Watching this scene unfold, the corner of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched slightly.
He truly hadn't expected Meng Wanshu to undergo such a colossal change.
Setting aside the transformation in her temperament and overall cultivation realm, when had he ever witnessed such a furious, brutal side to her back in the Human Spirit Realm?
Meng Wanshu held the bloodstained hammer, bringing it crashing down relentlessly upon the limbs of the tattered, disheveled Su Mei!
*Bang!!*
*Bang, bang!! Bang!!!*
A series of dull, heavy impacts thudded through the air. Su Mei's limbs, along with the bluestone pavers beneath her, shattered completely!
Flesh and gore turned to mush. In just four strikes, the woman's four limbs were pulverized into mincemeat, flesh torn from bone.
"Aaaagh!!"
"Ahhh!!"
Piercing, agonizing shrieks tore ceaselessly through the sky.
Standing nearby, Yang Qing could hardly bear to watch any longer.
The crucial issue was that the woman before him was the Palace Master's daughter. If he allowed things to proceed unchecked, he would inevitably be punished once the Palace Master returned.
"Th-This senior... could you please have this young lady stop..."
Immortal Elder Yu kept his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes still studying Li Guanqi with keen interest.
Hearing the old man speak, he merely cast a cool glance at him.
With that single glance, the old man felt as though struck by a catastrophic blow; his head jerked violently back, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
His Golden Immortal sea of consciousness had actually cracked!
*Pfft!*
Blood sprayed from the old man's mouth. His face turned as pale as paper, devoid of even a shred of color.
Horror filled Yang Qing's eyes as he witnessed this...
After a moment's thought, Immortal Elder Yu raised a finger and pointed.
In an instant, all the chains of immortal essence binding Li Guanqi, Lin Jinting, and the others dissolved into nothingness.
Lin Jinting and Lin Shengwu quickly scrambled to their feet and bowed deeply toward the old man from afar, conveying their gratitude.
Lin Jinting's heart was shaken beyond measure.
Even Lin Shengwu was swallowing hard, completely at a loss for words...
It was obvious that the white-haired elder's cultivation realm was an existence completely beyond the reach of the entire Ten Lands.
The Void Realm Seal—with such an outward manifestation, he was unmistakably an Immortal Venerable titan!
An Immortal Venerable!
In the entire Ten Lands, the topmost sect ancestors were at absolute best Golden Immortals!
Yet what were they seeing right now?
A full thirty mighty cultivators near the perfection of the Golden Immortal realm served merely as bodyguards.
Four Immortal Monarchs flanked her, and an Immortal Venerable acted as her Dao protector!
Just what kind of lofty branch had their Lin family managed to latch onto?!
Just thinking of it left Lin Shengwu beside himself with excitement.
Lin Jinting, on the other hand, was comparatively calmer.
He had noticed the sharp light that flashed in the Immortal Venerable elder's eyes when looking at Li Guanqi.
This proved his judgment had not been mistaken!
Li Guanqi was undeniably a connection worth betting the Lin family's entire fortune to forge!
Ran Shiming felt as though the tables had turned completely. Just moments ago, a blade was already pressing into his neck; now, his enemies had turned their own blades upon themselves.
His mental state swung wildly, plunging from mountain peaks before rocketing back into the sky. His gaze was dazed, clearly still unable to process what was happening.
After two more breaths, as Ran Shiming finally gathered his wits, his face turned utterly grim.
The situation on the field could not be clearer...
The backing behind that young man reached straight to the heavens.
Thinking back on everything that had transpired, the Ran family would never have any connection with this youth again.
Meanwhile, the Lin family's actions, which had seemed so utterly foolish to him before, had now left Ran Shiming to swallow his own bitter fruit.
If anyone had the most tangled emotions right now, it was undoubtedly Su Mei and Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi found this fierce, protective Meng Wanshu unfamiliar, yet extraordinarily warm.
Meng Wanshu was venting the ache in her heart on his behalf.
Even more so...
She seemed to be venting her own frustrations.
Back in the Human Spirit Realm, whenever Li Guanqi faced dire straits, she had always been powerless to help.
Even when she gave her all to assist, the outcome was mediocre at best, sometimes falling short of even Ye Feng's desperate efforts.
The one who could truly turn the tide in the end had always been the sword spirit.
Deep down, Li Guanqi had sensed this too.
He understood, and Meng Wanshu understood as well.
Yet, to protect each other's feelings, neither had ever voiced it in front of the other.
That was why Meng Wanshu had not refused when the immensely powerful Jiuding Heavenly Palace extended its olive branch.
She wanted to become someone Li Guanqi could rely on in the days to come!
Because... she was Li Guanqi's wife!
*Bang, bang, bang, bang!!*
Cries for mercy and agonizing screams tangled together, yet Meng Wanshu remained deaf to them all.
With hammer strike after hammer strike, she vented the tempestuous fury in her heart.
Watching this, the bound slaves trembled to their very cores.
Ruthless! Truly ruthless!
*Bang, bang!!*
Blood and gore splattered across Meng Wanshu's face. Ferocious in expression, Meng Wanshu swung the hammer with savage force down onto Su Mei's leg.
Bones pulverized into powder, flesh mangled beyond recognition, and blood sprayed outward, dyeing the bluestone ground within three zhang entirely red.
The sight sent chills deep into the bones of every cultivator of Xutian Palace.
Wiping away the blood on her face, Meng Wanshu's gaze turned chillingly cold, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet sharply.
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, murmuring in his heart with mild surprise,
*Wanshu... has she awakened some special physique?*
Meng Wanshu's chest heaved violently. By now, Su Mei had far less breath coming in than going out, though she was not yet dead.
The woman looked at the figure standing before her with terror-stricken eyes.
She really dared to kill her!
Her supposed noble status was nothing more than dogshit before this woman.
Su Mei coughed violently, her internal organs smashed to pieces, blood mixed with bits of flesh clogging her throat.
Seeing Meng Wanshu pause, she trembled and tried to shrink back, but she couldn't even crawl.
Her eyes were filled with unadulterated horror.
Dragging the iron hammer, Meng Wanshu walked toward her step by step, looking down with disdain as if inspecting an ant.
Her voice was cold, deep, and measured.
"My husband is a hero of the Spirit Realm, slaying demons and evil to protect all living beings of the realm!"
"What right do you have to brand him with a slave mark?"
"You filthy bitch, are you even worthy?"
"In the Spirit Realm, for the mortal multitude, my husband risked his life time and again to defend our world."
"In the Spirit Realm, my husband was a dragon and phoenix among men."
"In the Spirit Realm, my husband's sword Dao was unrivaled."
"In the Spirit Realm, geniuses and monsters gathered around my husband, all bowing in wholehearted respect."
The more she spoke, the higher and clearer Meng Wanshu's voice rang.
Her tone grew more and more impassioned!
Infused with immortal essence, her voice carried across a hundred li.
Meng Wanshu planted a foot squarely onto Su Mei's face. Pressing the cold hammer against the woman's cheek, she leaned down and whispered,
"Even when mired in adversity, my husband never gave up. Even in these barren Ten Lands, relying solely on his own strength, he crossed two realms in a single year!"
"You? What kind of thing do you think you are?!"
"You want to compare background? Status? Strength?"
"In the same realm, even if my husband spotted you three minor stages, killing you would be like butchering a dog!"
"Yet the status and standing you hold so high are utterly worthless before me."
"Nothing more than a pile of mud pissed on by wild dogs, reeking of filth."
At this moment, Li Guanqi wished he could tilt his chin all the way up to the sky!
Proud! He was just so damn proud!
Pengluo was already standing out front with hands on its hips, head thrown back and chest puffed out as it glared haughtily at the surroundings.
Li Guanqi was moved beyond measure; he had never imagined a day like this would come for him.
Yet in the next breath, his gaze grew a little dazed.
Staring at the woman's back, Li Guanqi fell into a daze, his heart swelling with complicated emotions. He felt that over all these years, he had still overlooked so much of what she felt.
*So it turns out...*
*In Wanshu's heart, I'm actually that amazing...*
Chapter 1702