"Miss, my name is Qin Shisan. If I have caused any offense, allow me to apologize." Qin Shisan had spent years navigating the jianghu and was highly skilled at reading people. Upon seeing the murderous intent radiating from Consort Dan, he didn't dare press her directly. Instead, he softened his tone, trying to feel her out.
Because he wasn't certain that a direct confrontation would give him any advantage.
"Apologize?" Consort Dan's voice was flat and detached. "There are certain crimes—do you really think a half-hearted apology can wipe them away?"
Qin Shisan felt a chill run through him. He cupped his fists. "Miss, Qin Shisan is no nobody. Elder Qiu of the Heavenly River Palace in the Upper Eight Domains is my uncle. I—"
"Enough." Consort Dan smiled faintly. "Whether you're a nobody or not has absolutely nothing to do with whether I kill you."
Qin Shisan had never encountered an opponent so completely impervious to persuasion. His expression turned cold as well. "Miss, if you intend to kill me, at least give me a straight answer. Judging by your temperament and skill, you must be a prodigy from one of the great sects. Are you from the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect, or the Undying Heavenly Capital? My uncle is an elder of the Heavenly River Palace, which is equally a first-grade sect. Even if you mean to hold me accountable, surely you owe me a clear reason?"
"Heavenly River Palace?" Consort Dan's brow furrowed slightly. "What is the Heavenly River Palace? Never heard of it."
What?
Qin Shisan was utterly dumbfounded. In all of the human domains, there was actually someone who claimed to have never heard of the Heavenly River Palace? For a moment, his mind went blank.
He had originally planned to use the Heavenly River Palace's name to pressure this woman. Instead, he realized how foolish that idea had been.
He was no longer sure whether she was genuinely ignorant or simply putting on an act.
Consort Dan truly had never heard of the Heavenly River Palace. In her younger days, after being cast adrift, she had been saved by the Peacock Emperor and had trained under him in the martial path. She had never paid much attention to the affairs of the outside world.
"Miss, the Heavenly River Palace is one of the eight great first-grade sects of the Upper Eight Domains. In all the human domains, it is a power of the very highest order." Qin Shisan couldn't help but emphasize his words.
Consort Dan frowned. "Are you finished?"
Qin Shisan was completely at a loss. Hiding his anger, he asked, "Miss, so you're determined to oppose me? To oppose the Heavenly River Palace?"
"You're overthinking this. I've simply come to kill you."
"What exactly have I done to offend you? Even if I die, let me at least die knowing why!" Qin Shisan sneered. "A word of advice—don't be too overbearing. Otherwise, even if you are a prodigy from some great sect, you may find yourself humiliated today!"
Consort Dan's expression remained impassive. She pointed down at the women below. "You caged human beings like animals for your amusement—is that not enough to warrant your death? On top of that, you seized someone else's legacy and made it your own—is that not grounds for you to die a second time?"
"Hahaha! Is the miss perhaps standing up for these worldly women who are no different from pigs and dogs?" Qin Shisan burst into laughter. "These worldly women—mere ants. In the eyes of martial cultivators like us, they are nothing but pigs and dogs. Surely the miss eats meat?"
He found the whole notion absurd. Standing up for mere worldly women? Was this woman truly a prodigy from a first-grade sect? Qin Shisan was beginning to have his doubts.
Consort Dan let out a soft sigh. "You see worldly people as pigs and dogs. I see you as a pig and dog as well. If you can kill them, what makes you think I can't kill you?"
Hearing this, Qin Shisan's rage surged. "I am a Sacred Realm powerhouse! How can I possibly be compared to those worldly ants!"
"The worldly are ants, you say—are they not still living beings? What crime have the ants committed?" Consort Dan's voice grew even colder.
"The ants are innocent, but their weakness is their crime. Who told them to be weak? Because they are weak, they exist for our amusement—they should have accepted that!" Qin Shisan clearly didn't believe there was anything wrong with his thinking.
"And as for you, miss—could it be that you really are from a great sect?" Doubt had fully taken hold.
Consort Dan replied coolly, "I am not from any great sect. And I certainly don't need to be a prodigy of some great sect to kill you. Qin Shisan, no matter what you say today, you cannot escape death."
Her killing intent was absolute.
Not from a great sect? Qin Shisan studied Consort Dan with narrowed eyes, a flicker of doubt and belief warring within him.
"What's the matter? You had the audacity to seize someone else's domain, but you don't even have the courage for a single fight?" Consort Dan sneered.
"Seize someone else's domain? This place was unclaimed when I arrived. When I came here, there was no owner. How can you call it seizing someone's domain?"
Then Qin Shisan's eyes sharpened suddenly. "Could it be that you have some connection to this place?"
"You talk too much."
Consort Dan wasted no more words. She raised her short blade from a distance, and the sky and earth shifted color in an instant.
A clear phantom flickered through the void as the short blade swept forward, closing the distance to Qin Shisan in the span of a heartbeat.
Qin Shisan's heart sank, and he was secretly startled. Not daring to be negligent, he seized a broad black saber and slashed diagonally, aiming for Consort Dan's waist.
The truth of Qin Shisan's strength was that he had actually reached the Earth Sacred Realm. He had publicly advertised himself as being in the early stages of the Sacred Realm, concealing his true identity. His actual cultivation placed him at the fifth level of the Sacred Realm.