Overwhelming Suppression!

Tang Chuan's expression shifted continuously. Just as he was about to speak and explain himself, he saw Li Guanqi raise a hand. "Alright, alright. I understand what you mean," Li Guanqi said. "Then my wager is quite simple as well." Tang Chuan curled his lip as he looked at Li Guanqi, assuming the other party's wager would merely mirror his own terms. Yet right at that moment, the smile on Li Guanqi's face slowly faded. His expression darkened bit by bit. Staring coldly at Tang Chuan, he said, "If you lose, I want one of your hands." Silence! A dead silence! By now, no fewer than a thousand Wind Thunder Sect disciples had gathered to watch! Even quite a few elders of the Wind Thunder Sect had arrived. Standing in the void all around, several elders frowned and spoke up. "Isn't this wager going too far?" Stroking his goatee, a gaunt old man frowned and said, "Indeed. This is merely an ordinary arena match. Severing limbs—what kind of decorum is that?" Yet beside the two of them, a man with resolute features snorted coldly. "Why not? Or do they really think this Fengyun Arena is meant for child's play? Hmph! If you ask me, the current disciples simply lack spine! Why shouldn't they bet like that? Well wagered!!" The moment this man spoke, the two elders beside him promptly shut their mouths. Yet just as Tang Chuan's face was shifting through various shades, a pitch-black rift in the void abruptly tore open across the distant sky. An old man clad in a purple Daoist robe stepped out slowly. The deep ruts and wrinkles across the elder's face bore witness to the years he had weathered, while his turbid eyes were profoundly deep. His sparse eyebrows and sunken eye sockets gave him an exceptionally sinister look. Standing high in the sky, the elder took a deep look at Li Guanqi. For his part, Li Guanqi was thoroughly displeased by this hostile gaze. He simply took a stride straight into the air to meet the elder at eye level, slightly squinting as he said, "If Senior wishes to fight on your disciple's behalf, I have no objection at all~" Once the crowd of disciples below saw the elder's face clearly, their expressions grew solemn. They hurriedly bowed in salutation and shouted aloud: "Greetings, First Elder!" "Greetings, First Elder!!!" The voices of the crowd converged into an iron torrent that soared straight into the clouds! The resolute man looked at the elder, curled his lip in disdain, and muttered, "What is Old Demon Zhou coming out for? Isn't he supposed to be in secluded cultivation?" Clasping his hands behind his back, the elder glanced at Li Guanqi once more and scoffed, "Hardly necessary." With that, he looked down at Tang Chuan and said, "Since Elder Li has spoken, just agree to it, Chuan'er, lest we spoil his high spirits." Seeing his master arrive, Tang Chuan straightened his back considerably and nodded with a smile. "Of course." The elder did not meddle further. Shifting his body, he appeared beside the other elders, raised a hand to conjure a seat out of thunderous power, and slowly sat down. Li Guanqi flashed down onto the raised platform. In an instant, an exceedingly dense, orange formation barrier abruptly rose all around the arena! The translucent screen was clear enough for everyone to see what was happening on stage, and the barrier was sturdy enough to withstand the shockwaves of a battle between Nascent Soul cultivators. Tang Chuan looked at Li Guanqi with a cold smile, then suddenly retrieved a magnificent longsword flowing with dazzling light from his storage ring. The quality of this longsword was comparable to a spirit tool, making it an exceptionally rare, precious sword. Yet Li Guanqi merely turned toward Tang Jing below the stage and smiled. "Would it be convenient to borrow a sword?" Tang Jing let out a soft gasp. Drawing her sword, she spoke somewhat self-consciously, "Well... I don't possess a lightning spiritual root... and besides, my sword is only at the dharma artifact tier." Li Guanqi smiled. "No matter. As long as you aren't worried I might break it." Beside her, Liu Man hesitated for a moment but ultimately held her tongue. Swish! The longsword flew through the air into Li Guanqi's grasp. As his primal energy circulated through it, a brief sense was all he needed to master the sword's characteristics. Boom! A powerful pressure erupted from within Tang Chuan. Pointing his sword at Li Guanqi, he declared, "Today, I will make you lose all face!" Li Guanqi shrugged nonchalantly. "To be honest, you people are really quite tedious..." Boom! A terrifying pressure burst forth with a thunderous roar! The onlookers distinctly saw ripples spread across the light barrier just now. Directly facing this pressure, Tang Chuan's face turned even paler. He had originally thought that with his half-step Nascent Soul cultivation, the gap would never be too vast. But now... he felt like a lone skiff cast into the middle of a vast ocean! It was as though the slightest flicker of the other's wrath could overturn him and smash him to the ground! The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved in a faint smile, and then the aura around him began to diminish slowly. Half-step Nascent Soul. Yet that was not the end. Li Guanqi lightly flicked his wrist, flourishing the sword into several blossoms, and his aura continued to fall! It only came to a halt when it reached the late Core Formation realm! None of the onlookers understood why he was doing this. Even Tang Chuan's master unconsciously leaned forward slightly, frowning as he watched the arena. Tang Jing knit her brows, murmuring softly, "Why is he doing that?" Beside her, Zheng Yao said naively, "Could it be that he felt he was formidable during Core Formation, so he suppressed his realm to late Core Formation to have Tang Chuan fight him on equal terms?" Before Tang Jing could speak, Liu Man, who had kept her eyes fixed on the arena all along, said softly, "No. Proud as he is at heart, he intends to fight the half-step Nascent Soul Tang Chuan using only late Core Formation strength! He is too confident." Liu Man spoke with utter certainty; she trusted her instincts. All the watching disciples buzzed with bewildered speculation. On the stage, Tang Chuan sneered, "You aren't expecting me to suppress my cultivation to the Core Formation realm too, are you?" Li Guanqi hurriedly said, "No, no, no. To beat you... this is more than enough. No need to suppress your realm. Just begin." Just as Tang Chuan was about to spew more nonsense, Li Guanqi vanished from his sight! A biting chill abruptly swept in from his flank! Goosebumps broke out all over Tang Chuan in that instant. Without time to think, he spun around and slashed his sword toward his side! Clang! Tang Chuan was sent flying dozens of zhang in an instant, whereas the figure leaving behind an afterimage scarcely moved an inch. Not only that, but without the slightest pause in his stride, Li Guanqi shot forward to overtake Tang Chuan while the latter was still hurtling backward! Immediately after, the crowd witnessed an unbelievable scene! At the late Core Formation realm, Li Guanqi completely suppressed and battered Tang Chuan throughout the fight in an overwhelming display. Fighting at full throttle, Tang Chuan could barely parry in disarray, scurrying around the stage like a clown. Compared to Li Guanqi's calm composure, Tang Chuan's performance was an utter eyesore. And gradually, someone noticed what was really happening... "How can he suppress a half-step Nascent Soul like Tang Chuan using only a late Core Formation cultivation?" "Look! Every strike he makes is as if he has seen through all of Tang Chuan's moves! Before Tang Chuan can even strike, he has already moved to interrupt him!" "Good heavens... Seriously? That's actually possible?" Liu Man's eyes flickered, her gaze glued to the two battling on stage. She could not help murmuring, "Isn't this battle talent and instinct far too terrifying..."