Tianji's Xue Yan, Unrestrained Sword Intent!

Laced with primal energy, Xue Yan's voice carried far into the distance, reverberating steadily through the valley. The reason Li Guanqi had not struck immediately was that he felt no strong murderous intent from the man. Moreover... for a swordsman to still uphold the swordsman's code of courtesy under these circumstances was exceedingly rare. Holding Red Lotus, Li Guanqi looked deeply at Xue Yan and spoke in a low voice. "Very well!" Boom! The crushing pressure of the middle Nascent Soul realm erupted with a roar! Thunder and lightning instantly cracked across heaven and earth, while howling winds whipped the heavy rain across dozens of li into an even fiercer downpour. Countless arcs of deep purple lightning abruptly roared to life around Li Guanqi. Immediately after, the vital blood throughout Li Guanqi's body surged, his terrifying physical might directly shattering the deluge within a hundred zhang into mist. Parting his lips, Li Guanqi murmured softly, "Spirit ruins, open!" Boom! From within his spirit ruins, that crimson longsword suddenly attached itself to the Red Lotus sword. Buzz! In an instant, the Red Lotus sword burst with a blinding crimson radiance, and the red lotus carved at its hilt abruptly bloomed! "Soul Release: Red Lotus!" Boom! Killing power unleashed! Blade Break unleashed! Invisible sword qi raged through the void, and cold lightning sword light flickered continuously along the blade of Red Lotus. This spectacle made the hearts of the watching experts atop the surrounding peaks leap violently! Among them, barely one out of a hundred might possess a spirit ruins. Yet possessing a spirit ruins did not necessarily mean the manifestation within could amplify one's killing power. And this blind youth actually possessed an incomparably formidable sword spirit ruins! "Gulp... Why wasn't he on the Tianji Rankings?!" "With the strength he's showing now, once he breaks through to the late Nascent Soul realm, there will certainly be a place for him in the top twenty!" Another white-haired elder murmured softly, "He probably wouldn't even need to reach the late Nascent Soul realm to rank in the top twenty. With such strength... this old man fears he couldn't even survive a hundred exchanges against him..." The torn void behind both speakers manifested their formidable cultivation and realm—they were both mighty Nascent Soul masters. Seeing this, Tang Ru excitedly pumped his fists in the air. "Hahaha! Sword spirit ruins!" Behind him, the old man spoke with utmost solemnity: "Young Master, how did you know he had a sword spirit ruins?" Tang Ru laughed heartily. "Back then, we tested our spirit ruins together. I just didn't know whether the grade of his spirit ruins was high or not." Hearing this, the elder immediately sensed something amiss. After all, Tang Ru belonged to Treasure Pavilion, so he naturally knew all about the grades of spirit ruins. How could he not know what grade Li Guanqi's was? "What color was his spirit ruins?" Tang Ru paused slightly and replied, "Red." As his Dao protector, the old man's expression changed drastically. His pupils instantly shrank to needlepoints, and his body began to tremble involuntarily. He seized Tang Ru's hand in an instant, staring dead into his eyes as he transmitted his voice gravely. "Young Master, are you certain it was red?!" Seeing Tang Ru nod, the elder swallowed hard, his pupils trembling as he spoke. "This matter... must under no circumstances be known to anyone! Under no circumstances!" "If Young Master has decided to stand behind him, this old man fully supports you! But this must never, ever be leaked to anyone!" Tang Ru looked down at his arm, squeezed white by the old man's grip, and frowned. "Is it that strong?" The elder took a deep breath, pointed toward the sky, and said somberly, "Strong enough to touch the heavens!" In the distance, Xue Yan licked his lips, his eyes burning with soaring battle intent! Boom! As primal energy surged around him, he suddenly roared with laughter, "Hahahaha! Spirit ruins, open!" Buzz! Boom! Terrifying Geng Metal primal energy shot straight into the clouds! The sword in his hand gleamed with brilliant golden light, and Xue Yan's aura grew even more terrifying. The moment their eyes met, a raindrop drifted slowly between them. And the instant that raindrop slipped past their line of sight— Boom! Two blurred figures vanished from where they stood simultaneously! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! In an instant, biting sword light erupted across the void. Two figures flashed rapidly, their swords moving at the absolute peak of speed. Even mighty Nascent Soul cultivators could only catch a blur of afterimages. None could imagine how perilous it was for the two locked within that tempest of blades! Yet the more Li Guanqi struck with the sword in his left hand, the more astonished he became. He discovered that although Xue Yan's physical strength was inferior to his own, that razor-sharp Geng Metal power was overwhelmingly formidable! And Xue Yan's all-severing momentum grew only fiercer as the fight went on! Gleaming sword light filled the corners of Li Guanqi's vision, and the sparks from colliding blades merged into a continuous sheet of fire. To onlookers, only an entangled mass of sword light flashed with icy glints. Two invisible shockwaves enveloped the void—half golden radiance, half deep purple! This was the first time anyone had ever kept up with Li Guanqi's sword speed! Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed slightly. He had to admit that Xue Yan before him was exceptionally strong. Li Guanqi turned slightly and sent a voice transmission. Far away, Tang Ru paused in surprise, then whispered something into the elder's ear. Shock and confusion crossed the elder's eyes, yet he asked no questions, vanishing from the spot. Sword light detonated, the booming crashes never ceasing! Around them, peaks across Wuzi City shattered one after another! Neither held back a single fraction of their biting sword light, and Xue Yan soon felt an immense, suffocating pressure! The youth before him felt less like a cultivator and more like a primordial beast. That monstrous strength threatened to jar the sword right out of his grip, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger had torn open at the very first clash. Yet within Xue Yan's heart, there was not the slightest fear of death; instead, it only stoked an even more blazing battle lust! Bringing his sword across his chest in a guard, he was blasted backward several hundred zhang. His feet dragged two black ruts through the empty air. His face slick with blood, the sword momentum in Xue Yan's hands abruptly transformed! His entire presence became as piercing as a peerless blade, and his momentum tore a hundred-zhang rift straight through the dense black clouds above! Sunlight, long held back, spilled down over him. Xue Yan seemed utterly numb to the agonizing pain wracking his body. Raising his already scorched, blackened arm, he bellowed, "This is my strongest sword—do you dare take it?!" Li Guanqi stood with his sword drawn, spat out a mouthful of blood, and laughed heartily. "Give it everything you have!" Hearing this, Xue Yan's eyes lit up brightly, and immediately afterward, an inscrutable intent swept out! "Sword intent!" "Heavens! Xue Yan has actually comprehended sword intent!" "Gulp... If Xue Yan survives, he's guaranteed to break into the top twenty of the hundred rankings!" "What about that blind youth... This strike looks set to decide life and death! Can he... can he block it?!" Even many distant experts stared unblinkingly at the battlefield. Tang Ru watched Li Guanqi with extreme tension, whispering with absolute conviction: "He... will never lose!" Li Guanqi was momentarily taken aback. As a fellow swordsman who had comprehended sword intent, he could distinctly sense the resolve embedded within Xue Yan's intent. It was a kind of... Unrestrained Sword Intent born of a desperate longing for freedom... Li Guanqi looked deeply at Xue Yan and murmured softly, "Just how desperately must he crave freedom... to have forged such a sword intent..."