Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The next morning, Li Guanqi emerged from his cultivation state as usual. His foundation at the eleventh level had fully stabilized, and the sheer power coursing through him enamored him.

He took out the magical sword he had received yesterday. As he guided his vital qi through his body, he could sense the immense power of this sword compared with the usual pig iron sword.

He practiced his sword technique dozens of times, exhausting every ounce of strength before finally stopping to rest.

The calluses on his left hand were thicker than those on his right, and the skin between his left thumb and index finger had split so many times that a thick callus had formed.

Sword Spirit stood nearby, watching him practice with an amused expression and occasionally offering feedback.

When the sky lightened completely, Li Guanqi packed up and went to Heavenly Sword Peak.

The vast plaza was nearly empty. As he approached, he recognized the people there.

Lin Dong of Heavenly Earth Peak brightened when he saw Li Guanqi and enthusiastically waved. The person beside him smiled.

“I knew I had bet correctly. The last candidate was definitely going to be you.”

Even without activating his heart’s eye, Li Guanqi would have recognized this person. It was the King of Bets from Heavenly Metal Peak, Ye Feng.Over the past few months, Li Guanqi had won at least three hundred spirit stones from his bets with Ye Feng, prompting other disciples to give Ye Feng that nickname.

The third candidate was Zhong Lin, whom Li Guanqi met during his first class at Heavenly Water Peak.

The last person was a strikingly beautiful young woman with a cold demeanor—Ke Qin, a disciple of Heavenly Water Peak from the batch of disciples preceding Li Guanqi and the others. She could even be called a national beauty.

Ke Qin was a direct disciple of Lan He and had reached the ninth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, putting her far ahead of Lin Dong and Zhong Lin.

Lin Dong and Zhong Lin had both reached the peak of the seventh level and seemed on the verge of breaking through to the eighth. On the other hand, Ye Feng had already reached the peak of the ninth level, earning Li Guanqi’s respect.

The leader of the excursion was Shen Lan, the peak master of Heavenly Water Peak. She glanced at Li Guanqi with a flicker of recognition and mused, “You spend all day practicing sword techniques. You’d better not neglect your spells.”

Li Guanqi nodded guiltily. He had not attended Heavenly Water Peak’s classes for a long time.

Shen Lan didn’t press further, and Li Guanqi gave Ke Qin a brief nod in greeting.

A bright light appeared in Shen Lan’s hand, followed by a boat the size of a spirit stone materializing in her palm.

Everyone watched in shock while Zhong Lin explained to Li Guanqi, “This is called a cloud boat, equivalent to a spirit artifact. We usually take the cloud boat for long journeys.”

Shen Lan tossed the cloud boat in the air, and it expanded into a ten-zhang-long vessel.

Two folded sails rested at either end of the boat, presumably for adjusting its course.

The group boarded the cloud boat. Under Shen Lan’s control, the boat slowly ascended into the air. They pierced through the clouds, watching the Daxia Sword Sect shrink beneath them.

A shimmering azure shield enveloped the boat, then it shot off quickly.

“We’re heading into the Zhenyue Mountain’s territory this time,” Shen Lan announced. “While we’re traveling, I’ll tell you about the major factions surrounding our sect.

“There are six dominant forces around us—the Azure Dragon Island, Myriad Immortal Sword Sect, Purple Cloud Sword Sect, Seven Strings Sect, Zhenyue Mountain, and ourselves. Within this hundred thousand-zhang radius, these are the only factions that matter. The rest are not worth mentioning.”

After a pause, Shen Lan continued, “The Daxia Sword Sect, Zhenyue Mountain, and Myriad Immortal Sword Sect are the strongest and the leaders. All six sects rule over the Cloud Dream Immortal Palace together. I assume you all know what makes the Cloud Dream Immortal Palace special.”

Li Guanqi felt puzzled. “Elder Shen, if the Cloud Dream Immortal Palace is truly that magical, aren’t you afraid of other people targeting it?”

Shen Lan smiled and said, “That’s not a concern. The palace has a strange quirk—it only allows disciples at the Qi Refinement Realm to enter, and nothing obtained within the secret realm surpasses the Golden Core Realm.

“The secret realm isn’t too useful to people beyond that level. However, it is an excellent training ground for our disciples, and the dangers inside are relatively manageable.”

Li Guanqi nodded. No wonder no one fought for the place—it wasn’t as valuable as he had thought.

At that moment, Sword Spirit’s voice rang in his mind.

“Oh? A little Hundred-Connection Realm. Interesting.”

“What’s a Hundred-Connection Realm?” Li Guanqi replied internally.

Sword Spirit lazily said, “It’s the Cloud Dream Immortal Palace you mentioned. Some power from an Upper Realm cultivator remained in this world, forming a secret realm like this one. Secret Realms often naturally attract spatial fragments from across space, forming connections to them.”

Li Guanqi frowned. He was still unfamiliar with the concept, but he had a rough understanding now.

While on the boat, the other disciples walked around to take in the sights, as this was all new to them. In contrast, Li Guanqi sat alone at the end of the boat and started to cultivate.

Shen Lan nodded lightly with a smile. He may be a prodigy, but his dedication is what truly sets him apart. Li Nanting has recruited a good disciple...

The cloud boat traveled so fast that it covered more than one thousand li in a day. Despite this, they traveled for a full day and night before finally seeing the blurry silhouette of a towering mountain. The mountain was gigantic, its peak piercing through the clouds.

Many immortal cranes and other tamed flying beasts flew past them.

An enormous red cloud boat emerged next to theirs. It boasted two sails and moved much faster than their boat, quickly overtaking them.

Their cloud boat started to shake vigorously, and even the light shield trembled. Shen Lan quickly injected more vital force into the ship’s helm and stabilized the ship.

Li Guanqi rose slowly and looked at the back of the red cloud boat.

A youth with an icy expression glared right at Li Guanqi while he smirked in return. Who is that?

After a long pause, Li Guanqi turned to Shen Lan and asked softly, “Elder Shen, which faction does that cloud boat belong to? And who’s at the end of that boat?”

Shen Lan’s face darkened. “Zhao Xuanzhu. He’s an outstanding disciple from the Myriad Immortal Sword Sect’s current cohort of disciples. We’ve never been able to see eye to eye with the Myriad Immortal Sword Sect. If they instigate anything in the Cloud Dream Immortal Palace’s secret realm, you have my permission to beat them up!”

Everyone grinned at her words.

Buzz!

Zhenyue Mountain’s protective array opened, allowing the cloud boat to stop on the edge of a platform on the mountain. The cloud boats from the other factions had arrived long before them, so they were the last to arrive.

Before they could disembark, a shrill voice rang out, “Shen Lan! I was just saying—is the Daxia Sword Sect that poor? You lot have been using that same old boat forever! It’s way too slow! Everyone’s been waiting for you!”