Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman - Chapter 40 Thirteen Layers!
(Hi everyone! Sorry for the break in updates, I was on a trip to Pennsylvania over the weekend. Updates will be back to their regular schedule, Happy Halloween!)
The disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect saw Li Guanqi once again heading to the Heavenly Sword Tower and gossiped amongst themselves.
“That’s the disciple who went from the fifth level of Qi Refinement to the first level overnight!”
“It looks like he’s almost back to where he started! Aiyah, if only I had the resources he did!”
“Hmph, as if you’d be as fast as him even if you did have the resources.”
“Wow!! Senior Brother Li is taking on the Sword Tower challenge again! Do you think he can beat the seventh floor?”
A disciple from Heavenly Water Peak exclaimed with starry eyes.
The female disciple beside her blushed and stated, “He should… definitely. He must!”
However, Li Guanqi remained entirely absorbed in the sword technique displayed by the Sword Spirit and paid no heed to the people around him. What he cared about was how high he could reach in the Heavenly Sword Tower, and if he could replicate that sword technique.
Little did he know that the sword strike was merely a casual move by the Sword Spirit, and she didn’t expect Li Guanqi to fixate on it.
As Li Guanqi produced a spirit stone and placed it on the formation, his brow suddenly relaxed. The Sword Tower’s teleportation formation whisked him away to his previous record, the seventh floor.
As soon as he arrived, Li Guanqi spotted the seven wooden puppets that had blocked his way before. The moment he moved even a single step, they would all rush to attack him at once.
“Phew…”
Li Guanqi’s hand gradually reached for the longsword at his waist, assuming the same posture as the one demonstrated by the Sword Spirit earlier.
The Sword Spirit watched this scene in disbelief.
“Did he really learn something from seeing that attack once? What kind of insight is this?”
The longsword trembled slightly, and Li Guanqi’s entire demeanor suddenly transformed.
Then, Li Guanqi took a sudden step forward, and a faint blue fire ignited in the eyes of the seven puppets. Immediately, they moved in unison and attacked Li Guanqi from seven directions!
The sound of swords slicing through the air seemed to reverberate in Li Guanqi’s ears. Yet Li Guanqi remained still.
Suddenly!
Just as the seven swords were about three inches from cutting into him, Li Guanqi’s eyes flew open! His once calm eyes now exuded a fierce determination!
Clang!
The longsword was drawn from its scabbard, and a lightning-fast sword light streaked past!
The sound of the drawn sword still echoed when the sword was already sheathed!
Boom, boom, boom!
One after another, muffled sounds echoed as seven puppets froze in place, each bearing a longsword mark on their chests.
Li Guanqi turned and descended the teleportation formation, murmuring softly, “Such a swift drawing technique…”
“Let’s call it ‘Thunder Strike!’”
The Sword Spirit observed this scene in silence.
“I didn’t think he would be this talented with the sword. Is this fate…?”
Before she could finish her sentence, the Sword Spirit suddenly chuckled.
“Heh, when did I start believing in fate?”
“Suxuan… Did you really just give me away to him randomly?”
A long-standing question that had been bothering her resurfaced in her heart.
Outside the Sword Tower, countless disciples gazed in admiration at the waves of golden light emanating from the seventh floor of the tower.
“Senior Brother Li actually beat the seventh floor!”
Watching Li Guanqi’s back, the Sword Spirit couldn’t help but murmur, “Should I help him?”
“The faster he increases his strength, the better it’ll be for me.”
With just a month left until the assessment exam, Li Guanqi became the busiest person. Both his master and the Sword Spirit supervised his training.
As a result, his strength began to improve rapidly.
Li Guanqi’s progress in cultivation stood out even more among the new disciples. However, disciples from other peaks were also making rapid breakthroughs in their cultivation. Disciples such as Ye Feng from Heavenly Metal Peak and Lin Dong from Heavenly Earth Peak weren’t slouching in terms of cultivation either.
Li Guanqi took a look at his longsword. After releasing Thunder Strike, he realized that it was a modification of the Heavenly Lotus Blade he had been practicing! The Sword Spirit had shed away all the unnecessary movements of the attack and changed it to focus on speed.
As for the reason, the Sword Spirit had just one response!
“Eliminate the unnecessary, focus on speed and lethality!”
“As long as your sword is fast enough, you can strike the enemy’s throat before others can react.”
With seven days left until the entrance examination, Li Guanqi’s extreme focus on his cultivation had paid off! He had reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement!
This speed not only astonished everyone but also caught the attention of the sect master, Lu Kangnian. He even encouraged other disciples to follow Li Guanqi’s example.
The disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect cheered Li Guanqi on, stimulated by the sight of a genius relying on hard work rather than innate talent to walk down the path of cultivation.
Li Nanting was also very pleased and had a talk with Li Guanqi in his courtyard at night. In essence, he told Li Guanqi not to rush to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage at this moment.
“For you, the Foundation Establishment is just beginning, so you must lay a solid foundation!”
“As for the Qi Refinement stage, expand your Dantian as much as you can!”
“This is related to how far you can go on the path of immortality in the future!”
After Li Nanting left, the Sword Spirit slowly appeared and said, “Regarding this, that youngster’s idea isn’t wrong at all.”
Li Guanqi had a perplexed expression, finding the words awkward to hear.
“Youngster? My master is already over two hundred years old, and he’s still a youngster?”
The Sword Spirit smiled faintly and didn’t say much.
Instead, with a serious expression, she pointed to the chair in front of her, gesturing for Li Guanqi to sit down. Li Guanqi frowned slightly, not knowing why, but he obediently sat down.
She further explained the details that Li Nanting hadn’t elaborated on, and Li Guanqi found that the Sword Spirit was truly knowledgeable and well-informed. Almost every question he asked, the Sword Spirit knew the answer to. Furthermore, her level of strictness in training was directly proportional to the results. Without this, he wouldn’t have been able to break through so many levels of cultivation in such a short time.
The Sword Spirit remained silent for a while before softly speaking, “Do you know how many levels there are in the Qi Refinement stage?”
Li Guanqi showed a puzzled expression and said softly, “There are ten levels in the Qi Refinement stage, isn’t that a well-known fact in the cultivation world?”
However, the Sword Spirit shook her head upon hearing this.
“What? Isn’t it?”
Immediately, Li Guanqi saw the Sword Spirit wave her hand and set up an invisible barrier in the courtyard. Within the barrier, the Sword Spirit spoke solemnly, “This may be against the common knowledge of the cultivation world.”
“But what I want to tell you is that there are actually thirteen levels in the Qi Refinement stage!”
“It’s just that the cultivation methods for the three levels beyond what’s known in the current cultivation world have been lost, which has led to the general belief in only ten levels.”
…
The words of the Sword Spirit hit him like a thunderbolt on a sunny day.
“What? Am I hearing this correctly? Thirteen levels? How is that possible!”
“If it’s true, why does everyone only know about ten levels?”
“Moreover, breaking through the tenth level in Qi Refinement leads to Foundation Establishment, so where’s the next level?”
The woman smiled faintly, and then she lightly tapped the void, and a trace of spiritual light instantly entered Li Guanqi’s mind. One after another, obscure and incomprehensible verses appeared in his mind. Gradually, Li Guanqi’s eyes widened in astonishment! Because, in his view, these were indeed cultivation verses for the thirteen levels of Qi Refinement!