Chapter 311: The First Stage

Inside the Profound Heaven Great Hall, the moment Song Yu saw Song Tingyu coming over he exclaimed, “You’re finally back!”

“Tingyu, you weren’t hurt in the Nether Realm, were you?” Nie Yuan walked over from his father’s side, filled with concern. The arrogance in his eyes was completely gone, and even his voice had become gentle.

“It is good to see that you’re safe, Sister Tingyu.” Xie Jingxuan was as cool as ever. She lacked passion no matter who she was facing.

“It’s great that you’re safe.” Xie Yaoyang and Nie Yun also nodded slightly.

The Song Family, the Xie Family, and the Nie Family. The three families of Profound Heaven Alliance might compete against each other behind the scenes, but their relationship could be said to be rather friendly. They rarely argued with each other openly.

“Father, Uncle Xie, Uncle Nie, thank you for your concern. I’m fine.” Song Tingyu’s smile was bright and beautiful. Like a rainbow butterfly, she walked lightly to the center of the great hall and bowed toward the patriarchs of the three great families before smiling. “Qin Lie and I have destroyed plenty of Horned Demon towns in the Nether Realm and killed many Horned Demon warriors. Furthermore, we even caused quite the commotion at the Demon God Mountain Range and woke up two Evil God avatars…”

The people inside the hall were curious about their encounters inside the Nether Realm. That was why they were gathered here. The moment they heard her talking business, their expressions became serious and they listened intently.

Qin Lie simply stood behind her calmly, wearing a faint smile on his face. He casually looked at the people inside the hall and glanced at the exquisite decorations on the sides from time to time.

Song Yu, Xie Yaoyang, and Nie Yun were all people at the absolute peak in the Scarlet Tide Continent. They were all Fragmentation Realm experts who held influence over this land for many years.

It was said that Song Yu was quiet and gentle, Xie Yaoyang was ferocious and domineering, and Nie Yun was arrogant and wild. Under their guidance, the three great families grew more prosperous every day. Their whole force was said to be slightly stronger than Eight Extreme Temple, not to mention that their vassal Black Iron forces also exceeded Eight Extreme Temple’s in number.

Qin Lie could vaguely come to this conclusion judging by whom the five great forces around Armament Sect belonged to.

Dark Asura Hall, Seven Fiends Valley, Dark Shadow Tower, Purple Mist Sea, and Cloud Sky Mountain. Dark Asura Hall, Seven Fiends Valley, and Dark Shadow Tower were all vassal forces of Profound Heaven Alliance, and they were somewhat stronger than Purple Mist Sea and Cloud Sky Mountain.

One could get an idea of the bigger picture by looking at the details. Among all the forces in the entire Scarlet Tide Continent, Profound Heaven Alliance was slightly stronger than Eight Extreme Temple.

It was also the reason why Gold Robed Envoy Mo He from Eight Extreme Temple did not dare to act recklessly back at the poisonous bog when Song Tingyu lied and claimed that she was Qin Lie’s fiancée.

When Qin Lie quietly observed Song Yu and the others, he discovered that Nie Yuan’s proud gaze was also sweeping across him.

Therefore, he grinned and chuckled toward Nie Yuan in the distance. However, he realized that Nie Yuan snorted coldly, his eyes filled with disdain.

Qin Lie did not mind it. The smile on his face did not falter in the slightest as he followed Nie Yuan’s gaze and saw what he was looking at. When he realized that Nie Yuan’s gaze, filled with a trace of fanaticism, was on Song Tingyu, he immediately understood—this guy was getting jealous.

Nie Yuan was obviously in love with Song Tingyu.

Song Tingyu had brought Qin Lie back to Profound Heaven Alliance on the Flowing Cloud Rainbow Butterfly. Furthermore, she had gone through life and death situations with him back in the Nether Realm. These… were all factors that caused Nie Yuan to feel discomfort.

Qin Lie’s expression did not change after confirming his doubts. He let out a soft laugh before turning again to look at Xie Jingxuan.

Xie Jingxuan was dressed in a modest, clean white tight suit. Her eyes were clear and her expression was calm. Like a lone lotus, her body naturally flowed with an indifference that would reject anyone around her.

She had only glanced at Qin Lie once after he came in. Then she withdrew her gaze and focused on Song Tingyu’s narration of the Nether Realm.

More than half a year ago, when she learned that Qin Lie was Armament Sect’s new sect master, she had personally met with him to talk about Armament Sect’s surrender.

As a result, the negotiation had broken down completely.

After that, the five forces suffered severe losses. Qin Lie had ordered Xue Li to suppress Song Siyuan, Xie Zhizhang, and Zhan Tianyi so they did not dare to act recklessly. He then forcefully pulled out the twelve spirit pattern pillars and caused the evil nether passageway to open.

Now, Qin Lie had killed Ying Xingran in turn, separated from Armament Sect, and entered into Profound Heaven Alliance as a completely free man. He would join the Song Family as a foreign delegate…

All of this created a knot in her heart.

If Qin Lie had been willing to accept her offer, then Armament Sect would have been destroyed. Yet many artificers would have been able to survive, and Qin Lie would have joined Profound Heaven Alliance with her recommendation. The evil nether passageway would not have been opened, and there would not have been so many incidents after that.

Years ago, Qin Lie said that he did everything for Armament Sect. Now, he had fallen under Song Tingyu’s spell, killed Ying Xingran, betrayed Armament Sect, and joined Profound Heaven Alliance instead.

It was because of this that her father’s gaze from earlier was obviously filled with blame. She could see the hidden meaning in his eyes. Why was Song Tingyu easily able to do that which you could not? Why is my daughter, the daughter of Xie Yaoyang, inferior to Song Yu’s daughter?

It was at this moment that Qin Lie’s gaze had swept over her again. Xie Jingxuan scoffed coldly from the bottom of her heart before furiously glaring right back at him.

Seeing the anger and coldness in Xie Jingxuan’s calm eyes, Qin Lie’s expression became strange, and he felt as though he had brought ridicule upon himself. He chuckled in return with slight embarrassment.

“Tingyu, you’re saying… that you managed to effortlessly pass through the bottom three levels of the Nether Battlefield ?” It was at this moment, when Song Tingyu had just finished speaking, that Nie Yun interrupted with a look of disbelief, “The experts of the Horned Demon Race actually ignored you completely? Are you sure?”

Everyone else was doubtful as well.

Song Yu, Xie Yaoyang, Nie Yuan, and Xie Jingxuan also appeared to be surprised and doubtful. They could not figure out the reason behind this either.

To this day, even Song Tingyu herself did not understand why the experts of the Horned Demon Race had ignored them and allowed them to leave so easily.

Of course, since she and Qin Lie had come to an agreement prior to their arrival, she had concealed Xue Li’s appearance and even kept quiet about Xue Li’s participation at the Demon God Mountain Range—she had pushed everything onto the thunder python.

Therefore, Song Yu and the others did not know about Xue Li’s suspicion of her. He believed that she was secretly conspiring with the evil races…

She, herself, knew that she was innocent, and she once suspected Qin Lie as well. Yet Qin Lie had destroyed many towns with the Terminator Profound Bombs in the Nether Realm and even caused a great commotion at the Demon God Mountain Range. It was obvious that he did not have any tacit agreement with the evil races.

Therefore, she was confused and could not figure out why the evil races had let them escape no matter how hard she tried.

“Uncle Nie, I also did not understand. I do not know why the evil races ignored us,” Song Tingyu said honestly.

Nie Yun frowned and no longer said anything. However, the doubt in his eyes did not fade.

“It’s… because of Qin Lie, isn’t it?” Nie Yuan suddenly interrupted and looked coldly at Qin Lie. He said, “He is the benefactor who helped them open the evil nether passageway so they bypass the Nether Battlefield and come directly to the Scarlet Tide Continent. They have to do something in return, don’t you think?”

“Big Brother Nie, what do you mean by this?” Song Tingyu frowned slightly.

“Tingyu, with your intelligence, don’t you feel that there’s something strange about this? He was the one who opened the evil nether passageway. The both of you were also coincidentally sucked into the passage as soon as you arrived above it. How could he possibly survive after causing so much trouble at the Demon God Mountain Range? Maybe he actually went there to accept their legacy. How did he manage to pass through the Nether Battlefield with you so easily, and why did the Horned Demon Race ignore you…? Is all of this not enough to show that there’s something wrong about this whole thing?” Nie Yuan laid out important points one by one.

Including Song Yu, everyone wore deep, pondering looks. They obviously felt that Nie Yuan’s words were not illogical.

“This person’s background is unclear. Who the hell knows what kind of person he is? He chose now of all times to join the Profound Heaven Alliance. The evil race is about to go to war with us. I can’t help but feel that something about this is strange. What do you think?” Nie Yuan looked at the crowd.

They remained silent.

“Qin Lie and I destroyed many Horned Demon towns in the Nether Realm and killed plenty of Horned Demon warriors. I believe he has nothing to do with the Horned Demon Race,” Song Tingyu defended.

“That might just be the evil race’s ruse to trick us. He sacrificed them just to gain your trust so that he could easily join Profound Heaven Alliance,” Nie Yuan countered.

“Nie Yuan’s concern is actually worth serious consideration.” Nie Yun nodded and said with a dark face, “Brother Song, if this Qin Lie is truly affiliated with the evil races and has slipped into our Profound Heaven Alliance on purpose, intending to spy on our movements and help the evil races… we should be on guard, shouldn’t we?”

“Brother Nie, you mean…?” Song Yu frowned.

“Why don’t we capture this person and isolate his memories with the Memory Fragment Crystal to figure out the truth.” Nie Yun glanced at Qin Lie before saying, “This is something any of the three of us can easily understand. If we are careful, we will not really be hurting his mind, and the side effects… would not be too serious either. What do you think, Brother Song?”

“Brother Xie, your thoughts?” Song Yu looked at Xie Yaoyang once more.

“Give him a chance to prove himself. If he cannot prove that he is not related to the evil races… then we shall do as Nie Family says,” Xie Yaoyang opined.

“Uncle Nie! Uncle Xie!” Song Tingyu lost control and shouted.

Song Yu waved his hands to stop Song Tingyu from speaking. After pondering for some time, he finally looked at Qin Lie seriously and said, “What do you think?”

He wanted Qin Lie to defend himself.

Chapter 312: You… Are Still Too Green!

Inside the Profound Heaven Great Hall everyone looked at Qin Lie, wanting him to prove himself.

Song Tingyu wanted to defend Qin Lie but was stopped by her father’s gaze. She looked somewhat frustrated.

Under the gazes of the three patriarchs of Profound Heaven Alliance, Qin Lie was still as calm as ever. He grinned and said, “I’ve killed quite a few Horned Demons . Will that prove my innocence?”

“Back in the Nether Realm, you killed plenty of Horned Demons. I can prove this,” Song Tingyu exclaimed.

“The evil race may have purposely sacrificed themselves to allow you to infiltrate Profound Heaven Alliance. Simply killing a few Horned Demons cannot prove anything,” Nie Yuan laughed coldly.

Qin Lie opened his arms, wearing a look of helplessness. “Then what do you say? How can I prove myself?”

“The easiest way is to search through your memories of course. If the three of us act personally… it shouldn’t damage you too badly.” Nie Yun looked maliciously at Qin Lie’s forehead with cold, dark eyes.

“Uncle Nie!” Song Tingyu’s expression changed as she said with unfriendly eyes, “Memory extraction always has side effects. This is definitely not acceptable!”

“Senior Song, what do you say about this matter?!” Qin Lie stared straight at Song Yu without a trace of fear. “If you’re not willing to believe me, then this will be a simple matter. I’ll turn around and leave right away.”

“Leave?” Nie Yuan blocked the entrance and said arrogantly, “Profound Heaven Alliance is not a place where you can come and go as you please!”

“Impudence!” Song Tingyu exploded with fury. “I invited Qin Lie into Profound Heaven City. If you really don’t believe him, then I will send him out!”

“Kid, do you dare to just stand behind a woman?” Nie Yuan did not face Song Tingyu directly and instead stared coldly at Qin Lie.

Qin Lie did not look at him, but at Song Yu. He asked, “Senior Song, is this how your Song Family treats its guests?”

Song Yu frowned slightly.

Qin Lie suddenly let out a long bout of laughter before nodding at Song Yu in disappointment. Then, he turned around and walked toward the hall’s entrance while saying, “Then I’d like to see exactly how your Profound Heaven Alliance is going to trap me. Also, I would personally like to find out if Profound Heaven Alliance… truly is indestructible!”

His spatial ring flashed.

He gripped the Eye of Frost tightly in his left hand. Waves of spatial energy emanated from the translucent ball of ice.

Many Terminator Profound Bombs appeared in his right hand. These round Terminator Profound Bombs appeared to be incredibly magical. They actually piled on top of each other like a pyramid.

With the Eye of Frost in one hand and the Terminator Profound Bombs in the other, Qin Lie carried himself with relaxed footsteps and an expression of leisure, slowly walking toward Nie Yuan.

At first, Song Tingyu wanted to stop him. After seeing him putting on such a forceful front, her beautiful eyes brightened as she pursed her lips, smiled, and just came to a halt.

“Three or four Terminator Profound Bombs are enough to destroy a small Horned Demon town. Six Terminator Profound Bombs exploding simultaneously is capable of eliminating all the elites of the five forces. Seven or eight Terminator Profound Bombs can threaten even a Fulfillment Realm martial practitioner…” Song Tingyu said seriously. With a casual tone, she said quietly, “I remember you having dozens of Terminator Profound Bombs in your spatial ring, right Qin Lie?”

“There are precisely eighteen Terminator Profound Bombs in total. I wasn’t able to meet you at the designated time because I was forging a few more of them.” Qin Lie had fought side by side with Song Tingyu. He was able to immediately understand her meaning as he laughed loudly and replied, “Heh, I’ve never actually tried detonating eighteen Terminator Profound Bombs before. Four Terminator Profound Bombs could destroy a small town. Eighteen of them… if my guess is correct, they could destroy at least one third of Profound Heaven City.”

The people inside the hall suddenly changed color. Nie Yun’s icy cold gaze instantly fell to Qin Lie’s hands.

Xie Yaoyang and Xie Jingxuan frowned deeply as they watched Nie Yuan and Qin Lie very closely.

Surprisingly, Profound Heaven Alliance’s alliance master, Song Yu, suddenly narrowed his eyes. His expression was calm and natural, as if he weren’t worried by the situation at all.

He had even exchanged glances with Song Tingyu in secret…

“Nie Yuan, is it?” Qin Lie grinned with a bright smile and closed in on him step by step. “You can try to stop me. However, I must make it clear beforehand that I am… sort of a cowardly person. The moment I realize that something is amiss, I will activate the Terminator Profound Bombs.”

Nie Yuan’s face was green.

“Of course, before the Terminator Profound Bombs actually explode… I will use my spatial spirit artifact to instantly escape from Profound Heaven City,” Qin Lie smiled and added.

Behind Qin Lie, Nie Yun laughed coldly, “I will make sure to kill you when you activate the Terminator Profound Bombs. You will not have the chance to use the spatial spirit artifact to escape.”

“I can at least ignite all eighteen Terminator Profound Bombs. As for whether or not I can escape… Heh, we’ll see about that, won’t we? You guys can try if you want.” Qin Lie’s tone was calm, but his eyes gleamed with bloodlust. “Naturally, there is no way you three seniors with your Fragmentation Realms will have any accidents, but the rest of the people… may not necessarily be safe.”

He smiled and looked at Nie Yuan.

The arrogance on Nie Yuan’s face did not change.

Meanwhile, Nie Yun frowned slightly.

“I will walk out of the hall entrance right now. The moment I discover anyone doing anything improper, then… we shall test the might of eighteen Terminator Profound Bombs exploding at once.”

He walked step by step toward Nie Yuan’s position.

The Profound Heaven Great Hall went dead silent.

Nie Yun’s expression was as cold as ice. His gaze fell onto Qin Lie and Nie Yuan’s figures and he did not say a word.

He wanted to see who was more bold and ruthless between Nie Yuan and Qin Lie.

If eighteen Terminator Profound Bombs exploded at once, Nie Yuan would most likely not survive. On the other hand, Qin Lie would not have the chance to activate his spatial spirit artifact and escape with him around, so he would not survive either!

If Nie Yuan dared to obstruct him, would Qin Lie really sacrifice everything and activate the Terminator Profound Bombs?

The second he did that, he would become the sworn enemy of Profound Heaven Alliance. Be it Song Yu or Xie Yaoyang, they would attack and kill him at a moment’s notice.

Nie Yun was a hundred percent confident that Qin Lie would be instantly killed under the attacks of Song Yu, Xie Yaoyang, and himself. Qin Lie would not have the chance to activate the spatial spirit artifact.

The Terminator Profound Bombs could be activated with a bolt of lightning, but it wasn’t that simple when using a spatial spirit artifact to escape.

He neither thought that Qin Lie would dare to sacrifice everything, nor did he believe that Qin Lie would dare to be this crazy. He believed that Qin Lie would back down at a critical moment.

Of course, if Qin Lie was more ruthless than Nie Yuan, he would definitely die with him.

He did not say anything to stop this. He wanted to see if his son would obtain the final victory in this terrifying conflict.

“Xuan’er, get behind me,” Xie Yaoyang suddenly exclaimed in a low tone.

Xie Jingxuan’s cool eyes shone with an odd gleam. She stared closely at Qin Lie, but her figure quietly withdrew behind Xie Yaoyang’s back. Furthermore, she summoned her spirit art, causing hazy green light to appear around her body.

“Two madmen!”