"The system space has been activated! From now on, the host can open and close it at will with a thought!"
As Ji Zining's words fell, the system's emotionless voice rang out.
Ji Zining looked ahead in surprise.
A holographic screen appeared in the space that had been empty just moments ago.
On the screen was an image much like a browser game's inventory from her previous life.
Each square represented a storage slot. At a glance, Ji Zining couldn't begin to count how many there were.
But only one square was lit up at the moment; the rest were all dim.
Understanding dawned on Ji Zining.
Wasn't this just a browser game inventory?
Slots lit up when something was stored in them and stayed dim when they were empty.
The one saving grace was that this inventory's capacity was just a tiny, billion-bit bigger.
Taking a deep breath, Ji Zining fixed her gaze on the only lit square.
Inside it, a small sword wreathed in immortal Qi floated silently.
Though small, the sword was exquisitely crafted, with dense, intricate inscriptions flickering in and out of sight across its surface.
Even without taking it out of the system space, Ji Zining could sense the boundless sharpness it contained.
Was this the Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon from this check-in, the Immortal-Slaying Sword?
After a moment's hesitation, Ji Zining decided not to take it out of the system space.
Divine weapons of the Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon's caliber were rare throughout the True Martial Dao Domain. Even Quasi-Emperor experts would fight to the death over one.
In the True Martial Dao Domain, factions backed by Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons were all top-tier transcendent powers!
Given the Immortal-Slaying Sword's might, the moment it appeared, it would surely trigger strange phenomena and draw the attention of experts.
If she took it out with her current strength, there was no telling whether it would still be hers the next moment.
The Immortal-Slaying Sword might even plunge her into endless trouble and danger.
Even though she was now the divine child of the Ziwei Holy Land, she still had to be cautious about such matters.
She had only just obtained it from the check-in and hadn't even had time to warm it in her hands. Ji Zining had no desire to risk taking out the Immortal-Slaying Sword.
Until her strength reached a certain level, she had to keep this secret safe.
Once she grew strong enough, it would be time for the Immortal-Slaying Sword to truly emerge!
With a thought from Ji Zining, the holographic screen displaying the system space vanished from before her eyes.
It seemed she would have to learn to use a sword first.
She would set herself a small goal: comprehend the sword's intent realm!
Before that, though, she needed to find a longsword that suited her hand and a divine ability she could use at her current level.
I'll go see Ancestor Li Changsheng tomorrow morning. I can also check on Father and Xiao Jiu while I'm there.
Having made up her mind, Ji Zining closed her eyes again and resumed the cultivation she had been doing.
Earlier, Ji Zining had been polishing her foundation while making breakthroughs in her cultivation.
By now, she had broken through another minor realm, reaching the Nascent Soul Realm Eighth Layer.
She was only one minor realm away from matching Ji Chenkong's previous cultivation.
Although she had broken through again during this cultivation session, Ji Zining could clearly feel that her cultivation speed had slowed considerably.
Before, she would surely have broken through several minor realms in the few hours she had spent cultivating.
Now, she had only broken through one.
It seemed the saying was right: the higher one's cultivation, the harder it was to advance. And this was only the Nascent Soul Realm.
Once her cultivation rose higher, she might also need to spend a great deal of time breaking through a single layer.
Time passed, and several more hours went by.
The bright moon vanished, and a red sun slowly rose in the distance.
On the jade plaza, Ji Zining opened her eyes and breathed out a mouthful of turbid Qi.
"Phew! After cultivating all night, I've only raised my cultivation to the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm Eighth Layer."
"It looks like I'll have to put some real thought into cultivation from now on."
Ji Zining rose to her feet and stretched.
It was time to visit Father and Xiao Jiu in the small world. She could also ask the ancestor to choose a longsword and a sword dao divine ability for her.
She now had both a cultivation technique and a body-tempering technique, but she didn't have a single move and couldn't bring out her full combat strength.
Besides that, a movement technique was also important.
Ji Zining shook her head.
Cultivating to grow stronger required no fewer things to be done than anything else.
Sure enough, no matter the field, achieving something meant doing more than ordinary people.
Talent was only something that let a person get ahead of others early on; it wasn't a direct route to the finish line.
"Ancestor!"
Ji Zining composed herself and called out to the empty space before her.
At the same time, she channeled spiritual power into the divine child's token, controlling the mountain-protecting array to open a small gap.
Li Changsheng had said yesterday that if she wanted to enter the small world, she only needed to call out to him and open the mountain-protecting array.
Ji Zining didn't have to wait long. As soon as her voice fell, the space before her trembled.
The next second, a black spatial passage appeared.
"Step into the spatial passage, and it will take you straight to the small world."
Li Changsheng's gentle voice sounded beside her ear. Without hesitation, Ji Zining stepped into the spatial passage.
After swallowing Ji Zining, the spatial passage trembled and slowly vanished.
The small world.
Ji Zining's figure appeared out of thin air.
She cupped her hands slightly to Li Changsheng, who was still sitting on the stone stool from yesterday.
"Ancestor!"
Li Changsheng smiled and nodded.
After greeting him, Ji Zining glanced around and found that Hua Qianyan wasn't in the small world.
Only Ji Chenkong, who was still cultivating, and the sleeping Xiao Jiu were there.
Compared to yesterday, however, Ji Zining could clearly sense that Ji Chenkong's presence had grown much stronger.
It had already surpassed the bounds of the Nascent Soul Realm and reached an entirely new level.
Seeing this, Ji Zining's expression grew serious.
"He's about to break through!"
In another hour at most, her father, Ji Chenkong, would break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm!
Ji Chenkong was close to a breakthrough, but Xiao Jiu remained motionless beside him, showing no sign of waking.
Li Changsheng stood up and nodded with a smile.
"That's right. Your father is indeed close to breaking through."
"He woke up once yesterday. Qianyan gave him magic treasures and pills that could help him get through the heavenly tribulation, and then he sank back into cultivation."
Ji Zining nodded in understanding and solemnly cupped her hands to Li Changsheng.
"Thank you, Ancestor!"
Li Changsheng waved a hand dismissively.
"I suppose you didn't come here just to see whether your father had broken through?"
"Go on. What did you come to see me about?"
Hearing this, Ji Zining couldn't help chuckling.
"How did you know, Ancestor? I did come because there was something I wanted to ask of you. Sorry for the trouble, Ancestor."
Hearing Ji Zining call him Ancestor again and again, Li Changsheng felt a little lightheaded.
"Oh? What do you want to do, Zining?"
Ji Zining's expression turned serious.
"I want to practice the sword! I came this time to ask you to choose a longsword, a sword dao divine ability, and a movement technique for me, Ancestor."
"Cultivate the sword dao?"
Li Changsheng nodded slightly.
"The sword is indeed a good choice. With your talent, comprehending Sword Intent won't be difficult. Once you comprehend it, your attack power will increase greatly."
"Sword cultivators who have comprehended Sword Intent hold a very high status in the True Martial Dao Domain."
At this, Li Changsheng pondered briefly.
"As for the longsword, sword dao divine ability, and movement technique you mentioned, I do have a few things in mind."
With that, he waved his hand, and three items appeared on the stone table beside him.
"This is the sword I used in the past, along with a saint-tier divine ability and movement technique from our Ziwei Holy Land."
"These three things should keep you studying and using them for quite a long time."
Ji Zining was shaken by his words.
The sword Li Changsheng used in the past?
A saint-tier divine ability and movement technique?!
Looking at the stone table not far away, Ji Zining was eager to give them a try.