The spotlight shifted towards Li Qiye. Many people believed that he didn’t cultivate the two words from War Saint despite being the king.

“Indeed, I haven’t cultivated those two words.” Li Qiye admitted right away.

“The two words represent War Saint Dynasty. You don’t even have one yet you dare to claim legitimacy?” Tang Hexiang uttered.

He intended on removing Li Qiye’s orthodox claim to the throne. It was ridiculous that the rightful ruler didn’t even have one word of the kingdom’s legacy.

Tang Hexiang had trained in the word, Zhe. At the very least, he had learned the arts of War Saint, so this was something he had over Li Qiye.

Li Qiye ignored him and spoke to Hanyu: “I might not have a single one, but isn’t it just Zhen at grand completion? No need to brag about that to me since it’s trivial.” [1]

“So ignorant.” She snorted with contempt: “With Zhen at grand completion, Tianzhi can control the formations of this world. His achievements are unreachable by you. Of course, you’re better than him at shameless boasting.”

Li Qiye burst out in laughter: “Still think that I’m boasting?” 

He turned towards Liu Chuqing and said: “My Chuqing, do you think I can obtain the nine words without any effort?”

“Yes.” She nodded without any hesitation since she had absolute trust in him.

“Junior Sister, don’t be blind. The nine words are exceptional and rare even across the long trek of time. Only one or two people such as True Emperor Jiu Ning have obtained all nine.” The saber saint smiled wryly and shook his head.

He didn’t directly refute Li Qiye’s claim but his stance was made clear.

“Let the guy indulges in his fantasy.” Hexiang mocked.

Hanyu stared at him and coldly said: “Be more reasonable now, it would be a miracle of the ages if you can get all nine.”

The only person who didn’t speak among them was Qin Jianyao. She tilted her head, seemingly in rumination.

The spectators outside didn’t spare him either.

One scowled: “Who does he think he is? The progenitor of Nine Secrets?”

“Only someone without the slightest bits of common sense would make this comment.” An ancestor shook his head: “The nine words are so profound and magical, no one can figure them out with ease, even True Emperor Jiu Ning couldn’t do so back then.”

“He’s still a ridiculous person, speaking without thinking.” People rapidly shook their head. 

A while ago, they thought that he was on the verge of rising but this no longer seemed to be the case. He was still as weird as before.

“Something so easy can’t be considered a miracle of the ages.” Li Qiye maintained his viewpoint.

“Very well, if you can actually do it, I’ll be the first to be convinced by you.” Hanyu stepped forward and taunted him.

“I don’t need that.” Li Qiye smiled: “Your feeling isn’t worth a single coin, I’m more interested in training a beauty like you.”

Her face turned red but she didn’t become angry this time. She stared at him for a moment before speaking: “It will be my loss if you can figure out the nine words, you can do whatever you want to me afterward. But what if you lose?”

The crowd was astonished to hear this, not expecting this betting proposition.

“What do you want?” Li Qiye smiled at her.

She strongly responded: “I won’t make it difficult for you personally, it’s very simple, you just need to announce to the world that you will be passing the throne to Eight Formation True Emperor!”

The crowd jolted in surprise. Once they calmed down, they admired her intelligence.

This would be a way to legitimize Eight Formation True Emperor’s claim to the throne. Others would be considered traitors for going up against him by that point. No one would say anything about his rule either - a great advantage for his reputation.

Hexiang felt regrets for not coming up with the same bet too.

The crowd thought that Hanyu would win this bet for sure so they wondered if Li Qiye would actually agree. She was indeed a virtuous wife, winning the precious role of being an orthodox ruler for Eight Formation True Emperor.

“Do you dare to bet?” She pushed the issue, wanting to seize this chance.

“Sounds like you’re willing to do anything for Eight Formation True Emperor.” The smile turned into a smirk on Li Qiye’s face.

“He’s worthy of my support. A great man like him should indeed be in a position to help Nine Secrets and its people.” She said.

“Thus, yes or no? Are you willing to give him the throne in case of a loss? Don’t tell me you’re giving up now.” She sneered, wanting to egg him into accepting the bet.

As long as he agreed, her victory would be assured since no one in this world could come up with the nine words so easily.

“Fine with me, but you can rethink it.” Li Qiye’s smirk became thicker.

“I will keep my words. If you win, you can kill me or do whatever you like.” She solemnly declared.

“Good, I’m in.” He clapped in jubilation.

Everyone immediately thought that he was insane. Hexiang became crazy, overwhelmed with regrets for letting Hanyu seize the initiative. The moment Li Qiye lost, he would have to pass the throne to Eight Formation True Emperor, granting him all the legitimacy he would need to compete for the throne.

He would be the rebel for going against Eight Formation at that point. 

“So ridiculous.” The saber saint shook his head, not believing in Li Qiye either.

Though the saber saint had no interest in the throne, his Junior Sister was married to the guy. At the very least, he still had the status of a king. After this bet, he would have nothing left.

Someone said without any surprise: “No wonder why he lost his kingdom. It would be a miracle for someone like him to stay on the throne.”

“Looks like Eight Formation True Emperor will be the next rightful king.” One ancestor murmured.

No one expected for Eight Formation to win the throne so easily. Of course, it was all thanks to Bingchi Hanyu, his virtuous wife.

Not a single soul had any confidence in the king, thinking that he would win the best.

The only one quiet was Qin Jianyao. She looked at him and felt something strange, unable to put her finger on it. Intuition told her that Li Qiye was completely confident in his abilities.

However, it was impossible and unprecedented. No one has been able to come up with the nine words with ease in history!

Alas, her intuition has always been apt, and it was telling her to bet on him. The internal conflict left her speechless. All she could do was watch the development in silence since this was the best choice.

“Very well, it’s a bet then.” Hanyu relaxed and said: “If you wish to learn the nine words, then we’ll leave an empty spot for you. No one will come to bother you and furthermore, I won’t make you seize all nine. You just need to understand them and it’s your win.”

She was being quite generous due to her confidence. It was fine to be nice to the guy right now.

Everyone stared at Li Qiye, waiting for him to give up his throne to Eight Formation True Emperor.

1.  Zhen = formation ☜