Chapter 99 – The True Treasure — Red Cloud Pill

The red light spread across the entire array, removing the locks restricting each puppet to turn-based movement. Li Guanqi's next move stunned everyone—he vanished from the platform and reappeared on the ground, while the black puppet took his place above. They had switched positions.

Zhou Zhi and the others froze in disbelief. They could tell that the black puppet was no ordinary opponent, rivaling at least a late Foundation Building Realm cultivator in both offense and defense. And yet, Li Guanqi had chosen to take the puppet’s place.

“Junior Brother Li! What are you doing?!”

Even Zhou Zhi thought he’d gone mad—first smashing three of his statues, then leaping into the field on his own.

Li Guanqi stretched his numb feet. Though the thorns that had rooted him to the platform had pierced his flesh, he'd managed to shift his bones as soon as he sensed them, leaving only superficial wounds with no fractures.

Glancing around, he finally grasped the true scale of his surroundings. The massive bows loomed overhead, and even the silver puppet towered over three heads above him.

Li Guanqi took a deep breath and looked up at Wei Kun, who licked his cracked lips.

Rumble!

The crack of thunder rang across the space, then Li Guanqi charged forward, moving so fast that he was a blur. Wei Kun now understood Li Guanqi’s plan, feeling a chill when he saw Li Guanqi’s eyes.

The cowardly Wei Kun pressed the jade token in his hand on the console without hesitation.

Boom!

“Die!”

Four identical silver puppets appeared on the field.

Li Guanqi didn’t slow down. He surged ahead, even as the black puppet on the platform inserted another jade token into the console.

Boom!

Six enormous dragon statues rose from the array. Their eyes lit up and flashed red, and then they unleashed torrents of fire.

Six flames covered thirty of the enemy’s boxes.

Wei Kun had long lost his mind. He shrieked, “You think fire can stop these silver puppets?! Dream on! Kill him!”

Thud thud!

Li Guanqi continued to charge at the stone statues as the armored puppets ran across the ground. At the same time, the black puppet inserted its last jade token into the console. Li Guanqi muttered, “I’ll give you a taste of both ice and fire!”

Suddenly, the red light in the dragons’ eyes turned ice-blue, and water shot out of their mouths.

The water cannons fired at the five silver puppets, now scorched red from the flames. Steam exploded around them.

Everyone stared in shock as the puppets were engulfed in hissing clouds.

Crack!

The sound of metal splitting echoed through the air. Li Guanqi darted into the chaos, moving like a shadow in the wind. The Emerald Wolf Sword flashed coldly, cutting straight into the puppets.

There was a glint of light, then several metallic cries.

Pieces of the puppets flew in the air, then Li Guanqi grabbed a puppet’s sword and hurled it.

“No!”

Pfft!

The blade pierced the chest of the black-robed man who’d been pinned beside the statues. Then, Li Guanqi swept the Emerald Wolf Sword in a horizontal slash, shattering another statue.

But before he could continue, a large figure stepped into his path.

Clang!

Wei Kun had finally reached his breaking point and descended to the battlefield himself. The black-robed figures behind the light screen fell into disarray, desperately attacking the light screen. After all, they knew that they would be the next ones to die.

The chaos among them also stirred emotions in the Daxia Sword Sect’s camp. Though they turned to look at the sullen Zhou Zhi, not one of them spoke or moved.

The battle between Li Guanqi and Wei Kun had reached its climax. Both parties only had one stone statue left, and sparks flew in all directions when their swords collided.

Without hesitation, Wei Kun shouted, “Refill to three statues!”

Whoosh!

Two more black-robed men were dragged and pinned down next to the statues.

Li Guanqi smirked. While twisting through the air to dodge another blow, he said, “Ruthless, aren’t you?”

As his vital force surged, his swordsmanship became even sharper and faster. The sword in his left hand sped up, moving like a blur.

Pfft!

Li Guanqi’s blade pierced Wei Kun’s throat.

But Wei Kun didn’t even flinch. He quickly retreated and pulled the sword out. Though the wound remained, not a drop of blood flowed from him. Instead, blood gushed from the neck of a trapped black-robed man behind him.

Li Guanqi’s heart sank as he backed up several zhang. He had not expected such a rule to exist.

Wei Kun tore the dead man’s sword off his body and tied it to his wrist. He growled, “Didn’t you want to protect them all? Let’s see if you succeed!”

His aura quickly surged. In an instant, he broke through late Foundation Building Realm and soared to the tenth level. His aura continued to strengthen until he was just half a step away from the Golden Core Realm.

Wei Kun’s eyes flooded with crimson veins. His blood surged so violently that his skin flushed red.

A primal roar tore from Wei Kun's throat, reverberating through the entire space—the sound of a man enduring unbearable torment. He charged at Li Guanqi like a wild beast.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Clang clang clang!

Their blades danced faster than the eye could follow. Sparks flew wildly, and the clashes were so rapid they seemed like one continuous roar. The two figures flashed across the board, never staying in one place for long.

Li Guanqi found himself more stressed than he’d ever been. Wei Kun’s fighting techniques betrayed a terrifying truth: he had abandoned all thought of survival, ready to die to take Li Guanqi down with him.

All Li Guanqi could do was dodge since Wei Kun was moving as fast as he was. With the boost offered by the three Red Cloud Pills he swallowed, he was terrifyingly strong.

Then, Li Guanqi noticed that beads of blood had started seeping from Wei Kun’s skin. He was nearing his limit. If Li Guanqi could hold on a bit longer, he could win.

Dodging another flurry of slashes, Li Guanqi said, “What’s under this Thousand-Mechanism Array? Is it worth all this madness?”

Wei Kun, now more beast than man, bellowed, “What’s underneath? It’s a chance to change fate! If I get the Heavenly Soul Lightning Root, I’ll use it to replace my Mixed Spirit Root! For the sake of that goal, all of you will die here!”

A chill ran through Li Guanqi. He couldn’t believe that someone would go to such lengths for a treasure that could replace his spirit root.

Fighting as he retreated, he made his way back to his statue.

Zhou Zhi’s gaze sharpened with determination. He could see that Li Guanqi was on edge, fighting with the palpable fear of a single fatal misstep.