Becoming One of the Hundred Champions; The Trial Begins!

Over the next few days, Li Guanqi spent nearly all his time immersed in the Hundred Champions Illusion. During this time, watching Li Guanqi retch with an ash-pale face, the sword spirit could not help but snap, "You're not dead yet, are you?! Then keep going!" Throughout these days, the sword spirit was like an exceptionally stern master. Even when Li Guanqi's spirit was strained to its absolute limit, she continued to push and provoke him relentlessly. And Li Guanqi's progress over those days was nothing short of astonishing. He could now guarantee staying alive for an entire stick of incense. He could even wound the sword cultivator phantom, though he was not yet capable of killing him. Yet the comprehension Li Guanqi displayed during this period left even the sword spirit deeply astonished. His rate of improvement was terrifying, growing at a pace visible to the naked eye. With each attempt in the illusion, he endured longer and longer, and the time he needed between bouts to reflect and absorb his insights grew shorter and shorter. Seven days later. When Ye Feng came looking for Li Guanqi, he found the door shut tight, receiving no response after calling out several times. Ye Feng muttered, "Could he still be cultivating? The trial secret realm opens in two shichen." Within the illusion, Li Guanqi's sword speed with his right hand had already increased to four strikes in a single breath! This was already as fast as the left-handed swordplay he had once kept as his trump card! Gradually, two figures darted and weaved continuously across the massive Dao platform. Suddenly! A cold glint flared in Li Guanqi's eyes. His sword curved around the opponent's blade at an exceedingly tricky angle, plunging straight into the phantom's throat! At the same time, the illusory blade in the phantom's hand pierced his own chest. Gasping violently for breath, Li Guanqi clamped down hard on the opponent's sword with his ribs. With a fierce, twisted grin, he whispered, "I won!!" Buzz!! The phantom collapsed, dissolving into specks of spiritual light that vanished into nothingness. Yet immediately afterward, those specks of spiritual light began to reconvene. Frowning, Li Guanqi stared intently at the void before him. Before long, however, the figure condensed from the spiritual light turned out to have a build nearly identical to his own! Only its face was far more distinct, the contours of its features vaguely resembling his own appearance. The sword spirit's voice rang out slowly: "Congratulations. You have slain a wisp of the heroic spirit of the Hundred Champions. Your projection will become one of the new Hundred Champions! "It only took you three and a half days. Impressive!" This praise came from the bottom of the sword spirit's heart; even she had not expected Li Guanqi to slay a phantom in such a short time. Li Guanqi smiled faintly. He could feel that over these few days, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds! If he were to encounter that late Foundation Establishment black-robed man again, he was confident he could slay him within ten moves! Buzz!! Li Guanqi slowly exited the sword casket's altar space. Looking at the five thousand spirit stones he had left, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. Yet in the blink of an eye, that heartache vanished. Compared to what he had gained, he felt every spirit stone spent had been well worth it! Sensing Ye Feng outside, Li Guanqi tidied himself up and gently pushed the door open. The moment the door opened, he saw Ye Feng sitting cross-legged, meditating in the spirit-gathering array at the mountain peak. Ye Feng slowly opened his eyes, but just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of Li Guanqi's exhaustion-lined face. He furrowed his brow and said, "Why do I feel like... you're a bit different?" Li Guanqi smiled faintly. "Oh? Different how?" Ye Feng circled Li Guanqi with a solemn expression, causing Li Guanqi's body to tense up instinctively. Facing Li Guanqi, Ye Feng said in a deep voice, "I can't put my finger on it, but you just feel different. "It's like... before, if you wanted to kill me, you'd probably have to expend some effort. "But now, the feeling you give me is... you could draw your sword and strike me dead at any moment!" Li Guanqi chuckled helplessly. "Why would I kill you? Didn't you come to fetch me so we could head to the sect together? Let's hurry. "There's still a bit of time. I'll go change and freshen up." Ye Feng nodded and followed Li Guanqi back to the courtyard residence. After Li Guanqi bathed, the vast majority of his exhaustion washed away. Looking down at the blood-red sigils on his body, which had faded far more than the last time, Li Guanqi frowned and murmured to himself, "Why are these things gradually disappearing?" Yet no one answered him. If the sword spirit had heard this, she would certainly have known why: Li Guanqi's Ethereal Dao Body was currently unlocking its seal step by step. In truth, it was not that the sword spirit hadn't heard Li Guanqi's murmuring; she simply did not want to reveal the reason to him. Her eyes flickered as she mused inwardly, *Great Sumeru Nine Palaces Immortal-Slaying Sigils... How could Su Xuan, capable of drawing such immortal sigils, have used them merely to seal the Ethereal Dao Body? *Heh... Since you could draw these immortal sigils, you naturally knew their other purpose!* Ye Feng and Li Guanqi flew on their swords toward Tianjian Peak together. Along the way, Li Guanqi remarked with a frown, "You've been advancing pretty fast lately, kid. You're already on the verge of middle Foundation Establishment?" He pointed this out because Ye Feng's aura was somewhat unsteady. Ye Feng nodded solemnly and replied softly, "I did it for this trial secret realm. "After all, it only costs five hundred points to enter, and the sect poured immense resources into opening it. "I just wanted to raise my strength as much as possible before heading in. "Don't worry, I'll pay attention to my foundation." When the two arrived at the grand plaza of Tianjian Peak, quite a few sect disciples were already standing there. A rough glance revealed more than forty of them. Moreover, many of the disciples were older than the two of them. In the end, Li Guanqi noticed that among their batch of disciples, only four—he, Ye Feng, Zhong Lin, and Lin Dong—had broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Furthermore, due to his injuries, Lin Dong was not participating in this trial secret realm. At present, each peak had dispatched an elder to assist, while Tu Kui of the Nascent Soul realm presided over the secret realm's opening. Seeing Ye Feng, Tu Kui smiled and gave a slight nod. But when his gaze fell upon Li Guanqi, his eyes narrowed sharply! He sent a sound transmission to Li Nanting: "This disciple of yours... have you been giving him private lessons lately? "Blind though he is, his gaze has grown even sharper! "Not only that, look at his stance—it's unmistakably poised to strike at any given second." Li Nanting kept his expression unchanged. Though full of questions himself, he maintained an unruffled front. "What? Envious? "Didn't you also feed your disciple heaps of natural treasures? Careful he doesn't destabilize his foundation." Tu Kui smiled faintly without saying more. What he had given Ye Feng would cause the least harm, by no means forcing his growth recklessly. Boom!! An immense, boundless pressure suddenly erupted. Tu Kui's robes snapped in the wind as he addressed the disciples below in a booming voice: "Even we do not know what awaits inside this trial secret realm. "Yet you must remember that opportunity often walks hand in hand with peril! "Some among you may fall within. But we cultivators are meant to contest against heaven, against earth, and against ourselves! "If you halt your steps in fear of meeting your end, how can you ever ascend the nine heavens to behold that splendid mortal realm?!" Buzz!!!