CHAPTER 152 – GOLDEN THREAD AROUND THE NECK

Li Guanqi gave no reply. When Tang Ru met his icy gaze, he didn’t press further. He simply tossed him the jade bottle and ran off.

Jade bottle in hand, Li Guanqi turned around. He slowly shifted the Emerald Wolf Sword to his left hand. His eyes brimmed with killing intent.

Whoosh!

He concealed his presence and sprinted toward a side room in the courtyard. He lit up a Muting Talisman, casting a soundproofing veil over the entire side yard.

As long as the talisman remained alight, not a whisper would escape this place for the next half hour.

Boom!

He kicked the door open. A late Foundation Building Realm disciple was in bed with a young woman.

The girl groaned with annoyance, and the disciple froze. Upon seeing Li Guanqi’s face, he gave a mocking grin. He slipped on his robe lazily, then struck the woman on the back of her neck.

“Tsk tsk, you actually came! Hahaha. How’s the girl—dead yet? What a shame you all found her. I was the one who dumped her there—”

A flash of sword light. It was so fast that the tall, thin youth didn’t even have time to register it before he collapsed to the floor. He gasped for breath and coughed.

In a blink, four more strikes glinted from the incredibly sharp blade, severing all his limbs cleanly and turning him into a human stump.

Clang! Crash!

His sword and jade slip clattered to the ground.

He stared up in terror as Li Guanqi approached. Wordlessly, Li Guanqi punched his jaw again and again, then ripped out his tongue.

From his sleeve, Li Guanqi drew a length of golden cicada silk—finer than a strand of hair, yet strong enough to slice through tough materials.

The disciple watched in horror as Li Guanqi wound it around his neck, again and again. Though he writhed in panic, there was nothing he could do.

Li Guanqi’s swordplay just now had been at least thirty percent faster than anything he’d shown on the martial stage. And the sword was now in his left hand.

He’d deceived them all.

He was left-handed.

Li Guanqi squatted on the floor, his back toward him. Then, he pulled on the silk thread and stood up.

The disciple’s face turned red. Veins bulged on his neck. The moment Li Guanqi stood, the silk tightened, cutting straight into flesh.

Panicking, the disciple tried to speak and threaten Li Guanqi, stuttering. “H-how dare you try to kill me! The Purple Sun—”

Pfft!

Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed with anger. He gave the thread a sharp tug. The head flew from the shoulders, painting Li Guanqi’s robes red.

Expressionless, he walked out of the room.

Snow drifted down in thick flakes. Li Guanqi looked to the sky and muttered, “That was the first.”

His decision was final. Every single person involved would pay with their blood.

As for winning first place in the tournament?

He no longer cared.

Creak~ Creak~

Each step he took across the courtyard left behind a faint trail of blood. Blinded by rage, he paid no mind.

In the second room, Li Guanqi also used a Muting Talisman. When he rested his sword on the other youth’s neck, the youth showed no fear or remorse, even bragging about what happened.

Li Guanqi learned that Yu Sui’an had gone out because she wanted to buy him two buns. It was such a simple, innocent thought—she wanted Li Guanqi to eat two more buns.

But on the way, she ran into disciples from the Purple Sun Pavilion. This one—Lin Quan—had kicked her.

“Hahahaha! You know, I sent her flying three zhang with a single kick! She just lay there and didn’t make a sound. If that fat kid hadn’t butted in, she’d have died days ago! What? You angry? Hahaha! Do you even have the guts to kill me?”

Suddenly, there was a huge commotion in the courtyard.

Li Guanqi took a nonchalant glance at the door. Someone must have realized something was wrong.

Then, all types of auras erupted outside.

Lin Quan chuckled obscenely. “You blind freak! I really don’t know what you’re thinking. I can’t believe you dared come here!”

Pfft!

Another cold flash of steel, and both his arms flew off. Li Guanqi crushed his jaw with a single hand, then tore his tongue out.

As he bound Lin Quan’s neck with the golden silk, he finally began to panic. But with his jaw broken and tongue gone, all he could manage were garbled groans.

Li Guanqi took a stool in the room and trapped Lin Quan beneath it. Then, he tied the silk thread to the door.

If anyone pushed the door open, the thread would tighten.

Then, he sat calmly opposite him.

By now, Lin Quan was panicking. He understood what was coming and lost control of his bladder. He looked at Li Guanqi with a pleading look.

The Muting Talisman outside had been destroyed, allowing them to hear the shouts coming from outside.

“Damn it! That’s Lin Quan’s room! We need to check on him!”

“Who is it?! Who is bold enough to kill the Purple Sun Pavilion’s disciples?”

Zhao Beichen stood solemnly inside the first disciple’s room. When he saw the bloody remains on the floor, only one name came to mind.

Lin Quan let out a blood-curdling scream. Li Guanqi sat calmly, looking like the devil incarnate.

When the people outside the door heard him, they started to ram against the door.

Bang!

Every time the door moved, the silk thread cut half a finger’s width deeper into Lin Quan’s neck. He struggled with all his might, staring at Li Guanqi with teary eyes.

Bang!

“Ummph! Ummph!”

The thread had sunk a whole finger’s width in.

Crash!

A recording crystal fell out of Lin Quan’s pocket. Li Guanqi picked it up and injected a wisp of vital force into it. It began to play the scene of how they tortured Yu Sui’an.

Li Guanqi closed his eyes. He squatted and grabbed Lin Quan by the hair with a vicious snarl.

“Did you know?” he growled. “To you, a bun means nothing. To her? Just one bun makes her feel on top of the world. She’s a young, innocent girl who’s never known hardship. And you—how could you do this to her?!”

Cries sounded from outside.

“There’s someone else in the room! The culprit hasn’t left yet!”

“Quick! Ram the door down!”

Lin Quan’s eyes widened, and he shook his head even harder, whining louder than ever.

Bam!

Pfft!

The door opened.

His tears finally fell when he died. Perhaps it was remorse, or maybe it was something else.

“You... Li Guanqi!”

“Lin Quan!”