Li Guanqi vs. the Thunder Qilin!

Li Guanqi looked down at the massive stone pillar beneath his feet, hesitated for a moment, and stepped onto it. Buzz! Flames began to ignite across the patterns on the pillar, which spanned more than twenty zhang in diameter. Roar! The phantoms of six qilin roared in unison, all opening their eyes at once. Li Guanqi frowned. Their roars were deep and guttural, like the bellow of a lion king ruling the mountain forests. Immediately after, an ancient, ethereal voice rang out through the void! "Challenger, defeat our clan, and we shall bestow upon you the qiyin!" "Are you willing?" Li Guanqi smiled faintly. It seemed the final trial was rather straightforward—brutally simple and violent. As soon as the voice faded, Li Guanqi answered in a deep voice, "I accept the trial!" Boom! Space turned and shifted between heaven and earth. To Meng Wanshu, Li Guanqi appeared to remain standing on the platform, but the world before Li Guanqi's eyes had completely transformed. The stone pillar beneath his feet extended infinitely, and a Thunder Qilin nearly a hundred zhang long suddenly materialized before him! Gazing up at the colossal qilin phantom, Li Guanqi felt utterly insignificant—like standing at the foot of an immense mountain, looking up at the summit. Watching the condensed qilin crackling with the power of thunder, Li Guanqi could not help but frown. He actually sensed a profound threat radiating from this phantom. Even when facing Jiuxiao, he had never felt such overwhelming pressure. Li Guanqi took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes, and braced himself with utmost vigilance. Then, the qilin shrank its body down to a mere ten zhang, making that mysterious sense of pressure grow even heavier. Li Guanqi's brow furrowed deeper as he suddenly felt a remarkably familiar power. "Spirit comprehension?" Boom! The qilin pushed off with all four limbs. Li Guanqi caught only a flash of thunder before he instantly raised Red Lotus horizontally before his chest! Clang! The qilin's claw slammed violently against the blade of Red Lotus. Under the discharge of terrifying force, Li Guanqi was blasted backward like an arrow released from a bow. Both of his arms went numb. Had his body not been tempered under the waterfall earlier, his injuries would have been far more severe. His gaze turned considerably more solemn. Before he could react, a piercing screech tore through the air behind him! Li Guanqi thrust his sword behind his back, twisting around as he unleashed a fully gathered punch! His fist momentum surged, and violent thunder power poured forth instantly. Red Lotus clashed with the qilin's claw, while his fist slammed into its chest. This time, both figures were thrown hundreds of zhang backward. Li Guanqi skidded to a halt and looked down at his split, bloodied right fist, his brow furrowed tight. Looking at the qilin in the distance, Li Guanqi slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and gently expanded his divine sense. In his perception, a bolt of purple lightning seemed to streak furiously through the pitch-black void! Li Guanqi could barely defend himself, for the beast was simply too fast. So fast that... even with his divine sense surging to cover a radius of three thousand zhang, he still could not track the qilin's trajectory. Roar! The qilin opened its maw and spat a breath of thunder. Li Guanqi dared not take it head-on; after being knocked aside, he quickly adjusted his posture in midair. Before his feet could touch the ground, the qilin's figure swept in once more, raising its beastly claw and slamming it toward his back! Boom! Li Guanqi crashed heavily against the ground, bouncing up from the impact. That single claw tore his back into a mangled mess of flesh and blood, cracking his internal organs and snapping numerous meridians. Li Guanqi abruptly drove power into his feet, his body skimming horizontally along the ground for dozens of zhang! A sharp gleam flashed through his open eyes. Beneath his shredded robe, blood runes surged across his skin. In that split second, he seemed to have caught the secret behind the qilin's astonishing speed! Li Guanqi frowned, still choosing not to draw his sword in earnest. At present, drawing his sword meant unleashing thunderous momentum; he was confident he could suppress this qilin with it. But... All along, his speed had only been a step faster than others. Never before had he encountered someone whose speed completely crushed his own. If he could comprehend this ability as well, he would possess absolute, overwhelming speed in battles against those of the same realm. In fights at the same realm, being one step faster spelled doom for the opponent—let alone possessing such terrifying speed. Bang! With his vitality surging, Li Guanqi's muscles swelled taut. Watching this, Pengluo's jaw dropped in disbelief, the spirit herb tumbling from its mouth. Li Guanqi spun around and flung both hands open! Catching the descending claws of the qilin, he locked into a dead standstill with the beast. In an instant, with Li Guanqi's feet at the center, the ground fractured outward in every direction like a spiderweb! Boom! Thunder erupted all around the qilin, bearing down with raging might! In a mere fraction of a second, Li Guanqi's feet sank into the earth, and his arms were forced downward. Veins bulged along his neck, his face flushing the color of dark liver from the strain. A mantle of thunder armor instantly draped over Li Guanqi, granting him a slight surge of strength. With his arms trembling, he actually pushed against the qilin's massive frame and rose to his feet bit by bit! Li Guanqi lowered his head and snarled in fury, "Just with you?! You think... you can... crush! Me?!" Boom! The roars of dragons and mammoths seemed to echo unceasingly within Li Guanqi's body as he forcefully hurled the qilin hundreds of zhang away! Li Guanqi stood where he was, panting heavily. The contest of raw strength had stretched his mind and spirit to the absolute limit, leaving his hands charred, bloody, and mangled. Yet his eyes shone brilliantly. After such close contact, he finally seemed to understand why the beast could move so fast! Buzz! Arcs of lightning danced and crackled across Li Guanqi's skin. Suddenly! Whoosh! Li Guanqi's figure vanished and reappeared beside the recoiling qilin. Lightning flashed as he descended like an immense mountain, stomping squarely onto the qilin's head. Thud! The stomp drove the qilin's head straight into the ground, flinging its massive body into the air before crashing heavily back down! Fast—it was so fast that no one had time to react. Li Guanqi stood at the edge of the crater, his eyes flickering with light. Ever since perceiving the qilin's incredible speed, he had been pondering what enabled it to be so swift. Just now, he had finally figured it out... The ultimate purpose of spirit comprehension was to grant cultivators a deeper understanding of the essence of their spirit attributes. And Li Guanqi possessed the finest innate comprehension; as long as he seized a single spark of inspiration, he had the ability to grasp the truth behind it. Indeed! After achieving spirit comprehension, Li Guanqi had only focused on the destructive lethality of thunder, never paying attention to its speed! A faint, enigmatic smile touched Li Guanqi's lips. Gripping Red Lotus in his left hand, he murmured softly: "Come. Let me see what else you're capable of!" True to a divine beast born of heaven, the qilin's scales gleamed with a chilling light. In an instant, the entire space was blanketed in boundless, roaring thunder!