Fierce Battle! Going All Out!

The instant Li Guanqi gripped his sword, his entire aura transformed completely! The energy of the entire Fourth Domain was drawn to him. The balanced environment of the Realm of Wind and Thunder was shattered in an instant. The astral wind of heaven and earth dispersed, replaced by a boundless sea of heavenly thunder! By now, Li Guanqi's aura had long surpassed the absolute limits of the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm. As the power of both combatants vented wildly across the stage, Long Hou's eyes grew burning hot, and he took a sudden stride forward! His golden spear, etched with golden runes, pointed straight at Li Guanqi. His shoulder-length hair danced wildly in the gale. "You really were hiding your true strength!" "Hahahahaha! Good, good, good!" "Today, in our battle, we must both go all out!" Li Guanqi's demonification caused the expressions of many onlookers to turn solemn. Every one of them realized what had caused the change in his aura. In an instant, whispers and murmurs broke out among the crowd. "How could Li Guanqi harbor such dense demonic qi?!" "A transformation like this... how is he any different from a demon!" "Hmph, could it be that his recent surge in strength was entirely because of this?" Yet no matter how the spectators below speculated, it did not affect the two men on the stage in the slightest. Long Hou could feel an unprecedented, overpowering pressure radiating from Li Guanqi. This immense pressure made his entire body tremble with sheer excitement. He did not care about Li Guanqi's demonic qi, for he could tell that this transformation stemmed from Li Guanqi's inherent constitution. Whatever had happened to him, or whatever fortuitous encounters he had gained, had nothing to do with Long Hou. At this moment, Long Hou only wanted to relish this battle to the fullest! In his first and second battles, Li Guanqi had challenged Chan Kongzi and Nangong Xuandu respectively. Both of them had displayed an unparalleled sense of exhilaration. That had long made Long Hou's hands itch for a good fight. Unfortunately, back then Li Guanqi had not yet stepped into his realm's level. Even with his golden armor on, Long Hou would have easily thrashed Li Guanqi. He had never expected that after merely three months, Hong Zhi would tell him that Li Guanqi had already torn through the barrier of laws. He had been in a state of high excitement all this time; otherwise, he would never have taken the initiative to invite Li Guanqi to duel. This battle... He had anticipated it for thousands of years. The loneliness of finding no worthy opponent beneath the Tribulation Transcendence realm had kept him solitary for far too long. Li Guanqi's eyes were ablaze with battle intent as he faced this senior whom he had once respected and admired the most. Earlier, he had worried about injuring the man, never imagining that once Long Hou removed the seal of his golden armor, he would reveal such incomparable might. In that case... Li Guanqi could naturally fight with reckless abandon! Without a single word, the two men—their fighting spirit pushed to the pinnacle—shot forth at once! In a flash, the watching crowd could not track their figures at all. Having both initially grasped the power of laws, the speed of these two pinnacle cultivators had already exceeded the limits of the Mahayana realm. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang, clang! Boom! Boom! The ripples across the barrier never ceased for a moment. Although the tempestuous energy did not leak past the boundary, the spectating cultivators could still perceive the terrifying pressure radiating from within. Which of the onlookers was not in the Mahayana realm? Yet even so, their faces turned slightly pale, and they could not help stumbling backward. Terrifying sword qi swept in all directions within the barrier, and golden spear light shook heaven and earth. The Dao platform trembled faintly, and occasionally shards of stone were sent flying out. The roar of explosions rang out continuously as the two silhouettes crossed each other in a frenzy across the ring. Cold gleams flickered from the sword in Li Guanqi's hand, conjuring dense clusters of sword shadows. The spear shadows moved like a dragon, roaring as they slammed downward. Li Guanqi swung his sword horizontally, aiming straight for Long Hou's neck. Long Hou swept his spear up to parry, deflecting the sword while simultaneously spinning the weapon downward in a crushing strike! Thud! Li Guanqi dodged to the side, his foot driving violently into the floor. The Dao platform shattered, and his figure shot forward like an arrow, advancing instead of retreating! A battle within mere inches was perilous in the extreme. Li Guanqi knew full well that against a spear cultivator, one had to close the distance to suppress the spear's superior reach. Yet how could Long Hou not understand this as well? Moving like a swimming dragon, Long Hou consistently maintained a set distance from Li Guanqi. Clang! The spear parried another fierce slash from Li Guanqi, but Li Guanqi's sword slid down the spear shaft in a sweeping downward chop! Long Hou's expression did not waver. With wild battle intent flickering in his eyes, he released his grip and leaned sharply backward! Failing to sever Long Hou's hands, Li Guanqi flicked his wrist and followed through with a horizontal slash! Yet Long Hou seemed to have anticipated this move long beforehand. Bending backward into an iron bridge stance to evade the blade, his right foot kicked out violently against the spear suspended in midair. The kick landed squarely on the spear butt, sending the golden spear spinning rapidly in a full circle! Having lunged close, Li Guanqi had no time to evade, and the spear gouged a long, tearing wound across his chest. Friction between the spearhead and his dragon scales erupted into bursts of sparks. The terrifying Geng Metal power was sharp to the extreme, forcefully breaking through Li Guanqi's defenses. Purple-black scales shattered, and blood flowed freely. In an instant, the two separated, putting a hundred zhang between them. As he retreated, Li Guanqi licked his lips and muttered under his breath. "Demonic Blood Revival!" Blood and energy surged within his body, and the wound began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Buzz! The Dao platform within his sea of consciousness trembled madly, and a shade of pitch-black swept across Li Guanqi's eyes. "Heart Demon Control!" Boom! A pitch-black shadow, like the gaping maw of a colossal beast, surged forward to swallow Long Hou. Mid-roll, Long Hou had no time to evade and was enveloped by the power in an instant. His head jerked back as though struck by a heavy blow, and his eyes gradually grew slack and unfocused. This sight frightened many of the spectators. Hong Zhi could not help clenching her fists. Ye Feng frowned. He was all too familiar with the power of this demonic qi. However... the power Li Guanqi unleashed was far too pure. He had never felt such pure demonic qi even from Lu Tian! With a flick of his hand, Li Guanqi detonated thousands of thunderbolts beneath Long Hou's feet. Boundless lightning power surged upward, forming layer upon layer of thunder seals! Two massive pillars of lightning descended from the heavens, piercing straight through the barrier! Having executed this, Li Guanqi did not pause for a second. Forcibly arresting his momentum, he shot forward like an arrow. The Red Lotus in his hand flickered with radiant sword light, unleashing terrifying sword qi that crisscrossed the void! "Li Guanqi... has probably already touched Po realm sword intent." "Indeed. A peak Sword Soul realm sword intent—one could even call it a half-step Po realm sword intent." "The heart of a paragon... what terrifying willpower!" "But what was that technique he displayed just before this?" Before the crowd could puzzle it out, a golden spear burst straight through all the seals! With blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, Long Hou tore free from the shattered thunder and retreated rapidly. Looking somewhat battered, Long Hou was now wrapped in arcs of lightning, his skin scorched black. His face was slightly pale, showing that he had just endured a truly terrifying nightmare of an illusion. Before he could steady his mind, Li Guanqi had already closed the distance. "Heaven Shattering Sword Art: Immortal Slayer!" Boom! Li Guanqi's body split into several afterimages, all erupting with the identical aura as they formed a triangular formation, trapping Long Hou dead in the center.