Chapter 314: Chapter 311: Where is Qin Daye Hiding?

Not to mention Liu Hong currently lacked the ability—even if he had it, he wouldn’t have shielded Mo Qi from every hardship.

The path to immortality, and the path beyond it, was one a sheltered flower could never hope to traverse.

Liu Hong knew full well that with Mo Qi’s talent and methods, his constant intervention would be a detriment, not a help.

Furthermore, while the Liu Family occupied a seat of power in the Hall of Envoys, their influence was a shadow of its former self.

The Huangfu Family, however, was in its golden age, producing a steady stream of experts and boasting a deep and powerful foundation.

Even though Liu Hong was incredibly powerful—his arrays made him nigh-invincible against those of the same level, allowing him to fight outnumbered or even challenge those above his rank—he was, at the end of the day, just one man. He could not withstand a relentless siege from a horde of experts.

’Most importantly, I have my arrays to protect me, but what about the rest of the Liu Family? What about Liu Ruyan?’

He could protect one or two, but he couldn’t look after them all.

Though some of the Liu Family’s actions had left him deeply dissatisfied, blood was thicker than water. He couldn’t possibly stand by and watch his clansmen be slaughtered.

Therefore, the most he could do was ensure Mo Qi would face the Huangfu brothers in a relatively fair environment.

Besides, he was confident that as long as no external powers were involved, Mo Qi would not lose to Huangfu Yu!

"Elder Liu, please wait!"

Huangfu Yu flew out from the Flying Magical Artifact. He clasped his hands and bowed deeply, respectfully performing a grand salute to Liu Hong.

At the same time, the Energy coalescing around the Flying Magical Artifact swiftly dissipated.

Liu Hong halted his steps but did not turn back.

"Well, well. Has the Huangfu Family’s prodigy finally deigned to show his face?" Liu Hong sneered.

"I am humbled," Huangfu Yu said, keeping his head lowered in a deferential posture. "Had I known you were here, Elder Liu, I would never have dared to act so presumptuously."

"Hah!" Liu Hong sneered. ’With the Huangfu Family’s intelligence network, how could they possibly have missed my presence?’

’Besides, I literally just shouted for Huangfu Yu to get out here. Is he deaf, too?’

"That’s enough. Don’t waste my time with nonsense. I know exactly what you want, but whether or not you can win Ruyan’s affection is up to you. Everything will proceed according to the rules. If you don’t know the rules, go find someone and ask."

"Is Elder Liu referring to the matter of defeating Qin Daye?" Huangfu Yu asked.

Liu Hong remained noncommittal, simply sauntering away into the distance.

Before leaving, he tossed one last comment over his shoulder. "Huangfu Yu, for the sake of that old geezer in your family, I’ll give you a piece of advice. The Mortal District prohibits the use of any external power at the Immortal Level or above. There is no ’rule of retaliation’ like you claim."

The moment his voice faded, Liu Hong disappeared from everyone’s sight.

"Brother, can we trust what Liu Hong said?" Huangfu Jun asked, stepping up behind Huangfu Yu with a hint of resentment.

The resources consumed by activating the ultimate attack of the Fortress-level Flying Magical Artifact were an unimaginably astronomical figure.

Even if the final attack was never launched, the resources consumed during its preparation were still immense.

"It’s better to believe it than to dismiss it. This recent high-level directive from the Immortal Realm is truly bizarre. Forbidding the use of Immortal Level Power in the Mortal District is unprecedented."

"Therefore, we shouldn’t violate it unless we have no other choice."

Huangfu Jun nodded, then asked, "But can the array he deployed really block an attack from the Fortress-level Flying Magical Artifact?"

Huangfu Yu fell silent. After a long moment, he spoke. "That old fox Liu Hong’s mastery of arrays is indeed profound. We can’t afford to lose the Fortress-level Flying Magical Artifact, so we can’t gamble on whether he’s telling the truth."

"So we can’t do this, and we can’t do that. What are we supposed to do now?" Huangfu Jun said, glancing over at Li Shimu and his attendants.

If they couldn’t use the Flying Magical Artifact, they would be completely helpless should Li Shimu and his men call upon the power of the Empire’s destiny.

Huangfu Yu understood Huangfu Jun’s anxiety. He sneered, "Even a dog will leap a wall when cornered, and a rabbit will bite. As long as we don’t cross their bottom line, the Mountain and Sea Empire wouldn’t dare to attack us first, not even if they had ten times their current courage."

"As for now... didn’t Liu Hong say it? We follow the rules. If we want to marry Liu Ruyan, we must first defeat Qin Daye. Let’s go and meet this Qin Daye right now and see if he’s some kind of monster with three heads and six arms!"

Upon hearing this, a murderous glint flashed in Huangfu Jun’s eyes. He knew that to keep Niu Kexin by his side, he first had to make her give up all hope.

That meant Qin Daye had to die!

The challenge against Qin Daye would be the perfect opportunity to strike a killing blow.

The Huangfu brothers had no idea that the very thing they thought wouldn’t cross the Mountain and Sea Empire’s bottom line was, in fact, already trampling all over Li Shimu’s own personal line.

"Speak. Where is Qin Daye hiding?" Huangfu Yu demanded, looking at Li Shimu and his retinue.

Li Shimu frowned.

From the conversation between Liu Hong and Huangfu Yu, he could tell that Liu Hong and his granddaughter were also from the Hall of Envoys.

And it seemed Liu Hong’s reputation in the Hall of Envoys was considerable.

He just couldn’t understand it. ’If Liu Hong has such power and status, why not just drive Huangfu Yu and his men away? Why continue with this pointless challenge?’

"Emperor Li, don’t tell me you’re too scared to even answer that?" Huangfu Jun couldn’t help but jeer. "I heard that this challenge for Qin Daye was declared by your own imperial edict."

’Scared?’

At Huangfu Jun’s question, Li Shimu felt not a single ripple of emotion. He almost wanted to laugh.

’I know perfectly well that Mo Qi’s challenges have always been held in the Fighting Cultivation Room.’

’No Flying Magical Artifacts, no external aid, no True Essence to draw upon. Just a simple contest of fighting skill.’

’Even the King of Kaosan was forced to see Mo Qi in a new light. You two may come from the Hall of Envoys, you may have plenty of hidden aces and a profound heritage, but if you really were to fight, I’m afraid the two of you together would be no match for Mo Qi.’

’You think I’d be afraid to tell you where Qin Daye is?’

"I know! Qin Daye is in the Imperial Academy over there!"

Before Li Shimu could speak, Shi Hao, who had been observing from the side, suddenly pointed toward the distant Imperial Academy and exclaimed.

Huangfu Yu and Huangfu Jun followed Shi Hao’s finger with their gaze.

They saw a long, chaotic line stretching from the outskirts of the Imperial City all the way to a point between two large mountains.

"All those people are here to challenge Qin Daye," Shi Hao added helpfully.

"They’re all lusting after Liu Ruyan?" A cold glint flashed in Huangfu Yu’s eyes. "Kill them all!"

The words had barely left his lips when three cloaked figures moved in unison.

They attacked as one. There were no fancy techniques, just a simple, brutal compression of the Power of Heaven and Earth.

BOOM!

Hundreds of city blocks—nearly half the Imperial City—were crushed into rubble by the compressed Power of Heaven and Earth.

All who could not escape in time were instantly turned into a bloody mist, their Divine Souls utterly annihilated.

Even the Imperial Academy was nearly one-third destroyed, suffering innumerable casualties.

"This is outrageous!"

Li Shimu, snapping back to reality, was consumed by a towering rage. He never imagined Huangfu Yu would suddenly order such an attack.

He was just about to call upon the power of the Empire’s destiny.

But he was held back firmly by three elders.

"Mo’er, think of the greater good!"