As soon as Xu Que's words rang out…
The entire area was filled with silence while their faces showed a shocked expression.
Madam Ya had also been… by him?
Could it really be true?
Madam Ya was clearly being locked up in order to preserve her purity and innocence for the Fire God. If she had truly lost her virginity to him, doesn't that mean that the Fire Nation would lose the protection of Fire God?
As soon as the Fire Emperor heard this, his heart trembled in fear.
But several breaths later, he regained his composure.
After thinking harder, he realized that Xu Que was probably just trying to deceive him. After all, he already had Madam Ya sealed within a powerful protective spell and he even made the Imperial Guards to protect the area. If Xu Que managed to break through his defenses, surely, he would've known.
Besides, Madam Ya was in love with Li Bai of the Heavenly Explosion Faction and not Xu Que. And if Xu Que had forced himself on her, she would've sent someone to kill Xu Que and not remain so quiet.
Hence… this was nothing but a sham!
"Haha! Xu Que you little kid! There's no need for you to resort to such methods, for I will never believe you! Men, get the altar ready! When Flaming Sun comes, I shall invite the Fire God down to bless the nation. Soon after, I shall cut this kid with thousands of slashes and preserve the integrity of this nation!"
The Fire Emperor waved his hands and several eunuchs responded immediately, running towards the center of the altar. Each of them took a blade and slashed a gash across their own palms, allowing droplets of blood to drip into the center of the altar as it formed a strange pattern.
A booming sound was heard as the entire altar trembled.
The crowd froze in fear and were taken aback.
The Fire Emperor was confident as he proceeded to summon an image of the Fire God.
Looks like Xu Que was really lying.
Everyone knew that Madam Ya admired Li Bai of the Heavenly Explosion Faction. Since Xu Que and Li Bai were from the same sect, it was absolutely impossible for Xu Que to go crazy and do something so inhumane to his own sect brother.
"Haha! I knew it. This kid is just trying to antagonize the Fire Emperor!"
"That's too immoral. If someone didn't know him well enough, he would almost certainly be fooled!"
"The way this kid behaves is truly too similar to his master, Duan Jiu De. According to the rumors, Duan Jiu De has been known to cheat and deceive others."
"And yet it seems to me like he's even scarier than Duan Jiu De!"
The crowd broke out in hushed whispers and discussion.
The Water Empress stood aside as she looked at Xu Que with intrigue and interest. Her face was filled with an unusual sense of calmness as her pupils gleamed.
"Boom doom!"
At this point, the altar burst open as a six-meter tall stone statue of the Fire God appeared from the base of the altar.
The entire group of people held their breaths in fear and stopped whispering. A look of severity, sincerity and admiration could be seen across their faces.
The Fire God's statue! The Fire God had long existed in the rumors of the people for thousands of years. Nobody dared to deny his existence and yet nobody could affirm that he existed.
However, the Fire God was the most revered and respected God to the cultivators of the Fire Nation, for he was the God of their religion.
As soon as the statue emerged, the effect was greater than raising the flag of the Fire Nation, for everyone stumbled into strict deference.
The entire crowd tensed up and were filled with reverence for the statue.
"Pu… Hahahahahah!!!" A burst of laughter broke the silence.
Everyone's faces turned as they looked for the source of the laughter.
Then, they saw Xu Que clutching his tummy as he laughed uncontrollably.
"Hahaha! Quit playing around. This is your Fire God? Fuck me! Isn't this a poorly replicated version of the statue of liberty? She's even raising a torch to complete the look. Dog Emperor, are you fucking insane?"
Xu Que was elated by this shocking sight. This statue of the Fire God was just a fake version of the statue of liberty! A clear indicator that this was a poor imitation was that his chest was much flatter and his hair was done in a different way. This statue was given a more masculine feel. Apart from that, there weren't other differences!
The fact that the Fire Emperor and everyone else were filled with reverence for a statue like that made Xu Que laugh out uncontrollably.
"Outrageous! You dare to show disrespect to the Fire God!?" The Fire Emperor raged out in anger.
This statue had been created by the Imperial family. According to rumors, the ancestors of the Imperial family had received the blessings and protection from the Fire God and so, they created this statue. It's also said that without it, the Fire Nation wouldn't be as prosperous as it is today.
However, their own God had been laughed at by this kid. Not only was the Fire Emperor fuming, there were many other people around who started getting angry as well.
At this point, Xu Que wasn't the least bothered by their reactions as he continued laughing coldly, "Dog shit Fire God? Heavenly Explosion Faction doesn't even respect the heavens! Much less your stupid looking God! Come on then! Come on down and I shall make your statue explode. The rest of you are nothing but superstitious people who will eventually fall behind because of your beliefs. What century is this already? We should all be speaking about science! Do you understand?"
Doesn't respect the heavens and doesn't respect the Gods?
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire crowd were filled with shock.
Everyone looked at Xu Que as though they were looking at a madman.
If he doesn't respect the heavens or Gods, who does he respect then? Himself?
That's way too scary. People without any beliefs are the most ruthless and vile. Sooner or later, he will be taken away by the heavens!
Water Empress revealed a look of astonishment as she looked at Xu Que while her heart was hammering wildly.
Looking deep into his eyes, she could tell that he didn't care for any of these superstitions or beliefs. He was a man without fear of such trivialities.
He doesn't even believe in the heavens! That's not good!
Saying something like that would only mean that his next Tribulation will become much harder to cross through and might even be powerful enough to claim his life.
Right at this point, the Fire Emperor who was still up above on the altar looked down, his face was filled with a mocking smile.
He could feel Flaming Sun Princess' aura and could tell that she was approaching fast.
For the sacrifice ritual to be successful, as long as the person who was being sacrificed was within a hundred meter radius, it would work.
Madam Ya had already participated in the ritual some time ago to commit and devote herself to the Fire God. Although the ceremony looked like she was marrying the Fire God, that was just a symbolism to show their devotion to the Fire God.
"What an ignorant kid. Xu Que, today, I shall let you feel the wrath of the Fire God!" The Fire Emperor laughed out in anger as he walked towards the statue.
Xu Que was also able to feel the fast approaching aura of Flaming Sun Princess, yet he didn't look the least worried. He folded his arms and laughed out coldly, "Dog shit FIre God's wrath? I've even exploded the heavens. Whichever God I meet, I shall slay. As long as the Fire God senses my presence, he wouldn't dare to show up!"
"Huaaa!" As soon as these words were spoken, the entire crowd exclaimed in shock.
He's too arrogant!
He's too crazy!
He actually dared to say something as ridiculous as that? Fire God wouldn't dare to show up after sensing his presence?
How is that possible? You're just a little Original Infant cultivator. How could you ever cause the Fire God to fear you?
Even if you wanted to boast, this wasn't how you should do it!
If the Fire God truly came, you wouldn't even have the time to cry before being wiped out. When that happens, you shall be the laughing stock for the next century and everyone in this realm will know how ridiculous you were!
A person who dares to show disrespect to the Gods would certainly have a cruel ending to his life!
"Hm… looks like you truly wouldn't shed a tear until you've seen the coffin. I shall see if that smile remains on your face later!" The Fire Emperor shouted out across to Xu Que before turning around and approached the statue reverently and slowly.
"Putong!" The Fire Emperor fell to both of his knees before he kowtowed to the statue of the Fire God.
The group of officials and all the eunuchs behind the Fire Emperor all fell to their knees as well. Their faces were filled with immense reverence and fear.
At the same time, Fire Emperor drew a small blade as he sliced his palm open. The blood of the Emperor dripped down to the ground before the statue and into the core of the altar.
Soon after, he condensed his soul strength and directed it to his fingers and he carved several complicated looking inscriptions on the ground.
"Boom doom!"
The entire statue shook violently as sand and debris fell off the top of the statue. Immediately after, a resplendent ray of white light burst forth from the statue and filled the entire area!
Everyone around were stumped.
Could it be true… that the Fire God does exist?
Is the Fire God coming down to our realm?
I've finally got the chance to meet the Fire God with my own eyes!
Water Empress' face fell as she looked towards Xu Que and urged him, "Come, let's go. The arrival of a God shouldn't be taken lightly."
"Little miss, you're too easily swayed. Please calm down and learn from me. I shall show you how to act tough!" Xu Que's expression was one of calmness.
"Boom!"
At this moment, a large sea of flames erupted right before the Fire Emperor and surrounded the entire altar. The flames rose high up into the air and felt extremely powerful.
"I invite the Fire God to descend to this realm and protect the Fire Nation!" Fire Emperor shouted out loudly, his voice soared into the clouds.
A strange sight greeted everyone who stared hard in fear.
This caused everyone who was around to tremble as they felt their knees growing weak and were almost compelled to fall to their knees.
The few officials and ministers behind the Fire Emperor shouted out as well, "We invite the Fire God to descend to our realm and protect the Fire Nation!"
Even a few cultivators around who didn't believe in such superstitions hardened their faces as they became quiet and respectful. They were afraid of showing the slightest hint of disrespect, which might bring the wrath of the Fire God upon them.
Right at this point, there was only a single man who stood still and unafraid, staring right at the statue in defiance. He had a look of taunting mockery on his face.
This man was Xu Que.
He stood right beneath the towering statue and watched as the Fire Emperor summoned the FIre God. He then shouted out in a dramatic fashion, "Fire God, the Fire Nation is now the territory of the Heavenly Explosion Faction! If you fucking come, I shall blow you to pieces!"
As soon as the crowd heard Xu Que's crazed words, their faces all fell. The Fire God was about to descend down to this realm and Xu Que still dared to show such blatant disregard for him by speaking such gibberish words. To them, Xu Que was a walking dead man.
However, even before the crowd had time to react, they saw the ferociously looking Fire God statue tremble once.
"Boom!"
A loud crash could be heard as the Fire God's arm cracked and exploded into fragments.
As soon as his arm exploded, blazing light erupted from the stump and shone in all directions.
The sea of fire on the altar became visibly weaker at that moment before it completely disappeared. At the next moment, everything was silent and calm, as though nothing had ever happened in the first place!
Exploded!
The Fire God actually exploded!
The entire group of people stood still in shock and couldn't regain their senses after what they had witnessed.