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The Three Yao Emperors of the half beastman race.
Due to the half beastmen’s unique traits, they’d always been excluded from the Beast Region. They could only eke out a humble existence on tiny Mount Biluo.
Although all he saw was a bronze mirror, Black Dragon could say with absolute certainty:
They were definitely here.
But he was rather surprised; the relationship between the Beast Region and the half beastmen wasn’t particularly harmonious. If pushed, he might say that both the demons and the half beastmen were outcasts. When he looked at it that way, he felt a certain amount of sympathy for them.
The Three Yao Emperors.
When Black Dragon said that, the people of the Beast Region froze in astonishment.
“Why the hell are they here?”
Although the copper mirror had saved their lives, the people of the Beast Region didn’t appreciate it at all. Instead, their collective gaze was filled with scorn.
Some of them didn’t even bother to hide their disdain and started verbally abusing them.
“Hmph, are they worthy of the title ‘Yao Emperor? They’re a disgrace to all yao!”
Their reaction was so intense, Li Jiaji frowned despite herself. The people in the sky had just saved them. Why were the people of the Beast Region cursing them so vehemently?
She was so completely baffled that she couldn’t help but turn to the elder next to her for clarification. “Third Elder,” she asked, “does the Beast Region have a grudge against the Three Yao Emperors?”
This elder had followed Hua Hai since he first established the sect. She could be considered a veteran even if you looked at the entire Three Realms. Asking her might net Li Jiaji some useful information.
As expected, the Third Elder didn’t disappoint her.
“The Three Yao Emperors are actually the three emperors of the half beastman race, but their status is somewhat unusual,” explained the Third Elder. “They’re neither yao nor human. Rather, they’re a mixture of the two.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Young Sect Master, there’s something you don’t know: there’s actually a major taboo against yao intermarrying with humans. If a child is born, it’s even harder for yao to accept. The yao clans are old-fashioned. Even amongst themselves, they can only reproduce with members of the same clan. They can’t even accept marrying yao of other clans.”
“But the Empress of the Nine-tailed Fox Clan was in a relationship with the spiritual ape Yuan Hong. Also, aren’t her sister Su Yan and that dragon Xia Keke both rather close to Ye Zichen? How can they do that without anyone from the Beast Region vilifying them?”
Li Jiayi tightly knit her brows, but the elder only laughed, “the NIne-tailed Fox Clan and the Dragon Clan both stand at the pinnacle of the Beast Region. Even if someone wanted to object, they’d need enough guts to do so first. As for the spiritual apes, with Great Sage Sun around to terrify other beast clans, who’d dare say anything against them?”
When she heard that, Li Jiayi nodded in understanding. Simply put, the Beast Region bullied the weak but feared the strong. The half beastmen they’d chased out were a comparatively vulnerable group.
“Actually, intermarriage between humans and yao has become increasingly acceptable in recent years.”
Then the elder spoke up once more, “most likely, the only ones left who still insist that yao can’t marry other races are a bunch of old fogies. The Beast Region’s distaste for half beastmen is gradually fading as well. However….. they still view the Yao Emperors with such enmity because the three of them can be considered the Beast Region’s scars.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way the Beast Region sees it, children are only born pure-blooded when yao marry other yao. That’s why it’s not at all unusual for clans to go so far as to allow brothers and sisters to marry. Yet they never would have guessed that the half beastmen they exiled not only didn’t go extinct, they even gave rise to those three emperors. All three were all born of unions between humans and members of ordinary beast clans and were chased out of the Beast Region beneath a rain of insults. Yet, while living out of the Beast Region’s sight, they managed to break through to immortal king faster than anyone in the Beast Region. Worse, after breaking through, they called themselves ‘Yao Emperors.’”
As the Third Elder said this, her gaze carried a hint of mockery. “Think about it. From the Beast Region’s perspective, wasn’t that a slap in the face? As a result, the entire Beast Region has a grudge against the Three Yao Emperors. If you ask me, though, they brought it on themselves.”
As she said this, the elderly woman’s tone shifted. You could tell that she had a grudge against the Beast Region from the way she spoke.
It was then that Li Jiayi suddenly remembered a conversation she’d once had with Hua Hai.
She’d teased him, saying that he and the Third Elder were both single for life. Could it be that there was something fishy going on between them?
Hua Hai only smiled and knocked her on the head. He told her there was nothing he could do; he couldn’t get married…..
As for why the Third Elder had never married, it was because she’d once fallen in love with someone from a yao clan.
“It seems the Beast Region forcefully broke the Third Elder and her lover apart,” Li Jiayi sighed inwardly.
Beneath the Beast Region’s unending stream of curses, the floating bronze mirror transformed into two men and one woman.
When they saw them, the Beast Region started cursing them even more viciously. The woman frowned but, just as it seemed she was about to attack, one of the men next to her pulled her back and shook his head.
When he saw the Three Yao Emperors appear, Black Dragon couldn’t help but sigh. “So it really was you,” he said, stroking his cheek as he spoke. “Do you hear it? You saved their lives, but the people of the Beast Region aren’t grateful at all. When I consider what happened to you back then, it’s more or less the same as to what happened to us demons. I never once considered seizing the half beastmen’s territory, so is there really any need for you to get mixed up in this?”
In truth, he’d really prefer not to fight them. It wasn’t because he was afraid of them, though. Rather, it was mostly because their fusion technique was a real headache.
“So, His Excellency Black Dragon isn’t interested in our territory? In that case, I’d like to thank you on all half beastmen’s behalf.”
An elegantly handsome man clad in blue smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. He had a set of deer antlers atop his head and, although he looked young, his true age was greater than the vast majority of those present.
This was the Deer Emperor, one of the half beastmen’s three emperors.
Ten thousand years earlier, he’d broken through, reaching the immortal king level. Today, he was already at the peak of the immortal king level, just one tiny step away from ascension.
“If you’re grateful, let’s end things here,” said Black Dragon respectfully. “If the three of you could withdraw, I, Black Dragon, would truly be endlessly grateful.”
“I’m afraid we might have to disappoint you, Your Excellency,” the Deer Emperor let out a melancholy sigh. “In truth, the three of us don’t want to get involved in this either. The Beast Region’s life and death have nothing to do with us.”
After what he’d been through in his youth, he couldn’t help but hate the Beast Region. He could still dimly remember the way he and his mother had been chased out.
It was because of this hatred that, when he broke through to Immortal King, he intentionally chose to leave Mount Biluo to undergo his tribulation.
Why? Because he’d wanted to make Beast Region regret their actions!
The other two felt the same way. The way they saw it, the Beast Region’s fate little to do with them. They were disinclined to pay any attention to whether its people lived or died.
“In that case, you…..” Black Dragon arched his brows expectantly.
“We don’t want to concern ourselves with the Beast Region’s survival, but we owe Little Friend Ye…. no, I should call him ‘Emperor Ye’ now. We owe Emperor Ye a favor. We’ve got no choice; we have to repay him.” The Deer Emperor shrugged helplessly.
When Black Dragon heard this, he smiled calmly. “So, you’re saying you’re determined to stand against me.”
We don’t want to be your enemy, but we have to repay this debt.
The deer emperor sighed and shook his head repeatedly. Even so, there was a faint smile on his face.
“It’s unlikely we’ll convince you to stay your hand, so we’ve got no choice. We’re perhaps unfit to be your opponents. All we can do is go all out!”
