Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Liu Man was slightly surprised. The voice outside belonged to Tang Chuan, the Grand Elder’s sole direct disciple—and the undisputed number one among the inner sect disciples.

He was a half a step into the Nascent Soul Realm.

Li Guanqi, however, showed no reaction. He simply closed the great hall doors.

Outside the hall, a figure surrounded by multiple people wore an extremely dark expression.

Tang Chuan was tall and straight, his features sharp and resolute rather than conventionally handsome. Coupled with his eyes, he looked rather heroic.

He was not dressed in the plain robes of the sect. Instead, he wore very ornate, low-grade cultivation robes that his master had given him after a breakthrough. Tang Chuan loved the luxurious look, and since then, he had refused to wear the standard robes. Given his talent and strength, no one dared criticize him for it.

The previous day, he’d heard that Li Guanqi was coming to their sect as a guest elder. Tang Chuan had long wanted to see what he looked like, as Li Guanqi was a so-called peerless genius.

So when he heard Li Guanqi had arrived, he rushed over. Yet the first thing he received was a door slammed in his face.

The few people beside Tang Chuan spoke in low voices. “Senior Brother, maybe we should just wait?”

Another disciple with pointed ears chuckled. “Yeah, Senior Brother, no rush. We’ll just wait for him to come out.”The more they spoke, the more Tang Chuan’s face burned with humiliation. Even the guest elders of the Phoenix Lightning Sect greeted him with a smile. Which disciple didn’t show him the utmost respect? However, Li Guanqi dared to make him stand outside.

Tang Chuan didn’t know that the old man next to him had just been kicked out of the hall by Li Guanqi. The old man had lingered on purpose, curious to see what this arrogant youth could do, and so he offered no warning about Li Guanqi’s temper.

Inside, Li Guanqi stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, his gaze calm and unreadable.

The room grew heavy, the air thick with unspoken tension. Li Guanqi radiated immense pressure.

Li Guanqi looked at the densely packed crowd. There were nearly a thousand people.

At last, Li Guanqi spoke, his voice quiet. “Now I understand why Elder Chu was so eager to summon me.”

His words shocked the disciples. None of them had expected him to talk about their Sect Master so casually. From his tone, it sounded as if Sect Master Chu Xingxian had sought him out personally.

Yet Li Guanqi went on, even more calmly. “I never thought the famed Phoenix Lightning Sect would have such worthless disciples.”

The hall exploded in an uproar. All the disciples flushed red with anger, glaring at Li Guanqi.

“Who do you think you are, insulting us like that?!”

“Yeah! Our Phoenix Lightning Sect doesn’t need you pointing fingers!”

“Hmph! And here I thought the disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect were something special. Turns out you’re nothing.”

“The Sect Master must be blind! This is what we’re calling a guest elder?”

“Such arrogance!”

Li Guanqi watched the enraged crowd and nodded slightly to himself. Not bad. At least they have a sense of sect honor.

Tang Jing broke into a cold sweat. She hadn’t expected Li Guanqi to provoke them, especially not in their own main hall. If the Sect Master weren’t backing him, they would already be pelting him with eggs.

But Li Guanqi remained unmoved. “Not convinced? Or do you think what I said isn’t true?”

He paused, then added, “Oh, right. Many of you probably don’t even know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Li Guanqi, disciple of the Daxia Sword Sect’s Heavenly Lightning Peak.”

Gasps rippled through the hall.

“He really is Li Guanqi?! I thought it was just someone with the same name!”

“Wow! I’m finally seeing him in person. He’s so handsome!”

“But isn’t the Daxia Sword Sect in seclusion? How is he here?”

“This pressure… No wonder they say he’s the number one of his generation.”

“Wait. I heard the new guest elder is in the Nascent Soul Realm. Could it be..?”

All eyes turned to the youth who had spoken. He quickly shrugged. “Hey, those weren’t my words. That’s what the elders said.”

The noisy hall went silent in an instant. All eyes fell on the figure on stage.

Li Guanqi looked down at them and spoke softly, saying, “Your attitude toward cultivation… Even the chickens pecking around the back peaks of the Daxia Sword Sect show more diligence than you.”

The words hit them hard, like a slap to the face.

He pulled out two projection stones. With a touch of vital force, two massive light screens flared to life.

They showed the Daxia Sword Sect’s 3,700 peaks under a star-filled night sky, every summit dotted with firelight. On each lit peak, disciples sat in meditation or practiced swordsmanship with relentless focus. Some carried boulders up cliffs on their bare backs, climbing with their hands. Beneath crashing waterfalls, countless figures sat motionless in meditation, their bodies battered but unyielding.

And that was only the beginning of what Li Guanqi showed them. At dawn, throughout the entire Daxia Sword Sect, disciples trained with unwavering dedication, whether they were on towers or mountains. The lecture halls overflowed with students, with every session beginning promptly.

During the day, the sect buzzed with activity, not from idle gossip but from the sounds of rigorous training. Even at night, no one rested, not even Ye Feng, who had returned to the sect recently.

When the images faded, Li Guanqi looked down calmly. Many of the Phoenix Lightning Sect disciples lowered their heads in shame.

Li Guanqi didn’t expect to change them overnight. To him, they had simply grown too comfortable. The Phoenix Lightning Sect gave them abundant resources but didn’t even have a Mission Pavilion.

They were like frogs basking in warm water, unaware they would one day boil alive. His task was to raise the heat so they would leap out. At the thought, his lips curved faintly. He was about to speak again when—

Bang! The great doors slammed open.

A mocking voice scoffed. “The Daxia Sword Sect is poor. Of course you have to work yourselves half to death. Our Phoenix Lightning Sect doesn’t need that!

“And besides, you can’t just dismiss all our hard work! Who are you to judge us? Is it just because your cultivation realm is higher?”

Tang Chuan walked in with two lackeys. The two men clearly looked nervous, but Tang Chuan strutted forward arrogantly.

Li Guanqi’s expression gradually darkened. Outside the doorway, the old man poked his head through, practically rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Tsk tsk, foolish brat. Let’s see how you handle this.”