Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Meng Jiangchu smiled and said softly, “Yes, it’s been a long time. Oh, and while you’re at it, register an identity for him.”

The man nodded. He seemed quite familiar with Meng Jiangchu. His gaze shifted meaningfully toward Li Guanqi, and he smiled. “So this is Li Guanqi, the one who’s been making a name for himself lately? Not bad. The new generation really does surpass the old. Give me a moment. A few members of the ancient clans still need to register their identities now that they’ve returned to the world, so I’ll process them all together.”

Meng Jiangchu nodded and led Li Guanqi to a side pavilion. “Wait inside a bit. I’ll step out and be right back.”

The moment Li Guanqi reached the entrance, he sensed several powerful auras. His arrival drew every gaze in the room toward him.

Four young people sat inside the elegantly furnished room. Of course, “young” referred only to their appearance.

Three sat on one side, two men and a woman. None of them were weak. All four were in the early Combined Body Realm, yet their cultivation was far more stable and refined than Li Guanqi’s.

Across from them sat a young man with one leg propped on a chair, a furrowed brow, and a dark gold writing brush in hand. A stack of talisman paper lay on the table before him. As he inscribed the talismans, he picked up a jade flask, peered inside with narrowed eyes, and grimaced.

Sensing someone enter, he turned toward Li Guanqi, and his eyes lit up. The young man wore a yellow robe and had delicate, refined features, handsome enough to rival even a pretty boy like Xiao Chen.

What truly captivated Li Guanqi, however, was the pile of talisman paper. He immediately recognized that it wasn’t made of ordinary materials. “The skin of a seventh-tier great demon?”

All eyes were on Li Guanqi. One of the young men frowned, leaned back in his chair, and sneered. “Well, well. If it isn’t the infamous Yanluo Sword Sovereign of the Six Territories, Li Guanqi.” The man wore a black brocade robe and sat with his arms crossed, his expression cold but his tone mocking.

Beside him sat a slightly plump young man in a golden robe, who lifted his teacup and took a sip. With narrowed eyes and a subtle smile, he cast a sideways glance at Li Guanqi. “Heh. That kid from the Lu clan died for nothing. He couldn’t even handle a cultivator from the Six Territories. Now the Lu clan has fallen apart, and their ten-thousand-year foundation has fallen into someone else’s hands. Truly laughable.”

He turned to look Li Guanqi up and down, then sneered. “Doesn’t look all that strong to me.”

A graceful woman covered her mouth and chuckled. She looked at Li Guanqi with open disdain, not taking him seriously in the least. She spoke lightly to the black-robed man beside her. “I thought he’d be some big shot. He’s got a decent face, but that’s about it. He doesn’t even compare to Brother Zhao.”

The young man across from them gagged, then mimicked the woman, raising one finger in a dainty pose and saying coyly, “Can’t even compare to Brother Zhao~ Blegh.”

The woman and the plump young man’s expressions darkened. The black-robed young man narrowed his eyes and cast a cold glance across the room. “Gu Li, what’s that supposed to mean?”

The young man in yellow leaned back and sneered. “Nothing. I just don’t like you idiots. Zhao Bin, and you too, Zheng Qingyan. You’re all talk. If you’d run into Lu Wuhen in the Illusory Refinement Realm, he’d have beaten the hell out of you.”

The plump young man shot to his feet and glared at Gu Li. “Watch your mouth. You think I’m afraid of you?”

Through all of it, Gu Li never stopped drawing. His hand moved without pause, and that alone struck Li Guanqi as remarkable. He could tell at a glance that the talismans Gu Li was sketching idly were all tier seven, and that the man was inscribing them without the slightest effort. Li Guanqi could barely imagine the spirit power and mental strength required to sustain that. To make it look so effortless, Gu Li’s spirit power had to be at least twice his own.

What intrigued Li Guanqi even more was that all of them clearly came from ancient clans. So why was Gu Li taking his side?

Leaning in the doorway, Li Guanqi remained silent, simply watching them with a faint smile.

Gu Li curled his lip and sneered at the plump young man. “Look at you, standing there like a pig on its hind legs, so full of yourself. Come on, Wu Yong. I’ll give you a chance. Let’s fight. If you can get within a hundred zhang of me, I’ll concede. How about it?”

Wu Yong trembled with rage. But Li Guanqi noticed that Zhao Bin and Zheng Qingyan both remained silent.

Interesting... Is the Gu clan really that powerful? Li Guanqi thought.

Seeing Wu Yong fall silent, Gu Li rolled his eyes and cursed again, “You can’t even fight, yet you still act tough. Pathetic. You don’t measure up to a single one of my brothers.”

Gu Li walked right up to Wu Yong and crooked his fingers open in a beckoning motion.

Wu Yong frowned at the open palm before his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Smack!

Gu Li immediately slapped him. The sound was sharp and loud, and the force behind it was immense. In the blink of an eye, the plump man’s cheek swelled and reddened.

Gu Li said irritably, “What do I mean? I mean nothing. If you can’t understand it, why ask? I’m calling you a pig because you’re a pig-brained idiot.”

He flipped the flask in his hand upside down and cursed, “Couldn’t you see I’m out of demonic beast essence blood? Hand some over.”

Wu Yong’s shoulders trembled. His vital force surged, and an oppressive pressure spread through the room.

When Li Guanqi sensed that pressure, his eyes narrowed slightly. He pushed himself off the doorframe and straightened up.

Smack!

Another loud slap, this one scattering the pressure around Wu Yong outright.

Gu Li cursed again, “Are you deaf, or just stupid?”

Wu Yong closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and clenched his jaw so hard his cheeks bulged and veins stood out on his forehead.

Just as Gu Li raised his hand again, Zhao Bin grabbed his wrist.

Gu Li frowned. The next instant, his other hand shot out like lightning and slapped Zhao Bin across the face.

Smack!

“What, you want a beating too?”

Zhao Bin froze for a moment, then took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, “Fine. I’ll give it to you.”

Only then did Gu Li lower his hands with a faint smile. “Now that’s more like it. Both of you really are pathetic.”

Zhao Bin’s face twitched, but he held his tongue. He flipped his hand, produced a purple crystal jade bottle, and held it out.

Then he caught sight of Li Guanqi standing there. The faint smile on Li Guanqi’s face only deepened his humiliation and anger. “What are you looking at? You’re nothing but trash.”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and took a slow step forward.

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