Only Qianyue among the young generation of disciples could have survived this blow. Anyone else would have exploded into smithereens.

“s.h.i.+t, is he dead?” One disciple trembled with fear.

The others started looking around for Li Qiye but he was nowhere to be found.

“Where is he? Really reduced to ashes now?” One of them said.

“I think so.” Many agreed.

Just think about it, the lightning bolts from Zhan Hu most likely obliterated him. The flames turned what’s left into ashes.

It would be strange if he had survived the terrible combination, not even if he was made from an unyielding metal.

“A Bronze Tendon like him has no chance of surviving.” Another concluded.

He wasn’t trying to curse Li Qiye but this was indeed the truth.

“Finally croaked.” A demon sneered: “That’s what he gets for not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth. Daring to challenge two First Brothers despite being so weak.”

“Well, the two senior brothers did him a favor. He was probably tired of living. Can’t be haughty anymore now, can he?” Another demon gloated.

“Son of miracles? Nah, just got lucky multiple times before.” One more who hated Li Qiye snorted.

The ones who celebrated the most were those who liked Gong Qianyue. Their chance of success had increased exponentially with him gone.

“First Brothers, you’re the best!” The young demons started cheering.

“Victory is yours!” Others shouted. This was definitely a victory for the demons in Divine Black.

“Hmm…” The elders remained skeptical.

Some would be disappointed if he was really dead. This result certainly betrayed their high expectation of him.

Huang Ning and Zhan Hu heaved a sigh of relief. They also shared the same sentiment as the other demons - no way Li Qiye could have survived that move.

“I thought he was amazing, I guess it’s an undeserved reputation.” Huang Ning sneered; his expression filled with contempt and complacency.

He was definitely the biggest winner in this because he was the top suitor for Qianyue.

“Death to those who oppose me.” Zhan Hu let out a cool line, looking quite imposing after taking care of a mighty enemy.

“You’re the best, First Brother!” His supporters’ cheer echoed across the area.

“Too early for celebration.” A distant voice came about, seemingly originating from underground.

It wasn’t loud but Zhan Hu and Huang Ning became stunned. The crowd also heard it and stopped shouting.

Everyone immediately turned their sight towards the stage again.

“Crack! Crack!” The mound from cooled lava had cracks everywhere.

“Boom!” It splashed everywhere, revealing a person standing inside - Li Qiye.

“Young Master! You can’t lose!” The children from Liu celebrated.

Everyone opened their eyes wide in disbelief including Zhan Hu and Huang Ning.

The two had an ugly expression, the same for the young demons. It was as if someone had just poured cold water on them.

“How can this be?!” The demons couldn’t believe it but there he was, still alive.

Zhan Hu and Huang Ning clenched their fists. This development truly shook them to the core.

“How did he do it?” Many elders became astonished. Even those hiding up in the clouds stood up.

They saw chaos energy circling around him. He seemed to be the source of the world, being one with it. His body was melting into the grand vein of Divine Black.

The elders and protectors thought that he had fused with their sect, taking roots into the entire location. Thus, the sect was now protecting him.

Li Qiye didn’t put up a defense; the land and its chaos protected him just now.

“Chaos Mantra!” The chief elder figured it out and took a deep breath.

“This is the ultimate profundity of Chaos Mantra. Creating chaos and existing in it.” Ping Suoweng was amazed.

“I don’t think dao lords can even do this… How the h.e.l.l…” The calm and reserved bodhi king became dumbstruck.

Chaos was one of the seven mantras. Most felt that it was too weak but after reaching a certain level, true masters knew that the mantras were quite capable.

Alas, no one could cultivate them to their height. Doing so would allow them to crush any other mantras including the ones at the dao lord level.

“You can do this with Chaos?” An elder wondered. Li Qiye has become one with the world and could use its power.

“Yes, according to the legends but no one has done it before outside of maybe Blessed Dao Lord.” The chief elder recalled.

No one really believed this legend because for so long now, the seven mantras have been widely cla.s.sified as being useless.

“You, you cheated! This is sorcery!” Huang Ning shouted.

“Fool, I created this chaos.” Li Qiye smiled.

Ping Suoweng’s group became dumbstruck because this comment confirmed their speculation.

“This is Chaos Mantra, not cheating nor sorcery.” The chief elder judged.

The disciples here stared at each other in confusion. How could Chaos Mantra be so strong?

It was common knowledge that mantras were used to empower merit laws. This applied to Tortoise Fist as well.

Thus, activating Chaos Mantra was part of the most basic fundamentals. It couldn’t be considered cheating.

Some recalled that they had made fun of him after finding out that he had chosen Chaos Mantra.