Chapter 10: Killing Without Batting an Eye (Part 2)
Thanks to the deliberate efforts of those around Du Yuanguang, news of Li Qiye's challenge quickly spread to the ears of many disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate.
"Challenging Du Yuanguang?" Du Yuanguang already had a minor reputation within the Nine Saints Demon Gate. Having entered the sect five years ago, he was already at the Palace Breaking Realm and was indeed considered a minor genius. Such aptitude, if placed in the Xiyan Ancient Sect, would make him a true prodigy!
Even the senior disciples who had joined earlier were surprised to hear the news. "Du Yuanguang is a disciple favored by Guardian Xu," one said. "Although his Golden Wolf Physique is a Postnatal Body, it's a fierce one. What realm is this Chief Disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect at?"
Some senior disciples who had just come out of seclusion hadn't heard about Li Qiye yet, so they couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Ha, Senior Brother Sheng, you're overthinking it. Never mind that a third-rate sect like the Xiyan Ancient Sect can't produce any experts. Besides, you clearly don't know that this Chief Disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect is a good-for-nothing with a Mortal Body, Mortal Wheel, and Mortal Life. He only joined the Xiyan Ancient Sect two days ago. I heard he's only practiced Martial Techniques and hasn't even cultivated the most basic Daoist Technique," a disciple said with a laugh.
Hearing this, the senior disciples who were unaware of Li Qiye's situation found it incredible. A Martial Artist challenging a Cultivator? Wasn't this just asking for death?
"The ignorant know no fear. How pathetic." Hearing this, one senior brother shook his head, not even interested enough to go watch. It was a foregone conclusion; Du Yuanguang could kill a Martial Artist with a single sword strike!
As for the Nine Saints Demon Gate disciples around Du Yuanguang's age, they were excited for the show. One disciple laughed heartily and said, "Let's go watch Senior Brother Du slaughter a chicken! The people from the Xiyan Ancient Sect don't know what's good for them. A bunch of third-rate country bumpkins who don't know their own limits, daring to provoke our Nine Saints Demon Gate. They're tired of living!"
This news also quickly reached the ears of some Hall Masters and Guardians of the Nine Saints Demon Gate. One of them shook his head and said, "This is utter foolishness!"
Another Guardian with ulterior motives said faintly, "Perhaps this is a good thing. Killing a good-for-nothing is meaningless. However, an ignorant junior from the Xiyan Ancient Sect has provoked our Nine Demons Saint Gate and insulted our Nine Demons Saint Gate. If this blows up, they'll have to ransom their people and apologize for their crimes!"
These words made some of the Hall Masters and Guardians exchange glances. The Xiyan Ancient Sect had declined, but it was an Immortal Sect Emperor Lineage. Legend had it that the Xiyan Ancient Sect still possessed Immortal Technique and Emperor Skill. Countless people coveted the inheritance of the Mingren Immortal Emperor, and many had been eyeing it like a tiger stalking its prey for a long time!
For the current Nine Saints Demon Gate, even a Guardian taking action could probably snatch an Emperor Technique from the Xiyan Ancient Sect. However, regarding the Xiyan Ancient Sect's affairs, the Demon Emperor of the Nine Saints Demon Gate had never stated his position, and the sect's elders also remained silent on the matter. Otherwise, with a single order from the Demon Emperor, someone would have long since made a move to seize the Xiyan Ancient Sect's Emperor Technique, let alone discuss a marriage alliance!
While the middle and upper echelons of the Nine Saints Demon Gate were lost in their own thoughts, Li Qiye was already standing in the dueling arena. Many disciples of the younger generation from the Nine Saints Demon Gate had rushed over to watch the spectacle.
To the younger generation of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, slaughtering a good-for-nothing like Li Qiye was a foregone conclusion. Many of them just wanted to see how Du Yuanguang would sadistically torture and kill a piece of trash like him.
When Du Yuanguang stepped into the dueling arena, a disciple of the Nine Saints Demon Gate shouted, "Senior Brother Du, take his head with one strike!"
Another disciple yelled, "Killing him with one strike is letting him off too easy! For slandering Senior Sister Li and insulting our Nine Saints Demon Gate, you should carve him up, one slice at a time!"
The admirers of Li Yanshuang, the successor of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, were especially furious when they heard Li Qiye had insulted her. They wished they could be the ones to dice him into a thousand pieces!
"Those who offend our Nine Saints Demon Gate shall be executed. Junior Brother Du, don't be in a hurry to kill him. Cut off his hands and feet first, and make the Xiyan Ancient Sect ransom him back! Let the Middle Grand Realm, and even the entire Emperor's Domain, know that there are no good ends for those who make an enemy of our Nine Saints Demon Gate!" a senior brother said.
For a moment, the disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate clamored loudly. In their eyes, Li Qiye was merely meat on a chopping block, free for Du Yuanguang to slaughter as he pleased.
In the dueling arena, Li Qiye shot Du Yuanguang a sideways glance and said, "Are you disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate all just for show? Only good for running your mouths?"
"You ignorant little bastard! I'll pin you to the ground with my first strike!" Du Yuanguang's face turned cold as he spoke grimly.
Li Qiye looked completely unfazed. He said leisurely, "If you're going to make a move, then hurry up. Don't waste my time." As he spoke, he was already holding a short blade in a reverse grip with his left hand, pointing it directly at Du Yuanguang. "Come on."
"Die!" Such blatant contempt from Li Qiye made Du Yuanguang tremble with rage. He was a minor genius, yet today he was being looked down on by a mere Martial Artist? In a fury, his sword tore through the air like a thunderclap, sharp and domineering, thrusting straight for Li Qiye's heart. This strike was filled with all of Du Yuanguang's anger!
Instead of retreating, Li Qiye advanced. He took a step forward, and his left-hand blade, like a Spiritual Snake, instantly coiled around Du Yuanguang's long sword, pulling it slightly off course.
PSHHHT! In a flash, though the sword missed Li Qiye's heart, it instantly pierced through his left shoulder.
"Ant—" Du Yuanguang sneered, but his voice died in his throat. The very instant his sword pierced Li Qiye's left shoulder, Li Qiye's right wrist moved. It was silent and traceless. In that split second, even Du Yuanguang didn't see that Li Qiye's right-hand blade had already struck!
"Nice—" The slash was too fast, incomparably profound; its trajectory was utterly invisible! The disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, seeing Du Yuanguang's sword pierce Li Qiye's left shoulder, couldn't help but cheer.
And at that exact moment, a trickle of blood seeped from Du Yuanguang's throat and he began to fall backward. However, Li Qiye was incomparably vicious. In an instant, the two Qimen Sabers left his hands.
"Stay your blade!" Just as Du Yuanguang's long sword was piercing Li Qiye's left shoulder, Nan Huairun had finally dragged Guardian Mo over. Seeing Li Qiye's left shoulder pierced from a distance, Guardian Mo let out a great cry.
PSHHT— PSHHT— However, in the instant Du Yuanguang's body fell, the two short blades crisscrossed with incomparably mystical transformations, instantly slicing through his body. By the time Du Yuanguang's body hit the ground, it had already been cut into five pieces, spilling all over the floor as blood pooled everywhere.
"Show mercy—" Guardian Mo had rushed over to save him, but as soon as he reached the dueling arena, his words died in his throat.
Du Yuanguang's eyes were wide open. Even in death, he didn't know how he had died. How could he have known that Li Qiye's "Qimen Saber" was a saber technique once refined by the Mingren Immortal Emperor himself? Even if it was just a casual refinement, it was still incomparably terrifying. A Martial Technique refined by an Immortal Emperor—how frightening was that! Even if it couldn't compare to an Emperor Technique, it was still far beyond any ordinary Daoist Technique!
What was even more terrifying was that Li Qiye understood the ultimate Mystical Meaning of this Saber Technique. Since the dawn of time, besides the Mingren Immortal Emperor, only Li Qiye knew its ultimate secrets! One had to know that if this Saber Technique was cultivated to the point of perfection, it could slay even a Prince!
Having underestimated Li Qiye, the careless Du Yuanguang had no way of dodging this peerlessly profound Saber Technique! A fatal blow, traded for a sword through the shoulder.
For a moment, the entire dueling arena was dead silent. All jeering came to an abrupt halt. Everyone stared at the scene in disbelief.
Nan Huairun's mouth was wide open. He had dragged reinforcements here to save Li Qiye's life, but he never expected that Li Qiye would actually dismember Du Yuanguang with a single slash. A Martial Technique killing a Cultivator was absolutely impossible—unless Li Qiye was an expert. But Li Qiye was precisely *not* an expert! This was simply impossible.
At this moment, Li Qiye pulled the Divine Sword piercing his shoulder out inch by inch. The sound of the blade scraping against bone was ear-piercing, but Li Qiye didn't even frown. 'He had endured pain far more terrible than this. What was a little ache like this in comparison!'
He pulled out the Divine Sword, and blood spurted out. Li Qiye tossed it aside casually, glanced at the crowd, and said with regret, "It seems my Saber Technique still lacks some Fire Control. A sword wound in exchange for a lesson!"
Nan Huairun's jaw could have fit a goose egg; it was a long time before he could close it. To dismember Du Yuanguang with a single slash and still express regret? This was simply impossible! This… this completely defied his common sense.
As for the disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, their minds short-circuited. For a moment, they couldn't process what had happened. Du Yuanguang was a minor genius among their Outer Disciples, an expert at the Palace Breaking Realm, yet he had been dismembered with a single slash. The visual shock was too much for them to comprehend.
Guardian Mo was the first to come to his senses. He acted instantly, immediately stopping Li Qiye's bleeding, then said in a low voice, "We're leaving!" With that, he grabbed Li Qiye and turned to leave.
Nan Huairun, snapping out of it, didn't dare to linger either and immediately followed his master.
When Guardian Mo brought Li Qiye back to the small courtyard, he didn't say a word. He just sat in a chair, staring blankly for a long time. He no longer had the mind to think about how Li Qiye had killed Du Yuanguang. Because killing a disciple of the Nine Saints Demon Gate… this was a huge disaster!
Nan Huairun, coming to his senses, immediately applied Antiseptic Medicine to Li Qiye's wound and bandaged it properly.
"This… this… this is impossible. The Qimen Saber is just an ordinary Martial Technique. How could it possibly kill an expert at the Palace Breaking Realm?" After bandaging Li Qiye's wound, Nan Huairun was still fixated on what had just happened.
In fact, Nan Huairun had read the "Qimen Saber" manual before. It was just a Martial Technique, so he couldn't even be bothered to practice it.
"That's only because you haven't grasped its essence." Li Qiye was lounging on a grandmaster's chair, relaxed and at ease. 'Of course,' he thought, 'the current "Qimen Saber" Secret Manual at the Xiyan Ancient Sect is incomplete. The complete Saber Technique and all its Mystical Meanings are floating in my mind.'
If Li Qiye had said something like this before, Nan Huairun would definitely have thought he was crazy and spouting nonsense.