In his fury, Qin Xian tore free of Ge Qing's origin power restraint in an instant!
A rampaging aura swept violently through the heavens!
The commotion immediately drew everyone's attention.
In a flash, the gazes of every cultivator present snapped toward Qin Xian.
Those who had been watching this particular arena knew full well what had just transpired.
The people from Liuyang Academy were blatantly targeting the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect, giving them no chance to voice a surrender.
They sought by any and all means to kill or gravely cripple the Great Xia disciples.
Yet such tactics were by no means rare in the Hundred Sects Tournament.
After all, severely injuring an opposing disciple yielded an advantage for the subsequent point-scoring battles.
Even if that advantage did not become apparent right away.
Take Liuyang Academy's clashes with the Great Xia Sword Sect: if they managed to gravely wound three disciples,
the Great Xia Sword Sect would very likely be crippled for the following day. Even if their late Foundation Establishment disciples swept every match, it would not guarantee them the upper hand in points.
That was why many sects chose to cripple their rivals by any means necessary!
An uproar broke out across the grounds, sparking fervent debate.
Some felt there was nothing wrong with it, while others argued that chasing down and grievously wounding a yielding disciple was crossing the line and lacking in virtue.
At that moment, an elder from Liuyang Academy stepped through the void, descending in white robes as he said coldly,
"Qin Xian, do not push your luck!"
"These are matters between juniors on the stage. What grand show of strength are you trying to put on here?"
Fury flared in Qin Xian's chest. He drew the longsword from his waist, poised to strike!
Suddenly!
The sky above warped slightly as a phantom figure materialized without warning.
Long Qu cast an indifferent glance at Qin Xian, and Qin Xian instantly began trembling like a sieve!
Long Qu then turned to Ge Qing and spoke in an even tone devoid of joy or sorrow.
"Did anyone break the rules?"
Ge Qing bowed low, not daring to conceal a single detail, and said solemnly, "In response to the Northern Heavenly King, everything was within the rules!"
Long Qu gave a cold chuckle and waved his hand lightly.
*Boom!!*
A palm print of origin power tens of zhang across suddenly appeared in the void, smashing resoundingly against Qin Xian!
The old man did not even dare raise a protective origin power barrier.
He allowed the palm print to blast him hundreds of zhang backward!
Having skidded back hundreds of zhang through the sky, Qin Xian barely steadied his footing before the roiling vitality in his chest forced him to cough up a great mouthful of blood.
From his throne in the sky, Long Qu withdrew his gaze and spoke in a cool, quiet voice.
"What happens on the stage stays on the stage."
"If anyone remains dissatisfied, they may simply withdraw from the tournament."
Qin Xian dared not utter another word. He had no choice but to swallow his rage, bowing low toward the phantom silhouette in the sky.
At that moment, a deeply mocking sneer touched the lips of the Liuyang Academy elder as he slowly turned away.
Yet Li Guanqi sharply caught that as the elder turned toward a certain direction, he paused ever so slightly!
Though the hesitation lasted less than half a breath, Li Guanqi was entirely certain the old man had cast his eyes upon someone!
Following the elder's gaze, Li Guanqi saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Frowning slightly, Li Guanqi murmured, "Did I see things?"
In a flash, Li Guanqi vaulted down from the elevated platform to the old man's side and said in a low voice, "Elder Qin, are you alright?"
Qin Xian shook his head slightly, his sharp eyes glaring toward the arenas where matches were still underway.
Then he swept a chilling gaze across the surroundings, but like Li Guanqi, he noticed nothing amiss.
The old man sent a grave voice transmission: "Guanqi, you must be extremely cautious in the matches to come!"
"These people aren't just injuring our disciples like in previous years."
"They are deliberately trying to put us to death!"
"Every strike from the Liuyang Academy disciples is aimed straight at lethal points!"
Li Guanqi glanced at the gravely wounded Great Xia Sword Sect disciples; their injuries were gruesome to behold!
Had the Great Xia disciples not possessed considerable combat experience and called out their surrenders at the critical moment at the cost of severe wounds, he feared...
Taking a deep breath, Li Guanqi slowly rose into the air.
Fixing his gaze on Ye Feng and the others, he saw that their battles were locked in fierce stalemates.
Several of them had smartly prevented their opponents from opening up distance right from the very start.
As a result, the fights in those rings remained an even split.
After all, Li Guanqi had sparred quite ruthlessly against them during training, not to mention having the utterly insufferable Gao Qiwen on hand. The disciples facing Zhong Lin and Lin Dong were suffering just as miserably from the fallout. These fellows fought without a shred of martial virtue—the moment an opportunity presented itself, a sneaky kick flew between the legs, while the left hand either went for the eyes or crushed the throat! The lime powder hidden up their sleeves had their opponents cursing up a storm.
As for Lin Qingyu on another platform, she seemed to hold the upper hand, keeping the Liuyang Academy disciple completely suppressed.
Yet at the final moment, Lin Qingyu was deceived by a feint from her opponent and came within a hair's breadth of being slain on the spot!
Fortunately, she reacted fast enough to cry out her surrender then and there!
An azure streak shattered the disciple's sword, and with a vicious glare at Lin Qingyu, the Liuyang disciple finally turned and walked away.
Lin Qingyu's chest heaved violently; the thought of how close it had been filled her with lingering dread.
On yet another arena stood a late Foundation Establishment senior brother from Tianjin Peak, whose swordplay was exceedingly fierce and powerful.
Li Guanqi remembered his name was Yu Ye. He had entered the sect two years earlier than Li Guanqi and was a common sight beneath the Daqian Waterfall.
Yu Ye's physical strength was formidable, and every flick of his icy edge proved lethal!
Advancing with rapid, surging strides, his footwork was exquisite, keeping him glued to the female cultivator from Liuyang Academy!
Their close-quarters clash was breathlessly fierce, sword light bursting within mere inches.
Yu Ye's expression remained resolute, his blade never wavering simply because his opponent was a woman.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The woman furrowed her brow, unleashing a burst of powerful aura as her sword knocked Yu Ye back.
Backing away, she cried out, "Five Suns! Agile as a Swallow!"
Yet just as she forced open the ancient tome beside her, Yu Ye, ten zhang away, gripped his sword with both hands, and a boundless, weighty sword momentum surged from the ground!
With his muscles bulging high, he stomped hard on the stone!
*Bang!! Crack, crack!!*
Amid the shattering of azure bricks, Yu Ye shot forward with blinding speed!
*Clang!! Bang!!*
The woman had only just shifted her stance when she crashed headlong into Yu Ye's incoming charge!
As she brought her blade up to block, an agonizing crack rang out under the intolerable strain.
In the blink of an eye, Yu Ye's sword thrust four times in rapid succession!
*Slash, slash, slash, slash!!*
Bloody blossoms burst from all four of her limbs!
"Urgh..."
*Thud!*
With a muffled groan, the female cultivator fell pale-faced to her knees before Yu Ye!
Yu Ye's white robes bore several sword cuts, blood soaking most of the fabric.
*Clang!*
Yu Ye sheathed his sword with a calm gaze and stood tall, then turned and leaped down from the elevated platform.
Catching sight of Li Guanqi, he could not help grinning—a grin that looked a bit like Lin Dong's.
Li Guanqi smiled and said, "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Senior Brother."
Yu Ye chuckled softly. "I must also thank you for not withholding your guidance, Junior Brother."
The two exchanged a smile. Li Guanqi had not expected Yu Ye's comprehension to be so keen; he had merely offered a casual remark at the time, yet the man had truly gleaned insight from it.
*Boom! Crackle, crackle!!*
On another elevated platform, the ethereal-figured Gu Ran had actually unleashed two spirit incantations of Thunder Whip simultaneously!
Chapter 125