Chapter 193
“Sword Qi?”
Rong Heng murmured the name to himself. He had never heard of it before, yet just uttering the words stirred a strange emotion within him.
Learn…
He wanted to learn this!
His eyes gleamed with desire.
Meanwhile, Su Ci continued to demonstrate, swinging the small sword lightly toward the blood mist beyond the purification barrier. The sword aura shot out, cutting through the bamboo grove and all the plants along its path before finally reaching the dense, blood mist.
The blood mist, thick as a surging tide, parted where the sword aura struck, leaving a long, clear vacuum in its wake.
The Sword Qi was a creation of a powerful ancient sword cultivator who had drawn upon the righteous energy of heaven and earth to forge this technique. With it, he founded a sect, which became one of the most formidable branches of sword cultivation.
Out of curiosity, Su Ci had spent some time with the Sword Sect in the past. Once he mastered this technique, he promptly slipped away.
He had to admit, of all the human sects he had visited, sword sects were the poorest, with the worst food and accommodations.
Recalling this, Su Ci glanced at Rong Heng.
Noticing the communication device on the child’s wrist, he silently averted his gaze.
Among the cubs, only Ran Lie, Lang Ze, and Zheng Xing were equipped with communication devices due to their missions outside the base. Rong Heng, however, had managed to procure two devices—one for himself and one for his sister.
With such resourcefulness, it seemed unlikely Rong Heng would end up struggling like those sword cultivators. Moreover, with Marshal Li and his wife as his backing, Su Ci had even less reason to worry about him.
Satisfied, Su Ci nodded and began explaining the Sword Qi.
This sword technique was the nemesis of all evil spirits and demonic entities, naturally capable of neutralizing and expelling resentment and vengeful spirits. While it couldn’t incinerate filth and evil continuously like Ran Lie’s crimson flames, it remained a viable method for combating the blood mist.
Once fully mastered, a single swing of the sword could eliminate all ghosts and monsters within its range.
However, due to its unique attributes, the Sword Qi was far more challenging to cultivate than other sword techniques.
Su Ci explained the difficulty of learning this technique honestly. At last, he said, “Go back and think it over. If you still want to learn, come find me again.”
“No need to think—I’ll learn it!”
Rong Heng’s gaze burned with determination as he stared at the area outside the purification barrier. The space struck by the sword aura had remained untouched by the red mist, even after all this time.
This Sword Qi—he had to master it!
“Su Su, please teach me!” Rong Heng declared firmly.
Seeing the boy’s unwavering resolve, Su Ci nodded. He handed the small sword back to Rong Heng and said, “Very well. Since you’ve chosen this path, I will teach you. I only hope that when you face challenges in the future, you’ll remain as steadfast as you are today.”
Rong Heng didn’t make elaborate promises or say anything flowery. Instead, in his youthful voice, he replied firmly and resolutely, “Yes!”
Thus, Su Ci began teaching him the Sword Qi technique.
Just as Rong Heng was about to leave and start practicing, Su Ci grabbed the back of his collar and tossed him toward the area where he had just unleashed the sword aura.
“While the sword aura hasn’t dissipated, take the opportunity to comprehend it properly.”
Thrown directly into the sword aura, Rong Heng found himself unable to respond. Facing the aura for the first time, he felt as though he had entered an unfamiliar realm where hundreds, if not thousands, of sword intents pierced around him.
In mere moments, Rong Heng was drenched in sweat, his back soaked through.
In the bamboo grove, A-Yan observed the lion-eared boy sitting cross-legged within the sword aura. Seeing him pale and sweating profusely, A-Yan glanced at Su Ci.
He was about to plead for leniency but stopped himself, recalling Ran Lie’s grueling training amidst the horde of giant spiders.
He couldn’t quite decide which experience was worse.
Ran Lie had faced an endless swarm of giant spiders. As long as he kept breathing fire and maintaining his crimson flames, his life wasn’t in danger, even if the ordeal was physically exhausting.
Rong Heng, however, was up against a single sword strike infused with the spirit of the earth.
Although the strike seemed unassuming, the sword intent within was terrifying. It would take an unknown amount of time to dissipate.
Even experienced sword cultivators wouldn’t dare step into this aura recklessly, let alone Rong Heng, who had just begun his journey in swordsmanship. A-Yan seriously doubted if the boy could endure it.
Su Ci, however, yawned and said, “You stay here and watch him. If he passes out, pull him out.”
“Understood,” A-Yan replied.
Su Ci stretched lazily, then tossed a handful of stones engraved with purification arrays into the river. The current carried the stones downstream to various locations.
Thanks to the continuous work of these stones, the water systems around Base 24 had become significantly cleaner.
Now, not only the nursery and the plantation but even other departments within the base had access to purified water. While the quality couldn’t compare to the water Su Ci purified himself, it was still a vast improvement over the past.
The reduced resentment in the drinking water, combined with the complete eradication of the blood mist from the base, had greatly improved the health of its members. Recently, the base’s overall atmosphere had become much more positive.
The changes in water purity naturally caught the attention of the research institute, and they even managed to intercept one of the purification stones from an underground river. Upon analyzing it, they discovered its function.
As for anything beyond that, the researchers hadn’t figured much out yet.
Su Ci didn’t particularly care. They were just purification stones—he could make plenty of them daily. If the humans managed to replicate the purification arrays from the stones, he would be genuinely grateful.
After all, while carving arrays was easy, it still took time. If someone could help share the workload, he would welcome it wholeheartedly.
Watching the stones drift away with the current, Su Ci clapped the dust from his hands and stepped into the teleportation array, intending to visit the plantation.
The number of star-chain fruits had grown overwhelming. Not only were the cubs getting tired of eating them, but even Su Ci couldn’t handle them anymore.
He planned to collect some seeds from the plantation to see if there were any suitable fruit plants to cultivate. He wondered—were the melons of the interstellar era as sweet as he hoped?
*
Base 26.
Ran Lie continued to strike the wooden fish rhythmically. The remains of the monster before him had already burned to ash, leaving only a small cluster of crimson flames quietly consuming the surrounding resentment in the air.
When Ran Lie took out the wooden fish and began to strike it, Xu Xiaohui, who had followed him, was utterly baffled.
He wanted to remind the boy that the danger hadn’t been completely eliminated and that they should leave quickly to regroup with the main force. But as soon as he approached Ran Lie, his communication display automatically popped up.
At the same time, the voice of the commander sounded in his earpiece, instructing him not to make any rash moves and to simply stay by the boy’s side to ensure that no one disturbed him.
Though Xu Xiaohui didn’t understand why, he followed the order and obediently stood guard.
Before long, a man in a gray-blue uniform appeared, running toward them.
Xu Xiaohui had never seen this color uniform on the base, but the man looked vaguely familiar. Stepping forward to block his path, Xu Xiaohui asked who he was.
The man, of course, was Li Sinian.
When he had chased the cubs from the spaceship, they had already vanished. Exhausted and drained of his mental energy, tracking them through the thick mist, where visibility was barely two meters, was almost impossible.
By the time he heard commotion and managed to arrive, the battle was already over.
Li Sinian stared at the enormous and terrifying remains of the monster—even reduced to half its original size, it was still an imposing sight. Then, his gaze shifted to the red-haired boy sitting cross-legged beneath the monster, striking some sort of object. His expression became dazed.
Seeing was believing. Only at that moment did he truly understand why Caretaker Su, had sent these three cubs to Base 26.
These children indeed possessed the strength to hold their own.
Even at his peak, Li Sinian doubted he could have achieved such a feat against a monster like this.
So… did this mean Rong Heng had similar potential?
This realization filled Li Sinian with both pride and an unexpected sense of inadequacy.
How had he, as a father, become so useless?
Of course, he quickly consoled himself.
After all, Rong Heng hadn’t been sent to Base 26 by Su Ci. Didn’t that mean his abilities weren’t yet up to standard and still needed improvement in certain areas?
The thought left him with a complex mix of emotions.
Xu Xiaohui, unaware of Li Sinian’s inner conflict, confirmed that his identity was legitimate and no threat. He simply instructed him not to approach or disturb Ran Lie for the time being.
No one really knew what Ran Lie was doing. Even Lang Ze, who arrived shortly after, was clueless. Only Zheng Xing seemed to sense something, but he remained silent.
When the last trace of crimson flame finally extinguished, Ran Lie slowly opened his eyes, concluding the ritual of release—even though he himself didn’t fully understand what he had done.
His eyes shone with unusual clarity, and a faint golden aura seemed to envelop him momentarily. However, the golden glow dissipated almost immediately, as though it had never existed.
“Ran Ran, what were you just doing?” Lang Ze asked curiously.
Ran Lie opened his mouth to explain, but the growling of his stomach interrupted him.
“Oh, you’re hungry?” Lang Ze exclaimed.
Ran Lie paused, feeling a bit embarrassed, but before he could say anything, Lang Ze shoved a piece of dried meat into his hand. The wolf-eared boy grinned at him, his carefree tone cheerful. “Hurry up and eat! I’m hungry too.”
Lang Ze then pulled out the remaining dried meat from his bag, tore it in half, and stuffed one piece into the little black cat’s mouth while happily chewing the other himself.
Seeing how much Lang Ze was enjoying the food, Ran Lie hesitated for a moment before following suit and putting the dried meat into his mouth.
The three cubs savored their snacks together, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
After a fierce battle, there was no better reward than good food!
Seeing the children devour their food so hungrily, Li Sinian momentarily set aside his conflicted feelings. He quickly retrieved a lunchbox prepared by Yan Ya from his spatial button.
Receiving fresh food, the cubs didn’t hesitate to sit down right there on the battlefield and start eating.
In fact, this area, cleansed by Ran Lie’s crimson flames, was likely the safest and cleanest spot in all of Base 26—apart from the space where the little garlic sprout resided.
Lang Ze, initially delighted by the warm food, happily dug into the lunchbox, which had been kept heated by its thermal function. However…
His communication device suddenly chimed with a notification.
It was a picture shared by Little Li Hua.
The moment Lang Ze saw the image of the ice cream, he instantly lost interest in his meal. The once delicious food in his hands no longer seemed appealing.
