Chapter 1398: Madman
“I know. I decline.”
Li Qingshan recovered from his shock very quickly. There were plenty more spectacles for him to face in the future, so how could he be stunned by a mere display of tricks like this? He gazed at his hand, opening his fingers before closing them firmly again. He was still contemplating the wonders of projecting his soul nascence.
In the past, his human cultivation method was merely a way for him to hide his identity. At most, it was icing to the cake. This seemed to be the first time when it had actually played a decisive role.
Shen Yushu’s tactic was very dumb and foolish, but he really did come close to being untouchable. Even if Li Qingshan unleashed all of his innate abilities, he might not be able to crack open his turtle shell, yet he could do that very easily with his soul nascence. This was only one of the initial functions that came with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. If it continued to develop like this, it would definitely be no weaker than any transformation of the demonic and divine.
Chao Tianjiao questioned, “Why?”
Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled. “Probably because I’ve grown weary of fighting.”
His delicate appearance really did make seem a little harmless, but none of the direct disciples present would believe that kind of lie. They could clearly see fire burning in this man’s heart, basically arriving in this world for the sake of fighting. He should have become an asura, but he had accidentally ended up in the Human realm.
Chao Tianjiao said, “I’m very suspicious about your intentions.”
“I know and I understand, but I won’t be at your beck and call just because you’re suspicious of me. First senior sister, you don’t seem like a person who likes to bicker. You’re just unable to do anything to me because we’re fellow disciples. Actually, I’ve found you very irritating as well, yet I’m also powerless over you. Why don’t we strike a deal? In thirty years’ time, we’ll hold a duel here?”
Li Qingshan said slowly without coming off as particularly arrogant or humble, but his words made even the expressions of the direct disciples present change.
There was astoundment… shock… and intrigue!
Li Qingshan’s gamble with Le Tian to become a direct disciple in three decades was already unbelievable enough. On top of that, Le Tian had told him a moment before that Chao Tianjiao could basically hold her own against eight or ten direct disciples at the same time.
Chao Tianjiao studied Li Qingshan. She did not become angry, gazing at him like he was some kind of exotic creature. “I know you’re arrogant, but your arrogance still takes me by surprise. You want to duel with me?”
“Doesn’t have to be you. You can bring that rabbit along too.” Li Qingshan pointed at the black-furred hou crouching on the cliff in the distance. “You better bring that rabbit along!”
The “black rabbit” suddenly perked up with its ears as its ruby-like eyes glistened.
“Huh? Kid, are you mad?” Chao Tianjiao had no idea how to respond. She looked at Li Qingshan like she was looking at an idiot.
Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu felt the same. They knew he was bold, but they never expected him to be so bold. If they had found out that Li Qingshan had “threatened” the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes that day, they probably would not be so surprised anymore.
Li Qingshan suddenly took a step forward and asked with a smile, “Are you bold enough to accept?”
Chao Tianjiao’s face sank. “Do you really think I’m not bold enough to kill you?”
Li Qingshan raised his right hand and asked again, “A duel to the death. Are you bold enough to accept that?”
Clap! Chao Tianjiao struck his right hand furiously, basically forming an agreement before turning around and leaving.
“Get out of here right now, immediately!”
As he walked out of the Xuanwu arena and returned to Myriad city, Li Qingshan gazed at the brilliant sunlight and smiled victoriously.
Chao Tianjiao was completely different from a mere scoundrel like Shen Yushu. Even the slightest ill will could cause him colossal problems. To her, that might have just been something she did on a whim, or perhaps because she felt slightly unhappy inside, like a child playing with an ant.
Unfortunately, he was the ant, and he had absolutely no counterplan at all right now. If he did not want to be toyed with, then all he could do was bite her finger viciously, using such an intense method to prevent her from doing anything against him for the time being.
Le Tian won another round, but there was no joy on his face to be seen. He said solemnly, “I must admit that I admire your courage, but you will die a horrible death. In the Myriad sect, there are only people that she cannot kill. There is no one she dares not kill!”
Li Qingshan smiled. “Senior brother, your concern for me truly leaves me touched!”
“You bastard, if you die, who’s going to pay off your gambling debts for you?” Le Tian clutched his head and roared furiously, “Dammit, I’ve been strung along by you!”
Pi Yangqiu sighed. “Junior brother, even if you become a direct disciple, she might not spare you because of that.”
Li Qingshan laughed. “Why would I need anyone to spare me? Don’t worry, senior brothers. I’ll win against senior brother Le Tian, and then I’ll win against this first senior sister. I might even become the actual first senior brother of the Myriad sect as well! As a result, I’ll have to trouble you with the matter of the dwelling. I’ll be bidding farewell for now.”
Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu exchanged glances. “Where do you get your confidence from?”
“Heh, I just know how to boast.” Li Qingshan leaned his head against his hands and walked off leisurely. “If I can’t live with dignity, then I’ll die with dignity.”
Other cultivators all pursued longevity, yet he simply had to seek death. If a person was not even afraid of death, then what boasts could they make? As a man, failure stopped mattering as long as he tried his hardest and fought to the last moment of his life. It was just being destroyed after that, that’s all.
Pi Yangqiu and Le Tian watched as Li Qingshan’s figure vanished into the layered streets of Myriad city.
Le Tian suddenly asked, “Will I lose?”
Pi Yangqiu smiled in surprise. “Didn’t you say that the thing that gamblers fear the most is having their confidence waver, where no one knows the arrangements of fate until the last second?”
Le Tian said, “But the damned fate always creates dark horses after dark horses out of thin air. I hate dark horses, but this is also where the joy in gambling lies.”
In the Xuanwu arena, Chao Tianjiao muttered to herself, “Rabbit, I really feel an urge to kill him right now and here.”
The black rabbit nodded in agreement.
Chao Tianjiao smiled furiously. “Am I that kind of person?”
The black rabbit nodded again in agreement.
“Alright, leave the city right now and finish him off. Destroy his corpse and cover up any traces of it!”
The black rabbit glanced at her in disdain and turned its head away as if it was saying, I’m not that kind of person.
Chao Tianjiao smiled. “Then we’ll wait and see! Thirty years will pass very quickly. By then, I’ll be the true first senior sister of the Myriad sect. I’ll turn him into a joke first, and then I’ll turn him into a dead joke.”
She stretched her body and twisted her head. “Alright, the holiday ends here! Time to get back to work. I wonder if I can butcher a few Demon Sovereigns this time. I really need to vent my anger properly. You probably want to roar and yell out too!”
The black rabbit licked its lips in an extremely human-like manner and nodded.
Li Qingshan successfully returned to the Hundred Herbs garden. Ruan Yaozhu was currently pacing around under the bodhi tree, and she became relieved when she saw him. She said seriously, “Sorry.”
Li Qingshan smiled. “It’s fine.”
As a result, there was no need to say anything more, no matter how much she had prepared beforehand. Ruan Yaozhu said, “I’ve brought some dishes to go with the alcohol.”
Li Qingshan lifted up his empty alcohol gourd and smiled wryly. “It’s a pity that I don’t have any alcohol.”
“I’ll go buy some.”
“That’s fine. I’ve already had enough in the city.
As a result, Ruan Yaozhu made tea, and the two of them sat together, admiring the snowy landscape. They did not say much, sipping the tea in silence with a sense of understanding. It left the nine-coloured deer in the Hundred Herbs dwelling fuming, but she was also powerless to do anything.
Li Qingshan suddenly placed down his tea cup. “Sorry.”
“Why?”
“Shen Yushu.” This still had to be brought up at the end of the day.
“Sigh, he only has himself to blame. It has nothing to do with you.”
Li Qingshan said, “Don’t worry! When spring comes, I will face the fourth heavenly tribulation, and I should be able to handle the work.”
“Spring is almost here.”
“Soon then.”
