7: Rebirth and New Life

A peaceful sentence, yet it made Gu Wanquan's dead heart beat once more, and light shone again in his dim eyes.

So, in Master's eyes, he wasn't a replacement for that Sword Immortal?

Looking at his Master, who took it all for granted, Gu Wanquan suddenly felt very tired. The exhaustion that followed the sudden relaxation of his tense nerves made sleepiness surge like a tide.

Gu Wanquan didn't even know how he had returned to his room; by the time he opened his eyes again, it was broad daylight.

After waking up, Gu Wanquan still couldn't believe that he had truly experienced a Rebirth back to when he was fifteen.

He scrambled out of bed and pushed open the door, the blinding sunlight making him squint instinctively.

Before him was the small courtyard he had dreamed of returning to.

The vegetable garden in the corner, the flower field, the large scholar tree in the center, the stone table and stools beneath it, and the lounge chair in the shade.

And his Master, lying on that lounge chair with eyes closed, resting!

Everything was so real, and everything was still so beautiful.

"What are you staring at? Come over and eat!" Lying on the lounge chair, Su Yi heard the door open and spoke without turning his head, pointing toward the stone table.

Gu Wanquan walked to the stone table; there were a few side dishes and several steamed buns.

His hand trembled slightly as he picked up the chopsticks. He picked up a piece of the side dish and put it in his mouth; the sour and spicy taste was exactly as he remembered.

His eyes grew warm, and he quickly picked up the rice soup, taking a few gulps to suppress the sourness rising in his heart.

Gu Wanquan smiled; if this was a dream, then he would dream it well.

But this dream also had its downsides.

While eating, Gu Wanquan heard Su Yi's rambling instructions: "Wash the dishes when you're done. Go water the fields this morning; it hasn't rained for so many days, the drought is too severe. Can you cook? You'll handle the meals from now on. Don't forget to clean the house, and the courtyard needs tidying too..."

As expected, Rebirth didn't only bring beauty; the household chores he hated most in his past life arrived on schedule.

Looking at the nodding Gu Wanquan, Su Yi suddenly remembered something. He sat up from the lounge chair and asked curiously, "Was there a problem with your Cultivation yesterday?"

The kid's state was clearly off yesterday; he hadn't cultivated his brain into mush, had he?

Gu Wanquan froze for a moment, then shook his head. "The sword techniques left by the Aotian Sword Immortal are incredibly profound; there are many parts I don't understand."

"Don't worry if you don't understand. That guy was a Cultivation freak; don't compare yourself to him!" Su Yi waved his hand dismissively in consolation.

In his memory, that guy was absurdly strong. His strength changed almost every day, and he would have a Breakthrough at the drop of a hat.

It felt like after wandering around with him for a bit, the guy just became a Sword Immortal.

Hearing Su Yi's grumbling about the Aotian Sword Immortal, Gu Wanquan felt a bit uncomfortable.

As the one who would fully inherit the Sword Immortal's Legacy and become the Leader of the Righteous Path by his own strength, Gu Wanquan believed that his strength back then was nearly equal to that Sword Immortal's.

"You always say that Sword Immortal was strong. Just how strong was he?" Gu Wanquan asked, driven by curiosity.

Su Yi thought for a moment and replied, "It's hard for me to judge how strong he was, but in a life-and-death struggle, no matter who the opponent was, he was the one who survived!"

"Can that Sword Immortal really split the heavens with one sword?" Gu Wanquan hesitated before asking.

"Split the heavens with one sword? I think so!" Su Yi replied after a moment's thought.

Looking at it this way, that Sword Immortal really was ridiculously strong.

In his past life, Gu Wanquan had also traveled the entire continent, experienced countless battles, and heard many legends.

Even though he had become the Leader of the Righteous Path and a contemporary Sword Immortal in his past life, the best evaluation anyone gave him was that he was on par with the Aotian Sword Immortal.

Even though that Sword Immortal had been dead for over three hundred years, many of his legends still circulated in this world.

Splitting the heavens with one sword, severing great rivers with Sword Intent, carving mountains into swords... To Gu Wanquan, who had already joined the ranks of the top Great Cultivators back then, these rumors seemed like feats impossible for a mortal.

Gu Wanquan had practiced the Nine Swords of the Sword Immortal to the limit, yet he still couldn't replicate the legends left by that Sword Immortal.

Legends were legends because they usually contained some degree of exaggeration.

Gu Wanquan still had some doubts in his heart regarding that Sword Immortal's strength.

But now that he had heard a definitive answer from his Master, Gu Wanquan felt that the Sword Immortal certainly hadn't left his entire Legacy in those Sword Immortal's Notes.

Gu Wanquan pondered for a moment and suddenly laughed.

But so what?

Now, he no longer craved great power, nor did he have any interest in the Conflict between the Dao and the Demons.

Now, Gu Wanquan only wanted to stay by his Master's side and let his Master provide for him and see him off.

"I get the feeling you're thinking about something very impudent!" Su Yi squinted at Gu Wanquan, who was clearing the table.

"I wouldn't dare. I just feel that since that Lord Sword Immortal was so powerful, I might never reach his Realm in this lifetime!" Gu Wanquan said with a beaming smile.

"Can't you have some ambition? I couldn't beat him, so if the disciple I took in can't beat him either, wouldn't I have taken you in for nothing?"

"So what? Master's longevity is as vast as the heavens. Even if you can't beat him, you've already outlived that Lord Sword Immortal!"

"Heh, well said. I like that!"

All day, Gu Wanquan was busy with the household chores Su Yi assigned. His body, which hadn't yet begun to Cultivate, was somewhat unable to handle the strain.

In the evening, Gu Wanquan watched with a smile as Su Yi bowed his head to apply medicine to his palms, enjoying the care between Master and disciple.

"I only said you should do those things, not finish them all in one day. You're too stubborn, child. If you ever leave the mountain, I'm afraid you'll be kidnapped and sold the moment you step down." Su Yi grumbled with a bit of a headache while applying medicine to Gu Wanquan's hands.

"Then I won't leave. I'll just stay on the mountain with Master!" Gu Wanquan said nonchalantly.

"Oh? You don't want to strive to be the number one under heaven anymore?"

"In my eyes, Master is the number one under heaven. There's nothing to strive for."

"Weren't you just shouting yesterday that you had to be the number one under heaven?"

"That's too boring... Master, go take in a few more Junior Brothers and let them do it!"

"Forget it then. I'm too lazy to take in more disciples!"

The two chatted idly, but Gu Wanquan's gaze began to wander.

Although Master didn't want to take in disciples now, Gu Wanquan knew that he would indeed have several Junior Brothers in the future.

Recalling those "loving" Junior Brothers of his, Gu Wanquan smiled gently.

If he had experienced a Rebirth, would those most dear Junior Brothers of his also have been reborn?

Suddenly, he was looking forward to it!

Gu Wanquan's smile grew even more radiant. His handsome face bore a bright and gentle expression, and he was even thinking about how to get along with his Junior Brothers in this life.

Should he just kill them all in advance to save trouble?

Or should he break their limbs, destroy their senses, and turn them into Human Jars?

It's truly such a dilemma!