Monstrous Talent

Yet the only answer to his furious roar was a ray of sword light pushed to the absolute extreme! Sun Tianqi gripped his sword with one hand, executing his movement technique at blinding speed! Endowed with metal-lightning dual spiritual roots, his terrifying speed caused even Li Guanqi to feel only a ripple in space before losing sight of him entirely. However, the divine sense blanketing a thousand zhang around him swiftly caught the man's presence. Turning, Li Guanqi thrust his sword back in a counter-strike! Clang! Li Guanqi's thrust drove straight for Sun Tianqi's eye socket. Had it landed, it would have pierced clean through his skull! Startled, Sun Tianqi hurriedly aborted his own sword move and brought his blade across in a reverse parry right before his eye. The ancient crest upon his arm flared with blinding brilliance, channeling a surge of immense, brute strength through the lightning sword. Boom! Sun Tianqi swung his longsword with violent force. The sheer might behind it actually blasted Li Guanqi backward over a thousand zhang! Li Guanqi smashed straight through the crest of a mountain peak along the way, hurtling backward like a cannonball. Twisting his body midair, a cold glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. The boundless divine sense around him instantly coalesced into several incomparably condensed swords of divine sense! Every hair on Sun Tianqi's body stood on end. His figure vanished on the spot, and in the very next breath, he had already materialized right before Li Guanqi! Clang! Another sword strike slashed out, grand enough to swallow mountains and rivers! Thud! Li Guanqi was knocked flying once more. The divine sense swords he had condensed were disrupted in an instant, dissipating into nothingness. Li Guanqi's arm trembled slightly, sharp light glinting in his eyes. This man's combat instincts are truly terrifying! The divine sense swords he had formed had hovered a thousand zhang away from them, exceedingly well concealed. He was certain the man had not actually detected their presence! Strong though the opponent was, Li Guanqi's divine sense was far superior in strength; Sun Tianqi could not possibly have sensed it. That left only one possibility! The man was relying on combat instincts forged through countless life-and-death slaughters to detect danger! Fighting spirit flared in Li Guanqi's eyes. In the Six Domains, opponents like this were... rare! It seemed... the talisman Sun Tianqi had slapped onto his chest was far from ordinary. And not only the talisman, but the pill he had swallowed was no common medicinal pill either. Its surface had been etched with intricate, profound patterns—likely the pill markings possessed only by the legendary perfect pills. Wind howled in his ears, and Li Guanqi suddenly leaned backward! A streak of sword light glistening with chilling cold grazed right past the tip of his nose. The very moment Li Guanqi bent his torso back, his left-hand sword slashed out with furious rapidity! The strike seemed to carry the roar of a dragon! Boom! A violent detonation rang out, only this time, it was Sun Tianqi who was blasted back! He hurtled nearly a thousand zhang through the air. Sun Tianqi's right hand trembled uncontrollably. The Qiongqi ancient crest on his arm pulsed wildly with fluorescent light as its phantom image roared incessantly! The beast soul phantom seemed to possess rudimentary intelligence; having tasted that immense power just now, a trace of dread laced its roars. Sun Tianqi looked up. In the distance, the white-robed figure was slowly shrugging off his outer robe. Beneath the white robe, Li Guanqi revealed a lean, sinewy torso. His entire upper body was densely covered in gruesome wounds, scars twisting across his flesh like dragons. His physique was well-proportioned, yet Sun Tianqi could feel the terrifying power lurking beneath that flesh and blood. At this moment, the roar of dragons and trumpeting of elephants filled Li Guanqi's ears. It was a rare occasion for him to circulate the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art at full power. Glancing down at his crumbling lightning sword, he simply drew the longsword Sun Zhen had gifted him from the sword coffin. Li Guanqi casually tied his loose hair behind his head, took up the longsword beside him, and spoke softly: "For the sake of that 'trash younger brother' of yours, I'll spare your life." Boom! The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, Li Guanqi pushed his power straight to its peak! The terrifying pressure whipped up shockwaves that rolled outward in all directions. Wave after wave of mounting pressure continuously battered Sun Tianqi's nerves. Sun Tianqi stared fixedly at Li Guanqi, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock. He could not fathom... why such a monster would appear in the Six Domains! He had thought that only Ancient Clans with profound heritage could foster such a monstrous talent. Tightening his grip on his sword, Sun Tianqi stared gravely at Li Guanqi and said in a chilling voice, "My life is right here. If you have the skill... come take it!" Thud! The moment the words left his mouth, he took the initiative to unleash the power of his ancient crest and charged toward Li Guanqi! A distance of hundreds or thousands of zhang was a matter of a single step to combatants of their caliber. Clang, clang, clang! Longswords clashed, cold light erupting across the void in an instant! Sword light flashed as both stood suspended in the sky, trading over a hundred blows in every single breath! In merely a breath's time, the space around them was torn to shreds! Immense power exploded within a narrow radius. Li Guanqi's Sword Ruins buzzed. "Soul Release—Open!" Hum! Bang! The instant crimson light flashed, the sword in Li Guanqi's hand abruptly shattered! Several cold glints flashed past Li Guanqi's arm. Sharp light gleamed in his eyes as his arm snaked through the air in evasive weaves. Primal energy surged, and the blade fragments, wrapped in lightning like concealed weapons, shot toward Sun Tianqi in an instant! Whew, whew, whew! Clink, clang, clatter! Clang! Sun Tianqi was instantly forced back over a dozen zhang, brandishing his sword in a flurry to deflect all the fragments. Yet two pieces still pierced clean through his body! Both retreated over a dozen zhang. With a flash of light, Li Guanqi produced yet another longsword! However, his expression turned exceedingly grim. Even though that previous sword was at the level of an ancient treasure, it still could not withstand the power of his Sword Ruins! The power of a single Soul Release alone had caused the blade to shatter instantly... It seemed his Red Lotus was of an extraordinarily high rank! As for Sun Tianqi, his face darkened even further. His spirit ruins were completely empty now; his original eighth-rank Sword Ruins had inexplicably been stolen away. Blood and qi surged within Li Guanqi's body, his primal energy circulating to rapidly heal the wounds on his arm. It had to be said that Sun Tianqi was arguably the strongest among all the peers Li Guanqi had ever encountered! Li Guanqi's left hand trembled faintly, the blood between his thumb and forefinger having already stained the hilt red. The mysterious markings on Sun Tianqi's arm had bolstered the man's physical strength by no small measure. The two fought from the heavens down to the earth, every strike aimed straight for the other's vitals! Rumble! Boom! The corner of Li Guanqi's eye was suddenly split open by sword qi, and a violent surge of primal energy abruptly swelled within his blade. The moment Sun Tianqi sensed it, he flew backward. He knew Li Guanqi wanted to decide the battle—a duel of life and death! He had the exact same intention; dragging this out any longer offered him no advantage whatsoever! Furthermore... Li Guanqi's strength far exceeded his expectations. The man's primal energy was as vast and deep as a surging river. His physical strength was even more terrifying—and unlike Sun Tianqi, who relied on external aids, Li Guanqi's physical might was entirely his own.