Wind God wondered if Li Qiye was actually useless or it was just an act. The whole appointment by Lucidity was strange. They thought that he was an illegitimate son, especially after seeing his immoral and uncouth behavior.
Otherwise, how could Lucidity dote on a piece of trash like him in this manner?
After further interaction, he felt that this brat wasnât as stupid as he seemed, just crazier yet strangely insightful - seeing things that big shots like them never thought about.
âAlright, follow me back to Godstep.â Wind God eventually said.
âFor what?â Li Qiye smiled and told the truth: âI guess I still have some uses for your sect, a powerful bargaining chip.â
âHmph.â Wind God snorted in response: âYouâre overthinking it. Itâs just that you could die any time in the open. Myriad Formation, the Bingchi, and your own dynasty want nothing more than your death so they can have peace of mind.â
Wind God was correct. Eight Formation True Emperor and his allies needed Li Qiyeâs death in order to legitimize their rule and taking over the throne. They didnât wish to be viewed as unrightful usurpers forever.
âIt doesnât matter.â Li Qiye shrugged before contemplating while rubbing his chin: âHmm, from what Iâve heard, your sect has a great library, right?.â
âWhat do you want?â Wind Godâs eyes narrowed as he uttered coldly.
âDonât worry, Iâm not interested in your martial arts or the word Xing. if I cared about them, I would have had plenty to pick back at the imperial treasury. I only want to see your old scrolls - just the entertaining and historical ones. That might be worth taking a trip there.â
Wind God didnât know what this brat wanted to do. He asked: âWhat are you looking for?â
âNothing in particular.â Li Qiye replied: âJust reading to improve my knowledge. Donât you know that knowledge is power? Your sect was built on espionage and information selling, allowing it to prosper.â
Wind God agreed with this logic, albeit slightly surprised.
âIf you want information, I can help you.â Wind God generously said.
âI donât care about the present or the movements of the world.â Li Qiye said: âIâm interested in ancient mysteries, the older, the more precious. Basically, just historical stories, whether they be official or just popular folktales.â
Wind God took another look at him. Godstep did start out as an intelligence guild, but as time passed, many things have changed. Their disciples now pursued power and cultivation, no longer caring about mysteries of the past.
âThatâs fine, you can take a look.â Wind God agreed.
âOh right, whatâs the name of your girl?â Li Qiye stood up and suddenly realized something so he clapped his hands.
âSplendorous Saintess.â Wind God said with a hint of annoyance. [1]
Splendorous didnât only have the most prestigious bloodline in their sect but was also the most gifted. The elders had high expectations for her. Even if she wouldnât take over their sect, she would still become a powerful Eternal, perhaps surpassing a supreme ancestor such as himself.
They naturally wanted to keep this good seed around. Unfortunately, Lucidity demanded their best bloodline to be a consort.
Wind God didnât want this at that point because Li Qiye was a useless brat. No one would want to betroth their best disciple to someone like him. Unfortunately, out of both fear and gratitude, he became the first to agree.
Of course, refusal was not an option since Lucidity was famous for punishing nonconformity. The first to voice this opinion would suffer the wrath of Lucidity, especially when Sun Lengying and Silver Secret were still around.
This was no longer the case. These three threats have disappeared. Plus, the kingdom has fallen. Li Qiye was a king without land.
Under these circumstances, was he still suitable for her? In the past, she could arguably be reaching up to marry him. But now, she wouldnât favor a fallen king like him.
âWhat, change your mind?â Li Qiye noticed Wind Godâs annoyed expression and laughed.
âSelf-awareness is a virtue.â Wind God replied.
Wind God was rightfully annoyed, thinking that this Li Qiye wasnât worthy of his saintess! Of course, he had principles and was a man of his words. Since he had agreed with Lucidity on top of signing the marriage pact, he couldnât actually change his mind nor deny this marriage.
This made him feel quite helpless. The whole thing was akin to planting flowers into a pile of manure. The only thing he could do was hope for Li Qiye to know his place and decline this marriage himself.
âSelf-awareness?â Li Qiye smiled: âYour saintess is only a maid in my eyes. If she were to be my concubine, then she better serves me well. But then again, scrolls and lamps in a cold room, I do need a servant to take care of daily tasks.â
A fire of fury started in Wind Godâs mind, wanting nothing more than to slap the brat to death. He was still acting so imperious and haughty.
âYouâre just a fallen king right now!â Wind God expressed coldly; his intent was as clear as day.
âSo what?â Li Qiye smiled: âA man must stay true to his words; this is especially true for strong people. Otherwise, theyâll stay ordinary. One decision alone could decide victory or defeat, and could also decide oneâs nature and dao heart.â
âDao heart.â Wind God closed his eyes, aware of this magical aspect and how important it was to a cultivator.
The problem here was that the young generation didnât care for it. They only talked and bragged about having powerful cultivation and techniques. Thus, a weakling like Li Qiye bringing it up was outside of his expectations.
New cultivators only cared about having better merit laws and treasures in order to grow stronger. But in this process, they neglected to polish their dao heart. Some didnât even know of this phenomenon.
In fact, this was indeed the case for the majority of cultivators. The dao heart was intangible and mysterious, seemingly trivial for cultivation.
An Eternal like Wind God naturally knew of its importance after reaching this level, but someone like Li Qiye shouldnât.
âA deceiver canât stand proud and definitely canât reach the sky.â Li Qiye said: âA heart without honesty and integrity canât give birth to true conviction and will inevitably waver.â
Wind Godâs eyes flashed with bright rays. He was stronger than many True Emperors, so his words were worth more than gold.
It wasnât hard for him to deny this marriage right now, given the circumstances.
However, the biggest problem was himself. Would he be able to keep his promises and integrity?
The Bingchi Clan never felt this pressure. They directly turned against the dynasty and even swapped someone else for the marriage alliance.
Lucidity and the kingdom werenât around. Reneging wasnât hard if they didnât care about this personal test.
For Wind God, at the very least, he couldnât do something despicable like Bingchi Juezun so he found himself in quite a predicament. Thatâs why he wished for Li Qiye to have enough self-awareness and back off.
1. The literal translation for her title is Flying + Flower; or scattering flowers in various seasons. The actual, literary meaning is a beautiful scene out of a painting; many musicians use this word for their song titles. Scattering Flower isnât a good title for a character in English, too long as well. Splendorous fits the literary definition and isnât used often