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Ximen Boyun was an Abyssal Knight, so he did not say anything. It was literally beneath him to respond to such a comment. Ximen Borong had no such qualms, however. He sneered, “Not only is the Qilin God Realm a gift bestowed upon us by the Abyssal Monarch himself, the Qilin Abyss Conference is witnessed and supervised by an Abyssal Knight at all times. The only way to honor this gift is to be honorable and fair! [1] Otherwise, it would be a disgrace upon Sir Knight and even the gift of the Abyssal Monarch!”

“Your empire may have your ways, crown prince, but I’d rather you keep it away from the sacred Qilin God Realm!”

Helian Linglang’s mouth was agape as the blood drained away from his face. For a long time, he could not say a single word.

“Also, you seem to have misunderstood one more thing.” Unwilling to sully his eyes with Helian Linglang’s ugly visage any longer, Ximen Borong raised his head high and declared, “The Qilin Worship Alliance isn’t planning to share the Qilin God Realm with you. Our plan… is to replace the unworthy.”

It was only now that Helian Linglang realized the Qilin Worship Alliance’s true objective. His face grew even whiter than it already was.

Zhai Kexie chuckled. “I don’t believe anyone would doubt the Qilin Worship Alliance’s ability to enter the Qilin God Realm, but whether we should enter as five factions or eliminate the last-placed faction is subject to debate. Again, my Boulder Profound Sect does not have the right to make such a decision for everyone, so—”

“Save it,” A feminine voice cut off Zhai Kexie before he could finish. Helian Lingzhu stepped out and, despite the thousands and thousands of pairs of eyes watching her, remained perfectly calm and unperturbed. She declared with imperial dignity, “Only a thousand people are allowed to enter the Qilin God Realm at a time, and that is just barely enough to whet the appetite of one dynasty and three sects. I’m sure that no one would be pleased with a five-faction arrangement.”

The situation was bad enough, and her brother had done his best to smear their face with mud. That was she forced herself to look confident no matter what.

“You wish to remove the ‘unworthy’? The Helian Empire completely agrees. I’m sure that Boulder Profound, Thousand Blade and Fiery Sands would not object to this arrangement either… Do you?”

No one was expecting this answer. For a time, everyone could only stare at Helian Lingzhu with surprise on their faces.

Helian Linglang had just lost a ton of face just now, and for some reason he thought that Helian Lingzhu’s declaration was the perfect opportunity to vent his frustration. He immediately roared, “Do you know what you’re saying, Lingzhu!?”

“If we go with a five-faction arrangement, we’d be able to enter dozens of profound practitioners even if we’re ranked last! But if we go with the other arrangement… then we may not be able to enter the Qilin God Realm at all! Do you even understand what the consequences are?!”

“It would be the same as throwing our future away!”

“Brother…” Helian Lingzhu whispered before yelling harshly, “Shut. Up!”

“...” Helian Linglang fell silent immediately. This was the first time he had ever been rebuked by the sister who he thought was beneath him.

Helian Lingzhu continued in a harsh tone, “Father has put me in charge of this Qilin Abyss Conference! Therefore, I am the one to bear all the consequences. You, on the other hand, simply need to stay where you are and enjoy the show.”

“But if you keep this up, then I will tell father exactly what you did; that you disobeyed a direct order from him and did whatever you wanted. If you don’t want this to happen, then you will kindly control yourself!”

“You!” Heliang Linglang’s face contorted with embarrassment, fury, and the promise of violence. A few seconds later, he uttered, “Very well! I shall see how you’re going to ‘handle’ this! Hmph!”

Grim-faced he might be, he finally withdrew back to his bodyguards and kept quiet. Helian Lingzhu also let out a secret sigh of relief and snuck a glance at Yun Che.

In fact, Yun Che was the one who told her exactly how she should respond to the Qilin Worship Alliance’s “suggestion” and rebuke Helian Linglang.

“Since the Helian Empire agrees to this arrangement, the Thousand Blade Sect sees no reason to disagree,” replied Wan Wei, the sect master of the Thousand Blade Sect.

“Seconded,” Lie Qianhong, the sect master of the Fiery Sand Sect also responded.

The crowd could not stop gossiping for a time. Even the slowest person among them knew exactly who the “unworthy” the Qilin Worship Alliance was referring to was. The fact that they had dared to announce themselves in such a dominant fashion proved that it probably wasn’t a whim of fancy either. Plus, they had an Abyssal Knight. It was impossible to say what kind of strength they had built up until now.

Despite this, the Helian Empire did not try to make the best out of the situation and fight for the scraps. They straight up spurned their enemy’s “good will” and, from their point of view, cornered themselves into a dead end.

Were they trying to preserve their dignity despite knowing that this conference would end with their total defeat… or did they actually have something up their sleeves?

If the Helian Empire really lost the right to enter the Qilin God Realm, then their decline would be downright unstoppable. It wouldn’t be long before the declining empire would become a footnote in the Qilin Abyss Realm’s history.

Zhai Kexie was surprised that he didn’t need to pressure the Helian Empire into submitting to the worst arrangement possible for them, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. So he said, “Since there are no objections, then this Qilin Abyss Conference will be a contest between five factions. Only four will be entering the Qilin God Realm.”

“In the past, the Qilin Abyss Conference was a single-elimination tournament since there were four factions. Since there are five factions this time, for fairness’ sake, we will amend the format to a round robin—”

Judging from the fact that Zhai Kexie hadn’t paused to think at all, it was clear he was prepared for this scenario. It was at this moment Yun Che’s sound transmission rang in Helian Lingzhu’s ears once more, but this time, she had to spin around and stare at him in disbelief.

In response, Yun Che shot her a confident smile.

Helian Lingzhu sucked in a deep breath and stepped forward. Her heart was racing like crazy, but at this point, she could only trust Yun Che to the end.

“Sect master Zhai,” Helian Lingzhu interrupted Zhai Kexie again, “We’re only adding one more faction to the tournament. There is no need to change the tournament format.”

“...” Zhai Kexie shot her a strange look. “What would be your suggestion then, Your Highness?”

Helian Lingzhu said slowly, “A three-way battle is not really that different from a two-way battle, don’t you think?”

Zhai Kexie was clearly surprised. Everyone else wore similar expressions as well.

“That may be true,” Zhai Kexie chuckled. “But the factions fighting the three-way battle would still be at a… slight disadvantage compared to the one fighting a two-way battle.”

Helian Lingzhu replied immediately, “In that case, the Helian Empire volunteers to join the three-way battle. Do you have any more concerns or objections?”

“Hahahahahahaha!”

A cacophony of uncontrollable laughter came from the three sects and the Qilin Worship Alliance.

“Has she gone insane?”

“Nah, she’s just trying to end this as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, you must be right. Every breath they stay here is a breath where they bask in shame. If it was me, I would’ve forfeited already. It’d be shameful, but it’d still be less shameful than having someone step on my head, hahaha—huh?”

The laughing Qilin Worship Alliance disciple suddenly felt as cold as ice. When he turned around, he saw Ximen Qi glaring at him icily almost to the point of murder.

Still, no one was as stunned as the Helian Empire themselves, however. Even Ku Xian and Mo Cangying were staring at her in confusion and disbelief.

Helian Linglang immediately broke his vow of silence and roared, “Have you gone insane, Helian Lingzhu!?”

“...” Helian Lingzhu did not respond to anyone. She simply stared at the three sects and the Qilin Worship Alliance without backing down an inch.

As for Yun Che, his only response toward the odd looks and chaotic commotion was to curl his lip.

The reason he told Helian Lingzhu to do this was very simple: it was because he didn’t want to waste his time and energy. If they were to go for a round robin as Zhai Kexie was going to suggest, he would have to fight four battles in a row. Now, he only needed to fight two.

If he didn’t need to enter the Qilin God Realm, he literally wouldn’t even touch these people. It was beneath him to say the least.

“Ha… haha.” Zhai Kexie let out an odd laugh. All the tactics and speeches and rigged rules he had prepared beforehand were useless, but it was a good thing… because his foe had willingly stepped into their death trap.

The three sects and the Qilin Worship Alliance hadn’t been fighting for themselves since a long time ago. They were united—at least for the moment—with the Qilin Worship Alliance as their core.

In fact, they had declared this to the Helian Empire just a while ago.

Any one of them could have eliminated the Helian Empire with ease. Two? If they weren’t suicidal, who was?

“Since the Helian Empire is so ‘generous’, we see no reason to spurn your goodwill.”

Zhai Kexie withdrew his mirthful smile and revealed four multicolored abyssal stones on his palm. “Since the Helian Empire has volunteered to join the three-way battle, the four of us will decide our seeds with these stones.”

“The ones who draw a dark-colored stone will have to join the three-way battle, and vice versa.”

He emitted a whiff of profound energy and encased all four abyssal stones in a thick layer of rock. Then, he threw them thousands of meters into the sky.

All three sect masters and one alliance master immediately sucked an abyssal stone each into their hand. When they shattered the outer layer covering the stones, it was revealed that the Fiery Sand Sect would be battling the Qilin Worship Alliance, and the Boulder Profound Sect, the Thousand Blade Sect, and the Helian Empire would be fighting each other in a three-way battle.

The three sects and one alliance immediately shot the Helian Empire overt or covert smiles of pity.

Of the three sects, the Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect were the strongest. To think that the Helian Empire would be so unlucky as to face off against two of the strongest sects at the same time.

“The battlefield is ready,” Zhai Kexie declared loudly, “Would the participants representing the Thousand Blade Sect, Helian Empire and Boulder Profound Sect please enter the battlefield?”

The aura of nineteen Divine Masters came to life. An instant later, the participants representing the Thousand Blade Sect and the Boulder Profound Sect had entered the battlefield.

The Thousand Blade Sect had nine Divine Masters and one Divine Sovereign. One of the Divine Masters representing the Thousand Blade Sect wasn’t a disciple, so he must be the reinforcement they hired. Unfortunately, their last Divine Master failed to show up on time, so they could only include a peak Divine Sovereign to make up ten people. Their strongest profound practitioner was their young sect master Wan Chongyue, a third level Divine Master.

As for the Boulder Profound Sect, all ten of them were Divine Masters, and the strongest among them was a fourth level Divine Master. He was none other than the young sect master of the Boulder Profound Sect, Zhai Liancheng.

“Young Master Wan,” Zhai Liancheng declared openly, “Should we take out the small fries first?”

“But of course,” Wan Chongyue replied with the same tone and expression.

It was clear what the two factions were intending.

Meanwhile, the Helian group was so silent it was suffocating.

“Helian Lingzhu,” Helian Linglang addressed his sister directly and darkly, “You will go down in history… as the biggest sinner of our line!”

Helian Lingzhu ignored him. She simply watched Yun Che with deep expectation in her eyes.

“Let’s go, Brother Mo.” Yun Che slapped Mo Cangying’s shoulder.

Instead of moving, Mo Cangying stared at him, “This ‘plan’ of yours… are you talking about… yourself?”

“But of course.” Yun Che nodded.

“...” Mo Cangying’s eyes widened. He could not say anything for a time.

Yun Che’s reply had also shattered the light of hope in Helian Lingzhu’s eyes in an instant. She visibly wobbled on her feet and had to take a few sharp, rapid breaths before she finally managed to suppress her shock.

Time and again, Yun Che had proven himself to be extraordinary beyond imagination. It was why she decided to give him her utmost trust and even bet the entire future of the Helian Empire on him.

Since Yun Che was completely confident, she had even come to hold some… unrealistic expectations of him.

Her trust in him wasn’t completely blind. In her imagination, she believed that Yun Che would reveal his “true identity” at an appropriate moment and summon a cohort of overwhelmingly powerful helpers like magic. She believed that he would save her like a hero would save his princess.

But… to think that his so-called solution to the problem… was himself.

Sure, he managed to trounce Ximen Qi, a fellow peak Divine Sovereign like he was a baby, but he was still just a Divine Sovereign. There existed a gulf he could never bridge between him and the Divine Masters.

No matter how powerful he was as a Divine Sovereign, he was nothing before a true Divine Master. There was absolutely nothing he could do to change this situation.

“First Princess, please select the other participants,” Yun Che reminded.

Helian Lingzhu had clearly lost the calm she possessed before. Her face looked sickly pale. No matter how much she trusted him, she wasn’t so blind that she couldn’t see reality, and that reality was as black as the abyss itself.

As if submitting to her fate, she started calling the names, “Young Master Yun Che, Ninth Senior Brother, Fang Zhonghe, Li Hensha…”

Nine names later, she ended with, “Brother.”

“The ten of you will be representing the Helian Empire in this battle. I’m counting on you.”

The only response she got was a cold hmph. Helian Linglang did not move a muscle as he glared daggers at his sister, “You want us to fight the Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect at the same time? Hahaha, you’re the one who brought this upon us, and now you want us to humiliate ourselves and even commit suicide?”

He swept his gaze across his fellow profound practitioners. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but our opponents are the Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect this time. There is zero chance we will win even if you fight with your lives. Who knows, you might even be tortured like toys. Who here thinks they can enter the Qilin God Realm in that state?”

“Not only that, you will be labeled as the people who lost the Helian Empire their right to enter the Qilin Worship Alliance. You would even be branded as sinners of the empire!”

“If you still wish to participate despite all this, then feel free. As for me… I will not be participating!”

The seven profound practitioners halted in their tracks at the same time. Their expressions were deeply hesitant, and no one took another step forward.

Helian Lingzhu wobbled again as anger flickered across her features, “You… dare…”

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the emperor, and she was a woman. She had always been hard pressed to command the others, and definitely not in this situation.

Yun Che ignored them all. He leaped into the air and landed on the battlefield, facing both the Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect alone.

On the Qilin Worship Alliance’s side, Ximen Qi’s eyes shone a dark, violent glint.

Mo Cangying gave Helian Lingzhu a reassuring pat on the shoulder before launching himself into the battlefield as well. Like a blue eagle, he landed beside Yun Che and kicked up some dust.

“Brother Yun,” he said while staring forward, “You are the one who brought this upon us, but…”

He smiled, “Unlike those cowardly pieces of human garbage who escaped at the last moment, you’re also the only one who’s willing to protect the Helian Empire’s final dignity with me.”

“So before I judge you for your sins… let us fight side by side.”

1. I realized this might confuse some readers, and it’s not really translatable unless I rewrite the whole thing, so here’s an explanation. Helian Linglang is saying that just because Ximen Boyun is an Abyssal Knight, the Qilin Worship Alliance already has the right to enter the Qilin God Realm. However, it is specifically said that only those who are capable are allowed to enter, meaning that the Abyssal Monarch himself could be behind the Qilin Worship Alliance, and the participants still must prove themselves worthy in the Qilin Abyss Conference to enter. To put it simply, Helian Linglang, the retard, is not just supporting his enemies, he’s saying that nepotism is totally fine to the incorruptible knight. ☜