As the words fell, Sun Tianqi's humble plea suddenly sounded in Li Guanqi's ear.
"Kill me... don't kill him."
Slash!
A cold gleam flashed, leaving Sun Zhen standing frozen in place.
The anxious look in his eyes finally dissipated a little, and he darted forward in a rush.
Li Guanqi withdrew his sword, slowly crouched down, and looked down at Sun Tianqi, whose arm had been severed.
The purple-black lightning spilling from the wound burrowed into his body like tiny snakes!
In the end, all the wandering lightning drilled straight into Sun Tianqi's dantian.
Twisting and roaring within his dantian, the lightning transformed into pitch-black chains that branded themselves upon his origin spirit.
With a calm gaze, Li Guanqi spoke: "This time, I spare your life."
Having said that, Li Guanqi turned his head to look at Sun Zhen, whose eyes were red from crying, and cursed, "You bastard. If I had known, I wouldn't have shared a drink with you."
Sun Zhen's tears burst forth like a breached dam. Weeping, he came up beside Li Guanqi and choked out, "Thank you!"
Then he looked up at Li Guanqi and muttered under his breath, "I... even gave you gifts..."
Li Guanqi pointed at the saw-toothed longsword in the distance and said with a dark expression, "Those things?"
Ignoring Sun Zhen's embarrassed expression, Li Guanqi glanced back at the kneeling Sun Tianqi and said coldly, "Don't even think about it. You won't be able to reattach this arm—just like your right ear."
"I spared you today entirely because of the... useless younger brother you spoke of."
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and added in a chilly tone, "If not for Sun Zhen, you wouldn't have survived today."
He turned toward Sun Zhen and spoke slowly, his tone even:
"I left something inside him. Don't bother trying to remove it; you can't. If the Sun clan still dares to lay a hand on the Great Xia Sword Sect... don't blame me for being ruthless."
With that, Li Guanqi flickered and vanished from the spot.
Before departing, however, he cast a deep look at Sun Tianqi, who kept his head bowed in silence.
Li Guanqi had seized the man's Sword Ruins ability. He could sense the venomous hatred and indignation simmering within the arrogant Sun Tianqi.
Yet it did not matter. The moment Sun Tianqi dared entertain any untoward thoughts, even if separated by ten thousand li, Li Guanqi could end his life with a mere thought.
Watching Li Guanqi's departing silhouette, Sun Zhen understood in his heart that his friendship with Li Guanqi had likely reached its end.
Along the way, the memory of Sun Zhen's foolish look made Li Guanqi somewhat exasperated.
"Why the hell is he the same damned fool as Fourth Brother!"
Still, killing Sun Tianqi right in front of Sun Zhen...
It was not that he could not bring himself to do it; it just did not feel right.
Besides, the deterrent he left behind should be more than enough.
If the Sun clan chose to make a move even after learning of it, it would simply mean they did not care whether Sun Tianqi lived!
Reaching the mountain peak, Li Guanqi shifted the barrier away, and his breathing gradually leveled out.
Wandering aimlessly through the void with eyes half-closed, his mind continuously replayed every detail of his battle with Sun Tianqi.
To be honest, he had held nothing back in this fight!
Which meant... once he lacked his personal sword, his combat power suffered a drastic drop.
Not only that, but the circulation method of the Ancient Clan's cultivation art could only be described as brutish.
Even though Li Guanqi had made his move first, Sun Tianqi had still managed to strike later yet preempt him, interrupting the condensation of his divine sense swords.
That method of circulating primal energy was at least thirty percent faster than his own!
The sword spirit's voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Want to try it?"
Li Guanqi's eyes lit up. "Can I?"
The sword spirit scoffed disdainfully.
"Who do you take me for? To think a piece of trash cultivation art could impress you—I'm starting to question my own taste."
Li Guanqi's lips curled into a smile. In his mind, streams of spiritual light gradually flowed into view.
At a single glance, he recognized it as a simplified version of the Primordial Void Refinement Art—or rather, an ancient version!
Li Guanqi swallowed hard and asked in a somewhat dry voice, "Sword Spirit Sister... circulating the art like this... won't kill me, will it??"
The woman could not help but roll her eyes. Given Li Guanqi's current physical body, it would be quite a feat for a cultivation technique to kill him.
"Why didn't you kill him?"
Gazing into the distance, Li Guanqi murmured softly, "Sun Zhen is a simple guy. Killing his elder brother right in front of him wasn't something I wanted to do."
Hearing this, the sword spirit turned to look at Li Guanqi. Her beautiful eyes rippled with light, and the corners of her lips curved slightly.
"I thought that after what happened last year, you would have become utterly bloodthirsty."
Li Guanqi chuckled and replied in a soft voice, "In the past, when I killed someone, what I considered most was... 'If I kill this person, how will others look at me?'"
"Now, whether I kill or not depends entirely on whether I want to."
"In the future, if the Sun clan tries to seize the Great Xia Sword Sect, whether I kill Sun Tianqi or Sun Zhen, I won't have the slightest hesitation."
The sword spirit looked at him, a glimmer of gratification flashing deep in her eyes.
She had never interfered with any of his decisions, nor had she ever offered her own views or opinions.
Noticing the gratification in her eyes, Li Guanqi suddenly thought of this as well.
Curious, he asked, "Why is it that you never express an opinion on anything I do?"
Clad in her red dress, the sword spirit stretched lazily and chuckled softly.
"Because I'm a sword spirit..."
"If you want to kill, I will help you kill."
"If you want to save, I will help you save."
Her voice was ethereal, unhurriedly sharing what lay in her heart.
"Grow stronger. Strong enough that one day, you can truly wield me."
"When that time comes... whomever you wish to reason with, I can put in a word or two."
A warm current flowed through Li Guanqi's heart. He had never considered this before.
The sword spirit, who had never interfered in any of his decisions, thought in such simple terms...
Just like a true weapon.
If you wish to kill, I shall be the sharpest blade in your hand, tearing every enemy to shreds.
As for the reason, she did not ask in the least.
Walking side by side through the void, Li Guanqi asked with sudden curiosity, "By the way, sword spirit... how much has your strength recovered by now?"
Hearing this, the sword spirit took on a contemplative look and tilted her head in thought. "One millionth? Roughly."
Li Guanqi's expression twisted as if he had swallowed a fly.
"Borrowing my body, wielding Red Lotus, draining three thousand years of my lifespan to slay the Liu clan ancestor at the Body Integration Realm with a single strike... and you're telling me you've only recovered one millionth of your power???"
A brilliant smile spread across the sword spirit's face. Resting her hands behind her back, she said softly, "I told you—I am very strong."
Li Guanqi fell silent. It seemed that regarding matters about the sword spirit, he didn't even want to know too much before ascending to the Immortal Realm.
Li Guanqi then turned to her with keen interest and asked, "What was that 'ancient crest' on Sun Tianqi's arm?"
Still looking airy and nonchalant, the sword spirit replied indifferently, "Never seen it. A petty trick."
"Teach me."
"I don't know it."
"Then why did you call it a petty trick!"
"Just because I look down on it doesn't mean I know how to do it."
Li Guanqi's face turned black with exasperation, while the sword spirit retreated into the sword casket space to rest with closed eyes.
Li Guanqi reached out and tore open the domain barrier, preparing to head for the Shenbao Domain to see how Meng Wanshu was doing.
Besides, the Meng clan domain had a cross-domain teleportation array that led straight to the Great Xia Domain, which would conveniently allow him to escort Elder Tu Shan back.
Inside a bustling restaurant, a white-haired youth clad in a black robe sat quietly drinking below the stage.
The one drinking was named Li Congxin.
Chapter 668