“Ah!” A pitiful scream echoed across the realms and reached the high azure.

Blood dripped down the withered tree, leaving behind curving lines like red serpents.

Li Qiye raised the tree up in the air, revealing the skewed body of the monarch at the tip. More blood was still dripping down.

His eyes were wide open due to this sudden and ironic death - being killed by his sect’s treasure tree. 

The crowd became slack-jawed and horrified, especially when they stared at the monarch’s corpse.

Li Qiye moved at lightning pace, uprooting the tree and skewering the monarch. The scariest part was when the emperor failed to save the monarch. His hand was nearly pulverized by the tree trunk.

Li Qiye had managed to one-up himself again - a spectacle more shocking than the death of the five merchants.

Sha Yucheng had the title of 'heavenly monarch' and was one of the most accomplished geniuses in recent times. Now, he was killed by his own system’s divine tree.

“Pop!” The tree slightly shook and his body turned into blood scattering with the wind.

“No rush, one at a time.” Li Qiye threw away the tree and said.

People shuddered at the full realization of his death, killed like an insignificant ant.

The merchant, four Esteemed Kings, and Puresword True Emperor became quiet. They realized that they might not be able to take Li Qiye on at all even when fighting together. Taking him down required planning.

This task demanded a heaven-defying method with perfect teamwork and swiftness, resulting in one fatal move that gives him no chance to react.

“What are you doing?!” Lu Weijun wanted to run towards the deer merchant but he didn’t make it far before Li Qiye kicked him down and stomped on him.

“You tell me.” Li Qiye smiled while looking at the youth.

“Don’t, don’t be insane!” Weijun was scared out of his mind, no longer displaying his arrogance and pride. He was shaking from top to bottom, nearly pissing in his pants.

Li Qiye continued: “A coward like you dared to prance around in front of me and telling me what to do? What a joke. Having a descendant like you destroys your ancestor’s reputation.” 

“What, what do you want!?” The only thing the immobilized youth could do right now was screaming.

“Didn’t you say something about drinking my blood, ripping my tendons, and tasting my flesh? What should I do to someone harboring such devious thoughts towards me? Should I do the same?” Li Qiye chuckled.

“...” Weijun turned deadly pale, truly afraid of that happening since his life was within Li Qiye’s grasp.

“I, I was just, just kidding earlier…” Weijun put on a forced smile and apologized: “Dao Brother, no, Senior, I was only playing around. A great character like you is naturally benevolent and forgiven, not bothering to deal with a lowly one like me.”

Weijun’s instant submission earned him disdainful gazes from the crowd. Just a while ago, the guy was not only acting arrogantly towards his own generation but also the ancestors. Now, he was begging for his life in such a subservient manner.

Just imagining that they once bowed towards someone like this made them feel very uncomfortable. Even the emperor’s group quietly shook their head, feeling embarrassed for Weijun.

His ancestor was perhaps the number one expert in Imperial right now, but his blood-descendant didn’t have a single bone of courage in his body, throwing away all face and prestige.

“Just playing around? Is that how people play around nowadays?” Li Qiye smiled.

“Senior, I was wrong for being blind and offending you.” Weijun thought that he might as well go all the way: “Since I have annoyed you, this lowly one is willing to pay up. May I ask what you want? Immortal treasures? Ancient secrets? Or invincible weapons? Just say the word and our clan will satisfy all your demands. Don’t worry, we can definitely do it. The elders won’t mind paying the price to get me back.”

He added a sweet condition on top of everything just to stay alive.

People had to admit that this brat was slightly wily. He knew how to go with the flow instead of dying for sticking to one’s principles. He would do anything just to stay alive because being alive meant endless possibilities in the future.

Alas, the crowd also shook their head and felt sorry for the daoist. The deer merchant who wanted to save him also found this scene intolerable.

“I wonder if your clan can give me what I want.” Li Qiye smirked.

“Ab-absolutely!” Weijun immediately nodded: “Just say the word and our clan will give it to you, Senior.”

“Oh, is that so? I only want one thing then, your life.” Li Qiye slowly said.

“You!” Weijun blurted out, astonished: “My ancestor is Solar Daoist, the ultimate being in Imperial… kill me and the, the ancestor will kill your entire clan!” 

Baiting him with benefits seemed useless so Weijun resorted to intimidation.

“I know.” Li Qiye smiled: “Your ancestor is precisely why I must kill you. As the saying goes - beat the young and the old will come out. I’m in the mood to warm up by killing an Everlasting. It has been a while since I’ve had a worthy foe.”

The crowd gasped after hearing this. Fiercest intended on killing the daoist? That’s a domineering and bold choice.

Who was strong enough to kill an Everlasting right now in Imperial?

“Senior Deer Merchant, hurry, come save me!” Weijun could see that Li Qiye wasn’t messing around so he cried for help.

“Sir, what’s the point of killing him?” The deer merchant spoke.

“Boom!” A tsunami drowned out the sky and headed for Li Qiye, aiming to submerge him.