On the way back to the sect, Li Guanqi sat alone inside a quiet cultivation chamber aboard the cloud boat.
Sinking his mind into his cultivation, Li Guanqi felt the vital energy surging through his body and could not help but sigh inwardly.
"Breaking through to the middle stage is going to take a while, I'm afraid."
Even though the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy was terrifying, the Dao platform cast within his dantian was simply too massive.
After a long silence, Li Guanqi tried calling out to the sword spirit.
"Sword spirit, are you there?"
As though burdened with worries of her own, the sword spirit responded softly, "What is it?"
Such a gentle tone caught Li Guanqi somewhat off guard. Before this, the sword spirit had always treated him with cold haughtiness.
This sudden warmth was something he was not quite accustomed to.
Li Guanqi scratched his head and said, "Was that sword... you?"
With a trace of melancholy in her voice, the sword spirit replied, "Yes. I never expected you to truly be able to bear my projection."
Li Guanqi did not understand what she meant by "projection"—perhaps it meant something akin to a reflection.
"Then why... why was the tip of the blade broken?"
The sword spirit fell silent for a long while before whispering, "I once struck down an entity, and both of us were shattered."
At his current level, Li Guanqi had no real frame of reference for such things.
"That must have been an incredible thing!"
A little curious, the sword spirit asked, "Why do you say that?"
Li Guanqi smiled and said, "Because I think you're extraordinarily strong!"
Resting inside the sword casket, the sword spirit smiled, her eyes crinkling into narrow crescents, striking and lovely.
After asking a string of inconsequential questions, Li Guanqi finally returned to the main topic.
"Um... I want to know, what kind of abilities can you grant me?"
The sword spirit chuckled softly. "Me?"
"You will only grasp that once you have forged a soul armament."
"In short, depending on the soul armament, I can bestow unique abilities upon it."
*Gulp...*
Hearing her words, Li Guanqi felt tempestuous waves surge through his heart!
"Bestow! Unique abilities!!"
The sword spirit gave a soft laugh. "There is no need to rush, however. Setting aside whether you can find an exceptional soul armament master, even if you did find one, whatever soul armament they forge might not necessarily be able to bear my power."
Li Guanqi nodded and decided to channel a bit more of his vital essence to her today.
Sensing it, the sword spirit teased, "Why share so much with me today?"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and slowly opened his eyes.
"I feel like you're different from before. It seems... you trust me more now."
The sword spirit shook her head with a hint of resignation and spoke plainly: "From yesterday onward, your fate and mine have been tightly intertwined, bound together in honor and disgrace."
"Though, I also have a question in my heart."
"Do you know what those blood-red patterns drawn on your body are?"
Li Guanqi furrowed his brows and transmitted through his mind, "I don't. My grandfather made them."
"From the time I was six and started following my grandfather, he would ink a portion of them onto me each year."
"The pain while he drew them was excruciating!! If I had to go through it again, you could beat me to death and I still wouldn't choose to have them drawn."
"Do you know what they are?"
To his surprise, the sword spirit slowly manifested in person, her eyes burning as she looked at Li Guanqi.
Her voice was grave beyond measure. "I am truly curious about your grandfather's true identity."
As she spoke, her fingertip grazed Li Guanqi's neck.
Brushing aside his collar, she revealed a trace of the blood sigils.
Leaning close, the sword spirit gazed down at the blood marks and whispered, "The Great Sumeru Nine Palaces Immortal-Slaying Sigils."
"Even I believed that the method for inscribing these blood sigils had been lost to time long ago."
Hearing the wonder in her voice, Li Guanqi could not help asking, "What are they used for?"
The sword spirit slowly straightened up and smiled. "To conceal your innate Ethereal Dao Body!"
"To prevent the immortals of the upper realm from discovering it too early, thus averting catastrophe."
"I must say, your grandfather... is truly formidable!"
"Very well, I am going to rest."
As the sword spirit vanished, a slight smile appeared at the corners of Li Guanqi's lips.
"Looks like I can spare a fitting amount of vital energy for her from now on."
The return journey went swiftly. The cloud boat docked beside the Great Xia Sword Sect's plaza.
Lu Kangnian and the others had already been waiting for a long time.
Li Nanting flew through the air, landing before them, and bowed with a smile. "Sect Master, this time you must give Guanqi and Ye Feng a proper reward."
Lu Kangnian threw his head back and laughed heartily. "They should indeed be rewarded!"
"Li Guanqi of Tianlei Peak, step forward to receive your reward!"
Infused with vital energy, Lu Kangnian's voice reverberated across the entirety of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
"Li Guanqi has awakened a ninth-grade sword artifact soul!"
"He has secured two trial secret realms for the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
"He is rewarded ten bottles of Peiyuan Pills! Three thousand sect contribution points!"
"Five thousand low-grade spirit stones, and one month of access to the Earth-grade Spirit Ascension Platform!"
"One entry into the Scripture Pavilion, with his choice of any two manuals or secret scriptures!"
"Ye Feng... *cough, cough*... three bottles of Peiyuan Pills, one thousand contribution points, one thousand low-grade spirit stones, and one month of access to the Black-grade Spirit Ascension Platform."
Having finished speaking, Lu Kangnian showed an awkward expression and said in an undertone, "The sect is poor, you know. Bear with it, bear with it."
At the side, Ye Feng's eyes were brimming with tears as he murmured, "Sect Master, your favoritism is glaringly shameless."
"If we're poor, we can be poor together. But seeing Li Guanqi so filthy rich hurts far more than being poor on my own."
"Is this what they mean by sacrificing the lesser self for the greater good...?"
Lu Kangnian quickly turned his head aside and coughed twice.
"Well... you new disciples have been in the sect for half a year now, so the sect specially grants you half a month of home leave."
"Pack your things tomorrow, and you may head down the mountain to visit your families."
Hearing this, Ye Feng lost what little enthusiasm he had left. For him, returning home was hardly something to be happy about.
The other sect disciples, however, could not help cheering with joy.
After all, they were all young. Leaving home to come to the sect, everyone felt a little homesick.
Even Li Guanqi was considering whether to fly his sword back to Fulong Village.
Li Guanqi murmured softly under his breath, "I do miss that girl Wanshu a bit."
"I'd really love to see her shocked face when she watches me fly on a sword."
Afterward, the crowd dispersed, and Li Guanqi brought Yu Sui'an back to his courtyard residence.
The moment their feet touched the ground, Yu Sui'an dashed off like the wind.
As she ran, she muttered anxiously, "Mealtime! It's mealtime!!"
Suddenly, the little girl stopped, turned back to look at Li Guanqi, and asked, "Li Guanqi, what do you want to eat?"
Sitting in the courtyard, Li Guanqi paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Two meat buns."
Yu Sui'an grinned, the two small braids behind her head bouncing up and down. "All right! Wait for me to get back!"
The little girl had barely left when Ye Feng arrived at Li Guanqi's courtyard aboard his flying sword.
Stepping into the courtyard and seeing Li Guanqi wiping down his longsword, he could not help chuckling. "Why are you still here?"
"Aren't you planning to go home and visit?"
Li Guanqi shook his head and said, "I don't plan on going back. My grandfather isn't home, so there's not much point."
"What about you?"
"I don't want to go back either. It's utterly dull. My father thinks nothing of me anyway—going back would just be an eyesore to him."
Chapter 75