Volume 1, Chapter 2: The Sword Immortal Girlfriend with Her Sacred Body Excavated, the Bronze Gate
Unbeknownst to Tang Xi, Qing Hua had not gone far. She watched Xu Wuhen’s retreating figure in secret, her eyes flashing with a murderous intent that Tang Xi had never seen before.
“Tang Xi, in the last life you protected me for a hundred years. In this life, I will protect you. One day, you will come to love me.”
…
Returning home, Tang Xi bolted the door, reheated the leftover food from yesterday, but the numbers cycling through his mind barely moved by 0.01%.
He stripped off his shirt and practiced a basic physical refinement technique—a method distributed uniformly by the Human King City. It required much more time to perfect, to absorb more immortal energy.
One punch after another slammed against the strength testing device.
After three punches, the readings were 603, 601, and 599 kilograms.
This meant his average strength was around 601 kg. The physical refinement limit was 1000 kg. He had been cultivating this method almost since middle school, nearly six years, but had yet to reach the limit. This showed how poor his talent was and how scarce his cultivation resources had been. Otherwise, with six years of effort and sufficient resources, even a pig could have ascended by now.
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The Tenth King City—Mingyu Gouchen King City—was about to witness an important event: the coming-of-age ceremony for third-year high school students, marking their entry into the Bronze Gate.
The ceremony was much like in his previous life. The leaders gave speeches, and Tang Xi, who had lived this life before, listened with great interest.
The Bronze Gate in the sky shimmered with a bronze hue, clear and distinct, like the gates of the Heavenly Palace from the tales of his former life. Crossing it would be like transforming into a phoenix.
After the ceremony, the teachers waved their hands, and a door resembling the structure of the Bronze Gate appeared on the playground. It rose over thirty meters tall, with two bronze pillars standing on either side, a base beneath, and the center was hollow, filled with a faint blue water curtain that obscured what lay beyond.
Principal Chen Huai’an, a powerful nascent Golden Core cultivator, beamed with a ruddy glow and said, “Students, passing through this Bronze Gate means you truly embark on the path of cultivation.”
“You are all at the physical refinement stage, with a few in the Qi Refinement stage. You may enter only once a month, and stay for up to ten days at a time. Time is precious. The Gate of Evolution is fraught with dangers; death there means true death. Be mindful of your limits and avoid reckless ambition.”
With that, nearly five to six thousand third-year students from the tenth middle school began entering the Bronze Gate in order, starting with Class One.
Qing Hua was in Class One. She approached Tang Xi with affectionate eyes.
“Tang Xi, be careful.”
“You too~”
…
Soon it was Tang Xi and Mu Fan’s turn. Passing through the water curtain, a wave of dizziness washed over him.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a vast plaza made of black stone, ancient and desolate in atmosphere.
This space was called the Reception Space.
Neither Mu Fan nor Qing Hua was in sight.
This was a key feature of the Bronze Gate: it was boundless, with countless Reception Spaces. The chance of meeting acquaintances was very slim.
The Reception Space was wrapped in a translucent layer of pale gold. Creatures inside could not enter; only humans could come and go.
Dozens, even hundreds, of towering bronze pillars rose within the space. Inside each pillar was a considerable area. Killing creatures inside the Bronze Gate earned points, which could be spent inside these pillar spaces to buy elixirs, immortal arts, immortal techniques, immortal weapons, and so forth.
Before Tang Xi appeared, a few words flashed before his eyes:
Points: 1
One point was a novice reward upon entering the Bronze Gate, enough to purchase the lowest-level elixirs.
He was in no rush to hunt creatures here. More important right now was to use that one point.
Points could not be traded or stolen within the Reception Space, but once outside, all bets were off. It was possible someone might ambush him and snatch his point as soon as he left.
One point was small, but accumulated points were not. Many unscrupulous people waited eagerly for this day.
The pillar space was square, about dozens of square meters, with four glowing orbs floating above and inscriptions below.
Low-level Healing Elixir, 1 point.
Low-level Hemostasis Elixir, 1 point.
Low-level Qi Recovery Elixir, 1 point.
Low-level Qi Refinement Elixir, 1 point.
Tang Xi pondered briefly and pocketed the Qi Refinement Elixir. Even the lowest-grade elixir could advance his strength further; reaching physical refinement perfection was not impossible.
Years of toil could be made up for by a single Golden Core pill. His fate was his own, not heaven’s.
Just as he was about to consume the elixir, a “ding” sounded in his mind.
“Ding, system is binding, please wait patiently. 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%… 50%, 51%… 99%, 100%.”
“Ding, binding successful. Girlfriend system activated for your service.”
“Ding, please select your girlfriend.”
Tang Xi’s eyes lit up—the system had actually bound successfully.
A transparent blue panel appeared, displaying ten cards neatly arranged, each showing a vivid portrait of a beautiful woman.
He glanced at the first card on the left.
[Zeus’s Divine Daughter—Ya, rumored to be the scion Zeus left behind in the mortal world. Height: 175 cm, Weight: 59 kg, Three-dimensional data: ***]
(Note: Asterisks indicate indescribable attributes, only to be sensed, not spoken.)
Tang Xi nearly bled from his nose. The beauty on the card was overwhelmingly stunning—a true mortal weapon.
The second card:
[Spider Woman Qianzhu, Height: 172 cm, Weight: 60 kg, Three-dimensional data: ***]
Third card:
[Ya Fei, Height: 175 cm, Weight: 56 kg, Three-dimensional data: ***]
Tang Xi dared not stare too long. He quickly scanned all ten cards; every woman was a masterpiece, spanning many races—cat girls, rabbit-eared girls, even spider women. Their figures were impeccable, each a mortal weapon.
“Ding, please choose one promptly.”
“System, only children make choices. I want them all.”
System: “…”
“Please do not indulge in illusions, host.”
Tang Xi curled his lips, looking at the tenth card: a cold, ancient-clad woman sitting cross-legged. Her clothes were tattered, blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, her complexion pale.
[Jian Qingyu, Ancient Sword Sect’s discarded disciple. Height: 172 cm, Weight: 55 kg, Three-dimensional data: ***]
Looking into the lifelike eyes of the figure on the card, Tang Xi felt a touch of emotion.
“System, it’s her—Jian Qingyu.”
“Ding, confirm choice of girlfriend Jian Qingyu?”
“Confirm.”
“Ding, girlfriend Jian Qingyu successfully bound. System renamed to Sword Immortal Girlfriend System. Basic panel generated; please review.”
[System: Sword Immortal Girlfriend System]
[Host: Tang Xi]
[Bound Girlfriend: Jian Qingyu, Ancient Sword Sect’s discarded disciple]
[Realm: Physical Refinement]
[Immortal Arts: None]
[Physique: None]
[Immortal Dao Points: None]
[Immortal Techniques: None]
[Immortal Artifacts: None]
[Immortal Mounts: None]
[Items: Iron Sword, Low-level Qi Refinement Elixir, Golden Core Method (incomplete)]
“Ding, host’s girlfriend Jian Qingyu is seriously wounded. Please treat her promptly. If the bound girlfriend dies, this system will also dissipate.”
“Damn it, system, are you messing with me?”
“What to do?”
Tang Xi grew anxious, wondering how to heal Jian Qingyu.
“System, besides the Qi Refinement Elixir, I have nothing valuable. Can the elixir work?”
Suddenly, the Qi Refinement Elixir in Tang Xi’s hand vanished before his astonished eyes.
…
In the Immortal Sword Realm, one of the nine great Sword Continents—the Heavenly Sword Continent—several thousand kilometers from the ancient Eternal Sword Sect, in a mortal village.
Jian Qingyu sat cross-legged on a worn straw mat, coughing up a mouthful of blood, her breath growing faint.
Her delicate face was full of unwillingness.
“Am I really going to die like this? Has the sect abandoned me completely?”
She had once been a sword bearer of the Eternal Sword Sect. Sword bearers were the most talented young disciples, only five in the entire sect held this title.
Without a doubt, they were future peerless sword immortals.
But she was special—she possessed the sacred Dragon Spirit Sword Physique, becoming a sword bearer without cultivation.
Three days ago was the day her sacred physique was to mature. Once matured, a single step of cultivation would make her an unparalleled genius, catching up with her senior brothers and sisters.
Yet on the day her physique matured, the very master who had raised her like family stripped her of her Dragon Spirit Sword Physique, grafting it onto her son’s mortal body.
She was branded a spy from a rival sect.
Former friends and followers shunned her, fearing any association.
In a short time, she experienced the coldness of human relations.
No wonder her master never taught her any techniques, saying the time wasn’t right and early cultivation was futile. In truth, they had long conspired to steal her sword physique.
Such a blatant theft was ignored by the sect; the physique could not be stolen twice, and no one wished to offend a future sword immortal and the sect’s top powerhouses for a cripple.
The once supreme prodigy was expelled. Were it not for a senior sister who believed in her and secretly sent her back to the mortal village, she would have died long ago.
“Ha ha~ cough~ cough~ I hate it! If I had another chance, I, Jian Qingyu, would live for myself alone. I would repay those who wronged me a hundredfold.”
At that moment, a golden vortex appeared before her, and a shining golden pill fell to the ground.
“Who? Who’s playing tricks?”
She looked around warily but hesitated to pick up the pill.
Tang Xi, anxious, saw everything clearly through the card. If she did not try this last hope, she truly would die.
Jian Qingyu propped herself up. The Qi Refinement Elixir—something she would never have glanced at before—now seemed to possess an inexplicable attraction, a bond with her.
She picked up the elixir, inspected it for a moment, then put it into her mouth.
Sword intent surged through her body, growing stronger and stronger, as if some transformation was underway.
Tang Xi stared at the system’s introduction, eyes wide, and could only mutter, “Holy crap.”
…