The Dragon King's Law!

His body drenched in blood, Wen Guyan swayed and closed in once more! Li Guanqi darted through the air, his feet treading the Big Dipper steps as he subtly retreated and dodged. Sword rays slashed across dragon scales with an ear-piercing screech, like iron scraping against steel. Sword intent-infused power cleaved through dragon scales. Li Guanqi dodged with blinding speed, almost synchronized with each swing of his opponent's blade. Weaving and vaulting, he twisted aside midair. Yet the swords in his hands never paused for a single breath; his dual blades proved exceedingly troublesome for Wen Guyan. Pulling back, Li Guanqi crouched low like a hunting leopard, then burst forward in an instant! His figure transformed into a streak of blazing thunder, momentum surging as it erupted. Swish! "Movement technique: Thunder Shadow Flash Step!" Whoosh! In merely an instant, Li Guanqi seemed to teleport, appearing a thousand zhang away! And between his fading afterimage and his true form, a bolt of thunder flashed into existence! "Red Lotus: World's End!" Boom! No change of expression could be seen on the heroic spirit, yet its reactions were scarcely distinguishable from Wen Guyan himself. The very moment Li Guanqi unleashed his movement technique, it reacted. Azure light gathered beneath its feet, spreading out in an instant to conjure an illusory forest! Each towering ancient tree was thick enough to require a dozen men linking arms to encircle it. The ancient trees swayed as countless green flecks of light gathered into the three-foot azure blade. The blade hummed and trembled, spitting out sword rays as the figure shot forward! In that instant, every tree across the illusory forest was annihilated! Li Guanqi's heart shook. Within this law, he sensed the drain of vitality. Time was merciless, but... what if time itself possessed vitality? If so, could Wen Guyan's law wither even the vitality of time? At this moment, Li Guanqi finally felt a trace of fear. Wen Guyan's ambition reached too high... So high that even he dared not imagine it... If this path truly worked, Li Guanqi felt that Wen Guyan would become the third Human Spirit Immortal of the wood-attribute law! Even if he failed, once he ascended to the Immortal Realm in the future, Wen Guyan would surely become an overlord of an entire domain! Boom! Resplendent sword rays clashed and violently exploded. Li Guanqi was instantly blasted thousands of zhang away by the shockwave. His entire left arm was nearly split open by the strike, mangled and dripping with blood, raw flesh turned outward. The dragon scales covering his left palm holding the sword had weathered away, leaving the hand withered and wrinkled... Blood and qi circulated within Li Guanqi's body, and under the repair of immortal primal energy, it quickly recovered. Yet Li Guanqi's chest heaved violently. That sword strike just now... had stripped away a thousand years of his lifespan! Although it was merely an illusion within the simulation, he understood... If the true Wen Guyan stood before him and they fought at the same realm, his chances of victory would be slim! He looked up into the distance. The dragon scales on Wen Guyan's heroic spirit phantom had shattered. A long sword scar stretched across its waist, the mangled flesh horrific to behold. Even the Azure Dragon phantom was mostly shattered, its aura fluctuating wildly and unstably. Yet at this moment, the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved wildly upward, his body trembling slightly with excitement. "What a terrifying wood-attribute law..." "What an absurd path of laws!" "Is this the true strength of the Dragon King...?" Boom! Heaven and earth trembled as azure light drifted across the void like raindrops. At this moment, Li Guanqi heard space wailing in agony. The excitement on Li Guanqi's face receded, replaced by solemn gravity. Buzz! Thunderous flames filled the heavens, blotting out the sky as they surged and roared like a purgatorial sea of lightning. Space twisted and collapsed, as though the entire realm could no longer bear this power. Below in the Hall of Heroic Spirits, a section of the formation erupted in dazzling luminescence! The formation's inscriptions began to melt... Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his grip on his sword slowly tightening. "Phew..." "Red Lotus: Dao Fall." Boom! A sword ray spanning a full thousand zhang burst forth in an instant! The entire void seemed about to be cleaved apart by this strike! Wherever it passed, the drifting azure light scattered to both sides like torn clouds. The heroic spirit phantom took a fierce step forward and slashed horizontally! Li Guanqi stared fixedly ahead. He saw the phantom hold its longsword level after striking, then move both hands to sheath the blade. Sword light struck like lightning, colliding violently in the blink of an eye! Rumble! The deafening roar was ear-splitting. This time, Li Guanqi raised a primal energy barrier and stood his ground without budging. The hem of his white robe fluttered noisily in the wind as wave after wave of terrifying explosive aftershocks assaulted him. The cracking sounds of his barrier shattering were continuous, only to be replaced each time he erected another. This strike was a draw! Tempered by the law of thunder, an unmatched destructive power erupted violently. Even Wen Guyan's law struggled to rival it! At present, Wen Guyan's power of laws remained bound beneath the rules of the Five Elements! Whereas Li Guanqi's power of laws had long transcended those rules, establishing rules that belonged entirely to him. It was an absolute suppression and dominance on the level of the law source. As the shockwaves of explosive power gradually dissipated, Li Guanqi looked at the heroic spirit phantom in the distance—now with only half a torso remaining—and let out a long breath. In this battle, he had truly pulled out all the stops. Their mastery of the sword was evenly matched; after all, the foundation Wen Guyan had built over time was exceptionally solid. Li Guanqi still habitually used his previous moves, but he had also brought forth many sword styles and sword techniques he had comprehended himself. Li Guanqi had also gained a tremendous amount from this fight. A subtle hint of disappointment flickered in the depths of his eyes. He had not yet unleashed his ultimate sword strike. Yet on second thought, he smiled. To have fought to such an extent, he was already well satisfied! Buzz! The Hall of Heroic Spirits trembled gently, and a mysterious power began to imprint his power. Li Guanqi raised a hand, stopping this power. Looking up at the dissipating heroic spirit, he murmured, "This thirty-fifth floor rightfully belongs to Senior Wen!" Buzz! Li Guanqi flashed out of the Hall of Heroic Spirits, only to find a crowd gathered outside watching! Only then did he realize that the commotion earlier had probably been too massive. Meng Jiangchu appeared beside Li Guanqi in a flash, saying with an awkward expression, "Um... there was a problem with the core formation. Some of the inscriptions melted. Right now, except for the Dragon King, everyone else has been evacuated from the Heroic Spirit Tower." Li Guanqi nodded, showing he understood. Right at that moment, the doors to the thirty-sixth floor trembled slightly. Wen Guyan walked out with a calm expression, glancing at Li Guanqi with surprise in his eyes. At this point, everyone instinctively looked up at the curtain of thunderous light in the sky. "The thirty-fifth floor... is still the Dragon King?" "The thirty-sixth hasn't changed either!" "Could it be that Lord Sword Venerable fought the Dragon King at the same realm and actually lost?!" "By that logic, if the Dragon King fought the Sword Venerable at the same realm, he didn't win either?" The crowd broke into fervent discussion at the names on the light curtain. The corners of Wen Guyan's mouth lifted slightly, and looking at Li Guanqi, he secretly gave him a thumbs-up! He knew all too well how strong Li Guanqi was right now... Even if Li Guanqi fought him at the same realm, Li Guanqi would not lose. Which meant there was only one explanation for the current ranking. After winning, Li Guanqi had chosen not to replace him! "Tsk, the brat actually knew to save me some face. Not bad." Li Guanqi did not look back. Walking alongside Meng Jiangchu toward the Hall of Heroic Spirits to repair the formation, he transmitted his voice in a deep tone: "Later, I'll go have a drink with Senior Wen. How about we chat about your law?" "Good. I'll be waiting for you!"