I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 371: 372: The Heavenly Blade Strikes

“Fire Qilin, you seem a bit too arrogant and overbearing. The Fire Qilin Cave is sacred and inviolable, the ancestral Qilin Divine Beast is the progenitor of grace and poise, yet from your mouth spills nothing but coarse and lowly words. It’s hard to imagine how someone like you could be considered equal to us.”

“You’re simply bringing disgrace upon the Fire Qilin Cave. If I were you, I would have taken my own life long ago!”

From the first sedan, a faint voice drifted out, filled with indifference, as if paying no heed to Ergouzi’s words.

“Woof, Huo Yun, quit your nonsense. If you dare, come fight! Lord Ergouzi will battle you for three hundred rounds!”

From the fourth sedan, Ergouzi barked out in frustration.

“Noisy! Our young master is a heaven-sent genius, bearing the Qilin Bloodline, with an inscrutable cultivation level and boundless future. Not everyone is qualified to challenge him.”

“Is Fire Qilin, no more than a dog picked up by some low-level Elder from the Barbaric Lands, who luckily awakened his Bloodline Power, also fit to clamor against our young master?”

“Who gave you the courage?”

One of the cultivators carrying the sedan for Saint Child Huo Yun spoke dismissively, his words dripping with scorn.

It’s normal for there to be disparities in cultivation levels between Saint Heirs, but three Saint Heirs are the pride of Fire Qilin Cave, nurtured from birth, whereas Ergouzi was someone Yunkun brought back halfway through from the Northern Region.

Moreover, he was a blabbermouth with no self-awareness befitting of the Qilin Divine Beast, and no one in the Fire Qilin Cave held him in any regard.

But, during the Bloodline Awakening, this guy had the strongest reaction, meaning Ergouzi resonated the most with the ancestors, something the cultivators within the cave found hard to accept.

The Qilin Divine Beast is the progenitor of grace, something utterly mismatched with someone who is always shooting off his mouth.

“Woof, a mere wage earner dares to be so presumptuous with your Lord Ergouzi, where’s your shame?”

Ergouzi was livid, a mere coffin bearer had the audacity to sass him.

“Coarse language, poor habits are hard to change, Fire Qilin, do not tarnish the Fire Qilin Cave’s reputation.”

From the second sedan, another elusive voice arrived, free from any trace of earthly concerns, as if it came from an Immortal from the Immortal Realm.

“Tsk, a bunch of posers, Lord Ergouzi could obliterate you all with a single claw swipe!”

Ergouzi flew into a rage, these damn things were giving him no face in front of all the cultivators.

“Foolish and embarrassing creatures.”

From the third sedan, a disdainful voice also emerged.

“Let’s not talk to it, this guy just wants to leech off our popularity, nothing but a mongrel that came running from the Barbaric Lands. Don’t let him succeed.”

“Exactly my thoughts.”

“A wise decision!”

The Saint Heirs in the three front sedans fell silent, leaving only Ergouzi ranting helplessly in the rear.

An Elder Jiang couldn’t help but speak out in advice.

“Saint Heir, outsiders are watching us; our behavior is somewhat diminishing our value. Let’s settle the win or loss on the battlefield later, shall we?”

“Right, Lord Ergouzi is an invincible being. Just wait until your Lord Ergouzi slaughters his way through the Flesh Mountain Battlefield, and you all won’t even have any soup left to drink!”

Ergouzi nodded in agreement, still as arrogant as ever.

The Fire Qilin Cave’s procession continued to move forward slowly.

At the city gate, Song Que sat on the steps with a sword hanging from his waist, indifferent to the grand display and farce of the Fire Qilin Cave, not even bothering to lift an eyelid.

The carriers at the very front paid no attention to Song Que, without any intention of speaking to him, stepping forward to simply walk over him.

This middle-aged man had spent most of his life in the borderlands. The name “Sky Blade” was only known to cultivators of the borderlands.

All the onlooking crowd held their breath, focusing intently on the city gate entrance. To dare stir trouble over Sky Blade’s head, one had to admit, those palanquin bearers were incredibly bold.

One of the bearers had already stepped over Song Que’s body, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes, as if ridiculing the other’s recklessness.

Song Que bowed his head in silence, and a finger subtly touched the hilt of the sword at his waist. Li Xiaobai narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing that Song Que was about to make his move.

In the void, a strand of silver thread drifted past in front of everyone, and the leg that had crossed over his body fell off cleanly and naturally, without a drop of blood falling from the smooth surface of the cut.

A section of thigh quietly rolled down the steps, making the scene eerily bizarre.

The palanquin bearer suddenly stiffened, his gaze somewhat vacant as he looked at his own thigh, his pupils rapidly contracting while he began to scream in agony.

“My leg is gone!”

Several Protector Elders felt a great shock, their hairs standing on end. They slapped the side of the palanquin and rapidly retreated.

“Retreat quickly, this person is no ordinary being!”

Moments ago, they too had seen nothing clearly, only vaguely catching a glimpse of the middle-aged man raising his finger slightly before the disciple’s leg was cleanly severed.

“Take this.”

A Protector Elder by the first palanquin threw an elixir, speaking in a deep voice.

He had misjudged. The person sitting on the steps was not an ordinary cultivator, but someone on the same level as them.

“Thank you, Elder!”

The disciple was profoundly grateful, casting a fearful glance at the man on the steps. The whole experience was too terrifying; everything had happened so naturally that he hadn’t even felt pain before losing his leg. Fortunately, Fire Qilin Cave had a profound heritage, so regenerating a limb wasn’t considered too difficult.

However, after swallowing the elixir, his expression changed; his leg showed no signs of regrowth.

The injury was beyond regeneration!

“Elder…”

The pupils of the Protector Elders shrank, and their expression went through several changes.

Mysterious runes flowed on that smooth, neat cut, sealing off the wound firmly, leaving no blood to flow out, and no way for regeneration to take place. This was the handiwork of a true power.

Could the city gate’s guard be so terrifying, or was this a deliberate arrangement by the Holy City, meant to intimidate them?

Lost in his thoughts, Saint Child Huo Yun spoke from within the palanquin.

“May I ask which senior is before us? We, the cultivators of Fire Qilin Cave, are here only to aid the borderlands and mean no harm.”

“There are no seniors here. The Holy City has its own rules. All who pass, no matter who they are, must register, and Fire Qilin Cave is no exception.”

“The person just now tried to forcibly break through and cross the border. I chopped off one of his legs as punishment.”

Song Que spoke slowly.

“So it is. All beings under heaven are equal, and Fire Qilin Cave naturally is no exception. Since it is a rule, we shall comply. Elder Wang, please record our information for this senior.”

Saint Child Huo Yun let out a light laugh, seemingly unbothered by the recent incident.

However, Song Que shook his head and pointed to the crowd where Li Xiaobai stood, saying, “The rule is, first come, first served. You go back and wait, and let them register first.”

At these words, the atmosphere in the area instantly froze, and the four Protectors narrowed their eyes, emitting a dangerous aura. In this world, no one had ever dared to speak to Fire Qilin Cave like this. Their belief that the Holy City wanted to kill Fire Qilin Cave’s influence today was simply a fool’s dream!

The leading Elder Wang grinned, his smile sinister as he said, “What if I want to enter right now?”