"Junior Brother, try to pick your technique from the upper shelves."
"Most of the sword arts down here are of modest grade. Choosing from them would be a waste of this opportunity for you."
Li Guanqi had just picked up the ancient manual when Gu Ran spoke softly beside his ear.
His movement paused slightly. Unable to reveal that his sword spirit could restore the incomplete text, he could only shrug and say, "Senior Sister, this technique suits me quite well."
"Some sword arts may be of exceptional grade, but they might not be the best fit for me."
To his surprise, Gu Ran looked at him with great solemnity. "Junior Brother, I know how gifted you are."
"Yet that is all the more reason you shouldn't squander your talent."
"Suitability matters, of course, but the grade of a cultivation manual is just as vital."
"No matter how well a Yellow-grade technique suits you, by its very nature, it can never compare to a Black-grade one."
Gu Ran continued with heartfelt earnestness, "An opportunity like this is hard to come by. You should try to choose a sword art of sufficiently high grade."
"You went straight for this manual without looking around. Why not browse a bit more? There might be others that suit you just as well."
Li Guanqi shook his head slightly and replied in a gentle voice, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Sister. I understand the logic, but this sword art is the one best suited for me."
Seeing his persistence, the young woman rolled her eyes at him, said no more, and turned around to inspect the sword arts on the shelves in detail.
The sword spirit's voice sounded leisurely in his mind.
"If this little girl specializes in the path of spirit incantations in the future, she might achieve great things."
Li Guanqi asked in surprise, "Oh? Why is that?"
His astonishment was natural; the sword spirit rarely praised anyone.
The sword spirit answered softly, "Her physique is somewhat unusual, though not exceptionally powerful."
"Yet because of this constitution, her capacity for empathy toward people and matters is extraordinarily strong."
"Her soul is also remarkably resilient. If she immerses herself in the path of spirit incantations, she would be exceptionally well-suited for it."
Li Guanqi, however, let it go in one ear and out the other, asking instead with a grin, "Heh heh, then Sword Spirit, do you know any particularly formidable spirit incantations?"
"If you look down on them, you can just teach them to me."
To his surprise, the sword spirit reverted to its usual haughty demeanor and scoffed coldly.
"Spirit incantations? Mere parlor tricks!"
"All arts under heaven can be shattered with a single sword. What use is there in learning them?"
Li Guanqi felt a jolt in his mind. He distinctly sensed boundless confidence and supreme pride ringing in the sword spirit's voice as it uttered those words!
"Uh… impressive! Just hearing it gets my blood boiling!"
"Though… when it comes down to it, you just don't know any, right…?"
"It's fine. How could anyone know everything?"
"With the bond between the two of us, you can just be honest. It's not like I'd laugh at you, right?"
The sword spirit merely gave a cold snort, too disdainful to offer further explanation.
Receiving no response, Li Guanqi rubbed his nose somewhat sheepishly.
In the end, he began browsing the shelves dedicated to movement arts.
The grade of his current movement technique was still far too low. Even its burst speed could no longer keep pace with the velocity generated by his sheer physical strength.
After combing through the collection, he finally found a movement art titled *Roaming the Clouds* on the topmost shelf.
The book contained only a single line:
*Upon complete mastery of this movement art, fear not those newly entered into Core Formation!*
Delight blossomed in Li Guanqi's heart, and he stowed the ancient manual into his storage ring.
The moment he put the movement art away, Ling Daoyan opened his eyes outside the pavilion and smiled faintly.
Unhooking his wine gourd, the old man took a sip of liquor, closed his eyes again, and lightly tapped the arm of his rocking chair as it swayed back and forth.
"At least the brat has an eye for good things. It wasn't in vain that I brought out my personal collection."
"Still… the Ziwei Demon-Cleansing Sword has a mere two forms. Though its might is extraordinary, still…"
"Mm… should I mention this to Lu Kangnian?"
Yet almost immediately, the elder seemed to think of something and held his tongue, murmuring softly, "He doesn't look like a fool. Perhaps he has his reasons."
Faint glints of sharp light flickered within the old man's squinted eyes, and the rhythmic tapping of his fingers carried a trace of chilling intent, concealing whatever thoughts ran through his mind.
Before long, Gu Ran selected two suitable techniques, and she left the pavilion alongside Li Guanqi.
After bidding Gu Ran farewell, Li Guanqi took to the air, riding his sword toward Yuhu Peak.
Suddenly!
A terrifying pressure, vast as the heavens, descended upon the Great Xia Sword Sect in an instant!
The frightful aura permeated the empty sky as three purple-robed figures flashed into view above Tianjian Peak!
The elder at the lead had white hair, a youthful complexion, a hooked nose, and triangular eyes.
With his facial muscles twitching slightly, he raised a hand to condense a golden spirit sword that spanned dozens of zhang in length.
Then, with a savage thrust of his arm, he pointed straight toward Tianjian Peak!
"Lu Kangnian, get your old hide out here!"
*Rumble!*
Tremendous power converged across the sky, churning the clouds and turning the weather turbulent as dense, dark clouds swallowed the sun.
The piercing sharpness of metal origin energy made the skin of every disciple in the Great Xia Sword Sect sting painfully, even from a thousand zhang away.
Even from over a thousand zhang away, Li Guanqi could clearly see the gigantic spirit sword plunging straight toward Tianjian Peak!
*Dong!*
A deafening boom erupted.
A layer of azure light materialized to block the descending spirit sword. Amid scattering bursts of fiery light, the barrier trembled like a deep pool disturbed by a hurled stone, intense ripples spreading across its surface.
In an instant, everyone in the sect sensed the disturbance, and every disciple and elder currently within the Great Xia Sword Sect rose upon their swords!
The white-haired elder's gaze turned razor-sharp, and with a cold snort from his lips, the plunging momentum of the spirit sword surged by another thirty percent!
*Bang!*
The barrier shattered into pieces. Just as the spirit sword seemed about to crash upon the main hall of Tianjian Peak, a figure suddenly drifted into view above the hall!
It was none other than Lu Kangnian, clad in green robes.
Seeing Lu Kangnian appear, the old man sneered mockingly.
"Quite the nerve! I thought you'd play the cowardly turtle, hiding inside your sect-protecting formation and refusing to come out!"
At this moment, Lu Kangnian's eyes were dark and cold. Behind him, nine glowing spirit swords circled his body.
With a flick of his finger, the spirit swords beside him shot into the air one after another!
Tip to point, matching sharpness with sharpness!
Each slender spirit sword clashed directly against the tip of the massive golden blade.
*Dong! Dong, dong!*
Explosive roars reverberated in rapid succession.
The terrifying force sent slight tremors through all ten main peaks of the sect.
Only after the fourth spirit sword shot forward did the colossal golden sword in the sky shatter with a thunderous crash!
Qin Xian appeared behind Lu Kangnian, alongside another rarely seen elder.
Surrounding the three purple-robed elders, violent surges of origin energy churned.
With another cold snort from the leading elder, a tremendously powerful pressure erupted from his body, crashing downward like heavenly wrath!
Unable to steady themselves, all the Great Xia Sword Sect disciples who had ascended into the sky—including Li Guanqi—tumbled clumsily out of the air!
Li Guanqi dismounted from his longsword and dropped, his body swaying slightly as he landed on the crest of a nearby mountain peak.
Lu Kangnian's voice sank into icy solemnity. "Three elders of Ziyang Palace gracing us with a visit, yet the moment you arrive, you seek to smash the mountain gate of my Great Xia Sword Sect. What grand prestige!"
"If you do not give our Great Xia Sword Sect a satisfactory explanation today, I fear this matter will not easily pass!"
Chapter 109