Arrogance Needs No Place (Part 2)
"No—" The Sun Demon Emperor was decisive. "Fine. Open the Holy Cave. Young Master Li may take any one item from within!"
"A smart man." Li Qiye nodded. "Come find me when you're ready. I'll be heading back now." With that, he turned and walked out of the Celestial Hall.
The Sun Demon Emperor instructed Yu He to escort Li Qiye back.
After Li Qiye had departed, an elder inside the Celestial Hall couldn't help but speak up. "Your Majesty, this matter concerning the Holy Cave is far too hasty."
"Not necessarily." The Sun Demon Emperor's voice echoed. "Since the founding of our Nine Saints Demon Gate, who has ever opened the Holy Cave? It has always been sealed; no one has ever managed to open it! Perhaps this is an opportunity. This aligns with a True Word left behind by the Patriarch."
The Great Elder nodded, supporting the Sun Demon Emperor. "There's no harm in trying. Since Your Majesty has already decided, let's just let Li Qiye give it a shot."
"Your Majesty, as for this Guardian God, why have we never heard of it before?" another elder couldn't help but ask. "The Guardian God of our Nine Saints Demon Gate… is it a Celestial Beast, or a Longevity Spirit?"
"I do not know either," the Sun Demon Emperor said. "Records regarding our sect's Guardian God are scarce, to say the least. It is only mentioned in passing within the Patriarch's secret codex. The Patriarch wrote only that the Guardian God would reveal its Divine Techniques when our Nine Saints Demon Gate faces total annihilation. This codex can only be viewed by the Sect Leader of each generation."
"But it revealed its Divine Techniques this time," another elder interjected.
"That is precisely what I do not understand," the Sun Demon Emperor said. "The Guardian God must have its reasons for choosing him."
"That kid… he's simply unnatural," said Elder Yun, the Great Elder. "According to Yu He, he first passed through the Chaotic Heart Forest with ease—twice! That should be impossible. And now the Guardian God has chosen him? It makes no sense at all!"
His words silenced the other elders. As elders, they knew the Chaotic Heart Forest all too well. They knew exactly what it meant to pass through all fourteen of its levels!
"It really is unnatural," another elder couldn't help but say. "Our Nine Saints Demon Gate is flourishing. Among the younger generation, Nephew Leng has the highest Dao Practice. In terms of talent and potential, the Princess is supreme. But the Guardian God chose neither Nephew Leng nor the Princess. Instead, it picked a junior who has zero cultivation—and a junior with a Mortal Body, Mortal Wheel, and Mortal Fate at that!"
At this, the elder couldn't hold back his complaints. Their own sect's Guardian God had chosen an outsider. Even if they were to accept that, if it had chosen some peerless genius, that would be one thing. At least they could stomach that. But no, it had to pick a boy everyone called a good-for-nothing.
"The mysteries of the ages are not for us to comprehend." In the end, even the Sun Demon Emperor had to concede. Everything that had happened today was simply too bizarre. He was a man of great experience who had weathered countless storms, yet he couldn't make heads or tails of today's events.
"Your Majesty," another elder couldn't help but ask, "hypothetically, if Li Qiye actually manages to open the Holy Cave, are we really going to let him choose any one treasure?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty. Rumor has it that there might be an Immortal Emperor's Treasure within the Holy Cave." An elder sounded reluctant; after all, this was an Immortal Emperor's Treasure they were talking about.
"If he can truly open the Holy Cave, then it is decreed by the Celestial Mandate," the Sun Demon Emperor stated. "Sword Elder has already said that no one in this generation can open the Holy Cave. Li Qiye might just be a miracle. Since no one else can open it, what's the harm in letting him try?"
At the mention of "Sword Elder" by the Sun Demon Emperor, the various elders of the Nine Saints Demon Gate fell silent. Within the Nine Saints Demon Gate, there was no one with more authority than Sword Elder!
"Pass down this order: no disciple is to breathe a single word about today's events. Anyone who violates this will be severely punished! This is an iron-clad rule!" In the end, the Sun Demon Emperor issued this command.
They were unwilling for outsiders to learn too much about the Nine Saints Demon Gate's Guardian God.
When Li Qiye returned, he found their lodgings had been moved. They had been escorted to the quarters the Nine Saints Demon Gate reserved for its most honored guests—a treatment typically afforded only to the kings of Upper Countries or emperors of Ancient Countries.
This level of hospitality left Nan Huairun and Guardian Mo feeling overwhelmed by the favor. Forget about nobodies like them; even if the elders or even the Sect Leader of their Xiyan Ancient Sect were to visit in person, they would not be afforded such treatment.
Now, both Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun understood. This treatment was all because of Li Qiye.
When Yu He escorted Li Qiye back, Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun couldn't help but stare, rendered speechless for a long moment.
At this point, even Guardian Mo didn't dare to ask what Li Qiye had discussed with the Sun Demon Emperor in the Celestial Hall. After all, it was a matter far beyond his station to inquire about.
Right now, Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun were beyond speechless. Over the past two days, Li Qiye's words had been outrageously arrogant. First, he killed Du Yuanguang, then he showed contempt for Xu Hui, and he even spouted the mad boast that he would crush the Nine Saints Demon Gate. Today, in particular, Guardian Mo had repeatedly thought the boy must have gone completely insane, that his ignorance was terrifying!
But thinking back on it now, calming down and reflecting, they realized something. Li Qiye wasn't ignorant at all. He wasn't spouting mad boasts. He was simply stating facts, confident in his plans from the very start.
Nan Huairun couldn't figure it out, and neither could Guardian Mo. How had Li Qiye passed through all fourteen levels of the Nine Saints Demon Gate's Chaotic Heart Forest in one go? Why did the invincible Stone People protect him? The master and disciple couldn't make sense of any of it.
But now, Nan Huairun finally understood one thing. When Li Qiye climbed onto the giant Stone Person's shoulder that day, it hadn't been for fun. He had been preparing for this all along.
Thinking back now, Nan Huairun couldn't help but feel how shallow his own understanding had been.
"If you have something to say, just say it." Seeing the hesitant master-disciple duo, Li Qiye gave a small smile and sat down in the seat of honor with a commanding air, as if nothing at all had happened.
Guardian Mo opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. He was a man of few words by nature, so in the end, he simply plopped down on a chair to the side and remained silent.
Compared to his master's taciturn nature, Nan Huairun was much more adaptable. He looked at Li Qiye, opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally, he worked up the courage to ask, "So, th-that thing… did it work out?"
"That thing? What thing?" Li Qiye was momentarily stumped, unsure of what Nan Huairun was referring to.
"The, uh, the marriage alliance. The matter of marrying Princess Li," Nan Huairun stammered.
"Oh, you mean Li Shuangyan." Li Qiye chuckled and shook his head. "I didn't ask about that. I couldn't be bothered. She's just a woman. Why waste the mental energy?"
Nan Huairun was struck dumb by Li Qiye's arrogance. One had to remember just who Li Shuangyan was: the successor to the Nine Saints Demon Gate, the future Demon Emperor, the princess of the Ancient Ox Territory. Never mind her peerless beauty; her innate talent alone—an Emperor Body, Imperial Wheel, and Holy Destiny—was enough to leave countless people breathless with admiration.
You had to understand, forget just the Ancient Ox Territory—in the entire Great Middle Realm, the line of young prodigies hoping to marry Li Shuangyan could stretch from the eastern border of the Ancient Ox Territory clear to the west.
And now, this Divine Maiden, Li Shuangyan—a woman who captured the hearts of thousands and stunned countless others—was dismissed by Li Qiye as just some trivial woman. His words were the very definition of arrogance and dominance.
Yet, at this point, Nan Huairun didn't even register it as arrogance. No matter what outrageous thing Li Qiye said now, Nan Huairun would probably just take it as a matter of course.
Everything Li Qiye had done today had completely subverted his conceptions of the world, completely shattered his common sense!
Nan Huairun had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. His eyes, however, couldn't help but drift to the Snake-Beating Staff at Li Qiye's side. That single, unremarkable wooden stick had thrashed Xu Hui, a True Fate Realm expert, until his flesh was torn and he couldn't even crawl. The image was seared into his mind.
"If you want a look, go ahead." Seeing Nan Huairun's curious gaze, Li Qiye was quite generous. He unfastened the Snake-Beating Staff, tossed it to him, and spoke nonchalantly.
Nan Huairun caught the Snake-Beating Staff and immediately cradled it in his hands, examining it closely. Even his master, Guardian Mo, couldn't resist leaning in for a closer look. The two of them began studying the staff together.
But no matter how they examined it, it was still just an ordinary wooden stick.
"Is… is this really that Fire-Burning Staff from the Ancestral Hall?" Nan Huairun couldn't help but ask Li Qiye. He couldn't believe this very poker could beat Xu Hui until he was screaming and wailing!
"That's right," Li Qiye said with a nod.
Nan Huairun swallowed hard. "Senior Brother," he said, steeling his nerves, "c-can I try swinging it?"
"Look at how timid you are." Li Qiye couldn't help but laugh at Nan Huairun's question. "Go on, give it a swing."
With Li Qiye's permission, Nan Huairun immediately began brandishing the Snake-Beating Staff. Guardian Mo watched intently, wanting to see for himself what was so miraculous about this fire poker.
But after Nan Huairun swung it around for a bit, it became clear that in his hands, the Snake-Beating Staff held none of the power it had with Li Qiye. It didn't strike with the same unerring precision.
"Senior Brother, why can you turn the mundane into the miraculous with it?" Nan Huairun was completely baffled. Why did this ordinary stick become so incredibly powerful in Li Qiye's hands?
Li Qiye glanced at him before speaking slowly, "Sincerity of heart is what makes it work." He said no more, as he had no intention of easily revealing the true Mystical Meaning of the Snake-Beating Staff to others.
Of course the Snake-Beating Staff wouldn't display the same might in Nan Huairun's hands. After all, Li Qiye had been the one to bring it out of the Ghost Forest. No one in this world understood this bizarre staff better than he did!