Early the next morning, Li Guanqi woke from his cultivation as usual.
His cultivation realm had completely stabilized at the eleventh level.
This sensation of immense strength thoroughly fascinated him.
Taking out the dharma artifact longsword from yesterday, he circulated his primal energy through it and clearly felt that this sword was far superior to an ordinary refined iron sword.
He then practiced his sword art dozens of times, stopping only after exhausting every last ounce of his strength.
The calluses on his left hand were even thicker than those on his right, and the torn skin at the base of his left thumb, split open countless times, had long since callused over.
The sword spirit watched with an amused expression from the side as the youth practiced, chiming in with a remark or two now and then.
When daylight broke fully, Li Guanqi packed up his things and set off for Tianjian Peak.
Only a handful of people stood on the vast plaza at this hour.
As he drew near, he spotted several familiar faces.
Lin Dong of Tiantu Peak beamed and waved toward Li Guanqi.
Another person curled his lips into a smirk.
"Told you my bet was right! The last spot had to be you."
Even without opening his mind's eye, Li Guanqi knew who was speaking—Ye Feng, the "King of Gamblers" from Tianjin Peak.
Over the past few months, Li Guanqi had won at least three hundred spirit stones betting against him, which was why he had simply dubbed Ye Feng with that title.
Another was Zhong Lin, whom Li Guanqi had seen during his very first class at Tianshui Peak.
The final person was a disciple from Tianshui Peak, a gentle yet aloof-looking young woman.
She was exceptionally pretty, truly fitting the praise of a celestial beauty!
Her name was Ke Qin. She was a disciple from the previous intake and a student under Lan He, already at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refinement—far higher in realm than Lin Dong and the others.
Both Lin Dong and Zhong Lin were at the peak of the seventh level, looking as if they could break through to the eighth at any moment.
Ye Feng was likewise at the ninth level; one had to admit his talent was exceedingly high as well.
The leader escorting them this time was none other than Shen Lan, the Peak Lord of Tianshui Peak.
When Shen Lan saw Li Guanqi, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
He teased, "All you do these days is practice your sword, kid. You'd better not neglect the path of spiritual incantations."
Li Guanqi nodded a little guiltily; after all, it had been quite a while since he last attended classes at Tianshui Peak.
Shen Lan did not press the matter. Li Guanqi also nodded politely to Ke Qin by way of greeting.
Then, light flared in Shen Lan's hand, and a boat no larger than a spirit stone appeared on his palm.
As everyone looked on in astonishment, Zhong Lin explained beside Li Guanqi, "This is called a cloud boat. It ranks as a spirit tool. People usually take a cloud boat for long-distance journeys."
With a flick of his hand, Shen Lan tossed the cloud boat into the air. The palm-sized vessel suddenly expanded until it was a full ten zhang long!
Along both sides were folded sails, presumably used for adjusting direction.
The group boarded the cloud boat, which slowly ascended under Shen Lan's control.
They watched the Great Xia Sword Sect shrink beneath them until the boat soared straight into the clouds.
A layer of azure protective light wrapped around the cloud boat, and it flew toward the distance at tremendous speed.
Shen Lan said softly, "Our destination this time lies within the territory of Zhenyue Mountain.
"Taking this opportunity, I'll explain the surrounding factions to you.
"Qinglong Island, the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect, Zixiao Sword Pavilion, Qixian Sect, and finally Zhenyue Mountain and ourselves.
"Within a radius of a hundred thousand li, our six sects are the most powerful; the rest are not worth mentioning."
Pausing for a moment, Shen Lan continued, "Among these, the Great Xia Sword Sect, Zhenyue Mountain, and the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect lead the pack, possessing greater strength than the other three.
"These six sects jointly govern the Yunmeng Immortal Palace!
"Presumably, you are all aware of its wonders."
At this point, Li Guanqi asked with some puzzlement, "Elder Shen, if the Yunmeng Immortal Palace is truly that miraculous, aren't they worried about attracting covetous eyes from others?"
Shen Lan chuckled and said, "That's where you'd be mistaken, because this Yunmeng Immortal Palace has a major limitation.
"Only disciples in the Qi Refinement realm can enter this secret realm, and what is found inside almost never exceeds the Core Formation realm.
"In other words, this secret realm is of little use to those of greater cultivation and strength.
"However, it serves quite well as a trial ground for sect disciples, and the danger is relatively small."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly, understanding dawning upon him.
No wonder no one fought over it—it simply was not useful enough to them...
At that moment, the sword spirit's voice suddenly rang out in Li Guanqi's mind.
"Oh? A Minor Realm of Universal Passage. How interesting."
Li Guanqi asked with his inner voice, "What is a Realm of Universal Passage?"
The sword spirit's languid voice drifted over. "It is what you people call this Yunmeng Immortal Palace.
"Because of what a mighty cultivator from the upper realm left behind, such a secret realm was formed.
"These secret realms naturally attract spatial fragments from the void and link with them."
Li Guanqi frowned slightly. Though it sounded rather hazy, he roughly grasped the general idea.
While on the boat, Ye Feng, Lin Dong, and the others walked around, taking in the sights with obvious novelty.
Li Guanqi, however, sat alone at the stern, absorbed in meditative cultivation.
Shen Lan nodded with a faint smile, thinking to himself, *It's one thing to be a genius, but what truly matters is that he works harder than everyone else.*
*Li Nanting certainly took in a fine disciple...*
The cloud boat's speed far exceeded a thousand li a day.
Even so, after flying for an entire day and night, the hazy silhouette of a towering mountain finally came into view.
The peak was unimaginably massive, thrusting straight into the clouds!
Numerous cranes and tamed flying beasts swept through the surrounding skies.
Beside their cloud boat, another colossal vessel appeared!
That cloud boat was entirely crimson, with two sails on its sides, and its speed was astonishingly fast.
With a whoosh, it grazed past them at close range!
Their cloud boat jolted violently, and its protective barrier trembled.
Shen Lan hurriedly gripped the helm and poured in more primal energy to steady it.
Li Guanqi slowly rose and looked toward the back of the crimson cloud boat.
There, a stern-faced youth was glaring intently at him.
A rare, cold sneer surfaced on Li Guanqi's face.
*Who is he?!*
After a moment of silence, Li Guanqi turned to Shen Lan beside him and asked in a low voice, "Elder Shen, which faction does that cloud boat belong to?
"And who is that guy at the bow?"
Shen Lan's expression darkened as he replied, "Zhao Xuanzhu, an exceptional fellow among the current disciples of the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect.
"The Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect has never gotten along with us.
"Once you're inside the Yunmeng Immortal Palace secret realm, if they pick a fight, beat them within an inch of their lives!"
Hearing this, the disciples exchanged knowing smiles.
*Buzz!!*
The sect-protecting formation of Zhenyue Mountain opened, and their cloud boat slowly docked beside the platform.
By this time, the vessels of the other factions had long since moored; they were actually the last to arrive.
Before the group could even step off the cloud boat, a shrill, mocking voice rang out.
"I say, Shen Lan, has your Great Xia Sword Sect become this poor?
"Still unwilling to replace this piece of junk? It's slow as a dying snail. Everyone's been waiting for you!"
Chapter 42