for the sake of self-defense.
If they wanted to cultivate deeper and gain even more power, how unfortunate, but it was impossible.
Hearing his answer, the Patriarch pondered a bit before replying: “You are someone who has gone onto the battlefield, witnessing first-hand how the wraiths and monsters fight, while also participating in battle yourself. You certainly are suitable to join the clan School”
“Very well, what did you learn before?”
“I’ve only learnt a bit of archery and studied a bit of martial arts skill”
“Men! Bring Li San with you to the Fei Yu Tower of Heaven”
“Understood”
Another steward-looking person stood up and gestured for Gu Qing Shan to follow him.
Gu Qing Shan thanked the Patriarch again before following the steward outside.
As he walked through the door, the Patriarch’s voice resounded behind his back:
“Now, let us have a serious conversation. Who exactly was the one that pulled this stunt, convincing my son to brace the battlefield?”
“Anyone would like to speak up?”
“If you won’t give me an answer right now, once I discover the truth, don’t blame me for not holding back”
Intense killing intent erupted from the Patriarch filling the entire hall.
Bam!
The door was shut.
Gu Qing Shan and the steward exchanged glances and lightly sighed in relief.
The fact that they didn’t have to face the fury of the Patriarch and the storm that would follow was something to celebrate.
This time, Gu Qing Shan wasn’t acting.
As a cultivator who had reached Sumeru Lord realm, everyone here, including the Patriarch, was weaker than he was.
And yet, for some reason, he kept feeling a sense of danger, telling him that if he truly tried to use force, something terrible would occur.
Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but recall the people he killed in the underground cave system.
After everyone was killed, a bunch of shadowy figures appeared, manifesting as a terrifying monster that instantly approached me.
The people earlier weren’t particularly strong, but some sort of terrifying power was clearly hiding within that meeting hall.
It wasn’t power that belonged to them, rather from the void, or from another location. Through some sort of trigger or stimulation, it can form a connection with the current world and descend at a moment’s notice.
Not… human?
Gu Qing Shan slowly confirmed this sensation.
——–a lingering evil spirit seemed to be haunting the void of the meeting hall.
They knew that it was there.
And it could kill anyone who dares to defy the Patriarch.
That was why not a single person tried opening their mouth to speak.
None of them could endure the Patriarch’s fury.
“This is… very interesting…”
Gu Qing Shan silently kept this in mind.
A few moments later.
The steward had led Gu Qing Shan to the martial arts sparring ground.
“Have you learnt archery?”
“Yes”
“Show me a few shots”
Gu Qing Shan recalled young master Zhang’s memories, observed the dead young man’s level of archery, and started shooting.
He continuously shot for several dozens seconds in a row; the steward watched him for a while before calling for him to stop.
“Very decent. To be able to train archery to this level at such a young age, you can be considered to be quite talented” the steward said.
“I’ve been training my archery skills every day” Gu Qing Shan replied.
——–earlier, he performed just a bit above the dead young man’s level of archery.
This wouldn’t arouse too much suspicion but also displayed his value to them.
The steward pondered a bit, then said: “Li San, you must understand something first. If you fail to link your spirit within the Fei Yu Tower of Heaven, the only thing you can do in the clan School is to become a regular gatekeeper”
Gatekeeper.
Which is the keeper of the gate.
A regular gatekeeper.
Means keeping a regular gate.
For some reason, Gu Qing Shan felt a bit pressured and sincerely said: “Please teach me more, Uncle Zhang”
The steward called Uncle Zhang sighed and replied: “You are a smart kid who knows when to be flexible with the situation. From your archery, I can see that you’ve been working hard on your cultivation, but this matter cannot be taught in any way, you either can do it, or you can’t”
“Everything will depend on whether or not you can link your spirit. I’m merely telling you this ahead of time so that in the case you fail to link your spirit, you won’t feel too surprised”
He brought Gu Qing Shan into the deeper area of the manor and approached a heavily guarded tower
The tower was 5-story tall and looked completely unassuming from the outside.
But this was definitely the widely famous Fei Yu Tower of Heaven of the Eastern Desolate Grotto.
Uncle Zhang stepped in front of Gu Qing Shan and sternly said:
“Li San”
“I’m here” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“Remember well, you saved the young master and displayed an excellent understanding of what to and not to do, that’s why the Patriarch had especially appointed you to join the clan School”
“I will forever remember the Patriarch’s kindness; never will I cooperate or work with the shifty ones within the clan”
The steward nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and formed dozens of seals towards the tower.
After a few dozen seconds, he breathed heavily as he stepped back and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Alright, you may come in. Remember to pay respect on every floor, the spirit linked artifacts are placed on the first three floors, the higher you go, the more powerful the spirit linked artifact will be, but the fourth and fifth floor are both empty—— you don’t need to know any further than that”
“Now go, the artifact you can form a spirit link with will depend entirely on your luck”
“——-Definitely do not try to force what you cannot, otherwise, don’t blame me when you die”
“Thank you, Uncle Zhang” Gu Qing Shan replied, pushed the fate of the tower open, and entered.
After he took a few steps, the doors closed by themselves behind him.
Gu Qing Shan didn’t care too much about that and observed the various decorations within the tower.
The first floor of the tower had a podium on each of the cardinal directions, on which a leaf, a nail, a bone, and a ripped book were respectively enshrined.
Following Uncle Zhang’s words, Gu Qing Shan first bowed to the leaf.
A powerful force suddenly erupted from the leaf to push him away.
Gu Qing Shan was stunned.
Was I just rejected?
He then bowed to the ripped book.
A force also erupted from the book to push him several meters away.
The nail and the bone were the same.
——-how interesting, never could I imagine that incomplete items such as these would manage to push a Sumeru Lord realm cultivator like myself away!
Gu Qing Shan silently thought as he made his way up the stairs.
The second floor.
This place was separated into three regions and three podiums, the enshrined artifacts were respectively a rock, a floating drop of water, and a handful of soil.
Gu Qing Shan bowed to them, only to be pushed away again.
He begrudgingly made his way onto the third floor.
This floor was only separated into two regions, which respectively enshrined a piece of scale and a feather.
Gu Qing Shan observed the feather and tried recalling the corresponding information from young master Zhang’s memories.
Both the Fei Yu clan and School originated from this feather’s namesake.[1]
If I can resonate with this feather and even link my spirit with it, I’d surely obtain a powerful unique ability to accompany my archery.
Gu Qing Shan stepped forward and bowed to the feather.
He was immediately sent flying away.
This time, Gu Qing Shan silently muttered to himself.
——-could it be because I’m an outsider that I can’t form a spirit link with these strange objects?
He turned to the piece of scale.
This is my last hope, if I also fail here, I’d have to give up on the Li San identity and leave this place.
——-I came to investigate secrets, not to remain as a gatekeeper here for the rest of my life.
Gu Qing Shan took a deep breath, walked forward, and slightly bowed.
His feet had already stood separately from one another, preparing to deal with the incoming pushing force so that he wouldn’t lose his balance from the force being too strong.
Bow down.
Look up.
Stable.
Ah—-
I wasn’t pushed away this time?
As soon as that thought surfaced Gu Qing Shan’s mind, the entire world scattered in front of his eyes.
Some sort of great entity appeared in his vision from the boundless void of space.
This was an incomparably gigantic humanoid monster.
To be exact, it couldn’t be considered to be completely humanoid, because only its face could be faintly seen as human, while its lower body was that of an extremely long snake.
This was a legendary entity that should only exist in the myth of origin, so why did a projection of it suddenly manifest here?
While thinking that, Gu Qing Shan suddenly recalled a certain Divine Skill.
—-[Ethereal Mountain Break]![2]
Could it be, it was because I know this Divine Skill that I was able to resonate with this piece of scale?
He suddenly felt his arms becoming almost scorching hot.
The mystical natural runes were carved into his arms, flickering faintly as they gave off a mystical power.
Lines of glowing text quickly appeared on the War God UI:
[You’ve successfully resonated and formed a spirit link]
[You’ve become a Spirit Linked Combatant]
[The form of your spirit link is: Fist Techniques]
[1] Fei Yu literally translates to ‘flying feather’
[2] Previously translated as [Unbreakable Mountain Range] due to a severe misunderstanding from the translator’s side. As a reminder, this is a Martial Arts Divine Skill created by Xie Dao Ling that would grow stronger the more one became an expert in martial arts
