Third rank

After handing the Taibai Sword Sect's affairs over to Deputy Sect Master Xu Hailong, Qin Lian barely left the library for the next month.

He stayed within his own courtyard, never stepping beyond its gates, and trained hard in the Pure Yang Qi Refining Art and the Nine Heavens Sword Forms.

With the bonus to diligent cultivation from "heaven rewards diligence," at last...

The Pure Yang Qi Refining Art reached perfection first, just as expected.

When this art, effectively Qin Lian's primary cultivation method, reached perfection, the astral qi within him seemed to break through some kind of shackle.

When water filled its vessel, it overflowed.

The astral qi within him surged, breaking through his internal junctures one after another and reverberating throughout his body, as though clothing him in a suit of True Astral Qi armor.

Its defensive strength was no less than that of refined iron or mystic steel.

Ordinary blades striking it could even shatter.

Unless faced with the massive ballistae used to defend or besiege cities, or heavy astral-piercing bolts forged from special materials, he could charge into battle clad in protective true astral qi and regard armies of thousands as nothing.

"Weave Astral Qi into Armor—finally!"

Qin Lian circulated his astral qi, his expression filled with delighted surprise.

Only now could he truly be called a third-rank grandmaster.

Like most others, he now qualified for a place on the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking.

Moreover, the moment the Pure Yang Qi Refining Art broke through, he distinctly sensed a change in his own Root Bone.

As he focused on the golden light...

[Pure Yang Qi Refining Art perfected. Mortal body cleansed. Heaven rewards diligence. Root Bone +3]

"Sure enough, my Root Bone increased by three points at once."

A smile lit Qin Lian's face.

[Root Bone: 50 → 53 (top-tier)]

Though he was still quite far from attaining a peerless Root Bone...

At least this proved that the more profound the cultivation method, the more pronounced the increase in Root Bone upon perfecting it.

Yet just as he was about to withdraw his attention from the golden light, he suddenly noticed something.

"There's more?"

As he concentrated on sensing it...

[Pure Yang Qi Refining Art perfected. Utmost purity and yang. Tracing back to the source. Filling gaps and mending omissions. Trait activated-fire spirit Dao body (1/2), pure Yang Dao body (1/5)]

Sensing this message within the golden light, Qin Lian froze.

The next instant, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

"A Dao body!?"

A fire spirit Dao body!?

And another...

A pure Yang Dao body, of all things!?

Over the past month, struck by Chunyang Patriarch's legendary deeds—cultivating immortality while others practiced martial arts—he had learned enough about "Dao bodies" that he no longer understood them only vaguely, as "Qin Lian" had.

He knew very well that besides the Five Spirit Dao Bodies, a very small number of unusual Dao bodies existed in this world.

The pure Yang Dao body was one of them.

Rumor had it that Chunyang Patriarch Lü Hui had been born with a pure Yang Dao body. It was precisely through its wondrous powers and years of secluded cultivation that he had survived the lightning tribulation and attained the exalted state of a Yang Spirit.

The Pure Yang tradition he established had likewise taken the words "Pure Yang" from "pure Yang Dao body."

But none of his successors possessed a pure Yang Dao body or could reproduce Chunyang Patriarch's might. The Pure Yang Sword Sect's Spirit Refining lineage gradually declined, leaving its qi-refining lineage to uphold its standing among the nine great sects.

But now...

He could actually combine a pure Yang Dao body simply by mastering four more methods containing the mysteries of pure yang!?

"Pure yang methods?"

Several manuals instantly flashed through Qin Lian's mind.

The Purple Cloud Art, the Rising Sun One-Qi Formula, the Xiantian Primordial Chaos Art...

He did not know which of these methods could yield the "pure Yang Dao body" trait, but if he really could combine them into a pure Yang Dao body and cultivate a Yang Spirit...

Wouldn't that be far more satisfying than becoming a Martial Saint?

There was an actual example of a Yang Spirit living to two hundred.

As for Martial Saints...

Though they lived longer than grandmasters, he had never heard of a Martial Saint reaching two hundred.

Not to mention the rumors that Chunyang Patriarch had gone abroad in search of immortals and the Dao and lived to three hundred.

Three hundred years!

That was already the lifespan of a dynasty.

"Martial arts? What damned martial arts!? I'm cultivating immortality!"

Qin Lian immediately rose and headed straight for the Library Pavilion.

Since ancient times, cultivation had had a hierarchy of disdain.

Those who practiced Spirit Refining looked down on those who practiced qi refining, and those who practiced qi refining looked down on those who practiced Body Refining.

Martial generals honed their physiques and mastered their blood and qi.

Even at the pinnacle, they merely achieved the first rank, becoming commanders of armies and pillars of the nation.

Grandmasters breathed and circulated energy, tempering their true qi.

Yet they could unite the internal and external, break the shackles of the first rank, attain Martial Sainthood, cleave waterways and sever rivers, and hold a nation secure single-handedly.

True Persons united with the Dao and cultivated magical power.

Once they survived the lightning tribulation and formed a Yang Spirit, they shed their mortal bodies, attained longevity, roamed freely through heaven and earth, and wandered in spirit beyond the mundane world.

Thus, ignorance would have been one thing, but now that he knew the golden light's wondrous powers could even grind out a "Dao body" for him, how could he still care for being a mere martial grandmaster?

In the Library Pavilion, Qin Lian rummaged through the shelves and soon found several manuals.

Though none involved visualization diagrams-that is, the supernatural powers of the second rank-Qin Lian did not disdain them in the slightest.

As the Library Pavilion's keeper and the Taibai Sword Sect's sect master, he did not need to spend contribution points to borrow these manuals.

"I'll start with the Rising Sun One-Qi Formula. It has 'sun' in its name, so it should be the closest match."

Qin Lian immediately began working even harder than before.

He slept only six hours a day.

All his remaining time went into circulating qi and practicing his arts.

When his meridians ached, he practiced swordsmanship to ease them.

Were it not for his experience of sudden death in his previous life, he would have gladly forgone even those six hours of sleep and devoted every moment to cultivation.

And so...

Another month passed.

The Rising Sun One-Qi Formula had yet to reach minor attainment, but the Nine Heavens Sword Forms he used to ease his muscles and bones had reached their limit.

[Nine Heavens Sword Forms perfected. Sword Dao unified. Filling gaps and mending omissions. Trait activated-swordsmanship (1/2)]

"A new trait?"

Sword arts such as the Rushing Thunder Sword Art and the Shadow-Sweeping Sword Art were of a limited tier, requiring three to be combined to activate a single trait.

Though the Nine Heavens Sword Forms lacked the Blood-Burning Sword Art's extraordinary origins, two such arts could still activate a trait.

Only...

"A swordsmanship trait? Does that count as a spell too?"

Qin Lian pondered this and glanced at his Great Void Sword Qi...

This sword art was of too high a tier, belonging to the second rank.

Even three to five years might not be enough to perfect it.

He might as well practice lower-tier sword arts first and grind out some Root Bone.

After some thought, Qin Lian dug a swordsmanship manual out of the scripture library.

"The Liuhe Duzun Sword Art."

It was not a sect-defining sword art like the Great Void Sword Qi or the Northern Darkness Sword Qi.

Nor was it an advanced sword art like Rushing Thunder, Startled Swan, or Shadow-Sweeping. It counted as a top-tier sword art roughly on par with the Nine Heavens Sword Forms.

"Next, I'll focus on the Rising Sun One-Qi Formula for qi refinement and the Liuhe Duzun Sword Art for sword practice."

Qin Lian drew a deep breath.

For the next year or two...

He would hammer away at these two great methods.

At night, he would also contemplate the Great Void Visualization Diagram.

This way, he would exhaust his essence, qi, and spirit every day, and after a year or two, his strength would certainly undergo a tremendous change.

In the days that followed, Qin Lian's life settled into a routine once more.

One day, while Qin Lian was practicing his sword as usual, a young swordswoman appeared outside his courtyard.

"Lin Yuyan, disciple of Purple Cloud Peak, requests an audience with Grandmaster Qin."

"Lin Yuyan?"

Qin Lian did have some impression of this woman.

For one thing, she was arguably Purple Cloud Peak's most gifted disciple in decades. At twenty-seven, she had managed to Weave Astral Qi into Armor and entered the third rank, with prospects of attaining divine intent, yet for certain reasons, she had not become a true disciple.

For another, there was her name.

Only her surname differed from that of a fictional character in his previous life.

But...

What had she come to him for?

Puzzled, Qin Lian nevertheless opened the door.

"Fairy Lin, what brings you here?"

"First, I must apologize to you, Grandmaster Qin."

As Lin Yuyan spoke, she took out a jade box and opened it. "Please accept this, Grandmaster Qin."

Qin Lian glanced at it, inwardly astonished.

"Is this... a Jade Nectar Returning-Truth Pill?"

This was one of the most famous pills refined by Tang Yue, the former peak master of Forget-the-World Peak, during his lifetime.

A supreme treasure for Qi Refining into Gang!

It was far more effective than a True Condensation Pill.

Not only could it greatly shorten the time a fourth-rank Qi Refining into Gang expert needed to advance to the third rank, but a single Jade Nectar Returning-Truth Pill given to a fifth-rank practitioner in the Leakless realm could even produce a fourth-rank true astral expert.

It was something one could encounter only by chance, not seek out at will.

"What are you asking for, bringing such a treasure as an apology?"

Qin Lian did not accept the pill.

"Forgive my presumption."

Lin Yuyan spoke earnestly. "I have heard that you are as upright as a clear breeze beneath a bright moon, Grandmaster Qin, with no desire for fame or gain. But I am merely an ordinary person. The title of a Heaven Ranking Grandmaster is crucial to me-it even concerns the life or death of my Lin Family."

She bowed deeply to Qin Lian. "Thus, this disciple dares to beg Grandmaster Qin for a little instruction. Whether I win or lose, live or die, this pill will serve as an apology for offending you."