Chapter 30 - The Sword Spirit Submits; Qi Refining Level Five

When the girl entered Li Guanqi’s room, the arrogance in her eyes remained, though her expression had softened considerably.

Li Guanqi did not know why she suddenly looked much gentler than before. He smiled at her and said, “What’s the matter? Have you fallen in love with me?”

She wanted nothing more than to stomp that perverted grin off his face. But then she remembered the old man’s warning and her current predicament.

She took a deep breath and said, “We can talk. I can return the vital qi I took from you.”

Li Guanqi did not show much emotion and merely gestured for her to sit down. Seeing that she didn’t move, he chuckled and said, “Sit down, and we’ll talk.”

Once she sat, he got straight to the point. “Who are you?”

She replied honestly, “I am a sword spirit.”

He frowned and asked, “A sword spirit who lives in that sword box?”

The girl did not deny it, so he fell into deep thought. “How many swords are there in the sword box?”

She slowly held up three fingers.

He nodded without a word, then asked, “Do you have a name?”

The girl stiffened, then shook her head. “You do not have the right to know my name yet. If you need something to call me, ‘Sword Spirit’ will do.”

Though this answer was similar to their previous exchange, Li Guanqi sensed that she wasn’t trying to provoke him. It felt more like... the truth.

He let the matter go. What he really wanted to know was what those three swords were.

As if reading his thoughts, she said, “With your current strength, you cannot withstand the power of any of the swords inside. When you reach the Golden Core Realm, you’ll barely be able to control the first one. As for me...

Hehe

. Don’t even think about it.”

He shrugged. After some thought, he asked, “What benefits do I get for giving you my vital qi and letting you stay by my side?”

She pointed at herself.

He did not wait for her reply. Instead, he muttered, “

Tsk....

She’s quite pretty, but I can only see and not touch. I feel I’m getting the short end of the stick here!”

Sword Spirit’s face darkened. She had never met someone so shameless. If these were the olden days...

“

Hmmph!

You wish!”

Sword Spirit leaned her curvy figure on the chair and said, “I meant I could teach you cultivation in the future.”

“I already have a master.”

He shrugged. Her offer felt meaningless to him.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “I. Am. Different. From. Him! He’s a mere Golden Core cultivator. Even if he breaks through to the Nascent Soul Realm, he’ll still be nothing to me! No one else in this world can teach you what I can!”

Li Guanqi repeated her last sentence, imitating her tone mockingly. Internally, he mused,

This isn’t a mentally disabled sword spirit, is it? Why does it feel like she’s not very bright? What if... I don’t want her?

Sword Spirit closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she waved and turned into a ray of spirit light, which moved in a specific pattern in the air.

Li Guanqi understood the moment he saw the image formed by the light. It was a human silhouette, demonstrating the technique he was currently cultivating from the incomplete scripture.

However, the path the spirit light followed completely differed from his current cultivation method.

Shock coursed through him. This new method could triple his cultivation speed.

Then, many sutras that were foreign to him appeared next to it. He raised his eyebrows and gasped, “Is this the missing part of the incomplete scripture?”

Sword Spirit nodded nonchalantly, then pursed her lips and said, “Formulating the second half from the first is child’s play for a trash technique like this! Still, this technique is quite suitable for your spirit root, so you won’t need to change it until you reach the Divine Transformation Realm.”

Li Guanqi pouted but did not argue.

If you think my current technique is trash, why don’t you give me something better?

However, he kept his thoughts to himself. Now, the priority was memorizing the missing part’s sutra and route.

The spirit light dissipated after a short moment.

Sword Spirit looked at Li Guanqi smugly and said, “Do you have any problem with this?”

Li Guanqi smiled and waved. “No, of course not. But... I have a question. How much more vital qi do you need?”

Sword Spirit stood slowly, her posture haughty. “I will keep absorbing.”

Li Guanqi’s face fell. “So I’ll have to give you half my vital qi every time I cultivate?”

Sword Spirit pondered for a moment. “That was only for my awakening. I won’t need more until you reach the Foundation Building Realm. But after that, you’ll have to give me half your vital qi—I need it to maintain my divine spirit.”

Li Guanqi sighed in relief. The first examination would be in two months, and he could not afford to give her half his vital qi. If she kept taking it, his cultivation speed would decrease significantly.

When she walked out of the door, she suddenly turned to look at him. Li Guanqi quickly rearranged his features to a neutral expression—he did not want to anger her again. She was able to rewrite an Earth-tier technique effortlessly! Also, she was the spirit of a sword... just how powerful was that sword?

One day, I will...

Li Guanqi coughed.

Hold her in my hand!

Sword Spirit stared at him for three long breaths before saying solemnly, “No matter what, do not die!”

Then, she turned into a streak of light and vanished into the sword box, leaving Li Guanqi frozen in place.

What did she mean? Why did she tell me not to die? With her abilities, she has to be very powerful... so why did she say something so strange?

Wait... Could she have been impressed by my magnificence, so much so that she has fallen in love with me?

He shook his head, then smugly ran his fingers through his hair.

A mysterious force appeared within him, and his aura strengthened. In the blink of an eye, he returned to the middle of the fifth level of the Qi Refinement Realm—just slightly below his previous peak.

Suddenly, an old man blasted his courtyard door open.