Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

On his way, Li Guanqi saw many of his fellow disciples from the other peaks. Lots of them were loitering about, and some even set up stalls along the route to Heavenly Pillar Peak. The items on these stalls were peculiar and diverse, offering a wide variety of wares.

As he was halfway up the mountain, he spotted a bustling taskboard. His master had told him that this was the place where all sect disciples accepted tasks. The rewards for completing these tasks were varied—some were spirit stones, some were other items or elixirs.

But most tasks rewarded sect merit points. And these points could be exchanged for low-grade spirit stones at a rate of one to ten. Also, merit points were the hard currency for internal transactions within the sect, and one could buy things beyond their imagination.

Further up, he saw grand and imposing weapon halls and towering alchemy towers. However, he didn’t linger to sightsee, since he already had a set purpose for this trip. He wanted to quickly arrive at the library and choose a suitable cultivation technique as soon as possible.

After half an hour, Li Guanqi, drenched in sweat, finally reached the mountaintop. The path up the mountain was bustling, but surprisingly, the Great Library only a few people heading towards its gate.

At the summit, apart from a massive platform, there stood a simple three-story ancient hall. The thirty meter tall redwood gate stood imposing in front of the building. A blue plaque hung on the gate, with ‘Great Library’ written in golden paint. The strokes were as sharp as a sword, and a cold, forbidding air emanated from it through the plaque.

Sweep! Sweep!

The rhythmic sound of sweeping echoed. A middle-aged man with disheveled hair, leaning on a crutch, painstakingly swept away the dust at the summit.

Soon, he arrived by Li Guanqi’s side, as if he hadn’t seen the young man at all.

Li Guanqi bowed slightly and greeted the man, but his broom unexpectedly swept over Li Guanqi’s feet.

The man shouted fiercely, “Are you blind?! Can’t you see I’m sweeping here?”

The young man took a half step back, his face expressionless, and said, “Well, I actually am blind.”

The man looked up at the handsome face of the young man, his eyes covered by a black cloth. For a moment, his tone faltered slightly, not expecting the other party to really be blind. Suddenly feeling that he might have been a bit too much just now, he insisted on saving face and said, “You’re blind, yet you wear a tattered cloth to cover your eyes. What’s the point!”

“Are you afraid of people looking at you and covering it? I have a limp, but I never cover it.”

Li Guanqi’s heart shook, finding some sense in the man’s words. So, in front of the man, he slowly took off the cloth band, revealing a pair of pure white eyes. He stared straight at the man and smiled.

The man was a bit unnerved by his gaze, quickly stepped away, muttering as he walked, “Damn, I nearly jumped out of my skin.”

At this moment, Li Guanqi’s mood underwent some subtle changes.

After a moment of silence, the young man bowed to the man’s retreating figure and said, “Thank you for your advice, Senior.”

However, the man acted as if he hadn’t heard him, muttering, “Senior my ass, I’m just a janitor.”

“Have you read too many storybooks at the foot of the mountain? Seeing a sweeper and thinking he’s a formidable expert?”

Not only is he blind, it seems like his brain isn’t too bright either.”

Li Guanqi just smiled at this and didn’t really care whether the man was a senior or not. He was simply thankful for the man’s words, which helped unraveled some knots in his heart.

However, at this moment, someone behind saw the man’s figure and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“That old airbag… such a bad temper and so strange!”

Li Guanqi’s ears twitched, turning to the disciple that just muttered and asking softly, “Senior brother, do you know who that person is?”

“Ah!”

The young man first exclaimed, then immediately bowed in apology. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be startled. It was just… rather sudden.”

Li Guanqi smiled, shrugged, and said, “No worries, senior brother, you don’t need to be so considerate.”

The young man smiled slightly, and upon seeing Li Guanqi’s sect attire, a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes.

“You’re a disciple of Heavenly Thunder Peak, Li Guanqi, right?”

Seeing the young man not denying it, the youth continued, “That man’s name is Gao Qiwu. He used to… oh well, I can’t really say any more.”

“Anyway, just don’t provoke him, or he’ll chase you around the sect three times over!”

After the person left, Li Guanqi shook his head and decided to ignore the limping man.

He just muttered to himself, “If I had known he wasn’t a bigwig, I would have scolded him a bit. I thought he was a reclusive master of the sect.”

“I endured a scolding for nothing, and I didn’t even retort! What a loss!”

“Hiss… should I have broken his broom?”

Thinking of these things, he realized he had already arrived at the library. As he was about to enter, he suddenly felt someone grab his sword coffin from behind. Li Guanqi instinctively swung his right leg like a spear!

Snap!

A crisp sound rang out.

Li Guanqi felt like he had just kicked a heavy hammer, and suddenly fell!

Li Guanqi endured the severe pain in his sole, and using his waist as the center, he instantly reversed his body’s momentum. His left leg descended like a giant axe!

While spinning in the air, Li Guanqi finally saw who the person behind him was. An old man with white hair and a wrinkled yet youthful face, smiling cheerfully at him with his hands behind his back.

Li Guanqi, who was originally using great force, did not retract his left leg. Instead, it descended with an even fiercer momentum!

Bang!

The old man casually lifted his right hand, effortlessly blocking Li Guanqi’s attack, and sent him flying nearly twenty feet away.

Li Guanqi forcefully twisted midair, performed a graceful backflip with one hand supporting his body, and landed steadily.

The old man wore a simple white robe, slightly overweight, with small eyes, a bulbous nose, and an aged yellow gourd hanging from his waist. He smiled at Li Guanqi, his hands behind his back, not saying a word.

Suddenly, Li Guanqi pointed to the wrinkled white robe on the old man and said, “Those clothes look comfortable.”

The white-haired old man’s eyes brightened suddenly, and he pulled Li Guanqi over, saying, “Kid, you think so too?”

Li Guanqi touched his nose and said, “When I used to be a beggar, I found that wrinkled clothes were softer.”

After saying this, Li Guanqi looked at the new sect robe on him and said, “I don’t know how long it’ll take to make this robe as comfortable as my old one.”

The old man blinked and said, “Then just wear your old clothes.”

Then the old man chuckled stating, “Hey kid, your foundation in body tempering is quite good!”

“Even I’m curious about how you trained to be like this. I’m called Ling Daoyan, just call me Old Ling.”

Li Guanqi respectfully bowed and said, “Disciple Li Guanqi greets Old Ling.”

Ling Daoyan seemed to be quite interested in the young man before him. That kick just now showed considerable force, and he asked, “You’re the one who recently awakened a Saint-Grade Spirit Root, right? Lately, you’ve been the talk of the sect.”

Li Guanqi shrugged, “I don’t want that kind of empty reputation. A tall tree catches the wind. The higher they raise me now, the sooner I might fall.”

Ling Daoyan nodded, appreciating Li Guanqi’s sensibility.

Pointing to the stairs on the side, he said, “Don’t bother looking on the lower floors.”

“Lu Kangnian informed me. As a special case, I’ll give you a chance to enter the third floor!”

Li Guanqi’s face immediately lit up. After bowing respectfully, he headed towards the third floor.

As for Ling Daoyan, he sat in a rocking chair at the entrance of the library, closed his eyes, and smiled, “The Great Xia Sword Sect has produced a good seedling.”