Chapter 313: Chapter 311: The Auspicious Time Has Arrived
Moreover, Ma Wuchang had also sent a telepathic message to the supreme experts of the major powers on Profound Island, directly telling them that he, Ma Wuchang, was not the true big shot. The real powerhouses had yet to show themselves!
Shen Chong was furious. He didn’t believe Ma Wuchang’s words in the slightest. Even if he did, he thought it was impossible for these so-called stronger, behind-the-scenes Martial Artists to easily come to Profound Island!
But he had no choice but to pause his fight with Ma Wuchang. He had lived for so long and certainly wasn’t afraid of death, but he had his own concerns. He could die, but the Thousand Mechanism Sect could not fall apart!
Besides, with the Cui Family causing such a stir, if he continued to fight, the other families would surely start getting ideas about the Thousand Mechanism Sect.
Finally, the Cui Family had made an additional, small demand: as long as the Thousand Mechanism Sect handed over Qin Li, their mortal enemy, all the bloody slaughter and fighting could stop immediately!
Otherwise, all families allied with the Qin Family would become targets of the Cui Family’s frenzied attacks! As for their resolve, the massacre that one night a while ago was more than enough to prove it.
Leng Yao even saw the Cui Family’s one-armed Seventeenth Elder. His voice was so familiar it felt etched into her very bones!
Hand over Qin Li, and they could avoid war, avoid annihilation, and avoid facing... that terrifying, menacing group of experts from the Cui Family!
But the problem was... where was Qin Li?
To this, the Thousand Mechanism Sect’s answer was: All guests are honored guests of the Thousand Mechanism Sect. The Sect has neither the right nor the reason to restrict the freedom of its honored guests.
Therefore, the Thousand Mechanism Sect did not know of Qin Li’s whereabouts!
And the Cui Family’s response was: On the day of Shen Le’s wedding, if they still didn’t see Qin Li, they would immediately purge the families that had allied with the Qin Family!
As soon as the Cui Family made this statement, no fewer than ten families announced through their spokespeople that they were severing their alliance with the Qin Family!
This... although contemptible, was also a kind of helplessness, the sorrow of being in a weaker position.
Leng Yao watched on coldly, feeling the change in others’ attitudes toward the Qin family. She sneered inwardly, holding firm. This girl, who had suffered misfortune since childhood, was very strong!
At the very least, up until now, none of the Qin family disciples had seen a single trace of fear on Leng Yao’s face.
Because of this, many had already come to see Leng Yao as their backbone.
But at a time like this, one family suddenly jumped out and publicly declared that their alliance with the Qin Family would last until the end of time!
This family... was the fabulously wealthy Qian Family.
This... this wasn’t some grand display of loyalty; it was a goddamn death wish!
Almost everyone thought so.
No one knew what the Patriarch, a man so rich his name was literally Qian Duoduo, was thinking. If Qin Li were a peerless beauty capable of toppling cities, then risking one’s life to win her smile... well, that would be marginally understandable!
If the Qin Family had an even more mysterious and powerful Sect backing them, with a few old fossils at the Shattered Void realm popping out from time to time to demonstrate the Qin Family’s supreme power, that would also be understandable.
But as things stood, the Qin Family had only two noteworthy assets.
First, their Elixirs.
Second, Qin Li.
But no matter how good the Elixirs were, as long as they were for sale, they could be bought with money. And no matter how exceptional Qin Li’s talent was, right now he was just a Martial Artist at the Celestial Integration Realm!
Let alone other families, the Qian Family alone had countless experts who could easily crush a Celestial Integration Realm Martial Artist!
So where on earth did the Qian Family get the courage to say such a thing? To go all out and offend the Cui Family, which was already a behemoth and now had unfathomably powerful reinforcements, was something no one could understand.
The second power to step forward and declare they would never compromise with the Cui Family’s hegemonism was even more unexpected. It wasn’t the Thousand Mechanism Sect, who had always been on good terms with the Qin Family and were mortal enemies of the Cui Family. Instead, it was the always low-key Ice Edge, who for thousands of years had never participated in any matter, big or small, on Profound Island!
When the external affairs manager of Ice Edge announced this, it immediately caused a huge uproar!
Everyone was stunned. ’Wasn’t one mad Qian Family enough? Has Ice Edge gone mad too?’
Facts proved that where one leads, others will follow. The Cui Family’s domineering behavior had displeased even the fence-sitters, to say nothing of their opponents.
But the question was, what could they do about being displeased? For those families and Sects of average strength, learning to compromise was the key to survival!
The Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Lin Family made the third solemn announcement: The Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Lin Family would not accept the Cui Family’s arrogant and domineering demands. The power structure of Profound Island had been formed over millions of years. Even if there were conflicts, they were internal matters of Profound Island and had nothing to do with outsiders!
The implication, of course, was aimed at Ma Wuchang and his people.
The fourth power to announce their refusal to let the Cui Family become Profound Island’s number one family was Sword Concealment Manor!
This massive Sect made a rather bloody declaration: unless every last person in Sword Concealment Manor was dead, they would absolutely never compromise with the Cui Family!
The fifth was the Xiao Family. Compared to Sword Concealment Manor, the Xiao Family was much more moderate, but their words were like a needle hidden in cotton. They believed the Cui Family’s actions were too simple and crude. Even if they wanted to become Profound Island’s number one family, they shouldn’t use such a crude method to achieve it. At the same time, the Xiao Family proposed a solution.
It was this: set up a dueling arena on Profound Island. On one side would be the Cui Family and their allies; on the other, the remaining families and Sects of Profound Island. Each side would send out ten people. If the Cui Family won, then they would naturally become the supreme family of Profound Island, and none would dare defy their commands. But if the Cui Family lost, then they—including their mysterious backers—were to never again stir up such trouble out of thin air and plunge Profound Island into the misery of war and conflict!
It had to be said, the Xiao Family’s proposal was truly the most viable one!
Neither the Cui Family nor the other families and Sects wanted to see large-scale bloodshed. Of course, Ma Wuchang and his group didn’t care about the casualties among Profound Island’s families and Sects, but at a time like this, they couldn’t say anything else. To do so would surely incite public outrage.
The Cui Family finally gave their latest response to the Xiao Family’s proposal last night: ’You want to settle this with an arena duel? Fine!’
’But first, hand over Qin Li!’
Leng Yao closed her eyes slightly and sighed. A look of helplessness, disdain, and mockery appeared on her delicate face.
Because just last night, after the Cui Family gave their response, many people had immediately rushed to the entrance of the exquisite courtyard where the Qin family was staying, shouting for Qin Li to stop being a coward cowering in his shell. They yelled at him not to drag others down and that if he was a man, he should get his ass out there and give the Cui Family an explanation...
’What a bunch of... out-and-out scoundrels!’
Leng Yao glanced at the still somewhat frightened Qin family confidant, smiled nonchalantly, and said, "Go wait for me outside. I’ll get ready, then I’m going to attend Young Master Shen’s wedding!"
The Qin family confidant looked up at the calm and composed Leng Yao and, as if he had found his backbone, said, "Understood, Miss!"
...
At this moment, Shen Le was already dressed in splendid attire. A confident smile graced his young, handsome face. This was the most important day of his life. So, no matter what difficulties and dangers he might face in the future, today was his happiest day!
Just then, Shen Longxing appeared behind Shen Le and said calmly, "Le’Er, your judgment is sound. The secret chamber where Qin Li and that mysterious woman are in seclusion is indeed emitting powerful auras. It’s stabilized now, so they should be coming out soon. It seems that even if the Thousand Mechanism Sect were handed over to you now, it would definitely not fall into decline. Alas, if not for the Cui Family’s mysterious and powerful backers, the Thousand Mechanism Sect might truly have been brought to greater glory in your hands!"
Hearing this, Shen Le turned his head to look at his father and suddenly noticed faint strands of white hair among his father’s! The discovery made Shen Le feel a pang of inexplicable sadness. He smiled and said, "Father, you’re still young. Don’t say such disheartening things. I don’t want to be tied down by all the Sect’s miscellaneous affairs just yet. I still want to have fun for a few more years! Besides, the Cui Family isn’t necessarily indestructible! Hmph."
"Yes, the key is the Cui Family’s mysterious backer. With some things, it’s better to err on the side of caution. For a major Sect like ours, with a population of over a million, we cannot make any rash moves lightly."
Shen Longxing sighed and said, "It’s just like this time. Although the major superpowers, aside from the Wang Family, have all declared they won’t compromise with the Cui Family, not compromising and fighting to the death are two different things! Basically, everyone was forced by the Qian Family into a position where they had to take a stand! Otherwise, how could they maintain their footing on Profound Island in the future?"
"The Fire Sword Wang Family... they’ve always been an interesting family. On the surface, they seem to have always remained neutral. However, I’ve heard that after the Fire Sword Wang Family bought that Pill Formula from the Qin Family, the Cui Family... was suddenly no longer short of that kind of Elixir," Shen Le said with a thoughtful tone.
Shen Longxing nodded and sighed softly. "Qin Li is an exceptionally outstanding young man. This time, no matter what, we must do our best to protect him! It would be best to pressure the Cui Family into a corner. Hmph, Qin Li’s hatred for them is irreconcilable. And do they really think that after their people killed Supreme Elders from our Thousand Mechanism Sect and the Lin Family, the matter can be so easily brushed aside?"
Shen Le nodded and sneered, "Right now, many fence-sitters have already sided with the Cui Family. Yesterday, they even had the gall to go to the courtyard where the Qin family is staying and clamor for Qin Li to go to the Cui Family and get himself killed. What a bunch of cold-blooded scoundrels!"
"Those people? Heh, no need to pay them any mind. People with no firm principles will get what they deserve sooner or later!" Shen Longxing also sneered, clearly just as displeased with them.
"The auspicious time has arrived!"
Outside, a clear voice suddenly rang out.
Comments