Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Suddenly!

Amidst the crowd, a figure in gray clothing trembled all over, fists clenched tightly.

Li Shengan noticed Li Guanqi’s unusual behavior and quickly advised, “Brother! Don’t act rashly! You must endure.”

Li Guanqi abruptly looked up at the young man on the high platform, biting his lips until they bled.

Boom!

The young man’s feet shattered several stone slabs as he roared, “Endure what?!”

The young man moved swiftly like the wind, and the other youths only felt a blur before them. They watched as the young man strode forward, using an unusual movement technique, and raised his fist to attack the young man on the platform.

However, on the side, Meng Linhai’s eyes slightly narrowed as he was about to reach out to stop it.

But Elder Xu Zhengjie from the Heavenly Thunder Peak, wearing a purple robe, intercepted him.

“Who’s right and who’s wrong isn’t clear yet. How can we just listen to one person’s words?”

“Besides… that kid can handle this punch just fine.”

Zhao Yuanlin saw Li Guanqi advancing aggressively, and a cold smile played on his lips. A very subtle wave emanated as both of them raised their fists and collided.

Boom!

A muffled sound rang out.

Zhao Yuanlin’s body actually staggered back seven steps in an instant!

The blind man, with his qi and blood surging, stood motionless in his place.

“Ah!!! You damn blind bastard!! You’re courting death!!”

At this moment, Zhao Yuanlin’s right arm had bent into a strange curve, leaving everyone secretly alarmed.

Just a moment ago, Xu Zhengjie had contemplated intervening because this Zhao Yuanlin had already begun the communing with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

He was obviously at the pinnacle of the Body Refining stage, and he had even touched upon the Dao!

But what he didn’t expect was that the young man, with his eyes covered, would directly overwhelm the other in terms of Body Refining strength! It wasn’t even on the same level!

As Zhao Yuanlin cursed loudly, Li Guanqi had now become, in the eyes of all the disciples who worshipped the sect, a villain who attacked aggressively. The square was filled with curses, slander, and negativity.

“Hmph! He obviously acted out of a guilty conscience!”

“That’s right, anyone who can trade a relative’s life for money isn’t a good person in my book.”

“Exactly! Didn’t that senior from the Great Xia Sword Sect say they prioritize character when accepting disciples? I see this person’s character is extremely poor!”

“If someone like this can enter the sect, I’d be ashamed to be associated with it!”

“…”

Xu Zhengjie furrowed his brows, and his voice, infused with spiritual power, intimidated the crowd.

“That’s enough! Quiet!”

With his spiritual voice dropping, the square fell into complete silence.

At that moment, among the crowd, Lin Dong clenched his fists tightly and trembled all over. He had followed Li Guanqi up the Heavenly Stairs and had become quite close to him. In his view, the young man would never do the things Zhao Yuanlin had accused him of! Chubby Li Shengan quickly grabbed him and whispered urgently, “What are you trying to do? Have you gone mad too?”

“Even if Guanqi hasn’t done those things, with a heaven tier spirit root, Zhao Yuanlin will definitely receive favoritism and become an inner disciple, or even a core disciple under an elder.”

“If you step in now, aren’t you afraid of retaliation in the future?”

But Lin Dong looked deeply at Li Shengan and said softly, “If everyone remains silent, closing their eyes to injustice, then what’s the point of cultivating as immortals?”

A resounding voice suddenly rang out in the crowd!

“I don’t believe he would do such a thing!”

The crowd slowly parted, revealing the dark-skinned Lin Dong.

Lin Dong, his eyes filled with anger, looked at Zhao Yuanlin lying on the ground and said in a deep voice, “Such cutting words, words that strike at the heart!”

Li Guanqi clearly hadn’t anticipated Lin Dong coming to his defense at this moment. He raised his hand slightly to signal Lin Dong that it was enough.

Then, he turned his head slowly to look at the over a thousand disciples gathered below, a sneer playing on his lips. Despite his eyes being covered, everyone felt as if he was looking directly at them, which unsettled them.

Li Guanqi spoke softly, yet his voice carried across the platform, “When one village dog barks, others follow, but they don’t know why they’re barking.”

He turned around slowly, taking deliberate steps towards Zhao Yuanlin. His footsteps were steady and powerful, and the sword scabbard at his back added to his imposing presence.

“What do you want?” Zhao Yuanlin’s tone couldn’t help but rise a few notches, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

He never expected that the guy who used to eat his leftovers when they were so poor that they could barely afford to eat would now defeat him with a single punch. He couldn’t accept this reality from the depths of his heart.

After all, he had a heaven tier spirit root!

When Xu Zhengjie looked at Li Guanqi, his eyes lit up. He found this young man very interesting, not because of his peculiar sword scabbard or his peak-level body forging foundation, but because of the words he had just spoken. It was enough to prove that this person had a strong will.

Li Guanqi slowly crouched down and removed the blindfold covering his eyes. His pale eyes were revealed, and the young men and women below couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment. Zhao Yuanlin stared at those pale eyes, a chill running down his spine. Li Guanqi’s voice, filled with suppressed anger, slowly resounded.

“That’s right, I took ten copper coins from your Zhao family!”

“My sister, Li Cuiwei, barely spent a month in your Zhao family before she was worked to death, starved to death!”

“Even when your family’s servants threw her out of the house, your Zhao family didn’t even spare her a tattered coat!”

As he spoke, Li Guanqi’s pale eyes were already bloodshot, and his voice began to tremble. His jaws shook from the anger, and the veins on his forehead stood out.

“Yes, I’ve been a beggar since I was a child. The sumptuous feasts and leftovers from your Zhao family were a lifeline for me.”

“The servants die, and the master’s family compensates with ten copper coins, as has always been the case.”

“But in your eyes, people like us are worthless! You couldn’t stand to see me doing well, even a bit!”

“Was my sister’s ten copper coins a redemption fee?”

“Let’s say it was, but not enough.”

“Eight years ago, I was only six years old. Your Zhao family’s servants withheld the death compensation, and they only gave three copper coins!”

“At that time, I had one thought: it was my sister’s last dignity, and I had to get it.”

Li Guanqi stood up, looking down at Zhao Yuanlin with a disdainful expression, and said in a cold voice, “This is what you call ten copper coins!”

Zhao Yuanlin’s face turned pale. He looked around and realized that everyone’s gaze towards him had changed. Frustrated and angry, he shouted, “So what! You’re just born with a lowly fate! What about joining the sect? I have a heaven tier spirit root! What about you? You probably don’t even have a spirit root!”

Xu Zhengjie, standing nearby, had a face as dark as iron. He kicked Zhao Yuanlin away, sending him flying dozens of yards. He opened his palm, and with a crackling sound, a black lightning whip nearly ten feet in length appeared in his hand, ready to strike.

Meng Linhai appeared conflicted, about to speak but stopped when he saw Xu Zhengjie’s furious expression.

Pointing at Meng Linhai, Xu Zhengjie roared, “Meng Linhai! Are you trying to defy the sect’s rules just for a mere heaven tier spirit root?”

“Today, if you dare to stop me, I’ll beat you too!”