Occasional flashes of lightning and thunder in the sky cast a silhouette of a figure in white, wielding a sword.
In an instant, hundreds of soldiers charged towards Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi let out a soft sigh, and with sword in hand, he charged single-handedly towards the crowd!
In the blink of an eye, the cold gleam of his long sword nearly connected into one in the dim alley.
Li Guanqi closed in on Tang Chongqing with incredible speed.
Sword light flickered, and blood splattered all around Li Guanqi.
Each of his sword strikes was exceedingly sharp, and in a moment, severed limbs and broken arms were sent flying amidst the rain.
Li Guanqi moved like a phantom, swift as the wind.
In the pouring rain, he was like a sharp blade, tearing through all defenses before him.
Just as Li Guanqi was a mere fifteen feet from Tang Chongqing, a cold glint flashed in Tang's eyes!
Li Guanqi sensed the danger and leapt into the air!
The ground's blue bricks suddenly exploded, and two Seal Talismans shot out from beneath his feet.
Clang!
A sword cry rang out as a flying sword soared into the void!
Clang!
As the long sword was about to pierce Li Guanqi's face, he parried it with a backhanded strike.
Using the momentum, Li Guanqi soared an additional ten feet into the air!
Then, with a cold smirk, Tang Chongqing waved his hand, and the swords at his soldiers' waists uncontrollably flew into the air!
In an instant, four long swords and a blade attacked the youth in mid-air.
With nowhere to dodge in the air, Li Guanqi still managed to block the swords but was struck several times.
As he descended, another discarded long sword on the roadside shot towards his back!
This sword was incredibly fast and treacherously cunning!
Yet, Li Guanqi showed no panic, lightly tapped the wall of the Li residence with his foot, and flipped his body in mid-air.
His sword met the incoming blade with unerring precision!
The blade wrapped around the hilt, and with a spin at the blade's edge in Li Guanqi's hand, he hurled it fiercely towards Tang Chongqing!
However, a barrier of Yuan energy appeared before Tang Chongqing, stopping the sword tip an inch from his brow.
Tang Chongqing slowly dismounted, and the two stood ten feet apart, gazing at each other across the void.
The heavy rain blurred everyone's vision, and the dragon carriage also lifted its curtain to look at Li Guanqi.
With a flick of his finger, Tang Chongqing summoned the flying sword back into his hand, his gaze solemn as he spoke.
"Have you not yet reached Foundation Establishment?"
Li Guanqi responded with a cold laugh: "To kill you, Qi Refining is more than enough."
"Heh, such arrogance!"
Boom!
The blue bricks under Tang Chongqing's feet suddenly exploded without warning!
He attacked Li Guanqi with incredible speed, but Li Guanqi had already sensed his movement with his Divine Sense.
In an instant, two figures dodged and weaved through the rain, their long swords clashing and sparking.
However, the more they fought, the more alarmed Tang Chongqing became!
Throughout the battle, the young man's breath remained steady, showing no signs of fatigue even after injuring hundreds of soldiers!
Moreover, his physical strength was comparable to that of a pure martial cultivator, each sword strike heavy and powerful.
After just a dozen breaths of fighting, Tang Chongqing's palms were already split open.
Boom!!
Yuan energy burst forth from within Tang Chongqing, making his sword light much more fierce.
But Li Guanqi's movements were incredibly fast, and he always managed to dodge the deadly sword moves.
The two continued to fight in the rain, retreating as they exchanged hundreds of blows.
Li Guanqi's sword was swift and precise, his strength even greater than Tang's by a third.
Just as Tang Chongqing's sword forced Li Guanqi to retreat.
Li Guanqi suddenly sheathed his sword, and in that instant, Tang Chongqing felt a chill rise from his feet, causing him to retreat explosively!
Li Guanqi advanced instead of retreating, his feet propelling him forward in an instant!
Clang!
A sword cry sounded as a flash of cold light streaked past him like lightning!
Drip, drip!
Blood continuously flowed from Tang Chongqing's chest.
In a rage, Tang Chongqing threw out several Seal Talismans, and in an instant, ice spikes and fireballs shot towards Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi stood with his sword, dodging and weaving to avoid the attacks.
But in the next moment, Li Guanqi leapt into the air, his hands forming seals at lightning speed!
Yuan energy surged out from within him!
Boom! Crack!
The already thick clouds above grew even denser.
With thunder and lightning, Li Guanqi shouted, "Spirit Spell! Number Two Hundred Forty-Six!"
"Formation Breaker—Thunder Spear!"
Boom!
Tang Chongqing's face changed drastically, fear flashing in his eyes.
He threw out several defensive talismans in front of him, and Spirit Talismans conjured several barriers to block his path.
As Li Guanqi's Yuan energy rapidly depleted.
A four-foot-long spear of thunder tore through the night sky!
Bang, bang, bang!
The barriers shattered!
The Thunder Spear pierced through Tang Chongqing's body in an instant!
Amidst the burst of thunder, Tang Chongqing let out a piercing scream!!
The Thunder Spear pinned him to the blue stone slab, his body quickly charred by the rampant lightning.
His body was completely lifeless!
Li Guanqi, who landed on the ground, gasped for air and without hesitation, took out two Spirit Stones to start absorbing their energy.
"Father!!!"
Tang Yi saw his father struck by a bolt of lightning from the sky.
He was utterly terrified!
With his lackeys already killed, Tang Yi panicked completely.
Seeing his charred father, he frantically pulled the reins and turned to flee!
A cold glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes as he rose to his feet, lightly flicking a long knife from the ground with his toe, and with a twist of his body, he kicked the hilt fiercely!
Whoosh!
The long knife whistled through the air, and with Yuan energy infused, it pierced through Tang Yi's body.
Thud!
Tang Yi, whose body had been hollowed out by indulgence, fell to the ground, powerless.
Li Guanqi took a moment to recover, then stood at the entrance of the Li residence and shouted, "Stop all of you!"
His voice, mixed with Yuan energy, was intimidating!
Li Guanqi held up his Identity Jade Token and declared, "I am a disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect's Heavenly Thunder Peak, Li Guanqi!"
"By the order of my sect, I am to investigate the cause of the turmoil in the Xuantian Dynasty!"
"Tang Chongqing, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, violated the Cultivation World's taboo by meddling in the affairs of the mortal kingdom, and is hereby executed!"
"The Li family has been loyal and brave, yet they were tragically framed and betrayed!"
"They are innocent!"
With that, Li Guanqi turned and looked towards the dragon carriage, his voice thundering.
"The current emperor, Ji Congyuan, has been deceived by slander, appointing a cultivator as a national advisor, violating the laws!"
"Effective immediately, his imperial title is revoked! The specifics will be handled according to the Great Xia Sword Sect's decisions!"
A haggard middle-aged man slowly emerged from the dragon carriage.
Seeing Li Guanqi's Identity Jade Token, he bowed tremblingly and said.
"Ji Congyuan, I will heed the immortal master's decree…"
Inside the Li residence, the blood-soaked Li Ren and Li Shenzhi both showed a glimmer of relief from surviving a catastrophe.
Li Shenzhi finally recognized the person in white outside.
Recalling their brief encounter at the Drunken Flower Pavilion, he murmured, "Li Guanqi, huh…"
"I, Li Shenzhi, owe you a debt of gratitude as vast as the heavens!"
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas