"Junior Brother Ming, don't be impulsive!"
Tears welled in Ouna's eyes. She too could sense Ming Qi's rage, but she knew better than to lose control. Losing control at any moment was a terrible thing.
Ouna was deeply relieved that Ming Qi could truly vent his anger over the deaths of Lin Wan and Tie Mohan. She knew that Ming Qi had integrated into Tianqi Academy and truly understood Tianqi's will.
But the more this happened, the more she couldn't bear it.
"Senior Brother Tang Qi, tell me!"
Ming Qi's eyes were like knives. At this moment, his usual gentle demeanor was completely gone. Boundless murderous intent emanated from him, and a hint of madness crossed his handsome, yet slightly sinister face.
Seeing Ming Qi's emotions spiraling out of control, Tang Qi became deeply concerned.
"Junior Brother Ming, tell me first, which floor of the Tianguan Tower have you reached?"
"Only the eighteenth. But even so, I can definitely avenge Senior Sister Lin Wan and Senior Brother Tie Mohan." After saying this, Ming Qi's murderous intent subsided and he began to calm down.
Clearly, he hadn't truly lost control.
As a killer in his previous life, his hands were cold-blooded and ruthless, his heart was beyond imagination, and his condensed murderous intent was almost tangible. This time, his fluctuations were largely a display for those around him. He had already integrated into Tianqi Academy. Having achieved this step, he also had a crystal clear idea of what to do next.
Lin Wan was dead, and so was Tie Mohan. Tianqi Academy had suffered an unprecedented blow, and he feared that these people would truly be unable to hold on.
"Eighteenth floor!"
It wasn't Ouna and Tang Qi who exclaimed in surprise, but Meng Junyi, who had already stood up.
Meng Junyi was well aware of the difficulty of the Tianguan Tower. He was once a role model for outstanding disciples at Tianqi Academy, considered supreme in both strength and talent. Yet, even he only reached the sixth floor on his first foray into the Tianguan Tower. To this day, his highest record is a mere eleventh floor.
Among them, Meng Junyi has entered the Tianguan Tower more times than anyone else.
"Did you really make it to the eighteenth floor?"
Meng Junyi, still unconvinced, repeated his question.
"Yes, I was afraid of getting hurt, so I didn't go any further."
The rest of the group stared at Ming Qi in astonishment, as if he were a monster. Qiu Ling, Sang Yue'er, Ouna, Tang Qi. As for Yue Qinglong, he had never been to the Tianguan Tower and naturally didn't know its terrifying power. However, judging by his expression, he seemed unconcerned.
From Ming Qi's response, they had already deduced that the eighteenth floor wasn't his limit.
After a brief moment of calm, Ouna was the first to react. With a look of boundless surprise on her face, she exclaimed, "Junior Brother Ming is a genius! There's hope for our Tianqi Academy!"
As she spoke, her expression shone with excitement, her eyes flickering with hope.
At this point, Meng Junyi spoke up, "Since that's the case, we can't let Junior Brother Ming take any risks. We must endure and wait for him to grow up."
"Yes, Senior Brother Meng is right. A gentleman's revenge is never too late," Tang Qi remarked.
These few people who had persisted in staying at Tianqi Academy without giving up were all skilled in forbearance. Seeing hope now, they were naturally more able to endure.
But just because they could endure didn't mean Ming Qi could.
"A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years. A villain's revenge is imminent, so naturally, I cannot be a gentleman."
Ming Qi has now reached the seventh level of the Acquired Realm. Back when he was at the fifth level, he was able to hold his own against a ninth-level Acquired Realm expert like Lei Tong. Now, with his improved strength, he is 90% confident he can even take on a peak ninth-level Acquired Realm expert.
Furthermore, during his training in the Heavenly Official Tower, Ming Qi gained a deeper understanding of the Wolf Fist's essence, and the final two punches of the Wolf Fist have already taken shape.
There are no Xiantian disciples among the outer sect, and the number of Xiantian disciples within the inner sect has deepened. Elite disciples rarely interfere in outer sect conflicts. After all, the gap between the Acquired Realm and the Xiantian is vast: a beggar versus an emperor. Xiantian masters disdain to interfere in a conflict between the Acquired Realm and the Xiantian.
In both past and present lives, Ming Qi has never considered the word "gentleman" in his vocabulary.
"Alright, first, tell me about the people who killed Senior Sister Lin Wan and Senior Brother Tie Mohan. We'll visit them tomorrow morning!"
As expected, Meng Junyi and the others exchanged glances, remaining silent.
Gentlemen or villains, the Outer Sect is not short of geniuses. Especially within those highly regarded academies, there are often hidden geniuses of unparalleled talent. Even if Ming Qi were a genius, he was only at the seventh level of the Acquired Realm, and none of them were willing to take the risk.
For five years, Tianqi Academy had never proactively challenged any of the other academies.
Seeing the silence, Ming Qi remained calm and said quietly, "Since you won't tell me, starting tomorrow, I'll visit all the Outer Sect academies. I'll naturally be able to find out."
With that, he turned and left.
Left behind were a few people staring at each other in bewilderment.
Meng Junyi and Tang Qi's expressions shifted, seemingly unable to make up their minds. The three girls bit their lips, watching Ming Qi's departing back with complicated expressions.
It was then that they realized Ming Qi's stubbornness was unprecedented.
Back in his room, Ming Qi sat and began to reflect on his gains in the Tianguan Pagoda, constantly recalling and contemplating his thoughts.
Clang!
At that moment, a soft sound suddenly rang out from the window, and a beam of light pierced through the lattice and flew in.
"Who!"
Ming Qi leaped to his feet, quickly opened the window, and looked out.
The night was dark, and there was nothing.
When he turned around, he saw a three-foot-long sword, like a crescent of blue water, lying in the air before him.
"Sword?"
Ming Qi was stunned, somewhat bewildered.
Having just entered the Biyou Sect, he had no enemies, and the previous minor frictions probably weren't enough to warrant an assassination attempt. But what about this sword?
The blade floated quietly, devoid of a murderous aura. It was clearly not meant to kill.
If it wasn't meant to kill, was it a gift?
The longsword exuded a powerful aura and emanated a gentle glow, clearly no ordinary artifact.
The longsword felt incredibly heavy in his hand, but from the outside, the blade appeared as thin as a cicada's wing, crystal clear, and intricately carved with patterns.
The appearance and weight simply didn't match!
"Could this be a spiritual weapon?"
A sudden, overwhelming thought occurred to Ming Qi.
Magic artifacts and treasures were extremely important to cultivators, no less important than elixirs. With a powerful magical artifact in hand, combat effectiveness could be multiplied, reaching levels completely unimaginable.
Since post-natal cultivators lack innate Yuanli, the magical instruments they can wield are limited to top-grade Xuanqi. Spiritual instruments are one level higher than Xuanqi. Only those who have reached the Xiantian realm and possess their own innate Yuanqi can activate them.
Buzz!
As soon as he thought of this, Ming Qi felt the mysterious sword in his hand emit a humming sound, resembling the roar of a dragon or a tiger. At the same time, ripples rippled around the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map in his mind. The sword pattern that had originally condensed around the map began to rapidly flow, unexpectedly merging into a stream of air that flowed into the sword in his hand!
Snap!
Just as Ming Qi was completely bewildered, a crisp and melodious sound emanated from the sword's edge.
Snap! Snap!
The sound continued, one after another, each one incredibly crisp.
"Strange! Why does it sound like a firecracker?"
Ming Qi scratched his head with his free hand, gazing at the sword in confusion, baffled.
After a while, the snapping sound finally stopped. Ming Qi discovered that the longsword wasn't so heavy in his hand anymore; it seemed just the right weight. With a casual swing, it felt effortless.
"Strange, strange."
He shook his head and placed the longsword on the table. But just as he was putting it down, he glanced at the blade and was startled.
The original brilliant patterns on the blade were gone, replaced by a row of eighteen stars!
"Eighteen!"
"Eighteen!"
Ming Qi was suddenly awakened. Aren't the eighteen stars the corresponding eighteen star powers?
He quickly looked inward at the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map in his mind.
"No, why are those eighteen sword-shaped patterns still there?"
Logically, if the eighteen sword-shaped patterns had transformed into stars and imprinted on the sword's blade, they shouldn't still be on the map.
"Horn Star God!"
After pondering for a moment, Ming Qi suddenly had an idea and attempted to touch the sword-shaped symbol representing the Horn Star God.
Bang!
As soon as the thought struck him, a loud noise echoed nearby.
Ming Qi looked back in astonishment, his mouth nearly clenching. The bed not far away had been reduced to dust.
After observing for a moment, he finally understood.
The sword seemed to be a medium, finally triggering the unknown power within the Mountain and Sea Map.
Knock, knock, knock!
There was a knock at the door. Ming Qi quickly sheathed his sword and opened it to find the frail Ouna standing outside.
Seeing Ming Qi open the door, a trace of hesitation crossed Ouna's beautiful face, but finally, as if making up her mind, she entered the room and said, "Junior Brother Ming, let me tell you about the people who killed Lin Wan and Tie Mohan."
"Sit down, and let's talk."
Ming Qi pulled a chair over and placed it aside, and the two sat down opposite each other.
…
"How is that possible!"
Just as Ouna, after a long struggle, decided to find Ming Qi to explain the situation, deep within the Sword Pond of the Biyou Sect, Crown Prince Xu, known as the Sword God, stood atop a massive stone sword, gazing towards Tianqi Courtyard, his brow furrowed.
"Acquired Realm, Acquired Realm, how could someone at the Acquired Realm possibly erase the imprint of my divine consciousness on this sword!"
"This person possesses a unique talent for sword intent. I originally wanted to use the Nifeng Sword to observe him, but I didn't expect him to actually erase my divine consciousness. Could it be that a master is out there?"
Crown Prince Xu twirled his beard with one hand, perplexed.