For a time, righteous indignation ran high among the crowd. Voices rose everywhere, decrying the Great Xia Sword Sect as petty. They had traveled all this way, only for the sect to pull such a trick!
It was as though their mere presence was an enormous favor bestowed upon the Great Xia Sword Sect, and the sect was in the wrong for failing to lower its barrier and roll out the welcome mat.
A burly man at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm scowled, his face twisted with fury. Rolling up his sleeves, he growled, "Hmph! It's just a barrier. What if we all strike together and smash it to pieces?
"Could the Great Xia Sword Sect truly make enemies of us all?
"Once we're inside, we'll just sit and listen! I refuse to believe they'd actually call off the lectures!"
At these words, an ambitious gleam flickered in the eyes of many.
There was safety in numbers. If they truly joined forces to shatter the Great Xia Sword Sect's defensive barrier and swarmed in as one, would the sect really be able to drive everyone out?
*Hum!*
Chaotic primal energy fluctuated wildly. Countless voice transmissions crisscrossed through the air, and many rubbed their palms together, eager for action.
A cold sneer played on Ye Feng's lips.
Since Li Guanqi had dared to withdraw the heavenly flame barriers, he was not the least bit afraid of them stirring up trouble.
Turning his head, Ye Feng saw Li Guanqi's mouth curl into a peculiar, subtle smirk.
Ye Feng knew that the crowd's reaction was entirely within Li Guanqi's expectations.
Sure enough, the sword coffin abruptly materialized behind Li Guanqi!
*Clang!*
Just as the crowd was about to launch a coordinated assault against the outer barrier of the Great Xia Sword Sect, a piercing sword cry suddenly rang through the heavens!
Immediately after, boundless lightning raged across the firmament, and a terrifying, surging sword intent soared straight into the sky!
In an instant, pitch-black spatial fissures tore across the vault above the Great Xia Sword Sect!
Clad in white robes, Li Guanqi erupted with a colossal, overwhelming aura comparable to that of a late Void Refining Realm cultivator, cowing all eight directions!
*Boom!*
Under Li Guanqi's control, this terrifying pressure clamped down across the surrounding hundred li in a flash!
Every cultivator whose cultivation was lower than Li Guanqi's plummeted from the sky!
Let alone attacking, they lacked even the qualification to remain airborne before a mighty figure like him.
The space spanning a hundred li felt severed from the rest of the world, its fortified laws forbidding anyone else from taking flight!
Li Guanqi shot hundreds of zhang into the sky. Gripping Red Lotus in its Apocalypse state, he spun around and slashed out with his sword!
A torrent of sword light burst forth in an instant!
A hundred li away, people who were tumbling frantically from midair looked up just in time to see a horrific beam of sword light shooting straight out from the Great Xia Sword Sect!
Hairs stood on end across the crowd as the dread of death gripped them.
"Run! Run!"
"Madman! A Void Refining cultivator is actually drawing his sword against us!"
"Run! Forget the cloud boats!"
Countless people panicked, scrambling by every possible means to fly and escape!
The sword light swept over them, its sword qi spanning a hundred li. Wherever the icy gleam passed, cloud boats and skiffs were sheared in two, blowing apart into splinters!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
*Rumble!*
The terrifying sword light circled thirty li around the perimeter in mere breaths.
Violent explosions erupted in rapid succession!
Earth-shattering rumbles echoed continuously, leaving every disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect utterly stunned.
This was the first time they had ever witnessed a Void Refining Realm powerhouse make a move—and it was an attack from Li Guanqi, the senior brother they idolized above all others!
The crowd buzzed with fervor, every disciple watching the spectacle in sheer awe.
As the rumbles gradually faded, Li Guanqi stepped slowly through the barrier all by himself.
Those who had scrambled out of the way and spent the earlier moments hurling insults at the Great Xia Sword Sect were struck completely dumb.
Everyone fell back in frantic retreat, terrified that Li Guanqi might strike again, wishing they had grown more legs to run faster.
Expressionless, Li Guanqi swept a calm gaze across the crowd.
A suffocating weight descended upon every onlooker.
The sensation was like a mountain crushing down upon their chests, cutting off their breath.
Their limbs stiffened and grew cold; it felt as though they had plunged into a pool of ice.
Even the clouds above stood motionless. The winds died away, leaving only the biting remnant of sword qi.
A broad rift in space remained unsealed, standing like an impassable chasm before them.
Li Guanqi's gaze was indifferent.
Whatever their identities, clans, or sect affiliations might be, he cared not in the slightest.
His voice rang out calmly.
"From this moment on, no matter who you are... if anyone dares take another step closer, leave your life behind."
A calm declaration, and having spoken it, Li Guanqi turned and walked away.
Only after he slipped back inside the barrier did the crowd finally let out a long breath.
Many turned on their heels and fled, stripped entirely of their earlier bravado.
"Safety in numbers, my ass! We nearly died here! And my cloud boat is gone..."
"Exactly! That Yanluo Sword Venerable's killing intent wasn't a bluff! Look, they're leaving!"
A flicker of fear crossed the eyes of the gaunt, goatee-wearing man from Wuxiang Palace.
A bitter smile touched the corner of his lips.
"It seems the balance of power across Qingyun is about to shift..."
Beside him, the stout man had turned pale. Swallowing hard, he murmured, "Indeed... that Sword Venerable's strength is monstrous!"
"Sigh... I regret not forging good ties with the Great Xia Sword Sect back then."
"Truly! It's too late for regrets now. Adding flowers to a brocade is easy, but sending charcoal in the snow is hard!"
A tinge of regret also flashed through the goatee-wearing man's eyes. Back when the Great Xia Sword Sect fought Ziyang Palace, they had chosen to sit on the sidelines.
After all, Ziyang Palace ranked at the very bottom among the Six Palaces of Qingyun, and the others had looked down upon the conflict from on high.
And now...
Times had truly changed!
Li Guanqi returned to the square. Seeing the bright, eager expressions in the disciples' eyes, he smiled faintly.
Gathering the hem of his robe, he sat cross-legged, back-to-back with the companions beside him.
"The lecture begins!"
"Starting now, we will begin from the paths of Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment."
"And we will continue all the way to the Void Refining Realm."
"Throughout, anyone who has a question may ask at any time. Any of us can provide an answer!"
As Li Guanqi taught, enlightened expressions appeared on disciple after disciple.
Even Lu Kangnian and the sect elders nodded repeatedly, their eyes filled with pride and validation.
On the fourth day, Zhou Zhi, who had already reached the late Core Formation Realm, slowly rose to his feet.
The youthful naivety of the past was long gone from his face, replaced by sharp resolve.
The two exchanged a look, and a knowing smile passed between them.
Zhou Zhi cupped his fists and asked softly, "Elder Li... why do you cultivate the Dao?"
Li Guanqi took no offense at his former senior brother addressing him that way.
Were it not before the assembly of disciples, calling him Junior Brother Li would have been entirely fitting.
Li Guanqi's expression turned solemn. Straightening his back, he pondered for a moment before speaking softly.
"Once... I was a beggar. Back then, when my grandfather brought me onto the path of cultivation, I didn't think much of it—I only wanted to live a few years longer.
"Yet after joining the Great Xia Sword Sect, after breaking through to Foundation Establishment and soaring upon a flying sword, I finally understood why I cultivate the Dao."
His eyes narrowed slightly. Drawn by his state of mind, Red Lotus and Yanluo Sword behind him took flight on their own, soaring into the sky!
A charming smile curved Li Guanqi's lips.
His voice rang out, resonant and unyielding.
"If a man does not unfold soaring ambitions, in vain was he born with an eight-foot frame!
"A true man living between heaven and earth—if he cannot roam ninety thousand li alone with his sword, how is he any different from rotting grass and trees?"
Chapter 578