The people here naturally didn’t know that the old tree was a peerless immortal medicine. Wherever it was, it could definitely attract a bunch of Winterfire Insects, causing them to squeeze together. Thus, the real attraction in the small plot was the tree, not the sparse Firehawk Grasses.

“Yes, they’re really Winterfire Insects, my mother is saved!” Song Yuhao held the ball of insects with both hands while emotionally trembling with tears.

He gathered his wits and picked out a few insects before leaving the ball in front of Li Qiye: “Young Noble, I only ask for six to prolong my mother’s life, the rest is yours.”

Li Qiye didn’t bother looking at the insects: “Consider it a gift, I have no use for them.”

“What? No, I can’t take them, they’re, they’re too precious...” Yuhao stuttered, still not fully composed.

“Just do what I say.” Li Qiye asserted.

This event came too sudden for Yuhao so he was left in a daze. He risked his life to come to this area for these insects in order to save his mother. Just obtaining a few was more than he could ask for, but this guy had just given him more than one thousand.

Others felt the same way. Li Qiye was being too generous. These insects were relatively pricey, and one thousand of them was a fair amount of money. Plus, he was giving it to a stranger on top of that without any hesitation. Truly unbelievable.

“Young Noble, I will forever remember your kindness and will work like an ox for you.” Tears finally streamed down his cheeks as he kneeled and bowed his head.

Li Qiye accepted the grand gesture before waving his sleeve: “Stand up.”

Yuhao got up and stood to the side, carving this act of generosity into his memories.

Wu Lian, on the other hand, had an unsightly expression. They still couldn’t find a single one but Li Qiye’s group found so many. The winner of the bet was as clear as day.

“Time to eat all the soil here, right?” Li Qiye casually remarked while staring at Wu Lian.

Wu Lian turned red then white, completely awkward. He decided to go tough: “We’re not done digging yet, what’s the hurry!?”

“Okay, I’m a patient man anyway but remember to do it in a bit or I’ll force it down your throat.” Li Qiye said with a smile.

“Go, dig everywhere, find these insects for me!” Wu Lian shouted at his fellow disciples.

Everyone could see who was the winner. Even if Wu Lian were to dig three thousand feet below, he wouldn’t be able to find as many as Li Qiye.

The disciples tried and tried, completely futile. Not even a shadow of one could be found. The only thing clearly visible was the ugly expression on Wu Lian’s face.

“It’s over.” A spectator murmured.

“Right, at least lose with grace when you’re betting. This is throwing away the reputation of Everlasting.” Some were already unhappy with him so they started jeering and sneering.

Wu Lian was certainly affected but there was no way to get out of this.

“It’s about time, eat up already.” Li Qiye demanded again.

The Wu disciples had dug out a huge pit, so the soil taken from the ground was the size of a small mountain now.

Wu Lian retorted and decided to play dirty: “Time? We didn’t specify the time. It can be one day, one year, or even a hundred years! Our bet isn’t over until I see some insects!”

“Just be straight and say that you can’t handle losing such a little bet. A loser like you still dare to call yourself a disciple of Everlasting? You’re throwing away its reputation, but I guess this reputation is crap already anyway since it groomed someone like you.” Li Qiye sneered.

Wu Lian angrily shouted back: “Brat, you can insult me, but not our kingdom! Doing so will end in an irreconcilable feud!”

Everyone knew that he wanted to change the topic and push a crime onto Li Qiye. All eyes were on Li Qiye now. A wise person would know to back off because this particular crime was indeed a big deal.

No one wanted to antagonize a behemoth in Everlasting. Nothing good would come of it.

“So what if I’m insulting Everlasting?” Li Qiye didn’t damn a damn: “It can’t be that great if it produced someone like you.”

Song Yuhao was startled and pulled on Li Qiye’s sleeve again, telling him that he was playing with fire.

“Ignorant fool!” Wu Lian’s eyes turned cold and ferocious as he uttered: “Death to those who insult our kingdom!”

He would never miss this chance to take care of the guy in order to renege on his bet. People would focus on the new topic instead while he had a perfect reason to kill the guy - taking down two birds with one stone.

“You and what army?” Li Qiye didn’t bother glancing at the group.

Many quietly shook their head. This was not a wise move because Wu Lian could continue on this path now. Li Qiye was putting himself in danger.

“I see, looks like you won’t apologize. Death it is!” Wu Lian aggressively went on: “Go, capture him alive, I want him to taste a fate worse than death to know the consequence of insulting our kingdom!”

The Wu disciples put down their hoe and other tools. They surrounded Li Qiye with their weapons unsheathed, eyes brimming with brutality.

“Die, brat!” They slashed and hacked, channeling all of their prior indignation and anger on him, seemingly wanting to dismember the guy.

Li Qiye simply waved his hand and all of the disciples got blown flying. He laughed and started walking towards Wu Lian: “Dogs like you dare to prance around in front of me?”

“Die!” Wu Lian remained calm and took out a gigantic cauldron. It poured down endless flame towards Li Qiye, wishing to burn him alive.

Li Qiye didn’t bat an eye and casually pointed straight forward. The entire cauldron crumbled and its flame extinguished.

Wu Lian realized that he had met a master and tried to flee. Alas, the moment he turned around, Li Qiye picked him up like a little chicken.

The spectators glanced at each other. They didn’t expect Li Qiye to be so powerful due to his ordinary appearance. They felt that he was just a nobody but a nobody couldn’t subdue the Wu Young Lord so easily. Even if Wu Lian was a domineering idiot, he was still a strong cultivator.

“You’re not leaving until you swallow all the soil here.” Li Qiye smiled deviously.

“You! Brat! Touch a hair of mine and our Wu Clan will never forgive you. Everlasting will cut you to pieces!” Wu Lian was scared out of his mind and billowed threats.