A Crazed Zhao Ling

Lightning spread across the Sword Abyss until the stone walls on either side resembled two natural chasms of thunder! The upheaval in the Sword Abyss thoroughly alerted the higher-ups of the Taixuan Sword Sect! The gaze of the man who had previously been lounging by the edge sharpened, and he plunged straight down in a flash! *Boom!* In an instant, immense waves of pressure erupted around him. The crushing weight of the Void Refining Realm crashed down like a mountain! Earth-yellow primal energy formed a two-layered barrier over the rock walls. With eyes sharp as an eagle's, the man swept his gaze over the crowd below and barked, "Disciples, hear my command! Vacate the Sword Abyss immediately!" Only then did the crowd realize that this man who spent all his days drinking himself into a stupor by the abyss was actually so terrifyingly strong! At his word, the disciples took flight into the sky. Even after clearing the abyss, they were forced back hundreds of zhang before finally coming to a halt. More and more disciples and elders rushed over. Wu Changfeng, who oversaw both the inner and outer sects, also arrived, teleporting directly to the bottom of the Sword Abyss. Looking at the man with an inquiring gaze, he said gravely, "Lv Zhong, what happened? Why has the Sword Abyss changed like this?" Yet Lv Zhong, clutching his wine gourd, did not answer the question. Instead, his eyes glinted with sharp light as he looked at the elder and asked in a low voice, "Who is that blind youth with the sword casket on his back?" Wu Changfeng's eyes narrowed slightly. He turned toward the sword scar crackling with lightning, his face also filled with astonishment. "Him...?" Seeing that Lv Zhong remained silent, the elder pondered for a long while before sighing softly. "He is a friend He Yuning met while traveling abroad. He comes from the Great Xia Domain." Lv Zhong frowned slightly. "The Great Xia Domain?" The elder nodded. "Indeed. He is an elder of the Great Xia Sword Sect, which is currently in the limelight of the Great Xia Domain. "His name is... Li Guanqi. Sacred-grade lightning spiritual root, possesses sword intent of the Sword Gall Realm, and has Apocalypse-grade Sword Ruins aptitude!" At this point, Wu Changfeng paused briefly, a faint smile appearing on his face as he added, "He has impeccable character. Upright, yet not dogmatic. After looking into him, I learned that because a foe had once implicated an innocent person... "...he had a single sentence to say to the world." Hearing this, the white-knuckled grip with which Lv Zhong held his gourd loosened slightly. He lowered his head a bit and asked softly, "What sentence?" The elder's gaze turned complex. When he had first learned of those words from the Tianji Pavilion, he had been just as shaken. He had never expected such words to come from someone so young. "'If there is no magistrate of justice in this world, then I shall draw my sword and become Yanluo!' "And so, his sword intent is named Yanluo." Even as the two spoke, the lightning within the sword scar erupted to its absolute limit! Li Guanqi quietly endured the wash of the mighty sword intent over him, yet he did not accept the inheritance of its master. Instead, he quietly opened his mind, carefully savoring every nuance of the sword intent and how it differed from his own. Amidst the endless thunder, a faint sigh from the elder seemed to drift out, carrying a touch of regret that Li Guanqi had not accepted his sword intent. Once this power faded, the Severed Cliff sword intent would vanish from this world forever. Li Guanqi realized this as well. Deciding decisively on the spot, he preserved the seed of that sword intent within his body. In that moment, the howling sword intent by his ears seemed to soften considerably. An instant later, an even more violent sword intent bared its terrifying fangs without restraint! Li Guanqi naturally understood why this shift had occurred—the predecessor wished for him to truly experience the terrifying depths of the Severed Cliff sword intent! *Boom!* Li Guanqi unleashed his own sword intent without holding back, using his sword intent as the blade and the other's sword intent as the whetstone. It was honing his sword intent! Seeing this, Lv Zhong's eyes turned red... Wu Changfeng walked slowly to his side, reached out to pat his back, and whispered, "If your master knew his Severed Cliff had been passed to a youth like this, he would be very gratified. "He... is worthy." Lv Zhong knew full well that with his master's foul temper, the Sword Abyss would never have erupted into such an upheaval unless it was someone the old man had chosen himself. Only when the old man was thoroughly pleased with his heir would he unleash every scrap of the lingering power within the stone walls of the Sword Abyss without reservation! Turning his head toward the lightning on the stone walls, which was already dimming significantly, Lv Zhong knew he would never forget the proud figure of his master standing between heaven and earth. Even in death, his master had still been thinking of leaving something behind for the sect. By contrast, Zhao Ling had been right on the verge of obtaining the Frost sword intent... Yet under the pressure of the fierce resolve radiating from the Severed Cliff sword intent, the Frost sword intent abruptly withdrew all its power and fell silent! Perhaps the lingering will of the Frost sword intent had sensed the strangeness in the surroundings as well. If it could not find someone it truly acknowledged in this life, it would rather dissolve between heaven and earth than settle for second best! Awakening from his comprehension, Zhao Ling looked as if he had lost his very soul. His eyes were blank as he stared at the silent sword scar before him. His face twitched violently, twisting into a hideous snarl within the blink of an eye! To comprehend this Frost sword intent, he had run missions without sleep or rest for six whole years—six years! It had taken him six full years to scrape together enough opportunities to come here, and he had been just one step away! "It's him... it's all because of him!" Driven entirely mad, Zhao Ling shot to his feet, drew his longsword, and teleported directly in front of the scar where Li Guanqi was! With lightning speed, he slashed a sword strike inward! Uncaring that the erupting lightning sword intent slashed across his skin, surging water primal energy erupted from him in an instant. Veins bulged along his arms as an aqua-blue sword light flashed past under the torrent of primal energy! "Great Bishui Sword!" *Boom!* A sudden chill raced down Li Guanqi's spine. The incoming sword light was already right upon him! Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed. While maintaining the manifestation of his sword intent, he lashed out with Red Lotus in a reverse slash! *Boom! Boom, boom!* The mountain shook, and a terrifying sword light of thunder tore through the incoming strike midair, continuing onward with undiminished momentum! "Heaven Breaker Sword Art: Demon Subduer!" With this strike, Li Guanqi did not conceal his killing intent in the slightest. Zhao Ling's sneak attack had thoroughly enraged him! *Slash!* Before Zhao Ling even had time to react, an arm and a leg were severed clean off! Wu Changfeng pulled Zhao Ling back with one hand while staring deep into the sword scar with glittering eyes. This strike had been fast—far too fast. It was so fast that even he had only managed to yank Zhao Ling aside. Had he not pulled him, Zhao Ling would have been slain on the spot! *Rumble!* The sword light struck the cliff wall behind them, leaving a terrifying furrow over sixty zhang long. Agonizing pain tore through him, and Zhao Ling's face turned deathly pale as he looked back at his severed arm and leg. His waist and flank were already a mangled mess of flesh and blood, and a shriek tore into the sky! "Ah! Aaargh!" Right then, the lightning sword intent before Li Guanqi finally dissolved, and his Yanluo Sword Intent took another massive leap forward. Even his cultivation realm rose slightly once more. The Severed Cliff sword intent was like a beacon illuminating the distant path ahead, guiding him forward. One day, he too would reach that level! Now, the sword intent within the scar had completely dissipated, and the arcs of lightning on the cliff walls had vanished without a trace. Right now, though... he had a score to settle.