Li Feiyu wore a brand-new, deep blue robe, fastened at the waist with a gold-trimmed rhinoceros-horn belt, which made his tall figure look even more upright.
His sharp, temples-reaching sword-like eyebrows, dark and deep eyes, and chiseled, handsome face no longer showed a trace of his previous sickly look. Even as he stood atop a mountain thatched hut, he exuded an imposing and heroic air.
Han Li, who had rushed out in one breath, looked at Senior Brother Li on the roof, feeling both startled and delighted! Senior Brother Li, whom he thought had left, was back! And his complexion had improved so much!
Free of his sickly pallor, Senior Brother Li was actually even more handsome than the youthful Doctor Mo! At Senior Brother Li's waist hung a saber; the golden *Qizi* beast pattern on its bright black scabbard was exceptionally eye-catching! However, that saber was not the broadsword he used to carry, but rather had a narrow, elongated blade, straight just like a sword. It possessed both the regal aura of a sword and the domineering might of a saber!
Li Feiyu unhesitatingly drew the long saber and said to Han Li, "Xiao Li, how do you like your brother's new weapon?"
Han Li asked, "What kind of saber is this? I've never seen it before!"
Li Feiyu replied, "A Tang Hengdao, and its name is Qizi! It is both a saber and a sword! Come on, let's spar a few rounds!"
Seeing him finish speaking, Li Feiyu shifted instantly, his figure sliding rapidly across the ground! He moved so fast that he left only dust behind, and one could barely make out his afterimages!
*Smoke-Fading Step!*
"Clang!"
Han Li did not dare to be careless. Drawing the short sword from his waist, he blocked Li Feiyu's strike. There was no true qi, but the attack was both fast and precise!
As Han Li retreated slightly, the gleaming edge of the Qizi saber brushed right past his ear!
Han Li was utterly appalled. "This is the Blinking Sword Technique... No, it's the Blinking Saber Technique!"
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Treaded in the *Smoke-Fading Step*, Li Feiyu slashed out three times in an instant, every single blow aimed at the awkward spots where Han Li could not easily exert force. If Han Li's spiritual sense had not already awakened, he would have lost his limbs long ago. Since his spells were not yet fully formed, he was completely no match for Li Feiyu in a fair fight.
"Whoosh!"
Li Feiyu appeared at his side, his horizontal saber thrusting right up to Han Li's neck!
"No more, no more! I only learned some of the easier, lethal techniques from the Blinking Sword Technique. You executed six different moves from entirely different volumes, and I didn't even have time to study them. This is so unfair!"
Han Li left out the whole truth; if his spiritual sense hadn't been awakened, he wouldn't have been able to block even a single move. Moreover, Li Feiyu hadn't yet unleashed the ultimate power of the Blinking Sword and Saber Technique simply because his spiritual sense was still dormant and his five senses weren't fully sharpened.
Li Feiyu could see it too: with Han Li lacking spells, he was simply no match for him.
"Xiao Li, the two of us have only been studying this supreme martial art for the exact same amount of time!"
Han Li frowned deeply. "There are thousands of moves, and you don't even have a photographic memory. How on earth did you learn all of them? Wait, no—you didn't break your cultivation, did you?!"
Speechless, Li Feiyu pointed at his own handsome face and said, "Do I look like someone who hasn't broken his cultivation with a complexion this full of vital energy?"
Han Li continued to mutter under his breath, "That doesn't make sense. Something is still off!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he actually lunged straight at Li Feiyu, grabbing his collar with both hands and trying to tear open his clothes.
"Xiao Li, don't! These are clothes my brother had custom-made!"
The robe had no buttons, and Li Feiyu didn't put up a stubborn resistance, so Han Li easily caught sight of the unblemished skin on Li Feiyu's chest.
"No coagulated blood threads... He really did break his cultivation!"
Li Feiyu straightened his clothes and tapped Han Li's shoulder with the scabbard.
"Xiao Li, as your brother told you before, the two of us dominating the Qixuan Sect together is no joke! I must head back now; I still have my mission to fulfill."
Han Li remained rooted to the spot in a daze. Was Senior Brother Li a martial arts genius even without taking pills? After all, he still possessed the pride of youth, and Han Li resolved to bitterly practice his spells so he could thoroughly shock this bad friend before leaving. *Senior Brother Li, strong as you are, cultivating immortality and practicing martial arts are simply two completely different worlds!*
Li Feiyu had already figured it out: once he refined the Blinking Sword and Saber Technique to the realm of perfection, he would become a grandmaster of the mortal realm. With no rivals left in the mortal world, he could completely wipe out the Qixuan Sect's sworn enemies and smoothly secure the position of Sect Master without any problem.
Once he became Sect Master, the first Destiny would be fulfilled, and he could find a way to break away. Presumably, the second Destiny would begin to relate to immortal cultivation. During this time, while practicing martial arts, he also needed to continue searching for immortal cultivation manuals. He still had to visit the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, so he would follow the original timeline's memories and become a Dharma Protector first.
As a Dharma Protector, his duties would fall upon two spies.
...
Before he knew it, Li Feiyu had walked back to Qijue Hall.
As he passed through the martial arts training ground, someone suddenly called out to him.
"Senior Brother Li! Your Wind and Thunder Blade Technique will reach perfection this month... What advanced martial art are you going to practice next?"
A thick-browed, broad-shouldered, stocky young man was asking him with great enthusiasm.
As it turned out, without realizing it, he had wandered into the training ground of Qijue Hall. Distracted, Li Feiyu casually replied, "Oh, Guo Laoshi. Through unremitting and diligent cultivation, the Wind and Thunder Blade Technique has already reached perfection..."
At that moment, Li Feiyu stopped in his tracks, his green robes fluttering in the wind. His handsome face wore an expression of serene indifference, his sword-like eyebrows deeply furrowed, and his starry eyes profound, making him appear exceptionally composed and steady.
The stocky young man wore a look of utter adoration. "As expected of Senior Brother Li!"
Yet he asked eagerly, "What advanced martial art are you going to practice next? I'll practice the same one as you so I can continue to seek your guidance!"
"The Evil-Warding Sword Technique..."
In Li Feiyu's view, the Blinking Sword Technique and the Smoke-Fading Step were simply a combination of the *Dugu Nine Swords* and the *Evil-Warding Sword Technique*. They required no true qi, attacked enemy flaws, possessed ghostly movement arts, and didn't even require self-castration—it simply couldn't get any better!
Guo Laoshi was still brimming with excitement, repeating over and over, "The Evil-Warding Sword Technique, the Evil-Warding Sword Technique! Senior Brother Li! After the sect grand tournament this time, we're going to head down the mountain for experiential training. I want to be in your team..."
Not far from him stood a petite girl in green robes, holding a long sword. She was about the same age as Li Feiyu, with a sweet appearance and a pair of large eyes that seemed to speak, exceptionally lively and expressive. Though petite, her shoulders were like sculpted knife-blades and her waist like a bound silk ribbon; light and well-proportioned, she was clearly destined to be a great beauty.
From the moment Li Feiyu entered the gates, the girl had been glancing at him sideways, and when he stopped, she stared at him almost without blinking. Seeing that Li Feiyu hadn't spared her a single glance from beginning to end, the little girl stamped her feet in exasperation and looked at Guo Laoshi with a touch of impatience.
"You really are a blockhead! What Evil-Warding Sword Technique? I've never heard of such advanced martial arts in Qijue Hall!"
After snapping at Guo Laoshi, the girl drooped her head in dejection and gently kicked away a pebble on the bluestone pavement with her foot. "To disciples like us who are related to elders and sect masters, he never even deigns to speak..."
Her words were filled with disappointment, but Guo Laoshi remained unconcerned. "My Qixuan Steps and Wind and Thunder Blade all rely on Senior Brother Li's guidance! Master and the other disciples in the hall all think I'm stupid, and only Senior Brother Li is willing to pay attention to me..."
Before the girl could retort further, she saw some silk-robed disciples approaching from afar, so she turned away in disgust and went back to practicing her martial arts.
Sure enough, those disciples opened their mouths with nothing nice to say. "Guo Laoshi, you're a core disciple of Qijue Hall! You can't even learn advanced martial arts, and even your intermediate martial arts have to be taught by an ordinary inner sect disciple—what an embarrassment..."
Li Feiyu, who had already walked away, felt fortunate that he hadn't lingered, or he would have run into some boring people again.
Guo Laoshi was Elder Guo's nephew, and the girl, Zhang Xiuer, was Elder Li's niece. The one who opened his mouth and provoked everyone's annoyance was Qian Duoduo, the precious grandson of First Elder Qian Yifan. The original Li Feiyu had looked down upon these people and rarely paid them any heed.
The impatient girl said, "Senior Brother Li is a core disciple of Qijue Hall now too, you guys shouldn't talk about him like that!"
Wait! Zhang Xiuer!
In the original story, aside from Zhang Wentian and Han Li, the person most closely tied to Li Feiyu's destiny was this very Zhang Xiuer. If Zhang Wentian and Han Li could boost Li Feiyu's Fortune, could Zhang Xiuer do the same? That would be at least one Fortune point every single day! Fortune points that could defy the heavens and change one's destiny! She could even trade on her looks if she had to! A fifteen-year-old girl didn't know anything anyway—at worst, he'd just let her touch his face!
"Swish!"
Zhang Xiuer, who had been lowering her head in sullen anger, suddenly felt a bright flash before her eyes.
She looked up, and it was none other than the Senior Brother Li she had always admired! Why wasn't he acting as aloof as usual? Why had he suddenly walked right up to her?
That face, so handsome it took one's breath away, was getting closer and closer to her. Zhang Xiuer felt her heart pound fiercely, the blood rushing to her head. Her little face blushed all the way from her collarbone to the top of her head!
"Senior... Brother Li..."
"Xiuer! Is that you?"