Chapter 321 – A Respected Figure

Li Guanqi calmly looked at the figure in the black cloak. The hood concealed most of his face, but his eyes were as profound as an abyss.

Li Guanqi took Lu Yi’s storage ring from his corpse.

Xue Yan stood a short distance away. He watched Li Guanqi with a solemn expression, sensing the great threat he posed. His hair stood on end.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He touched the blood seeping from a long gash on his cheek. Even his hood was torn. Had he reacted a moment slower, Li Guanqi’s sword light would have cut him down.

Beneath his sleeve, his hands trembled. He had only managed to expel the lightning from his body by forcing it out with metal power.

Xue Yan stared intently at Li Guanqi, his bright eyes framed by sword-like eyebrows. He murmured, “He’s strong. Lu Yi... didn’t die for nothing.”

Xue Yan’s appearance shocked the crowd gathered in the city. Even Qian Feng, the elder standing behind Tang Ru, looked grave.

He had heard of Xue Yan. Though he was ranked thirty-ninth, only one place above Lu Yi, he was in a different class altogether. He was a born swordsman, gifted in the Dao of the sword. Many people said that if his cultivation were only a little higher, he would easily crack the top twenty.

Within the Nascent Soul Leaderboard, the gap between each block of ten was huge. The ten above could easily defeat the ten below. The public regarded the top ten as monsters, and the top twenty were strong enough to overwhelm any prodigy from any sect.

Tang Ru clenched his fists and murmured, “Xue Yan... Was he also mentored by Second Brother? So that’s how it is. They’ve been quietly raising their own elite team.”

Qian Feng looked up at the sky with a wistful expression, listening to Tang Ru. He then bowed respectfully and sent Tang Ru a voice transmission. “Young Master, with Li Guanqi’s help, do you think we could—”

Tang Ru cut him off abruptly and angrily. “Absolutely not.”

He fixed Qian Feng with a hard look. “Old Qian, don’t even think that. Never show an ounce of contempt or arrogance in front of him.”

Then he turned to the white-robed Li Guanqi, standing tall in the sky with a sword in hand. “Arrogance runs deep in his bones. If we want him on our side, the only way is to become genuine friends. Believe me, you won’t lose out by befriending him.”

Tang Ru resolved to befriend Li Guanqi, no matter how the task he entrusted to him turned out.

Li Guanqi looked up and said, “Xue Yan?”

Xue Yan did not deny it. He raised his sword and bowed slightly. “I am indeed Xue Yan. Pleased to meet you.”

The bystanders started to talk among themselves, and Li Guanqi naturally heard them. He could sense that Xue Yan was very strong, and the urge to fight rose within him. Still, he asked, “Are you really going to fight me?”

Xue Yan paused for a heartbeat, surprised that Li Guanqi, a man who killed without so much as blinking, would ask such a question. He understood the meaning behind it. He looked at Li Guanqi for a long moment, then smiled. “Yes.”

Resolve flashed in Li Guanqi’s eyes. “Then you’ll die.”

Hearing that, Xue Yan stiffened, then tore off his black cloak in front of everyone. Beneath, he wore plain navy robes. He also had a guan[1] headdress with a green jade ornament. Though not conventionally handsome, his features were angular and masculine.

He broke into a carefree smile. “I have no other choice.”

Xue Yan, raised as an orphan by the Tang family, owed them everything. As he watched the battle from the mountain below, he knew he probably couldn’t defeat Li Guanqi, but he had shown up anyway because he owed a debt.

Li Guanqi frowned at the conflicting emotions on Xue Yan’s face. He hadn’t expected such an answer, and much less such a readiness to die.

Boom!

A powerful burst of energy erupted from Xue Yan, and extremely sharp metal power radiated outward. A golden pillar of light, like a column holding up the heavens, shot into the clouds.

Terrifying ripples of force rolled outward again and again, shocking the onlookers.

A Nascent Soul Realm elder widened his eyes and murmured in disbelief, “Late Nascent Soul Realm! I can’t believe he’s reached the late Nascent Soul Realm!”

Xue Yan had retreated from the public eye for some time. During that period, he broke through to the late Nascent Soul Realm.

After sensing the powerful aura, Tang Ru turned to Qian Feng and asked urgently, “What’s Xue Yan’s cultivation now?!”

Qian Feng narrowed his eyes. “Late Nascent Soul Realm.”

Tang Ru looked down and muttered something under his breath, then sent Li Guanqi a voice transmission. “This isn’t good. Retreat now! With his breakthrough, he’s strong enough for the top twenty!”

Li Guanqi didn’t respond to Tang Ru’s warning. He looked at Xue Yan and asked, “Is it worth it?”

He was asking if Xue Yan’s actions were worth it—whether he truly wanted to fight.

Xue Yan’s face reflected the tug of personal desire and duty. Although Li Guanqi was a stranger and an enemy, he could feel that Li Guanqi did not truly want to kill him.

If only he hadn’t been raised as Tang Yan’s sacrificial soldier.

Xue Yan had always respected Li Guanqi’s achievements.

He respected how Li Guanqi faced injustice and powerful enemies bravely with his sword, killing without hesitation.

He respected how Li Guanqi singlehandedly led his sect to glory, raising the morale of the entire Daxia Sword Sect.

He respected how Li Guanqi had freedom, as everything Li Guanqi did was what he wanted.

Ever since he’d heard of Li Guanqi, Xue Yan had felt both respect and curiosity for him. Fate, however, had been cruel. The first time they met, they were placed on opposite sides and forced into a fight to the death.

Li Guanqi saw the conflict in his eyes. It was all too complicated. Even he, who had endured all kinds of suffering, could not untangle it.

Xue Yan’s eyes shimmered with moisture, then his aura flared again.

Boom!

Xue Yan raised his sword, his navy blue robes fluttering slightly. He looked at Li Guanqi with fierce determination.

“If you respect me... use your full strength. Kill me!”

1. A guan is a type of ancient Chinese headwear. Refer to the translator note for a picture. ☜