The Queen Speaks

The youth with short, fiery-red hair wore an arrogant sneer. He had a high-bridged nose, rather thick lips, and unruly slanted brows over fierce, tiger-like eyes filled with untamable defiance. His features were resolute, though far from handsome. Yet his formidable strength was not something anyone could underestimate. When he struck to kill, he was ruthless to the extreme, showing neither mercy nor hesitation. It was just like a country butcher slaughtering a hog—not a ripple of emotion showed in his eyes over his opponent's demise! Watching the youth on the stage, the crowd erupted into a flurry of hushed discussions. Soon, the matches of the disciples from his sect had all concluded. To everyone's astonishment, the ten disciples of that sect had won all ten bouts! The other nine disciples stood calmly behind the red-haired youth, looking as though they had merely finished some trivial chore. Li Guanqi watched the scene with a slight frown. He had to admit that the auras of these disciples were far deeper and more profound than those of the Great Xia Sword Sect's disciples. From the few matches he had caught, every one of them struck with absolute decisiveness. There was no hesitation whatsoever, and their transitions between techniques flowed like water! Just then, Tu Kui's voice of admiration reached Li Guanqi's ears. "As expected of the Xuanmen Palace disciples. Such strength is truly worthy of their name among the Six Palaces!" Li Guanqi understood at once. His thoughts flew back to the immense cloud boat he had seen earlier—the one drawn by six demon steeds. So they had been disciples of Xuanmen Palace! Only now did Li Guanqi realize that the powerful aura he had sensed back then had come from this very red-haired youth! Seeing Li Guanqi staring intently at the youth, Tu Kui sent a voice transmission to his ear: "That youth is the prodigy Xuanmen Palace recruited this year. King-grade fire spiritual root, named Guan Qingyun. His strength is terrifying!" Li Guanqi gave a slight nod, offering no reply. He hadn't seen Guan Qingyun fight with his own eyes yet, so it was hard to say what his own chances of victory would be. But the overall strength of that sect's disciples was simply too overwhelming! With only those around him... Guan Qingyun cast a haughty, contemptuous gaze across the surroundings. With a cold sneer, he led his fellow disciples down from the high platform. Immediately afterward, the crowd parted slowly as a group of young men and women clad in water-blue robes walked forward! Leading them was a cool, aloof young woman. She had phoenix eyes, delicate brows, a high nose, and red lips turned slightly upward at the corners. She had a classic oval face and skin as white as congealed jade. Dressed in water-blue silks and satins, she held an azure-blue longsword in her left hand! The woman's beauty drew waves of screams from the onlookers, but the commotion only made her frown faintly. A trace of disgust surfaced in her frosty gaze, yet her lovely eyes remained calm as still water, exuding a detached indifference as if nothing in the world had anything to do with her. Guan Qingyun, who had already turned away, felt his eyes light up the moment he saw her. With a flicker of footwork, he darted over and blocked her path. A playful smirk touched the corners of his lips as he cradled his longsword in his arms and chuckled, "Ji Linglan, who among the Six Palaces doesn't know that I, Guan Qingyun, have feelings for you? Why won't you agree to become my Dao companion?" *Whoosh!* Those in the crowd who had not yet known the red-haired youth's identity finally realized who he was! A prodigy of Xuanmen Palace among the Three Sects and Six Palaces! Guan Qingyun of the king-grade fire spiritual root! And the frosty maiden before him was no ordinary figure either! Ji Linglan, the Ice Maiden of Lingxiao Pavilion! She too possessed a king-grade spiritual root, and hers was a mutated ice spiritual root derived from water! On one of the spectator platforms where several sects were gathered, two youths whispered excitedly with flushed faces. "Good grief! A clash between Xuanmen Palace and Lingxiao Pavilion right off the bat?!" "Tsk... Guan Qingyun is every bit as arrogant as the rumors say, daring to talk like that right in front of everyone." "Hehehe, brother, that shows how little you know." "Haven't you heard of the Ice Queen title from Lingxiao Pavilion?" "What Ice Queen?" "Tsk, tsk, just keep watching!" Ji Linglan lifted her eyelids slightly and looked at Guan Qingyun before her with that same unchanging expression she had worn for ten thousand years. When she parted her lips, her voice was as cold as eternal black ice. "You have feelings for me?" Guan Qingyun's eyes brightened, and he thought to himself, *Hah, Ice Maiden my foot. All women are the same in the end!* Beaming, Guan Qingyun replied, "Of course. It's not the first time I've professed my love in public, is it?" The commotion naturally caught Li Guanqi's attention as well. But his gaze was instantly drawn to that frosty young woman. For no other reason than the fact that the aura she emanated was truly formidable! In his estimation, her strength was not a bit inferior to Guan Qingyun of Xuanmen Palace! Yet Ji Linglan merely raised her eyes slightly to look Guan Qingyun up and down. Parting her pearl-white teeth, she asked teasingly, "Oh? Love? And just how much do you love me?" Guan Qingyun threw his head back and laughed heartily. Uncrossing his arms, he declared proudly with disdain in his eyes, "How should I prove it? Whatever you want, I can give it to you!" At that moment, however, Li Guanqi noticed a shift in the woman's eyes. He couldn't help but think, *This fellow is about to suffer.* Sure enough! In the next instant, an icy blue gleam flashed deep within Ji Linglan's eyes. A cold sneer curled on her lips as she spoke in a soft voice. "Kneel, and lick my foot." Her voice remained steady, as though she were stating the most natural thing in the world! *Boom!!!* Her voice was not loud, but carried by essence, it traveled far into the distance. In an instant, all the cultivators watching on Mount Tianyu erupted into an uproar!! Guan Qingyun's eyes narrowed into slits, his expression gradually darkening. His voice dropped, every word dripping with menace: "You! Say that again!" A scornful chuckle slipped from the woman's lips. "Didn't you say you'd give me anything to prove how much you love me? In that case, kneel down and lick my foot. Let me see just how much you love me." *Thump!!* *Crack-crack-crack!!* A terrifyingly fierce aura erupted from within Guan Qingyun. Crimson flames swirled around him as he glared at her face, his complexion livid. "Woman, do you know what you're doing?!" With not a single ripple in her eyes, Ji Linglan sneered coldly, "If you can't kneel down to prove your love, then get lost and stop blocking my way!" *Boom!!!* Frigid gusts of frost instantly crystallized around her!! From beginning to end, her voice had not wavered in the slightest. The tension in the arena spiked, poised on a knife's edge! High in the sky, Ge Qing called out in a deep voice, "Disciples of Lingxiao Pavilion, enter the array at once!" Both withdrew their auras. Guan Qingyun turned away with an ashen face and snapped, "Let's go!" As he walked off, he didn't forget to cast a venomous glare back at the woman.