Promise Me, Alright?

Li Guanqi slept groggily for four full days. Throughout those four days, Gu Yan came by every day to change his medicine, never failing to marvel at what he saw. Li Guanqi possessed an exceptional constitution, and his injuries were healing at an astonishing pace. On the night of the fourth day, Gu Yi sneaked in to check on him. Suddenly, Li Guanqi's eyes snapped open! He grabbed Gu Yi's hand and drove a knife-hand chop straight for the boy's throat! Terrified, the boy collapsed to the floor, scrambling backward for his life. In the end, it was the sword spirit who called out to stop him. Li Guanqi, still half-dazed, fell back onto the bed with a thud. Wailing in terror, Gu Yi bolted out the door like a streak of smoke to fetch Gu Yan. Gu Yan had scolded his grandson countless times for that reckless curiosity of his. Even so, he hurried over to examine Li Guanqi once more. This time, he discovered that the youth's internal injuries were nearly healed. Having just broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, however, continuous battles had completely drained his body of primal energy. A little more time to recover was all he needed. While Li Guanqi lay unconscious, his awareness was entirely clear; it was only his physical body that remained too weak. The sword spirit drew his consciousness into the void space and briefed him on his current circumstances. Li Guanqi had never expected that the old man would be the one to save him. Truly... the world was unpredictable. Next, the sword spirit began explaining various matters regarding the Nascent Soul realm. Upon reaching the Nascent Soul realm, one's internal vitality became extraordinarily vigorous, granting a lifespan of over a thousand years, though generally capped at no more than fifteen hundred. When he heard that, Li Guanqi pointed at himself in disbelief. "A thousand years?! Right now?! I can live for a thousand years?!" To a seventeen-year-old youth, living an entire millennium felt utterly inconceivable. Yet when he saw the sword spirit nod solemnly, his head still buzzed with disbelief. Only after a long while did he slowly accept the fact. Regardless of whether he believed it or not, he could now live for a thousand years. Seeing his reaction, the sword spirit scoffed. "Merely a thousand years. To the immortals of the Upper Realm, a single closed-door seclusion might last longer than that." Li Guanqi sat cross-legged before her and smacked his lips. Such things were far too distant for him, so he did not take them to heart at all. Then the sword spirit continued in a soft voice, "The reason the Nascent Soul and Core Formation realms are called two stages separated by an insurmountable chasm is because the inner core transforms into an infant!" Li Guanqi tilted his head and asked, "Then is my current Nascent Soul considered very formidable?" The corner of the sword spirit's eye twitched. A golden Nascent Soul! How could it not be formidable?! In truth, what mattered upon reaching the Nascent Soul realm was the quality of the Nascent Soul and whether it manifested any anomalies. Li Guanqi possessed an Ethereal Dao Body, and his Core Formation quality had already been exceptionally high. Under the Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation, his Nascent Soul had even swallowed the tribulation lightning, causing the spiritual roots within him to mutate. Such Nascent Soul quality was undeniably top-tier. Seeing her remain silent, Li Guanqi assumed his Nascent Soul must be quite ordinary. The sword spirit slowly held out her palm. The space before her began to ripple and distort, transforming in an instant into a remarkably solid spatial barrier! The sight startled Li Guanqi, and he blurted out, "You can harness spatial power now?" The sword spirit shrugged, waved her hand to disperse the spatial power, and leaned back slightly. A flowing red dress accentuated her figure to perfection. She said softly, "I currently possess no strength of my own; everything is based on yours. I was able to demonstrate spatial power only because you broke through to the Nascent Soul realm. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to manifest it for you even if I knew how." Li Guanqi nodded slightly, understanding the reason. The sword spirit then began instructing him on how to master a Nascent Soul cultivator's greatest reliance: teleportation! By comprehending spatial power, one could fold space to achieve instant displacement. However, ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators rarely dared to teleport too far. The longer the folded space, the stronger the spatial forces one had to withstand. As a newcomer to the Nascent Soul realm, one's teleportation distance typically would not exceed three hundred zhang. Even at the peak of the realm, it would not exceed a thousand zhang. After explaining this, the sword spirit continued, "With a Nascent Soul born within your body, your resonance with heaven and earth grows more harmonious, and your absorption of spiritual energy will quicken. Aside from that... the most crucial thing is to comprehend your own domain!" She sighed softly. "Only by comprehending a domain of your own can you truly be considered a powerhouse among Nascent Souls, possessing the capital to vie for supremacy against genuine chosen prodigies." At that point, she leaned forward from her reclined posture. Lowering her gaze, she gently cupped Li Guanqi's face with both hands. The sudden touch sent a shiver straight through him. He had never expected her to make such an intimate gesture out of nowhere. The sword spirit was without question the most beautiful woman Li Guanqi had ever seen. Their faces were now separated by no more than a fist's breadth, close enough that he could see her long eyelashes trembling faintly. Cupping his face, her fox-like eyes gazed steadily into his. Her crimson lips parted, her voice laced with deep yearning as she spoke. "Promise me... you must keep growing stronger, alright...?" As if drawn by some inexplicable impulse, Li Guanqi asked, "Strong to what extent?" The sword spirit smiled, revealing two faint, exquisite dimples at the corners of her mouth. She rose slowly and looked up toward the sky above. "Strong enough... to make heaven and earth tremble! Strong enough to tread the Nine Heavens with your sword!" She looked down at Li Guanqi and said softly, "Your enemies are the immortals in the heavens! From the moment you accepted me, all of this was set in stone. If you wish to turn back now, there is still time." Li Guanqi looked straight at her. Deep within her eyes, he caught a flicker of hope, yet also a trace of hesitation—as though she dared not place too much hope in him, afraid of being disappointed. Li Guanqi broke into a grin. Rising to his feet, he murmured, "I was born a lowly commoner. By good fortune, I stepped onto the path of cultivation and met an unreliable old grandfather. Then I joined a sect of upright character. Once I left the sect, all I wanted was to roam the world, to see how vast it is, to witness the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, and to see the other chosen prodigies out there. Along the way, I've met many people and seen many things." He scratched his head sheepishly. "I used to yearn for wandering the jianghu alongside my brothers. But after going through so much, I realized I didn't seem to have any real goal of my own. Wanting to grow stronger was simply because, after what happened with Cao Yan, I didn't want to be pushed around anymore." The sword spirit listened in silence, unsure of where he was going with this. Li Guanqi took two slow steps forward and tilted his head slightly, looking up at the sword spirit, who stood considerably taller than him. "But from this moment on, I am willing to carry your will and grow stronger!" The sword spirit smiled. In the depths of her eyes, not a trace of her earlier hesitation remained. Looking down at him, she said softly, "Alright!"