The saintess had stood up and glared intensely at Li Qiye. Meanwhile, he was still sleeping with his sword placed on top of his knees. Nothing in the world seemed to matter to him.

The spectators were focused on his sword. It didn’t emit a flashing glint nor a sword aura. It appeared docile, looking very normal with its master.

Nevertheless, this sword and its ordinary master became the ruler of everything, the decider of fate - exerting judgment with a single slash.

“Anyone else?” Li Qiye opened his eyes and asked nonchalantly.

His casual demeanor right now suffocated everyone. They felt as if there was an invisible hand gripping their throat while being nervous for the saintess.

She looked quite imperious in the beginning. In fact, everyone thought that her sect would definitely be able to kill Li Qiye after he entered the palace.

Who would have thought that reality would be so different? It looked like the ones unable to leave this place alive were the saintess and her men, not Li Qiye.

All of the disciples from central ranging from the saintess to the ancestors might not be able to leave this palace today.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“I’m coming.” The saintess spoke with an austere expression.

People worried about her even more. She clearly wasn’t a match for him despite being a ninth-level Ascender.

He killed Eternals earlier so easily, so an Ascender was nothing compared to his sword.

“Can she stop one slash?” An expert murmured.

They weren’t looking down on her at all. It was just that the power disparity was so blatantly clear. Remember, Voidmeld Ancestor was so many times stronger than her. He even had the help of an even stronger ancestor yet he still died to one slash.

“Maybe she can struggle for a bit.” One Eternal hesitated for a moment before answering: “Despite her low cultivation, she had access to top merit laws and maybe an ancestral weapon. She should have ways to defend herself.”

As the successor of Central Sacred Ground, she should have plenty of treasures and unique advantages. However, this still shouldn’t be enough for her to survive. The Eternals in the crowd thought so too.

“You? Will die after one slash.” Li Qiye glanced at her and chuckled.

A character like her became so insignificant before him now. His words seemed to be the judgment of life and death.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” She spoke coldly and had prepared for death.

This person had killed so many members of her sect. There was no going back on this irreconcilable feud. They needed to destroy Mountguard in order to have a place in the system. Otherwise, their reputation and prestige would be gone.

As the saintess of Central and the future queen of Eight Trigrams, she couldn’t back down and lower her head in front of Li Qiye.

She was responsible for the glory of two great powers. She would rather die before doing anything that could harm her sects’ reputation.

She put on a serious expression and started walking down the steps, fully aware that this was a path of no return.

“I will take on your slash.” She glared at him after reaching the base, ready for a fight.

“Boom!” A third party descended from the sky and interrupted the battle between the two.

He stood before the saintess as his robe fluttered to the wind, looking just like a supreme deity. His gray hair was shiny as if they were silver threads. This made him look even more magnificent and mighty.

He seemed like a massive mountain. No one could get through him to get to the saintess.

“Ancestral Monarch!” The saintess shouted in astonishment.

“Central Ancestral Monarch.” A spectating ancestor said: “Okay, that’s one of the strongest ancestors from Central. He was already an Aramanthine Ancestral since the previous generation, a great genius back then too.”

Many Eternals have heard of this particular ancestor. They didn’t expect to see him today.

“So he’s still alive.” Someone else commented.

“You interfered earlier.” Li Qiye didn’t think his arrival was a big deal.

The monarch’s eyes narrowed. His opponent didn’t care at all despite knowing his power level. This was a hint to the guy’s real power.

He realized that their sect had kicked an iron plate. Thousands of disciples have died for naught today. He couldn’t back down and needed to demand an answer from Li Qiye.

“Since when does Mountguard have an ancestor like you?” His eyes became resplendent, seemingly going back on the river of time in order to understand Li Qiye. [1]

Unfortunately, regardless of the dao derivation in his eyes, he couldn’t see a single clue about Li Qiye’s identity. He racked his brains and couldn’t connect Li Qiye to a famous ancestor from Mountguard either.

Mountguard had produced many powerful ancestors before but this person didn’t resemble any of them.

“The world is full of surprises, it’s no big deal.” Li Qiye smiled.

“Very well, I will accept your slash.” The monarch made up his mind.

“Boom!” His twelve palaces shot to the sky and turned into a simple yet pure grand dao. This was at the level of temporal search.

He seemed to be standing on the river of time and could reach any era he wanted.

“An Amaranthine Eternal is indeed very strong.” The other Eternals became envious after he activated his power.

“You are insufficient to stop my sword.” Li Qiye smiled.

The monarch was under great pressure. He suddenly realized that he had no chance of stopping Li Qiye.

“Ancestral Monarch, I’ll go first.” The saintess said with a heavy tone.

“No, child, you are not his match. It is futile.” The monarch shook his head, aware of her intention.

1. The “you” here is respectful/formal