“Oh, Little Deer is awake.” Kui Ling was chatting idly with Yun Chen when she sensed movement and looked down.

Li Cheng颐 was squeezed hard by her, burying his entire body in her embrace, unable to move.

He didn't dare to move recklessly and could only stay put obediently.

“This child is really shy,” Kui Ling said in surprise. “Does he understand so much at such a young age?”

After thinking for a moment, she released Li Cheng颐.

“What a pity... he was cuter when he was younger. Now that he's older, his eyes aren't pure anymore. Sigh...”

“Everyone knows what's on your mind, Teacher,” Yun Chen couldn't help but add from the side.

“Ah? What was I thinking? What do you think I'm thinking?” Kui Ling's eyes fixed on her only female disciple.

“…” Yun Chen immediately fell silent.

Actually, everyone could see that Kui Ling was raising Bai Lu as a doll that she could freely arrange and nurture.

She was trying to dress Li Cheng颐 into a perfect male with a temperament and figure that perfectly matched her imagination.

This was the joy of raising a child!

Li Cheng颐 broke free from the embrace, his face somewhat flushed. This was the first time he had been so close to a member of the opposite sex.

“Mother, please stay away from me, after all, I'm older now,” he said quickly.

“Sigh…” Kui Ling, usually aloof in front of others, now showed a clear hint of disappointment on her pretty face.

“The child has grown up and is ignoring his mother… so sad…”

“Teacher, aren’t you being a bit too affected?” Yun Chen couldn't help but say from the side.

“Ah, am I?” Kui Ling blinked her big eyes. “But this is my true feelings.”

Li Cheng颐 was speechless.

This cheap mother usually had a frosty demeanor in front of outsiders, but those who got close would understand that her true nature was an enhanced version of Da Xiong.

Da Xiong only liked to play pranks occasionally, but Kui Ling was quite fond of teasing people.

Then Yun Chen couldn't help but secretly jab at her teacher a few times, which provoked Kui Ling to grab her in anger and start spanking her bottom.

Li Cheng颐 decisively couldn't stand it anymore and got up to flee the scene.

He would be immoral if he continued to watch. It would be one thing if he were really a child, but he wasn't. If Yun Chen and Kui Ling ever found out the truth…

Just thinking about it felt like a comet hitting the earth.

Anyway, he had already obtained the greatest benefit, so it was best to slip away.

*

*

*

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed since returning from the hot spring.

The Four Sects Tournament was about to officially begin. As the four sects that often had friction and were the true behind-the-scenes rulers of Pan Guang,

the four sects wanted to avoid weakening their own strength, while also demonstrating their strength to deter external enemies and internal spies, and at the same time achieve the goal of competing for benefits with the other three sects in disguise.

Therefore, they agreed to hold a tournament every three years, because a cycle of three years was the minimum time for new disciples, from entering the sect to truly standing out and realizing their potential.

Just like Li Cheng颐's generation of personal disciples, because of the special nature of being a personal disciple, even though most of them had a deep foundation in cultivation, they still needed three years to truly connect with the sect's cultivation methods and swordsmanship.

Under the glow of the setting sun,

among the vast forests surrounding the Faceless Sword Sect,

Huo Qingkong slowly strolled in the light and shadows. After cultivating, he always liked to take a walk alone around his manor.

Alone, quiet, and peaceful.

Chirp chirp.

A plump little bird with yellow-green feathers flew over his head and landed on a branch, chirping.

Huo Qingkong stopped and reached out his hand, gently approaching the bird.

Poof!

As if sensing something terrifying, the bird turned its butt up, flapped its wings, and ran.

A trace of bewilderment flashed in Huo Qingkong's eyes.

He withdrew his hand and saw a faint purplish-black color flash across his fingertips.

That was backlash…

Backlash was already affecting his cultivation. The faster he advanced, the stronger the backlash…

With a thought, Huo Qingkong immediately focused his Ming Guang (Bright Light), forcibly suppressing the malice of the backlash.

Having cultivated Ming Guang to his level, he could reverse the flow of malice, drawing it out of his mental energy, restoring clarity to himself.

Countless strands of mental energy, after being purified, rapidly condensed, settled, and gathered.

The Yuanshen Sword (Primordial Spirit Sword) once again bloomed with new translucent fluorescence, a sign that the mental energy had once again reached its limit and was beginning to condense and sublimate.

Silently, a strange fluorescent light lit up inside Huo Qingkong's chest and robe.

A moment later, a new yuan yin (primordial seal) reappeared.

The sublimation of the Yuanshen Sword naturally still increased the sword's sharpness and destructive power.

An all-around, average increase in speed, strength, and area of effect.

This was the second layer yuan yin of the Thousand Faces Sword Canon.

It was also Huo Qingkong's fifth yuan yin. He was born with one yuan yin, after which the Faceless Sword Art and the Holy Spirit Art each condensed a yuan yin, and he merged them with his innate yuan yin into one large yuan yin.

After reaching the fourth layer, both cultivation methods could condense a yuan yin in each layer, sublimating his entire body.

After that, with each layer he advanced, he would merge the yuan yin of the Faceless Sword Art and the Holy Spirit Art into one. Even after constantly merging, he had only condensed five yuan yin, but these five yuan yin were actually far superior to those of his peers with single yuan yin.

‘Truly powerful talent hahaha, with your aptitude, if you could fully incorporate all the malice, your strength and speed of advancement would be the fastest in history!!’ The Demon Emperor's voice rang out again.

‘But alas, the stronger you become, the stronger the seven malices will also become! This is the result of non-differentiation,’ the Demon Emperor laughed.

‘They are born because of you and will die with you.’

“Noisy!” Huo Qingkong snorted coldly, and the Yuanshen Sword slashed, instantly severing that wisp of the Demon Emperor's divine sense.

Not differentiating the Holy Infant would naturally give more hope of reaching higher realms than differentiating.

But it also faced the biggest problem – backlash.

After suppressing the Demon Emperor, Huo Qingkong turned around alone and looked at the white manor he had emerged from.

‘I am the Faceless Sword Sect's strongest genius in thousands of years! The only hope for the future to save the sword sect and destroy the great calamity!! Only I can save everything… Therefore, no matter who it is! No one can stop me from becoming stronger!’

He shouldered the heavy responsibility of completely disintegrating the qi of calamity. In this process, any obstacle was just a test on his path, and annihilation was their only fate.

In the end, he would surely stand at the final peak, completing a great undertaking that no one could imagine.

That was what Huo Qingkong believed, and that was what he was doing.

Whether it was backlash, side effects, or the Demon Emperor, nothing could stop him.

Suppressing the violence in his eyes, he turned and walked back.

*

*

*

The Sect Tournament was participated in by four sects.

The venue was usually chosen by drawing lots to go to different regions. Either in a designated venue within the four sects or in a mutually agreed upon border area.

Most of these venues required extremely strong protection and concealment, while the border areas allowed them to unleash their full power without worrying about harming innocents.

After communicating and contacting each other, the Faceless Sword Sect, Qingmu Sword Sect, Years Gate, and Yuheng Sect decided that the tournament would be held in the Yuheng Sect this time.

The disciples participating in the tournament were mainly divided into two groups: the Qingying (Young Elite) and the Dazhu (Big Group).

The two groups were divided by age, actually comparing the older age group and the younger age group.

The Faceless Sword Sect sent a total of eight people, the Big Four Swords and the Little Four Swords, to participate.

This time, Elder Yun Ling led the team, with several deacons assisting. Including the external auxiliary disciples, there were more than twenty people in total. It could be said that the entire sword sect sent one-tenth of its people, showing great importance.

“I heard that the prizes for this tournament are Heavenly Silk Cocoon Sloughing and a day of Enlightenment at the Heavenly Shortcut Stele.”

Outside the sword sect mountain gate, where they were about to depart, giant white cranes were spreading their wings and letting out loud cries.

But the protagonists this time were not them, but a huge white crane with a wingspan of dozens of meters, almost capable of enveloping everyone.

This white crane did not seem to be a physical entity. Its body was semi-transparent, with a red crown and white neck. In its abdomen, one could vaguely see a snow-white long sword emitting white light, hovering and tumbling.

Clearly, that was the main body of the giant white crane.

Elder Yun Ling, who led the team, was a withered, white-haired old man who did not pay attention to maintenance.

He wore a white robe with large sleeves, his long hair combed neatly, and a purple jade hairpin in the shape of a peach branch on his head, giving off the appearance of an immortal.

The deacons were now arranging for the disciples to board the back of the giant white crane.

“Putting everything else aside, with Elder Yun Ling's appearance, anyone would believe he's an immortal at a glance,” Bai He whispered beside Li Cheng颐.

“Appearance is still very important,” Li Cheng颐 nodded.

His gaze unconsciously turned towards the distance, where Kui Ling and a group of high-level officials were standing together, nodding at him.

“Don't be reckless, safety is paramount,” her voice transmission quietly drifted over.

Li Cheng颐 nodded to show that he understood.

In fact, looking at these fellow disciples around him who hadn't even condensed a single yin, he felt that participating in the tournament was bullying, but there was no choice, the prizes for the tournament were too tempting.

The Heavenly Shortcut Stele was a relic stele discovered by the four sects when exploring the outer realms. It contained many profound mysteries of Taoism. Basically, any disciple who obtained the qualification to comprehend it had gained a lot of benefits from it.

This was not because the Taoism on the Heavenly Shortcut Stele was extremely broad and profound, but because this stele was alive.

It had its own consciousness and could answer all your questions in a targeted manner. Especially questions about cultivation.

Even Huo Qingkong had once obtained a qualification to comprehend it, entering with three yin and emerging with four yin. The improvement was so great that it was staggering.

“With Senior Brother participating again this time, I guess there's no suspense, it'll be first place again,” Bai He sighed.

“Senior Brother is too strong… being a contemporary of him is simply a disaster. He will be crushed at any moment,” Qiu Chen followed suit.

This big-eyed moe girl had now changed into casual clothes, and her hair was tied up into a single ponytail. Although she still looked a bit silly, as one of the Four Little Swords, it would be really foolish if anyone really treated her as a fool.

Li Cheng颐's gaze fell on Huo Qingkong, who was talking to someone in front.

Not only him, but in fact, everyone's gaze would unconsciously fall on that person at this time.

As long as Huo Qingkong was present, he was the focus of all attention.

‘How does this guy feel, a little different’ Li Cheng颐 frowned slightly as he watched.

Because the Seven Intent Holy Spirit Art he was now cultivating was a self-improved version, in which part of the seven malices had been completely transformed into seven virtues and integrated into the Yuanshen.

Of course, his current cultivation was still not enough, and he had only begun to involve transforming the three malices into three virtues.

But the direction was right, and it would become more and more perfect in the future.

(End of this chapter)