The Azure Sword Sect was shrouded in swirling green mist.
A clear-featured young man with silver-white hair stepped out of the Hall of Discipline.
He looked up toward the vast sky.
“Hmph, next time will be the day you die!”
In front of the main hall, he announced, “This disciple has completed half a month of meditative seclusion and has come specifically to pay respects to Master.”
Seated in the primary seat of the main hall was a stern-faced old man with a white beard.
Jun Zhuohua flicked his robes.
An invisible gale rose, sending the young man’s silver-white hair fluttering wildly.
The Sect Master’s voice rang out like a great bronze bell: “If there is a next time, your life as the Child of Heavenly Luck will be used as a sacrifice to refine my Banished Immortal Sword!”
There wasn’t a trace of fear in Li Quan’s eyes.
“Enough. Go down and begin your closed-door cultivation!”
“Yes!”
Li Quan bowed his head in acceptance, turned, and exited the main hall.
Treading upon a flying sword, he pierced through the floating clouds and arrived at a tiger-stone carved cave dwelling protected by a barrier and rich in spiritual energy, situated on a cliffside.
This cave dwelling possessed a specialized Spirit Gathering Array, prepared by the sect specifically for disciples in the Core Realm.
Because Li Quan was the Child of Heavenly Luck, the sect had granted it to him ahead of time.
The heavy stone door at the mouth of the tiger cave slowly rose.
As Li Quan entered the cave, the stone door closed and a restriction seal lit up.
Li Quan let out a soft huff.
“Hmph, old fossil.”
In truth, the Azure Sword Sect only valued Li Quan because his Luck Index was high and he was protected by the Heavenly Dao, giving him a greater chance of attaining immortality.
They only held him in such high regard for that reason; once his luck declined one day, he would be refined.
Li Quan’s voice was deep and heavy.
“Once I reach the Profound Soul realm, your Azure Sword Sect will no longer need to exist!”
…
In the Peach Blossom Garden, various items were spread across a wooden table.
Among them was a book titled “Five Years of College Entrance Exams and Three Years of Mock Tests.”
It turned out that Gu Liang had been a high school student before transmigrating.
Beside the table, a young girl in a white dress with a white bandage tied around her left hand was hugging a very large blue spirit stone.
(ɔˆз）”Hehe, it’s so big!”
Cai Xiaonuo laughed foolishly.
“Hey, Senior. How do you think Gu Liang managed to get such a large spirit stone?”
Li Ze was flipping through Gu Liang’s notes within the sea of consciousness.
“He probably got it through robbery.”
Cai Xiaonuo rummaged through the storage bag again.
She pulled out a cover that was protruded in the front, indented in the back, and had two straps.
(๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣
Cai Xiaonuo looked at this object in confusion, holding it up with one hand.
“Senior, what is this?”
Li Ze put down the book in his hand and looked at what Cai Xiaonuo was holding.
Isn’t that a bra! Gu Liang actually had this kind of hobby.
“Ahem—”
Li Ze coughed twice.
“That is something women wear inside. It is similar to your inner garments.”
Cai Xiaonuo tried it against her body.
“Oh, Senior, I have to say, it fits quite well.”
“I want to try it on and see how it feels!”
“How do I wear it, Senior? Teach me.”
Cai Xiaonuo was about to take off her clothes.
Seeing that Cai Xiaonuo was about to strip, Li Ze stopped her.
“Wait a minute. Gu Liang played with that; it’s dirty, don’t touch it.”
(⊙_⊙): “Ah, how disgusting.”
“Alright, alright. Calculate how many spirit stones we earned this time.”
“I’ll count!”
After a moment, “Senior, if we count that big one, there are two thousand spirit stones. Adding the five hundred left from before, it’s now two thousand five hundred.”
“Good!”
Currently, their spirit stones were already more than what an ordinary Dao Realm cultivator possessed.
…
In the main hall of Joyous Peak stood a woman dressed in red armored robes.
Her figure was seductive with flowing red hair, and her long, shapely, well-proportioned legs were exposed outside her skirt, looking incredibly beautiful.
This was exactly the Joyous Peak Master, Luo Yi, at the first stage of the Profound Soul realm.
“Mom— I want to go out for a stroll. Staying at the top of this broken mountain peak is boring to death.”
Qing Ruanning leaned against Luo Yi, acting cute and pleading.
“Look at yourself, look at what state you’re in. Your side was pierced, and your arm is injured.”
“Oh, Mom, I already told you those were accidental injuries from a mission.”
“No!”
“If I let you out again, it’ll be a corpse coming back next time!”
Qing Ruanning went behind Luo Yi to massage her shoulders, continuing to pester her.
“Mom, I’ll just walk around within the sect. That should be fine, right?”
“Fine, just remember to bring your protective jade pendant.”
“I forgot to bring it last time, I’ve already learned my lesson.”
Qing Ruanning patted the yellow jade pendant at her waist.
As she spoke, she walked toward the exit of the hall: “Don’t worry, Mom! This time I’ve hung it on my waist, I won’t forget.”
Luo Yi sighed softly. “Sigh—”
…
A while later, Qing Ruanning arrived at the Peach Blossom Garden.
Pushing open the wooden door, she was dazed when Cai Xiaonuo bumped into her.
“Ouch—”
Qing Ruanning rubbed her forehead.
“Xiaonuo, where are you going?”
Cai Xiaonuo shook her head to clear her mind.
“Sister Qing, why are you here! I was just thinking about practicing my sword skills.”
In the sea of consciousness, Li Ze silently watched these two ditsy girls, feeling somewhat speechless.
She noticed Cai Xiaonuo’s left hand.
“Your hand…”
“It was injured during a mission, but it’s no big deal.”
She pulled Cai Xiaonuo’s left hand against her rounded chest.
“My heart is aching for you, Sister…”
The two of them chatted and chatted, drifting to other topics, becoming more and more cheerful as they spoke.
Qing Ruanning suddenly remembered she had something important to say.
“Right, I have something to remind you about regarding the Sect Tournament.”
“This Sect Tournament is a competition between Spirit Realm disciples. In the Sect Tournament, life and death do not matter; it only stops once someone wins…”
Qing Ruanning rattled off a bunch of information, and Cai Xiaonuo listened with great interest.
Li Ze wasn’t interested in anything else except for that phrase “regardless of life or death.”
It seemed the speed of soul recovery could be accelerated.
As the two chatted, they veered off topic again.
“Xiaonuo, do you have any men you like in the sect?”
“No, I think they all look mean and scary. I don’t like them!”
Cai Xiaonuo looked up with a face full of curiosity.
“Then does Sister Qing have someone she likes?”
Qing Ruanning’s fingers turned white from squeezing them, and her face flushed slightly red.
“I like you!!!”
Cai Xiaonuo was a bit dazed at first, but then she suddenly reacted: “I like you too, Sister (◦˙▽˙◦)”
“Xiaonuo, I still have things to do. I’m leaving first.”
Qing Ruanning walked out the door with somewhat hurried steps.
“Goodbye, Sister Qing!”
Seeing her behavior, Li Ze had a bad premonition.
“She couldn’t have fallen in love with you, could she!”
Cai Xiaonuo froze.
“Eh?”
“Sister Qing always liked me.”
Seeing Cai Xiaonuo’s simple-minded look, “Oh, oh, never mind.”
Who would have thought that while Qing Ruanning usually appeared so proper, she was actually into girls.
Li Ze just smiled and didn’t take the conversation further.
“Clean up the things on the table. We’re going to the stone cave to cultivate in a bit.”
“There are only three months left until the Sect Tournament begins. We must hurry and increase our cultivation. Try to reach the seventh stage before the tournament to have the ability to protect yourself.”
“Okay—”
And so, days passed one after another…
…
Two months later.
In the stone cave, Li Ze had reached the peak of the sixth stage.
Going from the fifth stage to the peak of the sixth stage in two months—this cultivation speed would be considered among the top tier even within the sect.
It was just that the higher the realm, the slower the cultivation speed became.
Another half-month passed. Inside the stone cave.
Li Ze was still at the peak of the sixth stage of the Spirit Realm.
During this half-month period.
No matter how he cultivated, there was not a single sign of a breakthrough.
“Young Master, it might be due to the issue of the damaged soul.”
Xing Yao transformed from a phantom on the young girl’s body into a physical entity appearing before him.
“A fragmented soul requires a certain level of integrity to break through to the seventh stage. The higher the realm, the higher the requirement for soul integrity.”
“Xing Yao, do you have any other way?”
Xing Yao’s body pressed close to the girl.
“There is— but it depends on whether the Young Master is willing to accept it!”
“What way?”