Chapter 72: What if I say no? (Fourth update!)

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  A hint of admiration flashed in Ah Hu's eyes, and he said softly: "The Zhejia is one of the few major forces within the Qinglong Kingdom that refuses to be governed. They occupy the mountains and possess eight hundred miles of mountainous terrain, with a treacherous landscape and four sides surrounded by lakes, making it extremely difficult to attack! The Zhejia has many heroes and strongmen, including those at the Earth and Heaven levels, and there are even rumors that they have a supreme strongman who has broken through the Heaven level. In the past, the previous emperor sent troops to attack them several times, but each time ended in defeat, with heavy casualties and loss of face. It became a heart disease for the previous emperor, and after his death, the current emperor ascended to the throne and changed the previous emperor's style, issuing an edict to appease the Zhejia of Qingping Lake, granting them a hereditary title of Marquis. So, you say, is it still a problem that the people of Zhejia killed a mere imperial family member who was only at the Xuan level?"

  Qin Li listened and smiled, shaking his head. Indeed, if it were an ordinary person, it would be a capital offense, but for a philosopher, at most, it would just be a scolding.

  As expected, among the confused crowd of royal warriors, one person stepped forward. Although it was hard to conceal the anger in his eyes, his tone of voice was much softer than that of the man who had just been shot dead.

  "Which young master of the Zhehou Mansion is it? Please come out and let me see!"

  Qin Li saw that besides the young philosopher, there were several elderly men who seemed to have advised him on something. However, the young philosopher snorted and walked out with his bow and arrow, coldly saying to the warrior: "I am indeed a philosopher's man. How is it now? Do you want to let me pass? Hmph, a bunch of worthless goods that can't even move forward!"

  Boom!

  A massive aura of oppression suddenly rose up among the group of royal warriors, pouring down on the young philosopher with overwhelming pressure. Even Qin Li, hundreds of meters away, could feel this terrifying force!

  "You dare to spout such nonsense! You thing that knows not life or death!" Along with this icy voice, the young philosopher was as if he had been cast under a petrifying spell, standing there with eyes bulging out of their sockets, his face flushed bright red, fresh blood slowly trickling out of his seven apertures.

  "Stop!"

  "How dare you hurt our young master!"

  Suddenly, several angry roars burst forth from the crowd, and several figures instantly flew to the side of the young man named Zhe. A deafening explosion suddenly shook the air, and a visible shockwave erupted violently at that spot!

  The young philosopher was snatched back by those old men, and with a "wow" sound, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his expression suddenly becoming very dispirited.

  "This is just a lesson for him! Be at ease as the Lord of Qingping Lake, remember that this is the state of Zhao, not Zhe! Don't think you can be so arrogant everywhere!" The voice was cold to the extreme, as if he didn't put the Zhe family in his eyes at all. But in fact, if someone else had shot and killed that imperial warrior, probably not even a single remnant would have been left behind. By sparing the young master of the Zhe family's life, he had actually given them immense face!

  That cold voice seemed to come from among the two hundred royal warriors, but no one could find its source. The voice continued: "If you have the ability, take another route into Phoenix Lake. This road is impassable! You want to reap benefits from the imperial family without paying a price? What a joke! If anyone calls me out, I'll be grateful! Heh heh... Who else dares to challenge me? Step forward and try your luck! Just now, when I wasn't around, you ambushed me once. Hmph! Now that I'm back, whoever dares to stir up trouble again will face my wrath. Don't think I won't find you - crushing you is as easy as squashing an ant!"

  This man's tone is simply arrogant to the extreme, but these hundreds of martial artists didn't dare make a single sound. The aura he just displayed was enough to suppress the young philosopher to the point of almost exploding his body, this level of strength is simply unattainable!

  Then... it can only be a heavenly grade!

  These people are mostly not afraid of death, but no one likes to die voluntarily.

  So, after this man finished speaking, many warriors immediately began to walk in both directions, still unwilling to give up. In a thousand years, there may only be such an opportunity once, and now that they have arrived at the edge of Phoenix Lake, if they can't go in and take a look, it would truly be a regret until death!

  On the other side of the valley, the royal warriors looked at the dispersing crowd with cold smiles. "Cross the mountain? If it's that easy, what are we doing guarding here? Wait until you see a truly powerful heavenly-level spirit beast, then you'll know the terror of this place!"

  "What shall we do?" Ah Hu asked Qin Li in a low voice.

  At this time, the warrior who had despised them before deliberately gave them a cold smile: "You'd better not follow us, warning you, if you dare to follow us, you'll be responsible for the consequences!"

  Qin Li glanced at the man, but didn't even give him a second look. The man was left disappointed and followed a group of people to leave. Qin Li knew that the number of people coming here far exceeded these few hundred, and there would definitely be more coming in continuously. Although this path had the most people, it wasn't necessarily the only one with people passing through.

  In the blink of an eye, except for those imperial guards, all the warriors dispersed on their own, most of them heading to the right, where there was a forest, and after crossing a large mountain, they could reach another valley. Although it is said that there are eight paths, no one knows whether they will be blocked by a horizontal mountain. However, as long as they can reach the summit, they can see Fenghuang Lake, and going straight down the mountain slope will also work.

  By now, Qin Li roughly understood the meaning of the imperial family, which was to hold back as much as possible. If all the people were allowed in and someone got lucky and obtained the treasure, they might sneak away with it, wouldn't that be equivalent to the imperial family doing a favor for that person?

  The emperor who sent out so many warriors would hardly be willing to give up.

  Thinking of this, the dissatisfaction in Qin Li's heart also dissipated. However, having entered the Treasure Mountain, how could they return empty-handed? So he said: "Ah Hu, you have the most experience, do you think we can avoid the powerful spiritual beasts and enter the Phoenix Lake?"

  "Ah Hu looked around at the terrain and said, 'It's tough, but we can give it a try!' He pointed to a patch of marshland on the left: 'If we can make it through from this side, there should be a chance!'"

  Qin Li looked at the marshland hundreds of meters away, which was different from ordinary marshes. The water here was very clear and almost visible to the bottom. Some grassy hummocks floated on the surface, and there were also some small islands connected together, with shrubs and low trees growing on them.

  "How are we going to get through this?" Bu Yunyan furrowed her brow and said, those who had just left didn't even consider the swamp that was over a thousand meters wide. Who knew if there were any powerful spirit beasts hidden beneath its seemingly calm surface? For most people, it's still better to be cautious and take things one step at a time.

  Qin Li smiled and said: "This is simple, just make a wooden raft!"

  They said it and did it, for these few people, making a raft wasn't too difficult, however except for Ah Hu, they were all beginners, and it took more than half a day, the several people's heads all sweated, and a simple raft ten meters long and three meters wide was made.

  Qin Li and Ah Hu carried it together, one in front of the other. Because it was made from fresh tree trunks, the wooden raft was very heavy, probably no less than several hundred catties. The two men carried it to the edge of the marsh when suddenly a dozen or so people flashed over from one side. The leader, who was none other than the martial artist who had mocked Qin Li earlier, opened his mouth and said: "Hand that wooden raft over to us!"

  Several people immediately became furious: "You've worked hard for half a day to make a wooden raft, how dare you just open your mouth and want it? Besides, can't you do it yourself?"

  However, since they all vowed to follow Qin Li, this external matter still depends on Qin Li's attitude. Although angry, Ah Hu, Leng Yao and Bu Yunyan all understood that giving up the wooden raft was the wisest choice.

  Qin Li raised his head at this time and saw that it was that person again. He calmly said, "What if I say no?"