Blind Spot
Chapter 543 - 499 Touch One

Chapter 543: 499 Touch One

"Ah, little deer is awake," Kui Ling mentioned casually as she chatted with Yun Chen and felt a movement, looking down.

Li Chengyi was squeezed by her with vigor, immediately buried in her embrace and unable to move.

He didn’t dare to make any sudden movements and could only stay put honestly.

"This child is really shy," Kui Ling remarked with surprise. "He knows so much at such a young age?"

After a moment of thought, she still let go of Li Chengyi.

"What a pity... he was cuter when he was little; now that he’s grown up, his eyes aren’t so pure anymore. Sigh..."

"Teacher, we all know what’s on your mind," Yun Chen suddenly interjected on the side.

"Ah? What was I thinking? What do you think I was thinking about?" Kui Ling’s gaze fixed as she looked at her only female disciple.

"....." Yun Chen immediately fell silent.

Actually, everyone could see that Kui Ling was treating Bai Lu as a nurturable doll that she could freely arrange for training.

She was trying to mold Li Chengyi into a man with both the temperament and physique that perfectly matched her own ideal.

This was the joy of raising a child...

Li Chengyi broke free from the embrace, his face somewhat flushed. This was the first time he had been so close to someone of the opposite sex.

"Mom, you should stay away from me now that I’m grown up," he said quickly.

"Sigh..." Kui Ling, usually cool and distant in front of others, now showed a hint of clear disappointment on her lovely face.

"The child has grown up and doesn’t care about mom anymore... It’s so heartbreaking..."

"Teacher, aren’t you being a bit over the top?" Yun Chen couldn’t help but say from the side.

"Ah, am I?" Kui Ling widened her eyes and blinked, "But this is my genuine emotion..."

Li Chengyi was left speechless.

This surrogate mom usually presented herself as cold as frost to outsiders, but those who truly got close to her understood that her nature was actually an enhanced version of Da Xiong.

Da Xiong only liked to play pranks occasionally, but Kui Ling quite enjoyed toying with people.

Then Yun Chen, unable to restrain himself, sneakily jabbed their teacher a few more times, provoking a furiously embarrassed Kui Ling to grab hold of him and start spanking him in retaliation.

Li Chengyi decisively could not take it anymore and made his escape from the scene.

Continuing to watch would be immoral of him. If he really were a child, it would be fine, but he wasn’t. If Yun Chen and Kui Ling ever found out the truth...

Just the thought felt like a comet crashing into Earth.

Since he had already obtained the greatest benefit, it was wise to slip away.

*

*

*

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed since returning from the hot springs.

The Four Sect Grand Competition was about to officially begin. As the four major sects that often had friction with one another, they were also the true power holders behind Panguang.

To avoid weakening their own forces, demonstrate their power to deter foreign enemies and internal traitors, and indirectly compete for interests with the other three sects,

they agreed to hold a grand competition every three years. They chose this interval because it takes at least three years for new disciples to go from entry to truly standing out and unleashing their potential.

Just like the direct disciples of Li Chengyi’s generation, due to the specialty of direct transmission, even though most of them had a deep foundation in cultivation, it still took three years to truly align with the sect’s techniques and swordsmanship.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun.

Amongst the vast forests at the outskirts of the Faceless Sword Sect.

Huo Qingkong slowly strolled among the play of light and shadows, preferring to walk alone around the edge of his estate outside the sect during breaks from his cultivation.

Alone, peaceful, and tranquil.

Chirp chirp.

A plump little bird with yellow and green feathers flew over his head and landed on a branch, chirping away.

Huo Qingkong stopped in his tracks and reached out his hand, gently approaching the small bird.

Pfft!

As if encountering something terrifying, the bird quickly turned, stuck up its tail, and took flight.

A flicker of bewilderment passed through Huo Qingkong’s eyes.

He retracted his hand, noticing a fleeting trace of dark purple at his fingertips.

That was backlash...

The backlash was already affecting his cultivation. The faster he advanced, the stronger the backlash became...

Huo Qingkong’s thoughts moved, and in an instant, his Ming Guang fixed firmly, forcibly suppressing the malicious backlash.

Having reached his level, Ming Guang could reverse the draw of malice, removing it from the power of consciousness and restoring clarity to himself.

Numerous powers of consciousness cleared up, rapidly converging, consolidating, and coalescing.

The Primordial Spirit Sword once more burst forth with a new translucent glow—that was a sign that the power of consciousness was fully charged, reaching its limit, and beginning the process of refinement and sublimation.

Silently, a mysterious luminescence shone from within the robes over Huo Qingkong’s chest.

Moments later, a new Origin Seal emerged.

The sublimation of the Primordial Spirit Sword naturally continued to enhance the sword’s sharpness and destructive power.

From aspects such as speed, strength, and the reach of its power, it provided an overall and balanced improvement.

This was the second layer Origin Seal of the Thousand Face Sword Canon.

It was Huo Qingkong’s fifth Origin Seal. He had been born with a single Origin Seal, which through the cultivation of both the Faceless Sword Technique and the Holy Spirit Technique had formed additional Origin Seals. These were then fused with the innate Origin Seal to form one large Origin Seal.

Upon reaching the fourth level of both techniques, each level thereafter could condense an Origin Seal, causing a sublimation of his entire body.

With each subsequent level increase, he fused the Origin Seals from the Faceless Sword Technique and the Holy Spirit Technique into one. To this day, after continuous fusion, he had only condensed five Origin Seals, but these five Origin Seals... were actually far superior to those of his peers with Single Seals.

’What immense talent... Hahaha, with your abilities, if you can harness all Seven Sins for your own use, your strength and the speed of your advancement will become the fastest of all time!!’ The Demon Emperor’s voice resounded once more.

’But alas, the stronger you are, the stronger the Seven Sins become! This is the consequence of not dividing them.’ the Demon Emperor laughed.

’They are born with you and will perish with you.’

"Enough with the noise!" Huo Qingkong suddenly let out a cold snort, and with one slash of his Primordial Spirit Sword, he severed that wisp of the Demon Emperor’s divine consciousness.

Not dividing the Holy Infant naturally held greater hopes of reaching higher realms.

But it also faced the biggest problem—backlash.

After suppressing the Demon Emperor, Huo Qingkong turned around and gazed at the white manor from which he had come.

’I am the greatest talent the Faceless Sword Sect has seen in thousands of years! I am the only hope for saving the Sword Sect and destroying the great calamity!! Only I can save everything....So, no matter who it is! No one can stop me from becoming stronger!’

He shouldered the heavy responsibility of completely dissolving the calamity-laden energy. In this process, any obstruction was merely a trial on his path, with annihilation as its only fate.

Eventually, he was determined to stand at that ultimate apex, achieving a feat beyond anyone’s imagination.

This was what Huo Qingkong believed and was actually doing.

Be it backlash, side effects, or even the Demon Emperor, nothing could stop him.

Suppressing the violence in his eyes, he turned and began to walk back leisurely.

*

*

*

The Sect Competition involved participation from four sects.

The venues were generally selected by drawing lots to go to different areas. Either the internal sites of the four sects were designated, or a mutually agreed upon border area was chosen.

Most of these venues require strong protection and concealment, due to the fact that the border areas allow for unrestrained use of power without the worry of involving the innocent.

The Faceless Sword Sect, Qingmu Sword Sect, Suyue Sect, and Yuheng Sect, after communicating, decided to hold this competition at the Yuheng Sect.

The disciples participating in the competition are mainly divided into two groups: the elite group and the larger group.

The two groups were divided by age, essentially competing in older and younger age categories.

The Faceless Sword Sect sent out eight people—including both the Four Senior Swords and the Four Junior Swords—to participate in the competition.

The team was led by Elder Yun Ling, with several stewards assisting. Along with external support disciples, the group totaled over twenty people, showing the Sword Sect’s grave importance to the event, as it sent nearly a tenth of its numbers.

"I heard that this year’s competition rewards are the Heavenly Silk Cocoon and a day of enlightenment with the Heavenly Jie Monument," someone said.

Just outside the departing Sword Sect’s gates, several large white cranes were spreading their wings and crying loudly.

But the main attraction for this journey wasn’t them, but a colossal white crane whose wingspan spanned dozens of meters, almost able to envelop everyone within its reach.

This white crane seemed ethereal, its body semi-transparent, with its red crest and white neck. Beneath its belly, one could faintly discern a snow-white longsword radiating white light, freely tumbling in mid-air.

Clearly, that was the true core of the giant white crane.

Leading the team, Elder Yun Ling appeared as an elder with desiccated features who did not bother with maintaining his youthful looks.

Dressed in a white robe with flowing large sleeves, neatly combed white hair, and a peach-branch-shaped purple jade hairpin on his head, he presented the aura of an otherworldly sage.

The stewards were currently organizing for disciples to mount the huge white crane’s back.

"Say what you will, with Elder Yun Ling’s appearance, he would make anyone believe he’s an immortal at first glance," Bai Lu whispered to Li Chengyi beside him.

"Looks are indeed important," Li Chengyi nodded.

His gaze unconsciously drifted towards the distance, where Kui Ling and a group of high-ranking officials seeing them off stood together, nodding towards him.

"Do not overexert yourself; safety is paramount," her voice transmission floated over quietly.

Li Chengyi nodded, indicating he understood.

Looking around at his peers who hadn’t even condensed a Single Seal, he felt as if attending the competition was just bullying, but he couldn’t help it—the rewards of the competition were too tempting.

The Heavenly Jie Monument was a divine tablet discovered by the Four Sects during an expedition in the Outer Domain, containing numerous profound mysteries of the Dao. Almost all disciples who obtained the privilege of enlightenment received massive benefits from it.

This wasn’t because of the vast and profound mysteries contained on the Heavenly Jie Monument, but rather because the tablet itself was alive.

It possessed self-awareness, and could provide targeted answers to all your questions, especially concerning cultivation.

Even Huo Qingkong had once received the privilege to gain insight from it, entering with the Third Seal and emerging with the Fourth Seal. The substantial improvement left people dumbstruck.

"With Big Brother participating again in the competition, there probably isn’t much suspense. He’ll be number one by a large margin," Bai Lu sighed.

"Big Brother is too strong... Being a peer in the same era as him is practically a disaster. At any moment, you’re at risk of being completely outclassed," Qiu Chen added, nodding in agreement.

The wide-eyed charming girl, now dressed in casual clothing with her hair tied into a single ponytail, looked somewhat silly. However, as one of the Four Junior Swords, if anyone truly took her for a fool, that would be the real folly.

Li Chengyi’s gaze lingered on Huo Qingkong, who was talking with others ahead.

Not just him—in fact, at that moment, everyone’s gaze would unconsciously fall on that man.

As long as Huo Qingkong was present, he was the center of attention.

’This guy... why does it feel like... he’s somewhat different...’ Li Chengyi mused, his brow slightly furrowing.

Because his cultivation of the Seven Spirit Holy Technique was a self-improved version in which parts of the Seven Sins were transformed into the Three Righteous Thoughts, merging into the Primordial Spirit.

Of course, his cultivation level was not there yet; he had just begun the transformation of the Three Sins into the Three Righteous Thoughts.

But with the right direction, it would become more and more refined as time went on.