Each Made Their Choice

"Twenty-Three Swords was too dangerous..." Meng Qi didn't know how to describe it. After all, he'd seen this sword art in a manga in his previous life, while the Lord of Six Paths Samsara's description had been comparatively brief. He couldn't let on that he knew it so well.

Twenty-Three Swords came from the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique in the manga Feng Yun. It was a sword strike that could only be unleashed by burning one's life and forsaking it. It was the sword of the heart, the soul, the spirit, and sword intent. Beneath that single strike, the senses froze, all things stopped, and there was nowhere to run.

It was an incredibly powerful sword technique. The only problem was that one had to die to unleash it, and Meng Qi didn't think that was quite right.

Of course, it had been many years since Meng Qi had read that manga, and his memory had long since grown hazy. He might not remember it correctly. Besides, this was something redeemed from the Lord of Six Paths Samsara. Who knew whether it was even the "original" sword art?

The items on the redemption list were as numerous as the sea, so Zhang Yuanshan and Qi Zhengyan hadn't noticed the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique. They looked at Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei in confusion.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled. "I never thought we'd both take a liking to the same sword art. Little Monk, don't worry. I'm redeeming the sword manual to study the changes in its moves and the ebb and flow of its sword intent. I'll learn from other mountains' stones to polish my own sword Dao. I won't let the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique lead me by the nose. If one day I master Twenty-Three Swords, I'll only seek to understand its principles: where the sword of the heart comes from, where the sword of the soul comes from, where the freezing of the senses comes from, and where the distortion of time comes from. I won't merely practice and imitate it."

It seemed the Lord of Six Paths Samsara had specifically warned her about the dangers of Twenty-Three Swords in its description. Jiang Zhiwei understood what Meng Qi was getting at. Still, if the technique weren't so dangerous, how could it cost only four thousand Merit Points? Of course, whether she could master it after redeeming it was another matter.

"Miss Jiang, since you've made up your mind, go ahead and redeem it." Meng Qi nodded thoughtfully. Jiang Zhiwei's reasoning made sense.

Besides, it would be a long, long time before she could redeem Twenty-Three Swords.

A born swordsman couldn't be dissuaded from a decision like that. Zhang Yuanshan took out the jade booklet and read the description of the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique. He frowned slightly, then relaxed. "It really is a fine sword art. There aren't many divine skills with moves as powerful as Twenty-Three Swords."

Jiang Zhiwei stroked the White Rainbow Piercing Sun Sword and smiled. "But those divine skills don't have such harsh requirements. Hmm, I'd like to redeem the first eighteen forms of the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique and study the principles of the Sentient Part. I'll continue to delve into it later."

She stood, took the jade booklet, returned Zhang Yuanshan twenty Merit Points, then walked up to the Central Light Pillar and placed the White Rainbow Piercing Sun Sword inside.

Strangely, once the White Rainbow Piercing Sun Sword entered the pillar, it didn't fall to the ground. It floated in midair, wrapped in a hazy mist.

The light faded, the cracks vanished, and the White Rainbow Piercing Sun Sword gleamed as brightly as ever.

"It only cost thirty Merit Points. What a bargain." Jiang Zhiwei beamed as she took back her beloved sword, then turned to the others. "Redeeming the Sentient Part of the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique costs two hundred Merit Points. I have seventy left, so I plan to redeem one move of Heaven and Earth Resentment to study."

The Sacred Spirit Sword Technique could only be redeemed in sections—the Sentient Part, the Insentient Part, Twenty-Three Swords, Six Annihilations of Twenty-Three Swords, and so on. It couldn't be divided completely into Sword One, Sword Two, Sword Three, and the like.

Heaven and Earth Resentment was the most representative sword among the Hidden Sword Tower's Heaven's Wound Earth's Defect One Hundred Eight Swords. It cost sixty Merit Points. Jiang Zhiwei had long been interested in the sword arts of the "parallel sects."

Meng Qi asked in puzzlement, "Miss Jiang, you're only redeeming sword arts?"

Didn't she need to redeem divine skills or pills?

"My sect's Supreme Sword Scripture is cultivated differently from other schools'. It requires one to observe the sword arts of the Hundred Schools, grasp them, then forget them, using them to strengthen the sword intent in one's heart. The stronger the sword intent, the faster one's inner energy grows, and the easier it is to temper the apertures. So studying sword arts is cultivation for me. It's faster and has fewer hidden dangers than using pills to assist my practice." Jiang Zhiwei answered frankly. Anyone familiar with the Sword Washing Pavilion knew this.

With that, she reached into the pillar and took out a gray manual and several sheets of thin paper.

"Who's next? What do you plan to redeem?" Her eyes sparkled as she leafed through the sword manual, asking casually.

She planned to save her remaining ten Merit Points, just in case something went wrong—for example, if they failed to complete the Main Quest and needed treatment.

"Senior Brother Zhang, what do you plan to redeem?" Meng Qi already had a clear idea of what he wanted, so he wasn't in a hurry.

Zhang Yuanshan pondered. "To be honest, I've always believed in focusing on one path. Learning too many different martial arts would be counterproductive. My swordsmanship is already adequate for now, so apart from the Heavenly Wisdom Pill, I really don't know what to redeem."

He had already tempered the apertures related to the Ear Aperture and was preparing to open the apertures in both ears.

"Focusing on one path?" Meng Qi's thoughts stirred as he recalled what Gu Xiaosang had said. "Senior Brother Zhang, then why not strengthen your foundation?"

"What do you mean?" Zhang Yuanshan asked, puzzled.

Gu Xiaosang had said that Zhang Yuanshan hadn't comprehended the True Intent Inheritance when observing the introductory chapters of the True Martial Sect's two great sect-protecting divine skills. Meng Qi took inspiration from that.

"Senior Brother Zhang, I remember that most divine skill manuals can be redeemed in sections, like a Qi Accumulation Chapter and an Orifice Opening Chapter. Why not directly redeem the Qi Accumulation Chapter of the cultivation method you're currently practicing? The Lord of Six Paths Samsara would impart it to you. Then you could compare what it imparted with what you'd comprehended and cultivated yourself, make targeted changes, and strengthen your foundation."

The Buddha's Palm and Heaven Severing Seven Swords didn't have separate Qi Accumulation Chapters or Orifice Opening Chapters, because those were incorporated into the comprehension of each palm or move. They could also be cultivated directly from any other method without obstruction, and could even improve one's existing foundation.

Zhang Yuanshan froze for a moment. Then he clapped his hands together with a sharp crack and paced back and forth excitedly. "How did I not think of that? How did I not think of that..."

Even Jiang Zhiwei lifted her head from the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique manual at his excitement.

After a while, he regained his composure and solemnly cupped his hands. "Thank you, Junior Brother Zhending. Your suggestion has given me hope of solving the grave problem that's been troubling me."

Since he had already completed this stage, redeeming the cultivation method wouldn't leave his foundation unstable. Instead, he could use it for comparison and cross-reference, comprehend the True Intent, uncover the problems, and make up for the hidden danger of being unable to grasp the method from the True Intent Inheritance.

"I only had a sudden thought and mentioned it in passing. Senior Brother Zhang, you needn't honor it with such a grand gesture." Meng Qi smiled.

"I do, I do! Although I excel at the Taiji defensive style, the method I mainly practice is the introductory section of the True Martial Seven Sections Scripture. For various reasons, it's grown harder and harder to cultivate. Fortunately, there's the Reincarnation World." Zhang Yuanshan could barely contain his eagerness. He hurried into the pillar and began to redeem it.

It looked as though he'd grown more hopeful and enthusiastic about the Reincarnation World.

Meng Qi flipped through the small jade booklet and found that the True Martial Seven Sections Scripture was divided into a Qi Accumulation Chapter, an Orifice Opening Chapter, an Outer Scenery Chapter, and a Dharma Body Chapter. The Hundred Days Foundation Establishment was much the same, with no special chapters.

The Qi Accumulation Chapter cost one hundred Merit Points, the Orifice Opening Chapter cost one thousand, the Outer Scenery Chapter cost twenty thousand, and the Dharma Body Chapter cost two hundred thousand.

In other words, directly redeeming the cultivation method would cost Zhang Yuanshan at least two hundred Merit Points.

Rays of rosy light draped over Zhang Yuanshan, and brilliance blazed all around him. It was as if he'd ascended to a celestial realm, with specks of light dancing around him like fireflies.

A moment later, the rosy light faded. Zhang Yuanshan stepped out of the pillar, his face alight with joy and his spirits renewed. "So I'd been going further and further astray these past few years—and it was an error that was so hard to detect. Those two hundred Merit Points were well spent!"

He still held a Heavenly Wisdom Pill in his hand, and was saving his remaining twenty Merit Points in case of emergencies.

"Senior Brother Zhang practices the True Martial Seven Sections Scripture and excels at the Taiji defensive style, while Miss Jiang's sword intent is imposing and her swordsmanship fierce. They complement each other, and this time they've both strengthened those areas. So the two of us should try not to duplicate what they've done." Meng Qi turned to Qi Zhengyan.

For the short term, Meng Qi's role was clear: the "MT" from online games, using Iron Body Skill to draw attacks and create openings for others. Qi Zhengyan's role, however, was somewhat vague.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that the team currently lacked a ranged attacker, someone skilled with hidden weapons and mechanisms, and many other things besides. But there was no helping it. The team only had four members, and was still too small. Nobody could afford to divide their attention, after all. On the path of martial arts, it was best to focus.

Qi Zhengyan nodded. "Junior Brother Zhending, are you planning to strengthen your Iron Body Skill?"

Meng Qi furrowed his brow. "There's so much I want to redeem, and before entering the Reincarnation World this time..."

He told them about the rewards from the Secret Passage, Zhen Guan, and Bodhi Courtyard. There was no need to hide it now.

"The same Secret Passage appeared in two different worlds..." Zhang Yuanshan said, unable to imagine it.

"No wonder you found that Secret Passage..." Qi Zhengyan was equally astonished.

Jiang Zhiwei furrowed her brows in thought. "Perhaps there really is a connection, but we know too little to see through it."

They racked their brains, but couldn't come up with an explanation. At last, Zhang Yuanshan smiled and changed the subject. "Given Shaolin's usual practice, the reward from Bodhi Courtyard will surely let you choose a Qi Accumulation Chapter from one of the non-combat Seventy-two Unique Skills. You can directly choose the Golden Bell Shield or the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill, so there's no need to redeem another Iron Body Skill's Qi Accumulation Chapter."

"Mm. I need to complete the first move of the Ananda Breaking Precepts Saber Art, and replenish the poisoned needles for the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle." Meng Qi stated his plans. "Besides, I feel that Eight Steps of Divine Travel isn't enough anymore. I'll see if I can spend Merit Points to elevate it to Hundred Changes of Divine Travel. If I have Merit Points left after that, I'll choose another good saber art."

Qi Zhengyan looked at the needle case he'd picked up. There was no need to hide this.

"You've thought it through very well. Those are all the things you most need to redeem. If you don't have enough Merit Points for a saber art, I can lend you ten—at nine for every thirteen you repay," Jiang Zhiwei teased.

Zhang Yuanshan nodded slightly. "I can lend you some too."

The remaining Merit Points were meant for emergencies. At worst, they could collect some unimportant manuals and items to carry around.

Qi Zhengyan thought for a moment, then said expressionlessly, "Ten for every twelve."

"How long are you going to keep laughing about this?" Meng Qi pretended to be "furious" as he walked toward the Central Light Pillar and stepped inside.

"Completing the first move of the Ananda Breaking Precepts Saber Art, 'Severing Purity,' costs one hundred and ten Merit Points. Once completed, it will be equivalent to a redeemed item and cannot be exchanged for Merit Points."

"Replacing the poisoned needles in the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle costs fifty Merit Points."

"Eight Steps of Divine Travel can be elevated to Hundred Changes of Divine Travel. Since you have gained some understanding, it costs only forty Merit Points."

"Redeem?"

The Lord of Six Paths Samsara's voice echoed in Meng Qi's ears.

Meng Qi didn't hesitate. He was pleased that it cost less than he'd expected, especially since elevating Eight Steps of Divine Travel cost only forty Merit Points thanks to his understanding.

So he chose to redeem them without delay.