Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Sword Spirit decided to stop testing Li Guanqi. She had been with him for a long time, and even though she had been dormant lately, she had been watching him closely. To her, he was not a power-hungry, ambitious cultivator. He was talented, but far from the best she had seen.

Through his many trials, she came to realize that he placed great value on relationships. Due to the hardships of his childhood, he did not easily open up his heart. But once he accepted someone as a friend, he would make tremendous sacrifices without hesitation.

As such, Sword Spirit didn’t have high hopes for him. His nature would be his downfall.

In the cold, unforgiving world of cultivation, friendships, family, and mentorships were fragile things. All were secondary to the pursuit of immortality.

The path of cultivation was long. Sometimes, cultivators even invited disaster upon themselves because of these so-called “brothers.” Like Cao Yan, for example.

Just a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was enough to leave Li Guanqi so helpless.

To Sword Spirit, brotherhood was an unnecessary burden. Yet these friends gave Li Guanqi a steadiness of heart, and his cultivation advanced faster because of it. They gave him direction, something to strive toward.

Sword Spirit sighed and stopped thinking. She turned to Li Guanqi and said, “I’ve changed my mind.”

Li Guanqi’s face fell. He had been eager to learn her powerful techniques, yet she was changing her mind.

But Sword Spirit broke into a grin. “I never said I wasn’t teaching you anymore.”His eyes lit up. “Really?”

He really wanted her guidance. He needed stronger sword techniques to fight opponents above his own cultivation level. The most powerful techniques were priceless precisely because they carried unmatched power.

Sword Spirit’s gaze softened. “From this day forward, I shall impart all my knowledge to you. Each day, I’ll guide your training. Techniques, scriptures, sword moves, spells… anything you can grasp, I’ll teach you.”

Li Guanqi’s joy turned to disbelief. His voice trembled. “R-really? You’ll teach me all of it?”

She nodded firmly. “That’s right. All of it.”

Li Guanqi had no idea what he might become in the years ahead…

Sword Spirit glanced at the still-unconscious Ye Feng. “Since he hasn’t woken up yet, I’ll start by teaching you your first sword technique.”

Li Guanqi nodded eagerly, like a chick pecking at rice.

Together, their consciousnesses sank into the realm within the sword box.

He found himself in the Hundred Prides Illusory Realm once again. Stone tiles stretched endlessly beneath his feet. Sword Spirit had arranged her hair in a casual bun, exposing the pale skin of her neck and accentuating her beautiful profile.

As she looked at him through her long, trembling lashes, Li Guanqi’s heart skipped a beat.

Sensing his gaze, her brow furrowed slightly. However, his dazed expression made him look a little cute, so she turned her eyes away. Still maintaining her arrogant expression, she said coldly, “If you keep staring at me like that, I won’t teach you a thing.”

Li Guanqi shuddered and coughed. “Alright, alright… I won’t look…”

Buzz!

With a cold snort, Sword Spirit conjured a projection of the Red Lotus Sword into her hand. She did not rush into teaching techniques. “Now that your sword intent has awakened, have you noticed any change in your sword spirit void?”

Li Guanqi nodded solemnly. “Yes! Since awakening my sword intent, my sword spirit void has grown much stronger.”

After a pause, he summoned his own Red Lotus Sword projection. “Previously, the Red Lotus Sword’s Soul Dissolution technique boosted my attacks by thirty percent. Now it’s forty!”

Sword Spirit smiled. “Exactly. That’s why so many people spend their entire lives attempting to awaken their sword intent. Some inherit it from their teachers, but you stood on your own and awakened it yourself. That is no small feat.”

Li Guanqi smiled proudly. Praise from Sword Spirit was rare. But then a sly gleam flashed in her eyes, and a crushing aura burst forth.

In an instant, Li Guanqi was flattened against the ground.

Boom!

The pressure was ten thousand times heavier than anything he had endured during his heavenly tribulation. He could feel his bones threatening to crack under the strain.

He felt tiny, like a boat in a boundless ocean. She was the sea itself—vast and overwhelming, her power rising in towering waves—and he was barely staying afloat.

He looked up at her in confusion. He wanted to speak, but the pressure on his chest was so great that he could not.

Sword Spirit gazed at him, like a godlike figure surveying the mortals below with an air of haughty superiority.

Her voice was cold and mocking. “So, are you still going to look up at me from the ground?”

At first, he did not understand why she was acting like that, but her words still got under his skin. His competitive nature and masculine pride wouldn’t let him just lie there on the ground looking up at her. The view was certainly appealing, but he was not there to admire it.

Defiance welled up inside him.

He strained against the crushing force, moving his limbs little by little. With his head bowed, he forced himself upright.

But when he was about to stand, the pressure increased once more.

Boom!

He was slammed flat once again, and Sword Spirit’s contemptuous voice filled his ears. “That’s it? Pathetic. If that’s all you can manage, you’re not worthy of what I have to teach. You’re nothing but trash, lying face-down in the dirt. Why would you deserve my teachings?”