Chapter 33: Qimen Saber (Part 1)
An Immortal Emperor's Treasure was an extraordinary artifact not only for any cultivator but even for an Emperor Immortal Gate, where it would be considered a sect-defining treasure!
The Mingren Immortal Emperor founded the Xiyan Ancient Sect and left behind an Immortal Emperor's Treasure to serve as its guardian. However, millions of years had passed, and the current Xiyan Ancient Sect didn't even possess a single one.
Li Qiye now understood that the Xiyan Ancient Sect's decline was not without reason. With its Emperor Techniques lost, its Immortal Emperor's Treasures missing, and no Revival Lord to lead it, it would have been a miracle if the sect hadn't fallen.
"Senior Brother, will you be choosing a Longevity Treasure or a Treasure Artifact? Or maybe a True Artifact?" Nan Huairun asked while Li Qiye was lost in thought.
However, after looking through all the weapons on the third floor of the pavilion, Li Qiye simply shook his head. Not a single Treasure Artifact or Longevity Treasure had caught his eye.
Nan Huairun couldn't understand why Li Qiye looked down on the weapons here. Although the items on the third floor weren't the absolute best, they were still enough to make any other disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect drool with desire.
Even Nan Huairun himself coveted several of the weapons on the third floor. Unfortunately, he had never accumulated enough merit to exchange for them.
Since Li Qiye didn't choose any weapon, Nan Huairun didn't dare to say anything. He knew Li Qiye had his own reasons, so he just followed him down from the third floor of the Armory Pavilion.
The disciples who had been mocking Li Qiye earlier were still there. Seeing him come down empty-handed, one of them said sourly, "Well, well, our Chief Senior Brother certainly has high standards. It seems the mere weapons on the third floor aren't worthy of his Dharma Eye."
"Heh, you don't get it. Our Chief Senior Brother only has eyes for an Immortal Emperor's Treasure. Heh, he wouldn't even glance at a regular Treasure Artifact," another disciple said sarcastically. "Heh, but he should take a piss and look at his own reflection. For a good-for-nothing piece of trash like him, being allowed to choose a Treasure Artifact on the third floor is already an extraordinary act of grace from the elders."
Some disciples were furious. 'How could a good-for-nothing piece of trash be qualified to choose a weapon on the third floor?' They were green with envy. One disciple spat and said disdainfully, "With a waste like him, even if you put an Immortal Emperor's Treasure right in front of him, he'd probably mistake it for a piece of scrap metal. How could a blind fool possibly recognize a treasure!"
The disciples' mockery was blatant, causing Nan Huairun to frown. Li Qiye, however, merely slanted a glance at them and said with calm composure, "It seems you are all quite dissatisfied with me."
"Hmph! A good-for-nothing piece of trash isn't qualified to be the Chief Senior Brother of the Xiyan Ancient Sect!" a disciple sneered.
"A pity, then, that I am still the Chief Senior Brother," Li Qiye said slowly. "Since you dare to disrespect a superior, it seems that if I, your Chief Senior Brother, don't break your dog legs, I'd be failing my position!"
Hearing Li Qiye's words, the disciples present straightened their backs and sneered, "Well now, our Chief Senior Brother is going to teach us a lesson! As his juniors, we should experience our Chief Senior Brother's Ultimate Skill."
At these words, the other disciples present burst into raucous laughter, their expressions filled with contempt. In their eyes, a waste with a Mortal Body, Mortal Wheel, and Mortal Fate like Li Qiye could be dealt with using just one hand.
"Huairun, throw them out!" Li Qiye couldn't even be bothered to look at them again as he gave the order.
Others might not understand Li Qiye, but didn't Nan Huairun? How did Du Yuanguang die? How did Xu Hui die? At that moment, he broke out in a cold sweat for these disciples! If Li Qiye were truly angered, he would surely dismember them all.
Now that Li Qiye had given the command, Nan Huairun breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't hesitate for a second. He walked over, scanned the disciples, and said coolly, "For disrespecting the Chief Senior Brother, I have no choice but to carry out his order."
"Nan Huairun, you..." Seeing Nan Huairun step forward, many of the disciples were both furious and indignant.
One disciple couldn't help but say, "Senior Brother Nan, you're a favorite of the elders! To pledge your loyalty to a waste like him is an insult to you..."
BANG—BANG—BANG— Before the disciple could finish his sentence, Nan Huairun sent him flying with a series of slaps.
Although Nan Huairun's aptitude wasn't the absolute best in the Xiyan Ancient Sect, as a disciple of Guardian Mo, teaching a few ordinary disciples like these a lesson was an effortless task.
"You talk too much. A long tongue will bring disaster upon you," Nan Huairun said after sending the disciple flying in just a few moves. He then crooked his finger at the others. "The rest of you, come at me together. Don't want you saying I'm bullying the weak!"
The disciples were both shocked and enraged. With a loud shout, they charged forward. Nan Huairun showed no mercy, sending them flying with a few swift kicks.
It might have looked like Nan Huairun was being ruthless, but he was actually saving their lives. His attack would, at most, inflict some superficial injuries on these ordinary disciples.
Nan Huairun knew in his heart that if Li Qiye had acted personally, he might have dismembered them in a few slashes. What were a few ordinary disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect? The young genius of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, Du Yuanguang, and Guardian Xu's beloved disciple, Xu Hui, were both dismembered by Li Qiye. Even Guardian Xu himself was stomped into a paste!
In Li Qiye's eyes, killing three or five of these ordinary disciples was probably as easy as eating a meal. Therefore, by kicking them so hard they couldn't get up—thus preventing Li Qiye from becoming dissatisfied and acting himself—Nan Huairun was saving their lives.
As for this brawl, the disciples guarding the Armory Pavilion at most frowned a little. Their duty was to guard the place; they would turn a blind eye to the personal grievances and fights of other disciples.
"I want those two Qimen Short Knives." Just as Nan Huairun was throwing the ordinary disciples out of the Armory Pavilion, Li Qiye spoke to the Guardian stationed there.
"The two short knives clutched under the Divine Crow's feet?" Hearing Li Qiye's words, the Guardian couldn't help but frown.
The Divine Crow Statue had stood here for millions of years, and who knew how long those two Mortal Iron Short Swords had been there. In all that time, no one had ever paid them any mind.
"Yes," Li Qiye said unhurriedly. "I practice the Qimen Saber Technique. Those two short knives look quite handy, so I'll take them."
At Li Qiye's request, not only the stationed Guardian but also the other disciples guarding the Armory Pavilion stared at him strangely, as if looking at a lunatic.
The two short blades clutched by the Divine Crow Statue were just a pair of rusted Mortal Iron Short Blades. Forget the Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts on the third floor; even the weapons on the first floor were countless times better than these two blades!
To ignore all the fine Treasure Artifacts on the third floor and instead choose two worthless short blades—and Mortal Iron Short Blades at that! This person was either a lunatic or a fool who couldn't recognize quality!
At that moment, Nan Huairun, who had just thrown the disciples out, heard Li Qiye's words and felt a jolt in his heart. Li Qiye's sudden choice of two Mortal Iron Short Blades reminded him of something else—the Snake-Beating Staff!
Back then, in the Ancestral Hall, Li Qiye had asked for that unremarkable Fire-Burning Staff. At the time, forget the Six Great Elders; even he had thought Li Qiye was an idiot for treating a useless stick like a treasure.
And yet, that very same Fire-Burning Staff, not even worth mentioning, had beaten a genius like Xu Hui senseless, leaving him battered and bloody!
Now, Li Qiye suddenly wanted these two short blades. This probably wasn't a sudden whim. Perhaps he had set his sights on them the moment he stepped into the Armory Pavilion.
"Nan Huairun, you... you dare hit me! I-I'll report you to the elders..." one of the disciples who had been thrown out of the Armory Pavilion sputtered, both shocked and furious.
"Slap his face. Keep hitting him until he shuts up," Li Qiye said coolly.
Though the words were spoken coolly, Nan Huairun immediately detected the anger within them. He was skilled at reading people, and as soon as Li Qiye spoke, he heard the fury in his tone.
"My apologies." Without hesitation, Nan Huairun delivered several loud slaps across the disciple's face. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! This wasn't just about saving the disciple's life; he also understood that Li Qiye was testing him.
After saying this, Li Qiye ignored the commotion and turned back to the Guardian. "The elders agreed I could choose one Treasure Soldier. It should be fine for me to pick these two short swords, right?"
The Guardian looked at Li Qiye as if he were a monster. No matter how he looked at him, Li Qiye didn't seem like an idiot, yet he was doing something so foolish.
Finally, after a moment of hesitation, the Guardian nodded and said, "You can." They were just two mere Mortal Iron Short Swords, not some priceless treasures. Since Li Qiye came with a Hand Order from the elders, giving them to him was no problem at all.
Li Qiye personally took down the two short swords. As the Guardian registered the items for him, he couldn't help but think that Li Qiye must be sick in the head. To ignore a whole vault of Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts and choose two Mortal Iron Short Blades instead!
In the end, Li Qiye took his two Mortal Iron Short Swords and left the Armory Pavilion. As he walked out, he glanced at the ordinary disciples who were wailing from Nan Huairun's beating and said coolly, "You should thank Huairun for saving your lives. If you have a problem with me, you're welcome to complain to the elders at any time. However, if I'm the one who takes action next time, the outcome won't be so pleasant."
Having his intentions exposed, Nan Huairun gave a few embarrassed, dry laughs.
The disciples, who had been beaten black and blue, couldn't help but shiver. The thirteen-year-old-looking boy before them now seemed like a ruthless fiend no matter how they looked at him. He was nothing like a thirteen-year-old child; the sight of him made their blood run cold.
Li Qiye paid them no more mind, turned, and left the Armory Pavilion, returning to Solitary Peak.