Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi stumbled in the main pavilion. He coughed awkwardly, but no one noticed.

Cao Yan smiled and stood up. Li Guanqi explained, “This is a sworn brother of mine. Ye Feng and I met him while traveling the continent. His name is Cao Yan. He doesn’t have any special identity; he’s just my brother! He’s at the half-step Illusory Refinement and should break through soon. He’s a genius alchemist as well.”

Cao Yan grew shy at the praise. He smiled and bowed to Lu Kangnian and the others. Cao Yan also appreciated Li Guanqi’s tact about his identity. He didn’t like talking about it.

Even if Li Guanqi hadn’t mentioned it, Lu Kangnian had his guesses. The incident at the Black Sect Territory had been too dramatic to hide.

Lu Kangnian pressed his hand down and smiled. “Just treat this as your home. No need to be formal. We have many empty peaks among the three thousand in our sect. Feel free to look around. If you like the place, stay as long as you wish. Come and go as you please.”

He didn’t try to keep Cao Yan just because of his cultivation level. The Daxia Sword Sect didn’t rely on anyone but themselves.

Ever since Li Guanqi shot to fame, an endless stream of people had come to curry favor, including several powerful Illusory Refinement cultivators. But Lu Kangnian had rejected them all. He refused to elevate the sect’s status by relying on outsiders.

Cao Yan smiled and nodded. He bowed and said, “Thank you for the kind offer.”

Xiao Chen had already jogged over to Li Guanqi and was pointing at himself, looking at him expectantly. It was his turn.

Li Guanqi put his arm around Xiao Chen’s shoulders and pulled him close. He explained with utter seriousness, “Xiao Chen is the son of a great clan in the Divine Treasure Territory—the Xiao family. He’s an expert with the Divine Blood Spear, and his cultivation is at mid Illusory Refinement Realm! He’s righteous, direct, and sincere. He’d like to teach in the sect as an elder. It’s up to you, Sect Master.”Lu Kangnian nearly laughed out loud. He thought for a moment, then nodded. “Mr. Xiao’s identity is a bit sensitive. Being an elder here isn’t a problem, but let me be clear: if you’re an elder in this sect, even for a single day, you must abide by our rules. If you do anything to ruin the sect’s reputation, there will be consequences.”

Xiao Chen wasn’t really listening to Lu Kangnian. He was looking at Li Guanqi, a mix of confusion and delight on his face. He’d thought Li Guanqi just saw him as an idiot, so he hadn’t expected such praise.

Li Guanqi patted his shoulder and grinned. “What, upset that we’re asking you to follow the rules?”

Xiao Chen snapped out of it and chuckled. “How could I be? After what Senior Lu just said, if I break the rules, you’ll end up breaking my legs...”

Li Guanqi burst into laughter. He turned to Lu Kangnian. “Sect Master, keep an eye on him. If he sneaks into the girls’ quarters on Heavenly Water Peak, just tell me. I’ll teach him a lesson.”

Xiao Chen panicked and patted his chest. “I’m not that kind of person! You’re making me look bad!”

With a sweep of his arm, Lu Kangnian said, “If any girl in the sect takes a liking to you, I won’t stop you.”

Li Nanting beamed at Li Guanqi with pride, smiling without a word. After they emerged from the pavilion, Xiao Chen and Cao Yan both received elder robes. Clouds were embroidered on the snow-white fabric, with fiery patterns on the shoulders.

Xiao Chen looked down at the robes and admired them. “These are so comfortable… Hehe, they look great!”

He gulped nervously. Pretending to be nonchalant, he asked, “Boss, where are we going next?”

The other three turned to look at him.

Xiao Chen lowered his gaze. Feeling their eyes on him, he gritted his teeth as if steeling himself, then looked up stubbornly. “What? I… I just wanted to be one of you guys… It’s not like I’m weak either… Can… can I… If you say no, I won’t call you that again…”

Li Guanqi smiled without a word. He merely looked at the other two guys questioningly.

Ye Feng slung his arm around Xiao Chen’s neck and grinned mischievously. “Call me Second Brother.”

Xiao Chen grinned widely like an idiot.

“Hehe. Second Brother.”

“Nicely done, Fourth Brother.”

Cao Yan leaned over with a kind smile. “Call me Third Brother.”

“Third Brother.”

“Mm, not bad. Hahahaha! Boss, this feels amazing. So this is what you guys felt with me.”

Cao Yan ran over to Li Guanqi’s side and laughed.

As they bantered, the passing disciples paused and bowed enthusiastically, calling out, “Elder Li!” and “Senior Brother Ye!”

Soon, they came to a cluster of mountain peaks.

Ye Feng looked at the mountains and sighed. “It feels like another lifetime… I only left for a few years, but it feels so long ago.”

Li Guanqi was touched to see how clean his little wooden hut at Jade Teapot Peak was. He’d been gone so long, yet someone had been keeping it clean. Lu Kangnian or Li Nanting, no doubt.

He knew his reputation had brought prosperity to the sect. But he hadn’t expected them to keep their territory the same.

That hundred-li boundary established earlier served as a warning: no one was permitted to establish a sect within a hundred li of the Daxia Sword Sect. The disciple count remained at three thousand, and, just as before, these disciples came from diverse backgrounds. The number of talented disciples had grown, yet many still had double or triple spirit roots.

Li Guanqi stood on Jade Teapot Peak and slowly stretched his arms wide. He murmured, “The Daxia Sword Sect’s principles are strong!”

The four of them sat on the peak, drinking wine and chatting.

“Boss, should we make a more stable spatial domain for them? This hundred-li stretch won’t be enough for long.”

Ye Feng downed his wine. He’d just sent a message to his family. His parents were now rushing to the sect.

Li Guanqi smiled. “Since we’ve come back, of course we’ve got to do everything we can. I’ll talk to Du Yuan in the Cangwu Continent about building a transport tunnel. We can also contact the Profound Phoenix Pavilion in the Soaring Heavens Continent.

“It’s time to change the Spirit-Gathering Arrays and bring some spirit veins over. Ask the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion for some pieces of the Paradise Realm. Build the spatial domain as soon as possible.”

Years ago, the sect had done its best to protect him. Today, he would help them regain their glory.

***

“Father, why the rush?” a young lady in a purple dress asked. She was flying and spoke with a sweet, melodious voice. “Ye Feng isn’t going anywhere.”

Ye Tianying huffed. “Nonsense. Do you think he’ll wait for you? That brat is at Illusory Refinement now. He’s made a name for himself!”

Ye Qing’er looked unhappy, muttering under her breath, “Hmph! He didn’t even visit after so many years. I’m going to choke him when I see him!”