Li Qingshan glanced at the two people who were talking. One old and one young, both of which he had met outside Pegasus city. They were among the innate masters around the alliance leader, Zhang Yuntian, who then fled individually when Gu Yanying was possessed.
The young one was a handsome man. He was dressed in the same white clothes, a disciple of the Snow Mountain sect.
The old one had clearly come to persuade them to join their efforts. As it seemed, there were still some people who refused to accept defeat and wanted to put up a stand against him.
The people in the hall all paled in fright. For a moment, only the sounds of swords being drawn rang out.
“Bing’er, get over here!” Xue Hanfeng said as he activated the sect formation.
The temperature in the hall suddenly plummeted. Despite it being the height of summer, all of their breaths became visible mist. Li Qingshan suffered from most of the coldness. Frost formed beneath his feet and rapidly spread up his body.
Li Qingshan ignored it. He pointed at the old man and made a gesture with his thumb, extending it behind him.
As if he had just been spared, the old man scrambled for the door, which left everyone surprised. He was also a figure who had made a name for himself many years ago, yet he actually fled the moment he got the opportunity, without even throwing behind a threat. Little did they know that he did not even have the courage to face Li Qingshan directly after witnessing how the latter killed people. He was not afraid of dying in battle like a warrior, but he did not want to be squatted to death like a bug.
“Stop right there!” Li Qingshan barked.
The old man was about to step over the door sill. When he heard that, he froze there like a nail hammered into the ground and dared not move again.
Li Qingshan said without looking back, “Hey, I’ve spared your life twice, and you’re not even going to say a word of thanks?”
The old man’s expression changed. He lowered his head and clasped his hands. “Thank you for sparing my life!”
“I’ve done it once and twice, but there won’t be a third time. If it happens again, you might as well join the World’s society.”
The old man looked up and glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. He nodded firmly. “Alright!” Then he said to Xue Hanfeng, “Sect master Feng, we’ve known each other for many years. I know you are a kind and righteous person, so I don’t wish to see the Snow Mountain sect suffer the same fate as the Ma family. I- it’s best if you simply surrender!”
He let out another heavy sigh before leaving without even looking back.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Whose side was he supposed to be on?
Li Qingshan glanced at the young man in white again. He was like a mouse that had just seen a cat. He shuddered and lowered his head, refusing to utter another word.
Xue Bing’s heart ached at this sight. Was this still the same haughty first senior brother as before?
Xue Hanfeng clasped his hands sternly. “I am Xue Hanfeng, the nineteenth sect master of the Snow Mountain sect. Please forgive me for failing to welcome you from afar, hero king.”
“Sect master Xue, I’ll cut right to the chase. Will you be fighting or surrendering? Tell me your decision right now!”
Li Qingshan took a step forward. With a thunk, the hall shook, and the frost shattered.
“May I ask how we will be fighting and how you want us to surrender?”
“If you want to fight, then all of you come at me. There’s no need to haggle over so many details. If you want to surrender, then from now onwards, there is no more Snow Mountain sect, only a Snow Mountain hall of the World’s society. You will be the hall master!”
All of their hearts sank. You’re trying to end our Snow Mountain sect! If it were not for the word of advice from the old man earlier, someone probably would call out and rebuke him immediately. Now, all they could do was edge forwards slightly with their swords, expressing that they were willing to go down with the Snow Mountain sect.
Only the young man in white remained where he was, gazing at the ground with hollow eyes as he murmured, “It’s useless! It’s useless!”
Xue Bing stopped looking at him. The first senior brother of the past was already dead, not killed, but frightened to death. She pulled away from Li Qingshan and returned to her father’s side before looking back at him.
Li Qingshan stood in front of the door without budging at all. The daemon qi he gave off filled the entire hall, like a black cloud weighing on the snow mountain. It was almost impossible to connect him right now to the man who had barged into the restaurant in such a miserable shape and even laughed off the manager’s scoldings.
But at a closer glance, he had not actually changed at all. His glowing, round eyes seemed to be filled with smiles at all times, but now, it seemed like he viewed everything as a game.
Xue Hanfeng sucked in a deep breath and said, “The Snow Mountain sect and the World’s society have no disputes. I will give up everything beneath the mountain and swear we will never oppose the World’s society!”
Li Qingshan shook his head. “That won’t work. I’ve already said this to your dear daughter before. The trend of the times has already taken shape. Everyone is either a friend or a foe. There will be no bystanders!”
Xue Hanfeng was angered. “Sir, you are going too far. The Snow Mountain sect has stood for centuries. How can I let it end in my hands?”
“You really haven’t thought things through, sect master Xue. No one can avoid the process of birth, death, illness, and old age. Everything conforms to the process of formation, existence, disintegration, and emptiness. You are more than welcome to set your sights a little further. Once I conquer the world, there will be no division of sects left. This is the unstoppable trend of the times, where those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish. Becoming the Snow Mountain hall will only lead to greater prosperity. It will be equivalent to gaining a new breath of life in your hands!”
Li Qingshan spread his arms and spoke boldly, except his expression did not make him seem like he was going on about something grand. Instead, it seemed like he was saying something that was common sense.
Xue Hanfeng clenched his fist firmly. He had never faced such a difficult choice in his life before. Suddenly, he let out a long sigh and waved his hand. The temperature in the hall began to rise again.
“Sect master, you must not!” “I would rather die than join the World’s society!”
For a moment, people in the hall flew into a rage.
Xue Bing bit her lip as tears pooled up in her eyes. Was the man as grand as a snow mountain in her eyes going to submit to this man’s shadow as well?
Li Qingshan smiled. “Now that’s the correct decision.”
Then Xue Hanfeng drew his sword slowly, pointing it towards Li Qingshan.
“What are you trying to do, sect master Xue?”
Xue Hanfeng said resolutely, “As the sect master, if I surrender without a fight, how can I still face my predecessors? All I want is a fair battle, to witness the hero king’s supreme martial arts!”
“What’s the point of this?” Li Qingshan could tell he was already ready to die, which earned him some admiration.
“Don’t, father!” Xue Bing panicked. She would rather him submit than die here.
“Sect master, the codes of the jianghu do not apply to this demon. Let’s get him together!”
“Back down, Bing’er!” Xue Hanfeng said to everyone sternly, “If I am defeated, then the Snow Mountain sect will become the Snow Mountain hall. No one is permitted to avenge me. This is the order of the sect master!”
Li Qingshan smiled. “Sect master Xue, if I kill you, just your dear daughter will hate me for the rest of her life, let alone the others. If she tries to lay her hands on me, all I can do is give her a quick one, which really will put me in a tough spot! Whatever. I respect you as a man. You’ve done many righteous deeds in your life. If I touch a single finger on you or take even half a step back today, that’ll be my loss. How’s that?”
A sliver of joy flashed through Xue Bing’s eyes, but her expression became rather mixed. She really did not know whether to thank him or to hate him!
Xue Hanfeng happily agreed. “Alright, it’s a deal!” He thought, Even if your martial arts is unrivaled, how are you supposed to defeat me if you can’t even touch a finger on me?
The sword turned into a flash. The bright, blue flash lingered without dispersing, blooming in the air like flowers and layering together like snow, growing thicker and thicker. Right off the bat, he used the Great Avalanche Form of the supreme secret art of the Snow Mountain sect, the Blizzard Sword Style.
Sure enough, Li Qingshan did not budge, allowing him to build up the attack.
Everyone was absolutely tense, but suddenly, they heard a yawn. Rāhu Xiaoming climbed up onto Li Qingshan’s shoulder and leaned against his hand in a drowsy manner, looking around lethargically.
Xue Hanfeng frowned. I am the master of the Snow Mountain sect, so how can I lay my hands on a child? Don’t tell me that this is his scheme?
Li Qingshan smiled. “You have nothing to worry about, sect master Xue. If you kill this kid, it’s on me.”
“Watch my sword!”
Xue Hanfeng made up his mind, and his presence rose up to the peak. True qi surged out like raging waves, rushing over turbulently.
Only now did Li Qingshan extend his hand with his fingers open. The surging daemon qi gathered in his hand, but it was not released.
Abruptly, Xue Hanfeng froze mid-air. The resplendent sword slash condensed together as if it was sealed up in invisible amber. He spat out a mouthful of blood violently and landed on the ground heavily.
Everyone widened their eyes, but they did not see what Li Qingshan had done. It only looked like he had extended his hand and Xue Hanfeng was defeated. Like he had said, he had not touched a finger on him.
“Father!” Xue Bing went up to help him up.
Xue Hanfeng swatted away her hand and stood up by himself. He was filled with regret. “This is martial arts!?”
“Not martial arts. An innate ability.”
The first innate ability of the Ape Demon Transformation.
“An innate ability! You’re a daemon?”
“Yes and no. No and yes.”
“What’s your relationship with the White Ape King?”
“Nothing really. I only cut off his head.”
“You’ve lost!” Xue Bing yelled at Li Qingshan.
“How have I lost?”
“You said you wouldn’t touch a single finger on my father, yet you’ve heavily injured him. What, innate abilities suddenly don’t count?”
“Sigh, women are born unreasonable. Feel free to ask your father if I ever injured him or not.”
“Bing’er, there’s no need to say anything more. I’ve lost.”
Xue Hanfeng could not understand this any more clearly. All of his wounds had originated from the backlash of true qi.
Xue Bing lowered her head in dejection. Tears poured down her cheeks like rain.
“You cheater!”
Rāhu Xiaoming curled his lip. Li Qingshan’s innate ability did not possess any offensive power at all. It could not even kill an ant. However, the effect of the innate ability had left him stunned as well when he first saw it. It was not some freezing technique, but directly sealing up space.
“The master of the Snow Mountain hall, Xue Hanfeng, pays his respects to the hero king.”
Xue Hanfeng stepped forward and bowed. The elders and disciples of the Snow Mountain sect all bowed as well, regardless of how they felt inside.
In the martial arts community, the strong still claimed supremacy at the end of the day.
The young man in white who served as the first senior brother of the Snow Mountain sect eased up greatly. He felt like this was as good of an outcome as it could get, but he was also worried about what he said in the hall earlier and whether Li Qingshan had heard it or not, which could displease him.
Li Qingshan said, “Listen up, hall master Xue!”
“Yes.”
Li Qingshan smiled. “Fetch me some alcohol!”
Xue Hanfeng was taken aback. Originally, he thought it would be some kind of important order.
“I couldn’t drink my fill at the foot of the mountain, so it’s perfect that I can continue here. Your dear daughter promised me.”
Xue Bing recalled what he had said below the mountain and was left truly speechless. That same night, they set up a banquet in the hall. Xue Hanfeng used the opportunity to ask, “My king, what would you like our Snow Mountain hall to do?”
After a moment of silence, Li Qingshan laid out his hands and shrugged. “I don’t know either.”
Xue Hanfeng was speechless. Did you end the Snow Mountain sect just for some alcohol? We shouldn’t have gone out like this!
“I just got bored in Pegasus city, so I came out to have some fun! It’s not like I’m the leader of the World’s society, so why would I bother with these miscellaneous matters? Once you get to Pegasus city, you can ask around yourself!” Li Qingshan said impatiently, “Let’s drink, let’s drink!”
Xue Hanfeng widened his eyes. Unable to hold back his internal injuries, blood sprayed out of his mouth.
“Father! Father!” Xue Bing rushed over.
“Your father is not too good with alcohol, so you better take him back to rest!”
Xue Bing raised an eyebrow. How does this have anything to do with alcohol? You clearly angered him so much that this happened!
A Long-time-coming Author’s Word—How Can I Rest Before I’ve Done All That I Can?
It’s been so long since I last asked for monthly votes, so I’ll ask for some today!
Yeah, that’s basically the main point. I can start rambling about nonsense now.
A few days ago, when I was talking to a friend, I said, “It’s a day if you’re happy, it’s also a day if you’re unhappy…”
He must have thought I would say, “So you might as well live a little happier.”
However, that wasn’t my conclusion. I said, “Then I’d rather be a little unhappy and do something.”
In hindsight, what a terrifying thought!
If a person wants to be happy but can’t be happy, that’s already horrible enough. It’s basically horrendous if they can be happy but refuse to be happy.
Go away, you damned happiness! Stop tempting me!
There must be something wrong with my head! When exactly did this begin? From when I read far too many books that I shouldn’t have read. After that, I was never able to fool myself again. I still ended up going from being unable to become part of the crowd to intentionally keeping a distance from the crowd.
In society, I’ve come across a lot of people. The way to judge whether someone is a failure is very easy. Just talk about fate with them. As long as they say something like “Everything is fate”, then that’s that.
I’ve come across a lot of successful people too. Determining whether they’ve grown complacent is very simple too. Just talk about effort with them. If they attribute all of their success to themselves and believe all failures don’t try hard enough, then there’s no need to listen to anything else they say.
I was thinking that I can’t be like this.
When I fail, I need to think that a chance of success definitely still exists, and I just didn’t achieve it, which is obviously an issue of my ability.
When I succeed, I need to think that if it weren’t for this perfect luck, I would have never made it so far. Oh great fate!
As a result, failure is all because I’m useless, and success is all because I’m lucky. Look at how logical I am. Whenever I fail, I turn it into self-torture, and whenever I succeed, I just have to ruin the mood.
Can constantly working against yourself be regarded as being toyed around by fate?
Actually, everyone just wants to live life a little more comfortably. Perhaps I am just the idiot who thinks of himself as so clever.
However, I just want that one day, when I suffer a crushing failure and someone asks me what happened, I can say, “Oh, it’s because I’m useless.”
Not because of vile human nature, the darkness of society, the arrangements of fate, or any other boring answer.
As a result, for the sake of this “great” goal, I constantly battle with myself, pushing into the mud time and time again in a painful struggle.
Sinking in the mud, with a frenzied heart, scooping the moon to null and void…
Others all think there’s something wrong with you. There’s a good life right there for you to live, yet you choose to be all hung up about something.
Yeah, that’s what I am. I have a fucking problem! Even at my age, I still refuse to believe some nonsense like “simple is best”.
Even if all the chickens in the coop tell me that eating rice, pecking insects, and sunbathing is the good life, I’ll still want to climb up onto the top of the coop and soar like a hawk.
Even if I can never become a hawk, I’ll never recognise a good life of eating rice, pecking insects, and sunbathing. The heavens are above, so let them forever torture me!
Once all is done, you can rest easy. How can I rest before I’ve done all that I can?
Yeah, this is my request for monthly tickets. I haven’t deviated from the main topic at all.
