Many disciples noticed Li Guanqi as well, their eyes filled with admiration and envy.
"Sigh... If only I didn't have to worry about cultivation resources every day."
"Tch, even if they gave you that many resources, you wouldn't necessarily cultivate this quickly!"
"Whoa! Senior Brother Li is challenging the Sword Tower again! Do you think he can reach the seventh floor this time?" a female cultivator from Tianshui Peak asked, swooning.
The female cultivator beside her flushed slightly and said, "He should... be able to. He definitely will!"
Yet Li Guanqi had been completely absorbed in the sword strike the sword spirit had demonstrated earlier, paying no attention to the reactions of the crowd.
Even if they had reacted, he would not have cared. What mattered to him was whether he could break through to the seventh floor today.
He replayed that sword strike the woman had unleashed over and over in his mind.
What he did not know was that the strike had merely been a casual wave of the sword spirit's hand.
The sword spirit had not expected him to comprehend anything from it.
Even so, a casual strike from her was still immensely powerful!
Yet just as Li Guanqi took out a spirit stone and pressed it onto the formation, his furrowed brows slowly smoothed out.
*Buzz!*
The Sword Tower's teleportation array whisked him straight to the seventh floor.
The moment he arrived, Li Guanqi spotted the seven pitch-black puppets that had caused him so much suffering.
If he took half a step forward from where he stood, these seven puppets of equal cultivation realm would converge on him in an instant.
"Phew..."
Li Guanqi's hand slowly rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist. His stance was completely identical to the one the sword spirit had struck earlier.
The sword spirit watched the scene in disbelief.
*Does he truly possess such comprehension?*
*Buzz!*
The longsword trembled faintly, and Li Guanqi's entire demeanor abruptly transformed!
He then stepped forward with force. Instantly, faint blue flames flared to life within the eyes of the seven metal puppets.
The puppets moved immediately, lunging toward Li Guanqi in unison from seven directions!
The whistle of swords slicing through the air sounded as though it were right beside his ears.
Yet Li Guanqi stood rooted to the spot, entirely motionless.
Suddenly!
Just as the seven swords were a mere three inches away, Li Guanqi snapped his eyes open!
A razor-sharp intensity erupted from his previously vacant eyes!
*Clang!*
The sword sprang from its sheath. A flash of sword light, fast as lightning, flickered and vanished before him!
Before the ringing resonance of the unsheathing blade could even fade, the sword had already returned to its scabbard!
*Boom, bang, bang, bang!*
A continuous rumble of muffled thuds sounded. The seven puppets froze in place, each bearing a long sword scar across its chest!
Li Guanqi turned and stepped off the teleportation array, murmuring softly, "What a swift draw technique!"
"Let's call it Rushing Thunder!"
Inside the sword casket, the sword spirit watched the scene in silence.
*To think his talent in the way of the sword is this extraordinary... Could it truly be heaven's will?*
Before the thought could settle, she gave a sudden sneer.
*Heh. Since when did I believe in heaven's will?*
*Su Xuan... did you truly just casually give me away to him?*
A question that had troubled her for a long time resurfaced in her mind.
Watching Li Guanqi's retreating figure, the sword spirit could not help but whisper to herself, *Should I help him?*
*The stronger he grows, the more beneficial it is to me.*
***
In the month remaining before the entry assessment, Li Guanqi became the busiest person around. Every day, his master would come by to inspect his cultivation progress.
Once Li Nanting departed, the sword spirit's grueling training began.
Yet because of this, his strength surged forward at a blistering pace.
Li Guanqi's cultivation speed was in a league of its own among the newly recruited disciples.
Even so, other disciples across the sect were also breaking through in rapid succession.
Ye Feng of Tianjin Peak, Lin Dong of Tiantu Peak, and several others advanced at an impressive rate as well.
Li Guanqi was not the only one training relentlessly; many cultivated through the night, not daring to slacken in the slightest.
The sword technique Li Guanqi practiced was also revised by the sword spirit.
Indeed, she had overhauled it outright!
The ornate Azure Lotus sword blossoms were discarded completely, leaving behind only the swift, decisive essence of the sword art.
As for the reason, the sword spirit offered only a single sentence:
"All else is useless; speed alone breaks everything!"
"As long as your sword is fast enough, you can be a step ahead of others and pierce your blade into the enemy's throat."
And the sword-drawing strike Li Guanqi had picked up was the ultimate embodiment of speed, precision, and ferocity.
With seven days left before the entry assessment, Li Guanqi's cultivation reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement!
Such speed not only stunned everyone, but even drew the attention of Sect Master Lu Kangnian.
While encouraging all the disciples under his sect, the Sect Master made sure to praise Li Guanqi for his diligent training.
Everyone accepted this without resentment. After all, nobody bothered to harbor petty jealousy over pure talent.
Talent was decided at birth, and no one could argue with it.
What was truly vexing, however, was when someone who possessed greater talent than you worked even harder than you!
Li Nanting was delighted as well, visiting Li Guanqi's courtyard in the evening and talking at length.
His main point was that Li Guanqi should not rush into attempting a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment just yet.
"For you, Foundation Establishment is merely the beginning, so you must lay a solid groundwork!"
"Expand your dantian as much as you can during the Qi Refinement stage!"
"This will determine how far you can travel down the path toward immortality!"
After Li Nanting left, the sword spirit slowly manifested and said, "On this matter, that little fellow's thinking isn't wrong."
Dark lines crossed Li Guanqi's face. The words sounded thoroughly awkward to his ears.
"A little fellow? My master is over two hundred years old, and you call him a little fellow?"
The sword spirit smiled faintly without saying more.
Instead, with a grave expression, she pointed to the chair before him, signaling him to sit.
Li Guanqi frowned slightly. Though he had no idea why, he obediently sat down.
Through their interactions during this time, Li Guanqi had realized that the sword spirit was remarkably knowledgeable and experienced.
Practically whatever he asked, there was almost nothing she did not know.
Not only that, but throughout his cultivation, her severity was directly proportional to the results.
Were it not for her, he never could have broken through multiple realms in such a short span of time.
After maintaining her silence for a long time, the sword spirit finally spoke softly. "Do you know how many levels there are in the Qi Refinement realm?"
Puzzled, Li Guanqi answered quietly, "Qi Refinement has ten levels in total. Isn't that an acknowledged fact in the cultivation world?"
Yet when she heard this, the sword spirit shook her head.
"Huh? Is it not?"
Li Guanqi then watched as the sword spirit waved her hand, laying down an invisible barrier across the courtyard.
Within the barrier, she spoke with utmost gravity. "That may be the common understanding in the cultivation world."
"What I must tell you, however, is that Qi Refinement actually has thirteen levels!"
"It is only because the present cultivation world has lost the training methods beyond the tenth level that everyone believes there are only ten."
The sword spirit's words struck him like a bolt from the blue, leaving him reeling in shock.
"What? Did I hear that right? Thirteen levels? How could that be!"
"If they truly exist, why does everyone only know of ten?"
"Besides, once you break through the tenth level of Qi Refinement, you reach the Foundation Establishment realm. Where would a next level even come from?"
The woman smiled faintly. With a gentle tap of her finger against the empty air, a beam of spiritual light instantly sank into Li Guanqi's mind.
Obscure, profound incantations surfaced within his thoughts, line after line.
Gradually, Li Guanqi's eyes widened to the extreme!
For what lay before him truly was the cultivation incantation for the thirteen levels of Qi Refinement!
Chapter 40