Chapter 356: I Quit

Although Venerable Flameless had said to show mercy, how could Guo Huai not understand what Venerable Flameless really meant?

"Yes, sir!" Guo Huai replied respectfully, glancing at Nie Li in the distance with a cruel flash in his eyes.

Compared to Ye Chong, Venerable Flameless clearly trusted Guo Huai more. Guo Huai was his loyal inner-circle subordinate — even if ordered to die, Guo Huai wouldn't so much as furrow his brow!

Hearing Venerable Flameless's words, Huang Yu and Nanmen Tianhai were startled. Guo Huai had reached the Nine Lives Realm. Even though Nie Li had fused with a god-level growth-type dragon blood demon spirit, he was still only at the Four Lives Realm. How could he possibly defeat a Nine Lives Realm student? Moreover, Guo Huai was a carefully cultivated protégé of Venerable Flameless — far stronger than an ordinary Nine Lives Realm student.

"That's absolutely out of the question!" Huang Yu quickly spoke up. He couldn't quite understand why Venerable Flameless was being so heavy-handed against Nie Li — it was practically brazen.

What Huang Yu didn't know was that Venerable Flameless had sensed that Nie Li was displaying truly astonishing potential. Heavenly Cloud God Sovereign would soon pay even greater attention to Nie Li and groom him personally. Combined with the fact that his scheme to have Ye Chong kill Nie Li had already been exposed, he decided to go all in. If he missed this opportunity, there would never be another!

That was why Venerable Flameless was being so aggressive, completely ignoring the objections of Huang Yu and Nanmen Tianhai.

A powerful aura erupted from Venerable Flameless's body, suppressing both Huang Yu and Nanmen Tianhai. After all, Venerable Flameless was a powerhouse of the Dragon Dao Realm.

Though Huang Yu and Nanmen Tianhai were furious at Venerable Flameless's overbearing behavior, they couldn't stop him. Their strength was far below his.

Hearing the argument between Venerable Flameless, Huang Yu, and Nanmen Tianhai, Nie Li simply jumped down from the martial platform and swiftly donned his sixth-grade treasure armament armor set with a few decisive movements. He curled his lips dismissively. "I refuse this match. I'm not doing it!"

Nie Li's words left the Eastern Corps students stunned for a moment, and several of them couldn't help but laugh.

Indeed, all eyes had been on Venerable Flameless, Huang Yu, and Nanmen Tianhai. Everyone understood that the two elders couldn't outmatch Venerable Flameless, and they had assumed Nie Li was finished. None of them had expected Nie Li to outright refuse like this.

Well, when you know the match is basically walking into your death, why shouldn't Nie Li refuse?

It was an unfair match to begin with. Even if Nie Li refused, what could anyone do about it? Huang Yu and Nanmen Tianhai would absolutely not punish him for it.

"Venerable Flameless, since the student below refuses the match, let's just let it go!" Huang Yu spoke up from the side.

Venerable Flameless's expression darkened. Nie Li was proving far more troublesome than anticipated. In the first match, he had intended to use Ye Chong's hand to finish Nie Li off without causing a big stir. Who could have guessed that Nie Li would fuse with a god-level growth-type Sacred Blood Winged Flood Dragon?

In the entire Feather God Sect, how many had fused with a god-level growth-type dragon blood demon spirit? He should have sent Guo Huai from the very beginning!

For the second match, he wanted to send Guo Huai — but now Nie Li was refusing to play!

"If you want me to fight him, fine!" Nie Li pointed at Guo Huai in the distance. "But I'm wearing my treasure armaments. Why can't I use my own treasure armaments? What kind of broken rule is this?"

Hearing Nie Li's words, the Eastern Corps students exchanged glances. They had already heard privately that Nie Li possessed a complete set of sixth-grade treasure armaments.

Going into battle wearing treasure armaments — what was even the point of fighting then?

A full sixth-grade treasure armament set could shrug off attacks even if you just stood there and let Guo Huai hit you. Even a Heaven Turning Realm fighter might not be able to break through, let alone someone at the Heaven's Mandate Realm!

"If you won't let me wear my treasure armaments, I'm not playing. Worst case, I'll just leave the Eastern Corps and go back to the Western Corps!" Nie Li shrugged, looking every bit like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

Hearing Nie Li's words, Lu Piao, Gu Bei, and the others couldn't help but laugh. That's right — if Venerable Flameless was going to openly bully him with his authority, why couldn't Nie Li refuse to play along?

Venerable Flameless was seething with rage, but there was nothing he could do about Nie Li. Could he physically drag the kid onto the arena?

Huang Yu and Nanmen Tianhai exchanged a knowing smile. That Nie Li kid was actually quite clever. As long as they got Venerable Flameless to leave today, the two of them would absolutely not punish Nie Li. After all, Venerable Flameless had crossed the line.

In the distance, Situ Beiyan burst out laughing. "I'm starting to like that kid's personality. Long Tianming, he may not have much influence, but suppressing him won't be as easy as you think!"

Beside him, Long Tianming glanced at Nie Li with a deep, inscrutable gaze and let out a cold laugh. "That remains to be seen. That kid only knows how to play petty tricks! A true powerhouse would never resort to such little schemes!"

"Powerhouse?" Situ Beiyan chuckled. "Nie Li's no powerhouse. He's only been at the Heavenly Spirit Academy for a single year. He's already at the Heaven's Mandate Realm and has you this flustered, Long Tianming. I have a feeling you might not be able to outplay him!"

Long Tianming shot a cold glare at the gloating Situ Beiyan. Indeed, this kid Nie Li was proving to be quite unpredictable.

Venerable Flameless looked down at Nie Li with contempt. "You can't even handle a simple match between newcomers. A coward like you thinks he deserves to be Heavenly Cloud God Sovereign's disciple?"

"So what? Heavenly Cloud God Sovereign is willing to take me as his disciple — that's none of Venerable Flameless's business. And let me tell you something: I'm at the Four Lives Realm, and you set me against a Nine Lives Realm opponent. Who's the real cheat here? You're at the Dragon Dao Realm now, right? How about someone sets you against a Martial Sect Master-level opponent? If you can win that, then you've got something to brag about!" Nie Li sneered.

His words drew laughter from the Eastern Corps students.

The laughter made Venerable Flameless lose even more face. As a disciple of Heavenly Cloud God Sovereign, he was accustomed to a life of privilege. Among his peers, who didn't show him deference? Who dared speak to him like this? Yet today, Nie Li had thoroughly humiliated him.

"Anyway, if you want to keep playing, go ahead — I'm not joining you." Nie Li strode casually toward Gu Bei, Lu Piao, and the others.

"Did you think the Eastern Corps was a place you could come and go from as you please?" Venerable Flameless narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing through them, and pointed at Nie Li. "Recently, through my investigations, I have discovered that Nie Li is a spy from the Demon God Sect. You may have deceived Heavenly Cloud God Sovereign, but you won't escape my eyes! I will expose you sooner or later!"

Everyone froze at Venerable Flameless's words.

Those words were utterly vicious — they had effectively thrown Nie Li directly into the eye of the storm.

"My reason for targeting Nie Li is precisely because I discovered his treacherous intentions. I wish to root out this spy completely. Though my methods may have been somewhat extreme, my loyalty to the Feather God Sect is something heaven and earth can bear witness to!" Venerable Flameless declared with his chest puffed out in righteous indignation.

Hearing this, the faces of Gu Bei, Lu Piao, Li Xingyun, and others darkened with fury. Venerable Flameless was clearly spouting baseless slander!