âIf you donât like what Iâm doing, come and seek death. I donât mind another massacre.â Li Qiye smiled at Zhe Long.
The air suddenly became tense after this statement. People exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.
Fiercest always conducted himself in a straightforward and aggressive manner as if he didnât have a single bone of tactfulness and cordiality in him.
âCanât Fiercest be a little more likable? Being polite allows for more options. Now, everyone feels as if theyâre forced to save face and have to do this the hard way.â An expert said.
Everyone has skin and face, especially the top masters who especially cared about the latter. In fact, some wouldnât mind dying just to save some face.
Thus, what Li Qiye had essentially done was rendering it impossible for the other side to back off and breaking all pretense of civility.
For example, both True Emperor Bachi and Creek King spoke with grace and propriety after carefully choosing their words. On the other hand, Li Qiye was overly blunt, to say the least, easily offending others.
âThis fella, did he come from the wild with no sect to teach himâ¦?â One sect master smiled wryly.
âIdiot.â An ancestor disagreed: âItâs because he doesnât bother with trite formality. Do you ever show respect to an ant?â
âBut heâs talking to Zhe Long and facing Luminous Master.â Another expert said.
âWell, Fiercest has never given a damn about anyone since his debut, not a single person.â The ancestor stared at Li Qiye with a profound gaze.
The crowd thought about it and this was indeed the case. He has always been domineering and haughty ever since his first appearance.
âThe succeeding waves will overwhelm the first.â Zhe Long said sentimentally: âOur bones are old now, no longer as fierce as before.â
He paused for a bit and continued: âHowever, Iâm still ready for a fight if you insist on provoking us, Fellow Daoist.â
The politeness remained but one could see a hint of aggressiveness. It felt as if one could see Zhe Long in his prime once more.
âA fight it is then.â Li Qiye smiled.
This had confirmed a battle for the crowd. They didnât expect for Li Qiye to fight Zhe Long first before Luminous Master.
As a Fardao Everlasting, Zhe Long might actually be stronger than Luminous Master.
âThis place is special to me.â Zhe Long said: âThus, we wonât hesitate from using any means necessary in this battle, please excuse us, Fellow Daoist.â
âNothingâs wrong with that, if I were to lose, it means that Iâm not skillful enough. Go ahead and use everything in your arsenal before itâs too late.â Li Qiye didnât mind at all.
âI see, I see. I havenât seen this level of confidence in a long time! Good!â Zhe Long laughed in response.
Everyone could tell the fury contained in this laughter and sympathized with Zhe Long.
As such an important character, the world always treated him with respect. But now, Li Qiye didnât think much of him. In fact, Zhe Long was doing a great job at keeping calm.
âI will also overestimate myself and join in, please excuse me, Young Noble Li.â Creek King spoke.
âThatâs fine, I already said that I would sweep through this place if you all donât leave. I donât mind how many of you come together.â Li Qiye smiled.
âThank you, Young Noble.â Creek King remained polite to her opponent.
Zhe Long didnât say anything either, clearly giving tacit approval.
Many took a deep breath. This meant that Zhe Long, Creek King, and the rest of Immortal Bronze Mountain had no plan of fighting Li Qiye in a one-on-one situation.
At the progenitorial level, they normally enjoyed fighting on an even footing instead of getting help.
Plus, weaker cultivators wouldnât be able to do anything. They would only be in the way at best.
Thatâs why it was surprising for Zhe Long to accept help from Creek King. She was definitely strong, but thatâs relative to the other experts in the world. She certainly wasnât at the progenitorial level like Zhe Long. Even if she went all out, she wouldnât be able to help Zhe Long at all.
âThe two of you sound quite confident right now. Iâm sure an intelligent woman like you will not do something foolish.â Li Qiye became amused.
âYour vision is far superior compared to us. I only have a little technique, nothing that impressive.â She said.
It was difficult to dislike Creek King. Just listening to her talk was an enjoyable matter.
âMy progenitor was trapped in a forbidden ground and eventually comprehended something new with the help of Jiao Heng. This dao is different from his original so he didnât cultivate it, same with his descendants. I, on the other hand, have tried to learn it despite being so incapableâ¦â
This was the first time anyone had heard of this particular story. The common tale told that Jiao Heng sold White Ash Progenitor to a devil. This didnât seem to match her story.
Or did Jiao Heng help the progenitor after selling him off? Or maybe it was part of their ruse to trick this so-called devil?
The intricacies of this story remained a mystery to everyone. However, it was certainly more complex than it seemed.
âSo Iâll be used as a touchstone.â Li Qiye smiled.
âOf course not, Iâm simply overestimating myself.â She said humbly.
âVery well.â Li Qiye didnât mind at all: âI want to see what Jiao Heng and your progenitor have created. After all, he is the heavenâs favorite, far above all other geniuses in the world.â
The crowd didnât expect to hear such praises from Li Qiye. He seemed to hold Jiao Heng in high esteem.
Jiao Heng has been gone for a long time now but Fiercest still liked the guy so much? This felt quite strange to the listeners.
âIsnât Jiao Heng that one dishonest merchant?â One of them didnât agree with Li Qiyeâs assessment.
The merchant that created the monstrous Arrogance Enterprise had a bad reputation. Back during his era, many dao systems suffered from his ploys. Thatâs why everyone in the contemporary world didn't hold a good opinion of him and found Li Qiyeâs praise confusing.
âIâll be starting.â Creek King interrupted their train of thoughts.
This made everyone watch with full attention, waiting to see her ultimate move.
Her strength was at the level where someone like Metalkin War God would think twice before provoking her. It had nothing to do with her being Luminous Masterâs wife.