A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

A powerful aura burst forth, sending purple currents of air surging outward and blasting Guan Qingyun back a dozen zhang.

A flash of red light erupted from Li Guanqi’s palm, enveloping the ink-green Emerald Wolf Sword. Then, a ten-zhang-long hologram of a wolf appeared at his side. Its crimson eyes locked onto Guan Qingyun, and after a brief pause, it raised its head and howled at the sky.

The Emerald Wolf Sword flared with red light, its dragon-scale engravings rippling along the blade. Standing at the epicenter of the ripples, Li Guanqi resembled the God of Killing. The stone tiles beneath his feet shattered as he shot toward Guan Qingyun in a blur.

“Typhoon!”

The hairs on Guan Qingyun’s arm bristled. Then, his gaze turned sharp, and he slashed with his sword. He roared, “Manic Flames!”

Whoosh!

A surge of fire energy burst from his blade, catching Li Guanqi off guard and forcing him to stumble back in a rush. The burning pain lasted only a moment, but it was enough to scorch off his eyebrows and the front of his hair.

Guan Qingyun chopped at Li Guanqi’s face. “Die!”

Li Guanqi dropped to the ground, using his left hand for support as he lashed out with his right foot, striking Guan Qingyun’s wrist.

Boom!

Li Guanqi used the opportunity to flee several zhang back, finally escaping danger.

But Guan Qingyun pressed forward, refusing to give him a moment’s reprieve.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two exchanged over a dozen blows mid-air, beams of blazing light hounding Li Guanqi at every turn. The flames dancing along Guan Qingyun’s blade scorched his face, and even his white robes had caught fire.

Despite this, Li Guanqi continued his lightning-fast swordplay, ferocious and unrelenting.

The crowd watched as Li Guanqi pushed back Guan Qingyun, despite the latter wielding the formidable powers of the sword from his spirit void.

Li Guanqi swung his sword violently, his grip numb between his thumb and forefinger. A fiery heat surged through him, as though his blood were boiling. He’d never felt this way before—not until facing such a formidable opponent.

The intense stress sharpened all his senses. His body trembled slightly, coursing with adrenaline.

Clang clang! Boom!

Flames erupted from Guan Qingyun’s sword and clashed with Li Guanqi’s purple sword light. A violent blast tore through the air, hurling them both a dozen zhang.

Li Guanqi skidded backward under the impact, his sword coffin still bound to his back and the upper half of his robes reduced to ashes. His feet carved deep grooves into the stage until he jammed his right foot down to halt himself.

Guan Qingyun didn’t fare much better. He tumbled several times through the air before managing to stabilize himself.

Only then did the audience let out the breath they’d been holding. A deafening cheer erupted, followed by the thunder of tens of war drums pounding in unison. The entire arena surged with excitement.

“Oh my goodness! They’re so strong!”

“Yeah! And they’re only Foundation Building Realm cultivators! Just imagine their power if they reach the Golden Core Realm!”

The disciples from the remaining twenty-plus sects in the tournament grew solemn. Many of them had looked down on Li Guanqi and the Daxia Sword Sect, but now, they couldn’t deny that he had the strength to crush them all.

A young man in indigo robes gritted his teeth. “If I had to face him... I wouldn’t even have a thirty percent chance of winning.”

And this was the eldest senior brother of the Flying Swallow Tower, which was currently ranked seventh. He wasn’t alone—many disciples across the crowd imagined themselves in Guan Qingyun’s place and realized they might not even survive three moves against the blind youth.

Even Zhao Beichen of the Purple Sun Pavilion had a grave look on his face.

Li Guanqi had reached an astonishing speed of eight sword slashes per breath. Eight!

That didn’t mean Guan Qingyun was weak—far from it. The fact that he was still standing and had only sustained a few cuts spoke volumes about his strength. But if he blinked or faltered for a single moment, he’d be finished.

Li Guanqi tore off the charred tatters of his robes. With a flick of the wrist, he shook off the blood on the Emerald Wolf Sword.

A wave of fatigue surged through him.

Maintaining such blinding speed came at a cost. And to repel Guan Qingyun’s flames, he had no choice but to keep pushing himself harder.

Despite his exhaustion, Li Guanqi stood tall, maintaining a nonchalant expression.

Across from him, Guan Qingyun’s chest heaved with every breath. He didn’t take his eyes off Li Guanqi, afraid that another attack might come at any moment. He wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth.

“I’ll admit it—you’re strong. I thought I’d only be forced to use my spirit void sword’s ability against Zhao Beichen. Never imagined I’d need it against someone else. Li Guanqi, was it? I’ll remember your name.”

The disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect watched on with bated breath. Every single one of them was hoping for Li Guanqi to defeat Guan Qingyun and lead their sect to glory, finally making other factions take them seriously.

Many people had noticed the dense, eerie blood patterns on Li Guanqi’s body. Guan Qingyun saw them too and assumed they were the markings of some secret technique enhancing Li Guanqi’s strength.

Li Guanqi took a deep breath, feeling his vital force flow through his body. Then, the tile beneath his feet exploded.

Off in the distance, Guan Qingyun cursed, “Stubborn bastard!”

Despite the cursing, he reacted quickly and precisely with his own sword techniques. His sword blazed with bright red flames, and every move contained great power.

Li Guanqi continued to slash continuously, unfazed by Guan Qingyun.

As the battle dragged on, Guan Qingyun began to tire. After all, he had to keep his sword spirit void open the entire time.

Li Guanqi flew toward him, bringing his sword down in a thunderous arc.

Fumbling to react, all Guan Qingyun could do was raise his sword horizontally to defend himself.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Li Guanqi spun quickly like a spinning top, unleashing multiple streaks of purple sword light.

While Guan Qingyun desperately tried to deflect the onslaught, Li Guanqi instinctively found a crack in his defense.