Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The Azure Cloud Pavillion’s master, Zheng Hao, watched on with narrowed eyes. Fixing his gaze on Li Guanqi standing onstage, he let out a cold snort. “Hmph! The results are clear. You’ve won!”

Li Guanqi turned, his pure white eyes locking onto Zheng Hao. To Zheng Hao’s disbelief, Li Guanqi raised his leg and drove his foot into Pang Li’s chin.

Crack!

Pang Li’s jaw shattered with a sickening crunch, sending him flying into the air with blood and teeth spraying out of his mouth. Li Guanqi took a deep breath, then spun and slammed a fist into Pang Li’s dantian. The punch, brimming with vital force, shattered his dantian on impact.

“How dare you!” Zheng Hao shouted, his aura surging as he got up to charge at Li Guanqi. But before he could move, a sword flashed before his throat, its tip pressing against his skin.

“Move and see what happens!”

Pang Li’s eyes bulged so wide they seemed ready to pop out of his skull. Blood spurted from his mouth, splattering across Li Guanqi’s face.

He was still airborne from the blow when Li Guanqi appeared before him again. His face was twisted in a vicious snarl, and his pure white eyes were bloodshot.

Li Guanqi had initially considered consulting his master, but he could no longer restrain his urge to kill. He seized Pang Li’s left arm and drove his knee into the elbow.

Crack!Bone pierced through flesh. Without hesitation, Li Guanqi grabbed Pang Li’s head, lifted it high, and slammed it down onto the stage with devastating force.

Crash!

The stage shook violently, with tiles exploding as a one chi deep crater formed. Red and white brain matter splattered in all directions.

The Purple Sun Pavilion fell into dead silence, broken only by the occasional gulp. Li Guanqi stood there, his chest heaving with labored breaths. He did not even glance at the lifeless figure on the ground.

Zheng Hao’s eyes widened in fury, but the sword at his neck pressed half an inch deep into his neck. He clenched his teeth and glared at the young man onstage before looking nervously at Li Nanting. The latter met his gaze with an icy, murderous glint.

In the end, Zheng Hao flicked his sleeve and let out a cold huff. “Fine! Fine! The Daxia Sword Sect has done well!”

Li Nanting retracted his bloodied sword without a word. Zheng Hao shot Li Nanting a venomous look. “You’ve made an enemy of me today. Pray I never get my hands on him.”

Li Nanting scoffed. “So what? Do I look like I’m afraid of you?”

Onstage, Li Guanqi looked terrifying—he had red and white brain matter smeared on his face, yet he made no effort to wipe it off.

Looking down at the silent crowd, Li Guanqi said, “Don’t think of me as cruel. If I had been on the losing end today, do you think Pang Li would have shown me mercy?”

He continued, “If any of you are dissatisfied, step forward. I’ll wait here for half an hour.”

The silence was deafening. The Purple Sun Pavilion’s disciples felt like an invisible hand was choking them and preventing any words from coming out. Li Guanqi’s performance had burned itself into their minds.

Li Guanqi leaped offstage. His aura was only thirty percent weaker than before.

Ye Feng rubbed his palms and patted the fat youth next to him. “Pay up, brother.”

Tang Ru’s face twitched as he counted his spirit stones. “Wait here for half an hour. I’ll come back with the rest.”

Ye Feng shrugged and said, “Just send them to my quarters. I’m too scared to wait half an hour in this place.”

Then, Li Nanting led their group away on their flying swords.

Once they returned to their quarters, Li Nanting halted. “Guanqi, come with me.”

Li Guanqi nodded and followed him into a room.

Outside, the others gathered around Ye Feng. “Li Guanqi... he’s too violent.”

“Yeah... I’ve killed before, but never like that...”

Ye Feng’s face darkened, then he rose and walked back to his room. He turned his head and said coldly, “Violent? Are you saying that he’s too violent? You all disgust me. If it had been any of you instead of Little Bao, do you think he wouldn’t have risked his life to challenge Pang Li to a death duel?

“He wasn’t just defending Yu Sui’an—he was upholding the honor of the Daxia Sword Sect. If he had been timid and ingratiating toward the Purple Sun Pavilion, all the sects in the Northern Territory would have known about it by tomorrow. They’d think that the disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect are spineless cowards!”

At that point, Ye Feng felt that saying anything more would be useless, so he returned to his room. The others exchanged looks, speechless. A female disciple, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

“Junior Brother would be very sad if he heard what you all said. As Ye Feng said, while his methods were ruthless, they ensured the Purple Sun Pavilion will think twice before targeting a Daxia Sword Sect disciple again.”

She turned and left. The two remaining disciples felt guilty. They sighed and returned to their rooms.

In the room, Li Nanting used a clean handkerchief to wipe the bloodstains on Li Guanqi’s face clean. He said gently, “You must learn to control your mind in the future. Don’t let demons take root in your heart. It’s not about whether you killed him—it’s about what I saw in your methods today. It worries me.”

Li Guanqi remained silent for a long moment before replying, “He said he’d kill Yu Sui’an if he ever got the chance.”

Li Nanting’s gaze softened slightly. So that’s why he glanced at me before finishing off Pang Li.

Li Nanting only smiled and patted his shoulder. He did not blame Li Guanqi. “Take a Mind Stilling Pill before cultivating for the next few days. Don’t let this fester in your heart. If you do, it’ll turn into a demon.

“Alright, go back and get some rest. We should be able to test your spirit void tomorrow.”

Li Guanqi nodded and left to return to his room.

The moment he stepped outside, he spotted Tang Ru carrying ten storage pouches, looking for Ye Feng.

When Tang Ru saw Li Guanqi, he shuddered, tossed the pouches at Ye Feng, and hurriedly left.

Ye Feng caught the pouches and grinned. He gave Li Guanqi seven pouches and said, “You take seven, I’ll take three. I didn’t do anything after all, haha.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “Thank you.”

However, he still tossed two of the pouches back at Ye Feng.

Ye Feng froze, then accepted them with a low chuckle. “What are you thanking me for? It’s the truth. Let’s head back and get some rest.”

That night, disciples from the other five sects arrived at Purple Sun Pavilion.

Li Guanqi sat on his bed for a long time, deviating from his usual cultivation practice.

“Sword Spirit, do you think I made the wrong decision?”

A voice echoed in his mind. “Why are you doubting yourself? Didn’t you make your decision when you threw that punch? As for your methods... they were nothing extreme. Having observed you for a while, I think you have the kind of character that will truly survivein the brutal world of cultivation.”

Li Guanqi smiled and took the Mind Stilling Pill. Yes, there’s no point in dwelling on it. I made my choice when I threw that punch.