Occasional flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder in the sky silhouetted a figure clad in white, holding a sword.
In an instant, hundreds of government soldiers charged toward Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi sighed softly. Gripping his sword in one hand, he abruptly surged forward to meet them!
In the dim alley, the cold glint of sword blades merged almost into a continuous sheet of light.
Li Guanqi closed the distance to Tang Chongqing with astonishing speed.
Sword light flickered, and endless sprays of blood erupted around him.
Every strike he delivered was razor-sharp and devastating; severed limbs and broken bodies flew through the air alongside the falling rain.
Li Guanqi moved with elusive grace, swift as the wind.
In this torrential downpour, he was like a razor-sharp blade tearing straight through every defense before him.
Yet just as Li Guanqi came within five zhang of his target, a cold glint flashed in Tang Chongqing's eyes!
The instant Li Guanqi sensed something amiss, he leaped into the air!
The bluestone pavers below abruptly shattered, and the long ropes of two binding talismans flashed and vanished where his feet had been.
Clang!
A sword hum rang out as a flying sword shot straight up into the air!
Clang!!
Just as the longsword was about to strike Li Guanqi between the eyes, he backhanded his sword to parry the blow.
Borrowing the force of the collision, his body rose another zhang into the air!
Immediately after, a sneer curved Tang Chongqing's lips. With a wave of his hand, the sabers hanging at the waists of the soldiers beside him flew uncontrollably into the air!
Four sabers and a flying sword converged upon the youth midair.
With nowhere to dodge, Li Guanqi parried frantically, but several blades still slashed into his flesh.
As he fell back toward the ground, a stray sword scattered on the street shot directly toward his back!
The strike was blisteringly fast and thoroughly vicious!
Yet Li Guanqi showed not the slightest panic. Tapping his foot lightly against the outer wall of the Li Manor, he flipped his body around in midair.
With pinpoint precision, his sword clashed along the incoming blade!
Hooking his edge around the hilt, he spun the weapon around his blade and hurled it violently toward Tang Chongqing!
However, a barrier of origin energy materialized in front of Tang Chongqing, halting the flying sword's tip an inch from the space between his brows.
Tang Chongqing dismounted slowly. The two stood ten zhang apart, locking eyes from a distance.
The pouring rain blurred everyone's vision, and the curtains of the dragon carriage parted as someone peered out toward Li Guanqi.
Tang Chongqing crooked his finger, calling the flying sword back into his grip. Looking solemnly at Li Guanqi, he said in a deep voice, "You haven't reached Foundation Establishment yet?"
Li Guanqi smiled coldly. "To kill you, Qi Refinement is more than enough."
"Hah, what arrogance!"
Boom!
The bluestone pavers beneath Tang Chongqing's feet suddenly shattered without warning!
He lunged at Li Guanqi at blinding speed, but his movements had long since been captured by Li Guanqi's divine sense.
In an instant, the two figures darted and shifted continuously in the downpour. Cold light flickered as their swords clashed, throwing off constant showers of sparks.
Yet the longer Tang Chongqing fought, the more alarmed he became!
From start to finish, the youth's breathing remained steady. Even after cutting down hundreds of soldiers, he showed no signs of exhaustion!
Moreover, the youth's physical strength rivaled that of a pure martial cultivator, lending immense weight to every single strike.
After merely a dozen or so breaths of combat, the webbing of Tang Chongqing's thumb and forefinger had already split open.
Boom!!
The origin energy within Tang Chongqing erupted, and his sword light grew noticeably sharper.
Yet Li Guanqi moved with extraordinary swiftness, his elusive form always slipping past fatal strikes.
Trading blows and giving ground in the rain, the two had already exchanged hundreds of moves.
Li Guanqi's sword was swift and precise, and his strength surpassed Tang Chongqing's by thirty percent.
Yet just as Tang Chongqing drove his sword forward to force Li Guanqi back, Li Guanqi snapped his blade back into its scabbard.
A sudden chill rushed up from the soles of Tang Chongqing's feet, and he threw himself backward in retreat!
Instead of falling back, Li Guanqi surged forward, driving off his feet to close the distance in a flash!
Clang!
A sword hum rang out, and a flash of cold light sliced past Tang Chongqing's chest like lightning!
Plop! Plop!
Blood gushed freely from Tang Chongqing's chest.
Enraged, Tang Chongqing quickly threw out several talisman seals, unleashing a barrage of ice spikes and fireballs toward Li Guanqi.
Standing with his sword drawn, Li Guanqi weaved and dodged to evade the onslaught.
The next moment, Li Guanqi leaped into the air and rapidly formed hand seals!
The origin energy in his body surged forth completely!
Rumble!!
Crack!
The already dense dark clouds above grew even heavier and gloomier.
Amidst the flashing lightning and rolling thunder, Li Guanqi roared, "Spirit Incantation! Number Two Hundred Forty-Six!"
"Array Breaker—Lightning Spear!!"
Rumble!!
Tang Chongqing's face drained of color, terror flashing in his eyes.
He tossed out several defensive talismans in rapid succession, conjuring several energy barriers before him.
As the origin energy within Li Guanqi drained at an alarming rate, a four-foot-long spear of lightning tore across the night sky!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The barriers shattered!
The lightning spear pierced straight through Tang Chongqing's body!!
As the lightning erupted, Tang Chongqing let out a bloodcurdling scream!
The spear ran through his chest and pinned him firmly to the bluestone paving.
The raging lightning swiftly scorched his body to a charred black.
Every trace of life vanished from him completely!
Landing on the ground, Li Guanqi panted heavily. Without hesitation, he produced two spirit stones and urgently began absorbing their energy.
"Father!!!"
Seeing his father struck down by lightning from the sky, Tang Yi was scared out of his wits!
The lackeys who had surrounded him had already been slain earlier, and Tang Yi was now in utter panic.
Looking at his father's charred corpse, he lost all sense of direction, yanked the reins, and turned to flee!
A cold glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. Rising, he flicked a saber off the ground with the tip of his toe, spun his body, and kicked the hilt hard!
Whoosh!
The saber whistled through the air. Infused with origin energy, it instantly pierced through Tang Yi's body.
Thud!
His body already hollowed out by wine and lust, Tang Yi collapsed limply to the ground.
After catching his breath for a good while, Li Guanqi stood before the gates of Li Manor and roared, "Everyone, stop!!"
Infused with origin energy, his voice shook the hearts of all who heard it!
Holding his identity jade slip aloft, Li Guanqi said in a deep voice, "I am Li Guanqi, a disciple of Tianlei Peak of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
"I was ordered by my sect to investigate the cause of the unrest in the Xuantian Dynasty!
"Tang Chongqing, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, violated the sacred taboo of the cultivation world by meddling in the affairs of a mortal dynasty, and he has now been executed!
"The Li family has produced countless loyal martyrs, yet they were framed and plotted against by villains!
"They are innocent!"
At this point, Li Guanqi turned sharply toward the dragon carriage and barked in righteous fury,
"The reigning sovereign, Ji Congyuan, gave ear to slander and appointed a cultivator as Imperial Preceptor, violating the established laws!
"As of today, he is stripped of his imperial throne! Specific arrangements will be subject to the Great Xia Sword Sect's ruling!"
A haggard-looking middle-aged man stepped slowly out of the dragon carriage.
Looking at the identity jade slip in Li Guanqi's hand, he bowed with trembling hands and said,
"Ji Congyuan respectfully obeys the Immortal Master's decree..."
Inside Li Manor, Li Ren and Li Shenzhi, drenched in blood, both felt a surge of relief at having survived the catastrophe.
Li Shenzhi finally got a clear look at the person in white outside the gate.
Recalling their brief encounter back at the Drunken Flower Pavilion, he murmured under his breath, "Li Guanqi..."
"I, Li Shenzhi, owe you an enormous debt!"
Chapter 60