Threatening Li Guanqi!

A sharp glint flashed through Su You's eyes, and he promptly forwarded all the ledger's categories and items to Li Guanqi. Examining the accounts before him, Li Guanqi unleashed his formidable divine sense, working feverishly to identify every angle where loopholes could be manufactured. Before long, he found numerous areas ripe for exploitation. As he made his alterations, Li Guanqi sent a voice transmission to Yuan Hongyi: "Brother Yuan, send me a detailed breakdown of this year's commercial revenue across the Six Domains tonight." With a sullen expression, Yuan Hongyi replied, "Very well. We happen to be sorting out the accounts these couple of days. I will press them to hurry." Inside his room, Su You soon received word that the accounts had to be finalized before nightfall, no matter what. Su You murmured inwardly, *Are you planning to make Huang Bin take the blame for this?* *A clever move.* Soon afterward, Su You received the ledger Li Guanqi had revised. Staring at the detailed breakdown in his hands, Su You froze where he stood. The bookkeeping was simply too flawless—so immaculate that it was beyond reproach! Nearly every entry listed precise dates, particulars, purposes... Li Guanqi's voice drifted from the jade slip. "Take these accounts to Yuan Hongyi right now, and tell him you have finished the audit. "Remember, do not mention a single word about Huang Bin! Act as though nothing is out of the ordinary. "However, you must give Yuan Hongyi a discreet warning—tell him you sensed something was amiss, which is why you came to him ahead of schedule! "Make him feel that you are firmly in his corner." "Understood," Su You replied. Pushing open his door, he stepped out and headed straight for Yuan Hongyi's study. Unable to go upstairs just yet, he simply waited by the foot of the stairs. As dusk fell, Huang Bin, the Hall Master Xuan of the Yellow Tower, was still indulging himself in the embrace of beauties. Little did he realize that the rest of the Yellow Tower was practically running itself ragged with work. *Tap, tap, tap...* With a calm expression, Yuan Hongyi walked down the stairs, only to see Su You waiting for him with a jade slip. His face darkened. Reaching out to take the jade slip, he demanded coldly, "Huang Bin isn't around again?" Su You remained silent. With a cold snort, Yuan Hongyi turned and walked downstairs. Along the way, Yuan Hongyi probed inside with his divine sense, and his expression instantly twisted! He knew Huang Bin far too well. An account statement this perfect... was completely wrong! Turning back toward Su You, he asked in a harsh voice, "You compiled this based on the records Huang Bin gave you?" Su You nodded with an impassive face, answering softly, "Yes, which is why I came to see Tower Master ahead of schedule." Just as Li Guanqi had instructed, Su You presented the very picture of loyalty. Yuan Hongyi felt deeply gratified. Yet the fury within his heart surged violently! *Boom!* Yuan Hongyi's aura erupted uncontrollably, and with a grim face, he vanished on the spot. *** Meanwhile. Li Guanqi emerged stealthily from the void, curling his lip in disdain once he returned to the detached courtyard. "A million mid-grade spirit stones... That should be more than enough for Yuan Hongyi to slaughter him, right?" He had just settled onto a chair to take a sip of tea when he shot to his feet, his face draining of color! "Who is it?" "Ge Er! Are you there?" "Answer me, Ge Er!" Silence. Long moments passed without the slightest response from the Pavilion Master jade pendant, and Li Guanqi's expression turned exceedingly grim. Something had happened to Song Yunshu... *** At the Huang clan's manor outside the Tianji Domain. After Yuan Hongyi dragged Huang Bin from his nest of women, he indeed discovered a storage ring hidden in a secret compartment within the room. The wealth packed inside that storage ring was utterly shocking! Overcome with blinding fury, Yuan Hongyi killed Huang Bin right then and there! Su You's image surfaced in his mind, though he was in no hurry to groom Su You as his own confidant just yet—he still needed time to weigh the matter. When Li Guanqi received word of this, only a faint smirk touched the corners of his mouth. At the same time, a sharp glint flashed deep in Yuan Hongyi's eyes, and taking a step, he vanished from the Huang estate. *** Outside the Tianji Domain, a black-robed blade cultivator suddenly appeared deep inside a deserted valley and crushed a silver scroll. A miniature teleportation array materialized before him. The man was bathed in blood, his face mangled and raw. One of his eyes had been blinded, and his entire left arm was gone, leaving only an empty sleeve. His aura exceedingly frail and unstable, the man struggled to place a fair, pale severed hand onto the array. As the light faded away into nothingness, the man finally let out a sigh of relief. Pulling out a jade slip, he rasped, "We... are even!" *** Inside the domain. Ge Qi's voice suddenly rang in Li Guanqi's ear. "A hundred li outside the domain, there is the aura of a Void Refining realm expert!" Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and vanished from the courtyard in an instant! *Hum!* Executing successive teleportations, he shot like lightning toward the belly of the mountains! Badly wounded, Xiao Mingtang felt his pupils tremble violently as he sensed an aura so overpowering it made him shudder, closing in at terrifying speed! "Damn it!" *Swish!* Xiao Mingtang instantly ripped open the space beside him and stepped through. Li Guanqi opened his palm, primal energy surging to instantly condense into a thunderous greatsword. Aiming straight at the high mountains, he slashed downward! "Where do you think you're going?! Stay right there!" *Boom!* A savage sword strike cleaved several towering peaks in two! Violent lightning ran rampant across the void. Immediately afterward, several cultivators in red robes and red masks came rushing out from within the Tianji Domain. Tu Yongsi barked coldly, "Seize him!" Space had been completely thrown into chaos by Li Guanqi's sword strike; even if Xiao Mingtang wanted to flee, he had no way out. Driven to desperation, he could only wheel around, drawing his blade to meet the attack. Yet how could a strike from Li Guanqi be so easily repelled? In this single strike, Li Guanqi drew upon the three great abilities of the Sword Ruins, pushing the sword light to the absolute limit of speed. *Boom!* The blade glow shattered. Like crushing dry weeds, the sword light obliterated the blade light and cleaved deep into the man's shoulder. A silver gleam flashed across Xiao Mingtang's inner garment, followed at once by the sharp cracking of shattering metal. Xiao Mingtang's right shoulder was nearly severed clean through! In the next instant, Li Guanqi materialized right before Xiao Mingtang, a fist swelling abruptly in the man's vision! "Firmament Shatterer: Thousand-Layer Waves!" *Boom!* Beneath the punch, the mountain behind the man was flattened to the ground. Every bone in Xiao Mingtang's body had been pulverized to dust, leaving him hanging from Li Guanqi's hand like a limp mass of mud. *Squelch!* A sword strike lopped off the man's head. Then, under Tu Yongsi's stunned gaze, Li Guanqi murmured softly, "Soul Gather." *Hum!* The man's soul was instantly gathered into a hazy blue phantom! The old man's turbid eyes narrowed into slits as he watched intently from not far away. Li Guanqi said in a bone-chilling voice, "Soul Search!" He immediately began flipping through all of the man's memories. Suddenly! Countless silver-white steel needles materialized out of the surrounding void, hurtling toward them! Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed. As his sea of consciousness trembled, his vast divine sense instantly coalesced into tens of thousands of swords. Yet those silver-white needles were too fast and far too numerous. A single needle merely grazed Xiao Mingtang's soul, and the phantom began to disintegrate inch by inch, wholly irreversible! Holding the severed head, Li Guanqi stared at the dispersing soul, his face turning thoroughly dark. By then, the gates of the Tianji Domain had swung wide, and many figures were flying out. After all, with such a massive disturbance occurring right in Xingshu Valley, people were bound to investigate. Tossing the severed head carelessly to the ground at his feet, Li Guanqi swept cold eyes over everyone present. Including the Masters of the Four Towers! Someone clearly did not want him searching that soul!