At that moment, he seemed like a combination of the demonic and divine, merging justice and evil, chivalry and tyranny, heroism and madness into a single body. Under the glorious morning sunlight, it seemed like even the obscure heavens had no idea whether to destroy him or assist him to success.
“Perfect timing.”
Gu Yanying’s lips curled slightly. He had hidden his true intentions ingeniously before coming up with a fake reason for why the world rejected him. She never expected the kid who always liked to move alone would actually be so cunning. However, she also remembered how he always upheld his word. He could say something so enthusiastic and exciting that even she felt a little excited, but did that mean…
She paid attention closely, only to see his gaze burning away with determination. Even she could not find an element of falsehood. Was he perhaps serious?
Suddenly, she recalled a few months ago when she grumbled about how the heavens were even worse than him, and he had smiled. “I’m about to compete with it!”
The red sun gradually rose up in the east, and everyone recovered from their shock. Their expressions all varied as they sank into their thoughts silently. They felt both fear and shock, as well as a strange sense of anticipation.
A middle-aged swordsman suddenly said, “Well said, manor lord. There’s nothing impressive about clans and sects. Why are they just allowed to be better than everyone else right from birth?”
In order to join the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape to study the sword, he had spent almost a decade gathering enough treasures to offer up to the White Ape King, but he was already past the optimal age to learn the sword. He had little hope of reaching the innate realm, and he had to face the scorn from the aristocratic swordsmen in the mountain manor too. He had become filled with annoyance a long time ago. Li Qingshan’s White Ape Sword Classic had instead become his hope at becoming a supreme master.
“I’m willing to follow the manor lord too!”
Shortly afterwards, a few other swordsmen called out. They were all born as peasants, and their strength was nothing special. They had not even reached the innate realm. Li Qingshan’s words had spurred their feelings of injustice.
Most importantly, only by following Li Qingshan could they get the opportunity to continue to comprehend the White Ape Sword Classic. The Legend of the White Ape King was detailed, but they still had to look at the original text for many parts to truly understand what it meant.
However, most of the swordsmen looked around hesitantly. They were all from aristocratic clans. How could they turn against their families?
“Manor lord…” The young swordsman from the Ximen clan mustered the courage to speak up again. Li Qingshan looked at him. “Hmm?”
“Ximen Yingjie is willing to follow the manor lord and contribute to this great cause!”
Ximen Yingjie bowed deeply. Originally, he wanted to speak up in objection, but he immediately shivered inside when those orangey-yellow eyes looked over. Li Qingshan was ready to kill!
He could not help but tighten his grip on the True Steel sword. With certain matters, he could not afford to hesitate any further once he became involved. If he still tried to defy him now, not only would he probably lose all access to the White Ape Sword Classic, but even his life might be in danger. As such, he changed his thoughts in a hurry and expressed his support.
“Oh? You’re from an aristocratic clan too. I thought you were going to object!” Li Qingshan smiled. He was originally prepared to make an example out of him.
“I’m doing this to protect the Ximen clan. No matter how powerful the Ximen clan is, how can they oppose the entire world? Only by adapting to the changes and going with the flow can we avoid a disaster. Even if the White Ape Sword Classic is spread across the world, I’m sure the people of the Ximen family won’t be any weaker than anyone else.”
With Ximen Yingjie as a model and the model reason he had given, other swordsmen expressed their submission as well. The temptation of the White Ape Sword Classic was far too great, and Li Qingshan’s pressure was far too strong.
“You all understand the greater good and have the bigger picture in mind, which I admire very much. If anyone else has any objections, you’re welcome to tell me now. If you don’t tell me today, you won’t get the opportunity again in the future.”
Li Qingshan nodded, but he understood very well that the loyalty of these people was worthless. Once he demonstrated weakness, they would turn against him immediately, but that was the interesting part. Just like when he climbed and bounded about on the cliffs, would it still be interesting if there was no danger involved?
“The manor lord’s aspirations are grand. Please forgive this lowly daoist’s insufficient strength, which prevents me from lending the manor lord a hand. I’ll take my leave right now!” a skinny old man in the robes of a daoist priest said slowly.
He had already reached the seventh layer of the innate realm. His strength was only second to the two protectors, and he was the first elder of one of the seven great sects in the world, the Abstruse temple. The master of the temple was even his junior brother. Coupled with his old age, it was very difficult for him to advance his cultivation even with the White Ape Sword Classic, so he obviously refused to join Li Qingshan.
He secretly made up his mind. He would rush back to the Abstruse temple as soon as he left the mountain. Then he would alert the orthodox members of the martials arts community about this demon in the north. If they did not eliminate him quickly, the martial arts community would definitely be in for a great disaster, and it would be even worse than any of the disasters in the past.
This man called Li Qingshan could not be compared to any of the demonic and heretic people that had appeared in the history of the martial arts community. Before his terrifying ambition, the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance and the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters basically seemed as gentle as children. He was not after any mundane object in the world. He was completely after weaving chaos into the world.
Was the arrival of the daemon star prophesying him?
“Good, very good. I like people with courage. Who else?” Li Qingshan smiled.
Several swordsmen seemed to find someone to rely on and clasped their hands to bid farewell. One of them even openly spoke out against Li Qingshan, saying that he was asking for death with his actions and was better off stopping here.
Li Qingshan’s smile grew wider. Before they knew it, it had already been a lengthy winter since he killed the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword, Hou Hongtao, with a single palm strike. Ever since then, he had always appeared relatively easy-going, going without killing another person. As it seemed, certain people were beginning to underestimate him now?
“Where are the protectors of the left and the right?”
“What are your orders, manor lord?”
The two protectors stood forward. Over the winter, their swordsmanship had progressed drastically. For the sake of undergoing the tribulation and shattering through space, they had already decided to continue following Li Qingshan.
“Kill them.” Li Qingshan waved his hand gently.
“This!” The two protectors hesitated. Once they did that, then it would result in an unforgivable grievance with the Abstruse temple.
“Li Qingshan, are you trying to exterminate everyone?” the skinny old man called out in surprise and anger.
“I already said it earlier. Those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish. Did you think I was joking? Protectors, what are you waiting for? If you don’t do it, then I’ll have to do it myself!”
The two protectors shivered inside. They both recalled the pile of ape corpses at the entrance of the mountain manor several months ago. He was no longer that friendly, easygoing manor lord whose actions could even be regarded as somewhat puzzling. Instead, he was a tyrant of the martial arts community.
There was not much hesitation in the choice between death or ascension. With a clang, they drew their swords resolutely!
“Y- you’re playing the jackal to the tiger!”
“Haha, so you still remember my nickname, the Descended Tiger!” Li Qingshan laughed.
“Shut up! The manor lord has a great cause in mind, which is not something the likes of you can understand! If you realise your errors, mend your ways, and ask the manor lord for forgiveness right now, you might still have a chance to live!” the protector of the right called out.
“Hmph, unlike you lot, I’m not afraid of death. You won’t be able to hide this matter. The Abstruse temple will avenge me. Come!”
At that moment, sword qi crisscrossed the surroundings, and several heads fell to the ground. A while later, only the old man remained, having been captured by the two protectors. He was brought before Li Qingshan as he continued to yell and curse.
“Manor lord, why don’t we keep him as a hostage to coerce the Abstruse temple?”
Li Qingshan extended his arm and lifted the old man high into the air, tossing him off the cliff.
There was a lengthy cry, which then came to a sudden halt.
“Those who submit will prosper! Those who resist will perish!”
