Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Once everyone had boarded the cloud boat, Li Guanqi was surprised to see someone he’d rather not—Gao Qiwen, the man he despised. Li Nanting gave his shoulder a silent pat.

Li Guanqi stole a glance at his master. Deep down, he knew this disheveled-looking man must carry countless stories. Yet the core sect members were unwilling to speak of them, probably out of reluctance to reopen his old wounds.

Li Guanqi noticed that Gao Qiwen had grown withdrawn after setting foot on the cloud boat and was quietly drinking wine in the corner.

Li Guanqi sat on the deck, closing his eyes. He mulled over his newly learned sprint technique and the profundity of the Purple Ripple Demon Sword Technique.

The other disciples were excitedly discussing the Tournament of a Hundred Sects, leaving Li Guanqi and his three friends to cultivate quietly.

From his corner, Gao Qiwen observed the four of them through strands of unkempt hair, his voice barely above a whisper. “They are indeed resilient. I wonder if we can decrease the death count this time... Isn’t that right, Nanting?”

Li Nanting stood beside Gao Qiwen, wearing white robes with purple lightning embroidery. “Qiwen, it has been many years. You still haven’t let that incident go?”

Gao Qiwen laughed bitterly and shook his head with a sigh. “I haven’t. I can’t. If I let it go, I would have no ambition, and I would become truly crippled. I want to see if I can finally get them back this time...”

Li Nanting gave a small smile. Looking at the youth with a sword coffin on his back, he said, “Perhaps... we stand a chance this time!”

Unexpectedly, Gao Qiwen did not make a sarcastic retort. Instead, he nodded solemnly. “He is the most impressive disciple I have seen in the last three hundred years.”The journey was boring. Whenever the four disciples on the deck emerged from their cultivation, they either ate or discussed their insights.

Li Guanqi noticed a shift in the elders’ demeanors and transmitted, “The tournament is perhaps even more brutal than we imagine. We must not let our guards down. Stay sharp—very sharp!”

They all nodded. Even Lin Dong smiled. “But honestly, I think very few are smarter than us. Although Old Gao’s insults are terrible, I learned a lot thanks to him!”

Ye Feng pursed his lips, glancing at the man in the corner. “I have no idea how he trained that mouth of his... It’s downright venomous.”

All of them deeply understood and nodded in agreement.

“All right,” Li Guanqi said, “we’ve got seven days until we reach Heavenly Tiger Pass. I’m gonna start my closed-door cultivation. The rest of you, calm your minds. Stop pushing forward, and use this time to digest what you’ve recently learned.”

They all nodded solemnly.

During this time, Li Guanqi’s abilities repeatedly shocked them. Although Li Guanqi suppressed his cultivation to the mid Foundation Building Realm, he could still beat the three of them simultaneously. Only Ye Feng managed to last more than a few moves, but he never lasted long.

As they spent more time with Ye Feng, it became clear that while he generally seemed laid-back, his learning speed nearly matched Li Guanqi’s. He never made the same mistake twice—a terrifying trait, in truth. It meant he held himself to high standards and possessed a deep, unshakable discipline.

Li Guanqi slowly became the pillar of the small group, and the usually lazy Ye Feng started to see Li Guanqi as his goal.

Li Guanqi sat in a cultivation room, clenching his right fist without using any vital force and going through the motions of the Purple Ripple Demon Sword Technique. Ever since Sword Spirit had reconstructed the missing moves, this technique had proven vastly superior to his previous Azure Lotus Sword Technique.

He hadn’t entered the Hundred Prides Illusory Realm lately. He was running low on spirit stones and needed to reserve what he had for daily cultivation. Thankfully, the Star Lightning Vine he’d secured in the Mo family’s underground city could sustain the dragon egg for another year and a half. Without it, he’d be at a complete loss.

He noticed the lightning dragon egg had grown slightly larger, with subtle lights flowing across its purple scales. The sight filled him with relief. After investing so much into nurturing it, a lack of progress would have crushed his spirits.

Since Li Guanqi was in closed-door cultivation, no one dared to disturb him.

***

Seven days later, Li Guanqi slowly emerged from his cultivation state. He exhaled a breath laced with impurities and stepped out of his room, feeling refreshed.

Stepping outside, he found their boat nestled amid a breathtaking mountain range. Lush green mountain peaks surrounded the boat. A veil of morning mist drifted between the ridges, and the spirit qi in the air was rich and heavy.

When Qin Xian saw that everyone was gathered, he began, “I’m sure your own sect elders have already briefed you, so I’ll keep this short. This year’s tournament will follow the same format from previous years. You’ll fight opponents of the same cultivation level in elimination rounds. Points are awarded differently depending on your realm—one point for the early Foundation Building Realm, two for the mid-stage, and three for late-stage.”

Everyone nodded. This was their first time learning about the points system. It made sense for cultivators of different levels to earn a different number of points.

What Qin Xian said next made Li Guanqi frown. “But if you lose... you’ll be docked double the number of points.”

Everyone erupted in conversation.

“Old Qin!” someone called out. “Won’t that make it very difficult to rack up points?!”

Qin Xian nodded solemnly. “Exactly. It’s difficult. The sects will be ranked based on their total score, which reflects their overall strength. If even a few disciples fall behind, the entire sect’s ranking can crash down.”

Everyone felt a huge weight on their shoulders.

Li Guanqi asked a question nonchalantly, to which Qin Xian replied after some thought[1].

In the end, Qin Xian smiled and said, “Alright. No matter what happens, just do your best.”

1. The author didn’t include the question or answer.