The higher-ups started worrying because once their sect became a target, destruction wouldn’t be far.

“You did this! You opened the portal and put the sect in a precarious situation. This is a serious offense that should be heavily punished!” Huang Ning claimed. He took this chance to implicate Li Qiye again.

“You probably joined us in order to reach the peak. Now, I think the chance of you being a spy is more and more likely.” Zhan Hu glared at Li Qiye.

All eyes were on Li Qiye now. The peak lords didn’t say anything yet.

“What is everyone’s opinion on this?” An elder broke the silence.

The majority was deep in thoughts due to the ominous future.

“Don’t bring up this dumb idea again.” The bodhi king spoke: “Zhang Yue already said that the young master is not a spy. Love and hate are parts of life. However, a man should not resort to treachery and wretched means nor should he be petty. I can see that you’re dissatisfied with the young master and wishes to push him towards death…”

“Master, I, I don’t…” Huang Ning denied it right away.

The bodhi king waved his hand and continued: “Stop, it’s normal for a cultivator to have murderous intent but lacking the courage to admit this is downright pathetic. No point in cultivating then, you’re not worthy of being my disciple.”

Huang Ning shut up right away.

“I have no criticism of you wanting to kill the young master, no need to hide this. But be a man, a seeker of the dao while doing so. Challenge him right now, then defeat and kill him. Do so and I’ll shoulder the consequences. If you were to lose, then you can only blame yourself for being weak and foolish.” The bodhi king powerfully declared, surprising the crowd in the process.

In DIvine Black, the seniors didn’t want to encourage disciples from fighting and killing their peers. They preferred harmony and peace. This wasn’t the case for the bodhi king.

Others weren’t in a position to say otherwise because Huang Ning was the bodhi king’s disciple. He had the right to take charge.

“Well said, old geezer.” Li Qiye became amused and stared at Huang Ning: “A man should indeed act like that. Very well, if you want to kill me, I will accept your challenge.”

Huang Ning was left in a tough spot because his plan was revealed. He naturally wanted to kill Li Qiye. The problem was, he was actually afraid.

The guy might only be a Bronze Tendon but he had done too many insane things before. Huang Ning just didn’t have any confidence unlike early on.

The bodhi king actually gave him a perfect opportunity to kill Li Qiye. Unfortunately, he lacked the courage.

He only had two choices right now - either to admit fault or to actually fight Li Qiye to the death.

No seniors would stop him in these circumstances with the exception of Ping Suoweng.

A few elders and protectors stared at Suoweng, hoping for a response. He calmly said: “The sect will not interfere when it is an official duel between the two parties.”

Huang Ning hesitated again. He glanced over at Gong Qianyue. If he could kill Li Qiye now, then his future would be so bright. But what if Li Qiye still had some devilish means left… His mind circled countless times with hesitation.

“This is an official duel but who knows what kind of witchery you will pull?” Zhan Hu instigated.

“Right.” Huang Ning nodded and loudly said: “Crooked methods and devious arts are unguardable. A disciple of Divine Black should fight using its merit laws.”

The bodhi king frowned after listening to Huang Ning.

“No courage at all.” Li Qiye smiled: “Fine, one chance, the two of you can come together. Don’t tell me that you’ll back out of this too.”

Zhan Hu and Huang Ning exchanged glances. They would have zero confidence in a one-on-one fight but the two of them together? The probability of success greatly increased.

“Only using the merit laws of Divine Black.” Huang Ning said, wanting to limit Li Qiye.

“So be it, I’ll just be using Tortoise Fist, that’s enough to kill the two of you.” Li Qiye smiled.

“You!” Huang Ning didn’t like the blatant disrespect but Zhan Hu pulled him back. The latter stared at Li Qiye and said: “Keep your words, you’ll only be using Tortoise Fist, nothing else.”

This was a rather extreme demand. The elders and protectors thought that they wouldn’t be able to display that much power using this technique.

“Yes, just Tortoise Fist. Is this handicap enough for you two? If not, then keep hiding in your shell and stop walking around the sect.” Li Qiye didn’t mind.

The spectators couldn’t believe it. Li Qiye actually agreed to this?

Ping Suoweng didn’t say anything. The bodhi king seemed to be deep in rumination. Iron Whip Demon King had a cold expression. Mountainbearer King seemed very interested in this fight…

Zhan Hu and Huang Ning thought about it for a bit before nodding.

“Fine, we’ll take you on.” They both accepted.

The odds couldn’t be better than this. There was no way the two of them wouldn’t be able to beat him.

Remember, they had plenty of treasures on top of being enlightened beings. On the other hand, Li Qiye could only use Tortoise Fist.

They couldn’t possibly come up with a losing scenario. Li Qiye couldn’t be that devilish. A Bronze Tendon cultivator using Tortoise Fist had no offensive potential to speak of.

This was their chance to eliminate the threat that has been looming in their mind.

“Alright, at sunrise tomorrow. That’ll be your last moment.” Li Qiye smiled and left with Gong Qianyue.

“I don’t know about this.” One protector was confused.

“Tortoise Fist alone? Seems impossible.” An elder replied.

They thought that Li Qiye could definitely kill these two using other methods, just not Tortoise Fist.

However, the master and father of two combatants didn’t try to stop this. Their sect master gave permission as well. No one else could say anything.

Most were surprised at Li Qiye’s confidence. They found it hard to see how Li Qiye could survive against these two.

“The brat is utterly inscrutable, everything is possible. This is no big deal compared to reaching the top of the ancestral peak. Mere child’s play.” The chief elder said.

His peers exchanged glances and found this plausible. A miracle might occur during the incoming duel.