"Do you object to my decision?"
Hearing Li Daokui's dissent, the fat man's pleased expression vanished in an instant. Then, a menacing vital force appeared on him, instantly choking Li Daokui. An uncontrollable feeling of terror rose from within the old man's heart. His face was red and he was barely able to speak. "No! But Your Excellency, this boy killed a member of the same clan. He has a cruel and ruthless heart. He isn't suitable to enter a holy land like the Nine Flowers Sect! Moreover, his cultivation doesn't meet the requirements!"
Li Daokui suddenly hesitated as he spoke, but proceeded to say boldly anyway, "But my grandson, Li Mo. He is only twenty years old and has cultivated to latter phase Level Nine. I wonder if he could enter the Nine Flowers Sect?"
Only a few people noticed how it took only one look from the fat man to instantly suppress Li Daokui, who had a Semi-Sovereign Level cultivation. Those who managed to catch a glimpse of it felt a deep terror within their hearts.
"They really are Masters from the Nine Heavens Sect. One look is enough to intimidate a Semi-Sovereign Level cultivator. They must be Innate Sovereign Level Masters!"
There were only a few Innate Sovereign Level Masters within the entire Wu Prefecture City—they were considered to be god-like individuals.
Li Ye also noticed the change in Li Daokui's expression and was rather shocked. Although he did not know what the Nine Flowers Sect stood for, he saw that Li Daokui was very reluctant to see Li Ye enter. There was a deep jealousy, even, so much so that he risked speaking up and offending the Nine Flowers Sect just to block Li Ye from joining.
"Your Excellency, is that true?"
Li Ye asked loudly. He failed to see Li Mo's anger and envious look.
"How bold of you! Li Ye, the man before you is Zhu Sancai, one of Nine Flowers Sect's outer stewards! Do you dare to question him?"
The Yuwen patriarch replied loudly. There was a touch of flattery in his tone, accompanied by some intimidation. His gaze was like a sharp arrow, and Li Ye clearly was able to see threatening hints in it.
A chuckle soon rid the atmosphere of tenseness, followed by a crisp voice that resembled the refreshing spring wind. It was none other than the fat man, who looked more like a businessman than a cultivator. "It is true, of course. But the prerequisite is that you must prove yourself! "
Those seemingly pleased eyes suddenly became cold toward the end of the sentence. Li Ye trembled as a result, knowing full well that the person in front of him was not as merciful as Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.
Zhu Sancai said no more. However, the other two people who came with him were somewhat surprised by his decision, though neither said anything.
Li Daokui's face was gloomy as Zhu Sancai did not answer his question. The snub made him feel rather angry, but he was hesitant after experiencing the vital force earlier.
"Innate Sovereign Level! That's definitely the innate vital force unique to Innate Sovereign Level! Even if I took that half-step to Innatism, it's still a huge difference when compared to the true Innate Sovereign Level."
Without even mentioning the strength of the other party over him, the fact that the fat man was an outer steward of the Nine Flowers Sect was enough to strike fear into him.
Li Ye felt slightly hopeful after hearing the reply.
Without a doubt, he could no longer go back to the Li clan and therefore the Nine Flowers Sect may be a better choice for him. By then, he also heard the conversations around him regarding the Nine Flowers Sect and more or less had some understanding of what the sect represented.
"The Nine Flowers Sect encompasses more than a dozen cities, including Wu Prefecture City itself. It's also one of the Eight Elite Sects! Like the Dark Heaven Sect, they are giant forces within the entire Jiangnan Circuit!"
That was enough to send Wu Prefecture City prodigies—Li Mo included—into a delirious frenzy to enter the sect.
The fact that the Li clan changed their attitude toward Li Yating when she was accepted into the Dark Heaven Sect proved everything.
Regardless of how strong the Li clan was, there was still competition with the other two clans in Wu Prefecture City. Meanwhile, the Nine Flowers Sect's sphere of influence included more than a dozen cities similar to that of Wu Prefecture City!
"Zhu Sancai claims to be the outer steward of the Nine Flowers Sect, but he can already suppress the Semi-Sovereign Level Li Daokui with one look. Doesn't that mean his true cultivation is at the Innate Sovereign Level?"
Zhu Sancai's status of outer steward did not seem to be too high in the Nine Flowers Sect, but despite that, he was an Innate Sovereign Level Master. Li Ye was thus even more convinced of the rumors that formidable Innate Sovereign Level Masters were abundant in sects similar to the Nine Flowers Sect and Dark Heaven Sect. There was also the possibility that the legendary Dark Earth State Masters were present!
"Li Ye!"
A raging and resentful yell made Li Ye look up. He then saw Li Mo's jealous look.
"The Nine Flowers Sect is not a place where a piece of trash like you is qualified to go! I will prove that you are no different from the same piece of trash last time! Only I can enter into the Nine Flowers Sect!"
Having said that, his vigor skyrocketed compared to a moment earlier. He broke through directly from the latter phase Level Nine and reached peak Level Nine!
"What? Li Mo was hiding his strength all along?"
Sensing that change, Wu Batian and Yuwen Lihua had a stark change of expression. As old rivals for many years, their strength had never been too disparate. Among the three, Wu Batian took the lead in breaking through peak Level Nine, while Yuwen Lihua was slightly weaker and roughly on the same level as the previous Li Mo. Both were latter phase Level Nine. It truly was surprising that Li Mo had a breakthrough as well!
Yuwen Wushuang's interest was slightly piqued. Of the four, Li Mo was the youngest. Although there was still a gap between them, Li Mo—who had just broken through to peak Level Nine—made him feel rather intrigued.
Li Daokui was the only one with a smile on his old face, leaving behind all the doom and gloom of earlier. His eyes glanced over to Zhu Sancai's side, but Li Daokui sadly did not see what he wanted to see.
Zhu Sancai and the other two simply cast their glances briefly over Li Mo's sudden increase in level, before ignoring the boy completely. Instead, they maintained their interested gaze at Li Ye.
"Steward Zhu, what do you think are the kid's chances of winning?"
The beautiful woman leaned over slightly and whispered.
"If his strength is nothing more than what he just showed, then the answer is zero."
Contrary to expectations, everyone thought that Zhu Sancai—a powerhouse from Nine Flowers Sect—would have some confidence in Li Ye's victory after being so optimistic earlier. His answer was therefore incredibly surprising.
Even the beautiful woman and the poker-faced middle-aged man were slightly startled.
As if realizing everyone's confusion, a smirk appeared on Zhu Sancai's face. "I gave the kid a chance because I know there's a zero chance of him winning. It's nothing more than a chance. Let's see if he can grab that opportunity with both hands."
Upon hearing that, the Yuwen patriarch was relieved while the Wu patriarch seemed thoughtful. The Li clan's Li Daokui finally breathed a sigh of relief and snickered to himself, "I didn't expect Mo'er to have a breakthrough at this critical moment. He even hid it from me, but that's fine. The evil b*stard Li Ye has no chance of surviving against Mo'er. When the time comes, I'll find a way to strike up a good relationship with this Nine Flowers Sect trio and recommend Mo'er to them. With Mo'er's talent, he'll be integrated into it soon!"
By then, Li Mo had already revealed that his true cultivation was at peak Level Nine, dousing the expectations of those who originally had some faith in Li Ye.
"I did not expect that Li Mo would have reached such a level. Martial Spirit at peak Level Nine! Except for the elders and a few other people in the entire Li clan, who would dare to say that they can beat him? This is bad!"
Off the arena, Li Yuanjia was getting anxious. His body flickered and he headed to the Li clan house.
Few people caught on to that. Only Li Ji and some others noticed Li Yuanjia's departure. Li Ji's expression lit up and he grinned coldly. He then chased after Li Yuanjia, but the latter failed to notice that he was being followed.
Back on the arena, Li Ye was face-to-face with Li Mo's fierce vigor and his expression underwent a slight change.
"Peak Level Nine is at least twice as powerful as latter phase Level Nine!"
In Cloudveil Continent, a higher level would have greater disparities within the phases of the level itself!
Taking Level Nine as an example, the initial phase and the latter phase was almost similar to the gap between Level Eight and Level Nine. In the same manner, peak Level nine and latter phase Level Nine was just as huge a difference!
Li Ye launched the first attack without any hesitation.
"Rainstorm!"
Dozens of kicks were delivered in an instant, each kicking away at key parts of Li Mo's body.
"Scram!"
Following that roar, Li Ye felt an air wave rushing toward his face, dispelling all his attacks at once. At the same time, Li Ye was also seeing stars.
Li Ye felt somewhat taken aback by all that but did not give up. He turned his body mid-air and underwent an almost breeze-like transformation. His figure split into two, then four, then eight, and finally sixteen. Each one of those doppelgangers delivered a punch to Li Mo.
All of a sudden, snowflakes appeared in the sky, followed by a sharp drop in the surrounding temperature.
"So cold! Once again, the boy managed to elevate the power of his Ice Crystal Fist at this crucial time!"
Li Mo's strength was shocking, but Li Ye's performance was even more surprising.
At that moment, even Li Ye was unaware that the power of his Ice Crystal Fist Impacted the surrounding environment directly. Numerous hailstones were hurtling down on Li Mo.
"This punch is powerful enough to seal a Level Seven Martial Master in ice. A Level Eight Eminent Master might even be seriously injured under such strength."
Up in the stands, members of the Wu and Yuwen clans had a pale expression while Li Daokui looked even more somber. Even Zhu Sancai, for the first time, showed a noticeable interest.
"But it's still not enough. Although this power is sufficient to threaten a Level Eight Eminent Master, his opponent is a powerhouse who had just entered peak Level Nine. He is Li Mo, the strongest among all Grandmasters!"
Sure enough, the terrifying hailstorm was repelled in an instant. The entire platform was condensed in a layer of ice, but Li Mo was surrounded by a layer of faint red light and no harm seemed to have been done unto him.
"Hardened bloodsoul Qi!" Yuwen Wushuang blurted out in surprise after laying his eyes on that scene!