Targeted, Qin Xian's Fury

The fan blade sliced toward Li Guanqi's throat in an instant. Yet Lu Chengyan suddenly realized the blade remained locked three inches from his opponent's neck, unable to bridge the gap! It took a full breath for him to understand: Li Guanqi was retreating backward at the exact same speed he was lunging forward. Frowning slightly, Lu Chengyan snapped his wrist, reversing the fan's direction to cleave toward Li Guanqi's shoulder! Yet Li Guanqi could not muster the slightest interest. In his eyes, the other boy's movements were as agonizingly slow as the old women at the entrance to Fulong Village. With a slight shift of his footing, Li Guanqi spun to Lu Chengyan's flank. With a subtle roll of his shoulder, Li Guanqi slung the sword casket from his back and swung it hard against Lu Chengyan's shoulder! *Bang!* To the onlookers, Li Guanqi had barely shifted his feet before the two kept pace in reverse—and then Lu Chengyan was hurled backward like a cannonball, sent flying ten-odd zhang! *Pfft!* Still airborne, Lu Chengyan sprayed a mouthful of blood! Crashing down ten-odd zhang away, Lu Chengyan felt as if every bone in his body had shattered! With no time to think, he forced himself into a midair roll, his boots carving two long furrows into the ground as he touched down. His entire left shoulder was dislocated, and the bone in his raised forearm had cracked under the impact! Only now did Lu Chengyan realize just how heavy the sword casket on Li Guanqi's back truly was! "Hmph!" Lu Chengyan sprang farther back. Yuan power surged through his body as he bellowed, "Fourth Sun! Saber Qi Extend!" *Buzz!* Instantly, an inch-long azure blade of light flickered tirelessly along the razor-sharp edge of his folding fan! Li Guanqi smiled faintly and murmured, "No wonder he's so fast. A rare wind spiritual root. "Releasing blade light while still in the Foundation Establishment realm... Not bad." Seeing the youth still standing casually in place, Lu Chengyan felt a prickle of unease. Without hesitation, he swallowed an unusual azure pill. The instant the pill went down, veins bulged along Lu Chengyan's neck, and a flush of deep crimson flooded his face! The glowing ancient text in his hand flipped open once more! "Fifth Sun! Force of Ten Thousand Jun!!" A suffocating pressure erupted from within Lu Chengyan. Beneath his green robes, his muscles swelled visibly! *Crack, snap!* Eyes bloodshot, Lu Chengyan stomped hard, shattering the blue flagstones beneath his feet! In a flash of movement, he appeared right before Li Guanqi! *Clang!* Li Guanqi raised his sword horizontally across his chest on instinct. A monstrous force shuddered through the clash of weapons. Li Guanqi was knocked back a dozen zhang! Watching this, the spectators shook their heads. "Ah, young people... far too overconfident." "Liuyang Academy's mantra dharma artifacts are simply too absurd." "Indeed. That kind of power boost far surpasses ordinary talismans." On the arena stage, Lu Chengyan's figure blurred into an afterimage as he surged toward Li Guanqi! *Clang, clang, clang!* The ringing clash of blades echoed far and wide as two figures flickered back and forth across the stage. Lu Chengyan's folding fan was a lethal weapon, shifting into countless deadly strikes in his grasp. *Clang, clang!* The ring of metal echoed like galloping steeds in battle. Every strike Lu Chengyan unleashed carried the staggering force of ten thousand jun! Yet Lu Chengyan soon noticed something was wrong. Suddenly! From the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of disappointment in Li Guanqi's gaze. Before he could process it, a glint of cold light flashed before his eyes! *Swish!* *Ching!* Passing him by, Li Guanqi sheathed Canglang. The sash on Lu Chengyan's chest snapped, laying bare his white undergarments for all to see! The blood vessels in Lu Chengyan's eyes gradually receded, leaving his gaze vacant and hollow. He had no idea how his opponent had delivered that strike... Yet he knew with absolute certainty that if Li Guanqi had wished it, that single sword strike would have taken his life! Disbelief flooded Lu Chengyan's eyes, and his chest heaved frantically. Then, spinning abruptly, he carved a bizarre arc with his folding fan, slashing toward Li Guanqi's back! "Eight Extremes Heavenly Shadow Fan!!" The blade light on the fan instantly lengthened to a foot long! A look of madness flared in Lu Chengyan's eyes! "Die!!" Contorted with fury, Lu Chengyan had lost his mind. He could not accept being defeated so cleanly and effortlessly. It was as if the other boy had never regarded him as a worthy opponent from the very beginning. *I am the favored of Heaven!* Lu Chengyan thought furiously. *I am the one destined to lead the academy to glory!* "Die, die, die! Die!!!" Li Guanqi, who had already turned to walk away, flashed with icy killing intent! *Swish!* The dark-green blade slashed straight through the thick wall of fan shadows! A single strike slit his throat! Two severed arms dropped through the air, and blood sprayed more than three feet high! Even in death, Lu Chengyan never understood how that sword could be so fast, or why the speed he took such pride in was no better than a turtle's crawl before this boy. *Thud!* Blood gushing from his throat, Lu Chengyan collapsed dead! *Ching!* With a flick of his wrist, Li Guanqi shook off the blood and sheathed his sword. Turning toward the surrounding arenas, he noticed that among Ye Feng and the others, he was the only one who had finished his match. An aged voice resonated from within the barrier array. "Li Guanqi of the Great Xia Sword Sect wins. Three points awarded!" Li Guanqi frowned down at the lifeless Lu Chengyan. He could not fathom why, after clearly realizing the gap between them, the boy had insisted on pressing the attack—even resorting to a sneak attack from behind after Li Guanqi had spared his life. "Ahhh! I con—" *Bang!* A bloodcurdling scream rang in his ears. Because his own arena battle had concluded, his barrier array had dissipated. Li Guanqi saw an early Foundation Establishment disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect being relentlessly hunted by a disciple of Liuyang Academy! His frown deepened. Only after taking two sword strikes across his back did the wounded disciple finally shout out, "I concede!" *Buzz!* The barrier flashed, teleporting the Great Xia Sword Sect disciple outside. "Geng Luo of Liuyang Academy wins! One point awarded!" Immediately after, two more Great Xia Sword Sect disciples were forced to concede! Yet just as a female disciple shouted her concession, a vicious-eyed disciple of Liuyang Academy hurled his sword at the last moment, cutting down the Great Xia Sword Sect disciple on the spot! At the sight, fury surged within Li Guanqi! Qin Xian flashed atop the barrier array and shattered it with a single punch! *Bang!* At that moment, Ge Qing stepped directly in front of Qin Xian and said in a low, urgent voice, "Old Qin! Don't be rash!!" "Leave this to me. You must not intervene!" Qin Xian's face was dark as thunder. "They are deliberately targeting us! Can't you see that?!"