Ancient Godly Monarch

AGM 258 - Excellent Seedling

The face of the Leng Clan’s disciplinary elder, Leng Mao, turned ashen as he clenched his fist in anger.

They had paid such a huge price, giving in to Yan Tie’s outrageous demands, but in the end what had they received? Nothing.

Yan Tie had died.

For the sake of a few ‘illusory’ slots, they sacrificed Leng Ning, and gone all the way to offend Qin Wentian. Now that Qin Wentian defeated and even killed Yan Tie in a battle using Divine Inscriptions, what did that make them? A bunch of clowns?

“Well done.” In that moment, a voice rang out from the direction of the Leng Clan. The person who called out was none other than Leng Ning’s father. He felt immense satisfaction when Qin Wentian slaughtered Yan Tie. After his daughter passed away, something inside him broke as well. It had woken him up, and he now knew that he had been a sorry excuse for a father. But everything was already too late for him to make amends. Currently, his heart was only filled with hatred for the members of the Leng Clan.

Leng Mao coldly swept a glance at him, as Leng Jian screamed, “Shut the hell up!”

“You want me to shut up?” Leng Ning’s father laughed. “Back then who was it that gave the approval to force my daughter to her death, ultimately choosing to forsake Qin Wentian to curry favor with Yan Tie? What’s the result now? With Yan Tie’s death, Qin Wentian is the one who could have granted us the additional slots. WHO WILL PAY FOR THIS BLUNDER?”

Leng Jian stiffened, he could feel the cold stares of the elders being directed at him. What Leng Ning’s father said was true, they sacrificed so much, paying an astronomical price yet obtained nothing in return. Who would pay for this blunder?

Leng Mao was an elder, nothing would happen to him. But what about Leng Jian?

At that moment, the eyes of everyone in the crowd were fixed on Qin Wentian, only to see that the coldness radiating from him hadn’t dissipated in the slightest. His eyes were turned in the direction of the Yan Clan, staring right into the eyes of Yan Kong.

“You’re next.” Qin Wentian had his finger stretched out, pointing at Yan Kong. Yan Kong instantly felt as though his entire body was encased in ice. Qin Wentian’s words were like a proclamation of his impending death.

Thinking back to the past two incidents whereby Qin Wentian had already left a shadow in his heart, Yan Kong trembled in dread. This gut-wrenching fear, exceeded even the fear which Yan Tie had invoked in him.

At that moment, he felt true terror.

“HE KILLED UNCLE, KILL HIM NOW, SOMEBODY PLEASE KILL HIM!” Yan Kong’s body shook uncontrollably as he stared at his clan members hysterically. Yet, he only saw them stare right back at him, their gazes dripping with unconcern.

“The perpetrator for this matter is you.” An elder glared at him in fury. He had heard that in the beginning, it was because there was conflict between Yan Kong and Qin Wentian, which even resulted in Yan Kong bringing Hades along with him to kill Qin Wentian, ultimately leading to the death of Yan Tie’s son. Going mad with rage, Yan Tie forced Leng Ning to die, which had sown the seeds of revenge, causing the initial problem to escalate to the level it was today.

Initially, all of them were unconcerned. But now that Yan Tie had died, it meant that the Yan Clan was unqualified to even enter the secret realm this time around, thereby missing out on the benefits they might have gained.

All of these troubles were created by Yan Kong!

“From today onwards, Yan Kong is no longer a part of our Yan Clan. His life and death are no longer our concern,” that elder coldly remarked, causing Yan Kong’s heart to pound madly. Had he heard him correctly?

The Yan Clan had expelled him?

But... why?

Without the support of the Yan Clan, he would face certain death.

“Father,” Yan Kong cried out, his eyes reddening. However, the elder who made the announcement merely snorted coldly, as he added, “If you wish to help him, you will be similarly expelled by the clan.”

The countenance of Yan Kong’s father turned pale-white. He understood that whenever the Yan Clan made a decision, they did so after weighing the costs and benefits. Every decision was made with pragmatism driving their considerations.

Now that Yan Tie had already died, there was nothing to be gained by seeking revenge. So what if they killed Qin Wentian now? They would merely offend an additional power - the White Deer Institute. There was no benefit to be made at all.

So what should they do?

Giving up Yan Kong, clearly drawing the boundaries between their clan and him. Only with this would the entire Yan Clan not be affected and dragged down by Qin Wentian’s vengeance. With his intelligence, Qin Wentian should know that the Yan Clan had already taken a step back and wanted to defuse all conflict by sacrificing poor Yan Kong.

“Father,” Yan Kong cried out again upon seeing his father not saying a word.

Back then, they forced the Leng Clan to sacrifice Leng Ning, but karma always strikes back. Was his clan going to sacrifice him now?

“Yan Kong.” At that moment, a voice layered with coldness drifted over. The killing intent of Qin Wentian was so palpable that even the space around him began to appear distorted.

“I gave you so many chances for survival yet you chose to ignore it. Be more intelligent in your next life.” Qin Wentian flicked his finger, Yan Kong only felt a towering sword intent locking on to him. Before he could do anything, the beams of sword light had already penetrated through his body, killing him where he stood.

Yan Kong’s eyes were still wide open in death, filled with reluctance and disbelief at what happened. He was just a few feet away from his clan, yet during the final moments of his life, no one from his family had moved to help him.

“Let’s go.” The elder from the Yan Clan signaled their members as they turned and departed immediately.

The body of Yan Kong’s father involuntarily trembled upon seeing his son’s death. He went over and carried the corpse, as he muttered ominously under his breath, his eyes shooting daggers at Qin Wentian before he departed with those from the Yan Clan.

Qin Wentian understood this perfectly. Even though the Yan Clan hated him, they were unwilling to form an enmity with him. Although Yan Kong’s father wanted nothing more than his death, the Yan Clan would definitely forbid him from making a move that would be detrimental to them.

This was the reward he gained from exhibiting his true talent and abilities.

The Yan Clan’s actions caused waves of uncertainty to rock the hearts of the Leng Clan. After the Yan Clan departed, they didn’t know what action to take.

Qin Wentian’s grudge with the Leng Clan didn’t lose out to his hatred for the Yan Clan. They were the ones who had personally forced Leng Ning to her death.Qin Wentian’s silhouette flickered as he returned back to his original spot. When he was killing Yan Tie and Yan Kong, both the Li Clan’s three brothers and the youth from the Demon Cult merely stood there and spectated. They had personally witnessed Qin Wentian’s strength and could clearly sense the overwhelming power Qin Wentian’s Inscription contained. Naturally, they were more than content to let Qin Wentian exhaust his power fighting against Yan Tie.

However at this moment both the three brothers and the demonic youth felt a sense of unease in their hearts. Qin Wentian’s performance in the third test was exceedingly dominant and in addition to the powerful perception he displayed in the first test, was he already ranked first in Grandmaster Fenrir’s heart?

Not only that, for the team that represented the White Deer Institute, they didn’t just have Qin Wentian. There was also Ghaus and Bailu Yi. Even the weakest Bailu Yi couldn’t be underestimated.

Even though their team had internal conflicts, it didn’t diminish their actual level of power. If Qin Wentian and Ghaus had worked together from the beginning, they would have all been long defeated.

“Powerful indeed, you are much stronger than that old fogey Ghaus. He only knows how to boast.” Old First stared at Qin Wentian, his voice filled with admiration. Such a youthful peak-tier, third-ranked Divine Inscriptionist was actually so capable and had such monstrous perception.

Ghaus turned ashen when he heard the words, but he already knew that he couldn’t match up to Qin Wentian the moment he saw his Inscription in the earlier battle.

He had spoken too much nonsense.

“Elders, I await your guidance.” Qin Wentian calmly walked towards the three brothers. The coldness on his countenance had already faded with the death of Yan Tie and Yan Kong. The next thing he must do was obtain the first ranking for the White Deer Institute.

“Haha, don’t call us elders. Addressing us as uncles will do. With our level of attainments, we are not worthy of you calling us elders. Come, let us spar together in a bid to better understand the intricacies of the Dao of Divine Inscriptions.” Old First’s mood immediately improved when he heard Qin Wentian addressing them as elders.

But naturally if Qin Wentian hadn’t displayed his true talent, the three brothers probably wouldn’t be so polite towards him.

Strength was indeed everything.

Qin Wentian lightly nodded as he stepped forth. The terrifying sword Qi once again revolved in its vortex as tens of thousands of sharp swords flew out.The three brothers rose up in the air as the three-headed flood dragon flew forwards with explosive speed, clashing directly with the tens of thousands of sharp swords.

The myriad of swords warred ferociously with the three-headed flood dragon, as terrifying sounds of draconic roars and sword keening filled the void. Qin Wentian continued walking forwards, directing the swords’ momentum with his sword fingers with every step he took. With him at the centre, the beams of sword light grew increasingly resplendent, imbued with boundless might.And finally, with a heaven-shattering roar of defiance, one of the flood dragon’s heads was penetrated through by Qin Wentian’s sword vortex.

“Haha, excellent. We will admit defeat.” Old First graciously laughed. With a wave of his hands, Qin Wentian caused the sword Qi to dissipate as he bowed with a smile. “Uncle Li’s Divine Inscription is truly powerful, indeed. I merely won by half a shade.”

“You are too humble, we were fighting three against one and there’s also the matter of our age and experience. I even dare to say that in merely a few years time, we wouldn’t even be qualified if we wanted to take you as our master.” Old First shrugged, as he continued, “If you don’t mind, you can consider me and my two other brothers as your friends. We will definitely have to depend on you for sparring in the future, aiding us in our comprehensions in Divine Inscriptions.”

A smile also broke out on Qin Wentian’s face.

After which, the three brothers turned their gaze onto the youth from the Demon Cult. “Brat, you are a youngster too. Do you wish to try out the power of your Divine Inscription against us?”

“Sure.” The youth agreed with no hesitation whatsoever. Almost immediately a thick layer of demonic Qi erupted forth from the youth’s serpent, as it snarled and dashed towards the now two-headed flood dragon. But despite the flood dragon being in a weakened state, the serpent was still not a match for it.Qin Wentian slayed Yan Tie, before defeating the three brothers, while the three brothers won their battle against the youth from the Demon Cult. It seemed that the rankings had already been determined.

“Truly the mountain roads twist after each new peak. How unexpected.” The large-eyed elder laughed. He had originally thought that after Ghaus’s defeat, there was already no chance for the White Deer Institute to obtain the first ranking. What a pleasant surprise.

“Excellent seedling.” Another elder standing beside the large-eyed elder spoke. His words abruptly caused both of them to start in shock as they simultaneously directed their gazes at Grandmaster Fenrir.

Grandmaster Fenrir had once said the same thing before.

It appeared as though he had already evaluated Qin Wentian’s potential back then.

On the vantage point, Fenrir smiled as he stated. “The exchange has been concluded. White Deer Institute will be ranked first, the Watermoon Mountain Villa ranked second, and the Demon Cult ranked third.”

Fenrir’s announcement was within the expectations of the crowd. In that moment, many emotions were running high; disappointment, shock and of course, happiness.Bailu Yi herself was exceedingly joyful.The White Deer Institute had obtained the first ranking because of Qin Wentian. How could she be unhappy?

The expression on Ghaus’s face couldn’t be any uglier. Before this, he had arrogantly told Qin Wentian that there would be a reckoning between them after the conclusion of the exchange. But now, did he even have the guts to stay?

“Haha, Ghaus, the lass was right. In this exchange, what exactly have you contributed? Useless baggage, tell me what use do you have!” Old First of the three brothers laughed uproariously, his words were extremely sarcastic, each one like a sword stabbing Ghaus in the heart. That very same phrase he had condescendingly remarked to Qin Wentian, hadn’t it returned to smack him back in the face?