Chapter 13: Chaotic Heart Forest (Part 1)
However, the younger disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate had gathered, and their emotions were running high. Countless of them were seething with rage, especially when they saw Li Qiye make his entrance. Their eyes practically spewed flames of fury.
"Kill him! How dare that reckless fool come to our Nine Saints Demon Gate and act so outrageously!" a disciple roared.
Another disciple shouted menacingly, "Killing him would be too easy! We should cripple his limbs and set him ablaze like a human lantern! For humiliating our Nine Saints Demon Gate, dying ten thousand times wouldn't be enough!"
"A human lantern? That's too merciful! Our Nine Saints Demon Gate governs the Ancient Ox Territory and holds sway over the Central Realm. How dare a mere ant like him make such shameless boasts and insult our Princess! We should trap him on Eagle Release Cliff, let the eagles peck at him for a hundred years, let him howl on Eagle Release Cliff for a hundred years, let him suffer on Eagle Release Cliff for a hundred years, and let his blood wash Eagle Release Cliff for a hundred years!" a disciple roared furiously.
"Why stop at killing this little bastard? We should annihilate the Xiyan Ancient Sect too!" a disciple shrieked maniacally.
In an instant, cries for blood echoed across the area. The crowd was furious, and some disciples looked ready to rush forward and tear Li Qiye to pieces. Li Qiye had not only insulted their Princess but had also threatened to destroy their Nine Saints Demon Gate. This made them hate him down to their very bones, wishing they could rip him limb from limb. They wanted the entire world to know that the Divine Power of the Nine Saints Demon Gate could not be challenged!
Both Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun couldn't help but shudder inwardly. If a Guardian from the Nine Saints Demon Gate gave the word, they feared the sect's disciples would tear Li Qiye apart.
The air was thick with shouts for his death, and the fury of the Nine Saints Demon Gate disciples threatened to drown the entire area. But Li Qiye simply strolled forward as if taking a leisurely walk in a garden, completely unfazed. His arrogance, his conceitedness, was off the charts!
Although Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun both thought Li Qiye was insane—hopelessly ignorant and arrogant—they couldn't help but admire his courage at this moment. Faced with such a tidal wave of anger from so many disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, anyone else would have been scared stiff, let alone walk out so calmly.
"Ahem—" Just then, Chief Guardian Yu He cleared his throat. The soft cough exploded like a clap of divine thunder, instantly silencing all the cries for blood. An immense, rolling aura of a Prince washed over the crowd, making it difficult for anyone to breathe.
With the Chief Guardian having spoken, the disciples dared not act out of line and fell silent. However, the countless glares, all practically spitting fire, were enough to drown Li Qiye. If looks could kill, he would have died countless times over by now.
"For this assessment, if you pass, the marriage alliance between our two sects will proceed according to the ancestral decree! If you fail, or if you lose your life, you can only blame your own inadequate skills!" Guardian Xu declared, his eyes like cold blades as he stared at Li Qiye.
Guardian Xu was naturally furious with Li Qiye. As a Guardian, he was reluctant to attack Li Qiye himself, but if he could, he wouldn't mind crushing this arrogant, ignorant ant!
Li Qiye sat down imposingly, then slowly glanced at Guardian Xu. He chuckled, shook his head, and said, "All I can say is that your Nine Saints Demon Gate has certainly fallen. Back then, why did your Nine Saints Great Sage make this promise? Why did your Nine Saints Demon Gate seek a marriage alliance with the Xiyan Ancient Sect? In those days, the Xiyan Ancient Sect was worshipped by the world and the Nine Realms bowed before it. Your Nine Saints Demon Gate merely wanted to seek shelter under its protection and secure a better position for yourselves."
Li Qiye couldn't be bothered to dig into the bullshit of the past. His own situation back then had been unstable. The marriage alliance between the Nine Saints Demon Gate and the Xiyan Ancient Sect wasn't entirely the intention of the Nine Saints Great Sage and Mingren Immortal Emperor; it was something pushed by the disciples of both sects.
At this point, Li Qiye shot a look at Guardian Xu and said, "But now the times have changed, so you've decided to go back on your promise. It seems you people really are getting worse with each generation!"
"Hmph!" Guardian Xu snorted coldly. "You said it yourself—the times have changed! If we're talking about getting worse with each generation, that would be your Xiyan Ancient Sect! Today, the Nine Saints Demon Gate governs a Jiang Country. The Upper Country Emperor Lineages wanting an alliance with us are far more than just one or two. Our Princess is not someone a good-for-nothing like you is worthy of!"
To hear the Xiyan Ancient Sect insulted in front of so many disciples left a sour taste in the mouths of Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun. But circumstances were against them, and what Guardian Xu said was the truth. The Xiyan Ancient Sect of today was no match for the Nine Saints Demon Gate.
"Let the past be the past. Verbal sparring changes nothing!" Chief Guardian Yu He interjected coldly. "The Nine Saints Demon Gate is giving the Xiyan Ancient Sect this opportunity precisely to honor the promise made back then! If you are a coward and wish to back out now, our Nine Saints Demon Gate will not make things difficult for you. The promise will simply be annulled!"
"Since I'm already here, let's get on with the challenge," Li Qiye said leisurely. "I wonder what kind of assessment you have in mind? Bring it on. I'll play along."
"You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!" Guardian Xu snorted. As for the disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, they glared at Li Qiye with even greater fury.
"A good-for-nothing who's only Cultivating Martial Techniques dares to be so shameless. That reckless fool!" a disciple said indignantly. If the Guardians weren't present, they would have beaten Li Qiye to death.
"Your Dao Practice is still shallow. Her Highness has also given instructions to give you a chance. The first round will be a scholastic test, and the second a martial test. As for the third round..." the Chief Guardian began to explain.
"Two rounds are enough," Li Qiye interrupted Yu He. "How will the scholastic test work, and how will the martial test work? Let's hear it."
"Insolent!" Seeing Li Qiye's audacity, Guardian Xu bellowed. A rolling momentum, like a giant wave, pressed down on Li Qiye.
"What, you want to start a fight before the assessment has even begun?" Li Qiye's eyes narrowed as he stared back at Guardian Xu.
At that moment, Chief Guardian Yu He coughed, interrupting the wave-like pressure from Guardian Xu. This made Guardian Xu glare furiously at Li Qiye. 'This arrogant, ignorant brat! I could crush him with a single finger. When did an ant like him get the right to act up in front of me!'
"The scholastic test is simple. You will enter the Chaotic Heart Forest. Whoever can walk the farthest wins. As for the martial test, that's even easier: a single bout to determine the victor! There are three rounds in the assessment. As long as you win two, the marriage alliance between our sects can proceed!" Yu He said slowly, his gaze sharp and intimidating.
"Good. Straightforward enough. A test it is." Li Qiye didn't stand on ceremony. He stood up and declared, "Scholastic test, martial test, whatever. Let's see just how capable your Princess is!"
"Pah!" Xu Hui spat disdainfully. "You? You're not even qualified to have Senior Sister Li act personally! I'm more than enough to deal with trash like you!"
Yu He nodded and added, "We heard that you only recently joined the Xiyan Ancient Sect, so our Nine Saints Demon Gate won't bully you too much. Within our sect, if Her Highness were to act personally, I'm afraid you wouldn't even have a chance to compete. Among our disciples, Her Highness has the greatest talent. Among the younger generation, in terms of strength, our Chief Disciple, Nephew Leng, is the strongest. If either of them were to assess you, you would likely be unconvinced even in defeat. Nephew Xu is of above-average aptitude in our Nine Saints Demon Gate. For him to assess the Chief Disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect, it does not disgrace your status."
By not sending their strongest disciple as the opponent, the Nine Saints Demon Gate was arguably leaving a sliver of hope for the Xiyan Ancient Sect. If Li Shuangyan or the strongest disciple of the Nine Saints Demon Gate were to personally act, never mind the Chief Disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect—even their elders or the Sect Leader himself would undoubtedly be defeated.
Li Qiye couldn't even be bothered to glance at Xu Hui's clamoring. He simply looked at Yu He, nodded seriously, and said in a slow, deliberate tone, "So, there's still some hope for the Nine Saints Demon Gate. Although you went back on your promise, at least you haven't become completely shameless and still maintain a sliver of decency. Fine. You give an inch, so I'll give a foot. We wouldn't want people to say I'm bullying the Nine Saints Demon Gate!"
Li Qiye spouted more arrogant words, making Guardian Mo's and Nan Huairun's faces burn with embarrassment. They wished they could dig a hole and crawl into it. They wanted to beg him, 'Uncle Li, it wouldn't kill you to boast a little less!'
"To be this ignorant is truly pathetic!" At this point, the enraged disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate were both angry and amused.
Some disciples were furious, while others sneered, "The Xiyan Ancient Sect hasn't just declined, it's gone insane. To make a lunatic their Chief Disciple... Heh, and this is an Immortal Sect Emperor Lineage? They've brought shame upon eighteen generations of their ancestors!"
Many of the furious Nine Saints Demon Gate disciples couldn't help but burst into derisive laughter. Li Qiye's blind arrogance wasn't just ignorance—it was insanity!
The mockery from all the Nine Saints Demon Gate disciples made Guardian Mo and Nan Huairun unable to lift their heads, too ashamed to even look at anyone.
Guardian Xu sneered; this ignorant ant was truly pathetic. As for Yu He, a man who had weathered countless storms, he felt as if he were looking at some kind of freak. He couldn't imagine how a person could be this ignorant. 'What kind of useless trash is he?' Even useless trash couldn't possibly be this clueless.
'Does this Li Qiye before me not know how powerful the Nine Saints Demon Gate is? Does he have no concept of strength?' Yu He couldn't help but find it funny. He had truly met a top-grade specimen of ignorance today.
Finally, Yu He collected himself, cleared his throat, and announced, "Let's begin with the scholastic test. You will enter the Chaotic Heart Forest. Whoever walks the farthest, wins!"
With the assessment about to begin, everyone moved toward the Chaotic Heart Forest. In an instant, the area outside the forest was surrounded by countless disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate.