The palace ablazed with light overlooked the entire commandery city, as well as the entire Ruyi commandery.
Currently, this place served as the centre of the entire region, and it was all because of the existence of two people, Gu Yanying and Si Qing, or more accurately, a daemon too—Northmoon.
Li Qingshan had overwhelmed several dozen Daemon Commanders in a brutal fashion. Although no one understood why the daemons were fighting among themselves, the terrifying strength he had demonstrated in the battle left the entire Ruyi commandery shocked.
The name Northmoon was no longer something that was mentioned casually. Instead, he became the most terrifying enemy in the hearts of human cultivators.
The three of them could basically determine the overall situation of the entire Ruyi commandery.
Gu Yanying and Si Qing’s gazes passed through the dancing and collided mid-air, sending sparks flying.
Li Qingshan, however, sat quietly with his eyes down. The soft armour on him flowed with light as he refined it. After taking a seat, he had directed all of his focus to refining the arcane artifacts on him apart from drinking heavily, preparing for the bitter battle Gu Yanying described.
He could sense the surrounding atmosphere becoming more and more tense, but he instead became slightly excited.
Si Qing placed down his cup and said loudly, “Alright, all of you back down!”
The dancers who glided about like petals all landed on the ground. They each bowed towards Gu Yanying and Si Long, about to take their leave.
“Hold on! You with the mask, you’ve really been disrespectful with how you bow to his highness!”
The sturdy military general to Si Long’s side with a braided beard suddenly spoke. He stared at the masked woman with his extremely invasive eyes as if he wanted to see through the mask.
The woman bowed elegantly. “May I ask for your name, sir?”
Her voice was quite magnetic, very pleasant to the ear. Li Qingshan confirmed his thoughts as soon as he heard it. She was Qiu Haitang. Afterwards, he carefully studied her figure. Although she wore a set of loose, colourful clothes, it still struggled to hide her proud figure, which was filled with a mature and enticing charm.
He smiled inside. It really has been quite some time. Just how many people possess a figure like that? Though, why has she come here to perform?
E Dan. Normally, you would have no right to learn my name!”
“May I ask what sir E Dan has to say?” Qiu Haitang asked, neither too humble nor too haughty.
“I just want to see what you look like. If you’re ugly and you defile my eyes, then I’ll punish you severely. However, if you’re pretty and charming, you will be heavily rewarded.”
E Dan smiled indecently without the slightest attempt at covering it up. He was like a crude, wild beast, directly judging a woman’s worth based on their appearance. Probably even an alluring beauty would not be enough to satisfy him.
This was the unscrupulousness that the strong showed to the weak, able to put forth endless exorbitant demands.
Si Qing, who placed great emphasis on etiquette, chose to remain silent at a time like this. He was slightly displeased by how Qiu Haitang had bowed to Gu Yanying first, so he allowed E Dan to make trouble.
If the weak sat a little to the front, or if they bungled the order they should bow in, it was rudeness, or even great disrespect. However, when the strong wanted to tease a woman in public, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
Qiu Haitang remained silent for a while, letting out a gloomy sigh from underneath the mask before removing the mask gently.
She had not performed this dance willingly. Instead, she was no longer the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain and had been sent to perform by the new sect master. The sect master had also instructed her to charm and get on the good side of this prince Si Qing. She refused to do so, so all she could do was wear the mask.
The current sect master could tell she was unwilling, so she did not compel her to perform without a mask. After all, she felt that wearing a mask added a hint of mysterious charm, which might lead to an even better effect.
E Dan’s eyes lit up. Her face was like a flowering crabapple sleeping in spring, white with hints of red. She was solemnly beautiful yet also charming to the bone. She was truly a rare beauty. Coupled with that figure of hers, she would definitely be fantastic in bed.
“Sure enough, you do have some charm. You will be heavily rewarded!”
“Thank you, sir.”
E Dan smiled. “But if you want your reward, you’ll have to return to my chambers with me.”
If she had been a woman hungry for power, seeking every opportunity to become involved with these prominent figures of the Dragon province, she would probably agree immediately.
Qiu Haitang said, “Thank you for your kind intentions, but there’s no need for you to go so far for me.”
E Dan’s smile coldened before gradually recovering. He asked, “Are you a virgin?”
This question itself was already quite humiliating. Qiu Haitang closed her lips and refused to answer. She had never thought the cultivators from the Dragon province would actually be so rude.
“If you are, I’ll accept you into my harem. Of course, I’ll have to check for myself too. If you’re not, then you will be heavily punished. Hahahaha!”
As if he had just said something extremely fascinating, E Dan laughed aloud.
The Hawkwolf guards were all furious. Although most of them did not know Qiu Haitang, this woman had clearly been called here by Gu Yanying. Insulting her was equivalent to provoking Gu Yanying. And, everyone would feel irritated if an outsider harassed a beauty of the Ruyi commandery like that anyway.
However, taking E Dan’s impressive cultivation in mind, they were furious, but they dared not speak up. Only E Dan’s laughter echoed through the entire hall.
Si Bao was unable to bear with it anymore. Right when she was about to speak up, she suddenly heard a sneer from behind.
“That’s utter dogsh*t!” Li Qingshan had downed many cups already, so he was slightly tipsy. After hearing E Dan’s words, how could he hold himself back?
“Kid, who are you talking about!?” E Dan’s laughter came to a halt as he glared at Li Qingshan as if he was in disbelief that a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator would actually speak to him like that.
Qiu Haitang looked over too and stared at Li Qingshan in surprise.
“Is there another dog here? Sigh, if this dog is a purebred with a pure colour for a coat, I’ll spare him. But if it’s a dogsh*t mongrel, then I’d like to see how dog meat tastes.”
“Get over here!” E Dan scrunched up his eyebrows and bellowed at Li Qingshan.
With a bang, the cups, plates, and bowls before Li Qingshan shattered, splattering food everywhere.
A layer of ice armour rose up from the soft armour on Li Qingshan, leaving him unscathed. He stood up slowly, even holding a jug of alcohol, as he looked up at E Dan.
“Sure enough, a mongrel! Your words are like flatulence, and your flatulence is like talking! All of it is dogsh*t!”
This was no longer mockery and sneers, but a naked insult right to the face. Si Qing’s expression changed as well, while E Dan’s face went from red to violent and then to black.
Si Bao giggled. It was no wonder her big sis valued this person so much. Just this courage alone was very rare. She said to Li Qingshan with her soul sense, “Curse away. I have your back!”
E Dan took a step forward. With a great bang, the entire palace seemed to shake as his aura crushed down on Li Qingshan like an ocean.
Qiu Haitang was only indirectly affected, yet she felt like she was about to suffocate. What a powerful sense of malice!
Li Qingshan tossed the jug of alcohol aside like he was not affected at all, walking over to E Dan. He stared straight at E Dan with his eyes that clearly contrasted between the dark irises and eye whites, shining vaguely with red light.
E Dan’s heart skipped a beat. This gaze! How despicable! If it weren’t for today, I only need a single hand to crush this little animal to death! But I can’t do that during the banquet considering the bigger picture.
During the banquet, it was very common for each side to provoke the other. If Gu Yanying and Si Qing targeted each other’s subordinates, then they would be stooping too low in terms of status. However, if anyone began fighting because they could not help themselves, then the situation would be different.
“You little animal, do you think you can live under the wings of someone else for your whole life?”
“Why don’t you try and kill me, you mongrel?”
