Three Kings Spectating

Bang! A dull, massive boom rang out. Li Guanqi’s body was kicked flying like a torn sack. As he shot backward, his divine sense could not even keep pace with the other man’s speed! Li Guanqi’s eyes were filled with shock and bewilderment. He had originally thought his current strength was enough to face any one of the Four Kings. Yet now... He finally realized just how laughable his assumption had been. He also finally understood why Wen Guyan had spoken with such mockery. In his mind, he had believed the Xuan King, Xuan Yue, was the least lethal among the Four Kings. The Black Tortoise governed defense, so his defensive power ought to be astonishingly formidable. Yet now it seemed he had been wrong—dead wrong... Every bone in his body felt as though it were coming apart. The Black Tortoise possessed top-tier strength, physical might, and speed in every aspect! Crashing onto the Dao platform, his body tumbled backward uncontrollably. Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed. Adjusting his posture, he spun repeatedly in midair, tapped the ground with his right hand, and planted both feet firmly into the black bricks. Craaack! Two deep gouges were carved into the surface of the pitch-black Dao platform. "Ha!" Li Guanqi roared as blood and qi surged within him. Purplish-black dragon scales instantly covered his entire body. His frame grew taller and broader. Yet even so, he remained several sizes smaller than Xuan Yue. Feeling the surging power coursing through him, Li Guanqi relied on sheer instinct to backhand a sword slash behind him in an instant! This strike was lightning-fast and launched from an exceptionally tricky angle. The Red Lotus sword actually curved past Xuan Yue’s arm, streaking straight for his throat! Clang! Earthy-yellow primal energy surged, and sparks showered from the blade. Xuan Yue’s eyes were rife with sneering scorn. His left hand darted out like an eagle’s talon with lightning speed. Riiip! "Ugh!" Li Guanqi’s expression shifted slightly as a muffled grunt escaped his lips. The dragon scales along his left arm, which had just swung the sword, were torn clean off. That massive hand gripped his wrist tightly like an iron vise. Li Guanqi’s gaze turned sharp. A ferocious expression crossed Xuan Yue’s face as he twisted his waist and leveraged his force! Sensing danger, Li Guanqi channeled his own strength in tandem, veins bulging along his neck. Yet a trace of disdain flitted across the man’s face. Even so, Li Guanqi’s physical power was by no means simple. Roar! In an instant, the cry of dragons and elephants seemed to roar through Li Guanqi’s meridians. Boom! With the two men at the center, the ground within a radius of a hundred zhang shattered abruptly! Boom! Bang, bang, crack! In a breath, spiderweb cracks spread across the stone. Both of their feet sank deep into the Dao platform. A flicker of astonishment crossed Xuan Yue’s eyes. He had not expected Li Guanqi’s strength to be this fierce! Such might was enough to lift a mountain with a single hand. "Hmph!" A cold snort escaped the man’s lips, and the phantom silhouette of a Black Tortoise materialized behind him. Veins immediately bulged across both of his arms, and his muscles turned taut and rock-hard like steel. Li Guanqi’s body was hoisted into the air against his will! The colossal force gave him the illusion that his arm was about to snap. With his vision spinning, Li Guanqi let go with his left hand and gripped the sword with his right. The blade stabbed straight toward Xuan Yue’s eyes, while his body wrapped itself along the man’s arm. The instep of his left foot straightened, thrusting toward the man’s armpit like a spear! Xuan Yue’s heart tightened; he had not anticipated Li Guanqi’s reflexes to be so sharp. His left hand was enveloped in primal energy, patterned with eerie markings resembling the shell of a tortoise. He snatched at Li Guanqi’s sword while clamping down hard with his right arm around Li Guanqi’s leg! The man bared a mouthful of white teeth and chuckled. "Brat, you’re still too green—" Before he could finish speaking, a ruthless glint flashed in Li Guanqi’s eyes. The sword shifted from a thrust to an upward slash, but it was not aimed at the man’s arm. The blade traced an arc, sweeping upward from below with vicious momentum! Its target... was his own lower leg! Slash! The sword severed his own left ankle, cutting cleanly through and driving into Xuan Yue’s armpit, the blade sinking three finger-widths into the flesh. "Arrgh!" Whoosh! Boom! Li Guanqi was hurled away violently, crashing against the barrier of the Dao platform with a dull thud. Sprawled on the ground, Li Guanqi coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood, then rose, sword in hand, standing proud and defiant. Under the surge of primal energy, his injuries began healing at a rate visible to the naked eye. A hundred zhang away, the burly man looked down at the blood pouring from his armpit, his eyes flickering. Li Guanqi drew a deep breath. He knew the gap in strength between them was immense. Yet if it came down to a desperate fight to the death... who would fall remained to be seen! Xuan Yue staunched the bleeding of his wound, and when he looked back at Li Guanqi, the earlier contempt in his eyes was gone. His fingers splayed slightly forward, his gaze locked on Li Guanqi like a tiger prowling through the woods. His deep voice echoed across the Dao platform. "I underestimated you. You're ruthless enough." "Aside from those few, you're the first person in the late stage who has ever managed to injure me." He exhaled. "From now on, I will not underestimate you again!" "I will treat you as an opponent of the same realm." Enduring the agonizing pain, Li Guanqi reached out to snap his broken ribs back into alignment and mend them. Exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, the suppressed pressure within him erupted with a roar! "Divine Punishment: Void Liberation Realm!" Boom! The surging might of this primal energy even shocked Shiwu inside him. "What technique is this?" "To grant such a terrifying boost in power!" At the same time, Li Guanqi unleashed the power of his spirit ruins along with his sword intent. Under Xuan Yue’s shocked gaze, Li Guanqi’s strength multiplied exponentially! As Li Guanqi revealed his absolute peak, even Xuan Yue could not help but narrow his eyes. "Heh, you really are a monster..." "What kind of trash geniuses fill the rest of the world compared to this?" The reason he said this was entirely because Li Guanqi could now give him a faint sense of danger. One had to remember that Li Guanqi had only just broken through to the late Tribulation Transcendence Realm... Compared to cultivators like them, who had settled and honed their strength at the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm for thousands of years, Li Guanqi's foundation should have been far too shallow. Xuan Yue raised his shoulders slightly and hunched his back. With his hands poised, his whole posture resembled a tiger coiled to pounce. He was about to get serious... Li Guanqi’s focus was heightened to its absolute limit, his entire mind and spirit centered on the Dao platform. He did not notice that around the platform, three separate auras were quietly watching this battle. Wen Guyan smiled and asked, "Bai Su, what do you think of this kid?" The Tiger King, Bai Su! The bearded man had already straightened up from his throne, leaning forward slightly. "A bit interesting... but if he wants to force Xuan Yue to fight for real, he's probably still falling short." Bie Ruxue narrowed her eyes; to her, it seemed terrifying enough. "Fair point." "But don’t forget, he only broke through to late Tribulation Transcendence yesterday." "He hasn't even had the time to consolidate his realm, yet he can already unleash such terrifying strength." The corners of Wen Guyan’s lips curled upward, letting the two of them speculate as they pleased. "Little fellow, give them a surprise to look at."