Under the starlight, he stood quietly, exuding a sense of solemnity.
If before, the White Tiger Dharma Form was at the level of a real-life fierce beast,
now it had already attained a hint of the aura of a Divine Beast.
Previously, the White Tiger Dharma Form only underwent a transformation when Li Guanyi made a breakthrough, and the Red Dragon Dharma Form also evolved to the Entering Realm level, causing a conflict between the two.
But now, the aura and level of the White Tiger Dharma Form had reached even higher grounds.
Li Guanyi guessed that such a transformation, which normally required him to reach the second-story level, had arrived prematurely due to his standoff with Yuwen Lie, a Divine General of the world.
Indeed, such are the overwhelming currents of destiny.
Where there are opportunities, dangers coexist.
Li Guanyi extended his hand, lightly touching the massive White Tiger Dharma Form, sensing the power within.
Suddenly, he paused slightly, stepped back half a step, and gripped the handle of his blade.
As the blade left the sheath, the White Tiger Dharma Form transformed into a brilliant golden light that covered it.
He then spun around and slashed out.
A Qi Radiance appeared on the jet-black Refined Heavy Blade, and as Li Guanyi swung, this blade Qi Radiance actually detached from the blade, shooting forth more than a yard like a flying bird, skimming the top of the landscape rockery in the courtyard before gradually dissipating.
The youth sheathed his blade neatly, and as the blade returned to the sheath, it emitted a sonorous chime.
The summit of this artificial mountain slid sideways, and rocks tumbled down thunderously.
Sword Qi, capable of killing an enemy from over a yard away—which is about three to four meters—could be unleashed even from such a distance. Such capabilities had already surpassed ordinary humans.
This was a power only second-level Martial Artists possessed. However, Li Guanyi himself had not reached the Primordial state; he could only achieve this because his Golden Muscle and Jade Bone could bear a substantial amount of Dharma Form power, and because the White Tiger Dharma Form had stepped into a higher level.
He stretched out both hands, gently caressing the enormous White Tiger, and smiled.
"I didn’t expect that you would break through even before I did."
The White Tiger Dharma Form growled softly, gently bowing its head to nuzzle the youth.
Li Guanyi saw the Red Dragon appear, though much smaller compared to the White Tiger, while a Green Bird flapped its wings, moving serenely above the White Tiger under the starlight. Li Guanyi smiled faintly and lifted the sheathed sword with his right hand.
His palm lightly brushed over the heavy blade. As the White Tiger Guard, he could sense that when the blade made a slashing strike, filled with Inner Qi, it seemed unchanged externally but was actually internally damaged.
A few more strikes like that, and the heavy blade would structurally fail and break apart.
Only a weapon from the Martial World of weapon-grade quality could withstand the impact of Sword Qi.
However, Elder Xue had mentioned that he would provide him with a fine weapon, so the sword wasn’t important.
It would be best to have a Battle Halberd.
It didn’t need to be of a very high grade.
A weapon-grade halberd would suffice.
After getting used to long weapons, he had started to treat swords as secondary weapons. After all, be it in terms of power, speed, or range of damage, long weapons far exceeded swords. Even with Sword Qi, my halberd’s sweep has a farther reach than any sword.
However, most of the legendary weapons circulating in the Martial World were swords; long weapons were controlled by the court.
It might be somewhat difficult.
Li Guanyi properly secured his sword back, closed his eyes, and centered his breath, suppressing the joy in his heart. This was all due to the premature breakthrough of the White Tiger Dharma Form that allowed him such capabilities. Although it wasn’t a breakthrough of all Four Symbols skills, it was still a significant boon, especially for the Imperial Guard selection.
"The finest of the elites, Chen Country’s Night Rider Cavalry, Ying Country’s Tiger Barbarian Cavalry, Turkic Iron Futu, Western Region’s Golden Scimitar Light Cavalry, Yue’s Great Halberd Soldier, Longxi’s Mo Blade Army, all require the second-story level for entry; the Imperial Guard, compared to the Night Rider Cavalry, is just for show."
"The truly capable from the martial families of Chen Country all join the Night Rider Cavalry."
"Only those who can’t bear hardship and just want to gold-plate their resumes go to the Imperial Guard."
"Having the second-story level adds quite a bit of assurance..."
As Li Guanyi contemplated the recent transformation of the White Tiger Dharma Form, he suddenly wanted to see Mr. Siming. Among those he knew, only Mr. Siming could physically see Dharma Forms, and his understanding of them surpassed others.
His own physical changes and the issues with his Aunt’s Dharma Form needed Mr. Siming’s insight.
However, Jiangzhou City was too vast, and Mr. Siming was elusive in the mortal world. Li Guanyi did not know where to find him right away, so he just carried his sword, looking casually at his own corner, his mind drifting to various thoughts.
Wondering if placing a cup of wine in that corner might lure the old man out.
the wine would have to be watered down.
The youth chuckled, feeling the melancholy in his heart easing along with that sword strike.
He tossed the sword, sending it flying back to the indoor rack, and strolled leisurely forward.
The White Tiger prowled behind him,
That night promised to be a good sleep. Upon waking, he would practice martial arts and boxing to limber up his body, go to the Taoist temple to learn from Ancestor Zu Wenyuan. The "Imperial Pole Worldly Scripture" he studied was incredibly dull, and had it not been for the need to understand the Formation Map of the Qilin Palace, Li Guanyi might not have pursued it.
Yet now, he had to persevere and learn.
He memorized relentlessly by day and took his own notes at night to ponder in secret.