Dare to Make a Wager?

Li Guanqi's body rose slightly into the air of its own accord as he reached out his left hand, intending to touch the hundred-zhang sword scar upon the wall. Suddenly, an enraged shout erupted from behind him! "Stop!" Li Guanqi frowned slightly in displeasure. He had just sunk into an inscrutable state of sudden enlightenment, only to be jolted straight out of it by that single roar. Turning to look, he saw several young men and women in the green robes of the Taixuan Sword Sect speeding toward him. Li Guanqi clasped his hands behind his back, waiting expressionlessly for them to arrive. Before long, three men and two women came to a halt roughly a zhang before him. The young man at the lead was tall and seemed thoroughly upright, with sword-like brows, starlike eyes, and a piercing gaze. Waves of surging primal energy rippled around him—middle Soul Formation Realm. The companions beside him were all in the Soul Formation Realm as well. The two heavily made-up women looked eager to press their entire bodies against him, while the other two young men wore expressions dripping with flattery whenever they looked at the leader. Clearly, they were a pair of consummate lackeys. While Li Guanqi sized them up, the leading man was also scanning Li Guanqi from head to toe. Taking in his attire, the young man frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice, "An outsider?" Li Guanqi's brows knitted at the words. It would have been one thing if the man had merely noted he wasn't a disciple of the Taixuan Sword Sect, but he blurted out "outsider" right off the bat. Still, Li Guanqi didn't lose his temper; he simply gave a faint nod. Seeing him nod, the young man let out a cold snort and barked, "Since you are an outsider, stay properly in the guest quarters! How dare you sneak into the Sword Abyss without permission and presume to touch the sword intent of our predecessors? While I'm still in a good mood and haven't reported this to the sect, get lost at once!" The woman beside him rolled her eyes at Li Guanqi and sneered in a sarcastic tone, "A guest of our Taixuan Sword Sect actually takes himself so seriously, daring to run off to the Sword Abyss. That drunkard up top must have gone off to buy wine again, letting any stray dog or cat wander in." The short, triangle-eyed youth beside the leader immediately stooped slightly and sneered, "Scram while Senior Brother Zhao hasn't lost his temper yet! Our Senior Brother Zhao slew three Soul Formation evil cultivators when he went down the mountain just to earn the chance to enter the Sword Abyss. This isn't a place for someone like you!" Li Guanqi noticed that as the lackey spoke, the leader looked thoroughly arrogant. Waving a dismissive hand, the leader chuckled softly, "Why waste words on him? Hurry up and scram. This isn't a place you can come to." The others chimed in alongside him. "Scram!" "A damned blind man being an eyesore here! Don't you know our senior brother is a prodigy favored by the heavens, destined to become the next Discipline Master of the Taixuan Sword Sect?" Li Guanqi smiled faintly. In his eyes, these people were as fragile as flowers in a greenhouse. If they were tossed out into the outside world, he probably could have slaughtered every one of them back when he was only in the early Soul Formation Realm. Looking at the young man surnamed Zhao, Li Guanqi asked softly, "What is your name?" The youth frowned slightly, crossed his arms over his chest, and declared with disdain, "You ought to have heard of my name: Zhao Ling of the Taixuan Sword Sect in Zhongzhou!" Yet just as the group puffed up with pride, Li Guanqi curled his lip and said bluntly, "Never heard of you." "You!" Zhao Ling pointed an enraged finger at Li Guanqi, but in the next instant... *Shing!* A streak of sword light swift to the absolute limit flashed through the air and vanished! Zhao Ling's right index finger severed in an instant, blood spurting out. Li Guanqi slowly slid Red Lotus back into its sheath with his left hand, while his right hand held a remarkably exquisite jade pendant. "I don't care who you are. I came here because He Yuning let me. In the Taixuan Sword Sect... who the hell do you think you are?" Zhao Ling's eyes locked dead onto the jade pendant in Li Guanqi's right hand. The patterns and aura on it could not be faked. It was none other than Young Sect Master He Yuning's personal jade pendant! Which meant... the person before him truly shared a deep bond with the Young Sect Master. Otherwise, He Yuning would never have casually handed over a jade pendant symbolizing his status to someone else, let alone let him wander freely through the sect. Trembling all over, Zhao Ling drew his severed finger back into his grasp with a pull of his energy. He gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with indignance. Yet his reason told him that he could not provoke the person before him—nor could he afford to. The lackeys beside him didn't dare utter another word, let alone raise their eyes to look at Li Guanqi. They hadn't even clearly seen the strike he had just unleashed! By the time they saw the cold glint flash, Zhao Ling's finger had already been lopped off. The female cultivator beside Zhao Ling forced a strained smile toward Li Guanqi, then yanked hard on the corner of Zhao Ling's robe. Yet Zhao Ling remained unmoved, his eyes glued onto Li Guanqi. In a snide, sarcastic tone, he said, "Oh~ So you're Senior Brother He's friend. Might I ask which sect or faction you hail from? Since you're so close with the Young Sect Master, you must come from some great sect or sacred clan, right?" Li Guanqi's expression remained tranquil. With one hand behind his back, he replied softly, "Great Xia Domain, Li Guanqi." Zhao Ling narrowed his eyes and muttered under his breath, "From the Great Xia Domain? Heh, forgive my ignorance, but I've never heard of you." Li Guanqi dug at his ear and said nonchalantly, "Mm, truly ignorant, with rather limited horizons. In any case, people stronger than you have usually heard of me." Choked by Li Guanqi's retort, Zhao Ling was struck speechless for a moment. "You! You... you?!" "Fine! I can't out-talk you!" Li Guanqi shrugged. "If you can't out-talk me, then don't talk. What a glutton for punishment. You can't win an argument, you can't win a fight, yet you insist on standing here begging for abuse. You wouldn't happen to have some bizarre hobby, would you? Let me tell you, that's not really an illness; you don't need to carry any psychological burden over it." Having said that, looking at Zhao Ling whose face had turned the color of pig liver, Li Guanqi looked right past him toward the women at his side. With a playful smirk, he said, "Next time he asks you to whip him with a leather crop, don't hold back. Who knows, he might actually enjoy it." As soon as the words left his mouth, the two women beside Zhao Ling actually turned to look at Zhao Ling with bizarre expressions. Frantic, Zhao Ling waved his hands in a flustered explanation, "I don't! I have no such kink!" "Hmph! Li Guanqi, is it?! Since you are also a sword cultivator, do you dare to have a match?" Li Guanqi stood in place, giving him a sidelong glance as he muttered derisively to himself, *With comebacks that weak, the old aunties back in my village could cuss him out without even pausing to spit melon seed shells.* Raising his head to look at him, Li Guanqi asked with an amused expression, "A match? Competing in what? Is there a wager?" Li Guanqi loved betting with people far too much; wasn't this clearly someone coming to deliver free money? Zhao Ling waved a broad sleeve, an inscrutable smirk playing on his lips. In an instant, a dense swarm of spirit stones abruptly floated all around him!