Chapter 382 - Choosing Paths

The disciples watching Li Guanqi stared with their mouths wide open.

Gulp...

The youths all chattered with excitement.

A youth with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes muttered, “Senior Brother Li didn’t use any vital force in that strike. He pulled off that kind of sword force with nothing but his body. That’s terrifying...”

Li Guanqi closed his eyes, replaying his state of mind and sword force from that slash. Slowly, he smiled. He reversed his grip, slid the sword back into its box, then turned to the stunned disciples.

Then, he turned to look at the astonished disciples with a smile. “You bunch of brats better get moving to Heavenly Lightning Peak now. If you’re late to my lecture, I’ll beat you guys up.”

They exchanged quick grins. Since that meant he was teaching later that day, they bowed at once. “Yes, Elder Li.”

The crowd scattered, swarming toward Heavenly Lightning Peak.

After waking everyone else, Li Guanqi joined them on the flight over. Along the way, many disciples stopped midair to bow and greet him. He returned their bows with a calm smile. Being an elder hadn’t gone to his head.

Soon they reached the main pavilion. Inside sat a dense crowd of disciples, and not just them. His master, Li Nanting, was there as well. Shen Lan, the master of Heavenly Water Peak, sat beside him.

Li Guanqi bowed, smiling. “Greetings, Master, Mistress.”

Li Nanting laughed as he stroked his beard, waving him off. “

Hahaha!

Good, good. Do what you need to do. Pretend I’m not here.”

Shen Lan blushed but didn’t argue. She just smiled and nodded, her gentle gaze fixed on him.

Next to her sat Tu Kui, master of Heavenly Metal Peak.

The moment Tu Kui saw him, he sent a voice transmission. “You brat! Where did you drag my disciple off to? Why did he not come back with you? If his life jade slip weren’t intact, I’d think he was dead.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “Ye Feng had his own plans, so we split up for now. Don’t worry, Elder Tu. He’ll shake the world when he returns.”

The other four peak masters were present too. This was Li Guanqi’s first lecture as an elder, and though the sect had many Divine Transformation Realm cultivators, none matched Li Guanqi’s strength. Even Ling Daoyan lounged on the roof with his wine gourd, watching with a smile on his face.

Li Guanqi chuckled bitterly, then went up the stage in a flash.

His expression turned solemn. He bowed to the seven peak masters and to Ling Daoyan. Disciplinarian Qin Xian had also arrived early and taken a seat near the front.

Li Guanqi raised his hand. A curtain of lightning unfurled outside the pavilion. “If you’re late, don’t bother coming. Let’s begin.”

Scanning the crowd with his divine consciousness, he found that most disciples had firm foundations, no doubt partly due to the eleventh-level Qi Refinement Realm method he had left behind.

The current batch of disciples was also talented. After two years of steady cultivation, most had reached the Golden Core Realm, with only a few still in the Foundation Building Realm.

After a moment’s thought, he began to speak about cultivation and combat at the Golden Core Realm. His insights came from countless life-and-death battles. His grasp of theory ran deep, yet he explained everything with crisp clarity.

Spirit light flickered between his fingers as he demonstrated the concepts. Shen Lan, Tu Kui, and the other elders watched with bright, intent eyes. They smiled and nodded in thought, inwardly muttering that they needed to rethink their own teaching methods.

Li Guanqi also called disciples onstage when he reached key topics, which sent a ripple of excitement through the crowd. Each time he mentioned techniques or special weapons, many disciples leaned forward with raised brows and widened eyes. Much of what he said was entirely new to them.

Below the stage, a disciple said, “Elder Li, I don’t think sword cultivation suits me... I’m more used to broadknives...”[1]

Li Guanqi smiled. “Everything I said was to help you find the path that suits you best. There are countless sword cultivators in the world. It doesn’t need one more. There are many kinds of weapons. What matters is choosing the one that fits you.”

Vital force surged as he opened his hands. A three-chi-long broadknife appeared. He rose and swept it through the air, demonstrating a fluid, intricate routine. The heavy blade moved like a live snake in his grip, lithe yet overwhelmingly strong, as if he could cleave a mountain with it.

When he stopped, the youth was already on his feet in excitement.

“Want to come up and try? You can give the routine a shot.”

The youth nodded hard and leaped onto the stage. “

Uh...

Elder Li... I... I don’t have a broadknife.”

A flash of light sparked in Li Guanqi’s hand, and a gleaming broadknife materialized. It emitted a faint glow, hinting that it was no common weapon.

Li Guanqi handed it over and stepped aside, smiling. “If you can match even thirty percent of what I showed, it’s yours.”

The disciples cheered for him. “You can do it, Zhao Ting! Get that knife!”

“

Hahaha!

Yeah! You can do it, Brother Zhao! I believe in you!”

Excitement surged through the disciples. Ling Daoyan’s eyes shone brightly. Even the peak masters had fallen silent.

The disciples might not have understood what they had witnessed, but the elders did. Li Guanqi’s demonstration wasn’t a high-level routine, yet every movement flowed with strength and ease. Anyone else would need twenty years with a broadknife to reach that level of mastery.

Onstage, Zhao Ting steadied his breath and raised the blade. His steps shifted. He struck with fierce vigor, moving as though the weapon truly belonged in his hand.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

With the final downward chop, his eyes blazed. Blood roared through him. Knife intent burst from his body as he gathered qi in his dantian.

“Haargh!”

Crack!

A three-chi-long cut materialized on the ground, right where the knife’s blade was aimed.

1. More specifically, this disciple is saying he uses a kuodao, which has a unique rectangular blade. See the Translator’s Note for an image. ☜