Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Boom!

The stone tile under Li Guanqi’s feet suddenly exploded.

Gou San narrowed his eyes, sensing that Li Guanqi might be a cultivator. The realization came too late, however.

Ten zhang away, the crowd saw Li Guanqi shoot toward Gou San, moving so quickly he was only a shadow. Li Guanqi crouched to dodge Gou San’s dagger, then he threw a punch as heavy as a hammer at Gou San’s jaw.

Crack! The sound of his jaw breaking filled the air.

Li Guanqi had struck with terrifying fury, shattering Gou San’s jaw and throwing him into the air.

Using his left hand, he crushed the bones in Gou San’s right hand, snatched his dagger, and stabbed him three times in a row.

Despite the warm blood spraying his face, Li Guanqi maintained a calm expression. He had intended to kill from the moment he started moving.

Gou San trembled uncontrollably. His eyes widened as his pupils dilated in fear. Even as life drained from him, he still could not believe what happened...

“Ah!!! Brother Gou!”Li Guanqi held the dagger in his right hand, its blade turned toward himself. In a flash, he appeared in front of his next target.

Terror flashed across the man’s face. Then, as if trying to muster some courage, he punched out in anger.

“Die!”

Li Guanqi punched the approaching fist! The impact fractured the man’s arm, making a bone protrude through his bleeding skin.

Li Guanqi stepped forward and flipped his dagger forward, thrusting it into the bottom of the man’s jaw. He leaped into the air, kicked the man’s head, pulled out the dagger, and flung it behind him.

Pfft!

The sharp dagger plunged in between a third man’s brows.

The moment Li Guanqi landed, he pulled out his dagger and dashed in Meng Wanshu’s direction.

His movements were so fluid that he had killed three men within a few breaths’ time. Terrified, the crowd dispersed at once.

Li Guanqi had remained calm throughout the entire incident, unaffected emotionally despite having killed three people. All this was thanks to Su Xuan’s mentorship and discipline.

Meng Wanshu heard the screams and thuds but did not know what was happening. Although the panicking crowd startled her, she remembered Li Guanqi’s words and kept her eyes closed.

Suddenly, she felt the hand pressing on her left shoulder lift. The man was thrown back like a gunny sack, even breaking a door behind him. He never got up again.

Realizing the severity of the situation, the final man took out a stick of bamboo and lit it up. Sparks instantly shot thirty zhang into the air.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. “Fireworks...”

He broke the man’s arm with a punch and then slit his throat, the dagger glinting coldly as it sliced across the man’s throat.

Meng Wanshu’s breathing quickened, but suddenly, the sounds around her quietened significantly. When she was about to say something, she heard Li Guanqi’s gentle voice.

“I’m done. Let’s go.”

Li Guanqi covered her eyes with one hand while using his other hand to guide her out of town.

Not long after they left, Zhao Yuanlin arrived with a large group of twenty-plus men with horses. His expression turned terrifyingly dark at the sight of the six corpses on the ground. Obviously, Li Guanqi had not let the old woman live either...

Zhao Yuanlin muttered coldly, “You think you can run after killing my men? Hmph! After him!”

On his command, they whipped their horses onward and galloped in the direction Li Guanqi had taken.

At this point, Li Guanqi had only just left town and finally released Meng Wanshu’s hand.

Unable to control her emotions any longer, she fell into his arms and bawled. “Sob! I thought... I thought... I thought I was going to... Sob... Why... why are you here...? Thank goodness you came... Guanqi, I was so afraid...”

Li Guanqi gently held her in his arms and patted her back. His gentle voice and the warmth of his hands made her relax. “There’s no need to be afraid anymore. I’m here. Don’t cry; we’ve got to hurry. The last guy used a flare signal, so they will catch up to us very soon.”

Meng Wanshu nodded with reddened eyes. However, her injuries and trauma left her weak in the knees.

Li Guanqi squatted and offered his back to her without hesitation. “Come, let me carry you on my back.”

Meng Wanshu blushed, nodded slightly, and climbed on his back.

The contact between the both of them made Li Guanqi’s breath stop for a moment. Her cheeks heated up, and she buried her face in his shoulder shyly.

Then, he sensed a massive vibration in the ground. His expression changed instantly, and he sprinted off like a madman.

Simultaneously, he frantically scanned his surroundings with his heart’s eye, only to fall into despair.

There were only flat grasslands in the ten-plus li radius around Changxing Town. There was nowhere for them to hide.

Very soon, Zhao Yuanlin and his gang caught up to them.

When they were almost a hundred zhang away, Li Guanqi stopped suddenly. It was impossible to outrun horses on flat land while carrying a person on his back.

Gently lowering Meng Wanshu to the ground, Li Guanqi whispered, “Stand with your back facing me and start counting. I’ll be back by the time you reach five hundred.”

Then, he turned and looked at the men far away. Blood surged through his veins as his heartbeat rose to its limit.

The ice-cold killing intent radiating from him made Meng Wanshu turn her head slightly. Looking at his back, she felt like he was a stranger...

Li Guanqi clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, enduring the pain. This time, his killing intent was much stronger than before.

The young man sitting on the horse was the same young master from the Zhao Mansion eight years ago... He was Zhao Yuanlin—the monster who had treated his sister’s life as if it was worth nothing.

Zhao Yuanlin had yet to catch a clear glimpse of Li Guanqi, but he soon approached close enough to see him. The moment he saw his face and white eyes, Zhao Yuanlin instantly recognized him!

Zhao Yuanlin had attained the Body Tempering Realm, just like Li Guanqi.

He leaped off his horse, his eyes gleaming with a strange excitement. “You’re that blind boy! Hahahaha! You’re not dead yet?! I thought that blizzard from eight years ago would have killed you already!”

Zhao Yuanlin eyed Li Guanqi up and down, then he burst into laughter. “You’re just like your sister—you two have terrible fates. It looks like you’re a beggar now?”

Li Guanqi glared at him. He counted the number of men, muttering to himself, “Seventeen, eighteen...”

Sensing the killing intent radiating from Li Guanqi, the horses surrounding him stomped nervously.. The riders whipped their horses, but none of them could keep their horses under control.

Meng Wanshu closed her ears. With her back towards Li Guanqi, she squatted on the ground. “Seven... eight... nine...”

Zhao Yuanlin stood opposite Li Guanqi and leered at Meng Wanshu’s figure, feeling himself warm up at the tempting sight. He licked his lips and looked at Li Guanqi. “How are you two related?”

Li Guanqi replied calmly, “She’s my future wife.”

Then, he shot out at Zhao Yuanlin, who had let his guard completely down. A deep crater formed beneath his foot at the spot he launched from. Startled, Zhao Yuanlin tugged the reins next to him to shield himself with his horse.

Li Guanqi’s fist landed on the horse’s head. The stallion, which weighed more than a thousand jin, was thrown into the air by his punch. Flesh and blood mixed as its skull shattered.

Although he was standing behind the horse, the powerful force also forced Zhao Yuanlin dozens of steps backward. The guards around him were so shocked that they did not react.

The power Li Guanqi displayed... surpassed that of a normal human being.

Li Guanqi’s punch had been packed with rage, containing over five hundred jins of force. Finally, there was an outlet for the fury in his heart.

He looked sideways at Zhao Yuanlin. “I may be poor, but I do have ten strings of coppers. Therefore, I shall also use ten strings of coppers to... buy your life!”

Zhao Yuanlin panicked. He could not believe that he could not compare to Li Guanqi despite also being a cultivator at the Body Tempering Realm...

But his ego and pride would not permit him to leave! This was a lowly beggar worth nothing—how could Zhao Yunlin ever see Li Guanqi as an equal?

Zhao Yuanlin took a sword tied to another guard’s horse and roared, “Kill him!! A hundred taels of gold for anyone who kills him!”

The guards’ eyes shone when they heard the bounty. They leaped from their horses and swarmed at Li Guanqi.

However... how could these brutes who only knew how to punch and kick ever be a match for him?

With each move, Li Quanqi crippled an opponent. Some, he killed outright, unable to control his strength..

After snapping a man’s neck with a punch, Li Guanqi strode closer toward Zhao Yuanlin. He was like the God of Death—no one could stop him. He had defeated all the guards in a mere ten breaths’ time, leaving half of them dead.

The ones who remained alive screamed with pain as they collapsed on the ground. Broken limbs were considered light injuries when compared to the fatalities.

Zhao Yuanlin gritted his teeth, refusing to believe that he could not defeat Li Guanqi. With a sword in hand, he attacked!

Li Guanqi had been fighting with only his fists so far, so facing a sword-wielding opponent was initially difficult.

However, his punches were both quick and heavy. He found his chance between his dodges. As Zhao Yuanlin retracted his sword, Li Guanqi struck him in the chest.

Crack!

The single punch had broken four of Zhao Yuanlin’s ribs. He crashed to the ground and spat out a large mouthful of blood. There was a slight change in his gaze as he spotted Meng Wanshu out of his peripheral vision. He took out a piece of talisman paper and stuck it on himself. At the next moment, the talisman self-ignited.

Li Guanqi’s heart skipped a beat when Zhao Yuanlin shot off toward Meng Wanshu like a gust of wind. His expression fell, and he made a sharp turn, going after Zhao Yuanlin.

Li Guanqi loosened his sleeve, and a dagger fell into his hand. He threw the dagger with all his might.

Pfft!

The dagger plunged into Zhao Yuanlin’s shoulder, making him slow down.

Taking advantage of the slowdown, Li Guanqi finally arrived behind Meng Wanshu.

Whoosh!

The blade of Zhao Yuanlin’s sword pierced through Li Guanqi’s right shoulder.

Zhao Yuanlin’s eyes lit up with excitement, but when he tried to pull the sword out, he realized Li Guanqi was gripping the blade tightly with his right hand. Li Guanqi’s blood trickled slowly down the blade as he glared at Zhao Yuanlin.

Zhao Yuanlin’s gaze locked with Li Guanqi’s bloodshot white eyes, sending a chill down his spine. He had no choice but to squeeze and shatter the jade slip in his hand.

“Ten strings of coppers!” Li Guanqi said coldly. He clenched his left fist as a terrifying aura slowly gathered in it.

Bam!

The blow sent Zhao Yuanlin flying. His chest had caved in, causing him to spit out blood mixed with pieces of his flesh.

Li Guanqi’s face paled as he grasped the sword impaling his shoulder and slowly pulled it out. Then, with the bloodstained sword in hand, he strode toward Zhao Yuanlin.

Meng Wanshu was still counting. “Eighty-five...”

Zhao Yuanlin watched with terror as Li Guanqi closed in on him. Gripped with fear, he instinctively scrambled backward. “You can’t kill me! You can’t! I’m going to test my spirit root soon... I’m going to become an immortal! Don’t kill me... If you spare me, I’ll give you so much money! And spirit stones! Yes! I’ll give you spirit stones!”

Li Guanqi took some coppers from his pocket and tossed them on the ground.

“Your lowly life is only worth ten strings of coppers,” he muttered icily.