“May I ask who you are? This is quite an oversight on our part.” Lu Yiling took a deep breath and cupped his fist towards Li Qiye.

“Just an insignificant, ordinary disciple in Divine Black.” Li Qiye stretched and casually said.

Everyone was at a loss for words, nearly becoming embarrassed. The guy was powerful enough to stomp a sect master yet he called himself a mere disciple?

What were they? What was inferior to “insignificant”?

Some of the prideful cultivators didn’t know what to do outside of wanting to jump into a pit to hide.

Lu Yiling himself had nothing to say. This Li Qiye came out of nowhere and was simply too powerful, suffocating all of his foes.

The worst part was that he couldn’t see through the guy at all. There was no impression of such a being in his mind.

He confirmed Li Qiye’s cultivation. This wasn’t faked at all, hence the confusion due to the disparity with actual power.

Putting aside Li Qiye’s special case, someone this powerful couldn’t gain these abilities overnight. The greatest geniuses required a long path before reaching this level.

However, none of them has heard of Li Qiye before. The guy seemingly appeared out of thin air.

He had a good grasp on the region since he traveled extensively during his youth. He still never heard of Li Qiye before.

Everyone was racking their brains trying to figure this out, not just Yiling.

“Maybe he’s protected and blessed by the ancestors of Divine Black? That’s why he can control their remnant powers while inside Divine Black.” One person eventually speculated.

“Perhaps, Divine Black did have exceptional masters in the past.” Most agreed that this was the most plausible explanation.

Not to mention their patriarch, just South Conch Dao Lord alone was immensely powerful. They also had plenty of other experts. Their remnant powers should be able to grant Li Qiye devilish abilities.

Yiing focused up and stopped thinking. He needed to pick the right choice given the precarious situation.

“Our sect was ignorant and foolish for offending Divine Black, unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth.” Yiling bowed deeply towards Li Qiye and apologized: “We have lost today and will accept the consequences. We’ll withdraw while making up for the losses suffered by your sect, would that be alright?”

His surrender naturally took the crowd by surprise since it happened too quickly.

Only a few people like Ping Suoweng nodded approvingly, praising Yiling’s wise choice.

He was both decisive and insightful, able to give up after seeing a clear loss. The conditions were generous as well.

However, from another point of view, it wasn’t good for Divine Black when Three Truths had such a capable leader.

“Impressive.” The elders of the other sects quietly praised.

Being flexible was a virtue in their mind. Moreover, Yiling was conceding for the sake of his sect, not for personal reasons. He didn’t put his honor and reputation above the greater good.

“Life isn’t that easy.” Li Qiye shook his head.

Yiling froze after hearing this. He took a deep breath and continued: “Sir, we are willing to compensate for today, any demands are on the table.”

He made it clear that his sect would agree to any clause regardless of how unfair they were. This was considered disgraceful for most. They wouldn’t accept this ceasefire clause.

“Can Yiling do this?” Some spectators wondered.

A few shook their head, thinking that the rest of Three Truths wouldn’t agree to the ridiculous conditions.

“Don’t do it!” An elder of Three Truths shouted.

“Don’t worry about me, just leave, take as many as possible!” Three Truths Sect Master shouted as well.

Alas, Yiling was unmoved by their shouts and maintained his course. He could tell that escaping was impossible without Li Qiye’s permission.

“You are both smart and insightful, flexible too, all marks of a hero.” Li Qiye stared at him and smiled: “Very rare to meet someone like this. I’m currently in a good mood and will be merciful. You may leave, others will stay.”

All eyes were on Yiling. This might be his best chance to leave unscathed.

“If you are willing, Sir, I’m willing to stay so that they can leave.” Yiling pondered for a bit before replying.

“Unwise, wasting my praise earlier.” Li Qiye chuckled.

“I appreciate your kind words.” Yiling sighed: “But as a disciple of Three Truths, I can’t only worry about myself and abandon others.”

This decision earned him the respect of the spectators - a true man with a strong heart. Even the ones from Divine Black felt respect for their enemy.

“Very well, let’s see what you can do then. You’ll be an experiment.” Li Qiye said.

The crowd took a deep breath. Someone as strong as Yiling could only be an experiment, not an actual foe?

“A firefly can’t compete with the bright moon.” Yiling put on a solemn expression: “Nonetheless, we have no choice but to struggle against death regardless of the futility.”

“Interesting. Fine, in order to show respect, I shall use a weapon against you.” Li Qiye chuckled and raised his hand.

“Clank!” A sword hymn forced all other swords to hymn in response. A ray flew out of South Conch Peak.

Li Qiye had a sword in his hand now before the crowd could react. It was luminous and peerless while exuding a supreme divinity akin to a dao lord being here in person.