Killing at the Door

Li Guanqi barely spared a glance at the barrier taking shape behind him. With a teleportation, he overtook the heavily wounded black-robed figure, slashing horizontally with a speed impossible for the naked eye to track! "Sword Draw Stance · Dark Moon!" *Hum! Swish!* The world suddenly plunged into darkness, save for that blood-red blade flashing past with a spray of crimson! A head flew high into the air, and amidst crisscrossing sword qi, the black-robed person's body was reduced to countless bits of minced flesh. The illusory soul attempted to flee, only to be seized in the grip of a massive lightning hand and crushed to pieces! As the barrier sealed shut, Li Guanqi, his face flecked with blood, calmly looked toward the black-robed man dozens of zhang away. The man's eyes were filled with dread, his pupils trembling faintly. Li Guanqi, by contrast, nonchalantly dropped the severed head in his hand into the void. He had not even bothered to lift the veil covering the black-robed figure's face. Raising his gaze to the man before him, he sneered. "Zhao Chengyong didn't come in person. That surprises me a little." The black-robed man's pupils contracted slightly, as though he were striving to suppress his turmoil. Yet Li Guanqi cared little whether the man admitted it or not. At present, the only person who held a grudge against him was Zhao Chengyong. Even though Qi Mobai had been reclaimed by Lin Chuanqing, Zhao Chengyong still had not found his son's killer. Anyone with half a brain could deduce that the killer was very likely inside Yuxu City. Coupled with the fact that Li Guanqi had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to take up the post of Grand Commander in Yuxu City, Zhao Chengyong had almost certainly received word early on, yet lacked the daring to enter the city openly. "How did you know?" Li Guanqi ignored him, merely muttering to himself, "It seems Zhao Chengyong has men planted in the patrol camp as well, though I don't know who just yet. "As for me... heh, why do you think I guessed Zhao Chengyong might send men to lie in ambush around the perimeter, yet still came out alone to practice my movement technique?" A chill crept up the black-robed man's spine. It was hard to imagine that everything unfolding before him had been entirely within the youth's grasp and calculations from the start. Li Guanqi flicked his wrist lightly, snapping the fresh blood from his blade. "To be honest, the brains the lot of you have are laughably stupid—no better than pigs. "If I'm not mistaken, you're the Grand Commander of the Tianshu Ascension Hall, aren't you? "You were also the one who captured Qi Mobai that day." The man was shaken. Frowning, he said in a low voice, "You were there that day too!" As he spoke, the man slowly pulled off his black robe. His face was gaunt, his brow steeped in baleful ferocity, and immortal charm swirled around him with overbearing force. Li Guanqi sensed his presence briefly, recognizing that this was a troublesome opponent. The oppressive pressure radiating from the man had reached the fourth-tier Mystic Immortal realm. "Heh, so what if you guessed it?" "You'd be better off surrendering and returning to the hall with me. That way, you might spare yourself some physical torment." Li Guanqi frowned and cast a downward glance toward where the head of the second-tier Mystic Immortal cultivator had fallen. "Are you an idiot, or do you take me for one? "Do you honestly think that with my strength, I would surrender without a fight?" Without wasting another breath, Li Guanqi vanished on the spot in a fraction of an instant. A fourth-tier Mystic Immortal was only two tiers above him. He could be killed! What followed showed the man the true meaning of devastating, overwhelming power. The ripples across the dense barrier walls never ceased. Lightning and immortal spiritual light roared and flared continuously across the sky. Half an incense stick later, Li Guanqi's chest heaved heavily beneath his blood-soaked white robes, a mangled, unrecognizable head dangling from his hand. A flurry of dazzling sword light converged on a single point, shattering the sealing barrier after just a few breaths. Stepping out of the barrier, Li Guanqi took a deep breath. The icy air dispersed some of the stench of blood. Carrying the head, Li Guanqi quietly returned to the patrol camp. Today happened to be the shift of the North Gate Commander. The moment Li Guanqi arrived at the camp, he caught sight of the man pacing anxiously back and forth inside his room. With a cold snort, Li Guanqi raised a hand, calling down boundless lightning from the sky to form a massive hundred-zhang thunder prison! Such a deafening roar instantly startled the entire barracks. The moment Li Guanqi revealed himself, all the cultivators straightened, bowed, and saluted. "Greetings, Grand Commander!" Ignoring them, Li Guanqi kicked open the door and stepped inside. Within the room, North Gate Commander Zhang Ye stood with his sword drawn, fear in his eyes. "Who goes there!" When he saw it was Li Guanqi, his expression panicked, and he stammered, "So it's the Grand Commander..." Yet Zhang Ye showed no intention of sheathing his blade. Without sparing him a glance, Li Guanqi tossed the severed head in his hand onto the table before him. "Recognize him?" Zhang Ye's pupils contracted violently, but he feigned composure and shook his head. "Gr—Grand Commander, I don't recognize this person. "Surely you didn't come all this way just to ask your subordinate about this?" Li Guanqi leaned back in a chair, casually wiping the blood from his face as he said softly, "Speak some truth, and perhaps I'll spare you. "With your strength, killing you is as easy as crushing an ant." The man was merely a first-tier Mystic Immortal, so Li Guanqi spoke no falsehood. The difference in strength between them was as vast as clouds and mud. To say nothing of the fact that Zhang Ye was merely someone who had broken through to Mystic Immortal from the Mahayana realm. Cold sweat beaded on Zhang Ye's forehead. He swallowed repeatedly, his gaze darting toward the doorway. Seeing this, Li Guanqi sneered, in no rush at all. Sure enough, after only a few breaths, the other three vice commanders arrived in full. With a broad wave of his sleeve, Li Guanqi let them all inside. Red Lotus lay casually on the desk to his left. He had no qualms about slaughtering every last one of them. The moment Zhao Ke entered, he saw the bloody head resting on the table. Yet even though the face was mangled beyond recognition, he could still tell exactly who it was... *Gulp...* Li Guanqi glanced sidelong at the three men outside, wiping the blood from his hands as he spoke. "Now that you're here, all of you come inside." Zhao Ke's body stiffened upon hearing this. Glancing back at the two behind him with a slight frown, he was the first to cross the threshold. *Clang!* *Thud, thud, thud!* Dozens of spiritual thunder swords pierced through Zhang Ye's body, pinning him firmly to the floor. A terrifyingly fierce arc of sword light flashed, slicing straight through the entire quarters horizontally! *Rumble!* The man's eyes widened in utter disbelief as he slowly lowered his head. A vivid scarlet line crept around his neck. Scalding blood erupted forth, and violent lightning instantly obliterated every meridian in his body. Zhao Ke had not even brought his trailing foot across the threshold before this horrific sight met his eyes. *Thud!* The corpse collapsed heavily into a pool of blood, sending a nauseating stench of gore rolling toward them. Zhao Ke and the two men behind him turned deathly pale. Sitting in his chair, Li Guanqi eyed them from the corner of his eye, his voice sounding as though it drifted from the depths of the Netherworld. "Do you still need me to search his soul?" Zhao Ke's throat bobbed. He swallowed with great difficulty, his mouth parched, a wave of cold dread sweeping up his back. "N—No need..." Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his pale irises fixing upon Zhao Ke without a word. He slowly stood up. Resting the Red Lotus sword against Zhao Ke's neck, he looked down into the man's eyes and spoke softly. "I know you people must be hiding shady dealings from me. "However... I leave you in peace, and you leave me in peace. "But if you dare plot against me... I will kill every last one of you. "Do you understand?" Feeling the icy blade against his neck, Zhao Ke grew numb down to his hands and feet. Only now did he truly understand the chasm in strength that lay between himself and Li Guanqi. With the sword pressed to his neck, Zhao Ke slowly sank to his knees, lowering his head in pale-faced submission. "Understood, Grand Commander!" Seeing this, the two behind him hurriedly dropped to their knees as well, pressing their foreheads to the floor and shouting solemnly. "Understood, Grand Commander!" A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Li Guanqi's mouth. "Be sensible. Don't cross me." With that, Li Guanqi stepped up to Zhang Ye's corpse and lopped off the head with a single stroke. Holding the two severed heads in his right hand, he took flight, heading straight for the Castellan Manor. Only after Li Guanqi walked out the door did Zhao Ke collapse, gasping heavily on the ground, his sweat soaking the blue flagstones. After a long while, Zhao Ke said in a chilled voice, "From this day forward, sever all ties and dealings with Tianshu! Did you hear me?!" The two men behind him had long been terrified out of their wits. How could they dare think of anything else? They nodded frantically in agreement. Meanwhile, Li Guanqi carried the two heads directly to Lin Chuanqing. "Subordinate Li Congxin requests an audience with the Lord Castellan!"