The Foremost Sword Cultivator Below Tribulation Transcendence!

Blood and vital qi roared within Li Guanqi's body as he pushed the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art to its absolute limit. His taut muscles bulged, and straining with every ounce of his might beneath the shocked gazes of the onlookers, he actually began to move forward against the crushing pressure of the wind walls boxing him in from front and back! With his left hand coated in dragon scales, he reversed Red Lotus and slashed it violently into the gale-force wall! Yet the terrifying speed of the rushing wind nearly tore the sword from his grip. Nangong Xuandu's pupils constricted abruptly. This was the first time he had ever seen anyone capable of moving under the suppression of his wind walls purely through physical strength! *I can't give him another chance!!* Watching the tempest right before his eyes and Nangong Xuandu shooting toward him at blinding speed, Li Guanqi felt a twinge of helplessness... "Divine Punishment: Void-Release Stage!" *Boom!* In an instant, Li Guanqi's power surged to an entirely new tier, undergoing an earth-shattering transformation! This one-and-a-half-times amplification had originally been reserved for Long Hou. He had not expected that, in the end, he had still underestimated the powerhouses among the Eight Generals. *Boom!* A heaven-shaking sword qi erupted from the ground! "Heaven Shatterer: Immortal Slayer." The terrifying wind wall spirit incantation was instantly cleaved apart, and the storm tearing through the sky overhead was split in two. The dazzling violet sword light parted the heavens in a single strike. Nangong Xuandu, rushing forward, was forcibly halted in his tracks by this sword strike. Veering sideways as he darted away, he dodged the dispersing aftershocks of the blow. The dreadful sword light carved a charred scorch mark a full thousand zhang long into the dark-gold Dao platform. Covered in blood, Li Guanqi slowly walked out from the shattered azure astral wind. The dragon scales across his body were nearly all shredded by the ferocious wind pressure. Had it not been for those scales, even with Li Guanqi's current physical strength, he likely would have been scraped down to the bone... Between heaven and earth, azure astral winds raged indiscriminately, slicing fissure after fissure into the surrounding void. Everyone looked at Li Guanqi in utter shock! Long Hou narrowed his eyes and murmured, "No wonder he could slay that scarred man in the Second Domain." "With such a terrifying aura, he hasn't even drawn on the power of the Divine-Patterned Sky Radish!" Meanwhile, outside the floating islands, a man stood silently watching the battle on the Dao platform. Nangong Xuandu licked his lips and looked at Li Guanqi with a burning gaze. Surging battle intent flared like fire in his eyes. Neither spoke a word; what followed was combat of even greater savagery! *Boom!* *Clang! Clang! Clang!* The tempestuous battle left every spectator thoroughly shaken. Atop the mountain, Xiang Huaizhi's gaze grew exceptionally solemn. If previously he had speculated that Nangong might win... Now, even he could hardly foresee the outcome of this duel. The reason was simple: the current Li Guanqi was simply too strong. His combat style and approach had shifted once again. In mere moments, Nangong Xuandu had already been pushed into a disadvantage! Li Guanqi's ability to learn and comprehend was terrifyingly formidable. Suddenly! Two shifting curtains of thunder instantly enveloped Nangong Xuandu! Nangong Xuandu unleashed a flurry of strikes, breaking free before the thunder walls could fully coalesce. Yet the very instant he broke out, Li Guanqi's sword sent him flying hundreds of zhang! *Spurt!* A hideous sword wound tore open across him, deep enough to expose bone. "Nine Heavens of Dying Wind!!" *Boom!* Nine intensely condensed blasts of azure astral wind slashed out in a flash! The dreadful sword lights sealed off every possible direction Li Guanqi could dodge! There was nowhere to hide. Li Guanqi took a deep breath. With a raise of his hand, sword light pulsed unceasingly from Red Lotus. A hundred-zhang phantom of a Thunder God instantly materialized. Li Guanqi's brows arched sharply, his gaze piercing as a blade. "Thunder Wrath!" The Thunder God phantom threw open its massive maw and roared in fury. A sword light of magnificent grandeur crashed down from above like the wrath of the Thunder God descending upon the mortal realm. The thunderous detonation made the entire Dao platform tremble. Even the golden barrier of the formation rippled with layer upon layer of waves. This alone showed how tremendous their power was. *Gulp...* "What a terrifying attack." "With an attack this powerful, even an ordinary Tribulation Transcendence realm expert would perish with regret!" "That young man challenged the Eight Generals and still dared to hold back some of his strength! Just how confident is he?!" Before the aftershocks had dissipated, a figure broke through the ripples and shot into midair. Nangong Xuandu looked somewhat disheveled now, yet his gaze remained razor-sharp. His long hair danced wildly as the sword in his hand traced profound arcs, slashing forth once more! The sword sang clarion-clear, resonating with Nangong Xuandu's spirit, driven by a single purpose: to defeat the foe before him! "Wind Shadow Traceless Sword!" In that instant, every trace of azure sword light vanished. Wind was inherently formless, and at this moment, Nangong Xuandu pushed the nature of wind primal energy to its absolute extreme! *Slash! Slash! Slash!* The barrier of primal energy in front of Li Guanqi shattered almost instantly. Countless fine cuts lacerated his entire body, bursting into clouds of bloody mist. Li Guanqi was forced into a violent retreat of hundreds of zhang. Crossing his arms before his chest, he glared fixedly at Nangong Xuandu through the gap. For now, he could only endure the barrage and search for a flaw. The divine sense drifting around him could not detect the slightest ripple of sword light. He could not even glimpse the silhouette of the wind sword! Long Hou murmured, "The match is decided." Just when everyone thought Li Guanqi had run out of answers and could only wait for defeat, they were shocked to find that Li Guanqi had closed his eyes! Li Guanqi took a deep breath, settling his mind and drawing back his divine sense. His entire being entered a wondrous, profound state. Resonance with heaven and earth! In this moment, within the darkness of his vision, he clearly saw several wisps of pale azure spatial ripples drifting like smoke. The corners of Li Guanqi's lips curled up slightly. With a sway of his body, he dodged seventeen sword strikes in rapid succession! The moment Li Guanqi's final afterimage dispersed, Nangong Xuandu did not strike again. Astride the high platform, Long Hou suddenly rose to his feet! His eyes were filled with disbelief. How many formidable experts had perished with bitter regret against Nangong Xuandu's Traceless Sword? Even the other generals would find it exceptionally troublesome to handle. Nangong Xuandu sighed. Though he did not know what method Li Guanqi had used, he knew that Li Guanqi no longer feared his formless astral winds and sword qi. A trace of bitterness touched Nangong Xuandu's lips. Exhaling a breath of turbid air, he looked up at Li Guanqi. "One last strike." "Face me with your strongest sword." Li Guanqi nodded with a solemn expression. Before the onlookers could even register what was happening, Nangong Xuandu, gripping his sword with both hands, saw his aura surge dramatically! Boundless sword intent soared into the sky, sword light churning ceaselessly along Qingxiao's blade. A miniature tempest coiled around the blade, spinning madly. The space surrounding the sword was completely shredded! "Heavenly Astral Extinction Sword!!!" Li Guanqi's expression turned exceedingly grim; he could sense how horrifying this strike was. If he couldn't withstand it... even if he didn't die, he would be flayed alive! His chest heaved slightly as he mobilized the primal energy within his body, sending it surging and roaring through his meridians at breakneck speed. Red Lotus trembled faintly and emitted low hums, as if unable to bear such tremendous power. *Boom!* Both men stepped forward in unison, violet and azure claiming opposite halves of the void. "Eight Desolations: Extinction!!" Beneath the tense gazes of the crowd, the two sword lights collided in an instant! *Rumble!* Sword lights crossed, and under the eruption of spatial ripples, the space across ten thousand zhang around them throughout the entire Dao platform completely collapsed! The golden light barrier violently shook, intense ripples spreading across it like a massive boulder thrown into a calm lake. The thunderous roar momentarily deafened everyone present. Violent lightning and azure sword qi surged in all directions, completely filling the space of the Dao platform. In this instant, all eyes converged onto the Dao platform! Two proud figures stood upright in the arena. Both bore a wound deep enough to expose bone across their chests. With disheveled hair, Nangong Xuandu whispered, "I lost." For at the final juncture, Nangong Xuandu had been forced against his will to restore his half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivation realm... With that said, the man dragged his feet, stepping off the Dao platform with difficulty. Stumbling, he pitched forward, but Xiang Huaizhi appeared before him in a flash to steady him. Collapsing into Xiang Huaizhi's arms, Nangong Xuandu's lips curled into a slight smile. With closed eyes, he murmured, "That felt good..." On the platform, Li Guanqi's legs trembled slightly. Gritting his teeth, he raised his blood-drenched hands and cupped his fists toward Nangong Xuandu in salute! Silence. This battle was enough to prove that Li Guanqi was the foremost sword cultivator below the Tribulation Transcendence realm! Whether in strength, realm, or attainment in the sword dao, he had reached the absolute peak. Grimacing in agony, Li Guanqi found himself unable to move. Turning his head, he saw Ye Feng standing not far off. Looking at Li Guanqi, Ye Feng grinned, gave him a thumbs-up, and flew over to help support him as he stepped down.