Chapter 30

"Is that so."

Wu Tu leaned back slightly, revealing a look of regret.

He didn't suspect that Li Rui was lying.

Li Rui had only entered the ranks recently; back then, he was just a stableman and wouldn't have been qualified to participate in the Huaqing Sect's affairs.

Knowing too much would have been the abnormal thing.

He had only been following clues and happened to trace them to the Zhu household, hoping to get some useful information from Li Rui.

Wu Tu kindly reminded him: "I heard that the Huaqing Sect traitor has been hiding in Qinghe City, seemingly looking for something. Most of the constables involved in the matter have been killed, so you should be careful, Old Brother."

Although there were risks involved, the reward was high.

To survive in the Jianghu, one must risk their life and fight for opportunities.

Wu Tu was also helpless.

If he hadn't been suppressed by Zhao Wei, he wouldn't have needed to find cultivation resources on his own.

"Many thanks."

Li Rui certainly knew what that Huaqing Sect disciple was looking for.

It was just that the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade had long since been burned to ashes by him.

That Huaqing Sect disciple was truly formidable; to have killed so many constables in Qinghe and still not have been caught.

He grew vigilant.

After finishing his wine, Li Rui returned to the Hun Tian Yi Hall alone.

He had not agreed to join Wu Tu in participating in the Huaqing Sect's operation against the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao.

Whether it was the Huaqing Sect or the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao, neither was something he could afford to provoke.

Developing in obscurity was the true path to success.

Days passed one by one.

The Tiger Bone Elixir was indeed worthy of being an Eighth-Rank spirit elixir; even as the lowest grade of spirit elixir, it was still incomparable to Ninth-Rank pills.

The medicinal effects lasted for a full month before completely dissipating.

In the courtyard.

Li Rui held a long blade in his hand; the blade's wind stirred up fallen leaves, the cold light sharp and biting.

In mid-air.

A single droplet of water was precisely sliced in two by the long blade.

Success!

Looking at the water stains on both sides of the blade, this was a sign that the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade had reached the minor success stage.

Drawing the blade to sever water.

It tested the precision of one's blade technique, which was the only way to gain the upper hand in actual combat.

Li Rui weighed the long blade in his hand.

Although the Heaven and Earth Alliance's standard-issue long blade was decent and made of good iron, it was simply too light.

The Bai Yuan Cloak Blade used the back of the blade to supplement the edge in wounding the enemy.

While called "cloaking" (slashing), it was essentially a smashing technique, following a path of brute force that could split mountains; therefore, only a heavy blade could truly unleash the power of the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade.

"It seems I need to have a good blade forged."

Li Rui had already received this month's stipend.

A full ten taels of silver!

It was more than enough to forge a good blade.

Having made up his mind, he made a trip to the Civil and Martial Arts Hall.

In addition to managing the household registration of Heaven and Earth Alliance disciples, the Civil and Martial Arts Hall was also responsible for the forging of weapons within the alliance.

"Li Tangzhu, you want to forge a blade?"

A young disciple of the Civil and Martial Arts Hall was somewhat surprised to hear Li Rui's request.

This young disciple happened to be the one who had received Li Rui when he first came to the Heaven and Earth Alliance, so he recognized him.

Li Rui nodded.

"Twenty taels of silver. Don't be stingy with the iron; if it's not enough, you can come to me for more, but it must be heavy."

He emphasized the word "heavy."

The young disciple's mouth twitched.

This Li Tangzhu wanted to forge a blade weighing a full thirty jin.

Could that thing even be called a blade?

However, since Li Rui was paying and was a Hall Master of the Hun Tian Yi Hall, the Civil and Martial Arts Hall naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Hall Master Li can rest assured. The blacksmiths of the Civil and Martial Arts Hall are all famous craftsmen in the city; their skill goes without saying. Twenty taels of silver is plenty."

Other than being heavy, Li Rui had no other requirements for the blade.

This was much easier than dealing with other Hall Masters.

For any strange iron of special material, sometimes three blacksmiths needed to take turns hammering for seven days and seven nights just to get it into shape; that was what you called difficult.

The young disciple had seen plenty, so he was only surprised.

A seventy-year-old man using a thirty-jin blade.

He didn't dare to imagine that scene.

"Regulate the Qi and slow the breath; if the technique is slightly delayed, then hold the Qi while circulating it, and the effect will be doubled."

Sound of turning pages.

Li Rui leaned on a soft couch, flipping through a Daoist scripture in his hand, the rustling sound of leaves swaying in his ears.

"Wonderful!"

He praised it inwardly.

Many doubts he had regarding the breathing method of the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade were resolved within the Daoist scripture.

The breathing method focused on refining Qi.

When a martial artist reaches a profound realm, what they strive for is a single breath; the longer the breath, the longer the martial path.

This is why storytellers often describe a martial artist with great strength as having a "long and continuous breath"—this is the reason.

As long as one refines Qi-strength, one reaches the Primordial Realm.

If one could refine Qi-strength until it was as vast as the sea, that was a state one didn't even dare to imagine.

Li Rui had a sudden flash of insight.

In a trance, he saw a wisp of cyan Qi drifting before his eyes, as agile as a mountain spring and as lively as a mountain ape in the forest.

Xuan Qing Qi!

According to the records in the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade breathing method, when the breathing method is practiced to a profound level, it can nurture a wisp of Qi, known as Xuan Qing Qi.

But... that was an existence that could only be perceived by those above the Sixth Rank!

Li Rui found it hard to believe.

Comparing it again and again with the description of Xuan Qing Qi in his mind, he finally confirmed that the phantom wisp he saw was indeed a sign of Xuan Qing Qi.

Even if he was still a hundred thousand miles away from actually nurturing it.

Just catching a glimpse of it from afar was already an incredible achievement.

"Sword Saint Liu Taibai of the Yu Kingdom entered the Dao at three, entered the ranks at five, and saw Qi at seven; he is the leader of the martial world."

If one were to infer from this.

The Sword Saint Liu Taibai took a full four years, while he only took one?!

"The Sword Saint is inferior to me?"

Li Rui's heart pounded wildly.

Endowed with a Wu Gu, his talent was indeed monstrous; if not for the limitation of resources, he could likely have grown even faster.

Once he revealed his Wu Gu, he would certainly be pursued by those major sects, and resources would surely not be lacking.

But the risks were also immense.

If he were to encounter some old monster who enjoyed stealing others' talent, that would be bad.

Li Rui was already seventy years old and had heard of too many martial prodigies who eventually fell.

Walking fast is not important; walking far is.

As long as he can reach the peak, being slow doesn't matter; he has already waited for decades, so a few more days won't hurt.

The sound of turning pages rang out again.

"The One produces the Two, the Two produces the Three, and the Three produces the ten thousand things..."

"Li Tangzhu, your blade is ready."

The young disciple of the Civil and Martial Arts Hall carried a large blade half a person's height onto the table.

"This blade is three feet seven inches long, made of thirty-seven jin of Huishan iron; three blacksmiths hammered it for three days and three nights before it took shape."

The young disciple spoke eloquently.

He then awkwardly scratched his head: "The master blacksmith got carried away and used a bit more iron, so Li Tangzhu needs to pay an additional five taels of silver."

"If Li Tangzhu is not satisfied, I can have the master forge another one."

The young disciple glanced at Li Rui, feeling nervous.

If Li Rui really wasn't satisfied, it would be hard to find someone to take this thirty-seven-jin blade, and he would be punished for it.

Li Rui gripped the handle with his right hand.

It felt warm and smooth to the touch; the blacksmith had specially used walnut wood for the handle, giving it an air of nobility.

The next second, the young disciple's eyelids twitched.

Li Rui lifted the heavy blade as if it were light, using a slight effort to raise the thirty-plus-jin weapon, swung it with ease, and nodded.

"A good blade!"

(End of Chapter)