NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 39 Heavenly Sword Tower
The town was quiet throughout the night.
As the sun rose, many of the villager had still not fallen asleep. The more daring ones started peering at the sunrise from their windows. These villagers spotted a young man sitting on the street, munching on melon seeds.
Beside him, a lifeless body lay on the ground.
Houses had collapsed, and deep craters and sword marks covered the streets.
Beforehand, Li Guanqi had visited Zhang Daniu’s house and retrieved a skeleton from the well. After giving it a proper burial, he found somewhere to sit and wait. Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in the distant sky.
Thump!
Li Nanting leaped off his flying sword, which circled around once and sheathed itself. Li Nanting reached the young man’s side and, upon inspection, discovered that Li Guanqi not only had no injuries but had also returned to the third level of Qi Refinement!
Li Guanqi gave a vague explanation of what had happened between him and the ghost, and that his Thunder-element spiritual root had a significant advantage over the vengeful spirit, allowing him to narrowly win.
The elder didn’t press the matter further and returned to the Great Xia Sword Sect with his disciple.
As they departed, Li Guanqi cast a deep glance at Xingyun Town and thought of Li Lanhua. Murmuring quietly, he said, “First bitter, then sweet, she endured year after year.”
On the journey, Li Guanqi also recounted the events of Xingyun Town to the elder.
Li Nanting remained silent for a while and then spoke softly, “Guanqi, this is the nature of people and humanity.”
After a pause, Li Guanqi added in a subdued tone, “I know, but every time I encounter such things, I can’t help but feel that humanity is cold.”
“I even think that if someone had stood up for Li Lanhua back then, things might have turned out differently.”
“But, unfortunately…there are no ‘ifs’ in the world.”
Li Nanting had been silent throughout. Many things and truths needed to be personally experienced and understood.
“You, young man, are slowly regaining your strength, and at your current rate, it won’t be long before you reach the fifth level of Qi Refinement.”
“Why don’t you return to the Inner Sect? Staying here is impeding your progress.”
Though Li Guanqi knew the elder’s advice was well-intentioned, he declined.
“Master, I’d rather pass the Outer Sect assessment first before returning to the Inner Sect. Otherwise…some disciples might not be pleased.”
The elder nodded and refrained from further comments.
“Oh… but Master, could you lend me some spirit stones?”
“These points are really hard to earn! Even on a basic mission like this, I had to face such a powerful vengeful spirit!”
Li Nanting’s face darkened as he recalled his disciple’s near-death experience, and he stated that Li Guanqi won’t need to worry about spirit stones.
Upon returning to the sect, Li Guanqi didn’t rest, but continued his meditation and cultivation as usual. The Sword Spirit also upheld its promise and refrained from siphoning his cultivation.
The following morning, as Li Guanqi awakened from his meditation, he felt refreshed and his thoughts were clear. After arranging the wooden stakes he had prepared earlier, he practiced his martial arts forms dozens of times.
After a thorough warm-up, Li Guanqi retrieved an iron sword and began vigorously practicing sword techniques. At the second hour of practice, the Sword Spirit spoke to Li Guanqi.
“Make the sword move with you. Don’t be lead by the sword.”
“Your strikes must be swift and precise!”
“Before thrusting, ensure you gather your strength from your entire body!”
Her words gave Li Guanqi a sudden surge of understanding. He made slight adjustments to his form, and a determined look crossed his face.
Swish!
His sword cut through the air, producing a piercing sonic boom.
This swift strike caused the thick wooden stake to shatter!
Li Guanqi couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t expected the Sword Spirit’s insight to be so sharp. It even pointed out subtle details that his master couldn’t notice.
After tidying up, the Outer Sect’s Head Steward personally arrived to find Li Guanqi.
“Haha, truly a young hero.”
“Concerning the matter of the Xingyun Town mission… it was a mistake by our Mission Pavilion, so your rewards for completion have been calculated at five times the rate!”
“All your points are already recorded in your jade token.”
Li Guanqi replied with a smile, “I appreciate your attention. I’ll be sure to offer Steward Zhou a couple of fine wines in return.”
Steward Zhou wore a broad smile upon hearing this. He had been worried since yesterday, but Li Guanqi’s reply had reassured him.
The sight of Steward Zhou treating Li Guanqi warmly was witnessed by many Outer Sect disciples, and their envy knew no bounds.
In the following days, Li Guanqi accumulated a significant number of points. With the thousand low-grade spirit stones that Li Nanting had sent, he no longer needed to run around taking tasks for cultivation resources.
Over the next month, Li Guanqi’s presence on the Sect’s training ground became a daily occurrence. During this time, his strength skyrocketed at a breakneck pace. By the end of the month, he had already reached the sixth level of Qi Refinement!
Such rapid progress completely shocked everyone, making many people realize the immense gap between the common folk and a genius. Li Guanqi was like a tireless machine. Apart from his sword practice, he spent most of his time recovering his energy and spirit through meditation.
The remaining time, he would spend in a cultivation room that he rented out for a low-grade spirit stone. The room had a space of about a hundred square yards, a spiritual array, and provided any weapon he desired.
During this month, his Heavenly Lotus Blade also reached a late-stage mastery.
With a single strike, the sword would produce harmonious sounds, and he could instantly summon six lotus blossoms to attack.
However, when he tried to show this off to the Sword Spirit, she couldn’t hold back and said, “All style, no substance.”
Li Guanqi mockingly retorted, “Anyone could say that. Do you have the ability to teach me a more powerful sword technique?”
The Sword Spirit couldn’t bear him constantly practicing this showy, style-over-substance sword technique. After revealing herself, her graceful figure made Li Guanqi stumble over his thoughts. Then, she effortlessly summoned a sword of elemental power with a single motion.
With her posture low, her gaze became incredibly sharp. In an instant, Li Guanqi felt a flash of sword light.
“Remember that form.” She asked arrogantly.
After leaving his cultivation room, Li Guanqi headed straight for the Heavenly Sword Tower while mulling over the Sword Spirit’s technique..
The Heavenly Sword Tower of the Great Xia Sword Sect was famous among all sects within a radius of tens of thousands of miles.
The tower was entirely black, giving it a solemn appearance, and had a total of thirty-six levels. The first twelve levels were accessible to cultivators from the Qi Refinement stage to the Golden Core stage.
Disciples and Elders came to the Sword tower to test their techniques against wooden puppet automatons, with the difficulty and quantity of the puppets increasing according to cultivation base and floor of the tower.
Until now, no Golden Core cultivator had been able to simultaneously face all twelve Golden Core puppets at the twelfth floor. Throughout the history of the Great Xia Sword Sect, only the first-generation Sect Master had climbed to the thirty-third level. That was the powerful cultivator who had become an Ascendant.
This was Li Guanqi’s third visit to the Sword Tower. Despite his extraordinary talent, he had only reached the sixth level so far.