Zheng Hao narrowed his eyes, glaring intently at Li Guanqi on the arena stage as he growled, "Humph! The outcome is decided. You win!"
Li Guanqi turned sharply, his pure white eyes locking onto the Qingxiao Palace Master.
Beneath the man's incredulous gaze, Li Guanqi raised a leg and kicked Pang Li squarely in the jaw!
*Crack!!*
Pang Li's lower jawbone shattered instantly, spewing blood mixed with fractured teeth.
The tremendous force sent his body flying into midair.
Drawing a deep breath, Li Guanqi twisted his waist and slammed a punch violently into Pang Li's dantian!!
Infused with essence energy, this single strike directly shattered Pang Li's dantian!
"Little beast, how dare you!"
Zheng Hao's aura erupted, and he rose into the air to intervene.
An enraged roar rang out as the old man, sword in hand, materialized in front of Zheng Hao in the blink of an eye.
A frigid blade thrust an inch into Zheng Hao's throat!
"Try taking one fucking step!"
Pang Li's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as a mouthful of blood sprayed across Li Guanqi's face.
His body was hurled back by the impact, yet Li Guanqi's face reappeared right before his eyes!!
At this moment, Li Guanqi's expression was savage, his stark white eyes laced with crimson veins.
He had originally intended to check his master's reaction, but he could no longer hold back the killing intent surging within his heart.
Li Guanqi seized Pang Li's left arm and drove his knee upward with brutal force!
*Crack!!*
Jagged white bone, trailing shreds of flesh, pierced straight through the skin.
Immediately after, Li Guanqi gripped Pang Li's head with one hand, raised his arm high, and slammed it down toward the arena stage!!
*Boom!*
The stage shuddered as the blue flagstones blew apart, crushed into a foot-deep crater!
A splatter of red and white burst across the stone.
The entire Ziyang Palace fell dead silent; a dropped pin would have echoed.
Only the occasional sound of nervous swallowing broke the quiet.
Rising to his feet, Li Guanqi breathed heavily, his chest heaving, without sparing a single glance at the mangled figure on the ground.
Zheng Hao's eyes were practically splitting with fury, yet the blade at his throat pushed half an inch deeper!!
Clenching his teeth, Zheng Hao glared at the youth on the stage.
Finally, after a lingering, wary glance at the murderous Li Nanting, he swept his sleeves with a furious snort.
"Good, good, good! Quite a disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
Li Nanting withdrew his bloodstained sword without a word.
Zheng Hao glared at Li Nanting and growled, "A grudge has been forged today. I only hope he never falls into my hands!"
Li Nanting sneered. "A grudge it is. Do I look like I'm afraid of you?"
On the stage, Li Guanqi cut a terrifying figure. The red and white gore splattered across his face remained unwiped.
Looking at the stunned, silent crowd below, Li Guanqi spoke calmly: "Do not think of me as cruel."
"If I were the one at a disadvantage today, I believe Pang Li would not have shown me any mercy either."
"If any of you disagree, feel free to come up. I will stand right here and wait for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."
Silence.
The Ziyang Palace disciples felt as though their throats were clamped shut, unable to utter a single word.
What Li Guanqi had done on that stage had left too deep of an impression on them.
Li Guanqi vaulted down from the raised platform, his aura barely diminished by a fraction.
Ye Feng rubbed his hands together and patted the fat youth beside him. "Brother, pay up."
Tang Ru's face twitched as he mentally counted his spirit stones. In a low voice, he said, "Wait for me here for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. I'll scrape them together and bring them right over."
Ye Feng shrugged. "Just bring them to my quarters. I wouldn't dare wait around here for an incense stick."
Shortly after, the old man led the group away on their flying swords.
Once they returned to their lodging, Li Nanting paused and said softly, "Guanqi, come with me for a moment."
Li Guanqi nodded in silence and followed the old elder into his room.
Seeing this, several disciples gathered around Ye Feng and whispered, "That Li Guanqi... isn't his hostility a bit too heavy?"
"Yeah, I've killed a few people myself, but torturing someone to death like that..."
Before anyone else could chime in, Ye Feng's expression darkened.
He turned toward his own room and cast a cold glance back. "Too hostile?"
"Was that hostility directed at you?"
"Hearing you say that frankly disgusts me."
"Even if this hadn't happened to Little Steamed Bun today, but to any of you instead, I believe Li Guanqi still would have issued that challenge!"
"He wasn't just defending Yu Sui'an; he was upholding the dignity and stance of Great Xia Sword Sect disciples!"
"If he had bowed and scraped before the disciples of Ziyang Palace today, tomorrow the entire Northern Region would know that Great Xia Sword Sect disciples are spineless cowards!"
Realizing there was no point in arguing further, Ye Feng stepped inside and shut his door.
The remaining disciples looked at one another in silence until a female disciple who had kept quiet finally spoke in a soft voice.
"If Junior Brother heard what you said, he would be deeply hurt."
"Just as Ye Feng said, what Li Guanqi did today was bloody, yes."
"But from this day forth, whenever a disciple of Ziyang Palace sees anyone from our Great Xia Sword Sect, they will never dare to bully us as they please."
With that, the young woman walked away.
Left behind in shame, the two disciples let out a heavy sigh and returned to their rooms.
Inside Li Nanting's quarters, the elder took a clean cloth and gently wiped the blood and grime from the youth's face.
"In the future, you must learn to control your state of mind," he said softly. "Never allow a heart demon to take root within you."
"There was nothing wrong with killing him, but your methods today make me worry about your temperament."
After a long silence, Li Guanqi said, "He threatened to find a chance to kill Yu Sui'an in the future."
Li Nanting nodded slightly. No wonder Li Guanqi had glanced at him from the stage and then turned back to deliver such ruthless strikes.
So that was the reason.
Li Nanting merely patted him on the shoulder with a faint smile, offering no further reprimand.
He said softly, "Over the next few days, take a Heart-Calming Pill before each cultivation session."
"Do not let this disturb your mental clarity, lest a heart demon arise later."
"Alright, go back and rest early. Tomorrow we should be testing the spirit ruins."
Li Guanqi nodded and returned to his room.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the fat youth from earlier carrying ten full storage bags, heading toward Ye Feng.
When Tang Ru caught sight of Li Guanqi, his body trembled slightly. He tossed the storage bags to Ye Feng and turned to flee immediately.
Catching the bags, Ye Feng broke into a grin and promptly handed seven over to Li Guanqi.
"Seventy for you, thirty for me. After all, I didn't lift a finger, haha!"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. "Thank you."
With that, he tossed two of the storage bags back to Ye Feng.
Ye Feng was startled for a moment. Stowing the bags away, he whispered, "What's there to thank me for? I just spoke my mind. Time to sleep, time to sleep."
As night fell, people from the other five sects arrived at Ziyang Palace one after another.
Li Guanqi sat upon his bed, unable to settle into cultivation for a long time.
"Sword spirit, do you think I was wrong?"
The sword spirit's voice echoed gently in his mind: "Why doubt yourself?"
"Didn't you already make up your mind the moment you threw that punch?"
"As for your methods... in my eyes, that was mere child's play, hardly worth calling bloody."
"After observing you for this period, I actually believe that only someone with your disposition can truly survive in this ruthless cultivation world."
Li Guanqi smiled faintly, swallowed a Heart-Calming Pill, and thought to himself, *Indeed. The moment I threw that punch, my resolve was already set. Why bother second-guessing myself?*
Chapter 70