Chapter 280 – Heavily Wounded, On The Brink of Death

There was no fear in Li Guanqi’s eyes. While Zheng Yuanzhong unleashed every trick he had, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and opened his left hand.

Zheng Yuanzhong felt the space around him distort, and many spatial barriers materialized around him.

He never imagined Li Guanqi would pick up spatial manipulation so fast, let alone wield it with such deadly accuracy.

Startled by the heavy barriers pressing in, Zheng Yuanzhong hastily fired off several frantic bursts of sword light.

He was confined to a one-zhang-wide space, trapped by eighteen layers of spatial barriers.

Li Guanqi looked around, murmuring, “I don’t know if this will work here...”

But after a moment’s thought, he dismissed the idea.

Seeing the barriers crumble one by one, he stopped hesitating. He dropped into his opening stance, knees bent. For a moment, the struggling Zheng Yuanzhong became the only figure in his world.

The powerful Nascent Soul Realm experts who had followed felt a chill run down their spines. That proud elder now looked like nothing more than a beast trapped in a cage.

The youth’s comprehension abilities were astonishing. Though he had only just broken through, his vital force flowed very smoothly, as if he had reached the Nascent Soul Realm a long time ago.

What’s more, he’d figured out how to tear through space and throw up spatial barriers right in the heat of combat.

The old man surnamed Gu couldn’t help but praise him. “That kid is incredibly talented.”

Then, for a split second, everyone sensed the spatial currents and storms within a thousand-zhang radius come to a complete standstill.

A sword light wrapped in lightning burst forth.

Boom!

“Heavenly Destruction, Crouching Demon!”

The sword strike carried overwhelming power, tearing through the spatial cage.

Zheng Yuanzhong’s eyes widened in fear. He desperately waved the flag.

Blinding light flared, and the barriers shattered.

But as the prison broke apart, dozens of lightning bolts lashed out, binding his body like ropes.

“What?! When did he cast that spell?!”

Boom!

The sword light surged closer. Despair welled in Zheng Yuanzhong’s eyes. With everything he had left, he unleashed a massive sword light, hundreds of zhang long.

It was the strongest strike he could muster.

But it was simply ripped apart by Li Guanqi’s own sword light. It pressed on, unstoppable.

Zheng Yuanzhong’s eyes hardened with resolve. His abdomen swelled, and he shouted, “You little shit! If I die, you’re coming with me!”

The watching crowd broke into a cold sweat when they sensed the manic aura.

“Run! He’s going to rupture his nascent soul!”

“Run!!!”

A ray of sword light flashed, and Zheng Yuanzhong’s head flew. Yet his nascent soul continued to expand wildly, swelling toward detonation.

Li Guanqi had no time to flee. He was too close. With no other choice, he stacked barrier upon barrier around himself, his vital force circulating at full throttle.

Boom!

The blast tore outward, covering nearly five hundred zhang.

The shockwaves hurled the fleeing cultivators a thousand zhang away.

“Pfft!”

“Pfft! Cough... cough...”

Gu Yan felt the barriers he’d hastily thrown up behind him shatter. His back stung.

The others fared no better. Most of them came away with minor injuries, and a few ripped open spatial tears to escape.

None of them believed Li Guanqi could have survived Zheng Yuanzhong’s self-detonation.

While he did not sense any life force, Gu Yan still halted. He had a feeling that Li Guanqi was not dead.

Turning, he spotted a figure floating weakly in mid-air, a thousand zhang away.

He rushed over with a sprint technique. Li Guanqi was a wreck, his body a mess of broken bones and mangled flesh. Most of his bones were broken, and his heartbeat was faint.

Gu Yan’s face drained of color. He pressed a palm to seal Li Guanqi’s heart meridian, then hoisted him onto his back.

Sword Spirit sensed no malice from Gu Yan, so she did not intervene. He was also an alchemist, which meant he could help. But if he showed any ill will, she’d strike without hesitation.

Thus ended the battle that shook all of Nanze City.

A clan of a thousand years had lost two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, all because of a clash between juniors.

Gu Yan took Li Guanqi to the mayor’s mansion.

For now, this will do

.

As soon as they arrived, a handsome youth in luxurious white robes ran in, shouting, “Grandfather! You’re back?”

But the moment he entered, he found a person lying on the bed, on the brink of death. The youth’s eyes widened. He pointed at the person and cried out, “It’s him! It’s him! He’s the guy I said was flying faster than a cloud boat! Why is he here? Grandfather, did you bring him back? How did he get hurt? Grandfather, I heard that someone destroyed the Zheng family!”

Gu Yan frowned at his precious grandson’s chatter. “Xiao Yi, you should leave. And don’t let anyone near the backyard without my permission.”

Seeing his grandfather’s serious expression, Gu Yi sobered. He nodded and withdrew.

Outside, Gu Yi adopted a solemn air. He beckoned the butler over and said, “No one is to approach the backyard unless my grandfather permits it. No one.”

The butler bowed hurriedly, his hemp clothing flapping slightly. “Yes, Young Master.”

Once the butler left, Gu Yi flung his sleeve and slipped back inside. He still didn’t know how his grandfather had brought that youth back.

Meanwhile, Gu Yan raised several barriers around the room. He took out an ornate box made of high-grade spirit stones, took a fragrant pill from it, and placed it in Li Guanqi’s mouth, dispersing it with vital force and guiding its power through his body.

Gu Yan set Li Guanqi’s broken bones, wrapped his wounds, and slowly connected his severed meridians back together with vital force.

Even Gu Yan himself didn’t know why he was doing it. Perhaps he couldn’t stand to watch such talent perish.

Or perhaps it was just the duty of a responsible alchemist.

By the time he was done, it was late at night. Exhausted, Gu Yan left the room. Whether Li Guanqi lived or not would depend on his own strength.

Sword Spirit sat at the bedside, tilting her head as she looked at Li Guanqi. With a faint smirk, she murmured, “This brat is really lucky, encountering so many kind souls.”