Chapter 12: I Am Arrogant, I Am Domineering (Part 2)
How could someone who had just joined the Nine Saints Demon Gate a few days ago dare to speak of annihilating it? This was absolute madness. A moment ago, Nan Huairun had thought Li Qiye was somewhat profound and unfathomable. Now, however, he felt Li Qiye's ignorance was simply appalling!
However, Li Qiye couldn't even be bothered to glance at Hall Lord Fu, Xu Hui, and their ilk. He began to walk out, strolling as if through a peaceful courtyard. "I don't care who's in charge of your Nine Saints Demon Gate right now! Be it a Demon Emperor or a True Master! Since you want to play by the rules, then you'd better follow them to the letter. I'll be happy to play along. But if you want to play dirty, I'll play along with that, too! I'll stand right here today, annihilate your Nine Saints Demon Gate, and send you all down to meet that old chicken head!"
"Good, good, good! You ignorant brat! Today, I'll flay your skin and pull out your tendons! I'd like to see just how you plan to annihilate my Nine Saints Demon Gate!" Xu Hui laughed in a rage. This was the most ridiculous joke he had ever heard in his life. He had truly never met someone so arrogant yet so ignorant!
Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun were so ashamed they wished they could dig a hole and bury themselves. Li Qiye had never even practiced a Daoist Technique, yet he dared to shamelessly boast about annihilating the Nine Saints Demon Gate. It was pure ignorance! The current Nine Saints Demon Gate was an incomparably powerful sect in the Great Middle Realm, capable of controlling an entire Jiang Country. How many people could possibly annihilate them?!
But Li Qiye didn't even listen to Xu Hui's words or look at him, simply continuing to walk away. Xu Hui was so infuriated by Li Qiye's blatant arrogance that he almost coughed up blood. "You little bastard, die!" he roared. As his words fell, he slashed his sword toward Li Qiye.
"Stop—" At that very moment, a thunderous shout echoed from the skies above the Nine Saints Demon Gate. The voice was like rolling thunder, filled with a supreme majesty that was impossible to resist!
At this supreme, majestic shout, the legs of both Xu Hui and Hall Lord Fu went weak, and their hearts couldn't help but tremble.
"An Elder—" Hearing this voice, Hall Lord Fu shivered. He never imagined that such a small matter would actually alarm an Elder!
"In a fair duel, if one is killed, they can only blame their own lack of skill!" the voice of the Nine Saints Demon Gate's Elder resounded from the sky.
This caused many disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, and even the mid-to-high-level Hall Masters and Guardians, to be greatly surprised. For such a matter to have alerted the Great Elder meant this was no ordinary affair!
Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun both shivered internally. This was the Great Elder of the Nine Saints Demon Gate! Legend had it that the Nine Saints Demon Gate's Great Elder was already a True Master! Over the years, the Xiyan Ancient Sect had interacted with the Nine Saints Demon Gate countless times. Even their own Great Elder and Sect Leader had personally paid visits.
However, it was incredibly difficult for the Xiyan Ancient Sect's Elders to even get an audience with someone of the Elder Level from the Nine Saints Demon Gate, let alone the Great Elder or the Sun Demon Emperor!
For a matter like this today to have alarmed the Chief Great Elder of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, Elder Yun himself! This definitely held a different meaning.
"The marriage alliance between the Nine Saints Demon Gate and the Xiyan Ancient Sect is a matter of sect rule." At this moment, the Great Elder of the Nine Saints Demon Gate made no mention of Du Yuanguang's death. His voice, like rolling thunder, rang out, "However, a marriage alliance is a grand affair and not to be taken lightly! If the Xiyan Ancient Sect wishes to take a successor of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, they must prove they have the strength to do so!"
"Finally, someone from the Nine Saints Demon Gate who dares to take responsibility," Li Qiye commented with nonchalant calm in response to the Great Elder's words. "Of course, if you play by the rules, I'll play by the rules. You just want to test me, don't you? Fine, I'll play along! There's no time like the present, so let's do it today! Whether or not I marry your Nine Saints Demon Gate's successor is my business. But if someone wants to look down on me, then I'll just have to teach them a lesson without holding back!" With that, he continued walking out!
Li Qiye's words were far too arrogant. Even Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun wanted to get on their knees and beg him to stop boasting. If he kept this up, his bluffs would be called! At this moment, both Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun wished they could dig a hole and crawl inside! This was an incredible loss of face.
At this point, Nan Huairun and Guardian Mo deeply regretted accepting this assignment. The Great Elder of the Nine Saints Demon Gate had finally intervened and resolved the storm surrounding Du Yuanguang's death. Anyone else would have used this as a graceful way to back down, smooth things over, and strengthen their relationship with the Nine Saints Demon Gate. It wouldn't even matter if they couldn't marry Li Shuangyan.
Yet, Li Qiye had the audacity to keep boasting about teaching the Nine Saints Demon Gate a lesson. He was simply courting death! Right then, both Nan Huairun and Guardian Mo felt that Li Qiye was appallingly ignorant and arrogant!
"Then it shall be today." The Great Elder of the Nine Saints Demon Gate delivered his final, golden decree. After these words, his voice was heard no more.
Xu Hui, on the other hand, was trembling with rage. Li Qiye was so insolent, so conceited. He desperately wanted to cut Li Qiye down. For daring to provoke and belittle him, he wished he could sever Li Qiye's limbs and make him suffer a fate worse than death. But with the Great Elder's golden decree, he didn't dare to resist!
"I'll be waiting for you! I will make you wish you were dead!" Xu Hui said hatefully before leading his men away.
"You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!" After Hall Lord Fu and his men left, Guardian Mo refused to let Li Qiye leave. Disregarding his status as a Guardian, he dragged and pulled Li Qiye back inside.
"Guardian Mo, is there a need to be so timid?" Li Qiye said with a helpless air, pushing away Guardian Mo's hands after being dragged into the courtyard.
Guardian Mo trembled with anger and glared fiercely at Li Qiye. He desperately wanted to give Li Qiye a sound thrashing, but for the sake of the upcoming assessment, he forced himself to swallow his frustration.
"You ignorant fool!" Guardian Mo said hatefully. "You're digging your own grave! It's one thing if you want to get yourself killed, but don't drag the Xiyan Ancient Sect down with you!"
"Guardian Mo, you're taking this too seriously. It's a trivial matter," Li Qiye said calmly, not treating it as a big deal at all.
Guardian Mo was so angry he trembled. "You—you—you—" he stammered for a long while, unable to form a sentence. Li Qiye's attitude had left him speechless and breathless with rage.
Nan Huairun was also speechless. 'Li Qiye has gone mad,' he thought. 'Ignorant to this degree, arrogant to this extent... he's completely beyond saving.' He felt a strong urge to slap Li Qiye across the face.
"My good sir, do you have any idea how powerful the Nine Saints Demon Gate is right now?" Nan Huairun couldn't help but complain. "Many of their Guardians are qualified to be ennobled as Princes! To say nothing of their Elders and the Sun Demon Emperor. If the Sun Demon Emperor were to act, he could probably destroy our entire Xiyan Ancient Sect with a single hand!"
"Just now, the Great Elder of the Nine Saints Demon Gate resolved the matter with Du Yuanguang. You should have taken that chance to back down gracefully. Marrying their Princess is a small matter in comparison. If you could build a good relationship with their Elders, it would be a great thing not just for you, but for our entire Xiyan Ancient Sect. You could have earned great merit and benefited from it for the rest of your life." The ever-tactful Nan Huairun couldn't help but analyze the pros and cons for Li Qiye.
"So what?" Li Qiye said nonchalantly. "For things like this, I prefer to solve them with my fists!"
Of course, Li Qiye couldn't reveal the secret in his heart. 'If the Nine Saints Demon Gate refuses to play by the rules,' he thought, 'I'll use this opportunity to seize their entire foundation. I did make a promise to the Nine Saints Great Sage back then, but his descendants are courting death. I don't mind using this chance to give the Nine Saints Demon Gate a good cleansing! And while I'm at it, I can make use of all their resources!'
Nan Huairun couldn't help but roll his eyes. He didn't want to speak anymore. He felt like he was casting pearls before swine. He didn't want to deal with an idiot like Li Qiye any longer. Wasting his breath on such an ignorant good-for-nothing was pointless.
Nan Huairun silently scoffed. 'With just those paltry Martial Techniques of yours? Even if you got lucky and killed Du Yuanguang, that's utterly insignificant in the face of the Nine Saints Demon Gate. With your level of strength, you dare to run your mouth about solving things with your fists?'
Nan Huairun figured that after luckily killing Du Yuanguang, Li Qiye's confidence had swelled to an uncontrollable degree. He must really think he was invincible!
Guardian Mo was rendered speechless with anger. Finally, he said hatefully, "You will go through this assessment and follow the rules! If you cause any more trouble, you—you—you won't have to bother coming back to the Xiyan Ancient Sect! When that time comes, no one will be able to save you!"
"If even the Nine Saints Demon Gate isn't safe, then nowhere else is safe either," Li Qiye replied with a calm, knowing smile.
Guardian Mo almost coughed up blood from anger. He didn't want to speak to this idiot anymore; it was like talking to a brick wall. 'An idiot like this won't know the immensity of heaven and earth until he's taught a harsh lesson,' he thought.
While Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun were fuming, the assessment began on one of the main peaks of the Nine Saints Demon Gate. For this test, not a single Elder from the Nine Saints Demon Gate showed their face. Two people came out to preside over it, both of them Guardians. One was Xu Hui's master, Guardian Xu, and the other was the strongest of all the Nine Saints Demon Gate's Guardians, the Chief Guardian, Yu He!
Xu Hui's master, Guardian Xu, emanated a terrifying light from his entire body, as if he were forged from Divine Gold. As for the Chief Guardian, he was even more frightening. The aura of a Prince billowed from him, and his Blood Qi was boundless. This was an absolutely, incomparably powerful Prince. At this Level, one could be said to turn clouds with a flip of the hand and create rain with a turn of the palm!
The Nine Saints Demon Gate's judges were Guardian Xu and Chief Guardian Yu He, while the Xiyan Ancient Sect's judge was Guardian Mo.
The main peak was now surrounded by layers upon layers of people, packed so tightly that not a drop of water could get through. Countless young disciples had come to spectate and watch the excitement unfold!
The younger generation of male disciples were, of course, the most opposed to the marriage alliance between the Nine Saints Demon Gate and the Xiyan Ancient Sect. Their backlash was the strongest. Li Shuangyan was the Divine Maiden in their hearts, the Princess of their Nine Saints Demon Gate.
A minor sect like the Xiyan Ancient Sect was completely unqualified for a marriage alliance with their Nine Saints Demon Gate, let alone a good-for-nothing piece of trash like Li Qiye, with his Mortal Body, Mortal Wheel, and Mortal Life. A person like that wasn't even worthy of carrying the shoes for their Princess!