Gu Yong's Show of Authority!

Setting down the jade slip in his hand, Li Guanqi could not help knitting his brow, though it soon smoothed out again. Qianqiusui had told him a great deal about what had happened over the past two years. Tensions between the two pavilions had grown severe, rife with ceaseless friction and even casualties. Yet he could tell that because he had been absent, Guanyun Pavilion had consistently remained on the back foot, suffering a fair share of casualties. What was more, before Qianqiusui sent him that transmission, her subordinates had been trying to force her to step down! Fortunately, Li Guanqi's return gave her the confidence to deal with the situation. Still, all of that had already occurred, and Li Guanqi's state of mind gradually settled into calm. If this continued, the friction between the two pavilions would only escalate; it certainly had to be addressed. Li Guanqi took a deep breath. With a flash of thunder beneath his feet, his movement technique engaged, and his figure vanished in an instant. *Buzz!* As dusk fell, Li Guanqi arrived once again in the sky above the mountain range where Tianji Pavilion was located. Looking at the mountain range before him, he could not help feeling a twinge of wistfulness. Back then, he had relied on his wits to maneuver among the Four Towers, and it was during that time that he had become acquainted with Ji Yuchuan. Who would have thought that in just a few short years, he would be coming to Tianji Pavilion as the Master of Guanyun Pavilion to meet Gu Yong? With a shake of his head and a sigh, he produced his Tianji jade pendant and channeled a wisp of primal energy into it. *Buzz!* Li Guanqi's expression darkened slightly. He had not expected that his Tianji jade pendant could no longer even gain entry into Tianji Pavilion's domain! "It seems Senior Gu holds quite a grudge against me. He went so far as to revoke the permissions on my pendant." Li Guanqi put away the pendant. His chest rose and fell slightly, and his voice, infused with primal energy, carried far into the distance. "Senior Gu, this junior has arrived. Please open the domain." Li Guanqi stood in midair with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for a long time, yet there was still no response whatsoever. His countenance remained calm, but a trace of annoyance crept into his heart. In his eyes, such a petty show of authority was utterly unnecessary. It showed a complete lack of breadth and seemed terribly small-minded. Li Guanqi rubbed his fingers together, debating whether to draw his sword and cleave open the domain. In the end, after some thought, he held back. Striking or not striking carried vastly different meanings. Once he attacked to breach the barrier, setting aside whether he could actually break a domain barrier forged by a Mahayana realm expert, the mere gesture of drawing his sword would mean an open break between them. Since they had not even met face-to-face yet, tearing all pretense apart was premature. Li Guanqi stood where he was, quietly waiting for a reply. He knew the other party would not keep him waiting too long. Just in case, he sent out separate transmissions to Meng Jiangchu and Zhou Yunqing. Gu Yong leaving him out in the cold was nothing more than an attempt to gain a bit of the upper hand in terms of presence when they finally met. Thinking of it this way, Li Guanqi actually felt somewhat flattered. To think a Mahayana realm cultivator felt the need to resort to petty tricks just to suppress him! An incense stick's time later, the air before Li Guanqi slowly tore open into a pitch-black rift. A middle-aged man in a purple robe stepped out of the rift—a Body Integration Realm powerhouse whose aura fluctuated intensely yet obscurely. The moment the man emerged, he saw Li Guanqi standing calmly in place. When Li Guanqi's gaze swept over him, an abrupt chill ran down his spine. His expression shifted slightly. Steeling himself, he walked up to three feet in front of Li Guanqi and said in a heavy voice, "I am Shen Feng, here to welcome Young Master Li." Li Guanqi gave a cold laugh, his eyes lowering as an indescribable pressure surged outward. *Buzz!* An overwhelming, terrifying pressure slammed into Shen Feng. The man's shoulders sagged, and his body sank instantly! His head bowed uncontrollably, cold sweat instantly drenching his brow. Shen Feng's face twisted in shock, his pupils trembling violently. *Could he... could he be thinking of... killing me...?* Li Guanqi strolled calmly past Shen Feng, but just as he was about to pass him by, he came to an abrupt halt. Li Guanqi sneered, "If you're welcoming someone, you should already be standing here waiting." *Boom!* As his words fell, the man's body buckled uncontrollably, hitting his knees in midair with a loud thud! His flushed face showed he was exerting all his might to resist Li Guanqi's pressure. Yet Shen Feng was merely one minor stage below Li Guanqi, and was nonetheless suppressed to the point of being entirely immobilized by the aura Li Guanqi radiated! The gap in their strength could only be described as the difference between cloud and mud. While the man was prostrated in midair, Li Guanqi had already stepped through into the domain. Shen Feng lay sprawling, nose bleeding profusely, his face pale as paper as if struck by a grievous illness. Trembling slightly, he slowly pushed himself up. Looking back toward the domain, a look of dread flashed in his eyes. The utter helplessness he felt before Li Guanqi gave him the distinct illusion that he was facing Pavilion Master himself. Stepping into the domain, Li Guanqi noticed that the Tianji Pavilion domain had once again reverted to its former Four Towers structure. Seeing this, he could not help sighing. Back then, he had used a chain of stratagems to seize firm control over the Four Towers' real authority, only for Gu Yong to hand all that power right back after returning. Gu Yong probably thought that holding their soul lamps would be enough to keep them in check... Li Guanqi muttered inwardly, *Don't you know that human greed cannot be controlled...?* Just before the rift closed, Li Guanqi cast a deep glance back at Shen Feng. If his guess was correct, this Shen Feng was likely the current Master of the Purple Tower—the person in charge of intelligence within Tianji Pavilion. *Buzz!* Shen Feng stood outside catching his breath for a good long while before remembering he was supposed to lead Li Guanqi to see Gu Yong. Yet when he flashed into the domain, he discovered Li Guanqi was already heading straight for the very top of Tianji Tower! Li Guanqi naturally knew his way around Tianji Tower inside and out. He walked straight up to the study where Gu Yong was. *Knock, knock, knock.* *Creak!* The door opened on its own. Gu Yong was slowly settling into the head seat behind the study desk. Seeing Li Guanqi, he chuckled and said, "You're here? Come, sit. "I just stepped out for a moment. You didn't wait long, did you?" Li Guanqi smiled faintly. Suddenly, the old man before him felt unfamiliar. Every word was steeped in selfish desire and hypocrisy. "Not at all. I only just arrived." Lifting the hem of his robe, Li Guanqi sat down across from Gu Yong and smiled. "Elder Gu, long time no see." Gu Yong said with a laugh, "It hasn't been that long. For cultivators, a century passes in the snap of a finger. Meeting again after a thousand years is common enough, and you've only been in seclusion for two years." On the surface, Li Guanqi nodded with a smile, but inwardly his heart sank deeper and deeper! The old man's words were far from the polite pleasantry they appeared to be! Talking about how a century passed in the snap of a finger for cultivators—wasn't that an oblique dig at how short Li Guanqi's cultivation journey had been? A mere thirty-odd years of cultivation wasn't even long enough for figures like them to complete a single seclusion. The following words were also meant to put him in his place: a young man needed to mind his attitude, for he, Gu Yong, was still the elder. Li Guanqi's expression did not waver in the slightest, as though he were just an inexperienced youth who hadn't caught the underlying barb in Gu Yong's remarks. "Indeed. Secluded for two years, my strength made a bit of progress, only to discover so much has happened out in the world..." Keeping his head down as he fiddled with the tea leaves, Gu Yong smiled, a sharp glint suddenly flashing deep in his eyes.