Chapter 786 The Life-and-Death Arena
“This is my explanation. That small Demon from the Blood-sampling Peak killed the Human Clan disciples of the Chopping Sun City. As for that Wolf Demon Li Juesha, he attacked my martial niece first, so he deserved to die.” Song Que did not have the demeanor of a Human Clan master at all. He gloated in a cold voice. “The sanctity of your Demon God Palace cannot be violated. What about the dignity of our Blue Cloud Sect?”
If one were to really investigate this matter, it was certainly true that the Demon Clan did wrong first.
However, the Demon Clan had had the upper hand over the Human Clan for a long time and was used to being arrogant. So, they always felt that they were in the right.
The masters of the Demon Clan were all enraged by Song Que’s rogue-like attitude. But they also knew that he was always a mule. Moreover, his background was not ordinary. Representing the mighty Blue Cloud Sect, powerful enough to challenge the Demon God Palace, he far outstripped the other ordinary experts of the Human Clan. They could not do anything to him for the moment.
“Regardless of who is right and who is wrong, you must account for what happened today,” the strongest of the dozen Demon figures, who had almost reached the peak of the Martial Royal Realm, said slowly, “The Chopping Sun City and Gu Xing’er created this mess, so they must be the ones who step out.”
“So, what do you want, old man?” Song Que squinted at him.
“In accordance to the rules of the Primitive Alliance Treaty, any unresolved issues must be settled by force. The Life-and-Death Arena will decide everything,” the Demon Royal said slowly, “The Demon God Palace will choose some experts to fight them. If they can walk out of the arena alive, we will write off everything.”
“That’s impossible.” Song Que refused flatly.
There was indeed such a rule in the Primitive Alliance Treaty between the Human and the Demon Clans. Any irreconcilable difference between the sects or forces of the two Clans could be settled through a life-and-death duel in the arena if the two Clans did not want a war.
On the surface, this Demon Royal’s request seemed reasonable.
But in fact, he was really sinister.
Let’s just set aside the fact that it was the Demon Clan who first provoked and killed. It was so easy for the Demon God Palace to destroy the Chopping Sun City, a small sect of the Snow Province, since the former had so many highly skilled masters. And although Gu Xing’er had the good fortune to be groomed by the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect in the last three years, and her strength had improved by leaps and bounds, her foundation was still quite shallow. She was only at the Martial King Realm. Although she had a trump card in her hand, she would surely be killed fighting a life-and-death duel with those masters of the Demon God Palace.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that if they went by the Demon expert’s suggestion, it would surely destroy the Chopping Sun City and result in Gu Xing’er’s death.
“Haha, I’ve long heard that Song Que of the Blue Cloud Sect is arrogant. I didn’t expect him to disregard the Primitive Alliance Treaty struck up jointly by our ancestors. Well, we may as well stop negotiating the Mirror Lake Treaty, and get ready for war.”
Many Demon Clan experts in the sky flew into a rage.
They had already made a concession, but Song Que was still taking a hard line.
“Let it be war then. No one shall leave this place alive today.” Song Que was like an enraged lion. His fat deposits quivered like surging waves. He snickered, and his Qi aura also erupted.
Three years ago, he was already a Martial Royal expert during the battle of the Heaven-splitting Swordsmanship Sect. Three years had since passed. He had been groomed by the mighty Blue Cloud Sect. And since Song Que was a genius and his strength had soared through this period, he was only half a step away from the Martial Emperor Realm.
When he got angry, it would really cause an upheaval.
A majestic Qi burst out and emanated outward dozens of miles. There was extreme pressure in the void. Even the Demon Royal experts in the sky were shocked.
According to the rumors, Song Que was totally unconventional and lawless. He might do anything. If he really went crazy, the Demon Royal experts who showed up this time would probably all have to suffer.
More than a dozen Demon Royals were mad with rage.
To have met a crazy man who did not heed the consequences was their bad luck. Even if you talked sense with him, would he listen?
They had always used their power to bully and oppress the Human Clan. They never expected the Demon Clan to be now threatened by a mean fatso.
Song Que’s figure slowly levitated up the void, his chubby face giving a hideous smile, as if he was prepared to throw everything to the winds. He said, “Let’s forget what happened today. If you still want to pick at them, we shall die together.”
“You…” The Demon Royals were angry.
But they couldn’t beat Song Que, the mean fatso.
If they didn’t fight, the imposing oppression accumulated by the Demon Clan would all collapse.
At this moment, a calm voice suddenly floated out from the distant Demon God Palace camp, resounding in the void.
“The younger Human Clan warriors are really more and more immature.”
The voice sounded very ordinary at first, like a garrulous old man chattering under the wintry sun.
But as soon as it rang out, all the power and aura between the heavens and the earth—whether Demon Aura or Qi—all vanished without a trace, like thin snow melted by the blazing sun. It gave one the false impression that it was stentorian, when in fact it was quite soft, containing within it the ineffable profundity of the Tao.
Song Que’s complexion changed and he landed back on the ground.
Because he found that the Qi in his body had been completely suppressed by an invisible force in an instant. He could not activate it at all.
At around the same time, more than a dozen Demon Royals in the sky also landed one after another. They all kowtowed on the ground like they were worshipping a god in the direction of that voice.
It was a kind of reverence that came from the heart, not from fear.
Countless experts of the Demon Clan around the House of Wine happily knelt. All around was a dark mass of heads. Many weaker Demon Clan experts did not know what had really happened, but they submitted to their stronger counterparts through their primitive instinct to conform to the powerful. Terrified, they almost completely prostrated on the ground.
The scene had suddenly turned so bizarre.
The voice reverberated in the air, carrying with it a faint trace of holy aura. It didn’t seem to be a Demon Aura at all. The Human Clan warriors within the surrounding hundreds of miles felt an inexplicable terror at this moment, as if a judge had come to hold a trial over their lives.
“Damn it, we have alarmed this old monster.” Song Que gnashed his teeth and looked a little embarrassed.
He could clearly sense from the distant Demon God Palace camp a horrific and extremely majestic hidden power, like a terrifying star lying dormant there. The moment it released a little power, it could instantaneously destroy thousands of miles of the surrounding land.
This power was definitely not one that he could resist.
Before this presence, Song Que’s cultivation at the peak of the Martial Royal Realm was insignificant like an ant against a divine dragon. They were not in the same league at all.
This was the legendary power granted only to a true commander of the fate of the Demon Clan.
Was this legendary old monster, who hadn’t interfered in the affairs of the Demon Clan for tens of millions of years, also alarmed by this incident? It didn’t quite make sense.
Song Que opened his mouth and wanted to say something.
But he was shocked to find himself unable to speak.
The existence lying deep within the Demon God Palace camp did not deliberately release this power. With a single thought, he had already dominated all the creatures within the surrounding thousands of miles.
There was only one reason why he did not allow Song Que to speak—
Song Que was not qualified to speak to him.
After saying that sentence, there was silence. That presence seemed to be waiting for something.
After a long time, a voice rang out from the other end of Mirror Lake, from the Mysterious Frost Inspector stationed there. It was just as calm and indifferent, clearly enunciating each syllable. “Ten days later, the Human Clan of Snow Province will choose our warriors to fight in the Life-and-Death Arena.”
As soon as he said that, there was another strange power between the heavens and the earth.
The oppression caused by that terrifying voice from the Demon God Palace was instantly and largely neutralized. The suppressed martial artists of the Human Clan suddenly felt an invisible force enveloping them. Their lost power returned to their bodies and became even stronger.
Song Que’s body became light, and he was back in control of everything.
A flicker of joy flashed across his face.
Did that presence from the Human Clan speak at last?
“Good.” The horrible existence from the Demon God Palace camp spat out a word. The next moment, the horrible power all over the sky vanished in an instant, as if it had never appeared.
The voice of that Mysterious Frost Inspector of the Human Clan did not ring out again.
The two supreme powers in the void, like two embodiments of the Great Tao, quickly subsided like ebbing tides.
Everything returned to normal.
The Demon Clan experts who were prostrating on the ground all got up, and their facial expressions became arrogant again.
Song Que could only frown slightly.
Since the authorities of the two Clans had arranged for the duels, things could not be changed now.
However, quite clearly any two martial artists sent by the Human Clan of Snow Province to the Life-and-Death Arena would be doomed. In Snow Province, the famous martial artists like the Jade-faced Asura Li Lan, Mad Saber Zhang Fan, the Young Poison Master Wang Juefeng, and the older experts from the nine sects were only at the peak of the Martial King Realm. They were no match for those masters from the Demon God Palace. Once they stepped into the arena, they would surely be crushed.
There was no doubt that the Human Clan would lose.
He could only envisage this result, one that the Human Clan presence could surely see too. Song Que did not know why that presence had decided to accept the life-and-death duels.
“Martial Uncle, what should we do now?” Gu Xing’er asked.
Song Que shook his head and cast his doubts aside. He said with a smile, “What else can we do? Of course, we must go back and think about it. Your Master is a stubborn fogey. If he ever knew you were making trouble here, he would be hopping mad.”
Gu Xing’er stuck out her tongue and said with a sly smile, “I don’t need to be afraid. I will just tell him that you abducted me.”
Song Que glared at her. “You rascal, every time you make trouble, you use me as a shield. I have spoiled you in the last few years.”
Gu Xing’er giggled.
Beside him, Dao Qingcheng and the other Human Clan martial artists were all staring, stunned.
Gu Xing’er had retracted her cold demeanor, now looking even more alluring with her charming smile. Many martial artists stared at her, entranced. This peerless beauty had such strength and was from such an illustrious sect. What man would be worthy of her?