A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Sword Spirit did not answer his question directly.

“Whether or not a person’s spirit void contains a weapon soul is up to the heavens. You should only think about it after breaking through to the thirteenth level.”

Li Guanqi shrugged and did not press further. He activated the spirit ascension platform.

The array beneath his feet hummed, and a thin mist filled the cultivation room.

The Black-tier spirit ascension platform is indeed extraordinary. The spirit qi is so thick that it’s turning into a mist.

Casting all other thoughts aside, Li Guanqi focused entirely on cultivation.

Seven days passed. Li Guanqi remained calm in the exterior, but the energy in his dantian surged violently. Thick vital qi filled his dantian, circulating rapidly throughout his body in alignment with the technique he had mastered.

Then, all at once, the spirit platform in his mind shattered. Vital qi erupted, flooding his entire body.

Li Guanqi’s dantian expanded instantly and doubled in size. The sea of qi in his dantian was now three to four times larger than that of a disciple with a Heavenly Spirit Root.

A powerful, profound energy poured into his body.

He could sense the purity of this power. Sword Spirit’s voice suddenly rang in his mind. “Absorb it! Take in as much as you can!”

Li Guanqi reacted as fast as he could, refining the mysterious qi into a white stream and drawing it into himself.

Before long, an extraordinary phenomenon unfolded across the entire Daxia Sword Sect.

A seven-colored mist appeared above the spirit ascension platform on Heavenly Pillar Peak, lingering in the sky without dispersing. Li Guanqi’s cultivation room was directly below it.

“Burp... I... I can’t absorb any more.”

The Sword Spirit continued absorbing the Heavenly Gift from him, urging him to keep going. And so, he kept absorbing more.

The mist lasted for half an hour before slowly dissipating.

Li Guanqi lay on the floor, his belly round. He groaned weakly. “I can’t move... I’m so full... You do it yourself...”

Although there was no hidden meaning behind his words, Sword Spirit blushed slightly.

She turned and leaped into the sword box to absorb Li Guanqi’s qi.

It was similar to spirit qi, yet oddly distinct. It did not increase his total vital qi, but it stabilized his cultivation level.

In just half an hour, his realm stabilized at the thirteenth level. Now, with a single punch or kick, he could unleash a force of two thousand jin—enough to defeat any new Foundation Building cultivator.

After a while, his round stomach shrank back to its usual size.

“Tsk, that was fast.”

This time, Sword Spirit did not reply. She seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

Li Guanqi got to his feet and stretched. Only then did he notice the layer of filth coating his body, emitting a foul stench.

Without hesitation, he pushed open the door.

“Uh...”

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw more than ten elders standing before him. “Sect Master, what are you all—”

Lu Kangnian reached out, examining Li Guanqi’s body. His eyes widened in disbelief. “This... this... You haven’t reached the Foundation Building Realm yet?!”

Li Guanqi scratched his head. “Not yet.”

Lu Kangnian took a deep breath, struggling to contain his astonishment. “You little brat! Is that the sea of qi of a Saint Spirit Root? I’ve never seen so much qi in my life!”

Lan He pursed her lips and scoffed. “Sect Master, aren’t you exaggerating a little? He’s only at the tenth level of the Qi Refinement Realm. How much could it be?”

Li Guanqi did not want to be studied like a specimen, so he said, “Dear elders, may I return to take a bath? I smell like rotten fish.”

Lan He chuckled and waved a hand, making a sphere of blue vital force envelop him. It felt like water, and it cleansed his body instantly.

Li Guanqi gave a fist salute with a smile. “Thank you, Elder Lan.”

Li Nanting was no longer surprised by the extraordinary events surrounding Li Guanqi.

Though the others were baffled by how he had triggered a Heavenly Gift at just the tenth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, they kept their speculations to themselves. Only Lu Kangnian spoke before they departed.

“The prodigies from the other peaks will soon be advancing to the Foundation Building Realm. When the time comes, Li Nanting will lead the disciples to the void-opening site. We’ll see how your disciples perform this round.”

With that, the crowd dispersed.

Li Nanting patted Li Guanqi’s shoulder and said, “Good one! I can’t believe you triggered a Heavenly Gift.”

Then, he left with Lu Kangnian.

Feeling restless, Li Guanqi decided to visit Sword Tower. The power he had gained from reaching the thirteenth level hadn’t only expanded his dantian’s sea of qi, but also his spirit platform and divine consciousness. His boosted divine consciousness could now easily cover a fifty-zhang radius.

Upon arriving at Sword Tower, he headed straight for the sixth floor.

He did not use his divine consciousness, only his sword. He slashed six times, rapidly flicking his wrist.

Very soon, the bell at the top of the tower rang loudly.

Disciples from various peaks turned their eyes toward Heavenly Pillar Peak. Murmurs spread among them.

“Someone passed the twelfth floor of Sword Tower! Who could it be? Which Senior Brother reached the mid-Foundation Building Realm and decided to ascend the tower? Let’s check it out.”

More and more people gathered around the tower.

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi stood among the wreckage of twelve pitch-black puppets on the twelfth floor, panting as hard as a bull. He took a deep breath, looked at the stairs above, and got up.

The next floor held Foundation Building puppets. He wanted to see just how far he could go.

He ran up to the thirteenth floor of Sword Tower.

The chamber was vast and brightly lit, spanning a hundred zhang. It had a wide stage and a puppet made entirely of shiny silver seated on the ground.

Li Guanqi pulled out his sword, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the stage.

Boom!

An invisible force erupted from the puppet, and complex runes surfaced across its frame. Then, it drew a sword from its waist and faced Li Guanqi from five zhang away.

Noticing the growing crowd outside, the old man guarding the Sword Tower flicked his hand, activating a projection that displayed the battle on the thirteenth floor.

Boom!

In the live feed, the stone beneath Li Guanqi and the puppet exploded as they launched at each other. Swords clashed in a dazzling flurry of strikes, the metallic echoes echoing across the space.

The two silhouettes move quickly. Li Guanqi’s movements were quick and powerful, and he even had a slight advantage in strength over the puppet.

Before long, he found an opening. With a sharp flick of his wrist, his sword shot forward, piercing the puppet’s throat.

Clang clang!

The puppet sheathed its sword, stood upright, and returned to its spot, sitting down once more.

He had conquered the thirteenth floor of Sword Tower.

Then the fourteenth.

Then the fifteenth.

At last, he stopped.

Through these battles, he had gained a deeper understanding of both his own abilities and the puppets’ strengths. He had also fully grasped the Azure Lotus Sword Technique, albeit with significant modifications based on Sword Spirit’s feedback.

Li Guanqi slowly walked out of the Sword Tower, covered in injuries.

The moment he stepped outside, he was met with a stunned crowd of disciples.

A senior gulped and stuttered, “He... he hasn’t even reached the Foundation Building Realm yet!”