Chapter 2188: Ascender

Li Qian was unknown to the young generation but for the older experts - Li Qian and Dao Protector Sword God were as sonorous as thunder.

“Who is that?” One junior asked with curiosity after seeing Ba Shang’s dread.

“That’s the strongest person among the dao source protectors and the strongest ancestor of our system.” An elder quietly answered.

“I see!” Many youths were stunned to hear this and stared at Li Qian with reverence.

Everyone in Insane Court knew about the dao source protectors. The dao source located in the royal court was the foundation of the system. If it were to disappear or weaken, the entire system would crumble alongside it.

Because of this, all dao sources had protectors who were an irreplaceable part of the system. The ruling dynasties and orthodox branches might change but this particular defensive institution would stay the same with its own inheritance rule.

These dao protectors were rarely replaced. If such a thing were to happen, it meant that a massive change had happened to the dao source.

Li Qian’s branch was currently in charge of protecting and controlling the power of the dao source. Other lineages in Insane Court had a far inferior understanding of the dao source compared to them. Though they couldn’t directly control it, the degree of mastery was still far higher compared to the rest.

Normally, Li Qian wouldn’t interfere with any clan or even the matters of the court. These dynasties and rulers didn’t matter because ultimately, they were still part of the system.

Thus, if one were to come out, it would mean that something big had happened.

In the recent generations, Insane Court has been quite peaceful due to a self-imposed isolation policy. This was the reason why few people knew the name Li Qian.

However, most would know the name of the previous dao protector quite well, or Li Qian’s master - Asura Heavenbattler!

Back when the Heretical Blood Devour Art troubled the entire region under the leadership of Virtue True God, the system was considered an evil lineage that should be eradicated by all.

Because of this, many systems banded up against it. Later on, Asura Heavenbattler and his branch of protectors decided to purge the system, killing both Virtue and his followers. 

They eventually came to an agreement with the other system in Myriad Lineage, resulting in the current situation of being blocked off from the world.

Heavenbattler saved the entire system that had fallen to an evil art, allowing it to have a chance to recuperate.

After his death, Li Qian inherited this position to become the protector of Insane Court. His appearance here today naturally shocked everyone because it wouldn’t be about the current political strife.

There was no difference to these dao protectors whether Upper Faction was in charge or the Wang. Thus, his presence here was unexpected even to Ba Shang.

The old man looked at Li Qian and maintained his fierce demeanor: “Li Qian, if you choose to interfere with the royal court as the dao protector, you will need to be impartial and reasonable.”

“Our branch has no interested in politics. Today, I am only here for you!” Li Qian uttered coldly in response.

“It’s an honor to win the attention of a dao source protector. May I ask what crime I have committed for you to come out here with such great fanfare?” Ba Shang snorted.

Li Qian was ready to kill, evident by his chilling tone: “You know what you have done. Obediently surrender or must I make you?”

“Such confidence.” Ba Shang laughed: “Others might be afraid of you, but not me! We’ll see just how strong you are!” 

The crowd glanced at both of them. One ancestor calculated with his fingers - the last time Li Qian showed up was ten thousand years ago. Now here he was for Ba Shang.

The two of them shouldn’t have any grievance with each other but Li Qian is calling for Ba Shang’s death. Just what did Ba Shang do? All the elders and ancestors had this question on their mind.

“Boom!” Ba Shang released his true energy while his vitality howled like a dragon.

A short-legged dragon appeared before him. This was one of his best techniques - Roaring Dragonturtle.

“Kill him!” He ordered and the dragon began attacking. This particular dragon was different from the rest. Its claw resembled the leg of a turtle. Its flesh was tough and heavy; this was a force encompassing the immensity of countless mountains. Its sharp fangs could tear apart the world.

The void shattered from this power while people dropped to the ground. “Boom!” Numerous peaks and mountains collapsed in Ivory Gap.

“Clank!” A sword hymn resounded. Li Qian instantly created multiple heavenly swords of unbelievable size.

The entire world turned into an ocean of star-cutting swords.

“Insane Sword Dao!” People were familiar with this technique since Li Qiye had just used it prior.

These swords combined together with his physical one, leaving only one in the sky - resplendent and seemingly refined from the heaven and earth. Everything else paled in comparison.

A slash came down, eliminating the yin yang and reincarnation cycles. Blood from the dragon squirted everywhere and painted the ground red.

“Ah!” Ba Shang cried out and retreated with haste but it was still too late - the slash had severed his right arm.

The two sides went all out right away - Roaring Dragonturtle versus Insane Sword Dao. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as strong and his technique was inferior as well. The bout was decided in one move.

People gasped in astonishment. One elder murmured: “That’s why Insane Sword Dao is our best technique, the choice of cultivation for the protectors.”

The crowd had heard of the strength of the protectors before and Li Qian didn’t let them down with this first showing. In their eyes, a True God was terrifying enough, but a third-level one was even more so.

Today, Ba Shang didn’t even stand a chance against Li Qian and lost his right arm instantly.