Chapter 89: Chaos Prime, the Phoenix Approaches

Xue Daoyong exerted great effort to keep his expression under control.

He reached out and pressed his hand on Li Guanyi's shoulder, feeling that extremely pure burst of Qi. When a warrior reaches this level, their internal force can erupt from the eight meridians around the body; in theory, they can move freely without being injured. Put on a suit of armor, and even a hundred pre-Realm warriors couldn't pile up enough to kill a martial artist.

Even if his hands and feet were held, his shoulders, waist, and back could all erupt with Qi to slam someone to death.

After his shock, Xue Daoyong's first reaction was worry. He reached out and grabbed Li Guanyi's wrist, channeling his internal Qi, frowning slightly, and said: "Such a fast breakthrough—did someone persuade you to cultivate some quick-success technique?"

When he was young, traveling the world.

He had also seen the Mo Sect on the western frontier borders, where they would throw themselves at you one after another, their internal Qi exploding, flesh and blood flying. Some branches in particular would swallow pills to fill their bodies with deadly poison, then throw themselves at you and detonate—even martial artists at higher realms could fall for it if they weren't careful.

Right now he worried whether Li Guanyi had been greedy and reckless, worried about his body.

But he feared that for the sake of temporary progress, the foundation of his cultivation might be ruined. Yet as the old man's internal Qi circulated, he sensed that this youth before him had strong sinews and bones, a vast and surging Qi mechanism, and the condensed internal Qi pulsing and shifting—unexpectedly pure.

This was clearly not the product of rushing for quick results.

This person's foundation was solid; among the century of travels Xue Daoyong had undertaken, it could rank in the top ten.

The remaining few were already legends. One of the two Innate masters of the Daoist Sect had crossed paths with Xue Daoyong in his youth. At that time, Xue Daoyong had already felt the Taiji Soft Cloud Art's body was profound and its foundation deep, but now he felt Li Guanyi's foundation was no weaker than his.

However, Li Guanyi's age was a few years older than that Innate master had been back then.

That person had only been ten years old back then.

Then Xue Daoyong suddenly realized how long this youth before him had been cultivating.

From Body Forging.

To crossing Qi Condensation, reaching Meridian Opening.

Less than ten days!

And that young Daoist Priest had already been cultivating for six years back then.

Xue Daoyong fell silent, rubbed his brow, and said: "How did you do it?"

He looked at Li Guanyi.

Before coming, Li Guanyi had thought about how to explain.

He had considered revealing Xue Shen's Mystical Realm, considered revealing the Tiger Roar Bone Forging Art, and also considered dragging Master Siming out directly—saying he had met a master. But after thinking carefully, he ruled out all these ideas.

The more one says, the more one slips.

Xue Daoyong was such an old hand of the martial world.

The more he said, the easier it would be for hidden things to be seen through. So Li Guanyi had only one choice. His expression solemn, he answered: "Just cultivating, sitting in meditation. Big Brother Yue Qianfeng came to find me and taught me a Qi Condensation technique, and then it just turned out like this."

"Just cultivating?"

"Just cultivating."

The corner of Xue Daoyong's mouth twitched, feeling as if his hundred years had been fed to the dogs.

Li Guanyi composed himself, then in a modest, sincere, earnest tone, said:

"I think I might, perhaps, have a little bit of talent."

Xue Daoyong's vision went dark.

The old man took a deep breath, then exhaled it, only then steadying his own heart realm. Hands clasped behind his back, he nodded slightly, not putting on any airs, just laughing and scolding: "What do you mean 'a little bit of talent'? This kind of aptitude can be called peerless. This old man has never seen it!"

"You can be proud of yourself."

"In these hundred years of mine, traveling the world, I've seen many geniuses. Xiao Wuliang charged into battle at thirteen; Tai Ping Gong fought across a thousand li at twenty, beheading tens of thousands. These were all rare and outstanding fierce generals. Xiao Wuliang was from a noble family, but Tai Ping Gong was born a farmer's son and only began cultivating after joining the army."

"I can assert that your aptitude will be no worse than theirs!"

Li Guanyi said: "Tai Ping Gong's home was in..."

Xue Daoyong answered: "Precisely the eighteenth prefecture of Jiangnan."

"I heard that when Tai Ping Gong was young, he had to roll up his trouser legs to plant rice, go pick lotus pods to eat. He was born into such poverty—two thin garments a year. One day when he was small, there was a heavy snow in Jiangnan. He was freezing by the roadside, and it is said a Miss gave him some pastries to eat, then draped her cloak over Tai Ping Gong's body, which let him survive the winter."

"If not for that, the world would never have had such a valiant general."

"Back then he was that poor, but after he became famous, his home enjoyed a time of glory and wealth. Unfortunately, that great fire ten years ago..."

The old man said nothing more.

Li Guanyi's gaze lowered slightly.

Xue Daoyong took Li Guanyi to the martial practice ground in the inner courtyard and said: "Since you already have such a foundation, I should explain the cultivation that comes after. After entering the realm, the First Layer has three major barriers: 【Body Forging】, 【Qi Condensation】, 【Meridian Opening】."

"After that, when the three merge into one, that is Ascending the Layer."

"Now the world is in great turmoil, the states constantly wage war and diplomacy, and the martial world mostly uses military ranks as the standard for measuring realms. A martial artist who has just entered the realm can serve as a squad leader at the border, commanding five new recruits, with meat in his meals. A martial artist who has entered the Second Layer Realm can reach the rank of Captain, with a seventh-rank military officer as the limit."

"After retiring from the border, one can serve as a county lieutenant."

"Granted a residence and armor, considered a person of standing in a city."

"Does Guanyi know the difference between the Second Layer Realm and the First Entry Realm?"

Li Guanyi shook his head.

He had killed Second Layer Realm martial artists before, but the first time, Yue Qianfeng had absorbed the world's essence with one punch, leaving those entry-realm warriors able to rely only on their bodies, and Li Guanyi had the power of his Dharma Aspect, which let him win; the second time, he had ended it quickly, a swift pounce-kill, without seeing detailed techniques.

Xue Daoyong smiled slightly and said: "When a warrior enters the realm, internal Qi leaves the body."

"After Qi Condensation, internal Qi can be refined. To enter the Second Layer Realm, one must merge 【Qi Condensation】, 【Meridian Opening】, and 【Body Forging】 together, letting the refined Qi naturally form a circulation around the body. Watch—just like this."

The old man's robes billowed, and a refined Qi mechanism swirled around him.

Li Guanyi reached out to touch it and could feel an obvious repelling force, like putting his hand into a storm. Xue Daoyong said: "This is 【Defense】. Internal Qi circulates around the body; to a certain extent, it can evade most hidden weapons and deflect arrows. It is the foundation for the Third Layer Realm's Qi Condensing into Armor."

"As for 【Attack】, it's much simpler."

Xue Daoyong gripped a wooden staff, and a blade of Qi shot out.

This was the hallmark of post-Qi Condensation.

The old man's wrist moved; with a casual flick, the Qi blade exploded, transforming into a burst of force that shot out, slicing through the air and landing on the stone stele ahead. Accompanied by the wooden staff in his hand crumbling into powder, the stone stele—which would have required a full-power strike from an entry-realm warrior to shatter—slid off to one side.

The cut was smooth.

Sword Qi.

Xue Daoyong said: "Your defenses already have their own qi circulating through the meridian cycle, and at the Second Layer Realm state you can already slash out sword qi, killing from a distance. At this point, a martial artist needs new weapons—special-material weapons that allow internal qi to flow through them and can bear the strain of internal qi erupting in a strike. These are what are called 【Sharp Weapons】."

"This is the Second Layer Realm, the ninth to seventh rank martial officials."

"Border Captains, and the elite cavalry and infantry of note throughout the realm, are all martial artists at this realm. The one you killed back then was the same—only he probably hadn't cultivated to the point of slashing out sword qi."

Xue Daoyong said: "If entering the realm counts as a person of standing in a small city, then the Second Layer Realm is one of the foremost figures in a small city. Moreover, the methods of you and me, the power of the Dharma Phase, can only truly be put to use once one reaches this realm."

Li Guanyi raised his eyes and saw the old man smile, casually reaching out as his qi surged forth.

Then with a sweep of his sleeve, his qi gathered into a fierce tiger that pounced forward, blasting that stone stele into powder, leaving pitted holes in the ground as dust billowed. The old man flicked his sleeve and said:

"Force can bear the Dharma Phase. Once force leaves the body, you can employ methods like this."

"It's just that when this old man had the power of the Dharma Phase, I was already no longer at this realm. At this Second Layer Realm stage, I never got to enjoy the sweetness of overwhelming others with sheer presence, hahaha."

Li Guanyi looked at the crater that had exploded open, a gleam of light rising in his eyes.

He thought of the Night Galloping Cavalry that had pursued him ten years ago.

The Night Galloping Cavalry were all martial artists above the Second Layer Realm.

Li Guanyi gripped his weapon and said: "Xue Lao, if I cultivate to this realm, how would I compare to elite troops like the Night Galloping Cavalry?" The old man burst into laughter and said: "If you can enter the Second Layer Realm, one punch thrown, Bai Hu roars—far more powerful than mere sword qi."

"When that time comes, if you face the Night Galloping Cavalry—"

"You'll beat them like beating old pigs and dogs."

"At that time, this old man will give you a treasured weapon from the jianghu for self-defense. A three-hundred-fold refined weapon is, after all, forged only from common iron—hard to bear the scouring of primordial qi. The more you use it, the easier it crumbles apart from within. One that can bear internal qi has already used many precious materials; that is a Sharp Weapon."

"And one tier above Sharp Weapons, those that harmonize with the Dharma Phase can be called Treasures—treasured swords, treasured blades. Though this title has become commonplace, in truth it isn't casually bestowed. Any single treasured blade is worth a thousand gold pieces."

Li Guanyi said: "Above that, would be Divine Weapons?"

The old man laughed heartily and said: "Yes, but also no. Between Divine Weapons and Treasures, there is one more thing. Such weapons have not yet followed an unrivaled hero to establish earth-shattering deeds, so their fame is not prominent, their renown not illustrious. They have not been tempered in the furnace of destiny, have not birthed spirituality, and cannot be called Divine Weapons."

"Yet they cannot be matched by ordinary Treasures either. In material alone, they are scarcely inferior to Divine Weapons. With one collision, any treasured sword or Sharp Weapon before them will be smashed apart. They hold many mysteries, each one different—this is what is called a 【Mystic Weapon】."

"Every Mystic Weapon holds the possibility of becoming a Divine Weapon."

"In all the world, only the Yingguo Sword-Forging Valley and the Jiangnan Divine Weapon Manor possess large numbers of Mystic Weapons in existence."

"Two hundred years ago, the foremost swordsman of Jiangnan at that time swept through the realm, trampled every blade sect and sword sect across the Central Plains, gathered several dozen sect-guarding Mystic Weapons, wild and arrogant beyond compare. Originally merely a noble house, he then set foot into the jianghu and founded his own sect in Jiangnan—the Divine Weapon Manor's Murong Clan."

"He bears blood debts piled high, and an exalted, supreme reputation."

"That man is still alive to this day, the foremost Grandmaster of the jianghu."

"He is the peerless hero who, relying on weapons and swordsmanship, thrice set foot in the Central Province Academy, forced back the Daoist Innate, and clashed three times with Gongyang Su Wang without dying, without defeat, without retreat. Originally a sword-path grandmaster, his nature is wild and arrogant; he has made countless enemies, and in his life has dueled three hundred times without a single loss."

"The Sword Mad, Murong Longtu."

Li Guanyi silently noted down this name, and instinctively thought of the Qiushui Sword his aunt had given him.

However, this short sword, even if it came from the Murong Manor, shouldn't be at the Mystic Weapon level.

Perhaps a Treasure?

The old man instructed him on the method to ascend the layer.

This step is called 【Primordial Infinite】, and requires completely fusing together the previous 【Body Forging】, 【Qi Condensation】, and 【Meridian Opening】 into bodily instinct, accomplished without conscious thought. But just then, Li Guanyi suddenly thought of the Four Symbols Dharma Phase within his body.

If he were to condense everything from before into a unified whole—

Should these four Dharma Phases also be merged into the cultivation base of the next realm?

At this moment, Li Guanyi was only maintaining balance through the 【Huangji Jingshi Book】, and the power of the four Dharma Phases could only be used one at a time by channeling internal qi. Should he go find Elder Zu, learn the sixtieth volume of the 【Huangji Jingshi Book】 from him, and only then reach greater strength?

Li Guanyi silently noted down the method to break through from the "Jade Arm Divine Bow Art" to the Second Layer Realm.

He planned to wait until he reached Jiangzhou City, find Elder Zu Wenyuan, and only then make the breakthrough.

Xue Daoyong said: "Right, in three days we're heading to Jingcheng."

Li Guanyi said: "Three days? Isn't it still over twenty days away?"

Xue Daoyong laughed and scolded: "You little rascal, you don't mean to say we should wait those twenty-plus days until the great sacrifice and only go then? In that case, you and I, old and young, might as well not go at all—just lie here and wait for the Emperor to come carry us in on a sedan chair himself."

Li Guanyi muttered: "That wouldn't be bad either."

Xue Daoyong lifted his foot and kicked the youth on the backside, caught between laughter and tears: "Boy—"

"Arrogant enough, aren't you."

"Because of what that old fellow Yue Qianfeng did, all those martial-merit descendants who moved against you ended up in a sorry state. If you enter Jingcheng now, there should be some trouble."

The old man picked up a letter and said unhurriedly:

"Guanyi, remember—once you enter the city, you are an outside branch disciple of my Xue family."

"Fifteen years old, since childhood you've been practicing martial arts. Remember that?"

Li Guanyi said: "Will they believe it?"

Xue Daoyong said calmly: "Naturally they won't. But they'll only think you're a hidden agent my Xue family has concealed—they would never imagine your true identity. And this second identity is one they've guessed at themselves; they won't doubt it."

Li Guanyi said softly: "Xue Lao."

"For today's kindness, I shall surely repay you heavily in the days to come."

The old man sighed and said: "Don't spout nonsense in front of this old man. You'd do better giving my shoulders a rub."

So Li Guanyi obediently stepped forward and rubbed the old man's shoulders.

The old man said smugly: "Today's matter should perhaps be recorded down. In the future, when a famed general of the realm was young, he was the one rubbing this old man's shoulders and scrubbing his back, hahaha. Guanyi, you must do it well. In the future, I might just be able to leave my name in history through this!"

Li Guanyi was caught between laughter and tears.

The old man took out an object and, reluctantly, handed it to Li Guanyi: "Here, take it."

"What is this?"

The old man sighed: "A letter from Shuangtao to you."

He waved his hand and said: "Alright, you little rascal, go back and open it to read. Don't come annoy my eyes in front of me. Remember—in three days, don your armor and take up your weapon, and go with my Xue family caravan to Jiangzhou City. I won't wait—if you're late, you little rascal can go on your own."

"For something this important, this old man won't wait for you."

The old man waved his hand. Li Guanyi went back on his own, opened the letter, and a flower fell out from within.

The letter was written in plain, neat script:

"Brother Li Guanyi, to see your words is to see your face; how have you been lately?"

The Young Lady began writing very seriously and properly, but her tone grew much more relaxed later on, simply recounting what she had seen and heard in Jingcheng. She said the inner palace was dull, but that in people's conversations, Li Guanyi's name was being mentioned more and more often—some called him a fierce tiger, others a jackal.

The Young Lady's words carried quite a bit of indignation; one could imagine she had quarreled with them.

The Young Lady's temperament seemed gentle and generous on the surface, but in truth she was someone who could draw a heavy bow and ride to shoot.

She surely could not adapt to the petty scheming of the palace.

Li Guanyi read quietly.

Turning the page over, he saw the Young Lady had written:

"The Tujue people have already arrived, all of them exceedingly tall and robust, and they have brought a squad of Tie Futu as well. It seems that before this great sacrifice, there is an arrangement for a martial contest for amusement. The Ying royal family has not yet arrived, but the vanguard of the Duke's residence is already here; it seems the Second Young Master will arrive very soon."

Li Guanyi's gaze sharpened slightly.

And at this moment, upon the soil of Chen.

The young girl, who had left the main force behind, raised her eyes to look at the sky. A phoenix fluttered on her shoulder, her spirit radiant, and she smiled faintly:

"Li Guanyi, oh Li Guanyi."

"We are finally going to meet."