Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

To the great relief of the other Daxia Sword Sect disciples, Li Guanqi remained expressionless. Ye Feng and Lin Dong each stepped forward to stand beside him. Even Zhong Lin, after a brief hesitation, followed suit.

The disciples of the Seven Strings Sect and Azure Dragon Island Sect glared with killing intent in their eyes.

As the lead disciples of both sects passed by Li Guanqi, they intentionally bumped their shoulders against him with mocking smirks, then continued walking.

The corners of Li Guanqi’s lips curled into a cold smirk. He reached out and grabbed both men by their faces. His muscles bulged as he lifted the two late Foundation Building disciples clean off the ground and hurled them more than a dozen zhang away.

The lead disciple of the Seven Strings Sect felt as though iron pincers were crushing his face—no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free. A moment later, the ground vanished from under him as he was hoisted into the air.

Boom! Boom!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As the two figures flew through the air, disciples from all three sects drew their swords in unison. The air crackled with tension. Onlookers from other sects gathered, eager to watch the drama unfold.

Suddenly, a streak of purple light tore down from the sky. A cold glint flashed as a sword came slashing toward Li Guanqi.

Ye Feng was ready to leap to his defense, but Li Guanqi held him back. He drew his Emerald Wolf Sword, and as his vital force surged, the dragon-scale patterns on the sword began to ripple.Within his spirit void, a blood-red sword fused into the Emerald Wolf Sword. The blade gleamed with red light and grew an inch longer.

“Typhoon!”

A burst of invisible wind erupted outward. In a flash, a streak of sword light pierced the air. A deafening boom rang out as Li Guanqi was blasted back over a dozen zhang.

Behind him, Ye Feng quickly stepped up and braced him with a shoulder, stopping him from being pushed back further.

Shock flickered across the attacker’s face—he, too, was forced several zhang back through the air. The stone tiles directly below him exploded.

To everyone’s shock, the man, a Golden Core Realm cultivator, lifted his sword and flew at Li Guanqi in a public setting.

A flicker of fury crossed Li Guanqi’s face, then quickly settled into calm focus. He assumed the starting stance of the Purple Ripple Demon Sword Technique.

He stomped down hard with his left foot, cracking the stone beneath him in a spiderweb pattern. Then came his right foot, shattering and collapsing the tiles within a full one-zhang radius.

Whoosh!

A figure flashed in front of Li Guanqi. A hand shot out, shielding his chest. Li Guanqi looked up to see Wu Bing’s gentle gaze turn ice-cold as he threw a punch with his right hand.

Boom!

Roaring flames surged skyward as a one-zhang-long shadow of a fist blasted forth. The devastating force sent the purple-robed attacker hurtling nearly a hundred zhang away. Unable to steady himself, he flailed like a rag doll and crashed into a building.

Wu Bing rose into the air, flames dancing around him. He looked down with contempt and said coldly, “Ding Qing of the Seven Strings Sect, was it? Hehe… A mighty Golden Core Realm cultivator caught bullying a junior disciple?”

Ding Qing’s right hand trembled beneath his sleeve. The skin between his thumb and forefinger had split open. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, glaring at them and snickering. “Your Daxia Sword Sect disciples killed seven of my sect’s disciples. You’re the cruel, violent ones.”

But Wu Bing’s smirk grew with his statement.

To the onlookers, it now seemed like there was a grudge between the sects. Though Ding Qing’s conduct was unethical, many felt it was understandable.

Wu Bing didn’t waste words. Still hovering in mid-air, he said, “Ding Qing, I challenge you to a death match on behalf of the Daxia Sword Sect. Right here. Right now. Do you accept?”

A hush fell over everyone within a hundred zhang. It was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

Ding Qing’s pupils constricted in disbelief. He was about to speak when Wu Bing waved and cut him off. “Spare me the nonsense. Didn’t you say my junior brother killed your disciples? Didn’t you want revenge? Here’s your chance—fight me, someone in your league. Life or death, we’ll each bear the consequences. It doesn’t get any more fair than this.”

Ding Qing’s chest heaved as he scanned the crowd below. All the disciples from the surrounding sects were watching him. His mouth opened… but no words came.

Looking at Ding Qing’s reddened face, Wu Bing turned and laughed. “Coward! If you do not have the guts for a duel, don’t even think of picking fights with our sect again! You’re all bark and no bite. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t dare take it!’

Ding Qing shook with anger. Wu Bing’s punch had shown him how vast the gap between them truly was—and that was without Wu Bing even drawing his sword. Worse, while the artifact in Wu Bing’s spirit void was kept a secret, people of Dong Qing’s level vaguely knew about it.

Glaring, Ding Qing flung his sleeve with a huff. “Hmph! I hope we’ll meet you all on the martial stage later!”

Ye Feng scoffed. “The Seven Strings Sect sure talks a lot.”

Ding Qing heard him. His face reddened further from everything he couldn’t say, so he merely stormed off with the other Seven Strings Sect disciples.

The Azure Dragon Island Sect’s lead disciple also led his team away with a dark expression.

The crowd booed the departing factions. Many admired Wu Bing’s strength and Li Guanqi’s bravery in drawing his sword after taking a blow from a Golden Core Realm cultivator.

A powerful aura had emanated from him when he shattered the stone tiles with a single stride.

Before long, everyone was talking about the Daxia Sword Sect. The once-overlooked sect had clearly produced fierce talent. Wu Bing’s and Li Guanqi’s names quickly spread. Some people even unearthed stories about how Li Guanqi had awakened a very high-tier sword in his spirit void, how he’d challenged someone to a death match at the Purple Sun Pavilion while still at the early Foundation Building Realm, and how he’d viciously killed one of their disciples right in front of the pavilion’s elders.

Pair that with Wu Bing’s immediate death duel challenge the moment he met Ding Qing, and the Daxia Sword Sect gained an extraordinary reputation. People came to view the disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect as ruthless and not easily bullied.

Everyone knew Wu Bing’s death duel challenge stemmed from a mere shoulder bump.

Wu Bing took his team back to their lodgings after leading them to register with their jade slips. Back at their lodgings, he transmitted, “The sect will rise because of us. That’s why we must ensure no one ever dares look down on us again.”

Wu Bing patted Li Guanqi’s shoulder and said, “Next time a Golden Core Realm cultivator attacks you, I will protect you! Do not force yourself. Try to keep your abilities hidden.”