The crowd was still shell-shocked since there was no sign of Li Qiye in the lake.

People glanced at each other, not expecting for Ma Mingchun to do something like this. Plus, his military jurisdiction was given to him by the royal rule. Doing something like this was blasphemous.

It was one thing for him to lead the five legions against attacking the Bingchi. At the very least, he could justify this decision by bringing up the people’s wellbeing.

However, this ambush was inexcusable. He clearly had a personal agenda and ulterior motives. Nothing could wash the stain of this despicable act.

Ma Mingchun carefully peered the lake surface. If the king were to be alive, he would deliver another fatal blow without any hesitation.

He no longer gave a damn since he only had one son to pass on his legacy. Vengeance was a must and reputation no longer mattered.

“Is he dead?” Someone whispered after seeing the calm surface of the lake.

Everyone shook their head and focused on watching. They waited and waited to no avail. The king seemed to have sunk to the lake bottom.

Bingchi Hanyu nervously clenched her fists. Jianyao was also serious, contemplating while tilting her head; an occasional frown would appear.

The one affected the most was Liu Chuqing. She anxiously held her sleeves and started praying for Li Qiye.

Most became dejected. Has Ma Mingchun done it? The king died from that attack?

“There’s no way.” Even the ancestors began to believe it.

Prior to this, they believed that even an all-out attack from Mingchun wouldn’t be enough to kill the unfathomable king. However, as time passed, their belief wavered.

The most excited was obviously Tang Hexiang since this was a great opportunity for him. If Li Qiye had died, it would increase the chance of him becoming king in the future.

A long while later, the lake was still calm with no sign of Li Qiye.

“Looks like that blow was fatal.” Someone quietly concluded.

“Prudence is necessary for long-lasting success, no matter how strong one might be.” An old expert lamented. The king was so strong yet he still died to Ma Mingchun’s cheap shot.

“Hahaha!” Hexiang burst out in laughter and uttered coldly: “See, no one knows what will happen until the very end. That’s what he get for boasting shamelessly with such meager power!”

The guy was lost in jubilation thinking about the easy path ahead. The death of the king vented his anger and garnered great advantages to his cause in the future. All of the humiliation and criticism didn’t matter anymore.

“Unfortunately, I’m always the last man smiling.” A leisure voice interrupted his gloating moment.

“It’s the king!” Someone shouted joyfully after hearing this familiar voice.

People looked around but there was no sign of Li Qiye anywhere.

“Where is he?” They became confused. Where did his voice come from?

“Over there!” Another reacted quickly and pointed at the sky.

The crowd followed his direction and saw Li Qiye lazily sitting on his golden throne once more with his legs resting on the chair’s arm.

He looked so comfortable and satisfied in his spot as if he has been relaxing the entire time without moving an inch.

This naturally astonished the crowd. They saw him being smashed into the lake earlier but from the looks of it now, the victim earlier felt like it was someone else.

No one saw how he got on his throne. Could it be that he has been there the entire time?

If he was knocked down the lake, someone should have spotted him going back up, especially Ma Mingchun.

But if he has been there the entire time, it would be even more terrifying. That was only a dao avatar in action earlier? But then people should have noticed his real body being on the throne.

“What’s going on?” The ones with shallow cultivation didn’t know what was going on at all.

“That’s unreal. His power level is far above anyone else.” An ancestor could see a little of the mysteries and tremble with trepidation.

The king could kill someone without anyone noticing, chopping off his enemies’ head at a moment’s notice.

“You…” As an Eternal, Ma Mingchun also realized something and staggered backward.

Remember, only people like the five supreme ancestors were stronger than him in Nine Secrets. However, he still couldn’t spot the fact that Li Qiye has been on the throne the entire time. The guy tricked him so easily.

He took a deep breath, aware of the enemy’s true terror. He only had this feeling once before when facing Lucidity King.

“You’re, you’re still alive…” Hexiang was as white as a ghost as he stumbled backward; his gloating celebration replaced with fear.

Chuqing heaved a sigh of relief, certainly the most excited person here after seeing that Li Qiye was fine.

Jianyao only confirmed her previous belief that the king was unbeatable. Resistance would be futile in the future.

“I’ve been waiting for your sneak-attack for a while now but you kept your patience. Unfortunately, the attack only tickled.” Li Qiye sat coolly on his throne and glanced at the frightened Ma Mingchun.

The Eternal naturally became frustrated. His fatal move only managed to “tickle” the guy?

“One of us will die today! Even if I die, I will still take your head as an offering to my son…” Mingchun gritted his teeth and threatened.

The hatred of an Eternal was naturally oppressive, especially with this extreme declaration. The crowd felt suffocated.

“No, you’ll be the only one dying today.” Li Qiye interrupted him: “I will send you down to hell so that your son won’t be lonely while walking on the Yellow River.”

Mingchun started shouting with an unsightly grimace: “Little animal, I will flay you, drink your blood and rip out your tendons!”

The guy was ready to die now, wanting revenge regardless of the cost.