For a moment, everyone was frozen — the elders, disciples, all stood in stunned silence.
Even the Six Grand Elders (六大长老) could hardly believe their eyes. Though they were leaders of the Washing Dust Sect (洗尘古宗), their own Dao attainments were only enough for the title of lord in a frontier kingdom.
But Yu He, the Chief Protector of the Nine Saint Demon Gate (九圣妖门), was different entirely — a marquis‑level existence (王侯), perhaps even qualified to be sealed as a True Person (真人).
Before such a powerhouse, even Grand Elder Gu had to bow half a rank lower; lords could never compare to marquises.
Yet today, that same Yu He showed deference to Li Qiye — a sight that defied reason.
Even more astonishing, Yu He brought a message from the Sun‑Wheel Demon Emperor (轮日妖皇): if Li Qiye ever visited, the Emperor himself would welcome him in person.
The Sun‑Wheel Demon Emperor — that was no ordinary name. He was the undisputed ruler of the Central Domain, a tyrant whose power shook the ages. Even the Six Grand Elders had never been privileged to meet him.
And now he offered personal hospitality to Li Qiye? Unthinkable!
The disciples below were stunned beyond words. But what followed next left them utterly petrified.
Li Qiye simply extended his left arm. Li Shuangyan looked at him coldly, saying nothing — then quietly took his arm, appearing meek and obedient as they walked away together.
"Protector Yu, I won't bother entertaining you further," Li Qiye said casually before leaving.
Yu He bowed in response.
The entire Sect stood speechless. The elders, protectors, disciples — all were frozen in shock, unable to return to their senses.
Back at the solitary peak, within the small courtyard, only Li Qiye and Li Shuangyan remained.
As soon as they were alone, she pulled her hand away with a frown.
Her cold, arrogant eyes cut toward him.
"Satisfied now?" she snapped.
Li Qiye didn't bother to look at her. He sat back comfortably in his chair and spoke lightly.
"You think I care for the admiration of common cultivators? That I took your hand for vanity's sake? If something so trivial could satisfy me, I'd be a failure already."
"I let you take my arm only to give you some face," he continued, his voice turning cold. "I protect those around me, but don't mistake that for equality. As my Sword Attendant , you should know your place. When have you earned the right to walk at my side?"
"You —!" Li Shuangyan quivered with anger. Her frozen features flushed pink. This visit alone was humiliating enough — she had been ordered to come and, for appearance's sake, link arms with him before the Sect. And now he dared to speak so arrogantly?
"You have your pride; I understand that," Li Qiye said lazily, ignoring her rage. "You follow your master's order, unwilling as you may be. You think yourself a heaven‑born princess — and I'm just a mortal beneath you. That's fine. But remember, today I gave you this gesture — a good beginning for you. When I sweep across the Heavens someday, if you don't stand with me, you'll have no place beside me."
He spoke plainly, without the slightest excitement — as if he were stating a simple fact. Yet those words rang with the domineering tone of a true sovereign.
Even Li Shuangyan, who considered herself a prodigy and princess, found no trace of madness or boastfulness in him — only absolute certainty.
She had been forced to come by the Sun‑Wheel Demon Emperor's command. Both he and the ancient Sword Elder of the Nine Saint Demon Gate saw potential in Li Qiye, and after much persuasion, she had agreed. Still, it was an insult in her eyes. She was a princess of Gu‑Niu, the heir of a great sect — and now she was to serve a mere mortal.
Her teacher, the Emperor himself, had risen in the era of shattered Heaven's Will (天命崩碎), defying the end times — a living legend. If his judgment favored Li Qiye, it meant something extraordinary. Yet she still could not accept it.
Now, he spoke to her with that same calm arrogance, and she did not know whether to be angry or afraid.
"Fine," she snapped finally. "You claim to be peerless — prove it! If you truly have the ability, then show me. Otherwise, you're just dreaming in daylight."
Li Qiye glanced up, expression flat.
"Prove? What is there to prove?"
His casual tone made her tremble with indignation. He was just a thirteen‑year‑old boy, yet his presence and authority carried the weight of an Emperor.
"I have a formation diagram here," she retorted, unable to bear it any longer. "If you can't break it, at least explain its mystery — that will prove you have some ability!"
From her sleeve, she produced a fragment of ancient hide, etched with countless curving lines, Dao runes, and stars — a tiny piece of a vast Formation Array (阵法).
The patterns seemed to contain the universe itself; staring into them drew one's mind into a boundless, mystical realm. Even a wise sage would lose themselves within its depths, unable to see a way out.
Li Qiye took one look at the fragment and froze briefly — it was so familiar. The curves, the runes, the very structure of the array seared into his memory. In a blink, he understood it entirely.
A piece of his lost memory stirred — one corner of a greater formation he once mastered. The rest remained fogged, but even that tiny fragment was enough.
"A mere fragment of a formation," he said lightly. "Enter from the Serpent Star, pass through the Ninefold Gates, withdraw at the Eight Moons, transform the Nine Stars, turn the Milky Way, then step into the Eternal Path (亘道)… The core lies here, guarded by all phenomena, six beasts and four immortals as its defense. In this world, few could ever break it."
He spoke smoothly, without pause, as if explaining a common technique.
Li Shuangyan was stunned — she knew that fragment's origin. It was a heaven‑defying array; their sect's founder had only obtained a single corner of it! Generations of their brightest minds had studied it without fully deciphering its mysteries. Only recently, after centuries of effort, had they managed to comprehend that fragment alone — and even then, could not recreate it.
Her master, the Sun‑Wheel Demon Emperor, had given her this piece to study, hoping her talent might someday reawaken its power. She had been learning formation Dao since childhood, and it took her over ten years just to grasp its secrets — and yet this boy had seen through it instantly.
To her, this was impossible. The array that could slay gods and sever immortals — he treated as a child's toy.
She could only stare at him in dumbfounded silence.