Chapter 358: Xuan Water Enters the Body, Primordial Minor Completion

Bang!

As Li Rui's hand closed around the Xuan Water Qi, a silent ripple sounded at his ears, shaking the furniture in the room.

The Xuan Water Qi struggled to break free.

But no matter how it twisted, it was pinned down by the overwhelming force of Da Henglian, utterly immobilized.

To seize the creation of heaven and earth!

'Refine it.'

Li Rui's Xuan Water Body spun wildly, seeking to refine the Xuan Water Qi.

He did not know how long it lasted.

Finally, the Xuan Water Qi in his palm was refined into nothingness, fully absorbed into Li Rui's body, his palm now utterly still.

In the instant the Xuan Water Qi entered his body,

Li Rui felt an unprecedented sense of ease.

As if immersed in an ocean, he was a fish swimming freely, reveling without restraint.

His Xian Xuan Qi was nourished.

Every part of his body seemed ready to sigh.

At this moment,

Li Rui's body grew immensely stronger; more and more Xuan Water Qi was forcibly drawn to him, until he was entirely enveloped in a radiant sapphire glow.

This process lasted until dawn broke the next day.

Only then did he slowly open his eyes.

'Did I break through?'

Li Rui looked at his own body in disbelief.

Every inch of muscle brimmed with boundless power.

The Primordial Realm has three stages: Body Refinement, Heart Refinement, Spirit Refinement.

Each stage requires decades of cultivation.

Yet due to his cultivation of the Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture, by sheer fortune, he had directly shattered the Body Refinement barrier.

Primordial Minor Completion!

An unexpected joy!

Of course,

Xuan Water Qi alone could not enable a Primordial cultivator to leap an entire realm—it was also due to his own solid foundation.

Xuan Water Qi was merely the catalyst.

Li Rui turned his gaze inward and saw, beneath his spiritual sense, countless fine blue threads of true qi flowing through his meridians, intertwining.

'This is the Xuan Water Qi.'

Li Rui thought to himself.

Originally, he still had a long way to go before he could attract the spiritual water essence of heaven and earth—but he had done the opposite: directly seized and absorbed the spiritual water essence into his body using the brutal essence of Da Henglian.

His method differed slightly from the Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture.

But the end result was the same.

He had still drawn the spiritual water essence into his body.

'Is this the benefit of internal and external cultivation?'

If the original creator of this method saw this, he would be speechless for a long time—this was a path he had never imagined.

At this moment,

His body contained both Xian Xuan Qi and Xuan Water Qi; the two true qis did not clash, each residing in separate meridians, clearly divided.

With Xuan Water Qi now present, the next steps became much simpler.

He only needed to absorb sufficient Xuan Water Qi to complete the Xuan Water Body described in the Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture.

The Xuan Water Body focuses on defense, enveloping the body with water essence.

In battle, blades and weapons cannot harm the body—granting overwhelming advantage.

'Come, come, come, young Li, I've thought of a new fist set—let's train today!'

Tie Kuang rushed into the front courtyard.

He shouted at Li Rui.

'Alright.'

Li Rui nodded with a smile.

These past days, Tie Kuang had frequently sought him out for sparring.

Of course,

The outcome was always the same—he, the junior, lost.

Tie Kuang grew more excited with each bout, clearly transformed into a martial fanatic.

He was indeed a Grand Forgemaster, but his Primordial martial arts were not acquired by chance; though he had spent years cultivating tranquility at the Divine Weapon Manor, in his youth he was fierce and combative.

Only when his martial progress stalled did he devote himself entirely to forging.

Now, Li Rui had awakened his hunger like a gourmet who'd tasted a rare delicacy—how could he restrain himself?

As they spoke,

Both arrived at the training ground in the back courtyard.

Tie Kuang swung his fist and struck.

His Wu Gong was like forging iron—utterly hard and direct, each movement wide and forceful, following the path of overwhelming power.

His Fiery True Qi was also formidable.

The scorching heat made one's skin sting.

Fierce beyond measure.

As longtime opponents, Li Rui had long understood Tie Kuang's patterns.

But this time,

He no longer used Xian Xuan Qi to counter—he activated his will, and a sapphire true qi surged, coating both palms.

Palm met fist.

A hissing sound echoed, like fire doused in water.

Tie Kuang raised an eyebrow.

He had never seen Li Rui use this technique before.

This was his full strength, crowned with peak Fiery True Qi—yet Li Rui had blocked it so effortlessly.

'Has he made another breakthrough?'

His thoughts raced—he was stunned.

Before he could think further,

Li Rui, who had always only defended, finally counterattacked for the first time.

His sapphire palms struck rapidly in succession, like a mountain waterfall, unceasing; though each palm seemed soft, each carried the force of ten thousand jin.

This perfectly embodied the principle that water does not contend yet prevails.

Like rivers and streams, seemingly calm, yet their power can move mountains.

Tie Kuang's assault was instantly suppressed; his once furious fist techniques dissolved into nothingness, leaving him unable to press forward, only struggling to defend.

The situation reversed in an instant.

Every one of his moves landed as if striking cotton—he posed no threat whatsoever to Li Rui.

After over thirty consecutive strikes,

Tie Kuang leapt backward, waving his hands frantically: 'I trained nonstop yesterday—I'm exhausted. Let's stop here.'

Cultivators have abundant blood and qi, boundless energy; even without sleep for days or without food or water for ten days, they remain vigorous.

Especially a Primordial cultivator like Tie Kuang.

His energy was terrifyingly strong.

Tie Kuang knew that if he continued, he would lose within at most twenty more strikes.

To avoid the humiliation, he chose to end the match early.

Seeing this, Li Rui calmly lowered his raised palm.

'Senior, thank you for your leniency.'

He made no move to press his advantage.

Any observer could see the outcome was already decided.

Tie Kuang paced around Li Rui several times, hands behind his back, muttering 'tsk tsk' nonstop.

!

'Damn it, how long have you trained? Less than twenty years, right?'

'I've wasted two hundred years—I've trained myself into a dog's belly.'

No need to guess.

Tie Kuang realized Li Rui had broken through again.

He was now on the same level as Tie Kuang—a Heart Refinement cultivator.

Unbelievable.

In earlier times in Yunzhou, Li Rui's current martial cultivation base would have been sufficient to become the Sect Master of a major sect like Divine Weapon Manor.

Looking back on the past.

When he first met Li Rui, the man was merely an obscure little martial cultivator.

Who would have thought.

Now he has grown to a level where even I feel inferior.

In comparison, my two centuries of hard training seem painfully slow.

"The waves behind Chijiang push forward the ones ahead."

"I'm old."

Tie Kuang sighed, then asked: "What was that strange true qi you just used?"

He knew Li Rui's Wu Gong intimately, yet had never seen him employ such a bizarre technique—like a parasite clinging to the bone, impossible to shake off, leaving one utterly miserable.

The impression was deeply etched.

He considered himself well-traveled and well-informed, yet had never seen such a method, and couldn't help but feel curious.

Li Rui: "It's a martial art I created myself."

"If you like it, I can teach it to you."

After all, the Five Spirit Body Refinement Scripture was taken from that exiled immortal—I learned it stolen, so of course there's no reason I can't pass it on.

Self-created!

Tie Kuang raised an eyebrow.

He hadn't expected that.

But then again, Li Rui had indeed reached the realm where one could create martial arts.

That wasn't unusual.

Even I created several martial arts myself, let alone Li Rui, whose talent surpasses mine.

But Tie Kuang shook his head: "Never mind."

He recalled the scene when Li Rui taught him the Great Iron Body Technique.

He couldn't bear the humiliation.

Besides, everyone has their own path—especially after reaching the Primordial Stage. Forcing oneself to practice an unsuitable scripture only backfires.

Seeing Tie Kuang refuse.

Li Rui no longer pressed.

Yet the power of the Mystic Water Body far exceeded his expectations—if he unleashed his full strength, he could defeat Tie Kuang in no more than a dozen strikes.

Tie Kuang was not weak—he was simply too monstrous.

Watching Tie Kuang grumble as he left.

Li Rui smiled faintly.

"This immortal art is truly excellent."

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

One day.

A column of troops slowly entered the city, each man clad in pitch-black, chilling armor—any seasoned observer would immediately recognize them as the elite Xuanjia Army of Annan Town.

Leading them was an old general, his hair white as snow, yet his spirit sharp and vigorous.

Xue Gui, Regional Commander of Annan Town.

Xue Gui led the Xuanjia Army through the bustling streets of Qinghe, finally arriving before Anning Garrison.

Nie Siming, Li Rui, and Cao Wei had already received word and waited at the gate.

"My lord."

The three bowed in unison.

Xue Gui gave them only a casual glance, then dismounted.

He was then led by Cao Wei into the main hall of the General's Mansion.

Once seated, Xue Gui spoke slowly: "His Majesty, in his benevolence, cannot bear the chaos of Zijin Palace spreading through the southern border, so he has ordered the reinforcement of the southern defenses, summoning the troops of Jiannan and Huaidong Towns into Annan Town, and commanding Annan Town to relocate to Qinghe to guard the southern frontier."

Li Rui and the others sat up straighter.

Though rumors had reached them long ago, hearing Xue Gui speak it aloud still stunned them.

Qinghe was about to change.

As for why the Son of Heaven chose Qinghe—it was because among all Yu's cities, Qinghe was the closest and strongest; choosing it was inevitable.

Yu revered martial arts and was outwardly aggressive.

There was never any tradition of hiding behind others to seek escape.

Why had Yu's capital not been settled in the wealthy, comfortable south, but instead fixed in the harsh, frigid north?

Because the founding emperor personally guarded the nation's gate.

The former capital stood barely thirty li from the frontier, carving out ten thousand li of territory through sheer force—thus becoming the heart of today's Yu.

This tradition has endured to this day.

Look at the eight border towns in the northwest—none are hidden; all stand directly before the barbarians' faces.

The southern border is no different.

Yunzhou is too far; Qinghe is perfect.

Having finished,

Xue Gui continued: "The imperial court has appointed a Provincial Military Commander to lead the three armies. The Commander will arrive in Qinghe shortly and will reside here permanently. Anning Garrison is too small, lacking the grandeur required—it must be rebuilt."

Li Rui and the others perked up.

Provincial Military Commander—that was a top-tier military rank, equal to the ministers of the Six Ministries.

Aside from Yuan Xiangang, the sole Viceroy, the Provincial Military Commander stood at the pinnacle of military rank, a true governor of the realm.

After speaking, Xue Gui suddenly turned with a smile toward Li Rui:

"The construction project will be overseen by Deputy Commander Li."

(End of Chapter)