Li Guanqi departed.
His departure drew no one's attention.
Yet the assessment Li Guanqi had established proceeded on schedule, and nearly all the disciples passed.
Among them, many possessed somewhat mediocre talent or lacked sufficient resources, leaving them unable to break through. But their diligence was plain for all to see, a point Li Guanqi had made sure to mention before leaving.
Where some stayed, others were bound to leave.
Tang Chuan, claiming to be the foremost disciple of the inner sect, hadn't taken the matter seriously at all. Not to mention that to make another breakthrough, he would have had to advance into the Nascent Soul realm.
Yet what he never expected was that the moment Li Guanqi left, Chu Xingxian issued an order:
Tang Chuan was stripped of his status as an inner sect direct disciple and demoted to the outer sect!
The news sent a jolt through countless minds.
Yet it was also because of this that when others were subsequently expelled from the sect, they finally realized that the Wind Thunder Sect was no longer what it used to be. Now... one truly could lose everything!
The assessment system Li Guanqi instituted was retained as well, reportedly by personal order of the sect leader. Furthermore, this bottom-tier elimination assessment system would remain in place permanently.
Disciples sleeping in late could no longer be seen anywhere within the Wind Thunder Sect at night; everyone exerted themselves to the utmost, cultivating bitterly. After all, failing the monthly assessment carried dire consequences. Moreover, the Wind Thunder Sect's rewards were enticing. With both the carrot and the stick, the sect's atmosphere for cultivation grew ever more fervent.
Because of this matter, Chu Xingxian personally delivered a substantial amount of cultivation resources to the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Lu Kangnian set down the jade slip in his hand and couldn't help but smile faintly. Handing it to those beside him to pass around, he chuckled, "These brats can really take charge on their own now. To think Guanqi has already broken through to the middle Nascent Soul realm. Such cultivation speed is truly terrifying."
Li Nanting set down the jade slip, grinned, and stroked his beard with a laugh. "Disciples of our Great Xia Sword Sect ought to be this outstanding!"
Lu Kangnian nodded with a smile, then looked down at the elders below and said in a grave voice, "There are still many eyes fixed upon our Great Xia Sword Sect right now. Therefore, we must act with utmost caution over these next few years. And as for that Qi Refinement cultivation method, we must be exceedingly selective when distributing it among the disciples. If necessary, we can even place restrictions within them! That way, we can also prevent anyone with ulterior motives from leaking the technique."
At this point, Lu Kangnian turned toward another old man and smiled. "By the way, how is the disciple Li Guanqi accepted on behalf of the sect doing?"
The old man replied with a beaming smile, "Thanks to that kid, he actually found me such a fine seedling! That little fellow named Cang Lu is improving at incredible speed. It looks like it won't be more than a few years before he breaks through to the Nascent Soul realm. His spiritual root is a peak king-grade spiritual root, even stronger than Wu Ge's!"
At the mention of this, the old man beamed ear to ear, his gaze toward Li Nanting overflowing with warmth.
Lu Kangnian nodded with a smile. "Good, but the disciple's character still needs close observation. While Guanqi thinks to bring back fine prospects while he's out, it's inevitable that he won't always have the chance to gauge their temperament. No matter how formidable their talent, our Great Xia Sword Sect only accepts those of upright character!"
Hearing this, the elders below nodded in agreement.
The reason the Great Xia Sword Sect enjoyed unmatched prominence today was precisely because its conduct was impeccably upright and its rewards and punishments were strictly fair.
Li Nanting spoke in a soft voice, "Guanqi also brought back a considerable amount of useful cultivation resources for the sect, all of which have already been stored in the vault. In addition... that woman named Song Zhi'ang has been properly settled. She opened a tofu shop at the foot of the mountain. Since she has no spiritual root, and given her past identity, I didn't arrange for her to stay on the mountain."
Hearing this, Lu Kangnian nodded and murmured, "Then keep an eye on her safety; don't let her suffer any harassment."
Li Nanting shook his head with a wry smile. "Sect Leader, as if you didn't know... This girl is Sui'an's savior. Who would be so blind as to bully her?"
Currently, Yu Sui'an was practically the reigning little menace of the entire Great Xia Sword Sect. In the year since Li Guanqi left, Yu Sui'an's strength and cultivation realm had soared at breakneck speed. In just a single year, she had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and it likely wouldn't be long before she broke through to the Core Formation realm. Moreover, Yu Sui'an's power was somewhat strange and her constitution exceedingly peculiar—even Lu Kangnian couldn't fathom it. All they knew was that her cultivation path was completely unobstructed, with not the slightest hint of bottlenecks between realms. On top of that, Yu Sui'an's spiritual root was the Great Xia Sword Sect's second saint-grade spiritual root, and an ultimate metal-attribute spiritual root at that.
At the thought of this little girl, Lu Kangnian felt a headache coming on. He simply stood up and coughed, "Ahem... I've had some insights recently, so I will enter secluded cultivation for a time. I'll leave the sect's affairs in your hands."
Hearing this, everyone felt their heads throb. The Great Xia Sword Sect could not remain in seclusion forever, and over this past year, countless outstanding disciples had emerged within the sect. These disciples had broken through one after another to the Nascent Soul realm, becoming the sect's core pillar of strength. With the Great Xia Sword Sect broadly reopening its mountain gates in two years, everyone still felt considerable pressure.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Li Guanqi listened to the wind howling in his ears and slowly took a deep breath. Indeed, he still preferred the feeling of freedom. Although everything had been very fine during his time in the Wind Thunder Sect, he felt that in the end he was still merely a guest.
Just then, Li Guanqi suddenly remembered the two jade pendants in his possession. He had been so busy lately that he hadn't had the chance to look into what was actually inside them. Faced with this unknown, a thrill rose within Li Guanqi's heart, tinged with a faint anticipation. The feeling was quite wondrous, like knowing full well there was something inside without knowing what it was. Before opening it, he was thoroughly curious about what lay within.
Looking at the two jade pendants in his hands, Li Guanqi slowly brought them together.
Buzz!
The instant the two jade pendants met, countless crimson threads sprang from the fractures, tangling and weaving into one another. Immediately afterward, they merged into a single, complete jade pendant.
A gentle warmth radiated from the jade pendant. It appeared completely whole, engraved with patterns he could not decipher.
Li Guanqi gently sent out a strand of divine sense toward the jade pendant. Right away, a map shimmering with flowing light appeared within Li Guanqi's sea of consciousness.
Yet to his eyes, this map seemed rather unfamiliar; it did not look like a map of the Eastern Domain.
Upon the glowing map, a blazing cluster of flames was exceptionally prominent.
Li Guanqi pursed his lips. He had thought it would be a treasure map, or perhaps some mysterious cultivation method or secret technique.
Chapter 311