The Second Wish

The doors to the true disciple hall remained wide open.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out from within.

Zhou Buping looked over instinctively, but it was not Li Gan who emerged, but another inner disciple participating in the true disciple selection. He felt a twinge of disappointment.

That's the eighteenth one. The last one left is Li Gan.

He thought to himself.

His lifelong expectations were all pinned on Li Gan.

If Li Gan failed as well, he would have no choice but to place his hopes on the next generation.

He remembered decades ago, when he had failed to comprehend the mural during his own true disciple selection, and the look of disappointment on his master's face.

That was why he had sworn to himself that he would fulfill the dying wishes of his master and the ancestors. For that purpose, he had kept a lonely vigil in Yanmen Valley for decades.

After waiting for quite a while longer, Li Gan's figure finally walked slowly out of the true disciple hall.

He looked extremely exhausted.

"Master."

Li Gan walked over, just about to speak.

"Don't say anything yet. Let's return to Yanmen Valley."

Zhou Buping shook his head.

Li Gan looked at the composed Zhou Buping and scratched his head, feeling a sense of admiration. Master is truly Master; his composure is indeed remarkable.

And so, the master and disciple left the divine sword hall plaza and returned to the wooden hut in Yanmen Valley.

Inside the wooden hut, it was very simple.

There was a spirit shrine.

Several spirit tablets were placed upon it.

They all belonged to the ancestors of the heartless sword lineage.

By the time it reached Li Gan's generation, it was the seventh generation.

After Zhou Buping burned incense and paid his respects, he took a deep breath and said to Li Gan, "Alright, you can speak now. No matter the result, I can bear it."

Li Gan was stunned. So, Master wasn't being composed after all.

"Master."

He lowered his head, his tone heavy, "I..."

"It's alright. If it were that easy, given the founder's insight and talent, he should have comprehended it long ago."

Zhou Buping sighed, offering comfort instead.

If even someone with Li Gan's high level of insight couldn't do it, could it be that the founder's guess was wrong? That the mural didn't contain the mysteries of the flawless vajra method after all?

"Master, actually, this disciple has already comprehended the flawless vajra method from the mural."

Li Gan said.

Zhou Buping froze, staring straight at Li Gan. "What did you just say? Say it again."

"Master, this disciple has comprehended the flawless vajra method from the mural."

Li Gan repeated himself.

"Comprehended it?"

Zhou Buping stood stunned on the spot, feeling as if he were in a dream.

"You brat, how dare you tease your master? Tell me, how did you comprehend it?"

He finally reacted, his eyes shining.

"This disciple used the heartless sword intent to communicate with the mural, and a strange illusion appeared, showing a person practicing. At first, it was just the mysteries of the heartless sword art, but later, it changed. It evolved into a brand-new set of movements called the immaculate sword body, which reverses internal qi to nourish the physical body."

Li Gan said.

"The immaculate sword body, reversing internal qi to nourish the physical body. It really is the flawless vajra method. I never imagined it truly existed."

Zhou Buping muttered to himself after hearing this.

"Master, I will now demonstrate the essentials of the immaculate sword body technique."

Li Gan said.

"No need."

Zhou Buping waved his hand. "It's useless for me to learn it now. However, you can compile it into a manual; it can serve as the legacy technique for our lineage in the future."

"Understood, Master."

Li Gan nodded.

The cultivation of the immaculate sword body required one to be at the peak of the postnatal realm, before reaching the innate realm. Since his master was a martial artist beyond the innate realm, he indeed could not practice it.

"Back then, the founder of our lineage had two wishes. One was to comprehend the flawless vajra method from the mural to perfect the heartless sword art. The second was to use the heartless sword art as our foundational technique to establish a new main peak within the divine sword sect, and through that, carry forward our lineage."

Zhou Buping said faintly, "Disciple, this second wish can only be realized by you."

"Master, is it still possible to open up a new main peak?"

Li Gan was very surprised. "Aren't the seven main peaks of the Divine Sword Sect fixed?"

"Who said they were fixed? It's just that the difficulty of opening a new main peak is extremely high. The founder must reach a certain level of cultivation to even have the qualifications to do so."

Zhou Buping shook his head and said.

"Master, what level of cultivation?"

Li Gan asked curiously.

"Haha, don't you worry about that for now. Just focus on training your flawless body first. Once you achieve a perfect xiantian, opening a new main peak in the future will be as easy as turning over your hand."

Zhou Buping was in a very good mood.

As he spoke, he took a wine jar out of a cabinet nearby.

"Come, have a few drinks with your master and let's celebrate properly."

He slapped the seal off and poured the wine into two large bowls.

A rich, fragrant aroma of wine wafted out.

Li Gan immediately gulped down his saliva.

He had only tasted the fine wine Zhou Buping kept in his private collection once before, and the aftertaste had been endless.

After that, Zhou Buping hadn't let him drink any more.

He hadn't expected his master to be so generous this time.

Li Gan returned to Chenzhong Terrace in a drunken stupor.

The wine was delicious.

But it was just too easy to get drunk on.

Even with Li Gan's cultivation, he couldn't hold his liquor.

Collapsing onto his bed, Li Gan fell fast asleep.

When he woke up the next day, Li Gan discovered that it was already bright outside.

He slapped his forehead; he had missed the bell for the mao hour.

Drinking really ruins things.

It didn't matter, though. He was an official disciple now, and the chore hall no longer had any jurisdiction over him.

After washing up, Li Gan ate some exotic beast jerky to fill his stomach, then began to busy himself with checking and calibrating the various hourglasses.

When the chen hour arrived, Li Gan immediately struck the bell.

Two rings in succession.

The bell's chime was clear and resonant, carrying far into the distance.

Amidst the lingering echoes of the bell, Li Gan assumed his stance and began practicing the immaculate sword body.

Reversing one's internal qi placed a certain amount of pressure on the meridians.

Because of this, a sensation of soreness and swelling would occur in the meridians during practice.

This minor impact was nothing to worry about.

By the time he finished one cycle, the progress of his immaculate sword body had increased by a small margin.

From this, it was evident that the difficulty of cultivating the immaculate sword body was likely much higher than that of the heartless sword art.

When he first started practicing the heartless sword art, a single grand heavenly cycle would also increase his progress by a small margin, but back then, the chenzhong terrace bell was only a treasure artifact.

Afterward, Li Gan only managed to practice the immaculate sword body three more times before he couldn't continue.

His meridians simply couldn't withstand any more.

Reversing internal qi was not a simple or easy task.

Fortunately, the bell's chime had a body-cleansing effect. Under its influence, even if his meridians suffered slight damage, they could slowly recover without leaving behind any hidden ailments.

In the afternoon, after Li Gan finished striking the bell, he practiced the heartless sword art once more to gain insight into sword intent.

Zhou Buping had actually come to the chenzhong terrace once again.

"These are meridian nourishing pills, used for nourishing the meridians. Since you are cultivating the immaculate sword body, you must reverse your internal qi, which will inevitably damage your meridians. Taking these pills can alleviate that. However, they are medicinal pills after all, and they cannot completely eliminate the impact. When you practice the immaculate sword body, you must act according to your ability; there is no need to force speed. As long as the immaculate sword body is mastered, you will be able to shed your mortal shell and transcend normal age limits. Even if you are a few years late in breaking through to the innate realm, it won't matter."

Zhou Buping handed two bottles of medicinal pills to Li Gan.

"Master, I understand."

Li Gan nodded.

He wasn't worried about the issue of age to begin with.

As long as the chenzhong terrace bell did not break, he could live forever and maintain his qi and blood at their peak.