Chapter 1397: In front of everyone

Violent?

Doesn’t hold back when killing people?

Hearing Gu Qing Shan, Su Qing couldn’t help but ask: “Fellow Dao seeker, may I ask your name?”

“Gu Qing Shan”

That’s an unfamiliar name.

…I haven’t heard of any new murderous demons popping up either.

Su Qing silently thought, then asked: “Fellow Dao seeker Gu, I saw that you were using a flying sword earlier, might you be a sword cultivator?”

“I am” Gu Qing Shan admitted.

Su Qing appeared to understand and nodded: “You sword cultivators are famous for being ready for a deathmatch as soon as you find something you don’t agree with, of course, no one would offend you, but I’m a technique cultivator, my expertise lies with creating new techniques, not with fighting. That’s why people bully me easily”

Gu Qing Shan chuckled.

Sword cultivators have a unified belief that the best method to resolve a problem is for others to shut up and pull back.

And there are many ways to force people to do such a thing.

The sword cultivator’s way just happens to be the most direct one.

He just didn’t think it would also be the same in this world.

Gu Qing Shan said: “Fellow Dao seeker Su, what do you plan on doing now? Tell me and I’ll help you come up with a solution”

Su Qing sighed, then explained: “Fellow Dao seeker Gu, I no longer intend to die as I heeded to your words, but I don’t have any way to resolve my current circ.u.mstances”

“What kind of circ.u.mstances? Being berated by the Elder?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

Su Qing replied: “Indeed. Right at dawn, the Disciplinary Elder will host an academy-wide meeting, where everyone at that the academy will be present, they will surely expel me from the academy”

Gu Qing Shan appeared serious and asked: “Who exactly was it that tried to frame you?”

“I’m not sure, I just know that they’re envious of me, and they have considerable force backing them” Su Qing replied.

“How are they related to the Disciplinary Elder?” Gu Qing Shan then asked.

“Who knows, I’ve never paid attention to such things before” Su Qing answered.

“Then, other than the Disciplinary Elder, what do the other elders think about this matter?” Gu Qing Shan asked again.

“I usually do nothing but focus all my effort in studying new techniques, how could I know such a thing?” Su Qing shook his head.

Gu Qing Shan’s mouth twitched, but ultimately decided not to say anything hurtful.

You don’t know anything.

How am I supposed to resolve that issue?

Gu Qing Shan silently sighed.

Su Qing then said: “Brother Gu, I also know that this is a very tough issue. Perhaps it’s best that I just die and redo everything in my next life, I’m definitely going to do better next time”

He raised his dagger again after saying that.

“Wait a moment” Gu Qing Shan stopped him.

The other party had given me a fragment of the Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword, and I’ve already offered to help him in return.

Furthermore, by infiltrating a cultivation zone, I’d be able to understand the circ.u.mstances of this world in the shortest time.

——-let’s think about this a bit more.

Gu Qing Shan pondered for a bit, then said: “Right now, the two of us are basically blind, we don’t know anything about anything, so that does make the situation tougher, but I do have one final solution…”

“What would that be?” Su Qing asked.

“To collect information on the spot, then deal with each problem as they come while knowing the full picture” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Su Qing wasn’t truly stupid, so he asked after thinking for a bit: “You mean, think of a solution right on the venue of my judgement?”

“Indeed, since it’s hosted for the specific purpose of kicking you out of the academy, a lot of things will be revealed right when it’s time for the finis.h.i.+ng strike” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Su Qing appeared troubled and replied: “I don’t think I’ll be able to handle that”

Gu Qing Shan looked at him from top to bottom and said: “You’re a cultivator focused on nothing but research, you’ve never paid any attention to these shady details, nor care to do so. Meanwhile, the other party had already prepared numerous means in order to kick you out from the academy, so you’d definitely not be able to handle it”

Recalling something, he appeared reminiscent and continued: “Furthermore, you’re used to playing around with flowers and gra.s.s, while you don’t hold any malicious intent through it, such behaviors are certainly p.r.o.ne to being criticized, this part is a bit like my senior brother—– hah, my senior brother is actually a good person, but he doesn’t like to cultivate—— very well, I’ll save you once”

“Then, what should I do?” Su Qing asked.

“Tell me the basic circ.u.mstances, I’ll take your place” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Su Qing froze, then finally spoke up again after a while: “You?”

“Hm, if you were to go, you’d come out either dead or heavily injured, so I’ll do it” Gu Qing Shan nodded.

“What… do you plan on doing?” Su Qing asked.

“How would I know? I don’t even know who framed you, so I’ll have to see when I’m there” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Su Qing looked at him, only to see a completely relaxed expression as if he was talking about going out to eat instead of being publicly condemned.

“Then… fellow Dao seeker Gu, I will remember your help today and definitely repay you later” Su Qing clenched his teeth before saying that.

…

In the middle of the endless wilderness, there was a huge city called Kunlun.

This city was truly huge, as Gu Qing Shan’s inner sight couldn’t even reach the edges of the city.

Aside from the city of Kunlun, there was also a palace in the sky called Jasper Pool.

The Jasper Pool palace was where all heavenly beings resided.

While mortals resided in Kunlun and are collectively referred to as the living beings of Kunlun.

If the living beings of Kunlun wanted to ascend, they could only spend their efforts to cultivate and display their talents above all the other mortals before they are granted a heavenly residence and were allowed to ascend.

This was the iron-clad rule of this world.

Even the descendants of a heavenly being of the Jasper Pool must descend into the mortal world and cultivate until they achieve the peak of their cultivation and reach a profound realm before they’re allowed to ascend once more.

There were seven academies in Kunlun city, which were respectively Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, Yaoguang[1]; which were all training grounds for the living beings of Kunlun.

At dawn.

Gu Qing Shan stood at the gate of the Jade Sight academy, silently recalling what Su Qing had explained to him.

At this point, he had fully taken on Su Qing’s appearance, his height, inner sight, and bloodline, not a single bit was different.

Looking at the jade talisman in his hand, he saw a few words:

[Magic – 5th place]

——this was Su Qing’s identification badge, representing his status among the technique cultivators of the Jade Sight academy.

Su Qing had joined the academy for a total of nine years.

To be able to reach the fifth overall position within nine years, he could be described as truly talented.

However, the reason why he was ranked too highly wasn’t due to his strength, but rather because he had achieved several breakthroughs upon the art of magic, making numerous things that even the Elders had no choice but to recognize as beyond their understanding.

For example, the Early Death technique.

To some of the academy’s elders, this technique had no value and even goes against the order of life, a blasphemy to Dao.

But Gu Qing Shan didn’t see it the same way.

He had been through many worlds, witnessing numerous abilities and spells, grasping the cultivation knowledge of numerous past worlds, so his discerning eyes were far beyond that of a normal person, which was why he was able to recognize how profound this technique was.

If viewed purely from the perspective of techniques, they would find that this Early Death technique had in fact broken the Laws of Life and Death, capable of allowing one to willingly die a bit earlier than they are supposed to.

It is, for all intents and purposes, an ability that allows one to gain control over one’s death.

Although it was completely useless in its current form, if this technique is further researched, it might be able to also give its user control so that they don’t die.

——-it would then become a technique that allows one to prolong their life by breaking the limits of Life and Death, a true Divine Skill.

The reason why Gu Qing Shan decided to help Su Qing was partly that he gave him a fragment of the Delimitation Divine Sword, but it was also because Su Qing’s circ.u.mstances were similar to his past life. Both of them were lonely people who became isolated, so he couldn’t help but feel obliged to help.

Gu Qing Shan held the jade talisman and silently waited.

It should be any moment now…

As he was thinking, the jade talisman abruptly lit up.

A solemn voice sounded from inside the jade talisman:

“All Elders and disciples, please proceed to the sparring ring. Today, the Disciplinary Elder will conduct a lecture on the academy’s rules and disciplines, at the same time, hand out the final verdict on technique cultivator, Su Qing’s matter”

This message was repeated three times before it stopped.

Following that, two middle-aged cultivators descended from above, landing in front of Gu Qing Shan.

“Tsk, Su Qing, while everyone is in the middle of cultivation, you went out into the wilderness for the entire night, you’ll get what’s coming for you today!”

“Let’s go, the Disciplinary Elder is waiting for you at the sparring ring!”

Declaring that, the two of them came up to escort Gu Qing Shan.

Gu Qing Shan didn’t resist and let them take him all the way towards the sparring ring.

Everyone had gathered around the stands; the entire student body and staff of the academy were here.

In front of everyone, Gu Qing Shan was pushed onto the sparring ring by the two escorts, causing him to roll on the ground before standing back up.

A series of jeers and mocking laughter could be heard from below.

It was only after the Elders glanced at everyone with a stern expression did these noises disappear.

Everything became silent.

Silent enough for the drop of a single pin to be heard

At this point, a solemn voice declared from above:

“Su Qing, do you know your crimes?”

Gu Qing Shan opened his eyes wide and spoke with an innocent expression: “My crimes? What crimes?”

The voice in the sky didn’t think he would react that way, so he scoffed and declared: “Your cultivation was stagnant, your behaviors are absurd, ruining the reputation of the academy—– even now, you still won’t admit?”

Gu Qing Shan took out his jade talisman and displayed it for everyone to see, then loudly called out: “This humble one is the 5th ranking technique cultivator in the entire academy; if stagnant cultivation is able to achieve this, what would that make the other cultivators?”

The voice in the sky spoke: “Your situation is——”

Gu Qing Shan cut him off and shouted again: “I’ll fight anyone who doesn’t think I deserve this status. Right here, right now, I’m going to prove that I’m in fact the number one in the entire Jade Sight academy!”

He pointed down at everyone, then continued: “Cease your schemes and plots, if you don’t agree with me, come up here and fight, I’ll beat you until you agree from the bottom of your hearts”

The entire academy became loud.

Everyone was so shocked that some of them even forgot to breathe.

The situation… seems to be completely different from the original intent!

This was supposed to be the verdict of him going against the academy’s discipline, so why did it suddenly turn into Su Qing wanting to beat up everyone?

He’s trying to flip the entire table!

Perhaps… he really does have something up his sleeves?

The sky above stayed silent for a bit.

And then.

The solemn voice from before became colder, once again resounding throughout the academy with dignity:

“Su Qing, you are always outside playing around with flowers and gra.s.s, having no drive to improve yourself at all, a disgrace to the academy! We don’t need you to spar with other disciples right now, we’re here first to make your disciplinary issues clear!”

Everyone turned to Su Qing.

As they say, the older the ginger, the stronger the taste, the Disciplinary Elder is resolutely not giving Su Qing any chance to rise up and deal with him where he stands.

——who cares what kind of fortuitous encounter you might have, or what kind of technique you’re hiding? He’s going to only consider the academy’s discipline and kick you out for going against it, what can you do?

Sure enough, Su Qing’s face turned red, temporarily unable to say anything.

“I want to know—— is the academy Dean present?” Su Qing loudly asked.

The voice in the sky replied: “Hmph, of course, the academy Dean is present, but the Dean will not be helping you with——-”

Gu Qing Shan cut the voice off again and loudly called out: “The Disciplinary Elder had bypa.s.sed investigations and openly suppressed this Su Qing before the Seven Inst.i.tutions’ debate. This Su Qing beg that the Dean will help me restore my honor for the sake of the academy itself”

“This Su Qing’s heart points at none other than Dao, my normal behaviors are to merely experience the Dao of mortals[2] to ponder my magic and sword techniques, I hope that the Dean can judge with an open eye!”

The entire school became silent again.

No one expected Su Qing to say such a thing.

Restore your honor?

Do you really think no one knows about the things you normally do?

Sword techniques?

Do you think sword techniques are things that you can joke about? If even you can draw your sword, do you think the sword cultivators sitting in the stands will remain still?

Everyone couldn’t help but become rowdy with discussions.

This time, not even the Elders can tell the disciples to remain still anymore.

The voice in the sky also stayed silent, seemingly pondering something.

Right now, no one could tell what kind of medicine Su Qing was selling in his gourd[3].

A few moments later.

Gu Qing Shan felt someone’s inner sight pa.s.sing through his body.

Suddenly, a gentle female voice suddenly sounded from the depths of the academy:

“This one had examined him. Su Qing’s body is still pristine, he had definitely not been guilty of playing around with flowers and gra.s.s, you all have mistaken”

[1] These are the names of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, which are respectively Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid

[2] Dao of mortals is a concept where after someone cultivates themselves for too long, they become detached from life and forget why they began cultivating in the first place, so they need to once again walk among mortals for a period of time. This is also an explanation why higher beings are sometimes found among normal people in myths and legends, it’s not to indulge themselves, but to cultivate themselves

[3] this is a Chinese proverb meaning someone’s intentions are unclear. Since gourds are usually opaque and empty, no one can tell what’s inside without first opening them