Starforce Warriors-Chapter 979: The Evolution Of The Heart of Guardianship

“Again,” Lin Beichen said.

Li Xiaofei struck once more with the same five techniques. Sword light howled through the air, slicing across the void as if cleaving stars. But this time, there were countless variations woven into his swordplay, and Lin Beichen finally began to counterattack.

With the cultivation level of the Sword Immortal, he needed only to raise two fingers. Sword light burst forth in a blinding flash and Li Xiaofei felt an immense pressure descend upon him. Yet this pressure remained precisely at the edge of his limits—no more, no less.

Ding ding ding...

A flurry of metallic clashes rang out as thousands upon thousands of strikes collided. The five techniques had already been executed in just a heartbeat but this time, Li Xiaofei did not stop there. He reversed his grip. The Darkblade appeared in his left hand as he started wielding both blade and sword.

Lin Beichen burst out laughing and said, “Good. You've even shown a sliver of that brat Haozi’s flair.”

He was referring to Ding Hao, the Blade and Sword Supreme. Li Xiaofei unleashed everything he had learned and comprehended. He fought without reservation. His full potential awakened under this intense, limit-pushing pressure. With sword and blade in harmony, the power of flame and frost surged to the point it nearly tore the fabric of the void apart.

A look of seriousness finally appeared on Lin Beichen’s face. He had sparred with Ding Hao countless times and knew the immense power of the Dual Sacred Body of Blade and Sword well. Naturally, he could see the difference between Li Xiaofei’s fledgling dual-force technique and the mastery Ding Hao had achieved.

But even so, he offered no verbal guidance. Instead, he continued to press Li Xiaofei to the absolute limit, using relentless pressure to help him break through. It was the same as cultivating sword techniques.

Every person had their own understanding of the sword path, and the power of each Dual Sacred Body of Blade and Sword varied from one practitioner to another. How it should be wielded and what path it should take, had to be realized by the cultivator themselves.

The Five Emperors of humanity had placed great hopes on Li Xiaofei. They wanted him to integrate the strengths of all five and walk his own unique path in martial arts. They did not want him to merely follow in the footsteps of others, mimicking their every move. The battle raged on for ten full days and nights. Until—

Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out as the Blood-Drinking Sword suddenly shattered into countless fragments. Li Xiaofei was thrown backward, blood spraying from every pore. His entire body was covered in cracks. Sword qi was swirling and seething within every crack.

It was Lin Beichen’s sword qi. Li Xiaofei hovered in the void, eyes wide, like a man on the brink of death. By the end of the fight, he had been utterly defeated. His current state was close to death.

Even the Emperor-grade Blood-Drinking Sword had been shattered by Lin Beichen. He had played every card he had, but there had never been a chance of victory against the Sword Immortal of humanity.

Still, this was within expectations. So Li Xiaofei did not feel too discouraged. At that moment, he felt death approaching. The footsteps of the Grim Reaper were slowly closing in.

Someone had once said that a person would see their entire life flash before their eyes in the moment before death. In mere seconds, they would witness all the highlights and the moments of pride and regret, the whole landscape of the path they had walked.

Li Xiaofei was experiencing it, but what he saw was not a replay of his life. Instead, it was every single moment tied to his cultivation journey, from every key breakthrough to every step forward.

Even those early days before his transmigration, back in university, training with traditional martial arts masters, were crystal clear. Though they flashed by in an instant, each one was etched into his mind as if branded.

Moment after moment of insight. Breakthrough after breakthrough. They stacked layer upon layer, until finally, all of it coalesced into a strange, overwhelming force that began crashing violently against the very core of his consciousness.

It slammed into him again and again like a siege ram battering the gates of a city. Over and over and over... No one knew how much time had passed. And then—

Boom!

A deafening blast erupted. The old world was shattered completely. The wall that had once blocked his vision crumbled at last, and a brand-new world unfolded before him. Li Xiaofei suddenly surged skyward from the brink of death.

The cracks across his body vanished in an instant. All the invading sword qi was, in that same moment, drawn into his body, refined and absorbed completely. The shattered fragments of the Blood-Drinking Sword floated around him and began merging with the equally countless fragments of the Heart of Guardianship.

Li Xiaofei raised both hands, brought them together, and pressed down. A dense, continuous sound of metal clashing and grinding filled the air.

The ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine fragments of the Heart of Guardianship began merging with the countless shards of the shattered Blood-Drinking Sword.

Watching from the side, Lin Beichen’s face revealed a flicker of surprise. He had shattered the Blood-Drinking Sword earlier because its mission had already been fulfilled.

Lin Beichen had never wanted Li Xiaofei to rely on that sword forever. He had hoped the young man would eventually walk his own path. The Blood-Drinking Sword had carried Li Xiaofei a long way, helping him ascend in cultivation. But continuing to rely on it risked fostering dangerous dependence.

“This kid... worthy of being the sixth,” Lin Beichen murmured with a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

In that moment, he finally saw hope in Li Xiaofei. Before this, though Li Xiaofei had performed exceptionally, so much so that even the most brilliant of the human race’s talents paled in comparison, he had still been far from becoming the sixth pillar of humanity.

But now, Lin Beichen could truly see it. Hope.

Frost swirled and fire flared in the void. Golden and silver light surged wildly. The soft, rhythmic clinking of metal was like the brushing of dragon scales. Tens of thousands of metallic fragments continued fusing together. Most notably, the shards of the Blood-Drinking Sword gradually lost their bloody glow as they merged into the Heart of Guardianship.

Li Xiaofei pressed his palms downward. All those fragments compressed into a glowing sphere cradled within his hands. The crimson hue of the Blood-Drinking Sword was evenly distributed among the gold, silver, and black of the Heart of Guardianship.

It was like the work of a master colorist, perfectly blended. The gold, silver, and black, symbols of saber, spear, and sword, became ever more dazzling, vivid, and alive. At last, the three colors condensed into three points of starlight that danced across Li Xiaofei’s fingertips. It was done. A huge smile of joy lit up Li Xiaofei’s face.

The Heart of Guardianship had advanced. After merging with the fragments of the Blood-Drinking Sword, it could now be considered a quasi-Emperor-grade artifact. At the same time, the Immortal Force within Li Xiaofei’s body had transformed completely, becoming pure gold in color.

He had reached the Golden Immortal Realm. After the intense trial by combat with Lin Beichen, Li Xiaofei had once again ascended an entire major realm in a short span of time.

This was one of the benefits of facing an Immortal Emperor. So long as one survived, there would always be a reward. Especially with someone like Lin Beichen, who had intentionally applied just the right amount of pressure to help him grow.

Even the sword qi that had lingered within his body had, at the brink of death and breakthrough, transformed into nourishing energy. One of the greatest benefits of refining an Emperor-level weapon was that the cultivator and the weapon could ascend together. It was the dual cultivation of life and artifact.

“Many thanks, Senior,” Li Xiaofei said, overjoyed, bowing in gratitude to Lin Beichen.

Though the Blood-Drinking Sword had shattered, the newly advanced Heart of Guardianship now matched his current cultivation and strength even more perfectly. It no longer needed to feed on blood to accumulate energy and could unleash energy comparable to its predecessor without such limitations.

Moreover, the core attributes of the Blood-Drinking Sword had not disappeared. Now, the Heart of Guardianship could also absorb energy to amplify its strength, allowing it to grow continuously stronger. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Li Xiaofei’s breakthrough in cultivation further enabled the artifact to unleash power it could never have reached before. With both factors combined, his combat strength had now far surpassed his past self.

“You can now proceed to the Evolution Temple,” Lin Beichen said with a satisfied nod.

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked the sleeve of his white robe. An overwhelming, unstoppable force surged forth. Li Xiaofei felt the heavens spin and the earth turn in an instant.

The next moment, the scenery before his eyes had changed completely. When he regained clarity, he realized that he was no longer in the spatial domain of the Heart of the Holy Ruins.