A night breeze rustled.

This was the living area for the ordinary disciples at the very bottom of the Faceless Sword Sect.

Groups of sword sect disciples gathered together, chatting and laughing as they exchanged sword techniques.

Most of them were older because the ten-year trial period had forcibly widened the gap between them and the personal disciples.

Therefore, to balance the upper and lower levels and foster camaraderie, the sect stipulated that personal disciples had to visit the outer areas and interact with the ordinary disciples every year, offering guidance.

Of course, this so-called guidance was actually an opportunity for the ordinary disciples—a chance to challenge the personal disciples.

If the challenge was successful, they would immediately gain the qualifications to be promoted to personal disciples.

After all, talent could only be seen on the surface; deeper potential required time to slowly reveal itself. Some long-term special aptitudes might not be immediately apparent.

This kind of opportunity was a remedy.

At this time, in the vast outer dojo, a group of personal disciples sat together, their positions arranged with many somewhat old wooden chairs and tables. They sat on the chairs, listlessly waiting for people to seek guidance and issue challenges.

"As long as we sit here for a full day, we can go back. Let's pray no one challenges us."

A young disciple with deep blue eyes propped his chin up with his hand, speaking lazily.

"What's there to be afraid of? The Four Little Swords haven't even spoken. With them sitting here, it definitely won't be our turn," a female personal disciple next to him said indifferently.

"How do you figure?" the blue-eyed male disciple asked, somewhat surprised.

"Generally, there will be a few challenges at the beginning, but most of them target the weakest ranks. The rest of the time, it's all about seeking guidance, and naturally, they'll aim for the strongest. The Four Little Swords are the most powerful of our generation. Coming here is just for show for those of us in the middle," the female personal disciple was only fourteen or fifteen years old, but she seemed quite experienced, obviously having participated in this kind of event more than once.

"That makes sense." The blue-eyed man immediately nodded.

"Actually, among the white-robed disciples, there's a detailed ranking of us, usually based on the sword sect's grand competition. So, there's nothing to worry about. Just wait and watch the show," the female personal disciple said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, have they found those people who went missing during the training?" Another head poked over from the side, a plain-looking girl with bright eyes.

The two of them fell silent and shook their heads.

Training was dangerous, not just because of the demonic beasts but also because of the hidden dangers and claws lurking in the shadows, threatening the lives of these newcomers at any time.

The Four Sects were not absolutely invincible; there were many opposition forces in the dark that needed to be suppressed at all times.

Among them, the biggest opposition force was a mysterious organization called Dark Fragrance. Rumor had it that this organization was composed entirely of rebels and traitors from various sects, its composition extremely secretive, and vaguely connected to demonic beasts.

"Even two of the Four Little Swords suffered considerable injuries during this training. Those two missing junior brothers are probably..."

Everyone felt heavy in their hearts. They couldn't help but look at the four people sitting in the very center.

Bai Lu, Bai He, Zhao Yuan, Qiu Chen.

The current rankings had been adjusted according to the training results.

The strongest was Bai Lu, followed by Bai He, and then Zhao Yuan and Qiu Chen, tied for third.

Bai Lu was Li Cheng Yi. He sat cross-legged on a futon, his mind tranquil, constantly comprehending the third level of the Holy Spirit Art.

He needed to combine the Evil Flower version with the original version, which naturally required a lot of time and energy.

A strong, fierce-looking squirrel was standing quietly behind him, arms crossed, eyes closed in meditation.

"What time is it now?"

Li Cheng Yi opened his eyes and asked softly.

The squirrel, Huoshan, looked up at the sky and said in a muffled voice.

"Four o'clock in the afternoon."

"That means it's almost over. We can go back at six o'clock," Li Cheng Yi said with a smile.

"Hello... Senior Brother Bai Lu, this junior is Ding Yuan. I would like to ask about the opening stance of Purgatory in the Faceless Sword Art..."

At this moment, a shy girl with a ponytail walked up with her sword to ask for guidance.

"How to speed up the opening stance and coordinate the gap between locking onto the enemy and attacking? It's actually very simple..."

Li Cheng Yi used his own language, simple and easy to understand, to explain it to her.

The girl looked enlightened, a look of sudden understanding on her face.

Then, after asking two more questions about the Water Smoke Sword Technique, she reluctantly turned and left. The time limit stipulated that each person could only ask for guidance for ten minutes at a time.

Immediately after, as if a valve had been opened, one ordinary disciple after another began to come forward to ask the Four Little Swords questions.

Occasionally, someone would come up to challenge, but they didn't challenge them but rather the last few personal disciples.

Li Cheng Yi smiled, and anyone who came forward to ask for guidance was easily understood by him. His in-depth and simple approach and his kind and gentle attitude were very popular among the ordinary disciples.

The other Four Little Swords sitting next to him listened to the occasional questions and sometimes even benefited from them.

"So powerful," Bai He praised in a low voice. "As expected of Bai Lu, who won all the battles during the training. His talent and comprehension should only be weaker than Senior Brother Qing Kong back then, right?"

"Speaking of which, have you guys noticed that Bai Lu is actually a bit like Senior Brother Qing Kong?" Qiu Chen muttered softly.

"How is he like him? How could he compare to Senior Brother!" Zhao Yuan's beautiful eyes were full of displeasure.

"They're both very approachable and well-liked," Qiu Chen said in a low voice.

"And they're both handsome!" She was this kind of silly, cute girl, her fair face peeking at Li Cheng Yi from a slightly backward angle, already showing signs of infatuation.

It had to be said that after purifying his bloodline, Li Cheng Yi's current appearance was quite good. Compared to his previous simple, strong, and heroic temperament, he now had more of the selling points of a perfect beautiful youth.

Pure and fair skin, increasingly proportionate and perfect features, a handsome face with a special temperament that carried a hint of coldness—that was the special change after the fusion of the Shadow Dragon King's aura and his original body.

In fact, at this time, his body was no longer an ordinary person but his original Bai Lu body, which had been completely changed in order to fuse with the first martial arts imprint.

It wasn't accurate to say that he was a giant white deer. To be precise, he should be a mixed-blood human with the appearance of a giant white deer.

Because the white deer characteristics on his body were all growths that he had self-controlled in order to deceive the spirit of the true imprint back then.

"You know nothing!" Zhao Yuan immediately retorted angrily. What she couldn't stand the most was Qiu Chen's increasingly infatuated and stupid appearance. It was a disgrace to her that she was still worthy of being ranked among the Four Little Swords!

"What? You want to fight?" Qiu Chen was immediately displeased.

"Come on! Draw your sword!" Zhao Yuan was also a hot-tempered person.

The two girls immediately stood up, their figures flashed, and they found an open space and started fighting directly.

Soon, the clanging sounds of various blades colliding exploded. Obviously, this wasn't their first fight. Looking at their proficiency and the strength they used to control the scope of the destruction, they were extremely familiar with each other's moves and habits.

Seeing this, Bai He gently nudged Li Cheng Yi.

"They're fighting again."

"..." Li Cheng Yi was speechless. His hearing was strong, so he naturally knew that Qiu Chen admired him somewhat. And Zhao Yuan, for some reason, was still dissatisfied with him.

He had originally planned to pretend not to see it, but after being pointed out by Bai He, he could only turn his head and look over.

"They have their own limits. Don't worry."

"But they're fighting because of you," Bai He added.

"Actually, more sparring can also improve combat experience." Li Cheng Yi remained unmoved.

"..." Bai He was helpless. He looked at the two over there and found that they did have their limits, so he shook his head and ignored them.

"Okay." Taking advantage of the gap when a guidance session had just ended, he thought for a moment and asked curiously.

"Bai Lu, have you passed the third level of the Faceless Sword Art? Did you get the Holy Spirit Art? How is it now?"

"Classified. You'll know during the Grand Competition," Li Cheng Yi said with a smile.

He already had some clues about the fusion of the third level of the Holy Spirit Art. Originally, it would have been impossible for him to have ideas so quickly, but... who told him to specifically seek out a special boost that greatly improved his fusion process?

Originally, he had obtained a large amount of incidental imprint knowledge because of his talented Flower Language ability.

Now, with the help of a new Flower Language, he had greatly enhanced his understanding and improvement of the Cultivation Method.

At this time, after dismissing a new seeker of guidance, Li Cheng Yi picked up his bamboo-cylinder thermos cup and gently sipped the hot tea inside.

Then, his attention focused on the Evil Flower mark on the back of his hand.

There, a new flower god position was shining with a soft, goose-yellow fluorescence.

In that faint yellow light, there were occasional fine, dark brown threads.

Strangely, this gentle yellow light was completely different from the previous sunflower. It faintly revealed a special purity.

'Unfortunately... it would be great if the mutated versions were easier to find. This Flower Language is simply the perfect Flower Language to assist in the Faceless Sword Sect's cultivation.'

Li Cheng Yi sighed in his heart, his mind falling on that new mark.

Eleventh Main Flower—Snow Lotus.

'Snow Lotus: A perennial herb that often grows on mountain slopes, valleys, rock crevices, and along water edges in high-altitude areas. It is regarded as the embodiment of holiness, resilience, and purity by many groups. Its properties are bitter and warm, and it has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and has certain anti-cancer effects.'

'Flower Language: Holiness (passive ability, no need to use, can greatly purify the mind, increase focus, increase comprehension by 100%, and purify all spiritual side effects)'

Snow Mountain Holy Flower—this was the exotic flower that Li Cheng Yi had obtained from the Years Gate, and it was a thousand-year-old version.

He had thought about it for a long time. Although there were other exotic flowers and herbs there, and the Flower Languages were not weak, none were more suitable than the snow lotus.

The biggest problem with the Faceless Sword Sect was the potential for mental abnormalities caused by the Cultivation Method. In addition, he now needed to fuse and create a brand-new Holy Spirit Art that was suitable for him.

Therefore, the increase in comprehension and the increase in focus were simply a timely rain.

This was also the reason why he was able to quickly make breakthroughs in the Cultivation Method after returning to the sect.

The effect of doubling his comprehension not only helped him make progress in the Holy Spirit Art but also greatly assisted him in cultivating any other Cultivation Methods.

'Soon, soon... The side effects of the Holy Spirit Art have been determined. They should be naturally produced during the cultivation process, which is why the Evil Flower version needs a holy infant to cultivate, and then the main body directly absorbs half of the cultivation power. In this way, all the side effects are borne by the holy infant.'

'The main reason why holy infants can cultivate so quickly is that the Holy Spirit Art they cultivate is actually a simplified version, retaining only two parts: the trunk that produces side effects and the branches that produce power enhancement.'

(End of this chapter)