Zong Shou shook his head, his gaze utterly devoid of warmth. "If I, Zong Shou, do not assent, your entire clan remains nothing more than my personal slaves."

Shi Fatian’s expression flickered in surprise, only to immediately hear Zong Shou give a slight, cold chuckle. "Even if you were truly vassals, what could you do if this Sovereign chose to intervene?"

His sweeping gaze was piercingly cold, saturated with killing intent. This caused Shi Fatian's breath to hitch once more.

He recalled that the life and death of their entire clan rested entirely in Zong Shou's control. With a single command, the millions of troops surrounding them could descend simultaneously and annihilate them all!

It was rumored that the original master of this place had been entirely wiped out by this Fox King for harboring thoughts of rebellion. Shi Fatian instinctively clenched his fists, about to speak, when a voice from beside him suddenly cut in. "Why must Your Majesty be so angered? This Shi Ruolan is merely the daughter of my father's concubine; her bloodline is impure, not on par with the main lineage of the Shi family. If Your Majesty desires her, please, just take her. Why trouble my fourth brother over this?"

Shi Fatian did not need to look to know that this was his second son, Shi Dingyuan. He was known for his steady temperament and intelligence, having reached the Martial Ancestor realm by age thirty. Like his eldest son, he was widely recognized as the next clan head. Shi Fatian usually relied on him heavily. Hearing these words, his tension eased; the speech was measured and respectful, echoing his own thoughts.

Zong Shou, however, let out a dry laugh, a sudden surge of malice rising within his chest. The way the man spoke made it seem as if he, Zong Shou, was the one being unreasonable.

Without changing his expression, Zong Shou strode forward until he was about a zhang away from the speaker, looking him up and down.

He could not help but admire the height of the Snow Lion Clan; this man's physique was no less imposing than Hu Zhongyuan’s.

To Zong Shou, who was still small, it exerted considerable pressure.

"I know you. You are Shi Ruolan's second brother, Shi Dingyuan, correct? When did I ever say I was arguing logic with you?"

Shi Dingyuan closed his eyes, a faint, cold sneer touching his lips. "Your Majesty should also know: within ten paces, blood can stain the ground by three chi!"

"Within ten paces, blood stains the ground by three chi?"

The fiery rage in Zong Shou’s chest inexplicably subsided by more than half. He felt only a wave of helplessness; reasoning or not, it was impossible to make these people, who still failed to grasp the situation, understand. A dull ache throbbed in his temples. Did he truly have to use his fists to teach these fellows what logic was?

To accommodate Shi Ruolan's feelings, he could not simply kill them—what a bother.

Seeing this, Hu Zhongyuan and the others also recognized Zong Shou's predicament and couldn't help but chuckle quietly. In the past, Zong Shou handled every matter with ease, effortlessly managing everything. A situation like this was rare.

"Precisely!"

Shi Dingyuan seemed utterly oblivious, completely failing to notice the faint, dangerous glint in Zong Shou's eyes. He continued his cold sneer, "Your Majesty may command millions of troops, but you are currently on Snow Lion territory! While Your Majesty can command us, you cannot dishonor the Snow Lion Clan! Otherwise, even if it means annihilation, my Shi family will fight to the death. Shi Dingyuan is unskilled, but I believe that within ten paces, I can take Your Majesty’s life—" His words died abruptly. In that instant, Shi Dingyuan felt a vast, boundless soul force shoot straight toward his mind. He felt an overwhelming, transcendent pressure bearing down, crushing all the gangqi around him almost instantaneously.

It was a martial will, not massive in scope, but supremely refined, governing immense spiritual energy and seemingly encompassing countless truths. And the Zong Shou before him, whom he had previously viewed as weak and easy to bully, suddenly appeared like an immovable monolith, something to be looked up to.

That will and soul force seemed intent on utterly crushing his mind, his very will, impacting him almost ruthlessly.

In mere moments, the true essence within his body began to show signs of dispersal, and the bones in his limbs started to crack audibly.

Shi Fatian, sensing something amiss on the other side, abruptly took a step, spanning several zhang, and reached toward Zong Shou's shoulder, crying out, "Your Majesty, please stop! Show mercy, Dingyuan did not mean to offend—"

The massive hand had not reached within three cun of Zong Shou's shoulder when Zong Shou abruptly struck out with his palm. Unreservedly, a diagonal palm cut descended. His small, golden body instantly transformed into a gauntlet, settling over his own arm, while the Thunder-Winged Serpent burst forth in a flash of lightning, wrapping around his arm and body.

"Get away!"

A heavy pa sound echoed in the space. The half-finished section of the city wall vibrated slightly. All surrounding observers froze in shock.

To everyone's expectation, Zong Shou should have retreated, but instead, he stood firmly in place. It was Shi Fatian who stumbled backward continuously—tong tong tong—over ten paces, his face turning pale green.

Between the two, there was no visible surge of wind, only sporadic flashes of electric light, and where Shi Fatian’s feet landed, each step left a pit several chi deep.

It was precisely at this moment that Shi Dingyuan could hold on no longer. Under the immense pressure, his body finally collapsed to its knees. With a pacha, the paving stones shattered, and the bluestone beneath him nearly pulverized!

His eyes were filled with both shock and terror, seemingly unable to conceive that he would end up in such a state!

Shi Fatian was equally bewildered. He had assumed Zong Shou possessed no martial arts skill. He thought the reason Zong Shou favored Shi Ruolan was simply due to her fragile constitution, similar to his own, a shared affliction.

Only now did he realize this assumption was profoundly wrong.

This Qian Tian Demon King, who had captured them all, had, with a casual strike, inflicted him with no small injury!

Just how powerful must this person be? Judging by his appearance, he seemed barely fourteen years old! If he hadn't specifically inquired about Zong Shou beforehand, he might have begun to doubt the Demon King’s true age.

No wonder the few attendants by Zong Shou's side—like Zong Yuan—had shown no inclination to assist earlier.

A clan of their size might not even be able to hold such an individual captive.

A chilling coldness suddenly spread throughout Shi Fatian's body.

Managing to suppress the shock in his heart, Shi Fatian spoke again, this time his demeanor far more deferential.

"I beg Your Majesty to spare my son! Our Snow Lion Clan comes from beneath the Sea of Clouds and lacks proper etiquette. Dingyuan was ignorant of the rules and anxious to protect his younger brother; it was an unwitting mistake. If Your Majesty can show mercy, Shi Fatian will surely be grateful in the future."

"If an unwitting mistake warrants this, what would it be like if he intended to offend? Wouldn't he try to overturn the heavens? As for your gratitude, Clan Head Shi, how much is that worth?"

Zong Shou let out a cold sneer, causing Shi Fatian's breath to catch again. Then, Zong Shou turned back to Shi Ruolan. "Ruolan, how about I execute your second brother?"

The assembled Snow Lion tribesmen instantly froze. Shi Ruolan grew frantic, shaking her head violently like a drum being beaten.

Zong Shou had expected this and smiled slightly. "I will spare your brother on one condition: in ten years, you must defeat all of your brothers and sisters here! Can you do that, Ruolan?"

Shi Ruolan first shook her head. Seeing Zong Shou hesitate not at all and draw his sword as if ready to strike, she quickly nodded her small head fiercely.

Zong Shou was finally satisfied, yet he still brought the sword down! The edge sliced across Shi Dingyuan's mouth. As blood sprayed, a severed tongue dropped to the ground.

Shi Fatian’s eyes immediately turned bloodshot with fury. At that moment, he dared not confront Zong Shou, but he glared venomously at Ruolan, wishing he could devour this daughter alive!

If it hadn't been for this disaster-bringer, two of his legitimate sons would not have met such fates. One was missing, his life unknown; the other had his tongue cut out—all because of this wretched girl!

Shi Ruolan was also stunned. Upon seeing Shi Fatian’s ghost-like expression, her eyes grew dim, filled with sorrow. She unconsciously shrank into Chu Xue's embrace, seeking the warmth there.

"The rule of my Qian Tian Mountain is death for those who defy superiors! Considering your insolent words, I inflict only the punishment of muteness. Are you convinced?"

Zong Shou glanced at Shi Dingyuan, whose face was a bloody mess, but whose eyes burned with venomous hatred. Shi Fatian’s expression was nearly distorted. Zong Shou couldn't help but smile faintly; these two clearly would never be convinced.

He swept his gaze around. Shi Fatian's other children were now silent, frightened into submission. Shi Fatian himself remained silent, offering no further words. Zong Shou found the situation tedious and lost interest.

Given his nature, he wished he could cleave all these so-called main lineage disciples of the Snow Lions in one go to clear his sight.

But because of Shi Ruolan, he could not act.

These people viewed Shi Ruolan as a bastard from a side branch; their ingrained prejudice was utter contempt. Could he change their mindset through brute force?

With a slight sigh, Zong Shou reached out helplessly and drew Shi Ruolan into his arms.

"You look down on Ruolan, viewing her as a baseborn wretch. But do you know that in my eyes, she alone is a hundred times nobler than all of you? If we speak of bloodline, this little girl is a true pure-blood Snow Lion, favored by your ancestors. You, mere side branches, dare to deem her base? Truly laughable—"

Regarding the mechanisms of bloodline inheritance among the demon races, Zong Shou was honestly quite confused. However, Shi Ruolan would become immensely famous in the future, almost legendary.

Countless sects and powers would fall before her. Her fame shook the Cloud Realm, and the secrets of her bloodline naturally spread far and wide.

Shi Fatian frowned deeply, clearly skeptical. This wretch, whose height was less than half that of a Snow Lion girl her age, whose body was so small and weak—how could she possibly be a pure-blood of their Snow Lion Clan?

Even her hair color was not the silver-white common to her kin.

For a period, he had even suspected the girl was not his daughter at all.

Zong Shou shook his head again, suddenly pointing a finger at Shi Ruolan's brow and tapping it. A surge of spiritual energy probed inward, only to be instantly repelled by a strange force.

Immediately, countless silver patterns appeared on Shi Ruolan's brow. First, they spread out like snowflakes, then countless fine threads extended rapidly across her entire body. Wherever the silver threads passed, the wounds from the whipping healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. (To be continued)

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