“It is also bravery when you give up something you have ever known as precious for the sake of something better.”

Qai was startled when he heard the voice.

And his initial reaction was to take a step back. But he thought that the voice belonged to some old monster that served as the ‘keeper’ of the Pagoda.

‘Was there any elder living here?’

Qai extended his Spiritual Sense and tried to ascertain if there was anyone hiding.

Surprisingly, he found none.

He was evidently alone—and a great sense of fear simultaneously welled up in his heart.

Clearly, it was not the same case when he went to Old Nanfeng in the latter’s refinement shop who just decided not to show his face.

If ever there was anyone in there, it was definitely not a cultivator.

Qai took another step backwards—unfortunately, the portal was already gone.

“Do not fear, disciple. I am the Spirit of this Artefact.”

‘S.. Spirit!?’

Although his fear dissipated, Qai eventually turned confused. Sadly for him, the voice did not explain anything.

He heard that the Pagoda was actually an Artefact but he did not know what a Spirit of an Artefact was.

Qai never learned or heard of it so he couldn't guess what the voice meant.

Apparently, among the treasures used by cultivators, an Artefact was one that surpasses the grade of ordinary treasures.

Old Nanfeng once praised his own work when he told Qai that the latter’s Guandao was almost a quasi-Artefact.

And accordingly, a Spirit in an Artefact was a sentient entity born from a certain energy source through a period of time which eventually became bound to a treasure.

Qai put the matter at the back of his mind and simply bowed where he stood.

“Senior, what can this disciple help you with?”

“Disciple, you are actually the twelfth individual to reach this floor but the first since the last 300 years.”

Qai was stunned when he heard the words.

He initially thought that many were able to complete all the 9 floors.

Evidently, 300 years are not long for cultivators so the statement could actually mean that someone from the senior generation had also stepped into the ninth floor.

But for Qai to be the first among the disciples in his generation was something he didn't imagine.

“Since you reached this floor, you are given the opportunity to choose one of the rewards.”

‘Reward!?’

Qai suddenly became happy.

He already heard there was some kind of reward in the Pagoda, but when he received all those pure spiritual Qi energy after every battle in each floor, he thought they were already the so-called reward.

“Senior, may I know what are the rewards available to choose from.”

From there, a fluctuation of spiritual Qi energy suddenly twisted and revealed 5 treasures.

Qai stepped forward and carefully examined the treasures. He didn't know what they actually were but the Artefact was kind enough to decribe each of the items.

“The first is a sword Artefact used by my Master in his early years of cultivation.”

“The next is a drop of dragon’s blood. Once a cultivator or a Spirit Beast absorbs this, he would receive a special bloodline. However, you should take note that the essence of this drop of blood is not so pure. Even then, such bloodline is a boon for one’s cultivation, especially to Spirit Beasts.”

“The same goes for the third item which is a drop of Qilin blood.”

“The fourth is a pill cauldron of an Artefact grade. As such it can enhance one’s pill concoction and give a 70% chance of success.”

“The last item is a Jade slip that contains the first half of the cultivation technique used by my Master. For now, I cannot explain to you its details unless you choose this item.”

Qai was stunned at all the treasures presented.

He thought for a moment then looked above.

“Senior, may I ask who your Master is?”

“My Master is a known cultivator called Divine Swordsman. As far as I know, he already ascended this world into a higher plane.”

‘Higher plane!?’

Qai did not ask further and just continued to weigh his options.

In his deduction, the Jade slip must contain a method related to those who follow the path of Sword Dao. So in his options, he already eliminated the sword Artefact and the Jade slip.

Also, since he was not much interested in pill alchemy so far, he discarded the pill cauldron.

“Senior, if I may ask. How many times can a disciple receive a reward?”

“To answer this disciple, if you complete all the floors again, then definitely you will once again be rewarded. However let me warn you that after you receive a reward for the first time, your second or third attempt to complete this Pagoda will be much more difficult. In addition to that, the available rewards may no longer be the same.”

Qai took a deep breath and thought hard before making a choice.

In his mind, he wanted to come back inside the ninth floor someday so he could pick another treasure.

For now, the remaining options we're between 2 drops of blood. He wanted both of them as he thought of some plan with them in his mind.

“Senior, I would like to ask another question. Between these 2 drops of blood, which one is much purer than the other.”

“Disciple, I am not supposed to tell you the answer unless you choose one. The only additional piece of information I can tell you is their elemental affinity. The dragon from which this blood came from was an Ice Dragon while the qilin was a Wind Qilin.”

“Senior, then I choose the drop of Qilin blood.”

With that, the bottle containing the drop of blood flipped out of the air.

Qai caught it and saw the portal on one side of the ninth floor.

He went through the portal and appeared in front of the sect official at the Pagoda entrance.

The sect official swept a glance at him and realized that he broke through a level.

“Junior, it seems like this Pagoda had been good to you.”

Qai nodded while the sect official handed back his badge.

“A total of 6000 Contribution Points was deducted from you.”

‘What!? How long had I stayed inside?’

With 300 Contribution Points a day, Qai had actually stayed for an extra 20 days after he consumed his month-worth of free stay.

Qai was dumbfounded as he left the Pagoda entrance.

And once he stepped out, several Spiritual Sense swept over him as if all secrets had suddenly been revealed.

Qai shivered and immediately figured out that the sect elders must have known that he completed the Pagoda.

He immediately ran into his valley and decided to just shut himself and cultivate it in peace.

Back in his valley, Qai first checked on the Eland.

It has been almost a year since he took it under his care.

Since he already had a contracted Spirit Beast, he could only place his spiritual mark on the Spirit Beast when he found it.

It wouldn't form a lasting bond like the contracted Spirit Beast because there was always the risk that a Spirit Beast might abandon its master once it's cultivation base surpassed that of his master.

But it was a different case with the Eland.

It grew up believing that Qai was its parent so there was also that special connection between them even if there was no existing blood contract.

In fact, when it came to cultivation bases, the Spirit Beast Eland had been higher from the beginning but it never abandoned Qai—so it was clear that there was already some form of loyalty in the mind of the Eland.

And it was exactly for the growing Eland that Qai opted to choose the drop of Qilin blood.

The drop of blood came from a Qilin that had Wind elemental affinity. The same element that his Eland possessed.

In his thoughts, perhaps the blood would awaken some kind of hidden power sleeping in the Eland once it acquired a Qilin’s bloodline.

Qai would not take it for himself.

He wanted his Eland to have a Qilin bloodline and become his mount.

He was a knight, after all, so he needed a beast mount.