Li Qiye looked down at the prostrating Wind G.o.d and shook his head: “Some don’t know how deep the world is until they see blood.”

Just this casual comment from him left everyone with trepidation. Everyone was on the ground, from the regular disciples to the powerful ancestors.

They finally realized what true terror was - the real behemoth. They were mere ants in comparison despite being one of the five great powers of Nine Secrets. Their ancestors consisted of some powerful Eternals, but these beings couldn’t reach the apex compared to Li Qiye.

This inconspicuous youth could push them to the edge with a single wave of his hand, rendering them to ashes with a smile on his face. Others considered them to be a behemoth, but they were only a speck of dust in comparison.

Heavenly Crane Sect Master was filled with regrets. He wasn’t worried about his life but rather the wellbeing of the sect. He didn’t wish that the sect’s demise would come from his foolishness.

The current situation was indeed his fault. If it came to fruition, he would never be able to face his ancestors in the afterlife due to the shame. He was pale, understanding why Li Qiye said that they were the one reaching up in this marriage.

His daughter being a bed warmer was indeed an honor for her. Unfortunately, he was too blind to see it and missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It was already too late for regrets. He felt that a hundred deaths weren’t enough to make up for this sin. If they were, he would be more than willing to die as atonement.

Li Qiye became bored while looking at the trembling disciples: “Forget it, killing all of you doesn’t prove my invincibility anyway. Scram.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” From top to bottom, everyone in G.o.dstep felt as if they have just been pardoned and immediately bowed nine times before daring to quietly leave. They were drenched in cold sweat at this point. 

Li Qiye found this boring and casually threw the stone s.h.i.+eld to Jianchuan: “You have served me in the past several days and I do not mistreat my people. This stone s.h.i.+eld is yours, consider it fate.”

Jianchuan was astounded after receiving this gift. He stood there, slack-jawed, and couldn’t calm down.

The people who were leaving were petrified. They were afraid earlier but this emotion was replaced by shock instead. They could see that this s.h.i.+eld was an incredible treasure with power comparable to an ancestral treasure, perhaps even stronger!

If it were to be lost outside, it would start a b.l.o.o.d.y conflict. Any sect would spill blood in order to gain this great treasure. But now, Li Qiye gave it away so easily to Jianchuan.

The first to calm down was Wind G.o.d. He quickly reminded the youth: “Show your grat.i.tude already.”

He was quite happy at this moment. Though their sect had committed a grave sin from a stupid mistake, one of their disciples was still liked by Li Qiye. At the very least, it could be considered a stroke of fate.

Jianchuan regained his wits and quickly got on his knees again: “Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty.”

“The power of this Stone Aegis is not predicated on your cultivation, only your dao heart.” Li Qiye said: “As long as your dao heart is tough enough, you will be able to control it. Moreover, the harder your dao heart, the harder the s.h.i.+eld. If your dao heart becomes unbreakable, the s.h.i.+eld will stop the majority of powerful attacks. Few in this world will be able to injure you.”

“I understand.” Jianchuan bowed again.

“How boring.” Li Qiye then turned his glance towards the rest of the crowd before turning to leave.

Wind G.o.d wanted to speak but Li Qiye was nowhere to be found now.

He was considered the fastest person in the present, virtually omnipresent. However, he wasn’t on the same level as Li Qiye in terms of speed.

He sighed after a.n.a.lyzing the situation. This was a G.o.dsend opportunity yet they just let it slip away from their grasp.

After a while, he spoke with a grim expression: “From today on G.o.dstep will be closing our doors. No disciples will leave without permission. Also, no one is allowed to speak on the event today, or kill without mercy!”

He was aware that regardless of Li Qiye’s intention, the guy certainly had his reasons for putting up this act and didn’t want to be exposed.

Doing this wrong could result in a calamity for their sect, so he ordered for all disciples to keep this a secret.

“We understand.” The remaining disciples respectfully said while on their knees.

Wind G.o.d then turned his attention towards Heavenly Crane. He shook his head with disappointment: “Go reflect on your errors in isolated confinement. You have disappointed me and failed to uphold the responsibility of a sect master, nearly brought d.a.m.nation to the sect.”

“I obey.” Heavenly Crane prostrated while overwhelmed with embarra.s.sment.

Wind G.o.d then looked over at Jianchuan who was still frozen with the Stone Aegis in his hand. He became quite sentimental - Li Qiye only spared their sect not out of consideration for him nor the old ancestors. It was because of this disciple.

“Train hard, come ask me if you have any questions.” Wind G.o.d told Jianchuan: “We still have a long way to go, the sect needs you.”

Normally, a disciple like Jianchuan wouldn’t be personally taught by a supreme ancestor like Wind G.o.d.

After all, he was low on the seniority-ranking. Many before him wanted to be caught by Wind G.o.d. Furthermore, he wasn’t the most talented nor the one with the most potential and could only be considered a regular prodigy.

A disciple like him, if lucky, could only be given a few pointers from Wind G.o.d at best under normal circ.u.mstances. 

This was no longer the case. Jianchuan had turned into the pillar of G.o.dstep. Its very survival in the future relied on him. That’s why Wind G.o.d would certainly train him as preparation.

Jianchuan got on the ground and said: “Thank you, ancestor.”

“No, the sect should be thanking you for saving it. Keep on working hard.” Wind G.o.d raised him up and replied sentimentally.

Finally, he s.h.i.+fted his gaze towards the petrified Splendorous Saintess and couldn’t help but sigh.

He agreed to this marriage with Lucidity out of fear and willingness to repay his debts. After Lucidity’s death and War Saint’s decline, he hoped for Li Qiye to give up on the marriage on his own volition.

Who would have thought that the tables would turn in this manner? Splendorous Saintess no longer had a chance and this marriage was over.

Prior to this, the disciples here believed that Li Qiye was reaching above his station. Now, the opposite was clearly the case. They no longer had this opportunity either.

Wind G.o.d was lamenting that they have wasted this incredible fortune and nearly brought forward a disaster. He had all kinds of emotions while looking towards the departing direction of Li Qiye.

He finally understood why Lucidity King would pick Li Qiye to be the successor - old ginger is indeed hotter than young ginger. Lucidity’s vision far exceeded theirs.

This new king was untouchable! The people in this world would be shocked after finding out. The so-called “trash” king was even more terrifying than Lucidity King. Lineages would quiver in response.

Lucidity was unbeatable enough. If the new king were to take back his reign, who could actually stop him?

Wind G.o.d gazed towards the direction of Skywrap. The great powers and legions were still vying for power, confident in victory. Little did they know that they were mere chess pieces on the board.

Despite being drenched in cold sweat, Wind G.o.d found optimism in a bad event since this could actually be a good thing. Their sect could stop mingling with the other bad parties now and have a clearer direction for the future to avoid a terrible fate.