Gu Qing Shan stopped.
Finally, the other party couldn’t hold themselves back anymore.
“Fellow Dao seeker, what’s the matter?”
Gu Qing Shan looked at the other party and asked.
That cultivator held up his blade and said: “Earlier, you said that you cultivate the sword—– do you really think that any random person can cultivate swordsmanship? Draw your sword”
Gu Qing Shan replied: “Why should I draw my sword?”
“Because I suspect that you’re just spouting nonsense and haven’t practiced any swordsmanship at all, you’re arrogantly running your mouth” the blade-wielding cultivator said.
Gu Qing Shan replied: “But that doesn’t seem to concern you”
“I cultivate the path of the blade. The blade requires one to follow the heart, and what you did several days ago irks me, so I want to see if you’re a fraud and cheat, or if you are a man of true talents” the cultivator replied.
What Su Qing did several days ago?
Which matter?
Su Qing hadn’t mentioned a word about this.
Gu Qing Shan’s thoughts turned quickly before replying: “Follow the heart? So you’re saying that if someone irked you, you’d want them dead?”
“No need to weasel your way out of this, as long as you face me, I can naturally see through your background——- come, show me your sword” the cultivator declared.
Gu Qing Shan clasped his hands and remained silent.
What exactly is the situation here?
While he is giving off some killing intent, most of it feels more like anger and disdain.
Did Su Qing truly do something that cannot be forgiven?
Gu Qing Shan recalled Su Qing’s words before he left:
…
“This Su Qing doesn’t really have any deathly enemies, the reason that they’re framing me is simply to expel me from the academy”
“So if the other party seeks conflict, there’s no need to kill him, just help me teach him a lesson”
…
——no need to kill him, huh?
Gu Qing Shan wondered and asked: “Then, you want to fight me to the death?”
“With everyone here as witness, by our own abilities, we shall fight to the death” the cultivator replied.
He clapped his hand into the void of space, summoning a full suit of armor that scattered into components that wrapped around his body.
The cultivator swung his blade full of fighting spirit.
Seeing that, Gu Qing Shan hesitated.
——this place is a cultivation world, so I can’t use my swords. After all, there would be no way to explain any of the four sword’s backgrounds with Su Qing’s status.
Heaven, Earth, Chao Yin, and the Six Paths Great Mountain sword are all Divine Armaments.
Any of them can cause a great disturbance.
Furthermore…
Even as Su Qing was willing to stab himself with a dagger to cause others to think that the Elder forced him to death, he still insisted that I don’t kill the other party.
Could it be because the other party’s forces are so great that he was afraid there would be repeated retaliation if he committed murder?
That makes sense, since Su Qing will have to continue cultivating in the academy, he can’t keep getting involved in trouble.
But then, what exactly did Su Qing do a few days ago?
While Gu Qing Shan was pondering, the blade-wielding cultivator believed him to be fearful.
The blade-wielding cultivator grinned: “What? You dare to run your mouth without anything to back it up?”
This time, he was truly preparing to kill.
Sensing that, Gu Qing Shan’s gaze became focused.
Suddenly, the Dean’s voice sounded in his heart:
“You can fight him, and you can surrender, but you definitely cannot harm his life. His clan descends from heavenly beings, so if you kill him, that will be a great disaster, you will also be eliminated by the heavenly being”
“Furthermore, you were the one in the wrong during this matter, Su Qing, you know that better than anyone else”
In the wrong!
Gu Qing Shan’s mind became sharp.
The words of an academy’s Dean naturally hold weight.
It seems there are still hidden elements in this matter.
No wonder Su Qing insisted on not killing the other party despite how resolute he was.
With his decision made, Gu Qing Shan told the opposing blade-wielding cultivator: “We can simply spar, there’s no need for a deathmatch”
“Everyone knows that a deathmatch is the shortcut to improving a cultivator’s strength, or are you afraid?” the blade-wielding cultivator coldly said.
Gu Qing Shan shook his head and sighed: “Insisting on killing anyone that goes against your will won’t improve your cultivation at all; instead, as you kill more and more people, your killing heart will simply grow into a demon, tempting you into mindlessly killing living beings until the backlash eventually kill you”
The cultivator mocked: “Then try telling me, what kind of deathmatch would be able to improve one’s cultivation?”
Gu Qing Shan looked straight at him.
Something seemed to have happened in that instant.
Immediately, the blade-wielding cultivator felt a sudden warning of death, then found himself completely unable to move.
Shu!
Blood spilled from his forehead.
Gu Qing Shan’s voice explained:
“The blade dies for Dao, single-minded but undefeatable——- murder won’t improve your skills, only those who disregard one’s life to challenge cultivators stronger than oneself is truly walking the path to becoming strong faster”
Gu Qing Shan casually replied.
As the blade-wielding cultivator heard that, he slowly looked down at the armor he was wearing.
Following his gaze, the full set of armor broke off into pieces, fell to the ground, and crumbled into dust.
A gust of wind blew past.
The dust was blown away.
——-[Forgetting River Severance]!
Gu Qing Shan had finely controlled this Iris Sword Divine Skill so that it was significantly weaker and only briefly unleashed it, which resulted in this situation.
Watching the numerous sword marks on his body, the blade-wielding cultivator sighed.
If the other party wanted to kill him, he would have already been cut into pieces just now.
He looked at Gu Qing Shan and said: “An Iris Sword technique… no wonder I’ve never seen you practice the sword; did you complete this during your immersion in the Dao of mortals?”
“Indeed” Gu Qing Shan admitted.
The blade-wielding cultivator asked: “Why didn’t you kill me?”
Gu Qing Shan replied: “If I killed you, there would be people who came to take revenge for you, that would waste my cultivation time”
After a moment of silence, the blade-wielding cultivator asked: “You’re worried that you’ll waste time?”
“Indeed”
“So you were one immersed in Dao, now I know why you were able to maintain an undisturbed heart during the Dao of mortals”
After saying that, the blade-wielding cultivator leapt down the platform and left.
Gu Qing Shan stood on the ring and called out to the other party: “Hey, can we not just let it go?”
This statement was a hook.
Regardless of what Su Qing did before, after hearing this statement, they would equate it to the matter of a few days ago.
This way, Gu Qing Shan would receive more information.
——-furthermore, as long as this grudge is let go, Su Qing would be able to peacefully cultivate.
I now only need to teach him about the intricacies of those Star Techniques and I would have paid his favor back.
Two birds with one stone.
The cultivator stopped, then spoke without turning around: “If you were so powerful, you shouldn’t have hidden that fact before, causing others to misunderstand you”
“Furthermore, since you are still pristine, it’s clear that nothing happened between you and my younger sister during that night a few days ago, I would naturally not hold anything against you”
The blade-wielding cultivator turned around and judged Gu Qing Shan: “Your talents can also be considered to be the cream of the crop; I hope that you’d continue to cultivate yourself well. After ascending, you’d be able to become acquainted with her the proper way and not sneak around at night”
Gu Qing Shan froze.
So that was what it was…
This person came from the Jasper Pool.
So his sister would naturally also be a descendant of a heavenly being.
No wonder he was able to easily convince the Disciplinary Elder to openly deal with Su Qing and expel him from the academy.
——damn you, Su Qing!
So that’s the reason he was acting so meek, he knew exactly what he did!
Gu Qing Shan dispelled his internal killing intent, barely maintaining a smiling expression and awkwardly replied: “I know”
“Do your best to cultivate”
The cultivator nodded towards him, then disappeared without a trace.
…
Noon.
Gu Qing Shan was finally able to get a moment of freedom and slipped out of the academy while no one paid attention to him.
At a certain scenic building in the city, he found Su Qing.
“That person was a descendant of a heavenly being”
“That was the entire story. In the end, the academy Dean said that she hoped you’d be able to cultivate well and earn a good ranking in the Seven Institutes’ debate three days from now, then she’ll personally summon you again”
Gu Qing Shan handed him a jade tag and continued:
“Your issue has been dealt with. I’ll personally teach you several Star Techniques, their intricacies are written within the jade tag, so you need to quickly comprehend them, lest you’d expose this matter”
“And also, you had better not get involved with that person’s younger sister again for now, try again once you’ve ascended”
Su Qing received the jade tag, closed his eyes, then read through the jade tag once.
“So it was [Rising Typhoon Soars to Heaven]… I’ve been through so many years between life and death, never did I think that such a day would arrive”
Su Qing’s expression was complicated, his tone a bit strange.
Gu Qing Shan scowled.
This Su Qing seems to be hiding quite a few things.
But since he had specifically told me not to kill someone, it has at least proven that he knows his bottom line well.
Gu Qing Shan asked: “Fellow Dao seeker Su, it seems your suicide wasn’t simply due to being framed by someone, was it?”
Su Qing didn’t answer him and remained with a heavy expression.
——-alright, this is his own matter, if he doesn’t want to talk, why should I probe his secrets?
With that in mind, Gu Qing Shan continued: “Fellow Dao seeker Su, I still have something important I need to do, so I’ll be leaving first, farewell”
As he was about to leave, Su Qing caught his arm.
“Wait, fellow Dao seeker Gu, do you still remember what I said before?” Su Qing said.
Gu Qing Shan replied: “You said quite a lot of things”
“I once said that I would remember your help today and definitely repay you later” Su Qing replied.
Gu Qing Shan thought for a bit and quickly remembered.
At the time, when I said that I’d take his appearance and enter the academy, Su Qing did say that.
Gu Qing Shan chuckled and replied: “You’ve given me that fragment, that’s more than enough, there’s no need for you to repay anything”
Su Qing shook his head: “Fellow Dao seeker Gu, you actually came from the world outside of Kunlun, didn’t you?”
Gu Qing Shan stopped smiling.
“How did you know?” he asked.
Su Qing made an indiscernible expression and muttered: “Don’t worry, brother Gu, no one would be able to discover your identity. Only I would, and that was because I’ve continuously died, but you suddenly saved me”
Gu Qing Shan looked at Su Qing and signaled him to continue.
“Do you know why I researched the Early Death technique?” Su Qing asked.
“Why?” Gu Qing Shan asked in return.
“Because all of us cannot die. Every day, we would repeat the same fate without any exceptions”
“Brother Gu, take this, it will help you”
Su Qing secretly handed another jade tag to Gu Qing Shan, then continued: “Ever since an impossibly long time ago, I would have to commit suicide every day, become a ghost without a place to go, then watch everything within this Kunlun city repeat itself over and over, all the way until noon of the next day”
He looked up at the sky, then said: “It will be time soon, everything will reset, but you’ve already changed my future”
“I can finally die”
After saying so, Su Qing formed a hand seal.
The Earth Death technique.
His body collapsed, his soul abruptly flew towards the horizon and disappeared.
This time, he was truly dead.
Holding the jade tag, Gu Qing Shan was stunned.
All of a sudden, the sky became dark.
Time began to reserve itself.
