The moment the tea entered his mouth, it dissolved into a wisp of pure energy that flowed down his throat.
A wave of cool refreshment swept through his entire body.
Under the influence of the spirit tea's power, Lu Kangnian—whose origin energy had still been churning violently—felt his aura gradually steady, growing far calmer and more composed!
Opening his eyes, a glint of sharp brilliance flashed across the man's gaze.
Long Qu smiled, poured a little more into Lu Kangnian's teacup, and said softly, "I presume you have guessed why I called for you."
Lu Kangnian's expression turned solemn. In a deep voice, he replied, "I would not presume to guess the Northern Heavenly King's mind.
"Whatever instructions you have, please state them plainly, Northern Heavenly King."
Long Qu leaned back slightly, slouching lazily against his chair. A teasing smile tugged at the corners of his resolute face.
Slowly fishing out a storage ring, he tossed it to Lu Kangnian. Then, his lips moved as he murmured something in secret.
***
Outside the magnificent palace.
Ling Daoyan watched the youth flying back and forth in streaks of light, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.
As if utterly oblivious to fatigue, the boy searched again and again for wounded disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Ye Feng and the others watched this unfold, yet none stepped forward to stop him.
They knew that Li Guanqi must be drowning in complicated sorrow and guilt.
Even Li Nanting, Shen Lan, and the rest merely watched in silence, never speaking to halt him.
It continued until Li Guanqi carried back a severely wounded youth whose intestines were spilling out.
Shen Lan reached out immediately to take the disciple. Finding he still breathed, she urgently began channeling her energy to treat him.
Just as the boy turned to rush off once more, Li Nanting reached out from the side and caught hold of the deathly pale youth.
The old man spoke in a gentle voice, "Enough. He was the last one."
Beside the elder stood Xu Zhengjie, Gu Ran, Ye Feng, and the rest.
The disciples of Tianlei Peak had all gathered together.
A strained smile touched Gu Ran's face as she softly said, "Junior Brother, that is enough.
"Let's... go back together."
Li Guanqi's back stiffened abruptly, as though he had no idea how to face everyone at this moment.
His once-white inner robe was now tattered and shredded, drenched from head to toe in blood.
Before, he could hide behind the desperate search for the wounded, but now...
His shoulders trembling faintly, the youth turned around. Ling Daoyan had also walked over.
Seeing this, all the surrounding disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect came to a halt.
With eyes brimmed with tears, Li Guanqi looked across the crowd, his voice faint as the buzz of a mosquito.
"I... I will not be returning with you.
"It is all... because of me that so many senior brothers and sisters in the sect died in vain.
"I have no face left to go back...
"I already said it earlier... I withdraw from the sect."
Hearing those words, everyone felt an ache in their chest, at a loss for how to console him.
Just as the youth was about to turn away, Li Nanting took a sudden stride forward, his face dark with fury.
He slapped him across the face!
*Smack!*
The strike rang out crisp and loud, stunning countless onlookers.
Li Guanqi bowed his head in a daze, his long black hair veiling most of his face.
The old man berated him angrily, "Are you awake now?!
"If not, this old man will hit you again!"
"Nanting! What are you doing!"
Shen Lan hastily pulled back the agitated elder.
Li Nanting yelled furiously, "What am I doing? I say he's lost his damn mind!
"Withdraw from the sect? You leave just because you say so? Are you truly so cowardly, so devoid of responsibility?!
"Look behind you! Look at everyone around you! Is there a single soul blaming you for what you did?
"The people standing here are all your senior brothers and senior sisters!
"One day, you too will be a senior brother to newly joined disciples!
"Today's affair—even if it weren't you, Li Guanqi, it would have been Wang Guanqi, or Zhao Guanqi!
"Should the Great Xia Sword Sect just stand by and do nothing? Have you forgotten our sect creed?!"
At that point, the elder turned to face the disciples gathered all around, demanding in a booming voice:
"Tell me! Do you regret everything the sect did today?!"
In an instant, every disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect raised their sword toward the sky!
With solemn faces, they roared in thunderous unison: "No regrets!"
The sky-shaking reply was absolute, without the slightest hint of hesitation!
The origin energy around Li Nanting surged violently, tempestuous thunder force rampaging across his frame.
His sharp gaze swept over the face of every disciple, and he shouted in a deep, commanding voice:
"Tell me loudly! What is the creed of the Great Xia Sword Sect?!"
Instantly, whether disciple or peak elder, every single member of the Great Xia Sword Sect straightened with solemn faces and roared with all their might:
"Creed of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
"The sword in hand points not at the weak; the sword in heart fears no mighty foe!
"Right the injustices of the realm; slay those across the world who deserve to die!"
The voices rang in absolute unison, spoken from the depths of their hearts!
Carried by their rich, powerful origin energy, the roar of all the disciples resonated into the far distance.
Soaring into the sky, the old man looked down at Li Guanqi.
"You brat! Raise your head! Look at me!"
Li Guanqi's eyes were blurred with tears as he slowly raised his head to face the elder.
Li Nanting looked down at him and said heavily:
"Do you still remember the words the Sect Master spoke when you entered the sect?!
"If you remember, say them aloud for me!"
Li Guanqi's mind flashed back to the day he had joined the sect.
When his spiritual root was tested, the entire sect had been shaken.
Sect Master Lu Kangnian had broken out of secluded cultivation and spoken a few words to him upon his entry. He actually remembered them with crystal clarity.
At the time, he had not taken those words to heart, assuming they were merely pretty rhetoric used by sect leadership to inspire disciples.
Li Guanqi's voice drifted out, slow and trembling.
"If one day... by upholding our creed, you strike out and face a mighty foe, the Great Xia Sword Sect will marshal the strength of the entire sect to keep you safe and whole..."
Yes. Those were the exact words Lu Kangnian had spoken before asking if he was willing to join Tianlei Peak.
Because he had thought it was merely an empty platitude back then, he remembered it vividly.
Until today...
Yet before he could finish, the old man cut him off sharply.
"Louder! I can't hear you! None of us can hear you!"
Li Guanqi pressed his lips together, and the surging origin energy within him erupted like a volcano!
Blue veins bulged across his neck. He opened his mouth and roared with every ounce of his strength:
"If one day! By upholding our creed, you strike out and face a mighty foe! The Great Xia Sword Sect will marshal the strength of the entire sect... to! Keep! You! Safe! And! Whole!"
*Boom!!*
The fierce, impassioned roar, carrying his origin energy, rolled through the wind and snow for thousands of paces.
Looking at the youth whose face was flushed red and whose neck strained with bulging veins, a flicker of satisfaction shone deep in the old man's eyes.
Turning around toward the surrounding disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect, Li Nanting slowly spread his arms, gesturing for Li Guanqi to look upon them.
The old man's voice echoed out steadily:
"Let me tell you: the Sect Master speaks these words to every generation of disciples!
"Not just to you! Gu Ran, Lan He, Elder Shen Lan, Elder Xu, including myself...
"Every disciple belonging to the Great Xia Sword Sect has heard those words!
"Perhaps those words were not spoken by Lu Kangnian, but they were certainly spoken by the Sect Master of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
"To us, those words are also our sect creed!
"The third creed that the Great Xia Sword Sect defends with its swords!"
The old man paused briefly, looking around at the surrounding disciples before continuing softly: "Therefore, the Great Xia Sword Sect does not permit you to leave!
"Nothing you did was wrong!
"In conflict, casualties are inevitable!
"Perhaps in the future, you too will stand among the crowd in the sky, and you may not be the protagonist then.
"Yet you will ultimately become like the senior brothers and sisters of our sect.
"This is what makes the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
Li Guanqi's tears burst forth like a broken dam. He threw back his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
Through choking sobs, he murmured in a trembling voice:
"In this life, no regrets... to have entered Great Xia!"
Chapter 166