Li Qiye answered Nan Huairen: "Of course. Now that the word is out, why change it!"
Protector Mo and Nan Huairen winked at each other, and Nan Huairen finally stuttered: "B-bu-but she is the descendant of the Nine Saint Demon Gate, and the princess of the Old Ox country."
"So what?" Li Qiye was like an ancient well without waves, and calmly said: "Little Nan Huairen still hasn't reached the apex, he still has a lot of training to do."
Nan Huairen and his master were silent, not knowing what to say. The words "So what?" were very short and simple, but what kind of arrogant attitude and confidence was required to say these words?
Li Shuangyan wasn't only the descendant of the Nine Saint Demon Gate and the princess of the Old Ox country, but she was also one of the geniuses possessing a King Physique, King Life Wheel, and Saint Fate Palace. She had incredibly great talents.
Whether it was talent or appearance, Li Shuangyan was not below anyone in the Grand Middle Territory, or even the entirety of the Mortal Emperor World. There were enough men that wanted her love to make a line from the east to the south of the Old Ox country.
Even then, Li Qiye was not satisfied; she was only worthy of being his sword maid. If this news were to be spread, who knew how many men would want to kill Li Qiye.
Nan Huairen and Protector Mo had given up in front of Li Qiye's arrogance; this was not the first time they've seen this. They only gently sighed, and didn't dare to report this to the Six Elders, afraid that the Six Elders would be scared silly. "Do the Elders know about this?"
Protector Mo shook his head: "I have not reported this to the Elders. We have decided to wait until we spoke with you first before reporting to the Elders."
Ever since their return to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect from the Nine Saint Demon Gate, the two, master and disciple, had to choose between Li Qiye and the Six Elders – and they chose Li Qiye. To others, this was an odd decision, but Protector Mo had thought it through.
"Then report it to the Elders!" Li Qiye nodded this head without much care.
Even if people of this era valued the Nine Saint Demon Gate and Li Shuangyan, to Li Qiye, they were nothing. No matter how talented Li Shuangyan was, she still couldn't compare to Immortal Emperor Xiu Shu that year!
***
After leaving Li Qiye's peak, Protector Mo immediately reported the message to the First Elder. First Elder Gu couldn't sit still when he heard this news.
"What, Princess Li is almost here?" Compared to the nonchalant Li Qiye, the First Elder's reaction showed a lot more shock.
After Protector Mo confirmed that the news was absolutely true, the First Elder walked back and forth in the room; his heart was extremely excited.
Protector Mo secretly sighed, this was the gap; Li Qiye had no reaction to the news whilst the First Elder was extremely serious and ecstatic. No doubt, the First Elder greatly valued the marriage between the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect and the Nine Saint Demon Gate.
Finally, the First Elder calmed down and calmly commanded: "Send the command to Li Qiye, tell him to prepare well to welcome the arrival of Princess Li."
"Yes!" Protector Mo accepted; he wasn't foolish enough to tell the First Elder that he had already told Li Qiye first.
"Also inform all of the Elders, Protectors, and the rest of the disciples within the sect. We have to use the most solemn ceremony to greet the arrival of Princess Li. During this time, no one can make any mistakes, understand?" The First Elder gravely commanded.
Protector Mo immediately accepted the order and didn't say anything else. If this was before, then Protector Mo, like everyone else, would heavily value this marriage; but because of Li Qiye's influence, his view on the grand scheme of things had changed. Like Li Qiye, he believed that becoming a subsidiary for the Nine Saint Demon Gate wasn't a permanent solution. Only strength itself was the fundamental path.
Of course, Protector Mo was also clear that the current Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect was lacking an upper echelon that could independently deal with all of the dangers – that had enough strength to reignite the sect.
"Princess Li coming to our sect is one thing, but what about the issue of the marriage?" After finishing his commands, the First Elder continued his questions. His heart was also clear, that the current Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect was too weak, and with a new start, they would need the backing of the Nine Saint Demon Gate to survive.
Which was why this marriage must be successful; it further guaranteed the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect's chance of revival.
"This…" Protector Mo didn't know where to start. The truth was, he had heard from one of the Elders from the Nine Saint Demon Gate that if Li Qiye had chosen to stay at the Nine Saint Demon Gate that day, then his marriage with Princess Li would definitely already have been settled and assured.
"I'm afraid only the Princess and the Demon King would clearly know the answer." In the end, this was the only thing Protector Mo could say. Some things, he couldn't reveal too much about.
The First Elder took a deep breath of relief and said: "Relay my order to Li Qiye; tell him to take good care of Princess Li during her stay here. We absolutely cannot let her have a hint of displeasure; try to win the Princess's favor. When the time is ripe, tell him to propose to her. If he could marry the princess, then the sect will heavily reward him!"
The First Elder made so many commands that Protector Mo was frozen without words. In fact, Li Qiye didn't even want to marry the Princess; even if Princess Li was willing to follow him, the best she could do was being a sword maid. Of course, Protector Mo couldn't tell the First Elder that, because he would certainly become crazy.
"Yes!" Protector Mo quickly affirmed. He would definitely relay the order to Li Qiye, but he also knew that Li Qiye would definitely just laugh it off.
***
Overnight, the news regarding Li Shuangyan's visit to the sect spread throughout the entire faction; everyone was ecstatic.
Especially the young male disciples, they were more excited than anyone else. Although they haven't seen her figures, they had heard about her reputation; Princess Li of the Old Ox country, the descendant of the Nine Saint Demon Gate, a beautiful and peerless talented woman.
She was the goddess in everyone's dream, the object of affection for many of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect's male students.
A senior brother couldn't help but exclaim: "Goddess Li, you can say that she is the real beauty of our Grand Middle Territory. Five years ago, I was on a mission to the Old Ox country, I only caught a glance but I guarantee that she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
"Princess Li's visit! Maybe there is a chance to get her favor!" Another younger brother started daydreaming and said: "With regard to looks and talents, I am also famous in the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. If I could get her attention, then I could soar up into the sky. In the future, I will be the Sect Master of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect, it is no problem!"
All of a sudden, the male disciples became more active; some started to dress up meticulously. Especially the disciples who were considered to be talented in the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect; they put on their True Armors and True Treasures in visible sight so that Princess Li would take a second glance at them.
***
The next day, all of the disciples in the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect gathered outside the Dao gateway, the Six Elders were present as well, along with the Protectors and sectional leaders; as long as they were still present in the sect, they had to participate in this feast today.
All of the disciples were wearing their most extravagant clothing, even the female disciples were dressed up.
Normally, only the upper echelons were allowed to stand on top of the Dao gateway, but there was an exception today. There were two other people qualified to stand here to greet Li Shuangyan.
One of the two was today's hero, Li Qiye, and the second was Leng Shizhi, who was known as the genius of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect.
Leng Shizhi was only twenty years old with a handsome face, a fit and muscular body, and his confident smile which always gave him the aura of a genius.
Leng Shizhi was a disciple of the second elder, Cao Xiong. This Leng was the most talented disciple, he was considered the top genius of all of the third generation disciples.
Leng Shizhi had been in Elder Cao Xiong's ranks for almost twenty years; today, he is at the Warrior Canopy ranking. At such a young age with such a strong cultivation in a declining sect like the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect, he was not just a genius in name.
Back then, when Second Elder Cao Xiong had an aspiration of ambition to become the Sect Master, Su Yonghuang appeared out of nowhere and he lost the chance to become the head of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. This event had always haunted him.
Today, Su Yonghuang didn't have a successor; Cao Xiong used all of his resources to groom Leng Shizhi so that this disciple could easily win the seat. He had wanted for Leng Shizhi to become the Prime Disciple, but Su Yonghuang had refused, and the First Elder didn't support him. This was the second hatred in his heart.
Even though Li Qiye was now the Prime Disciple, Cao Xiong did not put Li Qiye – this waste of life – in his eyes. With Li Qiye's disposition, he was not qualified to fight with his disciple, Leng Shizhi, for the seat of the Sect Master.
So, for this visit of Princess Li to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect, Cao Xiong had especially commanded his disciple, Leng Shizhi, to seize this golden opportunity; if he could get Li Shuangyan's favor, then becoming the Sect Master, it would no longer be up for question. No one in the sect, then, whether they be the Elders or Su Yonghuang, wouldn't be able to stop his steps at becoming the Sect Master.
So today, Leng Shizhi was particularly well dressed, wearing treasure clothing with radiating lights, with a pair of boots accompanied by white clouds, and on his waist was an Eight Treasures Jade Jewel with a faint sound of the Grand Dao; his whole body, with the treasures, exerted a formidable pressure.