Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Still kneeling, Wei Qian remained silent. Li Guanqi slowly twisted the lightning sword pinning Wei Qian’s hand to the floor.

Blood gushed out. Wei Qian felt a surge of terror, and his limbs turned cold. He swallowed hard, then gritted his teeth. “I was only following orders! The goal was to lure Qian Qiusui to the Falling Sunset Territory!”

Li Guanqi’s left hand swung the sword at lightning speed.

Pfft!

“Ahh! Why?! I already answered you!”

Wei Qian twisted in agony as his right arm flew into the air, blood spraying across the hall.

Li Guanqi scratched his chin, sitting cross-legged on Wei Qian’s back. “Yes, you spoke, but you didn’t finish. That attitude displeases me. Little Wei, you are not being honest…”

Everyone froze. Wei Qian had already confessed, yet Li Guanqi severed his arm anyway.

Suddenly, Li Guanqi paused and looked toward the doorway. A young man in inner sect robes walked in. The elders in the hall widened their eyes and scolded the young man at once. “Leave! Don’t you know the rules?”

“Sun Zhen! You are only an inner sect disciple. You have no right to be here. Go!”Li Guanqi’s lips curved into a playful smile. His white eyes seemed to pierce through everything. He raised his head and laughed. “Why not keep pretending?”

The youth in purple robes rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “I can’t keep pretending.”

Everyone was baffled by their conversation, except for Wei Qian, whose eyes widened in fear.

Sun Zhen’s lips carried a faint smile, but his gaze never left Li Guanqi.

Buzz!

His aura erupted. His Golden Core Realm cultivation surged to the peak of the mid Illusory Refinement Realm.

He looked at Li Guanqi with interest and mused, “You are strong.”

Sun Zhen reached for his neck and drew out a thread of lightning, crushing it in his hand. “That little trick you planted on me wasn’t clever. Still, I am curious. How did you notice?”

Li Guanqi curled his lip and rose to his feet. Looking down at Sun Zhen, he said softly, “You were an Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator hiding among low-ranked disciples. How could I not be suspicious? As for how I figured out your cultivation level… perhaps your acting was just poor.”

Sun Zhen chuckled. His gaze turned toward Qian Qiusui, and he reached out.

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi vanished, reappearing between them. He swung his right fist.

Boom!

Many floor tiles exploded, their fragments flying in every direction. Sun Zhen skidded back dozens of zhang, crashing through the doorway and into the courtyard.

Li Guanqi frowned at his scratched, bleeding fingers. Sun Zhen grimly inspected his own, now twisted out of shape. “A physique cultivator?”

Li Guanqi shrugged and remained silent, though his guard rose. He could sense Sun Zhen wasn’t purely a physique cultivator, yet his physical strength was formidable. Li Guanqi tilted his head, pondering. “Are you from an Ancient Clan?”

Sun Zhen’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected anyone to see through him after just one clash. He had been hiding for so long.

Their voices carried clearly through the hall. The Baizhang Sect elders exchanged bewildered looks.

“What is going on… Didn’t Sun Zhen join the sect a long time ago?”

“Ancient Clan? Could it be that he is not Sun Zhen?”

“What, what, what… what is happening?”

On the high dais, Wei Qian sat slumped. His cultivation had only recently been forced into the Illusory Refinement Realm with Illusory Breakthrough Pills. Both men were far beyond anything he could match.

When Sun Zhen had first approached him, he had felt the same helplessness. A helplessness so deep it left no room for resistance. From that moment, the Baizhang Sect had become Sun Zhen’s domain.

Qian Qiusui let out a breath. With Li Guanqi standing before her, she felt safe. His presence alone was enough.

Sun Zhen flexed his fingers back into place and settled one hand behind his back. He looked at Qian Qiusui, then at Li Guanqi. “Fellow Daoist Li, are you certain you want to interfere in this?”

Li Guanqi shrugged, winked, and smiled. “I must. After all, I was paid.”

Sun Zhen’s lips twitched. He didn’t believe Qian Qiusui, a mere early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, could hire someone as powerful as Li Guanqi. And Li Guanqi clearly felt no romantic affection for her. She was the one giving him alluring looks.

Sun Zhen sighed helplessly. “Fellow Daoist, you make things difficult for me.”

Li Guanqi smiled and flashed in front of Sun Zhen. He shifted his stance and drove a lightning-wreathed fist forward.

Sun Zhen raised his eyebrows and threw his arms up to block, vital force surging as he braced for the punch.

Boom!

The sky above cracked open. Sun Zhen was blasted hundreds of zhang away. Li Guanqi’s mocking voice followed. “Difficult? Then give up!”

Sun Zhen’s face flushed. His robes hung in tatters, his arms stamped with a purple-black fist mark. “I only wanted her Zen Sound Fruit. It’s not as if I wouldn’t pay. Was this necessary?”

Qian Qiusui’s eyes widened. She clenched her robes, lips parting.

Li Guanqi frowned. This was the first time he had heard of such a fruit.

“But now…” Sun Zhen said. He licked his lips, his eyes burning with fighting spirit as he looked at Li Guanqi. “Now I only want to fight you!”

Li Guanqi laughed. Sun Zhen had long hidden within the Baizhang Sect, but he didn’t quite fit the typical mold of Ancient Clan disciples.

Aren’t they all supposed to be arrogant, domineering prodigal sons?