Chapter 5: Attack

Li Ye stood up in front of the parterre and leisurely brushed the dirt from his robes. He calmly gazed at the stone tablet of Taoist scriptures on the main shrine.

Shangguan Qingcheng stared at Li Ye blankly. How could he have skills rivaling that of the Qi practitioners? Was this really the Heir Apparent?

After coming to their senses, the guards looked at Li Ye in disbelief, as if he was either a ghost or a god, and they weren’t sure which.

Li Ye walked calmly up the stone steps. He did not stop or make a fuss. One step after another, he walked to the Taoist scriptures left by Yuan Tiangang.

To the others, it was a great feat for him to break through the Xiaoxuan Formation. But for Li Ye, who was once a Great Cultivator, it was barely worthy of remembering.

Seeing Li Ye walking toward the stone tablet, the bearded priest scowled. The two priests beside him were also quite anxious. "Master, what should we do now?"

The elder priest remained silent; Li Yao was sending him a message through the magic jade note. "What’s going on? Has Li Ye been wounded by the Xiaoxuan Formation? Have you got the jade medallion yet? Talk, why don't you talk?"

The priest's expression fell as he heard Li Yao's inquiries of joyous expectation. He desperately wanted time to go over what he would say, but Li Yao was already cursing with impatience.

"Sir, you may not believe… Li Ye, he...he passed through Xiaoxuan Formation!"

"What? You're joking! This isn’t the time for that. Put the jade medallion away quickly and I'll send someone to pick it up later," came Li Yao’s voice through the note.

The priest wanted to slam his head against a wall. "Sir, Li Ye really passed through the Xiaoxuan Formation using a jade medallion. Now he has reached the stone tablet..."

When he’d finished his message, silence came from the note for so long that the bearded priest thought that there was something wrong with it. Then, a burst of sound rang in the priest’s mind. It sounded like someone kicking a desk and throwing things around a room, followed by Li Yao roaring, "What are you waiting for?! Stop him! Throw him out of the monastery! If he really gets the Taoist's Luck, I'll destroy your ancestral graves!” In case that wasn’t enough, he added, “ I will demolish your temple and shred you to pieces!"

Fear crossed the bearded priest's face. He knew that Li Yao probably wasn’t bluffing. He closed the messaging jade and shouted to the other priests, "Stop them!"

Shangguan Qingcheng and the guards were celebrating Li Yao's success in breaking down the barrier when they saw three Taoist priests rushing toward them. They pulled out their swords and stood at the ready.

"You damned rogue priests! How dare you disrespect the Heir Apparent!" Shangguan Qingcheng shouted, thrusting at the bearded priest with her sword. Although she was always meek and modest in Li Ye’s presence, she had a fiery temper. She’d distrusted these priests since they’d first entered the temple

Now they were trying to actively prevent Li Ye from drawing inspiration from the Taoist scriptures, and it was all the excuse she needed.

"How dare you guys start a fight in the sacred temple!" the bearded priest shouted as he sliced through the air and pushed aside Shangguan Qingcheng’s sword. Self-righteously, he said, "You should kneel before Zhenwu Dadi!"

Sitting in front of the stone tablet, Li Ye turned his head to see what was happening. Before he could speak, Shangguan Qingcheng thrust at the priest again, enraged. "You bastard! You started the fight!"

"You're only a Warrior Master, I can't believe your nerve. Get lost!" the priest sneered, then hit Shangguan Qingcheng on her shoulder with all the force of a Warrior Mentor, sending her flying backward.

The bearded priest yelled, "Li Ye, step away from the scripture immediately! Your destruction of the Formation created by Celestial Master Yuan is blasphemy against Zhenwu Dadi. You should kneel down to beg Zhenwu Dadi's pardon for your offense and then withdraw from the monastery!”

Li Ye stood up from the stone tablet. He found it interesting that the priest would attack and expose Li Yao’s plot, rather than simply betray Li Yao as the man behind it all.

"You damn rogue Taoist priest, I'll kill you!" Shangguan Qingcheng leaped to slash again at the middle-aged priest, wiping away the blood from her face.

"Nonsense! In the name of heaven, I'll kill you for your disturbing the peace in the Taoist temple with swords. What you've done is demonic." The bearded priest angrily knocked out a guard and rushed toward Shangguan Qingcheng.

Li Ye blinked. Kill them? No wonder he attacked so recklessly; he took it for granted that he'd win the battle. This priest righteously maintained that Li Ye and his fellows were rogues, speaking lies as though repeating them would make them become truth.

The bearded priest was a Warrior Mentor, so Shangguan Qingcheng and her guards had no hope of defeating him. One of the guards was badly wounded and lay on the ground.

Hearing the sounds of battle, the guards at the bottom of the monastery path rushed to help their fellows. It wasn’t far, but the mountain road was narrow and rugged, and the fight would be over by the time they arrived.

The bearded priest was aware of this, and he aimed to end the fight as quickly as possible. If he could knock down all the guards in the temple, he could take Li Ye hostage and get out there. If he demanded a ransom, he could get enough money to live a comfortable life.

He renewed his attacks, yelling, "Li Ye, you sinful man! Kneel before Zhenwu Dadi and confess your sins!"

The other two priests followed his lead, shouting," You, demonic Heir Apparent, kneel down to confess your sins to Zhenwu Dadi!"

"Zhenwu Dadi?" Li Ye turned around to look at the statue of Zhenwu Dadi in the main hall.

Li Ye glared at the statue. "It's well known that you have been supervising the world for God by rewarding the virtuous and punishing the wicked, and this is a just duty. But, why are you not angry with your amoral disciples who commit murders, take bribes, and tell lies? Are you not furious? Why have you not imposed punishment?"

The bearded priest once again knocked Shangguan Qingcheng away and moved toward Li Ye, saying, "Li Ye, kneel down, now!"

Li Ye turned his eyes away from the statue of Zhenwu, his expression carved from ice. He strode forward, his clothes swaying in a non-existent wind. "Maybe you aren’t angry… but I am!”

When the priest saw Li Ye moving toward him, he grinned. What an idiot! He wasn’t even bright enough to run for his life!

Shangguan Qingcheng, helpless to intervene, shouted, "Heir Apparent, go!"

As Li ye and the bearded priest moved toward each other, the whole room tensed.

The priest leaped into the air and stretched out his hand to grab Li Ye's throat.

Li Ye stepped to the side and slammed a backhand into the priest’s chest.

The priest flew backward, spitting blood in midair, then fell slammed into the wall and slid to the floor, unconscious.

The room was shocked into silence.

How had Li Ye, a man who couldn’t cultivate, have defeated a Warrior Mentor with a single punch?

Li Ye swung his sleeves in a flourish and gave a satisfied chuckle.

Technically, Li Ye and the bearded priest were both Grand Masters, but the priest hadn’t known that. He’d underestimated Li Ye and not used his full power in the attack.

With his hands behind his back, he approached the two young priests with a somber expression. "As Taoist priests, you have failed in your duties. You dare to harm me and my guards? Who gave you the courage? Liang Jingru?"

The most serious taboo of cultivators was to be vilified as a demon. The demons, no matter how they cultivated, couldn't achieve the true way of Tao and ascend to Immortals.

The young priests were still stunned by Li Ye’s attack and did not know what to do. This man had dispatched their leader with minimal effort, and they knew there was no way they could defeat him. Now they were being lectured, and when they looked at Li Wei, their legs suddenly softened as they kneeled on the ground. They completely lost their nerve and kowtowed, saying, "Heir Apparent, forgive us!"