A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Boom!

“Heaven-Opening, Blood-Drinking Sky!”

Buzz!

Crimson light engulfed Luo Changqing’s saber, and its power surged.

Li Guanqi merely laughed disdainfully and murmured, “Heaven-Opening.”

Luo Changqing abruptly halted his charge. Alarm bells went off in his head, and he immediately twisted aside, shifting dozens of zhang through the air.

Li Guanqi pursued without hesitation. His vital force sword swept out in a relentless barrage.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Saber and sword clashed, sending sparks flying as though two steel weapons were colliding. Yet, the sword in Li Guanqi’s hand showed no change.

Li Guanqi sneered. “It’s only a branch. How could it possibly bear the power of my sword spirit void?”

His swordplay changed as he spoke, becoming swift and fluid.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Forced back more than thirty zhang, Luo Changqing’s face turned a livid purple. Every momentary lapse earned him another sword wound deep enough to expose bone.

Boom! Clang!

Blood-colored light flashed across Luo Changqing’s saber. He forced Li Guanqi back with a slash and roared, “Blood Moon, Flower Burial!”

Boom!

Scarlet saber light gathered into the shape of winter plum blossoms. Hundreds upon thousands of phantom branches surrounded Li Guanqi, and countless crimson petals fell.

Li Guanqi’s expression shifted slightly, and his gaze sharpened. He darted from place to place, but fine cuts kept opening across his body. Frowning, he stamped down on empty air and thrust his sword again and again, weaving an impenetrable curtain of sword light before him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

But the petals came from every direction. When they stopped falling, Li Guanqi stood covered in bloody wounds.

A hundred zhang away, Luo Changqing’s chest rose and fell gently. The attack had consumed only a fraction of the vital force stored in his dantian.

Qin Wushang sat up straighter and narrowed his eyes. “What exquisite saber work! Those falling plum blossoms are beautifully done. But it’s too flashy. The killing power is lacking.”

Li Guanqi slowly exhaled. He nodded with genuine admiration. “Not a bad saber art. Unfortunately, it’s not strong enough.”

Buzz!

Thunder rumbled across heaven and earth as dark violet lightning flickered through the sky. The balance between the two domains broke. Within a few breaths, Sword Prison claimed seventy percent of the sky.

Cold sweat broke out on Luo Changqing’s forehead. He frantically manipulated his domain, struggling to regain control, but the outcome had been decided the moment Li Guanqi stopped holding back.

Boom!

Li Guanqi unleashed his late Combined Body Realm aura. Feeling boundless power race through his body, he couldn’t help but smile. It had been a long time since he’d fought with everything he had. A pity I can’t use Red Lotus right now.

Buzz!

Countless bolts of lightning wove together behind him, forming the image of an ancient lightning god. Li Guanqi raised the dead branch overhead and icily looked at Luo Changqing.

“Great Yan, Thunder Wrath!” he murmured.

Boom!

A lightning sword dozens of zhang long descended with terrifying killing intent, moving too fast for Luo Changqing to dodge.

Gritting his teeth, Luo Changqing gripped his saber with both hands and stepped forward. “Sparkling Gold, Severing Union Slash!”

Boom!

His saber transformed into a dazzling streak of golden light, and even the void seemed to split beneath the strike. Twisting through the air with profound footwork, he crossed dozens of zhang in only three steps. His saber swept upward in a devastating arc.

Boom!

Their attacks collided with a deafening explosion, hurling both men out of the raging storm.

Qin Wushang sprang to his feet with his eyes fixed on the battlefield. Frowning, he muttered, “Should I step in? No... they’re both getting carried away. I’m not sure I can stop them at this point.”

Boom!

Li Guanqi moved first, a cold gleam in his eyes. “Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra! Dragon Transformation!”

Roar!

He shot forward in a streak of violet lightning, moving so fast that even Qin Wushang could barely catch a blurred afterimage. The void where Li Guanqi had stood collapsed, leaving a hole hundreds of zhang across. With both arms transformed into dragon limbs, his body was a living weapon.

Armed with nothing more than a dead branch, Li Guanqi sent Luo Changqing flying with a single strike. The Blood-Drinking Saber bent into an absurd arc and shook with a mournful wail. Half of Luo Changqing’s body went numb from the impact.

Whoosh!

Boom!

Luo Changqing smashed through one mountain peak before crashing deep into another.

Before Luo Changqing could rise, Li Guanqi was already upon him. The two clashed at a distance of less than a zhang, exchanging blow after furious blow. Their saber and sword collided as the mountain collapsed around them. Boulders tumbled down the slopes, dust filled the sky, and sword light and lightning erupted in all directions. Luo Changqing remained pinned beneath Li Guanqi’s relentless assault.

Rumble!

Boom!

Li Guanqi unleashed the Sword-Unsheathing Technique. The world dimmed, seeming to lose all color as a single violet sword light flashed horizontally.

The mountain, hundreds of zhang high, split beneath the blow. Another slash followed, and the two crossing cuts divided the mountain into four enormous sections. The mountain collapsed, burying Luo Changqing beneath shattered stone.

Even watching from afar, Qin Wushang could barely breathe under the pressure of Li Guanqi’s relentless attacks. His pupils trembled as he narrowed his eyes. How strong had Li Guanqi become?

“What an overwhelming assault. His spirit comprehension has definitely surpassed mine! Has he reached the fourth level? No, that’s impossible. He spent only two years in seclusion on that mountain. How could he have broken through the first great bottleneck so quickly?”

Li Guanqi hovered in the air, breathing heavily as he watched the fallen rubble with cold indifference.

Luo Changqing pushed a boulder aside and collapsed atop the rubble, his face covered in blood. His saber arm had been severed at the shoulder, and a gruesome wound stretched across his waist and abdomen. If he hadn’t resisted with all his strength, that final strike would likely have cut him in two.

In contrast, Li Guanqi’s injuries were trivial, hardly worth calling wounds at all. When he fought without restraint, he became a savage beast; his relentless assault and overwhelming power were utterly unstoppable.

Qin Wushang had always considered himself powerful. He was, after all, a candidate for Sword Commandant under Nangong Xuandu. But the more he replayed the battle in his mind, the more certain he became that he could not have survived such an onslaught if Li Guanqi had wielded the Red Lotus Sword.

If my spirit comprehension matched his, I’d have a forty percent chance of winning at best.

At that thought, Qin Wushang couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. Just two years ago, he had been the one urging Li Guanqi to hurry up and catch up.

Li Guanqi flashed toward Luo Changqing, seized him by the hair, and yanked him upright. He scoffed at the stubborn defiance lingering in Luo Changqing’s eyes, then waved the dead branch before his face.

“Still not convinced?”