Chapter 1: Breaking Up with Ning Rongrong—My Celestial Brother, You Can No Longer Keep Pace with Me

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The back mountain. An autumn wind blew bleakly. Maple leaves drifted through the sky, falling upon the hair of the young man and the young woman. "Brother Zhexian..." Ning Rongrong bit her red lip with her pearly teeth and said softly, "Let us just leave it at this." Li Zhexian looked at the beautiful girl before him. Though they were but a step apart, an insurmountable chasm seemed to lie between them. "Very well." Ning Rongrong raised her eyes to look at Li Zhexian. The once carefree and unrestrained youth now seemed somewhat silent. She turned around, her back to him. "Brother Zhexian, you have been at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for six years now." "I remember when your martial soul awakened, you possessed Innate Full Soul Power, and your sword qi surged into the heavens." "Father and the others all said you were a genius seen once in a millennium, yet six years have passed, and your soul power remains at level ten." "And I..." Ning Rongrong extended her slender hand. A translucent, seven-story glazed pagoda spun in her palm. The two yellow soul rings upon it were exceptionally striking. "I am already at level twenty-six." "Brother Zhexian, the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda is the premier support martial soul on the continent. It can only unleash its greatest power when paired with a formidable battle soul master." "Although..." "Although I truly do not wish to say this," "you can no longer keep up with my pace." Ning Rongrong tilted her pretty face upward, like a proud swan. "I am the only daughter of the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. My future partner must be an absolute powerhouse!" Li Zhexian was silent for a long moment before suddenly breaking into a carefree smile. The youth's clear voice carried far into the distance. "Then let us each find our own peace." "I am returning this to you." He pulled an object from his white shirt. Ning Rongrong turned to see a small clay pagoda resting quietly in his outstretched palm. Her delicate frame trembled slightly. She could not help but recall the many moments of their past. "Brother Zhexian, I am molding a glazed pagoda for you. You must protect it well!" "Alright, Rongrong. I will mold a sword for you!" The mud had been dirty. The little sword and the glazed pagoda were crudely made. Yet they held the sincere hearts of the young boy and girl back then. Ning Rongrong stared at the clay pagoda for a long while before nodding gently. "Alright." "Brother Zhexian, I am returning this to you as well." Ning Rongrong reached behind her neck and unclasped the clay sword pendant. Li Zhexian took the little sword, turned, and walked away. Watching the youth's stubborn retreating figure, Ning Rongrong parted her red lips, but ultimately pressed them together. She walked away in the opposite direction. On a picturesque hilltop, watching the young man and woman walk away from each other, Ning Fengzhi sighed with regret. "What a pity." Though he said this, deep in his eyes, a trace of relief clearly flashed. Ning Rongrong was his daughter, the heaven's proud daughter who inherited the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda martial soul. How could a mediocre talent who had not advanced a single level of soul power in six years be worthy of her? Even though, when her martial soul had awakened, seeing Li Zhexian's soaring sword qi and Innate Full Soul Power, he had waved his hand and finalized the betrothal between Li Zhexian and Ning Rongrong. Now, going back on his word was somewhat unfair to Li Zhexian. But for his daughter's future, this was the only way. Ning Fengzhi looked at Sword Douluo Chen Xin and said, "Uncle Jian, I have wronged Zhexian. I will give him some compensation." It was Chen Xin who had brought Li Zhexian back from the outside world. Now that Li Zhexian was being wronged, he still had to mind Chen Xin's feelings. "There is no need," Chen Xin said indifferently. "It is Li Zhexian's own fault for not living up to his potential." "Standing still for six years, unable to even absorb a ten-year soul ring." "He is unworthy of Rongrong." Bone Douluo Gu Rong shook his head and sighed. When Li Zhexian awakened the Azure Lotus Sword martial soul, Chen Xin had intended to groom him as his heir. It was just a pity. Gu Rong gazed at the youth's gradually disappearing figure. "It truly is your own fault for not striving." At the back mountain, on a crooked tree, Li Zhexian rested his left hand behind his head, holding a wine pot in his right. Through the sparse leaves, he gazed up at the bright moon in the sky. "Six years..." "I have been on the Douluo Continent for six years now." Li Zhexian took a fierce swig of wine, letting the crisp liquid spill down the corners of his mouth. "The wine in this fantasy world really packs more of a punch than beer!" He drank mouthful after mouthful. In his mind, Ning Rongrong's words kept echoing. "Father and the others all said you were a genius seen once in a millennium, yet six years have passed, and your soul power remains at level ten." "Although I truly do not wish to say this, you can no longer keep up with my pace." He was not clinging to Ning Rongrong! He just did not understand what was wrong with him! He clearly had Innate Full Soul Power, and his efficiency in absorbing the energy of heaven and earth was not poor! Why could his soul power not increase? Li Zhexian drank mouthful after mouthful. Not only did he not get drunk, but his eyes grew brighter with every sip. Li Zhexian simply leaped down from the tree. "Laughing aloud to the sky, I stride out the door; how could one of my kind be a mere commoner!" "I, Li Zhexian, am no mediocre talent!" "With the bright moon as my companion!" "And fine wine in my hand!" "I shall dance with my sword!" Beneath the moonlight that flowed like water, the youth's figure moved with the grace of a startled swan. A three-foot, six-inch azure blade, its body as clear and bright as autumn waters. The lotus patterns on the sword's spine flowed with the moonlight, sometimes blooming like an open azure lotus, sometimes closing into a budding state. This was Li Zhexian's martial soul, the Azure Lotus Sword! Li Zhexian drank with abandon and danced in a state of self-forgetfulness, gradually entering a special state of mind. A swig of wine. A sweep of the sword. The blade carved out streaks of afterimages, resembling a swaying stem of azure lotus. The frost-like sword light blanketed a hundred meters around, outshining the bright moon in the sky. Strangely enough, the wine pot was only the size of a palm, yet the wine inside never seemed to run out no matter how much he drank. Tilting his head back for another gulp, Li Zhexian's soul power suddenly flared around him! Another gulp. His soul power boiled! Yet another. His soul power surged! And so, Li Zhexian's soul power, which had not advanced an inch in six years, continuously climbed with every mouthful of wine he took. Level eleven, twelve, thirteen... level twenty. He emerged from that special state of mind. Feeling the surging power within his body, he was greatly astonished. "My soul power skyrocketed by ten levels?!" "Why is this happening?!" As a wine fanatic in two lifetimes, it was impossible for him to get drunk. Only then did he notice that the wine pot in his left hand had changed its appearance. From the original crude porcelain pot, it had transformed into a warm, jade-like celadon gourd. "This..." Li Zhexian shook the celadon gourd. Inside, the sloshing sound of liquid could still be heard. He pulled the stopper and tried taking a sip. Instantly, the mellow wine flowed down his throat, transforming into pure energy that spread throughout his body. His level twenty soul power saw a slight increase once more. It seemed the Azure Lotus Sword had also grown sharper. "Hahahahaha!" Holding his sword in his right hand and the wine in his left, Li Zhexian laughed aloud. He understood now! His martial soul was not just the Azure Lotus Sword! There was also the Clear Spring Wine Gourd! He possessed twin martial souls, Sword and Wine! With his martial souls not fully awakened, of course he could not advance or absorb soul rings! Having figured out the reason for his six years of stagnation, the corners of Li Zhexian's lips curled up, his handsome face radiant with spirit. He looked down at the ornate cluster of buildings at the foot of the mountain, his smile fading slightly. That was the direction of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. "Those who forsake me and depart, the days of yesterday are gone and cannot be held!" Li Zhexian's smile returned, carefree and unrestrained once more. "Even if I had not awakened the wine martial soul, I had already made up my mind to leave the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect." "These past six years were not spent in vain. I worked within the sect and took on missions to save up some wealth." "I have left the wealth in my room as repayment for the grace shown to me over these six years. From now on, we have no more ties." "May we each find our own peace from here on." He knew that Ning Rongrong would not have said those things to him today without Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong knowing about it. They had tacitly approved. Li Zhexian flicked his sleeve. A clay sword flew out. Before it could hit the ground, a streak of crisp sword light flashed past. The clay sword was cleanly severed in two. Without hesitation, he did not even glance at it. Li Zhexian tilted his head back for a sip of wine, tucked the celadon gourd at his waist, and with a few leaps, vanished into the back mountain. About the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, several figures flickered and arrived.