I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely

"This is simply unacceptable."

HUM!

A thought crossed his mind.

Xu Jingtian’s form wavered, and a figure robed in black stepped out from him, a perfect mirror image of Xu Jingtian himself.

However...

This black-robed figure exuded a palpable evil.

"Fellow Daoist."

Xu Jingtian clasped his hands in a salute. "I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip."

"Very well."

The black-robed figure nodded.

SWOOSH!

The moment the words left his lips...

The black-robed figure vanished into thin air.

「That very day.」

Han Lingzi was taught a harsh lesson. If he hadn’t fled so quickly, he would have lost more than just a corpse puppet—he probably would have lost half his life.

"Shu Mountain, you’ve gone too far!"

Han Lingzi roared, "Relying on your status as a Sword Dao Sacred Land with a deep foundation, you let your disciple run rampant and murder a True Disciple of our Corpse Ghost Sect! And now you act so shamelessly!"

Evidently, Han Lingzi was a master who had reached the Sixth Realm. His furious roar spread quickly, gradually echoing throughout the Great Tang Imperial Capital.

CLANG!

However...

Before the crowd could even begin to discuss the matter, a purplish-gold sword suddenly appeared in the core region of Shu Mountain. It let out a sword cry that caused countless Sword Artifacts throughout the entire Imperial Capital to resonate in response.

"Speak another word of nonsense, and I will cut you down!"

An exceedingly domineering voice boomed out.

"..."

Instantly...

Han Lingzi’s eyes widened in utter terror, and he obediently shut his mouth.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

"As expected of Shu Mountain! The ’Sword Dao Sacred Land,’ one of the Nine Great Sacred Lands of our Central Tang Dynasty."

"Exactly."

"The Corpse Ghost Sect had it coming. Daring to provoke Shu Mountain... they should thank the heavens those lunatics didn’t just kill them with a single sword strike."

"..."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

「Meanwhile, in the Great Tang Imperial Palace.」

The palaces were towering and magnificent.

「Inside Yangxin Hall.」

"Your Majesty!"

A handsome young eunuch knelt before a gauze screen. Behind the hazy screen sat a graceful figure, exuding an indescribable majesty.

"Speak."

A voice, both authoritative and melodious, came from behind the screen.

Indeed.

The person behind the screen was none other than the current Empress of the Central Tang Dynasty, Wu Zhao. Ten years ago, she had overcome all opposition, distinguishing herself from the many princes to become the first Empress of the Great Tang.

"Forty-eight years ago, Shushan Elder Xu Jingtian took on a disciple named Xu Qing. Xu Qing’s background is no mystery; he comes from the Great Zhou Martial Country in the Great Border Wilderness."

The handsome eunuch reported everything in detail. "The Great Zhou Martial Country was destroyed because of the ’Ancient Texts’ and has since become a land of the dead."

"Xu Qing is the sole survivor of the Great Zhou Martial Country’s Ancient Text Incident."

"Xu Qing killed the Corpse Ghost Sect’s True Disciple, Shi Qiusan. Han Lingzi was furious and wanted to kill Xu Qing to avenge him, but Xu Jingtian found out."

"Xu Jingtian sent out his ’Evil Corpse’ to teach Han Lingzi a lesson. Han Lingzi, of course, started cursing them out, which angered Shu Mountain and led to today’s events."

"’The sole survivor of the Great Zhou Martial Country’s Ancient Text Incident.’"

Wu Zhao seized on this point. "Xiaogui Zi, over these years, there have been numerous ’Ancient Text Incidents’ across the Human Realm Three Thousand Realms. In all those incidents, have there ever been any survivors?"

"This..."

Xiaogui Zi paused, pondering for a moment. After careful thought and recollection, he finally shook his head. "Reporting to Your Majesty, no. Not a single one."

"Indeed."

Wu Zhao’s tone was profound. "In so many ’Ancient Text Incidents,’ there has never been a survivor. Not one. Yet this Xu Qing is the only one."

"..."

Xiaogui Zi lowered his head and said nothing.

"Relay my decree. Have the Dark Dragon Guard keep an eye on Xu Qing. Report immediately if he does anything unusual or makes any moves," Wu Zhao said gravely.

"Yes, as you command," Xiaogui Zi responded at once.

「Meanwhile.」

「Shu Mountain.」

「Chixia Peak.」

「At the summit.」

"This..."

Xu Qing raised his head and looked toward the depths of Shu Mountain. Feeling the terror of that sword strike, he couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed. The indescribable pressure of that Sword Dao was truly horrifying.

"Shu Mountain is truly worthy of its name!"

Xu Qing exclaimed in admiration.

Time flew by.

After this incident, Xu Qing remained on Shu Mountain, staying on Chixia Peak. He practiced the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan day and night, constantly rehearsing his Swordsmanship.

However, after Xu Qing’s Cultivation and Realm entered the Perfect Law Realm, his consumption of Low-grade Law Stones increased as his Cultivation grew.

Furthermore, Xu Qing could practice the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan ten trillion times every day.

As a result, Xu Qing could gain ten trillion Experience Points every day.

Of course, this also meant his daily consumption of Low-grade Law Stones reached one hundred. The one hundred Low-grade Law Stones that Shu Mountain distributed to Outer Disciples each month were only enough for a single day of Xu Qing’s Cultivation.

’I thought I was set for a while after completing that Shu Mountain mission and getting a reward of one million Low-grade Law Stones. I even got another three hundred thousand from selling the corpses of some Demons, Fiends, and Evil Spirits.’ Xu Qing’s expression was pensive. ’But after reaching the Perfect Law Realm, my daily Cultivation requires one hundred Low-grade Law Stones. Although the speed at which I accumulate Experience Points has also increased tenfold, the Law Stones I have on hand probably won’t last more than a few decades before they’re all used up.’

Time passed in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, forty years had gone by.

「One morning.」

WHOOSH...

Xu Qing exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes. After forty years of tempering, the sword in his hand was steadier, and his aura had grown much deeper.

For forty years, Xu Qing had practiced his Swordsmanship day and night on Chixia Peak, never once taking a single step off it. He barely interacted with any other Shushan Outer Disciples.

However, the Han Lingzi incident from forty years ago had made all the disciples of Shu Mountain aware that there was an Outer Disciple named Xu Qing among them.

He had just joined Shu Mountain and had already slain a True Disciple of the Corpse Ghost Sect while being at a lower Realm. He had even drawn the attention of the Corpse Ghost Sect Leader, Han Lingzi.

As a result, Shushan Elder Xu Jingtian personally stepped in to teach Han Lingzi a lesson. But Han Lingzi, refusing to yield, tried to slander Shu Mountain’s reputation, which incurred the wrath of the Sect Leader of Shushan.

In the end, a terrified Han Lingzi fled the Central Earth Realm. With his disappearance, the Corpse Ghost Sect rapidly declined in just ten short years, becoming a third-rate minor power.

Consequently, quite a few Shu Mountain disciples wanted to befriend Xu Qing, but they found him to be a bit... peculiar. If one had to describe him, it would be as a "homebody."

He practiced his sword on the mountain as if ten years were but a day, never once coming down. He didn’t even have a single maidservant or servant on the peak. His personality was solitary, and he was a complete shut-in.

Gradually, those disciples gave up on the idea of befriending Xu Qing.

However, the title of "Shu Mountain’s Number One Homebody" was slowly but surely becoming attached to his name.

Of course, Xu Qing didn’t pay much mind to these things. He spent his days on Chixia Peak practicing the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan, watching his Experience Points slowly increase. This naturally gave him an inexplicable sense of accomplishment.

After forty years, Xu Qing’s supply of Low-grade Law Stones was completely depleted.

At the same time, his Three Thousand Swords of Shushan had accumulated a massive amount of Experience Points.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

With a thought, Xu Qing’s consciousness connected to the Encyclopedia of All Things.

The basic information for the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan appeared in his mind.

...

[Three Thousand Swords of Shushan LV15: 146,000 trillion / 16,384 trillion (Upgradeable!) (...)]

"Upgrade," Xu Qing said.