This sight shook many present to the core.
Neither Li Guanqi nor Lu Kangnian had anticipated that Gu Huai would possess such bold resolve.
It was not just lending a hand in their hour of dire need—he was staking the entire foundation of his sect on this gamble!
Lu Kangnian opened his mouth to speak, but the old man raised a hand to cut him off.
Gu Huai said in a heavy voice, "Throughout my life, I, Gu Huai, have repaid grievances with vengeance and repaid kindness with gratitude.
"Back when I yielded time and again before the ancient Sun clan, I ended up losing my pride and backbone.
"It wasn't until the Six Ancient Sacred Sects met young friend Li that I came to see the Great Xia Sword Sect of today.
"A man can die, but he must not die a coward."
The old man's eyes shone brightly as he looked at Lu Kangnian, his voice deep. "The Six Ancient Sacred Sects is no pinnacle clan, yet Sect Master Lu has never looked down on us.
"Moreover, in times of crisis, you never betrayed our trust and repeatedly sent reinforcements.
"Since we are allies, naturally we advance and retreat as one!"
Lu Kangnian took a deep breath, pressed his lips tight, and cupped his hands to the old man across the distance!
Li Guanqi's heart was also filled with deep emotion.
In the past, Gu Huai had known his days were numbered, his life force and integrity waning...
He had been willing to swallow humiliation and cooperate with the Sun clan only so the disciples of the Six Ancient Sacred Sects could have a better life.
Never had he expected that it would earn them only the Sun clan's wanton oppression and complete disrespect.
Now, Gu Huai would rather die than repeat the same mistake!
One had to admit, the old man had a rather peculiar way of putting someone at ease...
Zhou Shiyu had originally been terrified of losing and dragging the Great Xia Sword Sect down with him, but now things had taken a turn.
His master had simply cut off his retreat entirely—when debts piled up high enough, one stopped worrying about them.
If you were afraid of losing the Great Xia Sword Sect, then they would just wager their own home too; if they lost, they would lose everything together.
Just as everyone assumed the black-robed youth on the platform would feel crushed under tremendous pressure from Gu Huai's actions...
The corners of Zhou Shiyu's mouth curled up slightly instead. He reached into the void and drew out an edgeless heavy sword!
The massive, unwieldy broadsword was easily two palms wider than a forearm, looking like a slab from a pitch-black coffin.
The blunt, edgeless blade was three fingers thick. Just a single glance made everyone feel the weapon had to weigh at least three thousand jin!
Yet the well-built youth held it out flat with one hand as if it weighed nothing at all.
He looked at the young man before him, grinned, and said quietly, "I want to win this round."
The burly, white-robed man opposite him gave a cold sneer, and with a lift of his hand, he actually produced a dark-gold staff.
*Thud!!*
The staff tapped the ground, and the earth within a hundred zhang of the two men sank three inches all at once!
A terrifying shockwave swept in all directions. Zhou Shiyu's robes whipped violently in the air, but his feet remained planted as though rooted to the spot.
Facing this harmless display of intimidation, his body did not sway in the slightest.
The bearded brute with rugged features said in a chilling voice, "So what?"
Zhou Shiyu plunged Edgeless into the ground beside him and slowly slipped the black robe off his upper body.
Keeping his head lowered, he murmured to himself, "I carry many things on my shoulders. They feel very heavy to me.
"So heavy... that sometimes I feel like I can't breathe."
At this point, Zhou Shiyu slowly raised his head, glanced back at Li Guanqi, and said softly, "Only when I look back do I realize that I was able to walk this far entirely because of the conviction I carry."
Blue veins bulged across his arm as Zhou Shiyu slowly drew the heavy sword, his voice turning cold.
"Therefore... you will die."
Hearing this, the man threw his head back and roared with laughter, leaning on his staff as he doubled over.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Arrogant! Far too arrogant!!
"In all these years, aside from Wuhen, you're the first person who has dared to speak to me, Lu Xingyuan, like this!"
As the words fell, Lu Xingyuan's expression gradually darkened, and he murmured in a low voice, "I will crush every single bone in your body and make you beg for death!"
Li Guanqi stared solemnly at the burly giant. The man was clearly nearing a hundred years of age, and his aura was as steady as a mountain.
His late Void Refining Realm cultivation was exceptionally solid, unlike Zhou Shiyu's, which was slightly floating.
Zhou Shiyu had turned misfortune into a blessing earlier and seen his strength surge rapidly, but compared to Lu Xingyuan, his foundation was somewhat lacking.
Dark clouds gathered thick above the Great Xia Sword Sect, and fierce winds whipped up from all sides, making the atmosphere on the grounds grow heavy.
The spectating crowd hardly dared to breathe now, their faces taut with tension as they stared toward the stage.
If this round was lost, it would signify that the clans and sects of the external Six Domains had lost when facing the Ancient Clan...
This battle was no longer just a matter between the Great Xia Sword Sect and the Lu clan.
The conflict between the two forces had long since drawn in both the Six Domains' sects and the Ancient Clan.
If the Great Xia Sword Sect won, morale would undoubtedly soar, and the Six Domains' factions would gain tremendous confidence when dealing with the Ancient Clan.
Conversely, the Ancient Clan, who appeared relaxed, was in the same boat.
If the Lu clan won, the forces among the Ancient Clan who were still sitting on the fence would surely follow suit and pick targets to challenge.
But if they lost...
Many of the reclusive clans would likely reconsider whether they should engage in such a massive gamble.
Thus, whether Zhou Shiyu won or lost this battle was of monumental importance.
Be it Li Guanqi or anyone else, even Qin Xian's forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
He knew all too well what losing this match would mean for the Great Xia Sword Sect...
Standing to the side, Han Chengxian could not help giving a cold sneer. "Li Guanqi, to think you wouldn't take the stage yourself for this critical third match!
"If that fellow loses, the entire Great Xia Sword Sect will have to pay the price for your decision!"
Tantai Yiting's face was extremely unsightly. He had acted subserviently all this time just to win Li Guanqi's trust.
He had never expected such a development to happen in the blink of an eye. If they really lost...
Everything he sought from the Great Xia Sword Sect would vanish into thin air.
A sharp light flickered in the depths of the old man's eyes, and he rolled his gaze as he looked toward the Lu clan, wondering what to do.
As for the sycophant Ji Hong, he sneered repeatedly and mocked, "Lu Kangnian, I truly don't know what you were thinking, choosing to trust the decision of a wet-behind-the-ears brat!
"If we truly lose, let's see how you face the sect!
"Ten thousand years the Great Xia Sword Sect stood without perishing in the river of time, yet it's going to fall into ruin at the hands of a useless sect master like you!!"
*Bang! Splat!!*
Thirty talisman seals suddenly locked around Ji Hong, and in the next instant, countless spiritual swords burst forth from them, piercing straight through his body!!
Blood dripped down continuously, and two counter-rotating crimson formations suddenly manifested in the void above Ji Hong's head and beneath his feet!!
Behind Li Guanqi, Ji Yuchuan and Xi Yunhuai both had chilling eyes.
Xi Yunhuai stood in place with his hands folded in his sleeves, twisting them slowly. Ji Hong's body began to contort in a bizarre fashion.
Yet Ji Hong's throat seemed clamped by an invisible giant hand, preventing him from making the slightest sound.
His eyeballs bulged slightly, his face flushing purple as he struggled to say something, but not a word could escape.
The crackle and crunch of fracturing bones resounded without pause. Under the grinding of the crimson formations, the old man's body was twisted like a stick of fried dough.
Ji Yuchuan tilted his head and said in a voice dripping with venom, "Old bastard, dare say another word, and I'll make you wish you were dead!!"
Nangong Qianyan glanced sideways at Ji Hong and sneered with icy sarcasm.
"Serves you right.
"All you can do is stand here making sarcastic remarks. If you didn't have a Dao age over a hundred, you'd probably wet your pants just standing on that stage, wouldn't you?
"A dog is a dog. The moment your master gives you a single look, you jump out to bite."
Chapter 796