CHAPTER 138 – DEFEATING GUAN QINGYUN

Li Guanqi darted low, weaving past Guan Qingyun again and again. Eventually, he closed in and thrust his sword forward.

Pfft!

Li Guanqi’s sword pierced straight through Guan Qingyun’s left shoulder.

Realizing his predicament, Guan Qingyun gripped the sword that had gone through his shoulder with his left hand. At the same time, he slashed his sword diagonally at Li Guanqi’s neck. If it struck, Li Guanqi would be decapitated. If not, it would at least force him to withdraw the blade, buying Guan Qingyun a moment to breathe.

But Li Guanqi didn’t flinch. His left hand still gripped the sword’s hilt. With bloodshot eyes, he roared, “Die!”

Pfft!

With a violent twist, he slashed his sword upward, nearly severing Guan Qingyun’s left arm. At the same time, he struck Guan Qingyun’s weapon aside with the sheath in his left hand. The intense flames charred his skin black.

Li Guanqi raised his right foot high.

Pfft!

And drove it hard into Guan Qingyun’s chest, sending him flying several zhang through the air.

Just when the crowd believed the victor had been decided...

Li Guanqi shot forward again, chasing after the airborne Guan Qingyun. But as he neared, Guan Qingyun lashed out with his sword.

His sword swept through the air in a beautiful, blazing arc toward Li Guanqi’s throat.

Li Guanqi was amused.

Guan Qingyun had not seen Li Guanqi sheathe his sword just now, but Li Guanqi suddenly unsheathed his sword and used Thunderbolt. The crowd saw a bolt of purple lightning pierce through the flames as Li Guanqi hurled his sword forward.

Clang!

The sword pierced through Guan Qingyun’s scapula and pinned him to the stage. Li Guanqi stepped on Guan Qingyun’s left wrist and pressed his knee on Guan Qingyun’s throat.

Guan Qingyun’s face turned ghostly pale, and his vital force was extremely weak. He lay motionless, eyes dazed and unfocused, as if his pain weren’t real.

He couldn’t believe it. He, Guan Qingyun, had been defeated.

By a blind cultivator. A nobody from nowhere.

“I... lost?”

Guan Qingyun lay limp on the ground. His dantian was already empty.

Li Guanqi had gambled everything on that final sword throw.

Now, Guan Qingyun’s left arm clung to his body by strands of flesh, and his right shoulder was nailed to the stage. All he could see were those pure white eyes—emotionless, indifferent. Not even a trace of mockery. Just a cold certainty, as if victory had been inevitable from the start. As if it hadn’t mattered who the opponent was.

Wow!

The audience finally snapped out of their stupor. A disciple of the Daxia Sword Sect had just defeated the famed prodigy of the Profound Gate Pavilion—Guan Qingyun! The Daxia Sword Sect’s disciples erupted into cheers, embracing one another and shouting like madmen. The elders wore varying expressions. Qin Xian’s face turned red as he clenched his fists, overwhelmed with emotion.

Only Li Nanting stood there with pursed lips, his expression filled with worry as he looked at Li Guanqi. He understood that the real challenge had only just begun.

Whatever their true motives, the Profound Gate Pavilion would not take this lightly. No matter the cost, they would do their best to defeat Li Guanqi. They wouldn’t allow themselves to be eliminated because of Li Guanqi. That would be an unbearable humiliation.

Tu Kui looked at Li Guanqi with a mix of joy and shock. Li Guanqi had brought him many surprises so far.

Beside him, the crippled Gao Qiwen frowned, his worry etched across his face as he stared at Li Guanqi’s injuries.

Pfft!

Li Guanqi yanked his sword free. Then he turned, looking down at the defeated Guan Qingyun. “You’ve got nerve... but you’ve also got the strength to back it up.”

Li Guanqi could feel that less than half his vital force remained. He stood onstage and took a deep breath. He had to use the remaining vital force to defeat eight Profound Gate Pavilion disciples.

Now he understood why this trial, in which sects doomed to failure could change their fate, was called the Hell Challenge.

In truth, if Guan Qingyun had come last, he might not have won.

Li Guanqi stood still, ignoring the cheering around him. He focused on stemming his bleeding and began circulating his cultivation technique, attempting to replenish as much vital force as possible. He knew that the true challenge was only beginning.

His thoughts drifted to the time he trained in the Hundred Prides Illusory Realm. A mysterious smile crept up his face.

The thrill of walking the knife’s edge between life and death had jolted him wide awake.

Soon after, the heavily wounded Guan Qingyun was carried off the stage.

Ji Linglan’s bright eyes stayed fixed on Li Guanqi, her breath slightly ragged. In contrast, Zhao Beichen was calm, but now he saw Li Guanqi as someone worth noting. Defeating Guan Qingyun in a head-on fight demanded real ability. Zhao Beichen might’ve been arrogant, but not to the point of recklessly underestimating true power.

However, he merely took a mental note of Li Guanqi. In his eyes, Li Guanqi had exhausted all his cards to defeat Guan Qingyun.

By the time they met, Li Guanqi would be no threat.

Whoosh!

A Profound Gate Pavilion disciple leaped onto the stage. His gaze clearly showed his wariness of Li Guanqi.

This disciple was a knife specialist. The moment Ge Qing waved his hand, the disciple sprang into action.

The tall and thin disciple quickly used a sprint technique to distance himself from Li Guanqi without hesitation. At the same time, he pulled out several talismans and swallowed a few pills. His aura was vastly stronger than that of the first disciple Li Guanqi had faced.

But Li Guanqi remained rooted in place, trying to buy as much time as possible to recover his vital force. After swallowing a pill, he felt his vital force slowly returning, and a small smile formed on his lips.

His opponent caught on immediately and charged forward along an unpredictable path, closing the distance in a flash.

Li Guanqi planted his feet and muttered, “Azure Lotus Sword Technique.”

A bright light shone between them, and six purple lotus flowers shot at his opponent.

Boom!

A loud boom echoed across the arena. The Profound Gate Pavilion disciple stumbled back, tens of sword cuts blooming across his chest.

It had taken just one move.

Swift. Clean. Lethal.

The crowd stared in silence.

Ye Feng couldn’t help but murmur, “Brother Li’s sword technique is just... incredible. So strong it feels unreal.”

Zhong Lin gave a bitter smile. “Looks like we’ve been the ones holding his cultivation back.”

Yu Sui’an stood beside Li Nanting, clutching the old man’s sleeve with her tiny hands. She looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, and asked in a trembling voice, “Grandfather Li... the blind boy... he’s going to win, right?”

Li Nanting did not dare look down. Keeping his eyes ahead, he said softly, “The moment he chose to stand on that stage, he had already won!”