Xiao Qingxuan naturally didn’t want Ye Luqing to be alone with anyone else. Even if the technique Pei Ruyi was transmitting was too precious to teach for free, she didn’t mind paying to learn it.
“No, you can’t!”
Pei Ruyi hastily refused, her words laced with panic and agitation she couldn’t quite conceal.
She knew exactly what Ye Luqing had called her to do. How could that sort of thing possibly be about transmitting a technique?
The mere thought of Senior Sister Xiao seeing that shameless, degraded posture after being trained made her want to die.
Xiao Qingxuan frowned. She hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Pei Ruyi.
“Why not?”
“If it’s a precious technique, I can trade treasures for it.”
With a thought, several spirit swords materialized around her. The lowest quality among them was Profound-Tier Superior.
Normally, Pei Ruyi would have been tempted long ago, but now she only wanted to refuse.
She shot Ye Luqing a pleading look, only to see a playful smile curling at the corner of the other’s lips.
Smiling without a word, she understood Ye Luqing’s meaning.
Tell a little lie, deceive Xiao Qingxuan.
Pei Ruyi lowered her head, her earlobes so red they seemed about to drip blood.
“I’m sorry, Senior Sister Xiao. This is a secret art of my Pei Family. It cannot be passed on to too many people…”
Her voice trembled violently, and her words were riddled with holes.
This was the first time she had lied to Xiao Qingxuan, actively lied to the one who once held her heart.
Her Sword Cultivation followed the Way of Ultimate Sincerity—better to take it straight than to seek it crookedly.
A single small lie was enough to damage her Sword Heart.
And she paid such a great price just to savor the pleasure that came from obeying Ye Luqing’s [Command].
Xiao Qingxuan keenly noticed the change in Pei Ruyi before her; her Sword Heart was gradually weakening.
“You…”
She reached out, wanting to probe exactly what had happened to Pei Ruyi.
But before she could touch her, a small hand intercepted her.
“Alright, Sister, stop bullying Senior Sister Pei now.”
Ye Luqing grasped Xiao Qingxuan’s hand in her palm, while her other hand took hold of Pei Ruyi.
She tapped lightly on Pei Ruyi’s palm, and the latter instantly understood her meaning.
Well done. You’ll be properly rewarded this afternoon~
As for the rest, leave it to me.
A warm current flowed through Pei Ruyi’s heart. She even felt a sense of security, as if she could hide behind Ye Luqing’s back.
Seeing this, Xiao Qingxuan patiently explained:
“A-Qing, I’m not bullying Junior Sister Pei. Something is off with her. If left unchecked, it could cause problems in her cultivation later.”
“But Senior Sister Pei is trembling with fear…” Ye Luqing lifted Pei Ruyi’s hand, her eyes carrying a look of pity.
Seeing the distressed look on Ye Luqing’s face, Xiao Qingxuan seemed to see the A-Qing from before the memory loss, and her attitude gradually softened.
A-Qing was still too kind, unable to bear seeing anyone suffer the slightest grievance.
“Alright…”
She withdrew her hand, setting aside the thought of thoroughly probing Pei Ruyi’s body, and merely gave her a deep look.
“If you feel your Sword Heart obstructed, you can come find me at any time.”
“Mm…” Pei Ruyi nodded, gave them a sword salute, and hurriedly left.
“A-Qing, let’s go too.”
“Okay.”
Watching Pei Ruyi’s departing back, Ye Luqing, walking behind Xiao Qingxuan, rubbed her fingertips as if reminiscing about the feel of Pei Ruyi’s jade-like hands.
Xiao Qingxuan and Pei Ruyi had somewhat similar appearances and temperaments. Holding the hands of both just now felt like holding two sisters with different personalities.
Quite nice.
Now that the “younger sister” was already on the verge of corruption, how far off could the “older sister” be?
Ye Luqing followed Xiao Qingxuan to her courtyard.
As the sole Direct Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Peak’s Sect Master, her courtyard was much larger than those of the Direct Disciples of Azure Sky Peak, and even had a separate Sword Practice Field.
She rarely went to the Heavenly Gang Platform, only going today to fulfill her duties as an Elder. But teaching A-Qing a technique was something to be done at her own home, naturally.
After listening to Ye Luqing’s questions about the One Qi Sword Art, Xiao Qingxuan fell into deep thought.
There were two main problems preventing the full power of this Profound-Tier Superior sword art from being unleashed.
First, Ye Luqing indeed possessed a sufficiently powerful Sword Intent, but this caused her Sword Qi to fall behind.
Although Ye Luqing knew formations that could restore Sword Qi, she wasn’t a Sword Cultivator after all, and her efficiency in absorbing the formation’s Sword Qi was very low.
Second, the Sword Energy condensed by Ye Luqing’s Sword Intent was indeed quite powerful, but at the cost of requiring a long time to charge.
If these two problems couldn’t be solved, even if she learned the One Qi Sword Art, it would be difficult to use in the Grand Tournament.
After much deliberation, she took out a spirit sword from her Storage Dharma Artifact.
“A-Qing, this spirit sword has the ability to absorb and store Sword Qi. You can store Sword Qi in this spirit sword beforehand and directly use it when executing the One Qi Sword Art.”
Ye Luqing’s Qi Sea and meridians weren’t suited for Sword Qi, but this spirit sword was.
“This sword’s grade is only Profound-Tier Superior, and that’s mainly due to its extraordinary Sword Qi storage capacity.”
This ability to store Sword Qi was precisely what Xiao Qingxuan valued. When fully charged, it could even rival the Sword Qi reserves of a Sword Cultivator at the Peak Nascent Soul Stage.
“Setting aside this special ability, it might only be at the Profound-Tier Mid-Grade level.”
“But a Profound-Tier Mid-Grade sword is exactly what you can wield right now.”
If she gave Ye Luqing an Earth-Rank sword, Ye Luqing, at Golden Core Peak Stage and a Formation Cultivator, wouldn’t be able to draw out its power at all.
“Thank you, Sister.”
Ye Luqing smiled slightly and accepted the azure-blue spirit sword.
[Jade Spirit Sword, Profound-Tier Superior, recycle value: 300 points]
This spirit sword was quite valuable. Even Ye Luqing felt a bit embarrassed to accept it.
Sensing the lively spirituality within, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked:
“Senior Sister Xiao, can this spirit sword be inscribed with Array Runes?”
A spirit sword was also a carrier of True Qi, and no one said it could only hold Sword Qi.
If Array Runes could be inscribed, Ye Luqing could turn this spirit sword into a Formation Artifact and inscribe the Yin-Yang Meridian Array inside it.
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan was slightly taken aback and said subconsciously:
“In theory, it’s possible…”
Although the material of a spirit sword wasn’t the optimal medium for Array Runes, it was sufficient for transmitting True Qi and Spiritual Power.
No one had ever done this before. For Sword Cultivators, inscribing Array Runes would inevitably weaken the spirit sword’s Sword Veins. For Formation Cultivators, a spirit sword wasn’t the ideal Formation Artifact for casting techniques, and could even slow down their casting speed.
But neither of these drawbacks applied to Ye Luqing. Her One Qi Sword Art only needed Sword Qi, not Sword Veins, and her extremely fast formation casting speed could completely offset the negative effects of the artifact’s material.
“It is indeed feasible, but the swordsmiths of Heavenly Sword Peak aren’t skilled in inscribing Array Runes. You’ll need to find an Elder of Azure Sky Peak.”
“Got it.”
Ye Luqing nodded in satisfaction, inwardly marveling at her own earth-shattering wisdom.
Whether for the Singles Match or Duo Tournament, only one weapon was allowed.
This way, she could activate a formation even while executing the One Qi Sword Art.
Xiao Qingxuan took back the spirit sword. “A-Qing, I’ll infuse Sword Qi into the sword first. You can use it freely while practicing over these next few days.”
“As for the long charge time, that can only be solved by your condensed Sword Intent and by training the technique to a higher level.”
This technique, A-Qing had just barely entered the door. Once she reached Minor Achievement, the execution speed would double.
She poured Sword Qi into the spirit sword, stopping only when it was full, her own internal Sword Qi somewhat depleted.
Seeing Xiao Qingxuan’s face slightly pale, Ye Luqing’s eyes lit up.
She suddenly remembered something that might serve as a return gift.
