An overwhelming pressure held the entire area in awe; with a casual flick of his fingers, the chains binding Li Guanqi and the other two shattered completely.
Li Guanqi looked at the man, thoroughly shocked.
He possessed a burly build, his towering frame carrying a long halberd with imposing might.
His skin was slightly dark, his features resolute, and his fierce, tiger-like eyes glinted with sharp light.
Lin Wujiu's eyes lit up.
"Cousin! How did you get here?"
Lin Ruhu smacked Lin Wujiu upside the head, scowling with an unfriendly look.
"You little bastard, all you know how to do is run around wild!"
With that, he seized Lin Wujiu by the arm and yanked him behind himself.
Midair, the Tianhua Sword Sect crowd braced as though facing a mortal enemy!
Chen Tianhua's expression flickered, his eyes shifting nervously.
"The Lin family's Tiger Marshal, Lin Ruhu!"
The man turned toward Chen Tianhua, the affectionate look he had shown Lin Wujiu vanishing in an instant.
Tilting his head toward Chen Tianhua, he took a fierce stride forward.
Li Guanqi's heart jolted.
*So fast! I can't track his movements at all!*
*Boom!*
The earth trembled, and the peaks shook.
A beam of crimson light plummeted from above!
Gripping his halberd with one hand, the man swung it in a full arc, bringing it cleaving down right at Chen Tianhua's head!
*Boom! Crash!*
Chen Tianhua lashed back with a sword strike, unleashing a torrent of brilliant sword light in an instant.
Yet the halberd smashed through the sword light with irresistible, crushing momentum. Sparks flew where sword met halberd.
Chen Tianhua's body plummeted from midair like a cannonball, shattering a mountaintop as dust billowed into the sky.
Lin Ruhu swept a disdainful glare across the field.
Twisting his waist, he gathered momentum with his halberd, drawing his body back like a drawn bow in a throwing stance!
From within the deep crater, Chen Tianhua's flustered, furious shout suddenly erupted:
"Lin Ruhu, don't you dare! Are you trying to plunge our two powers into war?!"
Hearing this, the man burst into arrogant laughter.
Flames blazed along the halberd, scorching the void until it warped violently.
Twisting his waist, the robes over his arm ripped apart to reveal his thick, corded muscle.
The halberd shot forth, hurtling a hundred li away to pierce straight through and obliterate an entire mountain peak of the Tianhua Sword Sect!
With a single gesture of his hand, the halberd flew back into his grip, caught firmly.
He looked up and swept his eyes over Chen Tianhua, who was now disheveled with hair tumbling loose.
Chen Tianhua's robes were in tatters, his jade hair-crown shattered, his right arm broken and dripping with blood—a truly pathetic sight.
With a scoff, Lin Ruhu turned around, draped an arm around Lin Wujiu's shoulders, and said nonchalantly,
"War?"
"Heh, if you've got the guts to throw your life away, the Lin family will take you on. Back out and you're a coward."
"A piddling little sword sect dare challenge our Lin family?"
Lin Ruhu slowly looked back, his fierce, tiger eyes flashing with murderous light as he glared at Chen Tianhua.
"You should count your lucky stars that my little brother is unharmed."
"Had he lost so much as a single hair, the Lin family would have slaughtered every last soul in the Tianhua Sword Sect and its four cities."
Chen Tianhua turned pale, his lips trembling, yet he didn't dare utter a single peep.
The elders and disciples of the Tianhua Sword Sect lay prostrate on the ground, terrified to make even the slightest move, completely silenced by dread.
This was the Lin family's Tiger Marshal, Lin Ruhu!
An expert of the fifth realm of True Immortal.
Qisha's eyes shone with admiration; powerful figures like this were rare sights throughout Qinzhou.
Li Guanqi felt the same—powerful, untamed, and arrogant!
Such was Li Guanqi's first impression of Lin Ruhu.
With immense martial might and an insurmountable background, he had no fear of the Tianhua Sword Sect whatsoever!
For the first time in the Immortal Realm, Li Guanqi truly understood what having a powerful background meant.
Lin Wujiu dared to act so wildly arrogant not only because he was an extraordinary prodigy himself, but because the family backing him gave him the right to be!
Lin Wujiu looked up at Lin Ruhu in pleasant surprise.
"Brother, how did you get here?"
Lin Ruhu tousled Lin Wujiu's head with a hand as broad as a cattail fan, leaning down as he said,
"You ditched Old Zhou and ran off on your own for so long—everyone back home was going mad with worry!"
"It's a good thing I got here, or you'd have been done for. Anyone can see that old geezer was up to no good. If I hadn't shown up, the three of you might've lost your lives right here!"
With that, Lin Ruhu paused.
"Three?"
"Who are you two?"
Lin Wujiu broke free of the man's large hand and introduced them proudly.
"Brother, these two are my friends!"
"Let me introduce you. This is Li Congxin. His sword talent is monstrous!"
Li Guanqi removed the Rakshasa Ghost Mask, revealing his true appearance, and bowed slightly in greeting.
"Junior Li Congxin thanks Big Brother Lin for stepping in to save us."
Lin Ruhu was slightly startled; he hadn't noticed earlier that Li Guanqi had disguised his appearance!
Glancing at the mask in his hand, Lin Ruhu frowned slightly—that thing... was a bit sinister!
The man nodded at Li Guanqi with a smile.
Lin Wujiu turned and introduced, "Qisha."
"Wielder of a King's Mark, and his saber art is fierce!"
Looking at the proud Lin Wujiu, the corners of Lin Ruhu's mouth curled up.
He nodded and said with a chuckle,
"Good, very good."
Lin Ruhu cupped his fists with a smile.
"My little brother is a bit mischievous. He seems arrogant, but at heart he's sincere. His standards might be high, but he's a good person."
"I don't know what you've gone through together, but as his older brother, I still want to thank you for bearing with him."
With that, the man bowed respectfully.
Li Guanqi and Qisha were startled and hastily dodged aside.
Lin Ruhu was genuinely happy—happy that Lin Wujiu had made true friends.
From their expressions and demeanor, he could tell that the three shared a genuine bond forged through life and death.
Looking at the foolishly grinning Lin Wujiu, Li Guanqi found it truly difficult to connect him with the aloof figure he had first seen in that ornate carriage, resting his forehead on his hand with a blank stare.
Back when they first crossed paths at the carriage, Li Guanqi had assumed Lin Wujiu was thoroughly arrogant and full of himself.
Who knew that once they got to know each other, the contrast would be so stark? At times, the guy was almost silly.
Just a few words could coax him into handing over several extra bottles of pills.
Li Guanqi smiled, feeling rather envious of the bond between the two cousins.
He had seen far too much infighting and scheming in ordinary clans.
Cousins who were this close, who genuinely looked out for one another, were extraordinarily rare.
If their relationship weren't so deep, Lin Ruhu wouldn't have been so enraged the moment he confronted Chen Tianhua.
That protective, doting look and demeanor—Li Guanqi had seen it far too many times on Lu Kangnian.
Qisha seemed somewhat at a loss, even a little awkward.
He was like a lone wolf on the plains.
Having suddenly met his own kind, he was still not quite used to keeping company with them.
He was a solitary person by nature, yet both Li Guanqi and Lin Wujiu had stuck to him like adhesive plasters, squeezing right into his small corner.
Yet... he didn't feel crowded; rather, he felt as if his small corner had expanded.
Looking at the others exchanging pleasantries, the corners of Qisha's mouth curved slightly.
From now on, perhaps he too could tell others that he had two good friends.
Lin Ruhu glanced at them and said gently,
"By the way, since you're all together, why not come over to the Lin family for a visit?"
Li Guanqi hesitated for a moment before tactfully declining.
"Thank you for the kind offer, Big Brother Lin. Having just arrived in the Immortal Realm, I'd like to travel around and see more of the world. When I pass through Qinzhou City, I will definitely come pay a visit."
Hearing this, Qisha nodded slightly as well, murmuring,
"I have some matters to attend to as well. Next time, when there's an opportunity."
Lin Wujiu was a bit disappointed, but could only nod.
"It's a promise, then! If I find out later that you passed through Qinzhou City without looking me up, I'll disown the pair of you!"
The three nodded with smiles, then bade each other farewell and parted ways.
Chapter 1618