When the woman entered Li Guanqi's room, her gaze remained haughty, but her expression had softened considerably.
Li Guanqi had no idea why she had suddenly turned so gentle. He offered a faint smile and asked, "What's this? Planning to latch onto me?"
Seeing the cheeky smirk on his face, the woman felt an urge to stomp it into paste. But remembering the old man's threat just moments ago, along with her current predicament, she abandoned the thought.
Taking a deep breath, she said softly, "We can have a proper talk. I can return all the origin qi I absorbed from you."
Li Guanqi took a seat, his face betraying little emotion as he gestured for her to sit down as well. Seeing that she didn't budge, he chuckled. "Sit. Let's talk."
Once she sat, Li Guanqi asked bluntly, "Who are you?"
She did not hide it. Parting her slender lips, she answered in a soft voice, "A sword spirit."
Li Guanqi knitted his brow. "The sword spirit from that sword casket?"
Seeing that she did not deny it, Li Guanqi pondered for a moment and asked quietly, "How many swords are inside the casket in total?"
The woman slowly held up three fingers.
Li Guanqi nodded silently. "Do you have a name?"
At those words, the woman's body stiffened. She shook her head and replied softly, "The present you is not yet worthy of knowing my name. If you do not know what to call me, 'sword spirit' will suffice."
Though her words echoed what she had said before, Li Guanqi clearly sensed that she was not deliberately trying to provoke him this time. It felt more like... she was simply stating a fact.
Li Guanqi did not mind. He was far more interested in what the three swords inside the casket were.
As if reading his mind, the woman said softly, "With your current strength, you cannot bear any of those swords. Perhaps once you reach Core Formation, you might barely be able to wield the first. As for me... heh, don't even dream of it."
Li Guanqi shrugged. After a moment's thought, he said softly, "If I let a sword spirit like you stay by my side, what benefit do I get in return, besides feeding you my origin qi?"
The woman pointed at herself.
Before she could speak, Li Guanqi muttered under his breath, "Tsk... You sure are pretty, but if all I can do is look, it feels like a bit of a raw deal!"
Hearing this, the sword spirit's face turned livid. Never in her existence had she seen someone so shameless. In her day...
"Hmph! Keep dreaming!" Leaning her graceful figure slightly back against the chair, the sword spirit said in a low voice, "I mean that I will guide your cultivation from now on."
"I already have a master." Li Guanqi shrugged, feeling her offer was entirely pointless.
The sword spirit cut her eyes at him and enunciated each word: "I am nothing like him! A mere Core Formation cultivator—even one who once broke through to Nascent Soul—amounts to nothing! No one in this world can teach what I can teach!"
Li Guanqi merely mimicked her last sentence in a mocking, sarcastic tone.
Inwardly, he thought, *Is this sword spirit damaged goods? Why does she seem a few bricks short of a load? Maybe... I shouldn't bother with her?*
The sword spirit closed her eyes and took a deep breath. With a wave of her hand, a stream of spiritual light materialized before Li Guanqi.
One look was all Li Guanqi needed to understand. The human silhouette formed by the light was demonstrating the fragmented cultivation technique he had been practicing.
Yet the circulation pathway of that light was entirely different from the one he used!
Shock surged through Li Guanqi's heart. He discovered that this circulation pathway would increase his current cultivation speed by a full thirty percent! Moreover, numerous unfamiliar mnemonics manifested beside it.
Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow in astonishment. "Is this the continuation of that incomplete technique?"
The sword spirit gave a nonchalant nod and curled her lip. "For such garbage, deducing the subsequent parts couldn't be simpler. That said, this technique actually suits your spiritual root quite well, so there's no rush to switch techniques before Soul Formation."
Li Guanqi clicked his tongue without refuting her, merely grumbling inwardly, *You talk down about it, but I don't see you offering me a higher-grade technique.*
Still, he kept those thoughts to himself. Committing the follow-up mnemonics and circulation pathways to memory was what truly mattered right now.
A moment later, the spiritual light dissipated.
Glancing at the satisfied youth, the sword spirit asked softly, "Any other questions?"
Li Guanqi waved his hand with a broad smile. "No problem at all! None whatsoever. But... I just want to ask, how much more do you plan to siphon?"
The sword spirit rose slowly and said with aloof coolness, "Constantly."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi's expression darkened drastically. He couldn't help but say, "Doesn't that mean I'll have to hand over half of all the origin qi I cultivate from now on?"
The red-gowned sword spirit thought for a moment before replying softly, "This time was merely for my awakening. Before you reach Foundation Establishment, I won't take any. But afterward, you must share with me. I'll return the origin qi I took from you shortly, but you can still spare me a little when necessary. After all, I need to keep my current spirit from dispersing."
Only then did Li Guanqi breathe a sigh of relief. The sect's first assessment was only two months away. If she drained him without end, his cultivation speed would plummet.
Yet just as the sword spirit was about to step through the door, she suddenly turned back to look at Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi's expression instantly turned solemn; he didn't want to provoke her again. She could casually continue and modify an Earth-rank technique with a wave of her hand! And she was merely the spirit of a sword! How terrifying must that sword itself be?
*One day, I will definitely take her... ahem, hold that sword in my hands!*
The sword spirit stared at Li Guanqi for at least three breaths. Finally, in an extraordinarily solemn voice, she said, "Whatever happens, do not die!"
With that, she dissolved into a streak of light and darted into the sword casket.
Li Guanqi stood frozen in place for a long time.
*What did she mean by that? 'Do not die'? Given her realm, she's definitely an incredible being... She wouldn't just utter meaningless nonsense. But what does it mean? Could it be that in such a short time, she was overwhelmed by my domineering aura and fell for me?*
Li Guanqi shook his head and stroked his hair with supreme self-satisfaction.
A mysterious power arose within his body, and his aura surged upward, returning in the blink of an eye to the mid-stage of the fifth layer of Qi Refinement—only slightly shy of his previous peak.
Suddenly!
The courtyard gate was slammed open by an old man.
Chapter 30