"The winner of the head temple contest is Jin Feiyan!"
The Iron Winged Golden Crowned Sculpture spoke without expression, its head held high and chest puffed out, now even more imposing, as it clearly declared.
As soon as these three words were uttered, the previously noisy crowd fell silent.
Qi respectfully turned around to bow to Emperor Qian and then looked towards everyone else, calmly saying, "I have followed His Majesty's orders from early on, having the Iron Winged Golden Crowned Sculpture oversee from high above, to monitor all participants of this head temple contest; since it says Jin Feiyan is the first, then the liar here is Zhao Yu!"
The gazes of the multitude of powerhouses unanimously turned to Huihai Sword Master and Yang Kun.
Their complexions fluctuated with uncertainty.
This turn of events...
Not only had Zhao Yu died in vain, but now he was also tagged with the indelible stain of a villain who twisted truth and lies, adding such a blemish on the Tianjian Sect!
Huihai Sword Master snorted coldly, his expression dark and unfathomable, "Qi, I cannot accept what you say. If the Iron Winged Golden Crowned Sculpture had truly been monitoring in secret all along, then why didn't you reveal it at the start? Instead, you waited until after Xiao Yi killed a Tianjian Sect disciple before bringing it out. Doesn't this seem like you're deliberately confusing people?"
Yang Kun also said in a deep voice, "The Deputy Sect Master is right; how come I wasn't aware of the Iron Winged Golden Crowned Sculpture's secret surveillance?"
Emperor Qian, from start to finish, watched with narrowing eyes, leaning back on the dragon throne without uttering a word.
He observed everything with detached interest.
Qi exhales a long breath of turbid air, saying in a serious tone, "It seems Huihai Sword Master has misunderstood. The Iron Winged Golden Crowned Sculpture has indeed been secretly monitoring; this was His Majesty's arrangement. As for why it wasn't revealed earlier, you did not give us the chance to speak!"
Qi spread his hands, his expression harmlessly benign.
This caused Huihai Sword Master and Yang Kun, among others, to grind their teeth in frustration.
But at this juncture...
They were equally powerless to say anymore.
Yang Ling was ecstatic within his heart and turned to Yang Kun, extending his palms saying, "Elder brother, a wager is a wager; it's time to fulfill your promise!"
Yang Kun snorted coldly, extremely reluctant in his heart, but under the watchful eyes of the public, he could not cheat. Otherwise, his reputation as the crown prince would be utterly ruined. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Here, take it then!"
With a flick of his hand, Yang Kun tossed a beast-holding bag into Yang Ling's hands.
The bag felt cool to the touch.
Upon a brief examination, Yang Ling ascertained that indeed it was the Ice Snow Phoenix inside. Feeling overjoyed, he said sarcastically, "Many thanks to my royal brother for the treasure!"
"We are brothers; what's there to thank?"
Yang Kun waved his hand nonchalantly, a sly smile on his face, "If not for my younger brother, how could I have found that mutated magical beast as an offering? Tsk tsk, that beast is extremely rare; even the Huihai Sword Master failed to recognize its species. Surely offering it to our ancestors will delight them greatly!"
Yang Kun stepped in front of Xiao Yi, his lips curving up slightly in a challenging tone, "Dean Xiao, you must also think our ancestors would be very pleased with that beast as an offering, right?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a crisp slap resounded.
A fair hand struck fiercely across his face, sending Yang Kun tumbling to the ground.
Each person was utterly bewildered as they watched Xiao Yi.
This was the esteemed crown prince!
And you just slapped him across the face in public?
Even Emperor Qian, seated upon the dragon throne, tensed suddenly, his eyes involuntarily narrowing to slits. With only a slight turn of his eyes, Emperor Qian leaned back on his throne, yet his gaze never once strayed from Xiao Yi.
Yang Kun shook his head to clear it and soon came back to his senses, his lips smeared with fresh blood, especially vivid. His eyes instantly bloodshot, he roared hysterically, "You dare to hit me? Xiao Yi, I will slaughter..."
Xiao Yi, with an expressionless face, simply backhanded Yang Kun, flipping him onto the ground.
Although Xiao Yi, who had visualized and condensed the embryo of Dharma Manifestation, had not truly set foot in the Dharma Manifestation Realm, his martial power was incomparably greater than before.
In front of Xiao Yi, Yang Kun had no power to fight back.
Xiao Yi stepped on Yang Kun's face, rubbing it under his foot with a grating noise, under the stunned gaze of the onlookers, in full view of everyone.
Yang Kun was in utter despair and his eyes were bloodshot.
Full of hatred and venom.
But when he opened his mouth, only mud came out, and he couldn't make a sound.
All of this seemed slow, but actually happened in an instant.
The Huihai Sword Master finally came to his senses, his eyes instantly sharp. Yang Kun was a disciple of his Tianjian Sect, and this was tantamount to grinding the face of the Tianjian Sect into the dirt!
In a snap of the fingers of the Huihai Sword Master, a blue cold Sword Qi sliced through the air toward them.
This Sword Qi was incomparably cold.
Wherever it passed...
The air and ground were covered in frost.
Just as the blue sword light was about to fall on Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi flicked his toe, sending Yang Kun flying into its path.
Yang Kun, his face swollen and bruised, faced the icy blue sword light.
The Huihai Sword Master's face changed dramatically, and he rapidly flicked his fingers, shooting out several Sword Qis to shatter the blue sword light. But the shards of the shattered sword light still fell on Yang Kun, instantly slicing open countless wounds on his body.
Scores of cuts crisscrossed, covered in blood, the wounds like countless bloodied centipedes crawling on his skin.
The pain made Yang Kun grimace and howl incessantly.
"Damn it... Xiao Yi, how dare you?" the Huihai Sword Master, shaking with rage, questioned furiously.
Xiao Yi, holding Yang Kun with one hand, smiled even more brilliantly as the Huihai Sword Master grew angrier, "Yang Kun dared to use my brother as a sacrifice, what should I not dare to do?"
The Huihai Sword Master shouted angrily, "Everyone knows that the sacrifice can only be a beast. Are you willing to become an enemy of the Tianjian Sect over a mere animal?"
"An animal? In your eyes, Little Lin is a beast, but in mine, isn't Yang Kun just an ant? I'm making it clear today, either he releases Little Lin, or I'll take his life!" Xiao Yi said indifferently.
"Damn, Xiao Yi is going mad!"
"Emperor Qian has been watching all along, how can he dare to do this? Doesn't he fear angering the emperor?"
"He's just making threats, he wouldn't really dare to act, right...?"
Amid the doubts of the crowd, Xiao Yi's hand gripping Yang Kun was exerting more force.
A series of bone-crunching sounds came from Yang Kun's neck, giving listeners the chills.
Even the strongest of the strong looked at each other in dismay, deeply shocked by Xiao Yi's actions.
Who among those present, even someone as powerful as the Huihai Sword Master, would dare to beat a prince in front of Emperor Qian, even to threaten his life?
Under the watchful eyes of shock, Yang Kun was the first to falter. He grabbed desperately at Xiao Yi, his eyes almost bulging out as he screamed in despair, "Spare... spare my life... I, I'll return it to you..."
Just as he finished his plea, a deep voice suddenly rang out, "If you're going to kill him, do it quickly; if not, let him go, and don't delay the auspicious time for the ancestral sacrifice..."