"Master! You... please don’t speak nonsense..."
"Hahaha, being young is great."
The elder laughed heartily, then his expression turned serious.
"But this young man is indeed extraordinary. He can silently break through the restrictions of the Wanling Palace, and he has mysterious powerful allies... Ningshuang, do you know what his current cultivation level is?"
Gu Ningshuang shook her head.
"I only know he’s very strong, but the specific realm... he has never mentioned it."
"At least half-step to Heavenly Martial, maybe even already..."
The elder murmured thoughtfully, then shook his head.
"Forget it, having been saved by him, I’m not one to be ungrateful. Didn’t you say you wanted to take him to that Secret Realm? I can secretly protect you two."
Gu Ningshuang looked up in surprise.
"Really? Master, you’re willing to help?"
"Consider it returning a favor."
The elder stood up, patting the dust off his clothes.
"But the young man is right, today’s matter should not be publicized, especially to those two girls."
He pointed to the two female Martial Artists still unconscious.
Gu Ningshuang nodded repeatedly.
"I understand."
The elder suddenly remembered something, asking with interest.
"By the way, he said he’s the Third Pavilion Master of Linyin Pavilion?"
"Yes, he said..."
Gu Ningshuang stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something, looking at the elder in surprise.
"Master, you... you know Linyin Pavilion?"
The elder smiled mysteriously.
"More than just knowing... it seems this young man is even more interesting than I imagined."
The elder stroked his beard and laughed.
"When I was recruiting at the Holy Academy, the one I favored most was Gu Sheng. Unfortunately, the Lu Family holds significant power in the Outer Court, and he killed Lu Xuanyuan..."
"You mean to say..."
Gu Ningshuang’s heart trembled slightly.
"That young man has the posture of a true dragon."
The elder waved his sleeve, and the teacup on the stone table moved without wind.
"The fact that you could become my disciple is also related to him. The technique you used from Venerable Ye was incomplete, but from Gu Sheng, I perceived a complete Daoist Rhythm."
The clouds on the mountain peak suddenly rolled, halting the breath of Gu Ningshuang.
She recalled the figure always leading in the Secret Realm, remembered his unwavering momentum when he slew Lu Xuanyuan.
"If you truly admire him..."
The elder’s voice suddenly became solemn.
"Then you must intensify your cultivation. Otherwise, once the gap widens, you’ll be people from two different worlds."
"Master!"
Gu Ningshuang’s ears turned slightly red, but she saw the elder raise his hand, stopping her from retorting.
"I’ve secretly probed his energy."
The elder squinted.
"Xuanwu Realm Seventh Level, ready to break through to the Eighth Level. Even more impressive is that his foundation’s stability surpasses other cultivators of the same rank by more than threefold."
Clang—!
The sword at Gu Ningshuang’s waist suddenly emitted a clear sound.
A fierce Sword Intent erupted around her, silently cracking several fine lines on the bluestone beneath her feet.
"Disciple understands."
She embraced the sword, saluting, eyes ignited with unprecedented battle intent.
"Please, Master, open the third layer of the Sword Tomb."
The elder laughed with satisfaction, a Jade Talisman flying from his sleeve.
"That’s more like my disciple! Go, show me how long you can last in the Sword Tomb."
Meanwhile, in a ruin a hundred miles away.
Gu Sheng retracted his bloodstained long knife, frowning as he scanned the surrounding ruined high tower.
Yue Shen Gong’s voice echoed in his mind.
"Stop searching, the inheritance place of that red-robed old ghost has already self-destructed. Even if you find the entrance, it would be just a pile of rubble."
"What a pity."
Gu Sheng sighed lightly, his fingertips brushing over a broken stone carved with strange runes.
"The Secret Realm Gu Ningshuang mentioned..."
"I suggest you hold off."
Yue Shen Gong interrupted.
"You broke through three realms in the Secret Realm, your True Qi is bloated like a swollen frog. Keep breaking through like this, and at the King Realm, you’ll definitely face backlash."
Gu Sheng chuckled at the words, knowing it was a piece of advice.
He found a secluded cave, sat cross-legged, and began to reverse the operation of his cultivation technique. The meridians that should have absorbed nature’s spiritual energy now compressed the True Qi within his body continuously.
"Ugh!"
Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. The burning sensation from the meridians felt like hot iron sand flowing through his veins. But he gritted his teeth, forcibly compressing the True Qi within his Dantian by a full thirty percent.
"Interesting."
A hoarse voice suddenly came from the shadows. Shadow appeared in the corner of the cave.



VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World