After leaving the Tranquil Heart Hall, Gu Qingfeng did not return to his cave dwelling to rest as Dugu Wei had suggested.
His Indestructible Sword Body was stuck at a critical point, on the verge of reaching perfection. This left Gu Qingfeng, who had a slight obsessive-compulsive streak, deeply unsettled. He needed to break through immediately.
As for how to achieve this, he already had a plan—relying on the Sword Pagoda.
After all, the hidden easter egg of the Sword Pagoda was that defeating the Sword Heavenly Emperor would grant him the essence of the Indestructible Sword Body.
So far, he had only defeated the Sword Heavenly Emperor’s projection at the Human Yuan Realm. There were still the Earth Yuan and Heaven Yuan Realms left to conquer.
Now that he had advanced to the Earth Yuan Realm, it was time to challenge the Earth Yuan Realm’s Sword Heavenly Emperor.
If not for the Sword Pagoda’s realm restrictions, Gu Qingfeng would have long since cleared the Heaven Yuan Realm as well.
Then he wouldn’t have had to lose over a thousand divine swords.
Thus, Gu Qingfeng returned to the Sword Pagoda.
His appearance immediately caused a stir among the disciples gathered around the pagoda. Countless disciples rushed forward to pay their respects.
"Greetings, Imperial Son!"
"Imperial Son!"
"Imperial Son, do you still need followers? This disciple possesses an Earth Soul Physique and has long admired you..."
Gu Qingfeng was already accustomed to such scenes.
This had happened many times before—female disciples usually asked if he needed a dao companion, while male disciples sought to become his followers.
After all, who wouldn’t want to latch onto the future Heavenly Emperor’s coattails?
It was like stumbling upon Ma Yun or Ma Huateng twenty years ago. Knowing they would one day become billionaires, wouldn’t you rush to befriend them?
Gu Qingfeng remained indifferent to the enthusiasm and strode straight into the Sword Pagoda.
"Why is the Imperial Son entering the Sword Pagoda again? He’s already ranked first—what’s left to challenge?"
"Maybe he enjoys the thrill of bullying the Sword Heavenly Emperor?"
"Shh! Don’t spout nonsense. Have you forgotten the earthquake a few days ago? I overheard the elders whispering that it was caused by the Imperial Son breaking through to the Earth Yuan Realm and condensing terrestrial energy. My guess is he’s here to challenge the Earth Yuan rankings."
"What?! That earthquake was from the Imperial Son advancing to the Earth Yuan Realm? And it shook the entire Sword Sect? That’s just..."
"As expected of the Imperial Son. His cultivation speed is terrifying. It’s only been a month, and he’s already at the Earth Yuan Realm. At this rate, he’ll reach the Heavenly Human Realm in a few years."
"Hey, do you think the Imperial Son will challenge the Heavenly Emperor again in the Earth Yuan Realm?"
"Impossible! Even with his Four Saint Physiques, the Imperial Son has just entered the Earth Yuan Realm. Making it into the top ten would already be impressive. How could he challenge the Heavenly Emperor?"
...
"Spirit of the Pagoda, I challenge the Sword Heavenly Emperor," Gu Qingfeng declared.
"To challenge the Sword Heavenly Emperor, you must first rank in the top ten of the Earth Yuan Realm."
"We’re old acquaintances. Must we go through the formalities? Fine, let’s start with second place for a warm-up."
Soon, a beam of light descended from above. When it dissipated, a figure appeared—a man in a long robe, wielding a silver sword, with sharp brows and bright eyes.
"The third generation of the Sword Sect—"
Boom!
Before the silver-sworded man could finish, an overwhelmingly fierce fist force erupted.
The spot where he had stood was obliterated, as if struck by a nuclear blast, leaving a bottomless crater.
"Spirit of the Pagoda, I challenge the Sword Heavenly Emperor."
The Spirit of the Pagoda: "..."
Moments later, the familiar Sword Heavenly Emperor appeared—still ordinary in appearance, but his aura was even more imposing, as if he commanded the very earth beneath his feet.
"The Sword Sect—"
Boom!
Another deep crater appeared.
"What kind of monster are you?" The usually cryptic Spirit of the Pagoda couldn’t help but ask.
"Stop wasting time. Announce the victory to the entire sect, hand over the rewards, and stick to your NPC role. Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t," Gu Qingfeng snapped impatiently.
The Spirit of the Pagoda: "..."
Outside, the Sword Pagoda erupted in a blinding golden radiance, just like before. A brilliant light shot into the heavens, illuminating the entire Sword Sect as if the sun had fallen to the mortal realm.
"Ah! My eyes!"
"Quick, shield them with divine energy!"
"Not again! Last time the Imperial Son topped the Human Yuan rankings, several people were blinded. Who knows how many will suffer this time? At least we’re cultivators—our eyes can heal. Otherwise, no one would dare come near the Sword Pagoda."
"Could it be the Imperial Son again? This looks exactly like last time!"
At that moment, several overwhelming auras erupted from the depths of the Sword Sect, soaring into the sky before streaking toward the Sword Pagoda like meteors.
It was Dugu Wei and the seven Peak Masters.
Their faces were filled with shock. "Why is the Sword Pagoda glowing again? Did someone else claim first place?"
"Could it be Junior Brother Gu again? But he just entered the Earth Yuan Realm!"
As they puzzled over it, a grand and majestic voice boomed from the Sword Pagoda.
"The Sword Heavenly Emperor’s legacy has been unlocked!"
"Gu Qingfeng, 14th-generation disciple of the Sword Sect, inheritor of the Sword Formation Dao from the Reverse Scale Peak, has defeated the Sword Heavenly Emperor, the top-ranked cultivator of the Earth Yuan Realm, within the Sword Pagoda. He meets the criteria to inherit the Heavenly Emperor’s legacy and is hereby designated as the successor."
The crowd was stunned upon hearing the familiar proclamation.
"It really is Junior Brother Gu!"
"What kind of freak is this? He’s done it again!"
Meanwhile, the stone stele recording the Earth Yuan rankings blazed with golden light. The name in first place had changed to Gu Qingfeng, while the Sword Heavenly Emperor was demoted to second.
...
Inside the Sword Pagoda.
As before, an enormous divine sword appeared in the sky, its sheer size blotting out the heavens. Boundless gray-white energy coiled around its blade, its sword light condensed yet undiminished, radiating a terrifying killing intent.
Gu Qingfeng eyed the colossal sword with resignation. "I hope it doesn’t hurt as much as last time."
Hum!
The sword emitted a soft hum before descending like a streak of dazzling light, piercing straight into Gu Qingfeng’s body.
"Eh? It doesn’t hurt!" Gu Qingfeng exclaimed in delight.
"Must be because I already have the Indestructible Sword Body. Last time was transformation—this time is enhancement."
After an incense stick’s worth of time, Gu Qingfeng’s Indestructible Sword Body reached perfection!
His aura erupted violently. Endless gray-white sword qi, brimming with destructive energy, coiled around him like massive serpents. The ground beneath him collapsed instantly, spiderweb-like cracks spreading across the entire Sword Pagoda’s space.
"Keh keh keh..." Gu Qingfeng couldn’t contain his ecstasy. "Truly, the most satisfying upgrades are the free ones!"
Swish!
He raised his right hand and slashed downward, unleashing a monstrous gray-white sword beam that seemed capable of severing heaven and earth.
The sky was split asunder, the clouds parted, while the earth was carved into a fathomless chasm.
Observing the devastation from a casual strike, Gu Qingfeng’s joy only grew. "Keh keh keh... With this power, who in the Heavenly Human Realm can stand against me?"
At this point, calling himself invincible within the Heavenly Human Realm was no exaggeration.
No matter how many Heavenly Tribulations one had weathered—any who dared challenge him would meet their end!
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
Heart] Chen Yi traversed the cultivation world for eight hundred years, charging his way to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Just as he was outwitting his 81st Heavenly Tribulation to ascend to immortality, he was suddenly pulled into a chat group called the "Multiverse Transmigrators Support Group." To his surprise, the group was filled with nothing but fresh-faced newbies who had just transmigrated. [Help! I transmigrated into a disgraced concubine in the cold palace, and the tyrant emperor is about to execute me!] [I ended up as a cannon-fodder villain, and the protagonist is still chasing me—WTF!] [I woke up as the protagonist’s father, but I’m about to be sacrificed in a ritual! What do I do? Urgent!!!] Chen Yi stared at the chaotic flood of desperate pleas in the group and fell into deep thought. "Seriously? You drag me into a newbie transmigrator chat group… only after I’m one step away from becoming an immortal?"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
