“Does this brat know anything about dao fetus control?” Someone muttered after seeing Li Qiye's swift selection of a White Adornment fetus.
Some wondered if he knew anything about the contest at all. Even a fool wouldn't pick a white grade.
The prince celebrated mentally after seeing his opponent's pick. 'This is you courting death, no one will be able to stop it.'
He then picked a Heaven Bestowment fetus.
Both were postnatal fetuses but the prince's selection was countless times stronger than Li Qiye's.
“Start.” An expert from the workshop acted as the judge after the two returned to the betting table.
“Buzz!” The Heaven Bestowment fetus in the prince's hand lit up with rays of light that could pierce through the flesh.
He didn't use any chaos or primordial energy but as a successor who had learned imperial laws since youth, his willpower could be more than ten thousand times greater than a mortal.
“Pluff!” Under the control of the prince, this sword fetus shot towards Li Qiye with an unstoppable sharpness. Even a regular cultivator like Shen Xiaoshan wouldn't be able to stop it.
Li Qiye didn't bother looking forward; his will ordered the White Adornment fetus to rush up.
Everyone gasped after seeing this risky course of action. A white-grade fetus controlled by a mortal simply couldn't stand up to the prince's own!
“Boom!” A dao fetus shattered into many shimmering pieces accompanied by pleasant ringings.
The crowd was completely frozen by the unexpected scene. The thing shattered was not Li Qiye's White Adornment fetus but rather the prince's Heaven Bestowment fetus. Li Qiye's fetus was completely intact while the prince's own fell into shambles.
It didn't mean that Li Qiye's fetus was stronger, only his will. This was an incalculable disparity. Li Qiye truly had an immovable dao heart.
“No way!” The prince cried out and took several steps back, slack-jawed. He couldn't accept this result at all.
Even a fool could see his inevitable victory earlier but the opposite had happened. The crowd shared the same astoundment as him. All eyes were agape.
An imperial successor had lost to a mortal. Who would actually believe this?
“You have lost again.” Li Qiye calmly said: “Leave your life behind now.”
“No, impossible, how can a mortal have such a powerful will?!” The dismayed prince screamed.
“Who told you that?” Li Qiye smiled and said: “A firm dao heart has nothing to do with cultivation.”
The experts here were surprised by this comment because this was an unprecedented case of a mortal possessing such an unyielding dao heart. They have only viewed mortals as ants before.
“Something foul is going on! Someone must be helping him in the shadow, a mortal can't compare to me!” The paled prince bellowed.
The crowd exchanged glances. It was indeed unbelievable that a mortal could best the prince in this regard.
“Sigh, too many fools in this generation.” Li Qiye gently shook his head.
“This doesn't count because of foul play, this can't happen!” The prince intended on reneging because his life was on the line.
“What does your workshop think about this?” Li Qiye ignored him and cheerfully asked the others.
At this time, an ancestor of the workshop stepped forward. Despite his hidden vitality, everyone here still shuddered. Normally, this level of characters wouldn't show up unless something significant was happening.
“The bet was fine, nothing was going on behind the scene. This young noble had no helper, we stake our reputation on this.” The ancestor stared at the prince and said. He didn't need to say anything else after making his point.
This meant that the Jilin Clan was also vouching for the validity of the bet and no one could say otherwise!
The cultivators here had nothing to say if the clan was stepping up for this. They believed in the workshop more than the prince since it had been in business for so long with an ironclad reputation.
“No, no way!” The prince was still in disbelief.
“What now, changing your mind?” Li Qiye leisurely said while looking at the prince.
All eyes were on him now. If the prince were to renege on the bet, he would also be throwing away Heavenly Phoenix's reputation. One could only imagine the consequence of their successor acting so dishonorably.
The paled prince stood there frozen like a statue. He didn't accept this result but couldn't renege the bet either before everyone. Alas, there was no medicine for regrets.
“Ah, Dao Brother, no, Senior, do you think that we, we need to discuss this bet a bit more?” The prince calmed down and lowered his posture in order to appease Li Qiye. Of course, his face felt hot from the embarrassment.
Since when did he have to bow down towards others? It had always been the opposite!
“Senior, you are a hidden master while I'm only a short-sighted junior. I have lost convincingly, please be magnanimous and go easy on me? Just name the price and my country will do its best to please you.” The prince bowed and said.
Face might be important but life was even more so. As long as he could leave this place alive, he would have a chance for revenge the moment this mortal leaves the Jilin's territory. Even if he didn't, their country would surely pay a sky-high price to get rid of him.
Bowing his head now allowed him to trade for retribution in the future. This was completely worth it for the prince! He'll make this little animal pay tenfold later.
People had nothing to say after seeing the prince begging for forgiveness. Honor, face, reputation; all weren't worth mentioning before potential death.
Li Qiye had seen all types of people before so he read the prince like a book. He smiled and said: “No, a bet is a bet and words can't be taken back. Will you end your own life and leave this world honorably or do I have to do it myself?”
The prince's expression sank. He had begged for forgiveness already yet this mortal wouldn't spare him.
“You're really pushing this, making a fuss out of nothing!” The prince couldn't help but utter coldly.
“Is that so?” Li Qiye smiled: “I want your dog life. No more blabbering, hand it over!”
The prince clenched his teeth and made up his mind. If there was no other way out, no point in upholding pretentious decorum any further. He sneered: “You're only a mortal, wanting to provoke Heavenly Phoenix? Have you thought of the consequence? Touch a hair of mine and my country will tear you to pieces and annihilate your clans; their blood will flow for miles!”
Some of the crowd treated the prince's blatant hostility and reneging with contempt. However, they did agree with his logic. If Li Qiye were to really kill the prince, his country would want vengeance.
In Li Qiye's position, anyone with a bit of rationality wouldn't mind sparing the prince.
“Heavenly Phoenix is nothing. Even if I kill you, they can't do anything about it.” Li Qiye lazily said while ignoring the threat entirely.