“Your Majesty, I have bad news. General Ma led an army here, they’re outside already.” Liu Chuqing caught wind of this and quickly reported to Li Qiye.

He remained calm and glanced at the horizon, unperturbed: “An army? Not a bad thing, I’ve been waiting for one so that I can make rivers of blood. That’s suitable for my status as a tyrant.”

“Two fists will have a hard time going against four.” Chuqing was still worried because Mingchun still had the other legion behind him.

“Silly girl.” Li Qiye gently rubbed her nose: “Numbers mean nothing, just more corpses at best. Do you think people can take care of a tyrant like me so easily? Don’t worry, not to mention just one legion, I don’t mind if all of Nine Secrets come at the same time.”

Her nose twitched in a cute manner but the anxiety remained.

Li Qiye only smiled and didn’t say anything else.

***

Nine-linked Mountains didn’t respond to Ma Mingchun’s request. No disciples stood out as if nothing was happening regardless of the great army outside.

Even the middle-aged man watching the entrance stayed in his wooden hut. He seemed to be sleepy due to the hot summer weather.

The crowd naturally didn’t expect this reaction or rather, lack of one.

“Where is the sect master of Nine-linked? Or at least a disciple should come out to say something.” Someone critiqued. 

“You know anyone who is actually from the sect outside of the greeter? Have you seen its sect master?” An older expert answered with a question.

This made the group fall into silence.

The truth was there were some difficulties in spotting disciples from this sect because some travelers have been staying here for so long. Moreover, the place was huge. Who could tell the difference between outsiders and the sect’s disciples?

As for its sect master? It seemed that no one has seen this person before. The crowd became confused.

In reality, since the olden days, few had the privilege of meeting the disciples of this sect and the honor of seeing the sect master of Nine-linked Mountains.

Ma Chunming’s expression darkened. He was a powerful Eternal; one could count those who could match him in Nine Secrets with their fingers. Moreover, he had six great legions behind him. Even the five behemoths needed to be courteous when dealing with him. 

But now, Nine-linked Mountains didn’t bother responding at all. They simply didn’t show any respect.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t furious over this matter. Moreover, the death of his son had already infuriated him.

The man’s inflection turned cold: “May I ask if your sect wishes to harbor the villain? Do you wish to become enemies with the rest of the world?”

Nevertheless, his words were still rather polite. Nine-linked Mountains’ powerful reputation remained in his mind.

Perhaps the general was losing his patience but the sect still didn’t care. Not even a regular disciple showed up to answer him as if this was the consensus of the sect.

“Then you all will have to excuse me. I have carried out peaceful measures before using force to the best of my extent.” Ma Mingchun finally lost his patience from the thirst for vengeance and a demand for respect.

“Start the formations!” He raised his hand and shouted with a murderous gaze.

“Boom!” The army re-arranged themselves, ready to march into Nine-linked Mountains after receiving his order.

The visitors in Nine-linked held their breath, wondering how this sect would deal with it. Just how many masters from the sect would come out?

The mysteries behind Nine-linked Mountains lingered on everyone’s mind. How many masters do they have? Are they actually strong or just bluffing and fooling everyone all along?

A few wanted nothing more than a battle right now. This could reveal whether the sect was actually powerful and unfathomable like the legends or not.

“General Ma, please calm down.” Someone from inside finally stepped out.

“Tang Hexiang!” A spectator recognized him.

The commander of the Imperial Guards, Tang Hexiang.

Back at the stone forest, he was sharp-witted and vigilant enough to escape the moment he saw the stone statues coming back to life. It didn’t matter whether Li Qiye himself was powerful or he had backing, it still meant that the guy had ace cards up his sleeve.

That’s why he ran the moment the situation became unfavorable or he could have lost his life like Jinming and Bofan.

“General Tang.” Mingchun wasn’t happy to see the guy.

“General Ma, we need to take our time before making a decision. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment.” Hexiang ran over next to Mingchun and hurriedly said.

Mingchun uttered coldly: “My Jin’er died a horrific death, and I shall have revenge for him! Blood for blood, I am not letting emotions affecting me.”

“I know that you’re furious, General Ma, but this place is troublesome, it’s best to exercise prudence. Of course, we’ll make sure you have your revenge too.” Hexiang continued.

This went on for a bit until Mingchun’s anger subsided. The two of them finally went into a tent to come up with a new plan.

The lack of a battle disappointed some of the crowd. They wouldn’t be able to see the might of Nine-linked Mountains like this. No one knew what these two were planning inside that tent either.

“Rumble!” Eventually, the legion spread out and began to guard the important locations and pathways outside of Nine-linked.

“If anyone spots that Li brat, send a signal and kill him right away.” Ma Mingchun ordered.

It was obvious that Mingchun wanted to prevent the king from escaping. Both he and Tang Hexiang were still afraid of Nine-linked Mountains, not daring to actually march inside and offend this sect. That price wasn’t worth it.

Hexiang came up with a blockade instead to prevent Li Qiye from escaping. The moment he set one foot out of Nine-linked, the army would immediately surround him.

Another thing to note was Mingchun gave the kill order out of revenge for his son. He no longer cared if others call him a kingslayer.

His only son was killed so why would he give a d.a.m.n about his reputation? The fire of anger has successfully drowned out reasons. He only wanted revenge at this moment.

***

“What a shame.” Li Qiye shook his head and smiled after seeing the containment: “Looks like they won’t be coming for a ma.s.sacre. No rush, once I’m done here, I’ll take care of all the legions. That’s more satisfying.”

“What a shame.” The ancestors from the various powers said: “Why can’t they come in and test Nine-linked Mountains?