“You little shit! You deserve to die!”
The aura of a mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator erupted in the air, but the next instant, a withered hand grabbed his neck.
“Move an inch and you’re dead.”
Cold sweat broke out across Chen Qing’s forehead. He hadn’t even sensed Ge Qing’s approach. Which meant... if Ge Qing had truly wanted to kill him, he’d already be dead—many times over.
Chen Qing calmed down, traumatized by the realization.
All he could do was bow at Ge Qing, then take away the corpse on the stage with a green face.
However, none of that mattered to Li Guanqi. His attention was on the other matches happening around him.
Li Guanqi silently replenished his vital force while observing the other fights.
He had exposed a trump card to win his match. Now, he had to check on the others.
He immediately spotted Lin Dong and Zhong Lin, both soaked in blood, chasing after their opponents.
Two people admitted defeat consecutively, forcing them to halt their swords mid-swing. Ge Qing appeared overhead and struck both blades down.
“Two points for the Daxia Sword Sect!”
Their opponents left the stage heavily wounded—unlikely to fight again in the tournament.
The pale-faced Lin Dong and Zhong Lin looked at Li Guanqi with mixed feelings.
Li Guanqi gave them a faint smile. He didn’t blame them. Instead, he nodded reassuringly, telling them with that small gesture to get some rest.
Lin Dong immediately fainted and collapsed.
On the stage next to Li Guanqi, Ye Feng slashed fiercely, sending a human head flying across the stage.
Blood spurted from the neck like a fountain.
The pale-faced Ye Feng leaped off the stage and nodded at Li Guanqi.
Elsewhere, Li Qingyu was struggling. She’d been on the back foot since the start.
Suddenly, she dropped low and darted toward her opponent’s right side. But Li Guanqi frowned the moment he recognized the move—he’d used the same feint before. The problem was that Ling Qingyu wasn’t as strong as him. Her body couldn’t handle the strain of that kind of directional shift.
As expected, she tricked her opponent into thinking she was moving in one direction. However, when she tried to twist her body and thrust her sword, a searing pain shot through her ankle and made her falter.
Her opponent’s eyes gleamed. He thrust his sword straight for her chest.
Li Guanqi roared, “Yield now!”
Ling Qingyu didn’t hear him, but instinct kicked in. “I admit defeat!”
Her voice and the attack landed at the same time. The sword pierced through her shoulder. As her opponent tried to yank it free, she gripped the blade and held it fast.
Ge Qing appeared on the stage and announced, “Daxia Sword Sect admits defeat! Two points subtracted!”
Yu Ye and Gu Ran’s battles also ended.
Yu Ye won, but only after a very intense fight.
Gu Ran scraped through as well, though she exhausted every trump card she had. Worse, neither had inflicted any serious damage to their opponents.
Once the round ended, the team didn’t wait for the stele to update the scores. Instead, they rushed off with their three gravely injured teammates.
Back at their quarters, they got straight to work. The injuries this time were serious.
Qin Xian said with a smile, “All of you did an excellent job today! Regardless of the outcome, you fought with the heart of true Daxia Sword Sect disciples. Tu Kui, take them to treat their injuries.”
Tu Kui led the injured away, leaving behind only Li Guanqi and the disciples whose injuries weren’t severe. By Li Guanqi’s estimation, they were barely clinging to a spot in the bottom twenty-five of the rankings. Even achieving such a position had been a struggle.
Though Li Guanqi was still able to fight, Yu Ye had sustained minor wounds. Meanwhile, Gu Ran had used up every last trick and bore a few sword cuts on her right thigh.
Qin Xian remained composed, but Li Nanting looked at the group with great heartache. Finally, the two elders exchanged a glance and said, “That’s enough. We’ll stop here. You’ve all done more than enough.”
But Li Guanqi, Gu Ran, and even Ye Feng couldn’t bring themselves to let the matter rest. They knew that perhaps they wouldn’t be as lucky as before. Even with six victories in the second round, they only had eleven points. Perhaps they would find themselves eliminated once they woke up the next morning.
Li Nanting said gently, “I know you’ve all done your best. I also know you won’t agree with our decision to withdraw. But I don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”
Qin Xian followed up. “I’m going to check on the wounded. Their injuries were no joke. This is serious, and this is where it ends. Tomorrow morning, we’ll withdraw from the tournament and prepare to return to the sect.”
Everyone knew why they weren’t leaving immediately.
The stele would update at dawn, announcing the final rankings.
As the elders turned to leave, Li Nanting paused beside Li Guanqi and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Guanqi, you’ve done enough.”
The old seniors were saddened to see the injured young disciples. While the sect’s rank was important, the disciples were the future of the sect.
The crippled Gao Qiwen slowly walked over to Li Guanqi. He looked at Li Guanqi with bright eyes through his hair. Unlike his usual self, he did not reek of alcohol at all.
Li Guanqi hung his head low. No one knew what he was thinking.
A new surge of vital force pulsed within Gao Qiwen. Maybe, he’d finally let go of his past grudge.
But in Li Guanqi’s heart, something else was beginning to take root.
I’ve worked so hard... and we’re just leaving now? The sect placed its hopes on us. Are we really going to walk away ?
Gu Ran and Yu Ye patted his shoulder, then turned to leave.
That night, Li Guanqi did not cultivate or sleep. He sat on the roof, drinking wine by himself until the sun started to rise.
The wine-fueled Li Guanqi tipped his head back and chugged the whole jar of wine. Then, he flew toward the peak of Heavenly Tiger Mountain.