The direct, decisive refusal changed the atmosphere completely, as if the temperature plummeted to absolute zero. Zhou Wu’s smile froze, becoming somewhat rigid.
When he got here, he noticed Ye Zichen’s injuries.
They were severe!
He naturally didn’t think a single sentence was enough to convince Ye Rong to spare the Bai Family. He was even prepared to discuss terms and conditions with her, but he hadn’t guessed she’d be so firm. Without so much as giving him time to respond, she sealed off all possibilities of compromise.
Spare the Bai Family? That was absolutely impossible!
Although Ye Rong hadn’t said it so directly, from her decisive tone, the God Emperor could tell that was what she meant.
“Star Lord Ye, mind your tongue.” The Divine Arbiter chastised her.
“Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?” said Ye Rong. Then, without so much as another word, a streak of starlight aimed for the Divine Emperor. This attack clearly contained killing intent as it shot right for the Divine Arbiter’s vitals.
The other major powers couldn’t help but stare. The Lord of Seven Stars was simply too domineering!
One wrong word and she attacked. Clearly, she wasn’t concerned about the God Emperor’s Estate’s reaction at all.
As the starlight streaked past the Divine Arbiter, the God Emperor reached out and summoned a curtain of rippling water. It swallowed up the starlight, but by time it faded, his expression was extremely unsightly.
This was an undisguised slap in the face. She wasn’t taking the God Emperor seriously at all.
“Lord of Seven Stars.”
“God Emperor.”
Their eyes met, but despite their staredown, Ye Rong didn’t back down in the slightest. She met his sinister gaze head-on, looking aloof and indifferent as could be.
The other star bearers of the Star Alter felt nervous sweat dripping down their backs on her behalf. Although her unyielding demeanor stirred their hearts, the man standing before her was the God Emperor, the man in charge of the entire God Realm.
He was convinced that Chao Feng had asked that she do this.
Just then, God Emperor Zhou Wu glanced at Ye Zichen out of the corner of his eye and watched as starlight poured into him.
As a bearer of the Emperor Star’s celestial fate, he knew even more about starlight than Bi’an. Based purely on the descending starlight’s appearance, he could roughly guess its origins and composition.
The radiance of seven stars.。
The seven stars of the Big Dipper were at the core of the star system, and their inherent light was far intenser than any ordinary star. Now, their energy was pouring right into Ye Zichen’s battered body without anything to mediate their power or any attempt to convert their energy into a more digestible form.
Nevermind an ordinary person; even an ordinary star bearer couldn’t possibly bear the infusion of so much starlight.
In truth, the Milky Way wasn’t all that different from the human world. It, too, had an emperor, the North Star, or the “Emperor Star.”
The Auxiliary Stars and Fated Stars were kings of their kind, and the countless ordinary stars were their citizens. The seven stars of the Big Dipper were like a general, the military leader of the masses.
Back when Ye Zichen had told him the method of transcendence, Zhou Wu started wondering about his status. Now that he saw the power of the Big Dipper’s seven stars pouring into him, Zhou Wu knew for certain: Ye Zichen was undoubtedly, unquestionably, a king among star kind.
If he wasn’t a Fated Star, he was an Auxiliary Star, and an important one at that. He might even be more. In any event, he undoubtedly had news of the Emperor Star.
In that case, when Ye Zichen told him the secret of transcendence, was that the will of the Emperor Star?
Perhaps no one could have guessed that Zhou Wu would glean so much merely from the sight of starlight pouring into Ye Zichen’s body. He was getting closer and closer to uncovering the truth.
“Lord of Seven Stars, you live up to your name as the master of the starry skies,” said Zhou Wu, breaking up the awkward staring contest. He chuckled, as if to ease the tension in the air. “Back then, when the stars first descended into your body, it’s truly a shame that the God Emperor’s Estate failed to win your favor. I, Zhou Wu, truly suffered a loss that day.”
“I’m keenly aware that my blind, foolish subordinate hurt your honorable son, but I’m willing to provide any compensation necessary. I can also find a way to recover his ruined limb and eye. All I ask is that you take a step back and leave the Bai Family a path to survival. How about it?”
“No way!” Ye Rong answered without missing a beat. “My son is hurt. Naturally, I’ll have to heal him. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself over that, Your Majesty. As for the Bai Family…. I’m determined to wipe them out.”
“Ye Rong, don’t get too full of yourself. I’m showing you respect; don’t throw my courtesy back in my face.”
This woman was determined to destroy the Bai Family even after all the God Emperor had said. Bai Mingli couldn’t help but curse inwardly from a mix of fear and fury.
“Respect? You have to earn it for yourself; you can’t just demand it from other people. I, Ye Rong, have no need to show anyone respect, nor do I care about anyone else’s reputation. I said I’d wipe out the whole family, so I’m going to wipe out the entire family. Don’t believe me? You’re welcome to try and stop me.” With that, she turned to face her followers from the Star Altar. “Masters of the starry sky!”
Bai Mingli’s aura had been fierce and flourishing mere moments ago, but he instantly seemed to deflate. He gnashed his teeth, his aged eyes full of desolation and despair.
“Then what are you thinking? The one who hurt your son was Bai Haoyu, and we can give him to you. Bai Yulong too. You can have him if you want him. Must you insist on wiping us all out?”
Bai Haoyu trembled violently. Although he was willing to sacrifice himself to save his family from calamity, hearing Bai Mingli put it so bluntly, he still couldn’t help but feel like a sacrificial pawn.
There weren’t words to describe how cold he felt inside.
“Yes, I must insist. What of it?” said Ye Rong.
“The God Emperor is right here. Are you really going to ignore even the God Emperor?” Bai Mingli shouted.
“When have we ever paid the God Emperor or his estate any heed? He’s just a sc.u.mbag who stole someone else’s celestial fate and throne. Is he worthy of calling himself the God Emperor?” The sound of hearty, mocking laughter emanated from above.
“Third Brother.” Bi’an arched his brows.
Only three sons of the Dragon God had survived the Great War of Demons and Gods: Chao Feng, Qiu Niu, and Bi’an.
Since Qiu Niu had disappeared, Chao Feng and Bi’an had become closer, and they corresponded more regularly.
When Bi’an deployed his troops for the Central Divine Mountain, he’d asked Chao Feng to look after their base camp. At the time, Chao Feng merely nodded, but he never explicitly agreed.
“Chao Feng.” Cold light flashed through Zhou Wu’s eyes.
“Zhou Wu.” Chao Feng laughed indifferently, then continued, “If you want to keep sitting on that throne of yours, I advise you not to get involved in the Bai Family’s affairs. Bai Family, our Lord of Seven Stars has spoken! She wants to obliterate you down to the last man, and my Society of Saints will support her decision!”
“So, you really did come, just as I expected you would!” Zhou Wu’s eyes glinted with sinister light. He laughed, “What difference does it make whether you come or not?”
“The Bai Family is like one of your arms,” laughed Great Emperor Chao Feng. “So my Society of Saints will just have to cut it off.”
