The gates of True Disciple Hall stood open.
Suddenly, a figure walked out.
Zhou Buping instinctively looked over, but it wasn't Li Gan. It was another Inner Disciple taking part in the True Disciple Selection, and he felt a little disappointed.
"He's the eighteenth. Li Gan's the last one."
He thought to himself.
A lifetime's worth of hopes rested on Li Gan.
If Li Gan couldn't do it either, then he could only place his hopes in the next generation.
He remembered how, decades ago, after he'd failed to comprehend the mural during his own True Disciple Selection, his master had looked so disappointed when he heard the news.
So he'd sworn to fulfill his master's and all the predecessors' final wishes. For that, he'd stood guard over Yanmen Valley for decades.
After waiting a while longer, Li Gan finally emerged slowly from True Disciple Hall.
He looked utterly exhausted.
"Master."
Li Gan walked over and was just about to speak.
"Not yet. Let's return to Yanmen Valley."
Zhou Buping shook his head.
Li Gan looked at Zhou Buping's composed face and scratched his head, admiring him. As expected, his master was his master—he was truly unflappable.
So the master and disciple left Divine Sword Hall Square and returned to the wooden hut in Yanmen Valley.
The hut was very simple.
There was a Spirit Shrine.
Several Spirit Tablets stood inside.
They belonged to the predecessors of the Heartless Sword Lineage.
With Li Gan, the lineage had reached its seventh generation.
After lighting incense and paying his respects, Zhou Buping took a deep breath before speaking to Li Gan. "All right, you can tell me now. Whatever the result, I can take it."
Li Gan was stunned. So his master hadn't been calm after all.
"Master."
He lowered his head, his voice heavy. "I..."
"It's all right. If it had been that easy, then with your Founder's talent for comprehension, he would have figured it out long ago."
Zhou Bupa sighed, then tried to comfort him instead.
Even Li Gan, with his extraordinary comprehension, couldn't do it. Could it be that the Founder had been wrong? Was there really no secret to the Flawless Vajra Method hidden in that mural?
"Master, actually, I've already comprehended the Flawless Vajra Method in the mural."
Li Gan said.
Zhou Buping froze and stared straight at Li Gan. "What did you just say? Say it again."
"Master, I've comprehended the Flawless Vajra Method in the mural."
Li Gan repeated.
"You comprehended it?"
Zhou Buping stood there stunned, as if he were dreaming.
"You little rascal, how dare you tease your master? Come on, tell me how you figured it out."
At last, he came to his senses, his eyes shining.
"I used the Heartless Sword Intent to connect with the mural, and a strange vision appeared, showing someone practicing. At first, it only revealed the secrets of the Heartless Sword Art, but later... things changed, and it evolved into a whole new set of movements called the Immaculate Sword Body. It reverses Internal Qi to nourish the body."
Li Gan said.
"Immaculate Sword Body, reversing Internal Qi to nourish the body. It really is the Flawless Vajra Method. I never thought it truly existed..."
Zhou Buping murmured to himself.
"Master, I'll demonstrate the essentials of the Immaculate Sword Body technique."
Li Gan said.
"No need."
Zhou Buping waved a hand. "There's no use in my learning it. But you can write it down in a manual, so it can serve as the cultivation method passed down through our lineage."
"All right, Master."
Li Gan nodded.
The Immaculate Sword Body had to be cultivated before reaching the Xiantian Realm, after one's Postnatal Realm Internal Qi had reached its peak. His master was already a Xiantian martial artist, so he really couldn't cultivate it.
"Our lineage's Founder had two wishes. The first was to comprehend the Flawless Vajra Method from the mural and complete the Heartless Sword Art. The second was to use the Heartless Sword Art as the foundation for a cultivation method and open a new Main Peak in the Divine Sword Sect, so our lineage could flourish."
Zhou Buping said wistfully, "Disciple, I can only leave this second wish to you as well."
"Master, we can open a new Main Peak?"
Li Gan was quite surprised. "Aren't the Seven Main Peaks of our Divine Sword Sect fixed?"
"Who said they were fixed? It's just extremely difficult to open a new Main Peak. The one who opens it must reach a certain level of Cultivation Base to qualify."
Zhou Buping shook his head.
"Master, what level?"
Li Gan asked curiously.
"Haha, don't worry about that for now. First, master the Flawless Body. Once you achieve 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 from a nearby cabinet.
"Come, have a few drinks with your master. We'll celebrate properly."
He knocked off the lid and poured wine into two large bowls.
The rich aroma of wine wafted through the air.
Li Gan immediately swallowed in anticipation.
He'd only ever tasted Zhou Buping's treasured wine once, and the memory had lingered.
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.
It just went straight to his head.
Even Li Gan couldn't handle it.
As soon as he fell onto the bed, he started snoring.
When he woke up the next day, Li Gan found that it was already light.
He slapped his forehead. He'd missed the Mao Hour bell.
Drinking really did get in the way.
But it didn't matter. He was an Official Disciple now, so the Chore Hall couldn't boss him around anymore.
After washing up, Li Gan ate a little Exotic Beast Jerky to fill his stomach, then got busy checking and adjusting all the Hourglasses.
When the Chen Hour arrived, Li Gan immediately struck the bell.
It rang twice in succession.
The clear, resonant chime traveled into the distance.
Amid the lingering echoes, Li Gan took up his stance and began cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body.
Reversing Internal Qi put a certain amount of strain on the meridians.
So while cultivating, his meridians grew sore and swollen.
It was no big deal.
After he finished one round, his progress in the Immaculate Sword Body had increased a little.
From this, it was clear that cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body was probably much harder than cultivating the Heartless Sword Art.
When he'd first started practicing the Heartless Sword Art, completing one Greater Celestial Circuit had also increased his progress a little. But back then, the Chen Bell had only been a Treasure Artifact.
After that, Li Gan managed only three rounds of the Immaculate Sword Body before he couldn't continue.
His meridians couldn't take it.
Reversing Internal Qi wasn't so simple.
Fortunately, the bell had a body-cleansing effect. Under its influence, even if his meridians suffered minor damage, they could gradually recover, leaving no hidden problems.
In the afternoon, after striking the bell, Li Gan practiced the Heartless Sword Art once more to comprehend the sword intent.
Zhou Buping showed up at Chenzhong Terrace again.
"This is a Meridian Nourishing Pill, used to nourish the meridians. Cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body requires you to reverse your Internal Qi, which will inevitably damage your meridians. Taking these pills can ease the strain. But they're still medicinal pills, so they can't eliminate the effects entirely. When you cultivate the Immaculate Sword Body, know your limits. There's no need to push yourself for the sake of speed. Once you master the Immaculate Sword Body, you'll undergo a complete transformation and break through the usual age limits. Even if it takes you a few extra years to reach the Xiantian Realm, that's fine."
Zhou Buping handed Li Gan two bottles of pills.
"I understand, Master."
Li Gan nodded.
He hadn't been worried about age in the first place.
As long as the Chen Bell didn't break, he could live forever and keep his vital energy at its peak.
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