Voice of Utmost Arrogance

Voice of Utmost Arrogance

. . .

Zai Qiu had initially harbored plans of vanquishing Qin Wentian in a joint assault with his comrades, intending to snuff out his adversary's life on this battleground. Little did he anticipate the current turn of events – Qin Wentian, with a single, swift stroke, had eradicated one of his companions.

That singular halberd strike sent shockwaves rippling through them, causing their hearts to race and their breaths to falter.

But Zai Qiu couldn't afford to stand frozen in astonishment. The deadly edge of Qin Wentian's halberd was now trained on him, and he found himself ensnared within a nightmarish realm where the halberd was the sole reality, and escape was an illusion.

No avenue of evasion remained, not in the face of such a formidable, annihilative force.

Buzz!

A brilliant light erupted as corrosive energies surged. Zai Qiu's clenched fist wielded a divine weapon, a dark-hued relic. Its unleashed power seemed to corrode the very fabric of space, rendering even the vicinity around Zai Qiu a sea of inky blackness.

"Is this the vaunted pride of your Zai Clan? Truly remarkable," Qin Wentian quipped with sardonic amusement. His words stung, and the flush of embarrassment on Zai Qiu's face burned with indignation. Resorting to a fifth-ranked divine weapon clearly reflected Zai Qiu's inadequacy, his dependence on external strength to thwart Qin Wentian's previous attack.

"Zai Qiu, of the illustrious Zai Clan, a Heaven Chosen of the Royal Sacred Sect. Truly awe-inspiring," Qin Wentian continued, his smile widening. His gaze then swept over the Royal Sacred Sect's gathering, where countenances had turned ashen and unsightly.

Their initial intent had been to prove Qin Wentian's culpability and execute him on the spot. However, the unexpected intervention of the Medicinal Sovereign Valley and Immortal Martial Realm's experts, coupled with the manifestation of the Sacred Emperor's lingering presence, had thrown their plans into disarray. They had assumed that Zai Qiu and his companions could effortlessly overpower Qin Wentian, yet the reality had diverged starkly from their expectations. Qin Wentian's overwhelming might had led to the death of a Heaven Chosen from the Royal Sacred Sect and forced Zai Qiu to employ a fifth-ranked divine weapon.

In the Sacred Emperor's watchful gaze, the Royal Sacred Sect's prodigies found themselves incapable of dealing with an outsider, a humiliation compounded by Qin Wentian's ridicule.

Buzz!

A surging wave of dreamforce cascaded forth as a blood-red halberd manifested in Qin Wentian's grasp, replacing his former weapon. It was none other than the Scarlet Demon Halberd, another fifth-ranked relic. Strands of his true intent of Dreams coursed through the halberd as he advanced on Zai Qiu. With a sweeping motion, the Scarlet Demon Halberd crashed down, plunging Zai Qiu into a crimson-drenched dimension reminiscent of Purgatory.

As Qin Wentian infused the Scarlet Demon Halberd with his true intent, no matter how steadfast or indomitable Zai Qiu's will, he would inevitably be ensnared by the dreamscape crafted by the weapon.

Casting a pallor, Zai Qiu's divine weapon unleashed an apocalyptic storm, blotting out the heavens and unleashing threads of black corrosive energy in all directions. Yet within the blood-red dimension, a multitude of Scarlet Demon Halberds bore down on him from every angle, a nightmarish procession of Qin Wentian's specters, their presence inescapable.

"Curse this dreamscape!" Zai Qiu muttered through pale lips. His formidable divine weapon was rendered impotent within this illusory realm.

A sharp, chilling sound sliced through the air – Puchi!

The blood-colored halberd pierced through Zai Qiu's body, eliciting convulsions that sent bean-sized droplets of sweat coursing down his skin. His agonized cry reverberated, a heart-rending "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~"

In this eerie dreamscape, an unrelenting assault was slowly pushing him towards his inexorable demise.

A harrowing sense of impending doom gripped him as Zai Qiu heard thunderous detonations nearby. Suddenly, the dreamscape dissolved, and he found himself drained of all strength, panting heavily. His gaze, filled with incredulous disbelief, landed upon a blood-red halberd embedded in Xia Sheng's forehead, only to watch it being pulled free and turned towards him.

"SENIOR!"

Zai Qiu involuntarily quivered at the sight, his body turning ice-cold.

That foreboding sense of peril was all too real. Qin Wentian's Scarlet Demon Halberd was homing in on him, yet his senior had stepped in at the critical moment, enduring the blow in his stead. Xia Sheng had sacrificed himself, taking the fatal strike from the Scarlet Demon Halberd.

Swish!

A frigid gust of wind swept by, and Xia Sheng's body disintegrated into dust, scattering on the breeze. He met the same fate as the vine-controlling expert, crushed by a solitary blow.

Qin Wentian's eyes gleamed with icy resolve, an aura of imminent death enveloping him. Zai Qiu's eyes reddened, and just as Qin Wentian was poised to launch another assault, a host of formidable auras converged, and a gust of wind bore Zai Qiu away. Subsequently, several experts materialized before Qin Wentian.

Zai Qiu, scion of the Zai Clan and descendant of the Sacred Emperor, might have been disregarded by the Sacred Emperor himself, but that didn't mean the Royal Sacred Sect's experts felt the same way.

Xia Sheng was already dead. They all knew that if the battle persisted, Zai Qiu would meet the same grim fate at the hands of Qin Wentian.

Enough was enough. Qin Wentian's arrogance had tested their patience to the limit. They couldn't permit him to slay a descendant of the Sacred Emperor in the Sacred Emperor's presence.

"I thought we were meant to settle this vendetta ourselves?" Qin Wentian raised his halberd, gesturing toward the figures before him.

"Today, though the Sacred Emperor may not be troubled by your unbridled audacity, this matter must now conclude. Depart immediately," the figures before Qin Wentian intoned, their eyes honed like blades as an overwhelming pressure surged forth, bearing down on him. The weight of the pressure made it an arduous task for Qin Wentian to lift his halberd.

"Do you all treat the Sacred Emperor's words as mere gas?" Qin Wentian taunted, a hint of provocation glittering in his gaze as he locked eyes with the source of the voice.

"IMPUDENT!" The faces of the Royal Sacred Sect's experts blanched. In the presence of the Sacred Emperor, Qin Wentian dared to be so impolite?

"The Royal Sacred Sect reigns supreme in the Royal Sacred Region, the sovereign of this realm," the Sacred Emperor responded, his tone devoid of emotion.

A tense silence hung in the air like a thick fog, broken only by the words that tumbled from Qin Wentian's lips.

"What does that have to do with me? Could it be that you want me to join the Royal Sacred Sect as a servant to these people?" Qin Wentian's face remained placid, his voice carrying a serene confidence that seemed to reverberate through the very core of his being. "Even without joining your Royal Sacred Sect, I can still sweep unchallenged over every Heavenly Dipper Sovereign of the Royal Sacred Sect. In the future, when I step into the peak of Celestial Phenomenon, I can similarly sweep aside every Celestial Phenomenon Ascendant in your sect as well. Tell me then, what use is there to join your Royal Sacred Sect?"

His words hung in the air like a gauntlet thrown down, his calm tone laced with an intensity of pride and self-assuredness that sent shivers down the spines of those who heard it. To refuse to join the Royal Sacred Sect yet possess the power to dominate their Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns - the audacity was breathtaking. It was a proclamation filled with disdain for the Royal Sacred Sect, but it was also an undeniable truth, leaving the experts of the Royal Sacred Sect lost for words.

"Little fellow, you are too arrogant," the Sacred Emperor's voice, though faint, carried a weight that transcended mere words. It wrapped around Qin Wentian like a vice, and in that moment, a pair of eyes, radiant and piercing, seemed to materialize from the ether, boring into Qin Wentian. The pressure was suffocating, and Qin Wentian felt his very being held in thrall. In those eyes, he sensed an edge sharp enough to cleave his soul.

"The path you have to walk is still very long. You can go," the Sacred Emperor intoned, his voice soft and calm, akin to a decree.

The Sacred Emperor, an immortal being, made even the most extraordinary talents appear minuscule. Despite the generations of gifted geniuses that the Royal Sacred Region had seen, few ever attained immortality.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior," Qin Wentian replied, a fierce determination burning within him. He didn't need to prove himself to anyone; the Royal Sacred Region was merely a stepping stone on his journey.

With a smile exchanged between him and Mo Qingcheng, they returned to the side of the Medicinal Sovereign.

The Sacred Emperor's wish to spare Zai Qiu's life meant that Qin Wentian could not kill him today. The situation had de-escalated; the experts of the Royal Sacred Sect refrained from further action due to the arrival of the Immortal Martial Realm and Medicine Sovereign. Had they not appeared, the Sacred Emperor would never have revealed himself.

But Qin Wentian knew the matter was far from resolved. He had witnessed Xia Sheng's death, a sacrifice made on his behalf. Zai Qiu would never let him go in the future.

The envoys of the Medicine Sovereign Valley departed gracefully, their leader giving a nod of approval to Qin Wentian's equanimity in the face of victory and defeat. Meanwhile, the representatives of the Immortal Martial Realm vanished as swiftly as they had arrived, leaving no trace. The experts of the Royal Sacred Sect were left feeling their dignity had been thoroughly trampled.

Today, Qin Wentian had used his actions to make a resounding statement to the entire Royal Sacred Region. Even without joining the Royal Sacred Sect, he stood unrivaled among the Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns. What, then, was the point of joining the sect?

"Are you not coming out?" A calm voice echoed, causing the hearts of the Royal Sacred Sect's experts to clench. They had failed to detect someone hiding in the shadows.

From within the void, spatial energy fluctuated intensely as a golden screen of light descended from the heavens. A mesmerizing figure appeared, as beautiful as a celestial maiden, her eyes icy as she glared at the experts of the Royal Sacred Sect. Her flawless countenance and imposing aura drew comparisons to Qin Wentian's fiancee, Mo Qingcheng. They were different but equally remarkable. It was evident she had employed a rare spatial treasure to remain concealed.

"Who is this maiden?" Confusion furrowed many brows. She was incredibly young, and yet her presence had gone unnoticed. She must have used a unique spatial treasure.

Her glacial eyes bore into the experts of the Royal Sacred Sect as she spoke, her voice devoid of emotion. "If something happens to him, I will level the entire Royal Sacred Sect to the ground."

Her audacious words left the experts of the Royal Sacred Sect speechless, and they made no move to obstruct her. The Royal Sacred Region had heard an unprecedented voice of unparalleled arrogance today!