Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong arrived at the back mountain.
Chen Xin sensed the lingering energy in the air and frowned.
"This sword qi… it's definitely from Zhexian."
Ning Fengzhi could smell the faint scent of alcohol lingering in the wind.
He let out a sigh.
"Zhexian's room is already empty."
"He left behind all the money he saved over the past six years."
"This child may seem carefree on the surface, but he's proud deep down."
"Rongrong's words must've hit him hard—he turned to drinking to bury the pain."
Gu Rong shook his head.
"Pride without strength is just a joke."
Ning Fengzhi said nothing.
His silence meant agreement.
Chen Xin's frown only deepened.
He didn't want to see Li Zhexian fall into despair.
After all, he had once considered Zhexian as a potential successor.
In his view—
A proper swordsman shouldn't drink.
How could a drunk possibly wield a sword steadily?
Chen Xin turned away sharply, sleeves swishing as he snapped:
"Drowning sorrow in wine? He'll never amount to anything!"
At that moment, a figure came running toward them.
"Father—did Brother Zhexian really leave the clan?"
Ning Fengzhi nodded.
"Zhexian suffered a heavy blow."
"Rongrong, if you ever get the chance to meet him again in the future… make it up to him."
Ning Rongrong nodded with a complicated expression.
Though in her heart, she doubted they would ever meet again.
She was heading to Shrek Academy, the legendary school that only accepted monsters.
And Li Zhexian?
He seemed fated to remain mediocre.
"Let's go, Father."
Just as she turned to leave,
Ning Rongrong suddenly felt something underfoot.
She looked down and lifted her foot—
A broken clay sword lay silently in the dirt, snapped clean in two.
Along a winding path—
Li Zhexian rode atop a Cloudhoof Horse, a soul beast. From time to time, he raised his gourd and took a long swig.
Dust clung to his white robes, and the long hair draped beside his temples was matted from days without grooming.
He looked worn and disheveled.
But even so—
He had a certain air about him, like a wandering young swordsman of the jianghu.
Li Zhexian's current destination was the Star Dou Great Forest.
Now that his Spirit Power had reached Rank 20, he still had no Spirit Ring.
Several days later—
He finally arrived at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Crunch… crunch…
Leaves rustled beneath his horse's hooves.
Even on the outer edge, the forest was dense enough to blot out the sun.
Though it was daytime, the light was dim.
Everywhere he looked, wild undergrowth spread unchecked, and the air was thick with the smell of grass and decay.
Tall bushes—higher than a grown man—rustled occasionally.
"Good thing I spent the past six years learning about soul beasts," Li Zhexian muttered, eyes scanning the dense thickets around him.
"Greenblade Mantis—forelegs shaped like swords, terrifyingly fast."
"As they say: in all martial arts, speed is the key. My Qinglian Sword Martial Soul requires extreme speed and offensive power!"
After half a day of cautious exploration—
He dodged several ambushes from hostile soul beasts…
And finally found his target.
Deep in the lush jungle, perched on the trunk of a towering ancient tree—
A giant mantis lay in wait.
Its slender body was covered in a metallic, dark green carapace.
Triangular head.
Amber-like compound eyes.
Its forelimbs, shaped like two sharp blades, were folded menacingly in front of its chest.
Li Zhexian observed silently from the shadows.
"A Greenblade Mantis at the hundred-year level should still have a green shell."
"But this one's already turning black—it's probably just shy of reaching the thousand-year mark."
His eyes gleamed.
"Far beyond the safe absorption limit for a first Spirit Ring."
"And this thing's combat strength is off the charts. Even a Rank 30 battle-type Spirit Elder might not be able to take it down."
He prepared to leave and find another target.
After all, he still had no Spirit Abilities. Picking a fight now would be suicide.
Just as he was about to leave—
A strange buzzing sound broke the silence.
Another Greenblade Mantis descended onto the same tree.
Its dark green body was nearly twice the size of the first.
Li Zhexian's eyes widened in shock.
"That's… a female Greenblade Mantis?!"
Unlike animals, where males are typically larger,
Insects are often the opposite—females are bigger.
He watched with curiosity as the female approached.
And then—
The male mantis crawled atop the female.
Li Zhexian: "…"
He uncorked his celadon gourd and took a gulp of wine.
He wasn't some kind of pervert—
But he suddenly remembered a key trait of mantises.
Hidden among the dense brush,
Li Zhexian watched silently from a distance of about ten meters.
On the massive tree ahead, the two Greenblade Mantises had begun to mate.
Roughly half an hour passed.
Suddenly, the male pulled back, spread its wings, and shot toward the sky.
But the female had anticipated this.
She spun around violently, forelegs slashing out at impossible speed—so fast the air split with a screech—and hooked the male across the chest and abdomen.
A spray of green blood followed.
Li Zhexian's eyes lit up.
This was what he had been waiting for!
After mating, female mantises often devour the males!
But male mantises don't go down without a fight.
A battle was inevitable!
"This is the perfect chance."
"Even if this target surpasses the limit for a first Spirit Ring… I have to try!"
Six years of stagnation—
Had taught Li Zhexian just how precious strength was.
This was an opportunity he couldn't let go.
He refocused on the fierce duel between the mantises.
The male, driven by pain, went berserk.
It shrieked and spun around, its sword-like limbs flashing like lightning as it slashed toward the female's head.
The female crossed her forelegs in front of her to block.
CLANG!
Their blades collided with a metallic ring.
WHIRRRR—
WHIRRRR—
Both mantises took to the air—
Clashing midair in a savage dance.
To Li Zhexian's eyes, they were just two streaks of dark green lightning slamming into each other again and again.
"Thank the heavens I didn't attack rashly…"
"The Greenblade Mantis's combat power is monstrous!"
"Even a Spirit Elder at Rank 30 could get one-shot if they let their guard down!"
He took another long gulp of wine.
His Wine Martial Soul, like the Qinglian Sword, was a full-Spirit Power twin Martial Soul.
Though it didn't have any Spirit Rings yet—
It had incredible effects.
Not only could it enhance his Spirit Power and heal wounds—
The more he drank, the sharper his Qinglian Sword became.
Sword and Wine—two Martial Souls that enhanced each other.
As the liquor flowed down his throat,
The lotus patterns on the Qinglian Sword bloomed faintly.
A powerful aura of sharpness surged out from the blade.
The forest echoed with the ringing of clashing blades.
Fragments of limbs and shredded wings fell like rain.
Dozens of seconds later—
BOOM—
The male mantis crashed to the forest floor.
The female tumbled after it.
It had won—
But it was seriously wounded.
One of its compound eyes had been sliced off, one blade-arm broken, and a deep gash tore across its neck, oozing thick green ichor.
It crawled over to the male's corpse—
And began devouring it in chunks.
As the carcass disappeared down its throat, the female's green shell darkened, turning pitch-black.
The female Greenblade Mantis was evolving—approaching the threshold of a thousand-year soul beast!
Just as it gorged itself—
SHIIING—!
A blinding sword light suddenly flared.
In the dim forest, a flash of cold steel tore through the air.
The mantis froze mid-bite.
A heartbeat later—
Green blood sprayed.
Its head and torso were cleaved clean in two.
A faint purple Spirit Ring slowly rose from the body…