Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The moment he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Quite a few members of the Meng family had gathered within the domain, all eager to see what kind of person Meng Wanshu’s Dao partner really was. But none of them expected him to speak with such arrogant disdain.

After all, the representatives of the ten families present were no pushovers. Most of the juniors they’d brought along had already reached the Illusory Refinement Realm despite being under a hundred years old. They were one in ten thousand. Only top-tier geniuses and monstrous prodigies could ever reach such a level.

And it was exactly why Li Guanqi felt so displeased. Meng Wanshu was only nineteen this year, just two months younger than him.

Among the talented juniors, the youngest was probably the flat-nosed, triangular-eyed[1] guy. Even so, he was already close to thirty, and it went without saying that the others were even older. They had all taken Youth Preservation Pills. Judging by their bone age, the oldest among them were likely well over eighty.

A wave of disgust rose in Li Guanqi’s chest. Perhaps it was simply because he hadn’t been cultivating for very long.

The old freaks who had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years naturally saw nothing wrong with it. To them, an immortal cultivator worrying about age was laughable. Moreover, being under a hundred years old and already at the Illusory Refinement Realm meant the cultivator was a top-tier existence even across all six territories.

No one moved. They all just stared at each other.

Li Guanqi mocked them again. “You don’t even dare to fight ten against one? Pathetic!”

Meng Jiangchu’s face twitched. Unable to hold back, he sent a voice transmission to Li Guanqi. “Brat, have you lost your mind?! I told you to beat them into submission, not to go looking for death. Fight them one at a time! Damn it, if all ten of them come at you together, they’ll beat the crap out of you.”Li Guanqi froze for a beat. Hmm… He has a point.

Just as he was about to call them out one by one, the flat-nosed youth curled his lips into a cold smile. “Everyone, he’s already challenged us twice. If we still refuse to fight him, we’d be making him look bad, wouldn’t we?”

With that, Wei An stepped onto the martial arena. He had short hair and wore a dark-gold robe.

Boom!

He had merely set his foot down, yet he stomped a crater dozens of zhang wide into the arena. The sheer force even caused the arena to lift slightly.

Li Guanqi’s heart skipped a beat. Such power…

Terrifying cracks spread almost instantly, racing all the way to Li Guanqi’s feet. His expression remained unchanged. He lifted his foot and stamped down hard.

Boom!

The distance between the two was barely a hundred zhang. At the midpoint, the two fissures slammed into each other, erupting in a thunderous explosion.

Wei An smiled slightly, glancing curiously at Li Guanqi. “Interesting.”

The other youths dropped the pretense. After all, Wei An had already made his move.

Li Guanqi smiled, then raised his head toward Meng Jiangchu before silently moving his lips. “Um, Father-in-law... is it too late to ask them to come one at a time?”

Li Guanqi suddenly felt a pang of regret. These guys all seem pretty strong.

Meng Jiangchu rolled his eyes. “You were the one who wanted them to come at you all at once. It’s got nothing to do with me. I can guarantee they won’t beat you to death, but if you embarrass Wanshu, that’s on you. If you lose, don’t call me ‘Father-in-law’ anymore.”

Li Guanqi rubbed his nose and flashed a wide grin at the worried-looking Meng Wanshu. He raised his brows at her and smiled. “Watch me unleash my full power!”

Standing off to the side, Wei Qing sneered. “Territorial Lord Meng, your son-in-law is still too young. Arrogance always comes with a price.”

His voice, laced with vital force, carried for hundreds of zhang. Nearly everyone thought that Li Guanqi was acting too arrogantly for his own good.

Meng Jiangchu shot him a sideways glance. “Young? Of course he’s young! My son-in-law won’t even turn twenty-one until next month, yet your grandson Wei An is already nearing thirty, isn’t he?”

He continued, “Arrogant? Hahahahaha! If I’d been at the mid-Illusory Refinement Realm before my coming of age, I would’ve been even more arrogant than him! Doesn’t he have every right to be arrogant?”

In truth, Meng Jiangchu also felt that Li Guanqi had gone a bit too far, but he couldn’t afford to show any weakness. Furthermore, he really didn’t think much of the lousy bunch who showed up today.

He had always held Xiao Chen in high regard. Unfortunately, before he and Wanshu could develop any feelings for each other, her childhood sweetheart Li Guanqi appeared out of nowhere...

Li Guanqi could naturally hear the verbal sparring above. Licking his lips, he glanced at the ten people surrounding him. Today, I not only have to win—I’ve got to win cleanly, quickly, and flawlessly!

He took a deep breath. Without wasting any words, he tapped his foot lightly against the ground, and a terrifying sword domain formed. The thousand-zhang-wide martial arena transformed into a thunderous purgatory.

At the same time, threads of fire power emerged amidst the lightning. The Lightning Dragon Flame was fully unleashed, causing the very center of the array barrier to become incomparably tough.

Everyone’s expressions darkened.

Wei Qing narrowed his eyes and looked down at the arena, muttering in astonishment. “Lightning attribute... It’s at the very least a Saint Spirit Root. His vital force alone is already comparable to the force of a Heavenly Tribulation at the Divine Transformation Realm! And that heavenly fire... The roar of a dragon... Could it be the Lightning Dragon Flame?! Meng Jiangchu, you really don’t hold back... You actually went and got the Lightning Dragon Flame for him?”

Meng Jiangchu shot him a cold look and replied scornfully, “My son-in-law comes from the Daxia Sword Sect of the Daxia Territory. He’s made it this far through his own abilities. Heavenly fire? That was his own opportunity and fortune. I didn’t give it to him.”

An enormous pitch-black sword box slammed into the ground. Everyone was momentarily stunned by the gigantic sword box.

A piercing, resounding sword cry rang out. The Red Lotus Sword shot out from the sword coffin.

Li Guanqi didn’t choose the Yanluo Sword or a two-handed sword. Not only was he unfamiliar with two-handed swords, but in this situation, only the Red Lotus Sword, with its supreme killing power, was suitable.

The Red Lotus Sword seemed to sense Li Guanqi’s intent. The instant the thought formed in his mind, the sword unleashed its full-strength Soul Dissolution.

Heaven-Opening Tier, Red Lotus Heavenly Dance!

His vital force soared, and his power surged to its absolute peak. His blood and qi churned as he gripped the four-chi-long Red Lotus Sword tightly in his left hand and pointed it straight at Wei An.

“Come and fight.”

Boom!

Proud and arrogant by nature, how could Wei An endure such provocation? With a single hand, he drew upon the void, and waves of spatial force tore open a rift in the sword domain. He thrust his hand into the void and slowly drew out a long sword, entirely dark gold in color.

The others around them grew restless. One after another, they unleashed overwhelming pressure and lunged forward.

1. Triangular eyes are a condition in which sagging of the upper eyelid skin causes the eye opening to take on a roughly triangular shape. It is most commonly seen in middle-aged and elderly individuals, though in rare cases it may be congenital.

I’ve attached an image for your reference. ☜