Through the sea continuing downwards, there was a city.
This city belonged to the School of Shan Hai.
After 30 minutes, Gu Qing Shan had gone through numerous layers of testing to stand in front of this famous Schoolâs VIPs.
âIs he that child?â a man with a long beard wearing a white coat asked.
âIndeed, Extinguishing Saintly Hands sir, after all of our tests, his identity had been confirmed beyond any doubtâ Li Qiu Yu replied.
âI heard that you gave him a name, Li Qiu Shan?â Thousand Saints Blade Venerateâââ as well as Li Qiu Yuâs big brother, Li Chun Dao asked.
âThatâs rightâ Li Qiu Yu replied.
âIsnât that a bit hasty?â Li Chun Dao appeared full of complaints.
ââsister, why did you suddenly take in a little brother?
âIt was after careful considerations that I granted him a name, and he also agreedâ Li Qiu Yu didnât care to hear his complaints, instead, staring straight at her brother and glared back at him.
Brother, you donât know just how good this kidâs cookingââ no, I meanââ- how excellent his spirit linking talents were.
While the pair of brother and sister talked through their eyes, another man with a sword on his back looked at Gu Qing Shan and asked: âChild, I want to ask you. When you were at the School of Fei Yu, why did you suddenly tell Zhao Qiong to kill Steward Liu?â
Gu Qing Shan had already noticed his man beforehand.
He was also a swordsman, he gave off quite a considerable presence, and the sword on his back didnât seem to be a normal item either.
There were three kinds of Combatants in the Tomb of Myriad Beasts: Bone Masters, Spirit Linked Martial Artists, and Weapon Wielders.
This man is most likely a Weapon Wielder.
Gu Qing Shan immediately felt itchy, wanting to spar with him and feel the extent of his swordsmanship.
But it was not the time for that yet.
He slightly lowered his head and replied with a slightly trembling voice: âBecause in our School of Fei Yu, only the Patriarch and the Elders were qualified to open the secret room, but since Steward Liu was the one who arrived, something must have happenedâ
âJust because of that?â the man continued to ask.
Gu Qing Shan continued: âAnd also, as far as I can remember, the cherry blossom forest of our School of Fei Yu had never had fog in the middle of the night, but when Steward Liu opened the door, fog immediately poured in, so the situation outside must have been extremely uniqueâ
That man said: âThen, you noticed two points of discrepancy?â
âYes, I felt that was more than enoughâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
The man praised: âHm, how very sharp, no wonder you managed to survive and return from the battlefieldâ
At this point, the conversation was over.
All of a sudden, an elusive female voice sounded: âLi Qiu Shan, have you felt any changes recently?â
From the void of space, a woman wearing a crimson robe descended from above, standing in the middle of everyone.
She was extremely pretty, her eyes were like the reflections of moonlight in a deep bog, her lips a healthy pink on top of a snowy complexion, her hair long and flowing as a waterfall, there was a faint glint of a star in between her eyebrows.
Li Qiu Yu pulled on Gu Qing Shanâs sleeves and gestured with her eyes for him to quickly bow.
Everyone quickly bowed to greet her: âGreetings, Deanâ
Seeing this reaction, how could Gu Qing Shan not recognize who this was?
This woman was the Dean of the School of Shan Hai, a legendary character in all the 8 Grottos of the world, Shan Hai Qi Xia.
Gu Qing Shan respectfully bowed: âYes there were, a few strange runes had appeared on my armâ
Everyone turned to his arm but didnât see anything.
âWhen did you notice this?â Shan Hai Qi Xia asked again.
âIn the past, I had practiced some fist techniques and archery, which I recently did again during my free time. After that, the runes appearedâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
This was all true, so this was immune to lie detection.
Gu Qing Shan then made a gesture to throw a punch.
Faint rune patterns then appeared on his arms.
Everyone was speechless.
âThatâs a bit too arbitraryâ the sword wielding man sighed.
âThatâs right, that is a bit too arbitrary, is it that simple to become a Spirit Linked Martial Artist?â Li Chun Dao agreed, then asked.
The long-bearded man in a white coat replied: âNot at all. I had to undergo many processes at the time: I had to bathe, fast, light an incense and coat my fists with numerous secret medicine; after that, I recited various martial scriptures for three whole days before I managed to activate my Spirit Linked Extinguishing fistsâ
An old man added: âThis old man had only seen one other person like this throughout my entire lifeâ
âWho?â Shan Hai Qi Xia asked.
âDean, it was the founder of our School of Shan Hai, your fatherâ the old man replied.
âRegretfully, he lost his life in the great tombâ Shan Hai Qi Xia was a bit sorrowful.
Everyone turned to Gu Qing Shan.
Such a young man... does he really have that level of terrifying talents?
Or perhaps, the power he formed a spirit link with had already surpassed the understanding of this world?
The atmosphere became a bit sensitive.
After a few moments, Shan Hai Qi Xia said: âLi Qiu Shan, as you currently are, you have formally become a Spirit Linked Martial Artistâ
âHuh, then what should I do now?â Gu Qing Shan asked, still a bit clueless.
Shan Hai Qi Xia put her pure white jade palm up in front of herself and said: âCome, use your Spirit Linked fist technique to strike me onceâ
âBut senior Zhao said that I might attract an Apocalypseâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
âItâs ok, all of us are here, thereâs no need for you to fearâ Shan Hai Qi Xia replied.
Gu Qing Shan walked forward and threw a punch at her palm.
ââother than a curt sound of a hit, there were no other changes.
Everyone was a bit disappointed.
âVery well, it seems that no powers have manifested yet, let us confirm it later onâ Shan Hai Qi Xia said.
Gu Qing Shan pondered for a bit, then felt like he didnât need to hide his strength, or act like a young teenager who doesnât understand anything any longer, so he simply told them straight: âThis Spirit Linked fist technique seemed to be triggered by a second strikeâ
Li Qiu Yu immediately reminded him: âOi, you brat, if you tell everyone your trump card, whoâs going to let you hit them the first time from now on?â
Li Chun Dao loudly rebuked her: âNonsense, would any of us here arbitrarily reveal it?â
He then turned to Gu Qing Shan and said: âBut donât do that again next time, itâs best that you donât tell others about itâ
Gu Qing Shan understood that they were reminding him out of goodwill, so he smiled and replied: âItâs ok, this is only my first Spirit Linked techniqueâ
âââeven if you know, how would you stop the Divine Skill [Skyfall]? Lightning [Dreamjolt]? Or me calling your name?
Or...
Force me to use my sword? Or the Dance?
Everyone at the scene were highly experienced people, so they immediately understood: âSo it is a spirit link that can only trigger after hitting the first strike, thatâs quite a considerable prerequisiteâ
Everyone understood.
âSo that was how it wasâ Shan Hai Qi Xia casually replied.
Nine rays of light slowly manifested behind and circled around her.
âCome, your second strikeâ Shan Hai Qi Xia said.
Since it had gotten to this, Gu Qing Shan was a bit concerned and said: âPlease be careful, this strike seems to be very powerful, although it canât hurt you, I think it will destroy certain defensive techniques on youâ
Everyone chuckled.
Li Qiu Yu glared at Gu Qing Shan and said: âDonât talk nonsense, just care about yourself. If the Dean wants to stop your strike, she doesnât even need to use any defensesâ
But beyond everyoneâs expectations, after hearing Gu Qing Shan, Shan Hai Qi Xia pondered a bit before forming a different hand seal.
The nine rays of light once again returned behind her, manifesting into hundreds of thousands of colorful lights that illuminated her like a goddess.
âThat should be enough, comeâ Shan Hai Qi Xia replied.
Gu Qing Shan then swung his fist towards her palm.
ââthis was the power that came from that entity!
Spirit Linked Martial Arts, [Inch Desolation]!
As his fist met her palm, all of her colorful lights were scattered like fog in the wind, completely vanished in a single moment.
The countless ornaments that Shan Hai Qi Xia was wearing uttered a howl, followed by a faint flash of light before going completely silent
The ground began to tremble.
Ooââ- ooongââ oooâ-
A heavy resounding call erupted from deep underground that disseminated in every direction.
âThis strike is able to destroy all defensive means, oh noâââ Shan Hai Qi Xiaâs expression changed: âThe Divine Beast Spirit Guardian has awoken! Extinguishing Saintly Hands, Old Man Embracing Bones, quickly come with me to soothe the mountain Spirit Guardian!â
âUnderstood!â
The long-bearded white coat man and an old man replied, then vanished with Shan Hai Qi Xia from the room.
Everyone fell into complete silence.
They were all staring at Gu Qing Shan.
This kind of gaze...
Gu Qing Shan relaxed himself, feeling them to be a bit uncalled for.
What are you looking at me for?
Iâm just a bumpkin young man, you told me to throw a punch, so I threw a punch, thereâs nothing else even if you keep looking at me.
...
A long while later.
âVery well, you may leave. Wait outsideâ Shan Hai Qi Xia said.
Gu Qing Shan stood up, bowed to all the VIPs in the room, then left.
As he left, he heard everyone begin to discuss the matter of Zhao Qiongâs promotion.
Quite obviously, the School of Shan Hai had already conducted numerous investigations and re-investigations, all of which turned up without any issues, so the VIPs werenât too concerned.
Only the two strikes he made were unexpected.
As for what kind of thing this unexpected occurrence was going to bring him, Gu Qing Shan didnât know yet.
Gu Qing Shan simply waited outside the door.
Both Li Qiu Yu and Zhao Qiong were still inside, and since their meeting wasnât over, they still hadnât decided where he would stay, so he had nothing to do but wait here.
Without anything to do, Gu Qing Shan looked up at the sky.
Although I said sky, it was actually the blue ocean.
Above the ocean wasnât the sky, but rather a mountain.
Then what about above the mountain?
Most likely, also not the sky, but rather that tomb.
Huh.
What a wondrous world.
Gu Qing Shan looked around.
Under the reflections from the surface of the water, every structure in this city appeared to be painted in black, making them seem mysterious and dignified, giving off an indescribable sense of safety as they looked down at it from above.
A few moments later.
Zhao Qiong and Li Qiu Yu both emerged.
Li Qiu Yu grabbed Gu Qing Shanâs wrist, then poured a handful of sand onto his bone bracelet.
The sand was then slowly absorbed into the bracelet, turning it a golden color.
âWhat is this?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
âThis is sandâ
âI know itâs sand, but what is it for?â
Li Qiu Yu stroked his head again, then answered: âA proof of identity for newcomers, by which you can go to the Study Lodge to learnâ
Gu Qing Shan pursued further: âThen, from now on Iâm part of the Study Lodge; where I would begin my studies right away and learn various knowledge with other people?â
âNo, you wonât have that much free time, you can only go there when you have time for yourself, while normallyâââ
Li Qiu Yu displayed a playful smile and said: âCongratulations for becoming a Wind Listener, from now on, youâll be accompanying big sister on various missionsâ
âWind Listener?â Gu Qing Shan instinctively repeated that title.
Zhao Qiong explained to him: âThis is a department of our School of Shan Hai, devoted to the research of âSecretsâ and âMysteriesâ, itâs a very well-respected positionâ
âLi San Lang, do your bestâ