Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The disciples below watched Li Guanqi and Xiao Chen cut down their family elders, their faces turning ashen. The elder responsible for contacting the Li family slumped to the ground, his eyes vacant.

“It’s over… it’s all over…”

The jade slip, symbolizing supreme authority, still hadn’t given them any reply. What followed was a one-sided massacre, just like before.

By the end, Li Guanqi’s black robes were dark red. The cuffs dripped with blood, drop after drop.

Over a hundred heads were suspended in the void behind him.

Xiao Chen’s anger subsided slightly. In a world where only the ruthless survived, if he weren’t harsh, the Xiao family’s fate wouldn’t have been much better.

After handing all the looted resources to Xiao Chen, Li Guanqi shook the blood from his robes and said, “You head back first.”

Xiao Chen looked up. “What about you?”

Li Guanqi shrugged. “I’ll pay a visit to the family behind all this mischief.”

Xiao Chen’s eyes flickered, and he murmured coldly, “The Li family?”Li Guanqi was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected Xiao Chen to guess correctly.

Xiao Chen shrugged. “Boss… I’m just naive, not stupid, okay? Can you stop looking at me like I’m a fool? These six families rarely interfere with each other, but they all dared to strike now? Someone had to be orchestrating things behind the scenes. And all six of them are connected to the Li family. It’s not hard to figure out.”

Li Guanqi’s lips curved slightly. He nodded with a look of surprise.

Xiao Chen’s tone grew serious. “Did Uncle Meng stop the Li family from intervening? If not, we couldn’t have slaughtered all six families without them even reacting.”

Li Guanqi pursed his lips, then countered, “Then, do you know why that organization chose the Xiao family?”

Xiao Chen’s pupils dilated as he stared at Li Guanqi. Everything he knew of Li Guanqi had been built on overwhelming power, nothing else. Yet those calm white eyes seemed to see through his every secret. He’d never imagined that Li Guanqi, who hadn’t personally witnessed any of it, could piece together the general picture from Ye Feng’s fragmented reports.

Such insight…

Xiao Chen had thought of himself as the clever one, quietly capable beneath a humble exterior. Now, he realized he had underestimated Li Guanqi.

Xiao Chen set up several protective barriers around himself, a move that put Li Guanqi on alert. Li Guanqi split the surrounding void into separate territory spaces, a technique he had learned from Sword Spirit. It was far more effective than ordinary barriers.

As Li Guanqi cut through the void, a shadowy figure in black widened their eyes in alarm.

“Disappeared?! How… how could this happen?!”

The man wore a mask, but the panic in his eyes beneath it was unmistakable.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and looked toward the void beside him. In a low, commanding voice, he said, “Follow me. We’re leaving now!”

He’d already made up his mind. A teleportation array formed, and the two of them vanished from the split territory space. Once they were gone, the severed territory quietly reappeared somewhere far off in the void.

Whoosh!

A dark figure appeared there, scowling at the spot where the two had disappeared.

A teleportation array shone in the black void, and two figures shot out from within. Li Guanqi glanced over his shoulder, and only after confirming no one had followed did he relax.

Xiao Chen asked, “Boss, how did you know someone was following us?”

Li Guanqi shrugged. “I didn’t… I guessed. My sixth sense is usually right, so I thought I’d split the space and test it. Given their power, I figured they’d keep an eye on the Xiao family no matter what.”

As for the reason… Li Guanqi shot a long look at Xiao Chen. From his earlier hesitation, it was clear that something was wrong.

Even after Meng Jiangchu forced the enemy to retreat, they hadn’t given up. There would always be one or two informants among the six families.

Their figures faded into the void as Li Guanqi spoke in a low voice. “Now tell me… what’s the reason behind this?”

Xiao Chen took a deep breath, and the storage ring on his finger flashed. A bizarre-looking device appeared in his hand.

Li Guanqi frowned as he studied it. The device was entirely black, shaped like a drill and nearly three chi long. It looked as if hundreds of cones had been fused together into one. Each cone was an individual magical treasure, covered in intricate, mystical patterns, the whole device shimmering with an eerie light. But one cone was missing.

Li Guanqi inhaled sharply, suddenly feeling the thing in his hand burn hot. The device could rival an ancient artifact.

He looked up at Xiao Chen and spoke firmly, leaving no room for refusal. “This thing is mine from now on. You’ve never seen it, and you’ve never heard of it.”

Xiao Chen’s face stiffened. He understood Li Guanqi’s intent. “No! That would put you in danger!”

“It’s decided.” Li Guanqi took the device without further discussion.

Xiao Chen grew anxious. This was clearly his family’s matter, yet Li Guanqi was taking on all the danger himself.

Li Guanqi cut him off. “If you still recognize me as your eldest brother, you’ll follow my lead.”

Xiao Chen had no choice but to accept. Li Guanqi patted his shoulder and said softly, “Don’t worry, I’ll hand this over to Uncle Meng. I won’t keep it for myself.”

He wasn’t arrogant enough to believe he could survive an assassination attempt from a Combined Body Realm cultivator. However, the treasure couldn’t stay with Xiao Chen. Though he didn’t know how Xiao Chen’s father had acquired it, the device was almost certainly linked to everything that had happened to the Xiao family.

“Alright, head home. Once I’m done here, I’ll come find you,” Li Guanqi said.

Xiao Chen looked at Li Guanqi for a long moment, then cupped his fists in a formal gesture of thanks. “Boss… I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

Li Guanqi kicked him lightly in the rear. “Get lost. Just remember, from now on, you’re never alone. You have a group of comrades backing you up. No matter what happens, we’ll always be the first to stand by your side.”

Xiao Chen’s eyes reddened, shimmering with unshed tears. He choked back a sob, struggling to keep his emotions in check.