Such a Big Mouth

Li Guanqi sat cross-legged on the ground, his breathing long and steady. As the spirit stones surrounding him crumbled into ash, he slowly woke from his cultivation. Exhaling a breath of turbid air, he rose to his feet. As he stood, his aura withdrew its sharp edge, like a treasured sword returning to its scabbard. Within him, primal energy surged with the faint, unending rumble of thunder. He cleared away the impurities on his body, donned his robes, and reached out to tap lightly against the empty air. Buzz! The void tore open into a long rift, and Li Guanqi calmly stepped through. By the time he emerged, Tang Ru had already prepared everything. The old man was ashen-faced, though on the surface he seemed unchanged. However, his gaze was beginning to wander. Taking in Tang Ru's grim expression, he had surely guessed who was pulling the strings behind all of this. Before coming inside, Li Guanqi had noticed the crowd gathered outside Treasure Pavilion; there were also an unusual number of patrons shopping today. Dawn was only just breaking. Ordinarily, there was no way there would be so many people. Tang Ru said in a heavy voice, "For the past few days, all of Wuzi City has been abuzz with rumors about this. "I've already publicized the evidence, but thanks to my second brother's scheming, plenty of people still refuse to believe it. "So... this old bastard must not die in Wuzi City! "Brother Li, I'm counting on you!" With that, Tang Ru raised his hands and offered Li Guanqi the storage ring he had prepared in advance. This time, he had staked nearly everything on Li Guanqi. Looking at Tang Ru bowing with both hands raised, Li Guanqi felt the deep trust placed in him. Li Guanqi took a deep breath, took the storage ring from his hands, and turned around. "I accept the deal," he said. With that, Li Guanqi released a streak of lightning to bind the old man, dragged him behind him, and calmly walked out of Treasure Pavilion. When the onlookers saw a youth dragging the old man who had previously caused an uproar over the debt, their eyes narrowed. The news of the elder forging the promissory note had spread through the city over the last two days, and it looked like he had suffered quite a bit. Yet the moment Li Guanqi stepped out the main entrance, a massive stone sword casket suddenly appeared behind his back! At that moment, the eyes of many cultivators snapped wide! Because this attire... reminded them of someone! A youth in lavish robes swallowed with difficulty. At his waist hung a jade pendant. The sect insignia carved upon it belonged to none other than a sect from the Northern Region. Pointing at Li Guanqi, his voice rasped in a dry whisper, "Great Xia Sword Sect... Li Guanqi!" "What is he doing here?!" "Isn't he supposed to be..." He was not the only one to recognize Li Guanqi. Many others had also heard much about this youth whose name preceded his face. To many, Li Guanqi's iconic sword casket and distinctive eyes made him unmistakable. With a calm expression, Li Guanqi stepped through the air, walking slowly from the city center toward the eastern district. At the same time, a short-haired youth was walking from the eastern district toward the city center, heading straight toward him. With an enigmatic smirk on his lips and hands clasped behind his back, the youth walked into the city, then drew a black cloak over himself to conceal his figure. After all, he couldn't just slaughter the old man in plain sight of everyone. Since this was a smear campaign, it was best kept somewhat under wraps. Li Guanqi's advance naturally drew the attention of countless cultivators. A few bold ones even began tailing him in the air from a distance. They wanted to see why Li Guanqi was escorting the old man away with such fanfare. A few, however, had guessed a part of the reason. "Tsk, Treasure Pavilion really does things without leaving a crack. Even after clearing their name, they're still sending the old man away." "No kidding. If you ask me, that young Pavilion Master of Treasure Pavilion is no simple character." As the crowd murmured among themselves, Li Guanqi suddenly looked up into the distance. The others followed his gaze. Yet they saw nothing. Only after more than a dozen breaths did a dark speck slowly appear in the distant sky. The moment he spotted the black speck, a flash of understanding crossed Li Guanqi's mind. He hadn't expected the newcomer to be the very fellow he had encountered back at the tavern! A faint smile curled Li Guanqi's lips. In a single step, he teleported across the distance, appearing right before the cloaked figure in the blink of an eye. To his surprise, the cloaked figure merely glanced at the old man bound in lightning before slowly raising his head. "I didn't expect it to be you." Li Guanqi gave a slight shrug and said softly, "You talk too much." With that, Li Guanqi raised a hand, unleashing boundless lightning energy to seal the old man securely inside a lightning cage. Seeing this, the youth grinned, rotating his wrists as he said softly, "I know of you. You're quite famous in the Northern Region. What was that Great Xia Sword Sect disciple called again..." The youth scratched his head, pondering for a good while before saying, "Oh, right... Li Guanqi, was it?" At that, the youth sneered and burst into laughter. "Hahaha!" "What a joke! You don't actually think you're some legendary figure, do you? Hahahaha!" "The most earth-shaking thing you've ever done is kill a few Foundation Establishment and Core Formation trash." Li Guanqi furrowed his brows, having no idea what this youth was babbling about. Why did he act so contemptuous right off the bat? Looking at him, Li Guanqi suddenly asked with a teasing look, "Then what counts as earth-shaking?" Suddenly, Li Guanqi's voice paused, and his gaze turned chillingly cold. He looked at the youth and continued, "If I kill you, would that be earth-shaking enough to shock the domain?" The youth's mocking laughter cut off. From beneath the black hood, his eyes glared fixated on Li Guanqi as he sneered. "Kill me?" "If you really manage to kill me... you'd actually qualify to shock a whole domain." "You might even catch the attention of the folks above me." "Remember, the one who's going to kill you is named Lu Yi!" "Today, I'll—" Boom! Lu Yi's vision blurred as Li Guanqi vanished before his eyes. Instantly, an overwhelming sense of mortal peril rushed over him! The terror of imminent death seized his heart, raising goosebumps all over his body. Without time to think, Lu Yi acted purely on instinct, spinning around and raising his arms across his chest in a guard! Thud! An earthy yellow light enveloped Lu Yi's body, but in the next instant, his protective barrier was shattered cleanly by a single punch! Bang! His body shot backward like a cannonball. A sharp crunch echoed from his arms, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. One punch! The other side had thrown just a casual, ordinary punch, and it had nearly broken both of his arms! Around Lu Yi, space warped faintly, tearing open pitch-black fissures. Li Guanqi stood where he was, picking his ear as he muttered in irritation, "Why does he have such a big mouth..." "Come on, just watch me beat the daylights out of you today and be done with it."