Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The town remained silent for a long time. Not a single sound broke the stillness.

Many people were still awake. The bolder ones peeked out from their windows to see what had happened outside.

They saw a young man sitting calmly, cracking melon seeds. Beside him lay a corpse.

Buildings had collapsed, and the streets were riddled with deep craters and sword marks.

Boom!

Earlier, Li Guanqi had gone to Zhang Daniu’s house and retrieved a skeleton from the well. It was none other than the remains of Li Lanhua.

After giving her a proper burial, he slowly stood up. Just then, a dark shadow appeared in the distant sky.

Moments later, Li Nanting descended from his flying sword. The sword circled once before returning to its sheath.

Li Nanting moved swiftly to Li Guanqi’s side. After examining him, he found that not only was Li Guanqi unharmed, but he had also broken through to the sixth level of the Qi Refinement Realm.

Li Guanqi gave a vague and evasive explanation, saying that his Lightning Spirit Root had been particularly effective against the vengeful ghost, allowing him to clinch a narrow victory.Li Nanting was skeptical but didn’t press further. He simply took Li Guanqi on his flying sword and returned to the Daxia Sword Sect.

Before leaving, Li Guanqi cast a deep gaze at Cloud Town. He was still thinking of Li Lanhua, who had died unjustly.

He murmured, “It is said that suffering is followed by happiness, but she suffered year after year with no end.”

On the way back, Li Guanqi recounted the events in Cloud Town.

Li Nanting remained silent for a long time before softly saying, “Guanqi, this is the human heart. This is human nature.”

Li Guanqi fell quiet for a while before replying, “I understand, but every time I witness something like this, I can’t help but feel the coldness of human nature. If someone had stood up for Li Lanhua back then, if someone had spoken for justice, would things have turned out differently?”

Li Guanqi sighed and continued, “But... there are no ‘‘what ifs’ in this world.”

Li Nanting remained silent. Personal experience was the only way to grasp certain truths and things.

“Uh... Master, can you give me some spirit stones? Earning contribution points is way too hard! It was a simple first-tier mission, but I faced a terrifying, vengeful ghost.”

Li Nanting’s expression darkened. Just thinking about how his disciple had nearly lost his life made his anger flare.

In the end, he simply told him not to worry about it.

Li Guanqi didn’t rest after returning to the sect. As usual, he meditated and cultivated.

Sword Spirit kept her promise and refrained from stealing his vital qi.

The next morning, Li Guanqi woke from his cultivation. He felt refreshed, his mind clear and sharp.

He set up the wooden stake he had prepared in advance, then practiced his boxing forms dozens of times. After a thorough warm-up, he took out a refined iron sword and started an intense sword training session.

The sky was still dark, yet Li Guanqi had already been at it for two hours.

Just then, Sword Spirit’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

“Move with the sword. Do not let the sword move you!

“Your slashes must be swift. Faster!

“Before thrusting, gather your strength. Unleash it with your entire body!”

Her words gave Li Guanqi an epiphany. He slightly adjusted his technique, and his expression grew more focused.

Clang!

The sword shot forward, slicing through the air with a sharp sonic boom. The thick wooden stake exploded into splinters.

Bang!

A smile crept onto Li Guanqi’s lips. He hadn’t expected Sword Spirit to have such keen insight, even pointing out details his master had overlooked. She could pinpoint precisely what he needed to improve.

After his training, Li Guanqi was surprised when the sect’s steward came looking for him.

“Hahaha! Truly a hero in his youth!

“This time... the Mission Pavilion acknowledges their mistake, so your contribution points will be multiplied fivefold! The points have already been added to your jade slip.”

Li Guanqi chuckled. “Then I must thank Steward Zhou. I’ll bring you two bottles of fine wine later.”

Steward Zhou grinned in relief. He had been worried since yesterday.

Fortunately, Li Guanqi had persuaded his master, saying, “If you get mad at him, won’t that make life harder for me? How will I take on missions then?”

As such, Li Nanting warned Steward Zhou rather than punishing him, which led to the current situation.

Li Guanqi understood the concept of taking actions for mutual benefit. He needed the help of others to reach greater heights.

The sight of Steward Zhou smiling at Li Guanqi filled many outer sect disciples with envy.

With a hefty amount of contribution points and a storage bag containing one thousand low-grade spirit stones from Li Nanting, Li Guanqi no longer had to run around taking missions for cultivation resources.

Over the next month, he consistently went to the sect’s Spirit Ascension Platform. During this time, his strength skyrocketed.

In just one month, he had reached the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm.

This rapid advancement shocked everyone, making them realize the massive gap between themselves and a true prodigy.

Li Guanqi trained tirelessly, like a machine. Apart from sword practice, he devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

He often visited the sect’s training grounds in the remaining time. He could enter a specialized room imbued with formations for just one low-grade spirit stone.

Inside, he had access to any weapon he desired and a vast space with a radius of a hundred zhang.

After a month of training, his Azure Lotus Sword Technique had reached late-stage perfection.

When he struck, his sword hummed like a chorus, instantly forming six blooming lotus flowers. However, when he showed off to Sword Spirit, she merely scoffed.

“Useless flashy trash.”

Li Guanqi sneered. “Talk is easy. If you’re so great, teach me a better sword technique!”

She was tired of his superficial swordplay and decided to intervene. When she materialized, her elegant figure momentarily stunned Li Guanqi.

With a graceful movement, she summoned a spirit sword of vital force into her palm.

She lowered her stance, her gaze turning razor-sharp. Then, all Li Guanqi could see was a flash of sword light.

Sword Spirit smirked arrogantly. “Did you catch that clearly?”

Still full of questions, Li Guanqi left the training grounds and rushed toward the Sword Tower.

The Daxia Sword Sect’s Sword Tower was renowned across hundreds of thousands of li.

The Sword Tower was entirely black and looked extremely solemn.

It had thirty-six floors, divided into three tiers. Cultivators from the Qi Refinement Realm to the peak of the Golden Core Realm could enter. They faced increasingly powerful sword-wielding puppets at each level. The higher one climbed, the more opponents they faced at once.

No Golden Core cultivator had ever withstood a challenge from twelve Golden Core sword puppets.

Only the founding sect master had ever reached the thirty-third floor. The sect master was also the sole individual to ascend to the Immortal Realm in the sect’s history.

This was Li Guanqi’s third visit to the Sword Tower.

Despite his monstrous talent, he had only reached the sixth floor so far.