Chapter 44 – The Brutal Reality of Cultivation

Ke Qin’s mind went blank. She stood frozen, unable to move.

Pfft!

At the last moment, a hand caught the dagger’s blade right in front of her face.

Fresh blood trickled from Li Guanqi’s palm. His face remained emotionless as he strode toward Ke Qin.

Then, he flung the dagger aside.

Thud!

The dagger pierced through the youth’s palm, pinning him to the ground.

Li Guanqi’s eyes were fixed on Ke Qin’s empty gaze. Despite her pale complexion, he spoke in a low voice.

“This is the only time I’ll let you show mercy, as I can bear the consequences. If this happens again, I’ll leave you behind and let you fend for yourself. Killing is allowed in the secret realm, so do not treat it as a game,” Li Guanqi said. “We only have one life, and I do not want someone with a weak heart holding me back.”

Pfft!

Cold light flashed as he swung his sword. The Seven Strings Sect disciple’s head tumbled to the ground.

Li Guanqi finished the job with no emotion on his face. “We need to leave quickly. His people will arrive here very soon.”

With that, Li Guanqi took the youth’s storage pouch and identity jade slip.

Ke Qin trembled all over, her complexion pale and her face stained with several drops of splattered blood.

Li Guanqi turned his head and said coldly, “If you don’t come now, you won’t get another chance to follow us again.”

Ke Qin snapped out of her daze, panic flashing in her eyes. “I... Yes, I’m coming!”

The team of five shot off in another direction. They remained silent until Ye Feng, the bravest of the group, finally spoke.

“Have you killed someone before?”

“Yes,” Li Guanqi replied calmly.

Then, he suddenly changed direction. His eyes sprang open, and he said in a low voice, “Ye Feng, Zhong Lin, go hide five hundred zhang away from here. Do not show yourselves until I strike.”

Lin Dong frowned. “Is this because the Seven Strings disciples are here? Did you see that on the jade slip?”

Ye Feng pursed his lips and said, “Of course! That’s what that guy’s jade slip was for! To track their locations!”

“Zhong Lin, follow me!”

Whoosh!

The both of them hid among the tall wild grass.

Li Guanqi turned and glanced at Ke Qin. Her vacant expression was a clear sign that she was still shaken. He sighed to himself.

They’re all lambs who have been living sheltered lives...

“

Lin Dong, we’ll head over from the east! There are two of them, so let’s end this quickly!”

The three of them moved eastward. Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed as his mind raced.

Since there is already conflict, we must kill them all.

His grandfather had drilled this into him from a young age. When conflict arises, either stay out of it entirely or resolve it completely.

Back in the village, he had often wondered why his grandfather kept lecturing him about it so much. Now, he finally understood.

Whoosh whoosh!

Two disciples in purple robes arrived, their faces darkening the moment they saw their fellow disciple’s headless corpse. “Fuck! Daxia Sword Sect! How dare you kill a Seven Strings Sect disciple?!”

The youth’s voice trembled with fury and grief—only for another voice to coldly answer in his ear.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?”

Clang!

Li Guanqi swung his sword, only to be blocked by the other youth, who had just broken through to the tenth level of the Qi Refinement Realm.

The youth’s expression was cold. He had narrow eyes and very light eyebrows, clearly a cunning person. “You guys hadn’t left. I knew it. The Daxia Sword Sect has recruited some vicious disciples indeed.”

Clang!

Li Guanqi slashed his sword down repeatedly with a smirk, his strikes as fierce as a storm. “You talk too much.”

Clang! Clang Clang!

Thud!

Sparks flew as their swords clashed. The enemy was at the tenth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, but Li Guanqi’s powerful vital qi forced him backward with every clash.

Li Guanqi’s moves were relentless—swift as the wind, crushingly aggressive. The youth managed to parry each strike, but in the end, Li Guanqi managed to kick him several zhang in the air.

Before the youth could stabilize himself mid-air, Li Guanqi channeled his vital qi into his feet and shot forward like a gust of wind.

Pfft!

The swords collided again.

Li Guanqi thrust once again, and this time, his blade plunged into the youth’s chest. As he did, the youth’s sword stabbed into Li Guanqi’s shoulder.

Yet Li Guanqi didn’t pause. He turned and joined Lin Dong’s battle despite his fresh wound.

Lin Dong and Ke Qin had never taken a life before. Despite having the advantage of two against one, they could only manage to keep their opponent trapped.

Seeing that Li Guanqi had killed his senior brother, the other enemy panicked. “I’m an inner disciple of the Seven Strings Sect! You guys cannot kill me!”

His desperate words made Lin Dong and Ke Qin hesitate.

No!

Li Guanqi immediately rushed over.

Ye Feng and Zhong Lin also rushed over from behind, but they were powerless to stop what happened next.

The disciple’s fingers tightened around two purple-black pills in his hand—a last ditch effort.

In the face of imminent danger, Li Guanqi threw his sword forward. Lightning vital qi crackled through the air.

Pfft!

The blade pierced through the disciple’s skull, stopping just a finger’s length away from Ke Qin’s face.

Arriving from the back, Ye Feng and Zhong Lin grabbed Lin Dong and Ke Qin and sprinted off.

Just as they managed to move away, the two pills landed on the ground and burst into roaring flames.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Li Guanqi panted as he slowly walked to Ke Qin.

Then, he picked her up by the collar and slapped her across the face.

Ye Feng stayed silent, but Zhong Lin shouted, “Senior Brother Li!”

Ke Qin’s mind went blank after the slap. She hung her head as her eyes reddened. A hand-shaped mark was apparent on her fair skin.

“If you want to die, then go die by yourself! Don’t drag us down with you! You'd be dead already if Lin Dong hadn’t blocked that strike! If you refuse to kill, then just stick out your neck and let them kill you instead!” Li Guanqi shouted.

His chest heaved, and he panted heavily.

He turned away and retrieved his sword. Without another glance at Ke Qin, he tossed the storage pouches from the two corpses to Ye Feng and Lin Dong while handing the earlier one to Zhong Lin.

After cleaning up the area, Li Guanqi squatted on the ground without looking at Ke Qin, whose shoulders were trembling. “When you enter the world of cultivation, you don’t get to peacefully live on your own.

“Either you kill or get killed. If you can’t overcome this mental block, I suggest you cripple your cultivation. You can leave the mountain, marry a man, and raise a child.”

He turned to the others. “Let’s go!”

Ke Qin slumped on the ground.

She wanted to scream at him, to let out all the anger choking her throat... but she couldn’t. The words were stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.

Ye Feng tucked away the storage pouch and got up. “If you’ve chosen the path of cultivation, then don’t be so soft-hearted. We’re all in the same boat. If you keep hesitating like this, we’ll have no choice but to leave you behind.”

Even the usually kind and supportive Lin Dong stood up quietly. He did not want to kill either, but he wanted to live.

Roar! Roar!

Suddenly, beastly cries echoed from all directions.

Li Guanqi motioned for them to lay low. He closed his eyes for a while, then said, “To the north! Let’s go!”

The four of them shot off, ignoring Ke Qin.

After a moment, the red-eyed Ke Qin slowly picked up her sword.

Her gaze hardened, and she followed after the others.

After two battles, Li Guanqi’s strength and decisiveness had completely convinced them. He had become their true leader, and even Ye Feng inwardly admired him.

Damn! He’s a true man! Decisive and ruthless!