Tyrant Sword!

That doubt echoed through his mind again and again. Deep within, Li Guanqi repeated in an empty whisper, "Indeed... what is the sword dao I cling to? "To grow stronger... but how strong must I become? "Nascent Soul? Soul Formation? Or Void Refinement? "The will that drives me to grow strong... has no end!!!!" In barely the blink of an eye, Li Guanqi hardened his resolve! "I will become an invincible powerhouse beneath the heavens! "At the apex of immortals, proud above the mortal world! "I want this world to never again blind my heart! "I want this world to never again have anyone who can decide my life and death at will!! "I want heaven and earth to bind neither my body nor my soul! "I want to be so strong that this world trembles, so that all who see me must call me the Great Sword Immortal Li! "I will... reign supreme over the path of the sword, unmatched beneath the heavens!!" In an instant, the seed of a domineering sword intent began to sprout wildly within his heart!! Ever since he was born, Li Guanqi had known only darkness. Yet the blindness of unseeing eyes was not the most terrifying thing. What was truly terrifying was the human heart. Fortunately, he had met his grandfather, Su Xuan. Su Xuan had been like a beam of sunlight shining into his closed-off heart. He had seen this world, and its vastness captivated him. Yet after joining the sect, he had experienced many things. All of it had taught him that once you step onto the great path of cultivation, you are often forced into circumstances beyond your control. Only strength was the ultimate truth! Lacking power and having power yet choosing not to use it were two entirely different things. Then came what had happened to Cao Yan. If he had already been in the Nascent Soul realm back then, or had possessed the power to slay Nascent Soul cultivators, would things be different now? If he had been strong enough, would... would that Soul Formation female cultivator not have treated him like an expendable plaything? Everything he had endured was because he was still too weak. Strength... *Boom!!!!* In the illusion of corpse-strewn mountains and seas of blood, Li Guanqi suddenly snapped his eyes open!!! The domineering will of a powerhouse surged wildly outward. In the cave, the bored sword spirit suddenly sprang to her feet!! An incredulous whisper escaped her lips. "Tyrant Sword!" "Even if he has grasped a sliver of the heart of a powerhouse, how could he possibly comprehend the intent of the Tyrant Sword..." "Is his conviction truly so unyielding?" Within the grand hall. Surges of an inexplicable will began to spread outward from that dense mist!! Amidst the originally heavy slaughter sword intent, a trace of will like sunlight suddenly pierced through!! Starting from a single strand, this will rapidly swelled and flourished!! In an instant, the dense slaughter sword intent suddenly began to shatter!! Li Qingcheng's expression shifted drastically. Stumbling, he flickered across the space to Li Guanqi's side. Yet his body passed straight through Li Guanqi. The elder no longer had any of his previous composure; his cloudy eyes were filled with sheer terror. "No!!! Im—impossible!!!" "How could you..." *Boom!!!!* A terrifying sword intent rose straight into the air!! The fearsome force blasted the elder dozens of zhang away!! *Bang!!* The elder's form suddenly grew vastly more translucent. Li Guanqi slowly opened his eyes. At this moment, where were any wounds on his body? Everything had merely been an illusion conjured by the elder to destroy his will. Yet that lightning intent had been completely real, and even the agony piercing his soul had been entirely genuine. Only now did he realize that it was merely his consciousness that had entered this realm, not his physical body. The earlier illusion of corpses and blood had been akin to a set of nesting dolls. Yet all of this had been predicated on his ability to hold fast to his original heart and refuse to absorb that slaughter sword intent. Had he failed to endure through that extreme agony and chosen to absorb the slaughter sword intent... *Boom!!!* Possessing the heart of a powerhouse, Li Guanqi cast an indifferent glance at the elder. Though his surging sword intent was still nascent, it radiated an incomparably formidable aura. Tyrant Sword! The Li Guanqi who once carried a gentle demeanor was now entirely like a treasured sword revealing its sharpest edge! His somewhat slender frame exuded an air of absolute dominion beneath the heavens. Even the elder, whose efforts had all come to naught, could sense the will of a true powerhouse from him! *If this boy does not die, he will surely become a titan in the future!* Yet in the very next moment, Li Guanqi's sea of consciousness hummed. Boundless divine sense erupted, coalescing in his hand into the shape of the Red Lotus sword. Enveloped in sword intent, the blade flashed across the air in a single instant!! *Boom!!!* In a flash, the hall within the illusion was torn apart by the sword light!!! *Boom!!!* Amidst the rampaging lightning, shrieks sounded like tens of thousands of crows howling at the top of their lungs!! Li Qingcheng's body was severed completely, his eyes gradually dimming into lifelessness. Before the power of this sliver of remnant soul dissipated, the elder's gaze seemed to bear witness to the birth of a titan. His eyes held unwillingness; he could not understand what this world had come to. Why would a mere Core Formation youth who had casually stumbled in possess such unbreakable resolve? In near-hopeless despair, he had actually comprehended his own sword intent, shattering the crisis! Heaven and earth fractured, the illusion gradually faded, and his body dissolved into specks of spiritual light, vanishing into the void. *Crack!!* The muffled sound of a jade pendant shattering abruptly rang out. Sitting cross-legged where he had been, Li Guanqi snapped his eyes open! Bracing both hands against the ground, he gasped heavily for air, his face pale as death, his forehead drenched in cold sweat!! The sword spirit crouched down, resting her chin on her hand, her beautiful eyes fixed straight on him. Li Guanqi took a good while to catch his breath. When he looked up, he met the sword spirit's gaze. Rising to his feet, he gave a wry smile. "What are you looking at?" In an ethereal yet earnest voice, the sword spirit replied, "Looking at a genius. "Tyrant Sword... I have to hand it to you." Li Guanqi looked at her in mild surprise, for he had truly heard astonishment in her voice. Touching his nose with a hint of secret delight, this was the first time he had felt the sword spirit acknowledge how great his talent was. Whether it was his spiritual root or anything else, the sword spirit had never shown such marvel before. Looking at the somewhat weary Li Guanqi, the sword spirit said softly, "Rest for a while. "Once you've recovered a bit, I'll teach you two sword strikes." Two sword strikes!! Hearing those words, Li Guanqi's eyes practically shone green with hunger. He did not know how powerful the two strikes personally imparted by the sword spirit would be, but he knew they could never be measured by conventional standards. Back then, the sword spirit had merely pointed out how to draw his sword, and his strength had skyrocketed. If she personally taught him two sword strikes, just how extraordinary would they be? Li Guanqi hastily circulated his cultivation method to calm his mind. Absorbing spirit stones, he focused his mind on stabilizing his sword intent. Sword intent was formless, an expression of human will; the higher one's sword dao, the stronger the sword intent. The two complemented each other, neither able to do without the other. Merely having the will of a powerhouse was useless if one's sword dao was mediocre. Meanwhile, sitting atop the sword casket, the sword spirit muttered in some distress, "Which two strikes should I teach him?" She knew far too much... Suddenly, her eyes lit up. The corners of her mouth curled slightly; evidently, she had thought of a great idea. Since she didn't know which to teach him, she might as well demonstrate several hundred sword styles for him and let him learn whatever he could. She would also tell him all the spirit incantations and other techniques he was capable of using, letting him master as many as possible. In any case, she was bound to him for the rest of this life, so she might as well assist him with all her heart to become a powerhouse and ascend to the Immortal Realm as soon as possible!