A Promise with Qian Renxue, Sword Intent, and Ultimate Fire

Even with Li Qinglian's usually good temper...

When he heard Qian Renxue list out her demands, his head started to ache.

He had only taken one piece of Life Gold, yet Qian Renxue was even greedier than he was!

She simply wanted everything at once.

"Pfft. What? Is that not allowed?"

Seeing that rare helpless look on his face, his brows furrowed, Qian Renxue could not help laughing aloud.

When she smiled, her golden eyes curved slightly, carrying a coquettish charm entirely different from her usual lofty demeanor.

"Aren't you asking for a bit too much? This is very hard for me."

Li Qinglian spread his hands.

The fact that he could comprehend Sword Intent did not mean he could help others comprehend Sword Intent as well.

As for Ultimate Fire, he had already swallowed the Blazing Apricot Delicate Herb. Trying to help Qian Renxue advance to Ultimate Fire truly would not be that easy.

"Hmph. You have to teach me, otherwise it will be very hard for you to leave Spirit Hall, you know."

Qian Renxue lifted her chin slightly, the corners of her lips curling into a faint arc tinged with smugness.

"All right. Sister Xue'er, I was speaking too loudly just now."

"I think with your talent being so high, learning these two things shouldn't be difficult."

The situation was stronger than the man, so Li Qinglian could only give in.

Qian Renxue's authority in Spirit Hall was no weaker than Bibi Dong's.

Most importantly, Qian Renxue's grandfather, Qian Daoliu, was a Limit Douluo.

He knew it.

Learning Sword Intent and raising her flame to Ultimate Fire could greatly increase Qian Renxue's chances of becoming a god. Therefore, even if Qian Renxue had not come to him, Qian Daoliu would have come knocking.

Rather than being threatened into doing it by Qian Daoliu, it was better to deal directly with Qian Renxue.

At the very least, Qian Renxue was still a great beauty, and getting along with her was pleasant.

Most importantly...

Li Qinglian could also freeload even more benefits from Qian Renxue.

The piece of Life Gold he had put away was already priceless. Exchanging Life Gold for Qian Renxue learning Sword Intent—Li Qinglian still felt it was very worth it.

"I can teach you swordsmanship first. As for the method to advance to Ultimate Fire, I still can't tell you yet."

"I have to keep something in reserve, lest you kick me away once I've outlived my usefulness."

He spoke very frankly, his gaze fixed straight on Qian Renxue's golden eyes without the slightest evasion. This was a matter of principle, and he would not back down.

Qian Renxue tilted her head slightly, golden strands of hair slipping from her shoulder and sweeping out a splendid arc of light before her.

"That works too. I have no objections."

She agreed cleanly and decisively, without even bargaining.

"Aren't you afraid I'll run off?"

Li Qinglian froze for a moment. Qian Renxue was being far too easy to talk to.

"If you ran away and hid, your sword would change."

Qian Renxue gently stroked her long hair, her fingertips slowly sliding down along the strands. Her posture was relaxed and elegant, yet her golden pupils held a trace of penetrating insight.

"A person who can comprehend Sword Intent like this would not flee out of fear. There is no cowardice in your sword. I am not so blind that I cannot see even that."

She paused, then took half a small step forward, tilting her head slightly and leaning a little closer. Those golden eyes were now within arm's reach, her long lashes almost brushing the edge of Li Qinglian's sight.

"Besides, I can also help you fend off the Pope's attempts to recruit you. I imagine you don't want to join her Pope Palace either, do you?"

Li Qinglian fell silent for a moment and did not answer.

Qian Renxue had indeed hit upon his thoughts.

He did not want to offend Bibi Dong, but he also did not want to enter her Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong's heart was twisted, and she was also a deranged love-brained lunatic. No matter how beautiful she looked on the outside, Li Qinglian still had to keep a respectful distance.

Li Qinglian knew one truth well: one had to stay far away from useless teammates!

"You're pretty impressive."

Li Qinglian sighed with feeling.

Qian Renxue was indeed very smart, and had easily moved him.

He had no idea what had happened to Qian Renxue in the original plot, for her to be led around completely by Tang San.

Perhaps this was what they meant by those involved being blind.

When Li Qinglian and Qian Renxue walked out side by side, a familiar figure appeared within their field of view.

Bibi Dong stood at the end of the corridor. Her magnificent papal robes shimmered with a dark-gold glow beneath the lamplight, but that face, usually so dignified and imposing, was now covered in a visible gloom.

Her gaze swept over Li Qinglian before finally landing on Qian Renxue's faintly smiling face. Deep within her pupils, complicated and suppressed emotions churned.

"You even want to fight me over this?"

Her voice was not loud, but it carried a sense of anger born from humiliation.

"Why not, Bibi Dong? Don't forget, I'm the one who should be the pope of Spirit Hall. You're merely acting in my place for the time being."

Qian Renxue gave Bibi Dong no face at all.

"Is that any way to speak to me?"

Bibi Dong's expression changed abruptly, and a terrifying pressure belonging to a Title Douluo burst forth.

But before that pressure could fully take shape, another aura, deeper and vaster, silently spread over from beside Qian Renxue.

Qian Daoliu's figure had appeared beside a corridor pillar at some point.

His white robes were like snow, his face gaunt, simple, and ancient, and his pale-gold pupils rested indifferently on Bibi Dong.

That pressure fell onto Bibi Dong's shoulders. She gave a muffled groan and staggered two steps back, her face turning livid.

"Bibi Dong."

"I can overlook other matters. But Li Qinglian is someone I have my eye on."

Over the years, Bibi Dong had done many excessive things, and he had never responded.

Because in his heart, aside from cultivating Qian Renxue into a god, nothing else could be considered important.

The pope? That could not compare to godhood.

Li Qinglian could increase Qian Renxue's chance of becoming a god by twenty percent. He could not let him go.

"Fine. I understand."

Bibi Dong clenched her fists, but soon released them and left straight away.

She knew she could not fight Qian Daoliu.

Qian Renxue stood beneath the lamplight, watching Bibi Dong's departing back. A trace of indescribable complexity flashed through her golden eyes, but it was soon covered by that layer of composed amusement.

She tilted her head to look at Li Qinglian, the corners of her lips curving into a charming arc.

"Now you should teach me Sword Intent, right?"

"Sword Intent isn't that easy to comprehend. I can first teach you a sword technique according to your situation, then help you open your Sword Intent."

"These are the notes on the sword path that I've organized over the past few years. They contain my understanding of the sword path. You can take a look first."

"Practice the sword technique first and cultivate a trace of Sword Qi. Only then are you qualified to talk about Sword Intent. Only after comprehending Sword Intent can one be called a true Sword Cultivator."

Li Qinglian took out a thick notebook.

In his previous life, Li Qinglian had read many fantasy novels, even how those sword-path geniuses cultivated. He had even divided the realms of the sword path according to his own understanding.

To a Sword Cultivator, this notebook could absolutely be considered a scripture-level existence.

If Sword Douluo Chen Xin could obtain this notebook, his sword-path cultivation would probably advance by several levels in leaps and bounds.

It was not that Chen Xin's talent was insufficient.

It was just that this world was not a flourishing age of the sword path. No matter how talented Chen Xin was, he could not imagine what a landscape he had never seen looked like.

Sword Qi, Sword Intent, Sword Soul, Sword Heart... Li Qinglian's advantage lay in having read many fantasy novels in his previous life. By combining that with the reality of his own cultivation, Li Qinglian was able to possess such attainments in the sword path.