Wine of the Jianghu

Buzz! Just as Xue Yan was preparing to strike with all his might, a sword intent that dominated all under heaven surged abruptly into being! Xue Yan looked at Li Guanqi. The corners of his mouth curled slightly, then broke into roaring laughter! "Hahahaha! So this is your full strength!" In Xue Yan's eyes, Li Guanqi's figure seemed magnified without limit, looking down on him with eyes full of a powerhouse's sovereign will that looked down upon all under heaven! The sensation made his entire body tremble uncontrollably, every hair standing on end. His battle intent surged wildly, waves of power pouring frantically into the Chaoyun Sword! Boom! Dazzling golden sword light flared tens of zhang out. Twisting at the waist, Xue Yan swung his sword with sudden ferocity. "Facing Heaven's Palace!" Boom! The instant the strike was unleashed, the torrential rain abruptly froze midair, and a golden beam of sword light shot toward Li Guanqi with explosive speed! Li Guanqi's lips parted slightly as he exhaled a breath of turbid air, his sword momentum shifting faintly. Immediately after, every spectator clearly felt heaven and earth darken! A spine-chilling aura erupted with a roar! Thunder seemed to flicker deep in Li Guanqi's eyes as he murmured softly: "Heaven Shatterer!" Boom! Heaven and earth shuddered. From the heavy dark clouds of the firmament, countless bolts of lightning crashed down with deafening roars! From amidst the dense web of thousands of lightning bolts, a dazzling purple sword light cleaved outward! This strike could be called Li Guanqi's all-out blow, held back by not even a fraction. Xue Yan smiled. He swung the sword in his hand with every ounce of strength he possessed. The two dazzling sword lights collided in an instant, and a cataclysmic explosion detonated. Within a hundred zhang, sword qi crisscrossed violently, the terrifying power tearing open dense spatial fissures across the firmament, hideous to behold. With shredded robes, Li Guanqi stood where he was, a long wound carved across his chest! The gash spanned nearly his entire upper body, stretching from his left shoulder down to his right flank. Blood gushed freely down. Li Guanqi's chest heaved violently as his eyes remained fixed on the distance. Then he murmured softly, "Why did you still choose death?" Xue Yan was now charred black all over, his life force ebbing away at rapid speed, nearly half his body sheared away! Blood filled Xue Yan's mouth, yet his eyes shone with immense gratification, tinged even with an inexplicable sense of relief. A faint transmission of primal energy sounded beside Li Guanqi's ear. "Thank you... for your kindness." "However... a servant cannot serve two masters..." Gradually, the light in Xue Yan's eyes faded. He let out a long sigh and looked up at the sunlight breaking through the sky. He reached out with all his remaining strength, attempting to grasp that wisp of warm sunlight in his palm. He clenched his fist, as if finally grasping the "freedom" he had yearned for so long. Thump! Xue Yan's eyes slowly closed, and he fell limply from midair. Li Guanqi raised his hand, drawing the cold corpse into his grasp, and let out a soft sigh. Buzz! Suddenly, the sword coffin behind him trembled slightly, and Xue Yan's sword shot into the coffin in an instant! The sword spirit's gentle voice echoed softly in his ear. "The sword coffin... should bury the swords of the strong!" Li Guanqi did not dwell on these matters; he had merely felt many complex emotions from Xue Yan. Powerlessness. Being trapped by circumstance. That will to pursue freedom, which he dared to reveal only at the brink of death—surely at that final moment, he was truly free... Originally, Li Guanqi had wanted to join forces with Tang Ru to win him over, so long as Li Guanqi faked Xue Yan's death in front of everyone. With Tang Ru's capabilities, altering his appearance and crafting a new identity for him would have been simple enough. Yet to his surprise, Xue Yan had refused the offer. Perhaps to Xue Yan, dying by his hand was a fitting resting place. Li Guanqi slowly stood up and exhaled a breath of stifled air. Raising his hand, he dispelled the thunder cage. Trembling all over, the old man stood frozen in midair, not daring to move an inch. His head was lowered and his face was deathly pale, as if waiting for death to arrive. Li Guanqi said in a low voice, "Why haven't you left yet!" The old man shuddered. Confirming he had not misheard, he swallowed a medicinal pill without hesitation, and a cloud of blood mist erupted abruptly from his body! His figure transformed into a streak of bloody light, escaping in an instant! The old man wished he had sprouted another pair of legs. Why had he insisted on wading into these muddy waters! Li Guanqi turned slowly. His task was finished now. As for how Tang Ru would kill the old man later, that had nothing to do with him anymore. Li Guanqi surveyed the surrounding peaks and took a step, appearing in a scenic place of verdant hills and clear waters. After burying Xue Yan, he raised his hand and cleaved a boulder to serve as a tombstone. Pressing his fingers together like a blade, he carved words into the rock: "Tomb of Sword Cultivator Xue Yan." "With soaring ambitions in his heart, he ought to have walked the mortal realm as an unfettered immortal!" "Carved by his old friend, Li Guanqi!" Li Guanqi had hesitated for a long time when carving their relationship, but in the end, he still wrote the words "old friend." He knew his own temperament well; he was never an extrovert eager to make friends. Anyone who became his friend had usually spent a long time in his company. Yet from the very first moment he saw Xue Yan, those eyes had stirred an inexplicable feeling within him. It felt as if the two of them had known each other for ages, and this meeting was merely a reunion between old friends. Both possessed attainments in the sword dao that far surpassed their peers, yet the further one walked that path, the lonelier it became. Seeing someone who matched his stride, or even surpassed him, Xue Yan must have felt excited, right? For the first time, Li Guanqi felt his emotions tangle. He simply sat down on the ground. Taking out two jars of fine wine, he took a sip himself, then poured a splash onto the soil. He spoke not a word, merely drinking his wine in silence. At this moment, he once again remembered what his grandfather had said. It had been the first time his grandfather let him drink wine, shortly before leaving. Back then, he had naively asked what was so good about wine when it tasted so pungent. Back then, Su Xuan had smiled and said, "You'll understand one day." Perhaps times like this were precisely when wine was meant to be drunk... A faint, bitter smile touched the corner of Li Guanqi's mouth. Stroking the tombstone, he stood up and whispered: "If there's a next life, remember to seek me out sooner after you're reincarnated." "I, Li Guanqi, will be your brother." With that, Li Guanqi stepped into the sky and strode across the void. Yet Li Guanqi did not know that after he struck down Xue Yan with a single sword, all of Wuzi City had erupted into turmoil! Two mighty Nascent Soul realm cultivators retrieved a peculiar white jade pendant, and their expressions shifted the moment they looked at it! "Li Guanqi of the Great Xia Sword Sect, ranked... thirteenth on the Heavenly Secret Top 100 Rankings!!" "The only middle Nascent Soul among the top twenty!!" "Gulp... Just what kind of monster did I witness?!" The elderly man who had been watching the battle from earlier said in a solemn voice, "If this boy does not perish, he will surely become an overlord of an entire region in the future!!"