An Unreasonable Sword Cultivator

Xu Junlin was shaken to his core, unable to fathom how Li Guanqi had suddenly become so fast. An immensely powerful pressure bore down on him from all directions! Xu Junlin thrust out his spear like a lunging dragon, its terrifying rays unleashing wildly toward Li Guanqi's position. In an instant, a sky full of golden spear rays engulfed Li Guanqi. Across hundreds of zhang, there was virtually nowhere to hide. Yet Li Guanqi stood motionless where he was, raising his hand and slashing out with his sword! He did not choose to evade, but rather met Xu Junlin's move head-on! In a flash, the earth fissured and mountain peaks shattered. Amid swirling clouds and rising winds, thunderous sword light collided with golden spear rays in the void. Deafening explosions boomed incessantly, as if drowning out the rumble of thunder between heaven and earth. With the two men at the center, the space was torn into a dense, shocking web of fissures, ruined like shredded silk. Space shattered, and fractured lightning plummeted from the firmament. Yet right then, two figures—one purple and one golden—clashed together once more! This time, Li Guanqi gave Xu Junlin no room to breathe. Under the onslaught of terrifying power, Xu Junlin's arms lost all sensation, and he raised his spear to counter with numb limbs. Furthermore, Li Guanqi's sword strikes were both swift and ruthless, their trajectories elusive, eerie, and nimble. Li Guanqi's primal energy seemed somewhat different; within those streaks of lightning lay a terrifying power of destruction. Even Xu Junlin found such power difficult to withstand. Not only that, but Xu Junlin also knew Li Guanqi was deeply versed in spirit incantations and could cast sealing spirit incantations with effortless ease. Yet Li Guanqi was still fighting him purely with his sword dao. Only now did he understand what profound despair Yu Changbo and the others must have felt when facing such a monster back then. Yet the more this was so, the faster, fiercer, and more forceful Xu Junlin's spear became! "I, Xu Junlin, came here today..." "Was it not merely to seek defeat?!" "So what if I lose?!" Xu Junlin roared inwardly, his speed and strength climbing to another level in an instant. Immersed in battle, Xu Junlin was not even conscious of this change. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. The muscles of his arms swelled high as he struck with all his might! Clang! Clang! Clang, clang, clang, clang! Both attacked with savage ferocity, their clash boiling with fierce heat. Spurt! Unable to dodge in time, the tip of the spear punched clean through Li Guanqi's shoulder near the chest! Before Li Guanqi could counter, a colossal force surged from the spear. Xu Junlin actually hoisted Li Guanqi off the ground entirely! Then, Xu Junlin slammed the spear toward the ground with violent force! His body bent like a fully drawn bow, veins bulging along his arms as he unleashed his pent-up power. Blood leaked from the corner of Li Guanqi's mouth as he slashed his sword violently toward Xu Junlin's wrist. Seeing this, Xu Junlin immediately released his left hand, but to his surprise, Li Guanqi's blade slid down the length of the spear shaft with the momentum. The blade scraped along the shaft, throwing off showers of sparks. Forced by circumstance, Xu Junlin pulled back, only for Li Guanqi to press forward of his own accord! The spear shaft was smeared with a long streak of blood as Li Guanqi closed in along it. The golden scales on the spear shaft sheared off shreds of flesh; Xu Junlin had never expected Li Guanqi to be so ruthless toward himself. Anyone else would have retreated immediately to pull the spear free. Yet Li Guanqi did the exact opposite! Li Guanqi had also worked up true fury. When Xu Junlin raised his hand to recall his spear, Li Guanqi knocked him back hundreds of zhang with a single sword strike! In the battle that followed, Xu Junlin learned the true meaning of despair... Every move, every technique he made seemed to be anticipated by Li Guanqi in advance, yet Xu Junlin refused to believe any divine sense could keep up with his current speed. What he did not know was that Li Guanqi possessed three Sword Ruins abilities at once! Among them, "Illusory Form" synergized perfectly with the Ethereal Dao Body. As a result, Li Guanqi now looked upon him as a master at the pinnacle of sword dao would watch a child wielding a sword. With the ability of Resonance, Li Guanqi swiftly suppressed Xu Junlin on all fronts. Even though Xu Junlin had demonstrated formidable strength, he was still forced back step by step. Swish! The blade rested against Xu Junlin's throat, while Xu Junlin's spear had barely begun to lift. A drop of blood slid slowly down Xu Junlin's neck. Covered in dozens of sword marks from head to toe, the man finally could not help but close his eyes. His throat bobbed slightly, and he spoke in a rasping voice. "I lost." With that, Xu Junlin produced a pill and swallowed it. Li Guanqi also had gruesome wounds all over his body. He passed over a flagon of wine and murmured softly: "Devoting yourself entirely to the spear is a good thing, but you haven't yet met an unreasonable sword cultivator like me." "One... who can close within four chi of you." Xu Junlin snapped his head around to look at the young man beside him. Indeed... To this day, Li Guanqi was the first person capable of closing within four chi of him. Even Xiao Chen... could not! In the same realm, no one had ever suppressed him entirely across strength, cultivation realm, speed, and divine sense. This battle had exposed many problems, including for Li Guanqi himself. Xu Junlin was the only spearman in the same realm who could bring him such a feeling of pressure. His opponent's spear momentum was ever-shifting, heavy and powerful without lacking speed. It could be said that Xu Junlin's talent and strength were both monstrously exceptional; unfortunately, he had run into him. Xu Junlin's gaze was somewhat complicated. Though he had known he would lose, he had never thought he would be so thoroughly convinced of his defeat. For he knew Li Guanqi still had many methods held in reserve, and the two had tacitly refrained from using lethal finishing techniques during this fight. He felt that even if they had, he still would most likely have lost. Besides, had they truly unleashed such moves, neither of them might have been able to pull back in time. Li Guanqi plopped down beside him, jolting his wounds so that he grimaced in pain. "You were pretty ruthless yourself, kid." Beside him, Xu Junlin, who was tending to his injuries, looked as though he had heard something utterly outrageous. He stared at him in disbelief, then looked down at the dozens of sword marks covering himself, large and small. "You've got the nerve to say that about me?" The two exchanged a look and burst into laughter. Xu Junlin lay on the ground, gazing up at the overcast sky, and asked softly, "Where are you heading next?" "The Beiming Glaciers." Whoosh! Xu Junlin sat bolt upright. He turned to Li Guanqi and frowned. "What are you going there for?" "That godforsaken wasteland hasn't been peaceful lately, either." Li Guanqi furrowed his brows and asked Xu Junlin, "What do you mean?" "How has it not been peaceful?" On second thought, Xu Junlin realized Li Guanqi had no idea what had been happening recently. Gathering his thoughts, he explained, "Basically, the most powerful family in the Beiming Glaciers has been caught in internal strife lately." "Due to internal discord, the Xuan family split into northern and southern factions years ago—the sort that had nothing to do with each other until the day they died." "Yet a few years ago, the sudden arrival of a woman sparked constant friction between the two factions, and recently it's grown completely out of hand." Li Guanqi's eyelid twitched. He could clearly guess that this might all be because of Meng Wanshu!