As Li Chengji walked into the dining room, he saw only Taoran and Li Tianci standing there. He sat down slowly and asked, "Is he still refusing to come out? Will he eat?"
"Still refusing," Taoran replied respectfully.
"How many days has it been?"
"This is the fifth day since he returned."
"Wasn't he perfectly fine when he first came back? Why is he like this? What on earth is the reason?"
"I've asked him everything, but he just won't say."
Li Chengji slowly stood up, and the other two stood up with him.
"You all eat. I'll go check on him."
When Li Chengji reached the outside of Li Gewen's room, he felt a surge of profound spiritual energy drifting outward from within. Sensing something was wrong, he pushed open the door and stepped inside to find Li Gewen sitting cross-legged on the bed, channeling his energy in meditation. An eye on Li Gewen's forehead instantly froze him in his tracks.
"Don't be impatient. Grandfather is here to guard your vital energy."
The overflowing spiritual energy flowed back into Li Gewen's body, and the eye on his forehead closed, leaving only a vertical red-crack mark between his brows.
"What is the meaning of this?" Seeing Li Gewen conclude his meditation, Li Chengji asked anxiously, "How is it that even you have opened your eye?"
"Grandfather, who else has opened their eye?"
Li Chengji paused for a moment, looking closely at Li Gewen. "Your mother."
"Are there others?"
"A matter this secretive—even if someone has opened their eye, they would never speak of it to others. These are the eyes of the Third-Eye Clan; people will mistake them for demons."
"Grandfather, am I of the Third-Eye Clan?"
"How can that be? I was present when your grandmother gave birth to your mother, and I was present when your mother gave birth to you. How could you possibly be of the Third-Eye Clan?"
"When Mother accompanied me on my travels for three years, I felt she was constantly trying to verify something with great caution. Could it be related to this?"
Li Chengji nodded helplessly. "Weren't you doing fine when you came back? Why did your eye open?"
"It might be because I ate a Holy Spirit Fruit."
On the second day after Li Gewen returned from his travels, he had gone up to Luzhu Peak to find his close friend Wang Yun. Having not seen each other for three years, the two had much to talk about. Li Gewen detailed his three years of traveling abroad, sparking endless fascination in Wang Yun. Wang Yun, in turn, shared the fresh experiences he had encountered over the past three years. The most astonishing and fortunate event was that Zhu Heng had accidentally discovered a Holy Spirit Fruit.
At first, Li Gewen did not believe it. The Holy Spirit Fruit was nurtured and born from the spiritual energy of the mountains, something met by chance rather than sought, and how could Zhu Heng possibly have laid eyes on one? It was not until Li Gewen held the Holy Spirit Fruit in his hand that his heart skipped a beat. How he wished he had been the one to obtain this Holy Spirit Fruit! He had started practicing the sword at age five, diligently mastering the Sword Technique for eighteen years. Under the guidance of his mother and grandfather, he had entered the Sixth Realm ten years ago, making him the pride of his mother for a time. Yet for the past eight years, he had remained stuck in the Sixth Realm, his cultivation failing to change at all. For a cultivator, the Seventh Realm was a natural chasm; if one could not cross it, one was destined to remain mediocre.
"So you're saying that child gave you the Holy Spirit Fruit to eat?" Li Chengji asked with lingering disbelief. "He's quite generous—that's a heavy investment."
"He was just cowardly and didn't dare eat it," Li Gewen mused. "I heard in the martial world that a disciple at the Peak of Yunxiao picked up a second-grade Dharma Treasure, only for Wu Yunsheng to buy it off him for a mere fifty taels. Later, when that disciple somehow learned the treasure was a top-tier second-grade artifact, he desperately wanted it back. In the end, he had Sheng Tianjing step in, and both sides started a massive brawl before the Sect Master intervened to settle the matter."
"That happened two years ago. Why bring it up now?"
"The way that affair spread through the martial world was utterly disgraceful. Those disciples from humble backgrounds are truly beyond saving. They cannot learn profound Cultivation Formulas. When good fortune comes their way and they encounter spiritual herbs or Dharma treasures, they don't even recognize them. How can they possibly survive in this world of immortal cultivation? It's simply too difficult for them." Saying this, Li Gewen looked somewhat regretful. "Having traveled the rivers and lakes for three years, I've met some quite reputable people, and they all say the Peak of Yunxiao is truly facing decline. The immortal sects and noble families residing here are failing, and the commoner clans produce no capable figures. The current Four Young Masters of Yunxiao are merely the final flash of light before the setting sun for the Peak of Yunxiao."
Li Chengji wanted to argue, but in the end, he said nothing.
"Those people of the rivers and lakes lump me among the Four Young Masters of Yunxiao simply because of the Li Family's overwhelming reputation in the past. I am completely unqualified; I haven't even reached the cultivation level of the Seventh Realm. How laughable—a single Holy Spirit Fruit instantly propelled me into the ranks of the Seventh Realm, truly validating that saying in the martial world: immortal sects and noble families will never perish as long as they don't court their own doom."
"So you believe our Li Family's decline is entirely self-inflicted?" Li Chengji asked solemnly.
"The Li Family has too many enemies. Behind the title of the number one immortal sect and noble family in the world lies a network of enemies planted everywhere."
That night, Li Chengji could not sleep no matter how hard he tried. The decline of the Li Family had begun to show signs fifty years ago, and he had exhausted his entire life without managing to bring about any new changes for the family. Now, he could only watch as the premier immortal sect of the world was met with disdain by the martial world. In his twilight years, he held no real hopes for the Li Family, but the thought of his grandson Li Gewen judging the family in such a manner—and the unyielding determination in that boy's eyes—stirred a new spark of hope within him.
The sword resting on the desk began to vibrate anew, startling Li Chengji awake from his dream. Too rushed to dress, he charged outside and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Someone has broken into the Sword Treasury!"
It was already midnight, and Li Gewen was still in his room pondering his Sword Technique when he heard Li Chengji's shout. He dashed toward the Sword Treasury.
Inside the treasury, a figure in black was trapped by a sword formation. Hundreds of swords struck at the intruder from every direction; no matter how much the figure in black tried to advance, the swords repelled them with even greater ferocity. A cry pierced the long night, and realizing he had been exposed, the intruder turned to flee. The moment he wheeled around, Li Gewen cut off his escape route with a single sword strike. As the man in black twisted and dodged, Li Gewen silently muttered "Sword Two," and his movement technique suddenly accelerated. He swept forward with his sword, but just as the assassin was twisting away, he hurled a crescent-shaped hidden weapon. Two projectiles closed in from the left and right flanks; Li Gewen dodged one, but the other struck his shoulder. Ignoring the pain, he drove his sword all the way through, grazing the assassin's arm. The figure in black dropped to the ground, studying the young man before him.
"They all say the Second Young Master of Li squeezed his way into the Peak of Yunxiao purely on the glory of his ancestors. It seems he actually has some real skill after all."
"Then stay, and I'll display all my skills for you to see." With those words, Li Gewen thrust forward with a focused blade, his entire body spinning along with the sword as the surrounding aura condensed onto the blade.
"Oh no, too fast—this is the ultimate technique of Sword Three!" Glancing left and right, the assassin spotted a plaque inscribed with the words "Sword Bones Endure Eternally" hanging on the upper left.
The tip of the sword was less than a handbreadth away from his flesh and about to pierce him when the plaque suddenly blocked the blade's tip, sending the assassin stumbling back three steps. Just as Li Gewen moved to press the attack, the figure in black spun around, leaped away, and left behind only a fleeting back.
Li Gewen hurriedly used his art to collect the blood from the sword into a small vial.
Taoran, Li Tianci, and the others rushed over one after another.
"Where is he?" Taoran demanded.
"He's already escaped."
"This thief is truly formidable—he actually managed to pick the Eight Trigrams lock outside," Taoran remarked, only then noticing the wound on Li Gewen's shoulder.
"This is already the ninth person," Li Tianci said.
"Brother, are you saying eight others broke into the Sword Treasury before this?"
"Yes. They were all stumped by that Eight Trigrams lock outside. Some were caught and poisoned themselves, while others were wounded by Grandfather's sword and managed to escape."
"No more talk. Quickly take your younger brother to get his wounds treated."
As Li Chengji walked over, Li Tianci finished bandaging Li Gewen.
"All right, it's nothing serious. It's already very late; whatever else there is, we'll talk about it tomorrow."
Taoran led the others away, and only then did Li Gewen speak: "He came to steal the Qunying Wan Jian Pu."
"At present, that is the only thing the Li Family has that is worth stealing."
"I've heard that the Yi Family has been secretly gathering various cultivation manuals to revitalize the Peak of Yunxiao. Now that a thief has come knocking, why don't we be generous and give it to the Yi Family?"
"We can."
"We can?" Li Gewen asked in disbelief. "Grandfather, you agree to give the Myriad Swords of Heroes to the Yi Family? How did you suddenly come around? Mother used to talk to you about this countless times."
"Because my little grandson has grown up. With the Yi Family boasting four outstanding talents and your mother being a mere woman, how could she ever be a match for that Sect Master? From now on, you will be in charge of this matter. Remember, we cannot just hand it over for nothing."
"I'll handle this flawlessly and make sure our Li Family doesn't suffer any losses."
Li Chengji nodded with satisfaction. "Focus on healing your wounds first."