Li Guanqi arranged everything in an orderly fashion, projecting the quiet authority of a true leader.
Everyone in the Great Xia Sword Sect was more than willing to follow his lead.
Qin Xian stood beside Ling Daoyan, joined by Gong Ze.
Gong Ze could not help chuckling. "This little fellow truly carries the bearing of a sect master. Has Lu Kangnian never broached the subject with him?"
Qin Xian, who could now be considered half a disciple to Gong Ze, smiled and picked up the conversation. "He has. How could he not have? The trouble is that the boy's spirit is far too wild; he has no heart for the seat of sect master at all. If he so much as nodded, the Sect Master would be eager to pass down the mantle this instant."
Gong Ze nodded, agreeing that it was indeed so. Qin Xian then turned with a trace of curiosity toward Ling Daoyan, who was glumly drinking alone. "Elder Ling, what troubles you?"
Ling Daoyan rolled his eyes and grumbled irritably, "I drew the damn bow to full draw, but in the end, I didn't even get to loose an arrow. What a nuisance!"
Yet as he spoke, the old man suddenly broke into a silly grin. "Still, damn it all, today was truly satisfying! Hahahaha! In all my years, I've never felt so exhilarated!"
Li Guanqi looked at Ye Feng and smiled. "You've got quite the ferocious streak lately, kid."
Ye Feng casually tied up his hair, grinning foolishly. "Well, I just woke up and heard that bastard spouting insolence."
No sooner had he finished speaking than his tone dropped into a low mental transmission: "Boss, that guy is far from simple... It looked like I wounded him, but even now, standing before him gave me an uneasy dread."
Li Guanqi nodded silently. Ye Feng was not the only one who felt it; Li Guanqi felt it too. And through his own perception, that foreboding was perhaps even sharper.
Li Guanqi had assigned Cao Yan and another to clear out the cultivators from external clans and sects, tossing out anyone who refused to leave.
"Boss, it'll probably take the Sect Master a little longer to come around. What did that invitation letter say?"
Li Guanqi shook his head, glancing up at the dark clouds gradually dispersing overhead, and said softly, "Let's go. Take the third and fourth brothers to wait in the main hall."
Ye Feng turned and left. Moments later, Lu Kangnian regained consciousness.
Looking down at the azure invitation in his hand, Lu Kangnian turned and said, "Let's go. We'll speak once we're back inside."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As everyone returned to the sect's grand hall, Lu Kangnian's chilling voice rang out across Great Xia's borders.
"You have fifteen minutes. Anyone not of our sect must depart immediately. Defiers shall be executed without mercy!"
Lu Kangnian had no patience to waste his energy on these people; his voice was icy, devoid of any warmth.
Now, the various clans and factions dared harbor no wishful thoughts.
The Great Xia Sword Sect... was no longer what it once had been.
Soon, once all outsiders had been cleared away, Lu Kangnian reactivated the sect-protecting grand formation, reinforced by additional seals laid down by Li Guanqi and the others.
Lu Kangnian took a deep breath and opened the invitation. Moments later, he drew in a sharp breath of cold air!
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, reaching out to take the missive. When he saw the contents within, fury flared in his chest just the same!
"Hmph! Damn them! These people of the Ancient Clan are forcing everyone's hand!"
Cao Yan, Ye Feng, and the others had never seen Li Guanqi this angry, and they were startled.
Ye Feng took the invitation and finally saw what was written.
Raising a hand, he projected all the text into glowing illusions in the air. The terms were simple.
It was a wager between the Lu clan and the Great Xia Sword Sect. The stakes were everything both sides possessed!
Yes—every last scrap of their resources!
Five arena matches, open to anyone under a hundred years of age regardless of cultivation realm.
Whoever won would claim all of the opponent's resources and take over their territory and domain.
And embedded within was a condition no clan or sect in the outside world could possibly refuse!
The Abyss Sealing Grounds currently suppressed by the Ancient Clan could only hold out for half a month at most.
In that brief window, the lords of the Six Domains had no way to reseal it.
Practically every sect and clan was heavily depleted; aside from a tiny handful of apex powers, no faction could withstand another Abyss Demon rampage!
The invitation contained only a single sentence:
"Should any sect or clan refuse this wager, all Ancient Clans will return to seclusion and will no longer take action to suppress the Abyss Demons!"
That single sentence was enough to crush everyone!
If anyone refused, they would become the sinner of the Six Domains—guilty of a crime against eternity!
Therefore...
None of the clans and sects targeted by the Ancient Clan could refuse this wager.
And indeed, matters unfolded just as everyone anticipated. Ji Yuchuan looked toward Li Guanqi, his expression grave as he said in a heavy voice,
"Quite a few clans and sects across the Six Domains have already received wager invitations! Pavilion Master... what do you think?"
Li Guanqi took a deep breath. It seemed matters had escalated beyond the control of his grandfather and the other domain lords.
For the Ancient Clan to resort to this, it meant their own resources were nearly exhausted. If they did not enter the mortal world to directly take over resource-rich clans and sects, they would also find it hard to sustain themselves!
Only, their methods had shifted from direct suppression and plunder into a seemingly fair wager.
Li Guanqi's expression turned grim. Best three out of five.
Under a hundred years old...
In the entire Great Xia Sword Sect, the only candidates they could put forward were likely the four brothers.
Other sects would probably face an even direr predicament.
Li Guanqi handed the Tianji Chart to Ji Yuchuan and said gravely, "I'm entrusting the Tianji Chart to you. Do your utmost to maintain communications among the clans and sects across the Great Xia Domain.
"In the current situation... everyone is likely struggling just to take care of themselves.
"Lower the intelligence fees, and at the same time collect more resources, spirit herbs, and the like. If they cannot pay in spirit stones, let them trade rare treasures and materials instead."
Ji Yuchuan had not expected Li Guanqi to trust him so implicitly—to place the true Tianji Chart directly into his hands!
One had to understand that what was held in the Tianji Pavilion was merely a copied replica!
Taking the Tianji Chart with both hands, Ji Yuchuan bowed and took his leave.
He had far too much to do. Returning immediately, he sought out Tang Ru to discuss how to maximize their gains while reducing the intelligence fees.
Lu Kangnian's shoulders slumped slightly. Closing the doors of the grand hall, he looked down at the people beside him.
Everyone gathered here was part of the Great Xia Sword Sect's core; there was nothing that needed to be kept secret.
"Everyone, let us hear your thoughts."
The moment he spoke, the hall fell dead silent. You could hear a pin drop in the suffocating, oppressive air.
These were turbulent times; before one wave could subside, another surged!
The Abyss Demons had run rampant across the Six Domains, leaving countless mortals dead or maimed, staining rivers and mountains in blood.
Even now, a faint, foul stench of blood hung in the air, with countless villages and towns slaughtered.
Many sects and clans had lost nearly thirty percent of their numbers in that first onslaught.
The outside world was in utter turmoil, and the Great Xia Sword Sect's relief cultivators had never stopped deploying.
Just as the rampage of the Abyss Demons seemed on the verge of being quelled under the Ancient Clan's forceful suppression, the Ancient Clan had impatiently delivered this wager invitation.
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, a glint of cold light flickering in his eyes.
In an icy whisper, he murmured, "These people... their motives are utterly vile!!"
Having witnessed the horrific consequences of the Abyss Demon rampage, every clan and sect that received an Ancient Clan invitation...
Would almost certainly agree to it...
Chapter 777