The battles that followed were nothing short of a one-sided crushing by Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi brought out every move Xuan Yue had used against him, torturing the four of them until they wished for death.
In the end, Li Guanqi slung the four bloodied men over his shoulders and hauled them back to the White Jade Tower to recuperate.
No sooner had he arrived and dumped the four into a downstairs guest room than he turned around to see the others returning from the Fourth Domain, covered in injuries.
Ye Feng was covered in saber wounds deep enough to show bone, yet his expression remained placid.
Catching sight of Li Guanqi, his voice held a trace of surprise. "Boss, you're awake? What's... the deal with these guys?"
Cao Yan grabbed his own arm, popping it back into place with a sharp crack. His face was covered in bruises, his jaw had been dislocated, and after a glance he muttered, "Those sword wounds are obviously Boss's handiwork. He's even more vicious than the Eight Generals..."
Xiao Chen's face was battered and bruised, his body riddled with spear wounds, including two puncture wounds piercing clean through his shoulder and thigh.
Li Guanqi turned, sat down on the edge of a bed, and regarded them with a teasing grin. "Let me guess... Second Brother must have won. Third Brother... a draw? And Fourth Brother definitely took a sound thrashing from Uncle Long, hahahahaha!"
Ye Feng shrugged, shooting a glance at Cao Yan. "Third Brother insisted on acting tough by taking on two at once, so Senior Chan Kongzi and Senior Xiang Huaizhi beat him within an inch of his life. As for Fourth Brother, no need to say more—Long Hou was holding in a bellyful of rage this time, so his strikes were merciless."
Cao Yan shrugged, grumbling testily, "Those two old bastards had bad intentions from the start. Every strike went straight below the belt..."
Xiao Chen said nothing, his gaze drifting in contemplation.
*Whoosh!*
In a flash, he vanished, clearly struck by a sudden realization.
While they were still chatting, the clouds and winds churned across the sky.
Li Guanqi remarked with wry amusement, "Second Brother Ye, you didn't seriously injure Senior Hong Zhi, did you? Good grief, did they come down for revenge?"
Hearing that, Ye Feng hurried to explain, "I just fought normally. Injuries are inevitable in a spar, and I didn't go too heavy on her..."
Before Ye Feng could finish, he was already following Li Guanqi out the door.
Li Guanqi patted Cao Yan on the shoulder and smiled. "Go heal your injuries, and feed those fellows some pills while you're at it."
"Oh, all right."
Cao Yan turned back into the room, retrieved healing pills from his storage ring, and popped them into their mouths. His brows furrowed slightly as an insight struck him as well, and he vanished in a flash, returning to the Nirvana Pagoda.
Li Guanqi and Ye Feng stood side by side, looking up at the sky.
"Well now... they really came."
Long Hou's hair was somewhat disheveled, and the robes on his body were freshly changed.
Leading the others down before the White Jade Tower, Long Hou looked at Li Guanqi with a calm expression.
"Uncle Long, what brings you all here?"
Long Hou took a deep breath and spoke bluntly, without the slightest embarrassment: "We want to take up residence in the White Jade Tower so it'll be convenient to spar in the future."
Li Guanqi was taken aback, having never expected Long Hou and the others to want to live in the White Jade Tower...
The Nirvana Pagoda in the White Jade Tower was separate now and hadn't been placed inside the sword coffin.
Li Guanqi's brows knit slightly.
Noticing this, Long Hou waved his hand and tossed out a palace magical artifact, which settled a hundred zhang away from the White Jade Tower.
"Staying on our own works too."
Li Guanqi let out a wry, helpless chuckle. "That works then. We brats are available anytime."
Nangong Xuandu stepped forward impatiently.
He wore the same aloof demeanor as always, completely devoid of expression. "Do you have time right now?"
Li Guanqi did not refuse, cupping his hands with a smile. "Since Senior Nangong has spoken, junior naturally has time."
Seeing how things were shaping up, Ye Feng thought to himself, *Run... they're here for revenge.*
Yet just as Ye Feng turned around, Long Hou spoke up. "Heal well. Hong Zhi still wants another bout with you."
Ye Feng stiffly turned his head back and gave a slight nod. "Are Senior Hong Zhi's injuries all right...? I still have some pills here."
Long Hou hmphed coldly and said nothing.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. Even he hadn't foreseen things turning out like this.
Once, he had sent his brothers to learn under the Eight Generals.
And now, it had come to this...
With a faint smile, Li Guanqi tore open a domain space and gestured forward. "Senior Nangong, after you."
Nangong Xuandu stepped into the domain, elegant and poised in his green robes. With a flick of his hand, the longsword on his back flew instantly into his grasp.
"Do not hold back. I... wish to grow stronger as well!"
Li Guanqi drew a deep breath, nodded, and said in a solemn voice, "Understood. Rest assured, Senior, this junior will certainly give it his all!"
A moment later, Nangong Xuandu—covered in sword wounds—flew backward through the air, cursing aloud, "Are you trying to hack me to death?! Don't give it your all! Take it easy!!"
Yet the answer he received was several chilling sword lights cutting off his paths of movement!
"Senior Nangong, taking it easy won't have any effect."
Nangong Xuandu simply shut his mouth and poured himself wholly into the battle.
The immense pressure Li Guanqi exerted on him made it feel as if Li Guanqi truly intended to kill him!!
This pressure wasn't illusory; it was real!!
The slightest misstep would mean the total destruction of his body and Dao.
Under this crushing pressure, Nangong Xuandu repeatedly broke through his own limits, 'surviving' again and again.
An hour later.
The spirit sword in Li Guanqi's right hand dissipated. Looking at the man kneeling on one knee in the distance, gasping heavily for breath, he smiled. "Senior, let's call it a day."
At this moment, Nangong Xuandu's dantian was completely drained; Li Guanqi had squeezed nearly every ounce of strength out of him.
Swaying slightly, the pale, bloodless man looked down at the bone-deep gashes covering his body, feeling a sudden shudder run through his heart.
He knew that being able to push past his limits again and again was entirely because Li Guanqi's cultivation realm and attainments in the sword dao were superior to his own—far superior, even!
Only because of that could Li Guanqi command his power so freely, bringing him to the brink without claiming his life.
Nangong Xuandu gave a wry smile. "I've campaigned across the Six Domains and fought in countless slaughters, yet none of it compares to the brushes with death I faced during this one hour of sparring with you... Thank you!"
Li Guanqi cupped his fists in return, his expression solemn, without uttering a word.
The two departed the domain. Nangong Xuandu returned to his palace artifact, and Li Guanqi went back to the White Jade Tower.
Outside the Nirvana Pagoda, Li Guanqi sat down, unable to help sighing, "Truly... the world is unpredictable. Back then, who among us could have imagined things turning out like this?"
Ye Feng chuckled softly. "Everyone is cultivating with all their might. It's good."
Li Guanqi turned to look at Ye Feng beside him, who was battered and wounded, and spoke softly. "Is everyone doing this because of me?"
The corners of Ye Feng's mouth curled up slightly as he answered slowly, "Yes and no. You move too fast, and none of us want to be left behind... So we can only run with everything we've got."
Those calm words stirred restless waves in Li Guanqi's heart.
His eyes drifted toward the ceiling, and he murmured softly, "I have no choice. I can't stop... I'm sorry to make you all suffer."
Ye Feng's smile widened.
"We relish every moment of it. Big Brother, just keep moving forward. The rest... leave it to me."
Chapter 1455