Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

When Li Guanqi returned to his courtyard, little Yu Sui’an ran up in her floral coat. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried and sobbed. “Blind boy! I... Hick! I thought I’d never see you again...”

The little girl leaped onto Li Guanqi and clung to him like a koala. Li Guanqi gently hugged her, wiped her tears dry, then said, “Why? Why would you think that? See, I’m fine.”

Still sobbing, Yu Sui’an said, “You... you don’t understand... the jade tokens in the sect... they kept shattering, one after another. It was terrifying. Each broken token meant someone had died, and all of them had gone into the secret realm. I was so scared... scared that yours would be next.”

Li Guanqi was touched. He smiled and stroked her hair. “I’m safe now. Don’t worry.”

Dark circles rimmed her eyes, as she hadn’t slept properly in two days. Li Guanqi lifted her into his arms, and she quickly fell asleep against his shoulders.

Wait... she’s already at the fourth level of the Qi Refinement Realm? That’s way too fast!

Along the way, he met many seniors from Heavenly Lightning Peak. They all looked at him with concern, and he returned their gazes with a warm smile. Back at his quarters, he laid the sleeping girl on the bed and tucked her in carefully.

He sighed in relief. The side effects of the Red Cloud Pill had mostly subsided.

He went to the cultivation room in the backyard, activated the array, and called softly, “Sword Spirit.”

Her voice came slowly. “What is it?”He could sense that her voice was much stronger than before. “It looks like you’ve benefited from this excursion too.”

Sword Spirit slowly appeared. Her translucent body had become sharper. “Correct. I didn’t expect you to come across a Star Lightning Vine in a place like that. It’s a very rare item, even across the entire Daxia Territory.

Li Guanqi had no idea what it was. He’d simply followed his instincts. Something about it had drawn him in, and he’d swallowed it without thinking. “By the way, why are the markings on my body disappearing?”

The moment he asked, Sword Spirit’s expression soured in annoyance. “Just think of it this way: you have a special body type, and the blood runes function as seals. There are three hundred and ninety-nine runes on your body, and you have only opened nine of them so far. You’ve got a long road ahead before this becomes anything worth worrying about.”

Li Guanqi shrugged. He had barely learned anything from her explanation. He didn’t even know what the runes were for. All he could tell was that the Sword Spirit didn’t like talking about it, and that it probably had something to do with his grandfather.

She went on to give him advice similar to Li Nanting’s, telling him to stabilize his current cultivation level and not to rush toward the Golden Core Realm.

Li Guanqi nodded. He took out his spirit stones and opened the realm in the sword box. Time flowed twice as fast inside.

The next morning, he emerged from the cultivation room, feeling energized. Yu Sui’an was still fast asleep, her small belly peeking from under the blanket. He pulled the blanket over her, then summoned his Emerald Wolf Sword and took off toward Thousand Peak Mountain.

The deep green blade soared through the air, leaving a three-chi-long tail of light behind it. It was at least thirty percent faster than before. Perhaps he could even cover a thousand li at full speed in a single day. After all, his dantian now held enough vital force to sustain twenty hours of flight.

Once he arrived at Jade Teapot Peak, he noted everything was the same. The disciples were quietly cultivating atop their individual peaks.

His spirit-gathering array still held the spirit stones from his last session. They hadn’t been depleted yet.

However, the moment he landed, he heard two more figures cutting through the air. He turned and looked up, noticing two silhouettes in the sky. He waved and laughed. “Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Sister Jiang~”

Jiang Su supported Zhou Zhi as they descended, and laughter echoed from the peaks below. Jiang Su’s face was slightly flushed, while Zhou Zhi looked pale. He’d been severely injured in Di Kun City. Even so, he’d been among the last to leave the secret realm.

To Li Guanqi, Zhou Zhi wasn’t just the Eldest Senior Brother of the outer sect—he was a true senior brother, someone whose calm and courage he deeply admired..

Zhou Zhi looked at the recovered Li Guanqi and patted his shoulder with a smile. “Damn! That body of yours really bounces back, huh?”

Li Guanqi bowed. “Thank you, Senior Brother. Your sacrifice gave me the courage to fight with everything I had.”

Zhou Zhi waved him off and said solemnly, “That was nothing. I would have done the same for anyone else. Also... you did great! After that incident, Senior Sister Jiang and I agreed that the losses would’ve been even worse if anyone else had been on that platform. Thank goodness it was you!”

Li Guanqi smiled and did not elaborate. Then, with a flash of light, a silver orb the size of a fist appeared in his palm. He held it out toward Zhou Zhi.

Looking at the ball, Zhou Zhi recalled something. “Is this... a silver-armored puppet soldier orb? Weren’t Wei Kun’s puppet soldier orbs all destroyed?”

Li Guanqi pressed it into his hand. “This one wasn’t from the Thousand-Mechanism Array. I picked it up somewhere else. It’s yours now, Senior Brother. May it serve you well.”

Zhou Zhi quickly pushed it back. “No! This is too valuable. Keep it for emergencies. I can’t accept this.”

Jiang Su opened her mouth to speak, but the sight of Zhou Zhi’s unwavering gaze stopped her.

Li Guanqi noticed their expressions. The puppet soldier orb was of limited use to Li Guanqi, especially when he had the Emerald Wolf Sword. Still, it was very valuable. Crafted by the Mo family, it could fetch three to five thousand low-grade spirit stones at a treasure pavilion.

But Zhou Zhi’s actions in the secret realm had been worth far more than the puppet soldier orb.

Having no choice, Li Guanqi took out another black soldier orb and said, “Look, I have another one. Better quality. So just take this without guilt. Rest well and heal up!”

Only then did Zhou Zhi graciously take the silver orb. “As long as you’ve got the better one. Otherwise, my conscience would never let me accept it.”