Chapter 502: Ceremony

Translated by: La0o9

Proofreader: Arya

The large ship flew through the seemingly endless grey fog of the space vortex, as if it was sailing through a thick layer of clouds in the sky.

Although there was no sun or moon here, occasionally the light from a few hundred trillion stars would appear in the sky.

Space, vortex, monster, the void, World Layers.

Chaotic and unpredictably whizzing by.

At a few certain moments, Gu Qing Shan even felt that he was moving forward with the ship inside a strangely stifled and mysterious darkness.

The winds inside the void never stopped for even a second.

Gu Qing Shan brushed his messy hair aside and casually paced around the deck of the ship.

It was such an unprecedented experience, giving him a sense of relaxation unlike nothing else.

An old voice came by.

“My friend, why are you on the deck alone? Could it be the room wasn’t to your liking?”

Gu Qing Shan turned back to see the old man from the Spire Keeper Association.

He had a candle in his hand as he walked towards Gu Qing Shan.

“The room was more than satisfactory, I’m only going out for a bit of fresh air” Gu Qing Shan answered.

“I’ve heard about you” the old man smiled and said.

“Which part? Saving that person? It was only something I happened to do, there’s no need to keep it in mind too much”

“That’s not it, that colleague of mind, he forgot to ask about your basic situation, that was a mistake in doing his work”

Gu Qing Shan thought for a bit and understood.

He was talking about the old man on the ship that brought him to the Justice Iron Fist club.

Gu Qing Shan explained: “He treated me very well, I didn’t feel like he did something wrong at all”

Hearing that, the old man laughed.

“Ahahaha, there is no need to make excuses for him. Truthfully, he was supposed to ask about your personal situation”

“But he was fooled by the presence concealment scroll you used, thinking that you were a descendant of some big wig, so he didn’t extend an invitation to you”

“Invitation?” Gu Qing Shan was confused.

“Indeed. Normally for people who were first-time World Layer travelers like yourself, and had made contribution for our association, we would ask if they were willing to join the Spire Keeper Association”

“Ah, so that’s it” Gu Qing Shan replied.

He rethought about the situation at the time.

If he had joined the Spire Keeper Association back then…

While he was thinking, the old man continued to speak: “Unless I’m wrong, since Barry sent you to accept the call of the Bramble Birds, you must’ve joined that club of his”

“Indeed” Gu Qing Shan admitted.

The old man shrugged: “If I may say, joining that club of his was a mistake. Other than providing a free place to fight, what else is that club actually useful for?”

Gu Qing Shan smiled and said nothing.

The old man then made a very sincere, serious expression: “How about you leave that club and join our Spire Keeper Association?”

“This association of ours has knowledge more vast than all the seas in the infinite worlds, studied the direction of growth for countless spells and Professions, not to mention the most precious history of all 900 million World Layers, and some of the best kept secrets of the world outside of the 900 million World Layers”

“Outside of the 900 million World Layers?” Gu Qing Shan was a bit intrigued.

“Of course, such precious secrets are only known to a few members at the highest positions of our association”

The old man’s tone changed a bit: “However, you can join us, slowly increase your membership level through contributions, slowly gaining more authority and privileges”

“As you are a benefactor of our association, joining our association would naturally let you enjoy a few perks that new members do not have”

Gu Qing Shan scowled a bit: “To join the Spire Keeper Association, I must first leave the club?”

“Indeed, according to the Law, one person can only connect themselves to a single Super Dimensional world, you must cancel the link between yourself and the Justice Iron Fist Club’s beacon to be able to connect to our Spire’s beacon” the old man explained.

Gu Qing Shan quickly smiled and nodded, replying: “Thank you for the thought, but I have no intention of changing my beacon”

The old man found that a bit unexpected and asked: “Staying at the club means that you would need to shoulder a large debt, but joining our association would mean you get to enjoy untold amounts of knowledge and perks, are you clear about the difference between them?”

“Crystal clear”

“Yet you still choose the club?”

“My apologies”

“But why?”

“Simply because they’re hoping that I can get a few things back to help them pay back their debt”

“Just because of that?”

The old man looked at him like he was looking at a fool.

“I don’t like letting my friends down, unless when we’re playing cards” Gu Qing Shan replied.

“Is that so… I can only say that’s regretful” the old man sighed and said.

“I also feel it regretful, but I do hope to maintain a good relationship with you guys” Gu Qing Shan said.

The old man put a bit of strength into his foot, crushing a bug that just happened to pass by under his feet.

The old man smiled: “Seems like that damn Barry got quite a good new member, his leg is also healed now, it seems the Iron Fist Club is truly starting to turn its luck around.”

“Young man, even though some of your choices can only be described as foolish, I still find that I like you, unexpectedly——- wait here for a bit, I have something to give you”

Saying so, the old man nodded to Gu Qing Shan before turning to leave.

On another side.

The Justice Iron Fist Club.

The brother and sister were sitting in one place, staring at an insect on the table anxiously.

The insect had its mouth opened wide, speaking with two different voices.

[I don’t like letting my friends down, unless when we’re playing cards]

[Is that so… I can only say that’s regretful]

[I also feel it regretful, but I do hope to maintain a good relationship with you guys]

When it reached his point, the insect suddenly exploded and died with a ‘bang’.

“We were found out, that damn old man must’ve crushed my Spy Bug” Kitty begrudgingly complained.

Barry just smiled: “It’s something they made, of course it would be easy to be found out”

Kitty was still fuming, but she smiled: “That boy Gu Qing Shan is quite a decent person”

Barry nodded and clenched his fist: “When he returns, he will be qualified to fight me, completing the ceremony to join the club”

Kitty suddenly remembered.

Ceremony?

Ah right, everyone who joins the club has to seal their powers and fight with Barry bare-handed.

Barry would also seal his power to fight.

This was an old rule of the club.

In all these years, only new official members of the club get to enjoy this special privilege.

‘Special privilege’…

Barry beat up so many people so bad that they all ran away.

This time, the one who will have to take the ceremony will be Gu Qing Shan.

Gu Qing Shan knows how to cook.

Gu Qing Shan can pay back their debt.

Gu Qing Shan already passed their test and is recognized as a trustworthy person.

——–do you want to beat him up that he runs away too?

Kitty hurriedly yelled out: “Absolutely not! Before, I haven’t said anything when you’re always beating them until they run away, but not this time!!!”

Barry was a bit troubled: “But the ceremony must be done, it’s our club’s tradition”

Kitty didn’t bother to persuade him and asked very calmly: “Tradition? Do you want to eat raw space monsters everyday, or a hot cooked meal? Bro, this is a master chef who came to us on his own will, think very carefully about it before deciding!”

Barry thought for a bit and was still a bit unwilling: “Kitty, listen to me, the ceremony is solemn and divine, we have to——”

“He still needs to help the club pay its debt” Kitty added.

Barry was stunned for a second.

Nothing could tempt him as much as these words right now.

Barry spoke very sincerely and seriously: “Kitty, the ceremony is solemn and divine, we need to conduct it under appropriate conditions——– but seeing how poor our conditions are right now, let’s skimp over it”

“That’s right, our conditions right now are too poor, unsuitable for the ceremony” Kitty nodded.