Chapter 475 - 471: Imperious
"The Li Family must have a deeper reason for doing this. Could it be... they intend to protect Qin Li?" Hai Shixiong said softly, his brow furrowed slightly.
"It’s not that hard to understand. I predicted Tongtian City wouldn’t let us use this momentum to grow so easily. I just never expected that Qin Li would also be involved with Li Longchuan’s daughter. That, I did not foresee!" Hai Jinzun said faintly, then sighed softly. "This Qin Li must be eliminated. If we let him continue to develop, he will sooner or later become a grave threat to our Hai Family!"
At this, Hai Shixiong agreed with Hai Jinzun’s viewpoint and nodded. "Correct. We’ll use the hype surrounding the appearance of the Purple-eyed New King to eliminate him. At the very least, we can’t let Tongtian City form a connection with him. Jinzun, I’m leaving this to you. You may use the Hai Family’s power as you see fit. Find and eliminate Qin Li as soon as possible. We cannot let this matter lead to a direct conflict with Tongtian City!"
Hai Jinzun nodded. "I understand."
...
「Moon Shaking Immortal Palace.」
Mingyue Ascendant sat with a group of Supreme Elders, Elders, Guardians, and high-level deacons of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. Han Mei sat beside Mingyue Ascendant, her face an icy, expressionless mask. Her voice was as cold as ice.
𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
"This man, Qin Li, must be eliminated. Although the Purple-eyed Race has already integrated into this world, those who are not our kin cannot be trusted. Who can guarantee they won’t start another war? Therefore, no matter what, we cannot allow them to have another king. I’ve dealt with this Qin Li several times; his strength increases in an extremely abnormal way. I felt something was wrong back then, but I never expected he would have Purple Eyes bloodline. The intel from our people can’t be wrong. We can ignore the Hai Family’s rumors, but we must take the reports from our own people seriously. The Purple-eyed New King who appeared at Lengqiu Palace is Qin Li!"
After Han Mei finished speaking, Mingyue Ascendant, seated in the main position, furrowed her delicate brow. She spoke with some hesitation, "Even if Qin Li really is the new king of the Purple Eyes, do we need to react so strongly? Wouldn’t that be playing right into the Hai Family’s hands?"
Elder Mo, still dressed in her yellow robes, had a faint, mocking expression on her wrinkled old face. "I also think the Palace Master is right," she said. "What does it have to do with us whether Qin Li is the new king of the Purple Eyes or not? Even if he is, he hasn’t stayed with the Purple-eyed Race, and the Purple-eyed Race hasn’t shown the slightest hint of aggression. To drag the entire Sect into the crisis of war over a petty, personal grudge is... a bit inappropriate, wouldn’t you say?"
Han Mei said coldly, "Elder Mo, what do you mean by that? Are you saying I’m using my position to settle a personal score?" As she spoke, Han Mei fixed her beautiful eyes on Elder Mo.
"I didn’t say it was you," Elder Mo retorted, her eyelids fluttering as she refused to even look at Han Mei.
"But you were talking about me! Besides me, no one in the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace has a grudge against Qin Li. Yes, from a personal standpoint, I wish I could tear Qin Li limb from limb and cut him into a thousand pieces! But Elder Mo, don’t you forget, not long ago, Ascendant Ku Bamboo also suffered a loss at Qin Li’s hands over the Ancient Map!" Han Mei’s chest heaved, a clear sign of her immense anger.
Elder Mo sneered. "So what? Ascendant Ku Bamboo hasn’t gone around broadcasting the matter. Besides, we were the ones in the wrong in the first place. To put it nicely, it was for the peace of the entire Celestial Essence Continent. But to put it bluntly, we brought a huge group of people to force someone to hand over the Ancient Map. How is that any different from being robbers?"
"You... you’re calling me a robber?" Han Mei shot to her feet, glaring furiously at Elder Mo.
"Aren’t you?" Elder Mo returned her sneer, completely unafraid of the Sect’s Saintess.
"That’s enough!" Mingyue Ascendant’s brows knitted as she barked, "Both of you, sit down!"
Han Mei sat down in a huff. "The Ancient Divine Temple has emerged, and all the major powers are closely watching the developments there. Yet at this very moment, Qin Li runs off to the Land of the Far West and goes to Lengqiu Palace. You’re telling me he’s not the new king of the Purple-eyed Race? Do you believe that? If we don’t strike first to gain the advantage, it will be too late when that bunch of Purple Eyes from Lengqiu Palace attacks!"
Elder Hu spoke up softly, her tone gentle. "The Saintess repeatedly claims to be thinking of the Sect, but has the Saintess not noticed that the Hai Family is just using this matter to stir up trouble? Or is it that the Saintess intended to join forces with the Hai Family all along?"
"Elder Hu, that’s a vile accusation! I, Han Mei, the dignified Saintess of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, would ally with the Hai Family?" Han Mei was so angry she could have spat blood. She couldn’t understand why everyone seemed to be targeting her. ’Am I really that unlikeable?’
Elder Hu’s lips curled into a slight, mocking smirk, and she couldn’t even be bothered to say another word.
The other Guardians and Elders present also showed their disapproval of Han Mei’s position. Although they weren’t as explicit, and some even tried to smooth things over, their opposition was clear.
"Alright, let’s put this matter on hold for now. We’ll wait and see how things develop," Mingyue Ascendant said with a helpless look on her face.
Seeing that even her master didn’t seem to support her, Han Mei finally grew disheartened. She sat there, her eyes rimmed with red, hating Qin Li in her heart: ’Qin Li, it’s all your fault, you damn bastard. Don’t let me find you. If I find you, I will never let you go!’
Han Mei seemed to have forgotten that Qin Li’s current strength was far beyond her own. But in anger, people always lose some of their reason.
After returning to her residence, Han Mei flew into a rage, scaring everyone around her so badly that they didn’t dare to breathe too loudly.
One of Han Mei’s personal handmaidens was viciously berated over a tiny matter, making her feel incredibly wronged, as Han Mei had never cursed at her like that before.
Feeling dejected, the handmaiden decided to go out for a walk to clear her head. As she reached the sect gates, she suddenly saw a disciple from within the sect—identifiable by the insignia on her clothes as a very Low Level disciple—chatting and laughing with a dark-skinned, simple-looking young man.
The young man, however, was dressed in the clothes of a servant with no status in the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. At that moment, all the frustration the handmaiden had endured from Han Mei finally erupted.
She stomped menacingly toward the two of them. Reaching the young girl, before she could even react, the handmaiden raised her hand and viciously slapped her across her delicate face.
SLAP!
The crisp sound stunned everyone present.
Qin Li had also run into Xiaoying by chance. He had been focused on cultivating the Purple Qi Technique recently and rarely went out. Today was a beautiful, sunny day, so after delivering the firewood, he had nothing else to do and decided to take a stroll.
Although the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace had many restricted areas, security near the main gate was not as strict. No one would care about someone taking a walk. However, anyone trying to enter from the outside would be subject to a rigorous inspection. It was not an easy feat for an ordinary person to enter the gates of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace.
Xiaoying had always been one of the disciples guarding the gate. She was naturally delighted to see Qin Li, so she asked the junior manager of the gate guards for a short break and ran over to chat with him, asking how he’d been lately.
She never expected to suffer such an unprovoked disaster.
Xiaoying covered her face with her hand, her eyes immediately turning red. Glistening tears welled up as she looked at the woman—whose clothes were clearly several grades higher than her own—with a look of grievance and confusion. Her voice choked with tears as she asked, "Why did you hit me?"
"You slut, you have the nerve to ask me? Don’t you know what you did?" This handmaiden was the type of person who acted high and mighty. Being the Saintess’s personal attendant was an honor in itself. If Han Mei were to take over as the Sect Leader of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace in the future, her personal handmaidens could be directly promoted to Guardians, a rank higher than deacons! If their strength was adequate, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to become lofty Elders.
The reason why the current Elder Hu and Elder Mo dared to speak so bluntly, even in front of Mingyue Ascendant, was precisely because they had once been Mingyue Ascendant’s personal handmaidens! This was a fact known to almost all the upper echelons of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace.
"I... what did I do?" Xiaoying felt so wronged she wanted to burst into tears, but with Qin Li beside her, she felt it would be too embarrassing. More importantly, she had already deduced the other woman’s status from her attire. Who would dare to provoke someone from the Saintess’s retinue? Still, the sense of injustice churned within her.
Having lived two lives, how could Qin Li not see that this woman, dressed in fine clothes that clearly bespoke her high status, was deliberately looking for trouble? He was especially furious that Xiaoying had been slapped for no reason.
For a brief moment, Qin Li almost acted on impulse and killed the woman right then and there.
This wasn’t because Qin Li had any designs or intentions toward Xiaoying. In his heart, Qin Li saw her as a sweet little sister. Xiaoying’s kindness, innocence, and warmth made him feel very comfortable.
Suppressing the rage in his heart, Qin Li looked at the handmaiden and said in a heavy voice, "Miss, this has nothing to do with Miss Xiaoying. We just happened to run into each other..."
Before Qin Li could finish, the handmaiden cut him off, her voice sharp and shrill. "You lowly thing, who do you think you’re talking to? What right do you have to speak to me? Where did you come from? Don’t you know the rules? Is this your place to speak? Get lost! I’m teaching a disciple of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace a lesson. It’s not your place to interfere. I’ll deal with a rule-breaking piece of trash like you later!"
Xiaoying looked at Qin Li and whispered, "Brother Qin Fang, you should go. She... she’s the Saintess’s personal handmaiden. It’s my fault, I’ve dragged you into this..."
"You shut up too! You little slut, have you taken a liking to this lowly thing? A match made in heaven, a pair of sluts! Where is your manager? Who is your manager? Get your ass over here right now! How do you manage your subordinates? Have you forgotten the rules?"
A young girl, not much older herself, walked over hesitantly and said in a low voice, "I... I’m the manager here. Xiaoying, she... she hasn’t broken any rules, has she..."
SLAP!
Before the manager could finish, she too was slapped across the face.