Li Guanqi's murmur slowly carried outward.
In an instant, the expressions of all the Great Xia Sword Sect disciples soaring on their flying swords turned solemn!
They echoed in low voices, "In this life, I have no regrets having entered Great Xia!"
In this moment, the rising whispers merged into a sweeping torrent that surged in all directions!
The spirit of an entire sect coalesced into a roaring celestial river, resounding across the sky!
It shook the very souls of all who heard it!
At this sight, envious looks appeared in the eyes of many rogue cultivators.
The unity demonstrated by the Great Xia Sword Sect at this moment was something they, as rogue cultivators, had never experienced.
That feeling of having someone at your back, of no longer fighting all alone, struck deeply at their hearts.
Just then, Lu Kangnian emerged from the palace hall.
An unprecedented ambition flickered within his eyes.
It was the resolve to make his sect grow grand and powerful!
Clutching the storage ring tightly in his hand, the burly man gazed with burning eyes at the multitude of disciples in the sky, their murmurs ringing in his ears.
In his heart, he felt immeasurable pride!
Every disciple turned to look at the man enveloped in swirling sword light.
Lu Kangnian's throat bobbed slightly as he forced down the surging emotion in his chest. In a deep voice, he called out, "Let's go! We're going home!"
At that moment, everyone smiled.
Yes, home.
Confronted with Ziyang Palace, a force several times mightier than the Great Xia Sword Sect, they had won.
They had won honorably and uprightly; they had won thoroughly and triumphantly.
In an orderly fashion, the disciples stepped into the teleportation array returning to the sect.
Surrounded by his senior brothers and sisters from Tianlei Peak, Li Guanqi also stepped onto the teleportation array leading back to their sect.
Throughout the journey, Li Guanqi's emotions churned restlessly. Yet whether it was his peers beside him, his senior brothers and sisters, or even the sect's highest leadership, the attitude shown by everyone gave him immense peace of mind.
It clearly communicated to him that even if it hadn't been Li Guanqi today, the sect would still have done this without the slightest hesitation!
This was the first time Li Guanqi had ever felt something called a sense of belonging.
After a long while, everyone finally returned to the familiar Great Xia Sword Sect.
Yet the first thing Lu Kangnian did upon returning was announce to all the reward given by Northern Heavenly King Long Qu!
*Buzz—!*
A massive spirit vein stretching a full hundred zhang abruptly materialized across the sky!
In an instant, the spiritual energy throughout the Great Xia Sword Sect became extraordinarily active, and a thin spirit mist even formed above the square!
Seeing this, countless disciples showed expressions of wild excitement!
A high-grade spirit vein!
Even Ziyang Palace possessed only two high-grade spirit veins in total.
Right before all the disciples' eyes, Lu Kangnian placed that colossal spirit vein upon Tianzhu Peak!
For located there was a spirit vein formation capable of dispersing spiritual energy in all directions.
In a resonant voice, Lu Kangnian said, "For the next hundred years, aside from a few core Spirit Ascension Platforms, the purpose of this spirit vein will be solely to raise your overall strength and cultivation realms!"
As soon as these words were spoken, they immensely invigorated every disciple.
They had assumed that such an invaluable spirit vein would never be theirs to enjoy.
If granted to the sect's Core Formation and Nascent Soul elders, this spirit vein would undoubtedly have had an even greater impact. Yet without a shred of hesitation, Lu Kangnian had chosen to dedicate the entirety of this spirit vein to the disciples!
Because he knew that if a sect wished to prosper for generations, its foundation lay with these young disciples.
*Boom!*
With a single raise of Lu Kangnian's hand, an immense azure barrier of light instantly enveloped the entire Great Xia Sword Sect!
Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, Lu Kangnian said, "You all personally took part in the battle against Ziyang Palace earlier today. That's right! We won!"
The moment those words fell, bursts of cheering erupted from the disciples beneath the high platform!
To outsiders, the Great Xia Sword Sect had always appeared to be an exceedingly bizarre sect. Its strength was clearly nothing extraordinary, yet it was burdened with a mountain of bothersome rules. No one understood why the Great Xia Sword Sect clung so fiercely to those so-called rules.
Yet only now did every disciple truly and deeply understand the Great Xia Sword Sect's creed!!
Among them, there was no shortage of elders who had belonged to the sect for decades or even centuries. Tears shimmered in the eyes of several middle-aged Core Formation disciples as they whispered, "Perhaps... this is the true meaning of our creed!"
The man let the disciples beneath the platform pump their fists and shout to their hearts' content.
Then he turned to look at the youth who had remained silent all along.
His voice turned gentle as he said softly, "I am sure you have all heard something of what happened. But I want to say this: from start to finish, Li Guanqi did nothing wrong! Perhaps some might ask why he couldn't have endured until after the battle for the championship was over before venting his wrath."
Reaching this point, Lu Kangnian paused noticeably. He then looked at Li Guanqi and said softly, "Guanqi, tell me why."
Li Guanqi parted his lips. After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice, "The sect expended resources to nurture me. I originally wanted to endure it. Yet no matter how much I tried, the fury in my chest burned so fiercely that I simply could not hold it in. Because... once the battle for the championship ended, those people from Ziyang Palace would have departed with their elders. Their assault on Sui'an... would likely have ended with nothing done."
At that, Li Guanqi slowly raised his head, looked at Lu Kangnian, and said in a heavy voice, "Why? Because I was afraid... I was afraid I wouldn't be able to kill every single one of those beasts!!"
A ringing voice burst from his throat, resolute, forceful, and dripping with murderous intent.
The eyes of countless onlookers shifted again and again as they looked at him!
Raising a hand, Lu Kangnian said in a deep voice, "Perhaps... even so, many among you might still feel he was reckless. Yet let me tell you this: we sword cultivators ought to be exactly like this! Once your heart is set before unsheathing your sword, then strike without reservations! Furthermore... do not forget one thing!"
Step by step, Lu Kangnian trod on empty air, walking into the center of the crowd!
His sharp eyes swept across the surroundings. Looking at those youthful faces, he spoke in a low voice, "It was he who opened the Purgatory Challenge, standing alone with his sword before a hundred sects! Before the eyes of all, he dragged the Great Xia Sword Sect—a sect that should have long been eliminated—step by step all the way to the position of champion!"
Pointing at Li Guanqi below, the man gazed at the youth with an aching heart and shouted aloud, "Do you know what state he was in when he stepped off that stage back then? At his worst, he had over sixty sword wounds across his body! Over sixty!! There wasn't a single uninjured patch of flesh left on his upper body! Even if he had failed to bring the sect that championship, what of it? For our sect, he has already done more than enough!"
*Boom!*
An incomparably mighty pressure erupted from the man's body.
The pressure blanketed the surroundings, churning the winds and clouds as his white robe whipped fiercely in the gale!
"So what if we handle the rest?! It was merely Ziyang Palace—what does our Great Xia Sword Sect have to fear?!"
Chapter 167