You Don't Even Have the Right to Die

A fawning smile was plastered across the man's face, making him look as humble and pitiful as an old dog. Hunched over, he hurried before Li Guanqi, terrified that the slightest misstep might provoke the person standing in front of him. Kong Yunchang wore a stiff, strained smile, though deep within his eyes flickered sheer terror. Li Guanqi's fearsome reputation was simply too overwhelming. By Kong Yunchang's own reckoning, the Illusory Spirit Sect's strength could never compare to the Crane Alliance or the North Sea Monastery. Back when Li Guanqi was only at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, he had already possessed the power to annihilate those two major factions, let alone now. Kong Yunchang dusted off his sleeves and bowed deeply. "Kong Yunchang, Sect Master of the Illusory Spirit Sect, pays his respects to Elder Li." As he spoke these words, nothing but boundless humiliation filled his heart. This was the very same youth he had once not even bothered to spare a second glance. Yet now... The disciples of the Illusory Spirit Sect all looked up toward the sky. Seeing this scene, an instinctive pang of humiliation rose within them as well. Li Guanqi looked at Kong Yunchang with cold indifference. "I will only ask you once. Is there another power pulling the strings behind the Illusory Spirit Sect?" Kong Yunchang kept his head lowered, his expression shifting drastically! His pupils shrank to the size of needle tips, brimming with terror. His face blanched, and cold sweat broke out in an instant. With his head bowed, his calves were trembling faintly. Seeing this, Li Guanqi already had his answer. *Slash!* A crimson sword light flashed, and an arm went flying into the air! Yet Kong Yunchang kept his head lowered, letting out not a single sound. The disciples below had no idea what was happening when they saw Li Guanqi sever their sect master's arm without warning. Cries of shock rippled through the crowd in an instant, yet not a single person dared fly into the air to draw a sword against Li Guanqi! Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow, looking down at the man before him. "Why didn't you dodge?" he asked softly. Kong Yunchang gritted his teeth, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as he rasped, "If you want me dead, dodging makes no difference!" Li Guanqi scoffed. "You're not entirely stupid, at least. "Then can you tell me now who is behind you? And what is their purpose?" Kong Yunchang suddenly jerked his head up, letting blood gush from his severed shoulder. His face was deathly pale as he stared intently at Li Guanqi, a sharp glint flickering in his eyes as though he had just arrived at a momentous decision. Fixing his gaze on Li Guanqi, he said in a heavy voice, "If I tell you everything, will you spare everyone else and kill only me?" Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and replied bluntly, "You have no right to bargain with me." Kong Yunchang's breath hitched. A profound desolation washed over his features, and his once-upright posture slumped even further. All at once, he seemed to have aged decades. Turning slightly, he extended his remaining hand downward and said in a low voice, "We cannot keep this matter hidden from them up here. Let us speak below." Li Guanqi pondered for a moment, said nothing more, and followed Kong Yunchang down to the island. Seeing them descend, the disciples of the Illusory Spirit Sect scrambled out of the way, utterly clueless as to what had transpired. Soon, the two arrived inside the great hall and took seats opposite one another. Sitting in his chair, Li Guanqi said calmly, "Speak. What is going on?" To his surprise, Kong Yunchang merely shook his head and said bitterly, "I do not know who they are, nor do I know what faction they belong to..." Li Guanqi's brow furrowed slightly, yet he did not doubt the man's words. Given how cautious the mastermind had been, it was entirely possible that Kong Yunchang truly had never known their identity from beginning to end. Kong Yunchang looked up at Li Guanqi. Seeing that the young man's face remained entirely expressionless, he hurriedly added, "Everything I said is the truth! You must believe me! "Furthermore, I am the only one who knows about this! It has nothing to do with anyone else! "The elders and disciples on this island are completely in the dark! "They all thought I simply wanted to seize a few spiritual peaks!" As the man spoke, Li Guanqi closely monitored every fluctuation of his mental state. To his surprise, he found that everything Kong Yunchang had said so far seemed to be genuine. After a moment of contemplation, Li Guanqi asked softly, "What is their goal?" Kong Yunchang fell into a long silence, uttering not a single word. Just as Li Guanqi's patience began to wear thin, Kong Yunchang suddenly rose from his chair and fell to his knees with a thud. *Smack! Smack! Smack!* Swinging his only remaining hand, he slapped himself viciously across the face. With just a single blow, his mouth filled with blood. After several more strikes, he spat out several broken teeth. "If I tell you everything, can you spare my life? "I... I just want to live... "Th-their faction is far too powerful... so powerful that if I hadn't agreed back then, I would have died on the spot!" Li Guanqi slowly rose to his feet. Looking down at the man, he murmured, "That is not an excuse to spare your life. Perhaps you had no choice, but that alone is not enough to move me." Kong Yunchang pressed his lips together, raised his head, and said in a low voice, "I can have the Illusory Spirit Sect merge completely into the Great Xia Sword Sect, becoming your subordinate sect!" Li Guanqi was amused to the point of exasperation. "Merge? Subordinate? "Your damn abacus is clicking so loudly I could hear it all the way from Tianlei Peak. "Does the Great Xia Sword Sect need the Illusory Spirit Sect today? Exactly who is taking advantage of whom here?" At these words, an awkward look crossed the man's face. Reluctant as he was to admit it, reality was precisely as Li Guanqi had stated. With the Great Xia Sword Sect's current standing, gathering a flock of subordinate sects would be as easy as turning over a hand. Powers far stronger than the Illusory Spirit Sect would fight tooth and nail for the privilege. There was simply no helping it; today's Great Xia Sword Sect was far too formidable. If the Illusory Spirit Sect were truly to merge into the Great Xia Sword Sect, the only party gaining any rise in status would be the Illusory Spirit Sect itself. Li Guanqi slowly crouched down, boundless flame energy surging from around him! The flames erupted with immense fury, instantly engulfing the entire great hall! The originally magnificent hall was reduced to flying ash in the span of a single breath! *Boom!* A terrifying pressure descended without warning! The man was slammed violently flat against the ground! Li Guanqi spoke in a chilling voice. "Whether you live or die is my choice to make, not yours. "Tell me: what is their goal?!" Pinned to the ground, the man could not move so much as a single finger, all four of his limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Kong Yunchang had already resigned himself to his fate. He knew with absolute certainty that he would not walk away from this alive today. He struggled to lift his head toward Li Guanqi, a look of madness gradually creeping into his blood-drenched eyes as blood seeped from all seven facial orifices. "You... want... to know?" "I... refuse... to... tell you!" *Hum!* A violent and terrifying surge of spiritual fluctuations erupted in an instant! The man's body began to twist and swell uncontrollably. Li Guanqi let out a cold scoff. "Self-detonation?" He slowly extended an open palm. Immediately, an even more overwhelming force came crashing down! The man's ballooning body was steadily forced back to its original shape. The Nascent Soul power inside him that was on the verge of self-detonating was sealed in an instant! "Before me, you don't even have the right to choose death." *Whoosh!* With a vicious yank of his right hand, a translucent soul was ripped clean from the body! Li Guanqi swiftly leafed through Kong Yunchang's memories. But the moment his gaze caught sight of that bizarre, dark-green powder, his expression shifted drastically! With a muffled pop, he crushed the man's soul, pulled out a jade slip, and roared into it with sudden fury, "Immediately seal and inspect all pills and spiritual herbs! "Poison!"