Chapter 301: Not Let Down Our Conscience!
Those responsible for fighting on behalf of Armament Sect were the outer sect and Blood Spear. The inner sect was just a bunch of artificers.
At this moment, under Lang Xie’s and Feng Rong’s orders, Blood Spear’s martial practitioners had all chosen to stay put. Tong Jihua and the group of outer sect elders and disciples actually sighed and groaned, falling “ill” all at the same time…
The faces of Ying Xingran and the three great reverends were as ugly as one could imagine.
The current situation was something they had never expected. They did not think that Qin Lie would weigh so heavily in the hearts of Blood Spear and the outer sect elders and disciples.
“Terrific! How terrific!” Ying Xingran glared at Lang Xie, Feng Rong, Tong Jihua, and the rest of the group, unconcealable sternness in his eyes. “The sect has raised you all for so many years and provided you all with an endless amount of cultivation resources, and yet, when something arises, all of you shrink away from your responsibilities! Who have you not let down?!”
“We have not let down our conscience!” Lang Xie answered indifferently.
The moment he said this, the expressions of many Blood Spear martial practitioners and outer sect elders and disciples shook.
Ying Xingran was green in the face. His cheeks shuddered, but he found himself speechless for a moment.
“Sect master, if it wasn’t for Qin Lie’s request, Profound Heaven Alliance would not have saved you.” Feng Rong sighed softly and said directly, “In truth, when the sect was met with grave danger, your body… was dying already. It was that senior Xue Li who had injected a wisp of blood energy into your body, and it was Qin Lie who froze you in ice, enabling you to last long enough until Profound Heaven Alliance saved you. Otherwise, you would’ve passed away more than half a year ago.”
Those who had experienced the sect’s great tragedy all nodded their heads on the inside, listening to Feng Rong’s words.
Even the inner sect elders, such as Tan Dongling and Wei Qing, were looking at Ying Xingran with uncertain eyes.
“I knew very well what Qin Lie has done for Armament Sect. I don’t need you to remind me!” Ying Xingran humphed coldly with a dark face and said, “If Qin Lie hadn’t done all of this, do you think I would be so generous to have him leave behind only the twelve spirit pattern pillars? He has mastered the inscriptions of the twelve diagrams and even researched the sect’s secret scriptures. They should’ve all been revoked by the sect! It is exactly because he has performed a meritorious service for the sect that the sect has not been merciless, and only requested the twelve spirit pattern pillars. I am already being generous!”
“Sigh, never mind. I’m not going to say anything else.” Seeing that she couldn’t persuade him, Feng Rong shook her head with a look of disappointment. She understood that he had made up his mind to drive Qin Lie away no matter what.
After Feng Rong had spoken up, Qin Lie no longer said anything. He just kept quiet and stood there motionlessly.
He simply stared at the sect master and the three great reverends coldly, waiting to see what they would do. He wanted to know what would they use to negotiate for the twelve spirit pattern pillars now that Blood Spear and the outer sect disciples had chosen to do nothing and watch from the sidelines.
Qin Lie felt touched by Blood Spear and the outer sect elders and disciples.
Originally, he was infinitely disappointed by Armament Sect. He had thought that the whole sect was just a bunch of ungrateful people, but Blood Spear and the outer sect’s display of behavior made him realize that there were only a small portion of people who were like Ying Xingran and the three great reverends. There were more Armament Sect martial practitioners who had actually not forgotten what he did for them.
“The inner sect is just a bunch of artificers who are not well-versed in fighting. It may be a little… tricky for you to deal with this matter.” Fan Le from Joyful Union Sect interrupted with a smile. “Junior nephews, I… can be counted as a part of Armament Sect as well. If you don’t mind, why don’t you let me help you take back the spirit pattern pillars?” He took matters into his own hands.
When Ying Xingran and the three great reverends heard his words, their eyes lit up.
“Of course you are one of Armament Sect!” Luo Zhizhang could not control his joy and exclaimed.
Ying Xingran stroked his beard and nodded lightly, saying, “If you are willing to lend us a hand, that will be for the best. Yet you must take care and not go overboard. You must… you must not hurt Qin Lie too badly…”
“Qin Lie did contribute to Armament Sect after all.” Jian Hao also joined in.
“Of course. I’ve always been a man who knows his boundaries.” Fan Le pulled his hands from his male and female pets, and walked forward while shaking his arms.
Once he had stood in front of Qin Lie, he did not immediately attack and instead looked toward Lang Xie. His expression grew serious as he said, “Lord Lang Xie. Your Blood Spear may not be willing to act against Qin Lie, but surely you won’t mind that I take back what belongs to Armament Sect myself, would you?”
It was obvious that Fan Le was rather wary of Lang Xie. Therefore, he needed to confirm that Lang Xie would not interfere before he acted.
Feng Rong looked somewhat anxiously at Lang Xie.
The faces of the Blood Spear martial practitioners and the outer sect elders and disciples turned as they looked worriedly at Lang Xie.
They seemed to know Fan Le’s capabilities and firmly believed that Qin Lie would not be his match. They hoped that Lang Xie would refute this matter so that Qin Lie could retreat safely.
“Qin Lie, that man… is probably at the late stage of the Manifestation Realm.” A voice that was kept very low came from behind Qin Lie.
He didn’t need to turn his head to know that the person warning him was Han Qingrui. He had already realized that Han Qingrui had sneakily crept over just now without drawing anyone’s attention. He was here to inform him of Fan Le’s cultivation realm.
“Lang Xie! If your Blood Spear isn’t willing to act, you won’t mind if someone else takes back the sect’s precious treasures, would you?” Ying Xingran glared at Lang Xie and exclaimed.
Everyone’s gazes focused onto Lang Xie. They all knew that his decision was of the greatest importance.
Lang Xie suddenly looked at Qin Lie.
The will to fight burned inside Qin Lie’s eyes. He nodded almost unnoticeably at Lang Xie.
Lang Xie withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly, and said with narrowed eyes, “Blood Spear will not interfere with this fight.”
Ying Xingran and the three great reverends let out a small sigh of relief.
Lang Xie then said, “But I have a request.”
“What other requests do you have?!” Ying Xingran suppressed his anger and asked.
“There will only be one fight between you and Qin Lie. After this fight, neither side is allowed to have any more disputes.” Lang Xie looked at Ying Xingran, then at Qin Lie before frowning slightly. “I do not wish to see the relationship between Armament Sect and Qin Lie to completely fall apart! If Fan Le has the ability to do it, then he will snatch the spirit pattern pillars back from Qin Lie’s hands. If he does not, then the spirit pattern pillars will belong to Qin Lie from this point onwards and the sect is not allowed to pester him about it any longer. You must think about this carefully!”
“Sect Master, we of the outer sect do not wish for the relationship between Qin Lie and Armament Sect to completely fall apart either. We agree to Lang Xie’s conditions.” Tong Jihua interrupted.
“Sect Master, let’s decide this in a single battle, once and for all.” Even the inner sect elder Tan Dongling sighed softly and expressed his opinion.
Seeing that there were so many people who agreed with Lang Xie, the expressions of Ying Xingran and the three great reverends grew heavy. They had no choice but to consider this matter seriously.
Fan Le would act on behalf of Armament Sect this battle and retrieve the spirit pattern pillars from Qin Lie. If Fan Le won, then the twelve spirit pattern pillars would be returned. If he lost, then Qin Lie would take the spirit pattern pillars with him and leave.
No matter what the result may be, Qin Lie would no longer have any ties with Armament Sect. Neither side was allowed to fight each other to the death in the future.
Lang Xie’s suggestion had garnered the agreement of many. Now it all depended on their decisions.
They discussed quietly among themselves before suddenly looking toward Fan Le in unison. They wanted to know Fan Le’s opinion on this matter.
Fan Le chuckled and said, “As long as it’s not a bunch of Terminator Profound Bombs exploding in my face, I have no problems whatsoever.”
Ying Xingran shuddered and came to a realization before exclaiming instantly, “Lang Xie! Qin Lie is not allowed to use the Terminator Profound Bombs!”
Lang Xie looked at Qin Lie again.
“Alright! I will not use the Terminator Profound Bombs!” A mad light began to surface from deep within Qin Lie’s eyes and he grinned madly, exclaiming, “The disputes between Armament Sect and I will be resolved in one battle! I will cut all ties with Armament Sect after this!”
“Delightful!” Fan Le laughed loudly.
“I have another suggestion to make!” A kind of madness rose from within Qin Lie again, and under everyone’s gazes he stared straight at Fan Le and said gravely, “This will be a death match!”
Everyone shuddered greatly.
Impossible shock appeared in everyone’s eyes as they stared at him in disbelief.
“Has he gone crazy?” Everyone unanimously thought.
Be it Ying Xingran or the three great reverends, they would not dare to have Fan Le harm him severely due to sensitivity and pressure. Furthermore, with Lang Xie around, Fan Le did not dare to act without regarding the consequences either.
Even if Qin Lie lost this battle, the worst case would be that he’d have to leave behind the twelve spirit pattern pillars. He would still be able to leave safely.
Why did he act as if he had gone crazy, risking his own life to fight Fan Le to the death?
There was no meaning to this at all!
It was absolutely stupid!
No one understood him. Even Lang Xie and Feng Rong had shock in their eyes. They did not understand why he chose to do this.
Song Tingyu was the only one in the crowd who had withdrawn the smile on her face and looked deeply at the proudly standing figure of Qin Lie. She could vaguely guess the reason behind his crazy choice.
“He did so many things for Armament Sect, treating it as his final home, and the sect master and the three great reverends as trusted seniors… He had long since thought of himself as a part of Armament Sect. Even back in the Nether Realm, all he thought about and worried for was Armament Sect’s situation in the outside world. Now that he has finally returned to the place he considered home, filled with joy after surviving so many dangers, he is suddenly welcomed with deliberate difficulties created by Ying Xingran and the three great reverends…”
“He could not accept this huge disparity. It was something that nearly broke him, and this created a huge amount of resentment in his heart.”
“It is exactly because he loves Armament Sect so much that he would feel so much pain and anger at being forced to leave it. He is unwilling to accept this result. He desperately needs an all out battle to let out the resentment in his heart!”
Seeing Qin Lie request for a death match even though it was irrational, seeing the sadness in his eyes and the madness on his face, Song Tingyu felt as if a string in her heart was struck with great force.
“A death match! Good! What a death match!” Fan Le laughed loudly and appeared immeasurably cheerful. “I was just regretting earlier that, even if I did beat you, I could only watch you leave and do nothing about it. I could not have imagined that you, yourself, would request to commit suicide! Great! Absolutely great!”
“This…” Ying Xingran and the three great reverends were confused and weren’t sure how to deal with this. They subconsciously looked at Lang Xie.
There wasn’t a trace of feeling in Lang Xie’s eyes as he said indifferently, “The fight will commence outside of the poisonous bog.”
He had approved of this battle.
Qin Lie turned around and strode toward the outside with wide steps. To all the onlookers in Armament Sect, he was a lonesome figure.