Chapter 5

Listen, listen, Immortal Spirit!

Li Changsheng clasped his hands together in front of his dantian, focusing his mind on his sea of consciousness. He stimulated the extremely faint primordial energy within his body and summoned his Immortal Spirit according to the method he remembered.

In an instant, two ethereal illusions appeared above him—these illusions were his Immortal Spirits. One was a noble and elegant sword, and the other was a thin book lying quietly beside the sword.

Sword Spirit, Book Spirit? The elegance of the book, the nobility of the sword... They seemed to have the aura of a scholar and a sword, but why can't you give me the power to be strong, at least not to be bullied? Li Changsheng silently shouted in his heart.

"Clear wine in a golden cup costs ten thousand coins, rare delicacies on a jade plate are worth ten thousand pieces of silver..."

At this moment, he suddenly remembered a poem, Li Bai's "The Hardship of the Road."

He had memorized this poem in middle school, so he could clearly remember it. The sorrow and frustration described in the poem matched his current state of mind so well that he recited it without realizing it.

He drew a fine steel sword he carried with him and began to recite the poem while practicing swordsmanship. The poem was "The Hardship of the Road," and the sword technique was the most common "Soft Finger Sword" in his family.

He thrust the sword diagonally and recited, "Clear wine in a golden cup costs ten thousand coins, rare delicacies on a jade plate are worth ten thousand pieces of silver."

Thinking of himself as a young master in the family, his life had been very comfortable. He could enjoy fine wine and exquisite dishes, and even had a maid to serve him.

"Stopping the cup and putting down the chopsticks, I cannot eat; drawing the sword, I look around in confusion."

When he recited this line, the fine steel sword in his hand paused in the air. These fine clothes and delicious food were all external things. The family martial arts competition in three months and the powerful Tianhai Sword Sect... If my strength does not improve, what will I do?

At this moment, his confused state of mind was almost exactly the same as the poet Li Bai's. He was completely immersed in the frustration expressed in the poem, not noticing that the Book Spirit in his sea of consciousness had slightly trembled when he recited this line.

"Wanting to cross the Yellow River, the ice blocks the way; about to climb Mount Taihang, the snow covers the mountain. In leisure, I fish by the green stream; suddenly, I dream of sailing by the sun."

Suddenly, he moved. He rapidly swung the long sword, thrusting with all his might. Filled with anger, his sword techniques were powerful, completely losing the lightness and grace of the Soft Finger Sword.

"The road is hard! The road is hard! Many paths, where is the right one?"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Li Changsheng's sword dance became faster, and his strength became even stronger. He continuously thrust and swung the sword, venting his frustration through the dance. The road is so difficult, where will I go from here?

"There will be a time when the wind will break the waves, and I will hoist my sail to cross the vast sea!"

Suddenly, a surge of ambition erupted in his heart!

So what if there are more setbacks? How can these small setbacks make me lose my will? Those who dare to block me, I will cut you down one by one with my sword!

The long sword suddenly slashed upward, directly cutting a branch of a nearby small tree. With a "snap," the branch was severed, the cut clean and smooth, and the leaves fell one by one.

Looking at the falling leaves, his heart remained unsettled for a long time.

At this moment, he suddenly felt the Book Spirit in his sea of consciousness trembling rapidly. A powerful primordial energy surged into his sea of consciousness, causing him a brief dizziness.

In the void, a vast golden light began to envelop the Book Spirit. This light was majestic and vast, like the morning sun casting countless rays of light, illuminating his surroundings. Compared to this light, the bright moon in the sky instantly paled.

After the sacred golden light flashed continuously, the Book Spirit began to show signs of movement.

Like being caressed by a gentle breeze, the Book Spirit slowly opened to the first page.

On the first page of the Book Spirit, illuminated by the golden light, were two small golden seal script characters.

These two characters were: "Cōng" (聰) and "Míng" (明).

Cōng, to perceive—《Shuowen》, Míng, to reflect on oneself—《Shiji: Shang Jun Liezhuan》.

Seeing these two characters, Li Changsheng immediately recalled these explanations. Hmm, why can I remember them so clearly now? He was puzzled.

He only remembered that he had occasionally seen the explanations of these two characters on Earth, but now, as soon as he thought about them, the explanations were clearly remembered.

Reading makes one wise, reading makes one intelligent.

As a member of the Scholar lineage, the first page of the Book Spirit endowed Li Changsheng with an extraordinary memory and a powerful comprehension ability. With an extraordinary memory, he could learn sword techniques effortlessly in the future. With a powerful comprehension ability, he could greatly enhance his cultivation talent!

...

At this moment, the golden light on the Book Spirit began to flash continuously, illuminating the Sword Spirit.

The Sword Spirit seemed to be called upon and began to accept the light of the Book Spirit. The light of the Book Spirit seemed to be performing some kind of ritual for the Sword Spirit, or perhaps a baptism.

When the golden light circled around both sides of the sword, the tip of the Sword Spirit began to show a faint gleam.

The Book Spirit is sharpening the Sword Spirit!?

Soon, the tip of the Sword Spirit gleamed with a cold light, dazzling to the eye. The Book Spirit had finished sharpening the Sword Spirit, what a sharp tip! Li Changsheng had been cultivating primordial energy and practicing sword techniques since he was five years old, and his Sword Spirit had never shown any sharpness. Now, after ten years, the Book Spirit had sharpened it.

Ten years to forge a sword!

At this moment, Li Changsheng's Sword Spirit was no longer a beautiful decoration but a truly sharp and noble sword! The red gemstone on the hilt had not disappeared, and the noble and elegant aura remained.

Li Changsheng's Sword Spirit now combined nobility and sharpness.

Weapons are instruments of death, used by sages only when there is no other choice!

With the two apertures of "Cōng" and "Míng" opened, Li Changsheng suddenly understood that his previous Sword Spirit was not useless but was too sharp and fierce, so it was sealed. This is what is meant by—weapons are instruments of death! Now, with the Book Spirit in his body, the elegance of the Scholar lineage could suppress this fierce aura, allowing the Book Spirit to sharpen it!

And at this moment, Li Changsheng was in a critical situation, so he had to use it!

This vast golden light? Could it be the "Scholar Spirit" of the Scholar lineage? A flash of inspiration came to Li Changsheng's mind. On his way home, he had casually memorized famous poems, but none of them could stimulate the Scholar Spirit. Now, Li Bai's "The Hardship of the Road" matched his state of mind, so the Scholar Spirit was stimulated.

The Scholar Spirit can only be stimulated by writing poems that match one's state of mind, enhancing one's cultivation.

The Scholar Spirit, with its vigorous and powerful aura, can point to the mountains and rivers, inspire the written word, and treat the nobles of the past as mere dirt! In the early stages, the Scholar Spirit can enhance one's abilities, and at a certain level, it can have powerful destructive power.

Soon, the Scholar Spirit began to slowly融入 his qi sea, and the golden light on the Book Spirit gradually faded. Li Changsheng felt his qi sea becoming full, and soon there were signs of breaking through a bottleneck. The realms of the Scholar lineage and the Swordsmen were the same, divided into Qi Spirit Realm, Martial Spirit Realm, Mystic Spirit Realm, etc.

Qi Spirit Realm, second level, breakthrough!

Qi Spirit Realm, third level, breakthrough!

...

Qi Spirit Realm, fifth level, breakthrough!

He broke through to the fifth level of the Qi Spirit Realm, and the breakthrough finally stopped. At this moment, the golden light of the Book Spirit in the void disappeared, and Li Changsheng retracted his two Immortal Spirits back into his sea of consciousness.

Although he was only at the fifth level of the Qi Spirit Realm, Li Changsheng felt that his current strength could easily defeat ordinary experts at the sixth level of the Qi Spirit Realm, and even have a chance to fight against experts at the seventh level. This was because he had cultivated the Scholar Spirit and the primordial energy of the Swordsmen, both reaching the fifth level of the Qi Spirit Realm.

The Scholar lineage is ambitious, idealistic, spirited, and proud but not arrogant.

For ten years, his Sword Spirit had never been sharpened, but now the Book Spirit had sharpened it. Ten years to forge a sword, the blade has never been tested. Today, I show it to you, who has any grievances?

(End of the page)