Sacrificial Artifact System: From Bell-ringer to the Ancestral Patriarch

"I'm going for a walk."

After dinner, Zhou Buping, with his hands clasped behind his back, leisurely walked down the mountain.

Ever since his injuries had significantly healed, he would often stroll around, just like those retired old men in his past life.

It must be said, his master's mindset was quite positive.

With damage to his Qi Sea, even if the recovery was slow, his cultivation would suffer a severe decline, not to mention the damage inflicted on the level of Martial Intent.

For average martial artists, this could easily lead to despair.

After all, cultivation is life.

Without cultivation, what meaning is there left in life?

Outside the bell tower.

Chen Yong was practicing the Sword Stabbing Fist.

Having just enjoyed a hearty meal, his Qi and blood were abundant, making it the ideal time for cultivation.

He worked at the Gengluo Room, which involved working night shifts; apart from sleeping and resting during the day, he still had plenty of time.

Li Qian sat on a reclining chair, flipping through a book.

The Mountain and River Chronicles.

It was a book describing the geography and history of the land.

It helped him gain a more detailed understanding of this world.

"This world is quite vast," Li Qian reflected in his heart.

Just the Dachang Dynasty he resided in was vast, comprising of eighty-three provinces. Based on his understanding, it should be much larger than Xia Country of his previous life.

Also, precisely due to the large area and the huge population, with transportation not being developed, Dachang used a feudal system.

It had dozens of feudal kings under it.

The Dachang court always kept military power in its hands and restricted the private armies of these feudal kings.

Moreover, it supported some strong Martial Arts Sects, Divine Sword Sect being one of them.

In general, Dachang's governance structure was a tripartite co-rule of the imperial court, feudal kings, and major martial clans.

Outside of Dachang, there were other countries.

In this book, there was a name for this vast land comprising numerous countries—the Sheep Horn Domain.

The reason for this name was said to be because the shape of the land resembled a huge sheep's horn.

And this was only the Sheep Horn Domain; beyond this domain, there was an even vaster world.

"This world is so grand, one day in the future, I must go out and explore," Li Qian thought to himself, then closed the book.

At that moment, Chen Yong also finished his practice and, with Qi and blood boiling over and Inner Strength surging, exhaled a three-foot-long white vapor.

A smile appeared on his face.

The results of this practice session were equivalent to the progress of several days combined.

Furthermore, he still felt an intense and abundant Qi and blood within him.

Then he practiced a couple more rounds and felt spiritually drained, he bid Li Qian goodbye, and descended the mountain.

He needed to get some sleep; otherwise, he'd be exhausted and drowsy during his night watch.

The mountain became thoroughly serene.

Li Qian returned inside the bell tower and began to work on improving the Blood Burning Technique.

Although he had been failing for several months, he hadn't given up.

In fact, his enthusiasm and stubbornness had only grown.

In refining this secret technique, his understanding of Martial Arts Cultivation had also deepened significantly.

Thump, thump, thump...

Along with the sound of the bell in his mind, the Qi and blood in Li Qian's body suddenly boiled, forming a special Qi and blood circulation. During its flow, the efficiency of converting Inner Qi dramatically increased, much like ignited gasoline.

"Did it succeed?"

Li Qian quickly forced himself to stop.

He calmed the explosive Qi and blood.

Although his body felt sore, which was a side effect he had grown accustomed to, the sound of the Chen Bell could remove these aftereffects.

He immediately summoned the system interface to check the latest information.

...

Secret Skill: Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Qi, Blood Burning Technique.

...

"Is the Blood Burning Technique considered a Secret Skill?"

A look of surprise appeared on Li Qian's face.

But it made sense.

Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Qi rapidly consumes a large amount of Sword Qi, drawing upon the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, to form a powerful blow in a short time.

The Blood Burning Technique rapidly consumes the body's Qi and blood for a certain enhancement of Inner Qi.

The improved Blood Burning Technique didn't need the Blood Transformation and Star Absorption Technique as its foundation because he adjusted the circulation route of his Qi and blood, relying on the Pure Sword Body.

The Pure Sword Body, as a perfect cultivation technique of the Leakless Vajra Skill in the realm of Body Refinement, possesses a leakless characteristic that leads to an exceptionally high utilization rate of blood and qi, therefore providing a powerful drive when executing the Blood Burning Technique.

Only when combined with the Blood Burning Technique can the full potential of this secret skill be truly unleashed.

However, Li Qian knows that the improved Blood Burning Technique can still be further adjusted.

....

Another two months have passed.

Li Qian's cultivation life continued as usual.

His master, Zhou Buping, while enjoying his daily walks and strolls, grew fond of the agrarian lifestyle, taking up the hoe and sickle to till the land and clear the fields on the mountain whenever he had the time.

At first, Li Qian had cleared just a piece of land.

Now, two larger pieces had been added next to it.

Moreover, Zhou Buping planned to build a wooden house on another spot on the mountain to serve as a retirement home.

He no longer mentioned moving to Lijian City.

Naturally, the task of constructing the wooden house fell on Li Qian's shoulders.

Chen Yong would often come to help.

For a martial artist, building a wooden house was quite simple.

A single sword stroke could bring down a large tree.

With a few swift slices, the wood could be cut neatly and efficiently, although it was somewhat taxing on one's Inner Qi.

After working overtime, the wooden house was mostly completed in just over half a month.

After purchasing various household items, Master Zhou Buping moved out of the Bell Tower and officially settled into the wooden house.

That day, while Li Qian was instructing Chen Yong in the Sword Stabbing Fist, Vice Hall Master Xu from the Chores Hall approached them.

"Senior Brother Li, someone from your family has been sent again, would you like to meet them?"

Vice Hall Master Xu spoke with respectful tones.

Being the Vice Hall Master of the Chores Hall, he was well-informed and understood the situation of the Inner Sect Disciples very well; he knew that Li Qian was no ordinary Inner Sect Disciple.

"Bring them up," said Li Qian after pondering for a moment.

"Alright, I will bring him up right away."

Upon hearing this, Vice Hall Master Xu hurried down the mountain.

"Brother Qian, I'll leave first then," said Chen Yong, realizing that Li Qian had family visiting.

Li Qian nodded, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "Chen Yong, the strength ranking competition of the Chores Hall should be starting soon, right?"

"Yes, it should be next month," replied Chen Yong with a nod.

Compared to a year ago, his cultivation had improved significantly, and he was confident that he could perform impressively in the ranking competition.

"Here are three Qi Blood Pills; try to reach the Martial Arts Entrance level before the competition starts," said Li Qian, tossing over a porcelain bottle.

"Brother Qian, this is too precious... I can't accept it..."

Chen Yong caught the porcelain bottle, a bit overwhelmed.

He had heard of Qi Blood Pills; they were much more effective than the Qi Blood Pill, and exorbitantly expensive.

He couldn't even bear to spend contribution points on Qi Blood Pill, let alone Qi Blood Pills.

"Just keep it… surely you don't want to always remain a servant disciple, do you?" Li Qian said calmly.

From their years of interaction, Chen Yong proved to be honest and grateful, known through and through, and was indeed worth cultivating.

In the future, should Chen Yong become an Inner Sect Disciple, he could be of use to him.

"Thank you, Brother Qian," Chen Yong said, his lips trembling slightly, a sign of being moved.

With these three Qi Blood Pills, he was confident that he could achieve a breakthrough before the strength ranking competition.

"Go ahead," Li Qian waved his hand.

Shortly after Chen Yong left, Vice Hall Master Xu arrived with a middle-aged man.

It was the steward from the Li Family.

As soon as the steward saw Li Qian, he ran over and knelt in front of him, saying excitedly, "Young Master... I've finally seen you..."

He had thought this visit would end as the last one did.

But to his surprise, the young master had allowed him to ascend the mountain.

One could imagine how thrilled he was.

Moreover, he had inquired Vice Hall Master Xu before and learned about the young master's general situation, realizing that he was not merely an Inner Sect Disciple, but also likely to be a disciple of an elder.

This news was undoubtedly exhilarating.

If the master knew about this, he would certainly be even happier.

....