With Lu Kangnian's fierce roar, every disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect raised their arms and cheered!
Meanwhile, the heavily battered Mo Family began to retreat in disarray.
A cold glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes, murderous intent surging within him.
Sensing this, Lu Kangnian gently raised a hand to stop him. Li Guanqi said nothing.
With a flick of his wrist, the Red Lotus sword shot forth like a bolt of lightning!
A blinding streak of crimson flashed across the sky. The Red Lotus sword slashed and wounded everyone aboard the dozen or so cloud boats, driving them all off.
His voice rang out chillingly, "Leave these cloud boats behind as an apology to the Great Xia Sword Sect."
Though spoken calmly and softly, the words brooked no argument.
The sole remaining Mo Family elder's face darkened, shifting through several expressions before he waved a sleeve. "We're leaving!"
Hearing this, several Mo Family disciples immediately protested. "First Elder, that's over a dozen cloud boats! Why should we hand them over just because he says so?"
A flash of fury crossed the elder's eyes. Slapping the young man across the face, he snarled under his breath, "Don't hand them over? Then go ask the Blood Slaughterer for them yourself! You tell him!"
The indignant youth instantly clamped his mouth shut, fear flickering in his downcast eyes.
Even Mo Zhiyuan had been killed!
With the Mo Family's backbone broken, they only wanted to flee this place as fast as possible, return to their clan, and reassess their options. A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him.
The elder grimly cupped his hands without another word, tore open the void, and led the remaining Mo Family members away.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes as he watched the elder's retreating back. He glanced at Lu Kangnian, hesitating to speak.
Lu Kangnian knew what he was thinking—nothing less than ambushing and slaughtering them on their journey home. But he had also noticed that Li Guanqi's killing intent ran exceptionally heavy right now.
Staring at Li Guanqi for a moment with deep, inscrutable eyes, Lu Kangnian said softly, "Decide for yourself."
Li Guanqi pondered for a while before finally giving up the thought.
Seeing this, Lu Kangnian gave a slight nod, thinking to himself, 'Fortunately, he can still exercise restraint. It seems the little guy suffered plenty of hardships out there these past two years.'
Turning toward the surrounding onlookers, Lu Kangnian waved his broad sleeve, and an invisible barrier suddenly surged upward!
The barrier's crushing aura forced the crowd back another thousand-plus zhang!
While some among them might not have been pushed back by the barrier alone, no one dared to court disaster by crossing the Great Xia Sword Sect at a time like this.
The onlookers all began to disperse. For them, having witnessed such a spectacular slaughter was more than enough.
Now that all outsiders were gone, the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect grew somewhat reserved. After all, Li Guanqi's title of "Blood Slaughterer Venerable" still inspired fear toward this senior brother.
Among those hundreds of densely packed corpses, not a single one had been below the Nascent Soul realm!
One had to know that someone at the Nascent Soul realm was qualified to serve as a peak elder in the sect. Yet the figure who had slain them all was a senior brother only two or three years older than they were!
Li Guanqi had already spotted the old man with glistening eyes. With a teleportation, he appeared beside the elder and bowed low in formal deference.
His deep, resonant voice rang out: "Disciple Li Guanqi pays respects to Master!"
Li Nanting had originally kept his hands clasped behind his back, wanting to keep up appearances, but the moment Li Guanqi bowed, he hurriedly reached out to support him.
Helping Li Guanqi up, he looked at the sparse stubble on his face, couldn't resist patting his head, and chuckled, "You brat, you've grown taller. Sturdier, too."
The old man's withered hands trembled slightly. He only commented on how Li Guanqi had grown, asking nothing about the hardships he had endured out in the world over the past two years.
A disciple whispered, "Whoa! Senior Brother Li is actually Elder Li's disciple?"
A nearby disciple scoffed, "Doesn't everyone know that? You didn't?"
The youth replied with surprise, "Of course I've heard, but I thought it was just a rumor... After all, Elder Li is only in the Core Formation realm, while Senior Brother Li is now... in the same realm as the Sect Master!"
The disciple who had scoffed straightened his expression and said solemnly, "Did you forget what kind of place our Great Xia Sword Sect is? How could the reverence owed to a master ever be judged by cultivation realm?"
The youth's face tightened, guilt flashing across his eyes.
Just as everyone was immersed in the tender reunion between master and disciple, a crisp voice suddenly rang out!
"Little Blind! You're finally back!"
A red figure came flying through the air, dashing over in a whirlwind of energy.
At the sound of that voice, the Great Xia Sword Sect disciples couldn't help but shudder. Even Zhong Lin, Li Sheng'an, and the others did the same, their expressions turning thoroughly bizarre.
Hearing the voice, the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curled slightly. A moment later, Yu Sui'an, dressed in her floral padded jacket, leaped straight onto Li Guanqi's back.
Wrapping both arms around his head, she beamed until her eyes curved into crescents.
"Little Blind, did you miss me? Hahaha, I knew you'd make a big name for yourself, though I never imagined it would be this big~"
As she spoke, she gestured with both hands in the air.
Watching this unfold, Lu Kangnian smiled faintly and spoke softly, "Disperse for now, everyone. Those who need healing go tend to your wounds, and the rest get on with your duties."
"Aw, already? We wanted to watch a little longer..."
"Yeah, Senior Brother Li rarely comes back. He should at least share some pointers with us..."
"Waaa, I've spent seven hundred and fifty-six days thinking about Senior Brother Li day and night! Do you know how I survived those seven hundred-odd days?!"
"Bah! Shameless! Senior Brother Li belongs to all us sisters on Tianshui Peak!"
The boy's wailing drew glares from a cluster of young women.
The disciples groaned in protest, sounding thoroughly dejected. Lu Kangnian shook his head with a wry smile. Nearly ninety percent of these youngsters had joined the sect because of Li Guanqi. If their curiosity wasn't indulged even a little, they would certainly be crushed.
So Lu Kangnian looked at Li Guanqi and said softly, "Why don't you return to Tianlei Peak to rest first, and then come by the main hall afterward?"
Li Guanqi smiled and nodded, then chuckled softly to the crowd of disciples, "Go wait for me at the main peak's grand hall."
Hearing Li Guanqi's promise, the disciples scattered at once.
Flying back to their respective peaks, the male disciples hurried to change into clean sect robes—some merely binding their wounds with strips of cloth before calling it a day. The female disciples rushed back to bathe, change, fix their hair, and dab on a touch of makeup.
Li Nanting held Li Guanqi's hand and, with Yu Sui'an in tow, flew toward Tianlei Peak.
Zhong Lin turned to Li Sheng'an and asked with a smile, "Should we head over too?"
Li Sheng'an scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Probably best not to right now. Brother Li just got back; he'll want to reminisce on Tianlei Peak first."
Along the way, Li Nanting's heart surged with intense emotion—pride on the one hand, and deep heartache on the other. The overwhelming killing intent Li Guanqi had radiated when he first appeared had left him dazed.
He could not begin to imagine what this young man had endured over the past two years.
Chapter 375