Shen Yue believed his patience was considerable, yet after teaching Li Qingqiu again and again, repeating the same process countless times, even he began to feel irritable.
Just as Shen Yue was about to lose control, Li Qingqiu suddenly opened his eyes and said, "I've finally found the feeling."
As his words fell, sword qi surged out from his body, swiftly condensing beside him into a sword soul. Its entire body was silver, and its appearance was identical to his own.
This sword soul began to autonomously absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Although the amount was faint, it truly managed to do so.
Shen Yue appeared calm on the surface, yet inside his heart, tempestuous waves surged.
How was this possible?!
This was his proudest technique, one he believed no one else could ever learn.
In the past, he had thought Li Qingqiu was an unparalleled sword dao genius. Later, upon realizing that Li Qingqiu did not actually focus on the sword dao, that perception had gradually changed.
Now, however, he suddenly felt that Li Qingqiu's comprehension of the sword dao was terrifyingly profound. Was it possible that this young man did not focus on sword cultivation simply because he felt the sword dao was too simple?
Thinking carefully, the most terrifying genius in the Qingxiao Sect was actually Li Qingqiu himself—and he was only two years older than Jiang Zhaoxia.
His identity as Sect Master, coupled with the immortal dream he had fabricated, had caused many people to overlook his true aptitude.
At this thought, Shen Yue's gaze toward Li Qingqiu grew complicated.
Li Qingqiu dismissed the sword soul and forced a smile. "This is really difficult."
The corner of Shen Yue's mouth twitched. Hearing those words, he truly felt like striking Li Qingqiu.
"That will be all for today."
After speaking, Shen Yue stood up. Though his mood was heavy, he still performed the proper courtesy toward Li Qingqiu.
Watching his departing figure, Li Qingqiu said, "Elder Shen, I really like your sword soul cultivation method. If you come up with similar innovations in the future, be sure to tell me. I have high hopes for you."
High hopes for me?
Veins bulged on Shen Yue's forehead. He waved his hand and left without even turning his head.
Li Qingqiu immediately burst into laughter. He had done it deliberately to provoke Shen Yue—after all, that old man had been far too showy earlier.
Li Qingqiu did not allow anyone to be more showy than himself.
He stood up and walked back toward his cave dwelling, his mood light. The sword soul cultivation method would accelerate his cultivation speed going forward, filling him with anticipation.
One thing he had said was true: Xu Ning's cultivation speed really had put pressure on him.
As a master, how could he be surpassed by his disciple?
He, too, was secretly pushing himself.
Speaking of it, Xu Ning truly had pressured the entire sect. Yet Li Qingqiu could not find any fault with her diligence—he hoped she would become stronger and stronger.
…
Starting from June, Zhao Zhen and Shen Yue seemed to have kicked off a wave of breakthroughs. More and more disciples advanced, with the number of cultivators at the sixth and fifth layers of the Nurturing Essence realm steadily increasing. In the past, it had mostly been the fourth layer that saw growth, while the fifth layer increased very slowly.
At the beginning of July, Ji Ya broke through to the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. His diligent cultivation made everyone realize that there was still such a talented disciple under the Sect Master's tutelage.
As cultivation realms rose, the Hundred-Refined Demon Body became increasingly terrifying. A hundredfold vital energy exerted an overwhelming suppression on cultivators of the same realm.
Ji Ya could even spar with Zhao Zhen, lasting several hundred moves before finally being defeated.
In August, the Xiao brothers and Yun Cai successively reached the sixth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. That same month, the number of disciples at the fifth layer exceeded seventy, while those at the fourth layer surpassed three hundred.
The gap between the Qingxiao Sect and the secular martial world grew ever larger. There were even disciples who achieved the title of the strongest in an entire province's martial world, despite being unremarkable within the sect itself.
The overall increase in the sect's strength was visible to the naked eye. Everyone could feel it—within such an atmosphere, every individual was brimming with fighting spirit, all feeling that time itself was insufficient.
By late August, the Training Hall had completely expelled the Xuanji Sect's warriors entrenched in Cangzhou. Zhu Xian swept aside the barbarian forces of Cangzhou, monopolizing the region, while the other lords dared not disobey.
For a time, more and more voices arose across the land, claiming that the Zhu surname would become the next royal lineage.
Various lords began submitting to Zhu Xian, and the momentum toward unifying the world surged ever stronger.
Zhang Yuchun reported these events to Li Qingqiu, leaving him satisfied.
"This Zhu Xian has done quite well," Li Qingqiu praised.
These words reached Zhu Xian's ears a month later, filling him with excitement.
Zhang Yuchun had not deployed cultivation disciples to assist Zhu Xian, but he had secretly provided him with large sums of money. Coupled with the presence of Li Sifeng and Qin Ye—two figures who swept through the martial world—if Zhu Xian still failed to seize the world, the fault would lie with himself.
Zhu Xian had long known that the future of the realm would have to heed the Qingxiao Sect. He had once personally visited Zhang Yuchun.
Zhang Yuchun had made it clear that future emperors must listen to the Qingxiao Sect, but the sect would not interfere in court politics. The Qingxiao Sect only wanted peace under heaven and freedom from interference in its affairs. He also explained that the sect's pursuits differed from those of secular dynasties, which greatly reassured Zhu Xian.
However, Zhang Yuchun was ultimately only a hall master. His assurances alone could not fully put Zhu Xian at ease. He had always hoped to meet Li Qingqiu in person.
Now that he had received Li Qingqiu's praise, even though it had passed through several intermediaries, it still filled him with excitement.
With Li Qingqiu's support, his imperial throne was secure!
As Zhu Xian occupied Cangzhou and began governing the livelihood of its people, Li Sifeng followed the Training Hall disciples into the northern barbarian lands. They prepared to uproot the Xuanji Sect completely.
Li Sifeng had now reached the sixth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Though this no longer counted as top-tier within the Qingxiao Sect, in the secular world he was absolutely invincible. With the Emperor Xuan Sword and the Prison Qilin at his side, no one in the Xuanji Sect could withstand him.
With the world nearing unification and the sect flourishing in its development, all of this filled Li Qingqiu with a wonderful mood.
His sword soul cultivation method grew increasingly proficient, allowing the sword soul to supply more and more vital energy to his main body.
At the beginning of October, Li Qingqiu finally reached the third layer of the Awakening Spirit realm.
Several days later, Jiang Zhaoxia came to find Li Qingqiu, proudly announcing that he was ready to undergo tribulation and hoped that Li Qingqiu would personally guard him.
Li Qingqiu had originally not wanted to go, but after giving it some thought, he realized that Jiang Zhaoxia did not possess a Heavenly Thunder spiritual root, and his tribulation would likely not be as smooth as Xu Ning's. With that in mind, he agreed.
Once Jiang Zhaoxia stepped onto the tribulation platform, the news spread rapidly.
The sect was about to give birth to its third cultivator to undergo tribulation, and this filled the entire sect with excitement.
This time, the one undergoing tribulation was Jiang Zhaoxia. Zhang Yuchun, Li Dongyue, Wu Man'er, and Li Sijin all rushed over to observe together with Li Qingqiu.
"I wonder when it will be my turn to undergo tribulation," Li Sijin said with a sigh. She was only at the fifth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Although she was still young, she could clearly feel the distance between herself and her senior brother and third senior brother growing wider.
Li Qingqiu shot her a glance and said, "I told you to spend more time cultivating, but you wouldn't listen. Don't think that having poorer aptitude means you can slack off. Time is a terrifying thing. When you look back, you'll realize that cultivating one hour less each day will create an enormous gap."
"I know, I know. I'll cultivate properly," Li Sijin replied impatiently, then ran over to Li Dongyue's side and whispered to her.
Li Qingqiu's gaze followed and landed on Li Dongyue, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.
Li Dongyue's aptitude was likewise mediocre, yet she had always cultivated diligently. Now she was already at the sixth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm, and the seventh layer was no longer far off.
"The method for refining Vermilion Bird Blood must be obtained."
Looking at the scene of the two junior sisters leaning close together, Li Qingqiu made a silent decision in his heart.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yuchun was chatting with Wu Man'er. Zhang Yuchun's cultivation was the same as Li Sijin's, only at the fifth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm, while Wu Man'er had reached the seventh layer and ranked third among the seven senior brothers and sisters in terms of cultivation.
Zhang Yuchun was encouraging Wu Man'er, hoping that he could undergo tribulation soon.
Wu Man'er could only grin foolishly, his eyes fixed on Jiang Zhaoxia.
He was not particularly clever, and Li Qingqiu had not entrusted him with administrative duties, so his presence within the sect was not strong. But that did not mean he had no thoughts of his own.
He did not harbor many schemes. He simply wanted to become a dazzling existence like his third senior brother, to make his senior brothers and sisters proud of him, and then take on more responsibility for the sect.
On the tribulation platform, Jiang Zhaoxia was actually quite uneasy. After all, this was his first tribulation. However, when he opened his eyes and saw Li Qingqiu and the others on the mountain opposite, his heart became firm once more.
With senior brother present, even if he encountered danger, senior brother would definitely protect him.
Though Jiang Zhaoxia was usually proud, deep down he also relied greatly on Li Qingqiu—he simply never said it aloud.
More and more disciples gathered on the mountain where Li Qingqiu stood, all coming to watch Jiang Zhaoxia undergo tribulation. Most of those who came were sect geniuses. For them, tribulation was only a matter of time, and accumulating experience in advance was always beneficial.
Three days later, the heavenly tribulation began.
When the first bolt of heavenly lightning struck, Jiang Zhaoxia immediately sensed that something was wrong. His vital energy was almost dispersed by the blow, forcing him to condense even more vital energy around his body.
Above a forest, Mingguang of the Heavenly Works Hall stood atop a tree, stroking his chin as he pondered whether to create a formation to help sect disciples undergo tribulation.
Jiang Zhaoxia condensed a shield of vital energy that glowed with blue light, giving Mingguang inspiration. It felt as though he had grasped something in his mind, yet it was still vague, forcing him to think deeply.
Just as Li Qingqiu had predicted, Jiang Zhaoxia's breakthrough process was far more difficult than Xu Ning's.
When the seventh bolt of heavenly lightning fell, Jiang Zhaoxia was struck until blood poured from his entire body and his robes were torn apart. Li Dongyue and Li Sijin cried out in alarm and instinctively looked toward Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu frowned but did not move. Seeing this, the two women could only turn their eyes back to Jiang Zhaoxia.
Jiang Zhaoxia did not give up. He stood up, gripping his treasured sword and unleashing the Immortal Severing Three Swords. One sword avatar after another, formed from sword qi, appeared on the tribulation platform—more than a dozen in total. When the heavenly lightning struck again, they all swung their swords together, using sword qi to shatter the lightning.
There was hope!
Bolt after bolt of heavenly lightning fell. By the seventeenth strike, those sword avatars were annihilated by the lightning.
After that, even relying on the Immortal Severing Three Swords, Jiang Zhaoxia continued to accumulate new injuries. His wounds grew increasingly severe, and his vital energy was consumed at an accelerating pace.
By the time the twenty-fifth bolt of heavenly lightning arrived, Jiang Zhaoxia's vital energy was completely exhausted. His legs went weak as he half-knelt on the tribulation platform, gasping heavily, unable to even lift his head.
At this moment, he had become a man drenched in blood. Everyone watching his tribulation from the opposite mountain clenched their fists in anxiety for him.
So heavenly tribulation was not easy at all!
Thunder roared once more. At that instant, Jiang Zhaoxia felt as though everything had slowed down, and his body grew unbearably heavy.
"Is this my limit?"
The thunder echoed in his ears, yet he could no longer resist. He could only accept his fate.
However, when the thunder faded, he did not feel even more intense pain. With great effort, he raised his eyes and saw a figure appear before him.
Although he could only see the lower half of the person's body, he had already recognized who it was. A smile spread across his blood-covered face. He stopped forcing himself, his body tipping forward as an arm caught his chest—just like when he was a child. When he fell from the eaves back then, it was this very arm that caught him.
Different from his childhood, the owner of that arm did not scold him this time, but instead said softly, "Third junior brother, you've worked hard. Next, let senior brother take it for you."