Suffering?

Just then, a dark-skinned youth suddenly stood up. He had sharp, well-defined features and stared intently at Li Guanqi with burning eyes. His face was covered in crisscrossing scratches—marks that were clearly left by sharp stones. The youth possessed vigorous vitality and blood, his physical body tempered to extraordinary perfection. *Middle Foundation Establishment realm.* Li Guanqi felt a flicker of interest. Even in his own generation, someone like this would have been an undeniable genius. "Why did Duan Yang stand up?" "Who knows? Maybe he has a question too?" "He cultivates so hard and is already so formidable—what could he possibly need to ask?" Watching the youth named Duan Yang below, Li Guanqi's brow furrowed slightly. He caught the distinct glint of hatred in the boy's eyes. Li Guanqi said softly, "Do you have an enemy out in the world?" The youth nodded in silence. Li Guanqi asked again, "Very strong?" The youth nodded, looked at Li Guanqi, and then shook his head. Li Guanqi smiled faintly. "What do you want to ask?" Fixing Li Guanqi with a sharp gaze, Duan Yang asked, "If I want to kill a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, what should I do?" Li Guanqi looked deeply at him. He knew the boy was growing impatient, perhaps unable to wait any longer. After a moment of contemplation, Li Guanqi said gently, "If you were in the same realm, it would naturally be simple... "If you wish to kill a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Core Formation realm, first, you must possess a technique capable of slaying one. "Second, you must do everything in your power to stop them from tearing open space and fleeing. "Third, you must kill them swiftly! The primal energy in a Core Formation cultivator's dantian can never compare to that of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. "The longer the fight drags on, the worse it will be for you!" The youth nodded in silence, etching every word Li Guanqi spoke deep into his heart. Li Guanqi pondered for a moment, then turned to Ling Daoyan. "Elder Ling, does the sect have an engraving stele?" Ling Daoyan's eyes lit up. He rose to his feet with a smile. "We do, we do! Wait a moment!" *Swish!* The old man vanished from his spot. The disciples below all guessed what Li Guanqi was about to do. In an instant, everyone turned toward the high platform in immense excitement. Li Guanqi turned his pure white eyes toward the youth. Taking a single step forward, he appeared before him, leaning down to press a finger against the center of Duan Yang's brow. *Buzz!* The youth froze, his eyes gradually turning blank. Countless characters flooded into his mind. Accompanying them was a glowing spiritual figure, repeatedly unsheathing and striking with a sword across the expanse of his consciousness! Li Guanqi had actually imparted to him the mnemonic chant and technique for the first strike of the Heaven Breaker Sword Art! After a long while, the youth regained his senses and dropped violently to his knees, kowtowing three times with resounding thuds! Remaining prostrated on the ground, tears already streamed down his face. His shoulders trembled violently, rendering him unable to utter a single word. Li Guanqi squatted down and gently patted his back. "Remember the hatred in your heart, and let it become the fuel that drives you forward. "But... you must also remember never to lose yourself to it. "Never expose yourself recklessly without absolute certainty. Endure everything, and when the time comes, draw your sword with resolve!" Rising to his feet, Li Guanqi said softly, "Remember, standing behind you is the entire sect." *Buzz!* Ling Daoyan flew back through the air, holding aloft a massive engraving stele a full ten zhang tall! The stele was pitch-black, crafted entirely from exceptionally precious engraving stone. Even Xiao Chen could not help but be startled upon seeing it. That stone was certainly not small! "Boss, what are you going to engrave on it?" Li Guanqi smiled faintly. "I want to leave a sword strike for them to comprehend." *Boom!* The massive monolith landed in the center of the square, drawing every eye onto Li Guanqi. Many disciples began whispering among themselves about what Li Guanqi intended to leave behind. "Whoa! Senior Brother Li is actually going to leave a sword technique in person?" "What rank of sword strike could that be?" "I bet it's at least Earth rank!" Li Guanqi raised an open hand toward the empty air. Primal energy surged, instantly coalescing into a sword of lightning within his palm. With a casual sweep, Li Guanqi slashed out Demon Subduer! *Boom!* A fierce blast of sword qi, carrying terrifying sword intent, crashed onto the stele in an instant. *Screech!* The moment the sword light struck the stele, the stone was shoved back over a hundred zhang by brute force! *Rumble!* Terrifying sword intent swept through heaven and earth. As sword qi crisscrossed through the air, countless onlookers held their breath. In the mere instant the sword light flashed, every single person felt a heart-stopping brush with death! A pitch-black spatial rift stretched over a hundred zhang, lingering sword qi preventing the fissure from sealing for a long time. This was with Li Guanqi restraining his power to the absolute minimum. Otherwise, that single strike might have cleaved the entire Great Xia Sword Sect in two. Reaching out, he drew the engraving stele back over. Gazing at the ferocious sword scar etched upon it, Li Guanqi said softly, "This engraving stele will remain in the square from now on. Anyone may come to comprehend it. "The corresponding manual will also be placed in the Scripture Pavilion." The disciples looked upon the engraving stele with flushed, excited faces. Duan Yang clenched his fists, staring at Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi chuckled and said, "Don't you go dying on me, kid. Make sure you repay those sect contribution points later." The youth nodded heavily. A resolve flickered in his quiet eyes, as though he had reached a firm decision. A playful smirk suddenly tugged at the corner of Li Guanqi's mouth as he added softly, "By the way... "The grade of this sword technique... is peak Heaven rank." *Whoosh!* The moment those words fell, an uproar erupted. Every disciple began cheering and leaping for joy as if they had lost their minds. Even Ling Daoyan wore an expression of awe. Even he had been shaken by that strike just now. Such profound sword momentum truly belonged to a Heaven rank sword art! At this moment, an elder wearing a deacon's robe could not help sighing in admiration. "Duan Yang has had it rough, poor kid. But enduring all those hardships could be considered a blessing in disguise." Several people nearby chimed in to agree. Hearing this, Li Guanqi's expression darkened instantly. He turned toward the youth. Sure enough, the boy kept his head bowed in silence, his eyes devoid of emotion, like a pool of dead water. Though Li Guanqi did not know the details of what Duan Yang had endured, he knew it had to be a deeply agonizing memory. Li Guanqi looked toward the elder, who was still rambling on, and snapped sharply, "Enough! Shut your mouth!" The elder's face changed. He had no idea why Li Guanqi was suddenly furious. Li Guanqi swept a sharp gaze across the crowd, leaving several disciples bewildered as well. They had heard countless inspirational stories like that and saw nothing wrong with the sentiment. Yet Li Guanqi spoke in a deep, stern voice. "Remember this: suffering is just suffering! "Suffering is never worth glorifying, and it is certainly not a tool for you to motivate others using someone else's pain! "The reason suffering is called suffering is that the person living through it had no choice to avoid it! "All they could do was endure it in silence! Even if they wanted to escape... there was no way out..." Li Guanqi's voice trembled with suppressed rage as his words rained down! Terrified, the elders and deacons did not dare raise their heads to meet his gaze. Shrinking back with bowed heads, they nodded in rapid succession.