“Great Uncle.”
The instant the elderly man showed up, Xia Yingda was visibly astonished.
“Grandfather,” the other Sacred Beast clansmen greeted respectfully. They didn’t dare slight him. Most of them were from the same generation as Xia Yingda. Perhaps a few of them were from the generation before.
But Xia Yingda called this elderly gentleman “great uncle.” That naturally meant that all of them were his juniors.
The new arrival was none other than Xia Dong, the one the Dragon God sent to cleanse the blood pools. When his gaze stopped on Xia Yingqiu, his turbid eyes glinted sharp as swords.
“What is it,” he laughed, “are you surprised to see me here?”
With that, he pursed his lips and snorted, “you’re definitely surprised, aren’t you, Little Yingqiu?”
“Great Uncle, what do you mean? I don’t quite understand,” Xia Yingqiu’s expression remained unchanged. He laughed modestly and smiled, “but there’s something I don’t understand. Great Uncle, to my knowledge, you don’t possess a golden dragon bloodline.”
“Hah…..” Xia Dong shrugged, then cut a small wound into his finger
Golden blood seeped from the wound. When they saw this, Xia Yingqiu and Xia Yingda froze despite themselves.
Golden blood.
“Senior, if you have a golden dragon bloodline, that’s just perfect. Since we’re all here, let’s hurry and finish placing the formation before the Four Sacred Ancestor’s light fades,” said the elder from the Vermillion Bird Clan.
Xia Dong nodded noncommittally, but Xia Yingqiu frowned. “We’ve yet to clear up the issue of your relationship with the demons. How could we possibly trust you?”
“Yingqiu.” Xia Yingda pulled him aside, then stared at him in wide-eyed confusion.
“Brother, don’t stop me,” Xia Yingqiu broke free from his grip and snorted, “he was originally accused of colluding with demons. In light of his past accomplishments, the ancient Dragon God spared his life and sent him to the blood pools in penance. Elder brother, you should know that he only had an azure dragon bloodline before, not a golden dragon bloodline. We have no way of knowing just where his golden dragon bloodline came from. What happens if he plays some trick on us while we’re placing the formation?”
“Shut your mouth!”
“Big Brother!”
Whack!
“I told you to shut up!” shouted Xia Yingda.
He ruthlessly slapped Xia Yingqiu’s face then stared at him, eyes bulging with fury.
Regardless of whether Xia Dong had really colluded with the demons or not, how could they possibly discuss such a shameful matter in front of outsides? Besides, given the circumstances, it didn’t matter where Xia Dong’s bloodline came from. His appearance proved he wasn’t in cahoots with the demons.
If he was, there was no need for him to come at all!
Without Xia Dong’s appearance, they didn’t have enough clansmen with a golden dragon bloodline. They could never have placed the Four Beasts Formation.
The way Xia Yingda saw it, this little brother of his shouldn’t be so muddle-headed.
“Forget it.” Xia Dong actually reached out to stop him. “Since Yingqiu has already said all that, I have no choice but to explain myself and clear any doubts you still have. My golden dragon bloodline was given to me by the Dragon God. I came here on his orders.”
“Do you think we’ll believe that just because you said it?”
“It’s up to you to believe me or not.”
With that, Xia Dong walked to Xia Keke’s former spot. The image of their Sacred Ancestor glowed faintly beneath his feet.
The other Sacred Beast clansmen glanced at each other. Shockingly, none of them asked any further questions. They simply returned to their original spots.
No one there was stupid. If Xia Dong was really colluding with the demons, he wouldn’ t have come.
When he saw the others return to their positions, Xia Yingqiu’s gaze shifted. He gnashed his teeth and returned to his spot as well.
However, at that moment, Xia Yingda’s sea of consciousness received a transmission.
“Pay close attention to Xia Yingqiu.”
Xia Dong was the one who sent the transmission. Xia Yingda snuck a quick glance at Xia Yingqiu, then replied, “Great Uncle, Yingqiu, is he……”
“It’s hard to say, but his behavior has been unusual. You ought to have sensed it as well.”
Xia Yingda was silent.
It was true: he didn’t quite understand Yingqiu’s recent behavior. For example, the way he’d acted just now was completely out of character.
God’s verdict during the Grand Elder’s trial, and the way he’d stayed behind even after everyone else had gone.
It should have been Xia Yingqiu’s job to notify the various clans, but the responsibility fell on his shoulders.
Could it be……
“Regardless of what’s going on with him, nothing matters more than the Four Beasts Formation right now. As for Yingqiu’s problems, we’ll deal with that if it comes up.”
“Alright.”
Xia Yingda nodded at Xia Dong, then lowered his head and infused the power of his bloodline into the illusory Sacred Ancestors.
Unfortunately, no one noticed that Xia Yingqiu’s gaze had suddenly grown sinister.
“And here I thought that after Keke left the formation, I wouldn’t need to make a move. I never would have guessed that the old man would become a pure-blooded dragon.” As he poured his energy into the images of their Sacred Ancestors, Xia Yingqiu snorted darkly and surreptitiously examined those around him. Practically all of the other Sacred Beast clansmen were completely focused on channeling their energy into the Four Beasts Formation.
He carefully looked around once more. Then, when he was certain no one was paying attention to him……
He reached out with his spiritual awareness. “Have you recovered yet?”
Before long, Gu Li, who’d been sitting cross-legged atop Dragon City, twitched his brows. Then he stood up.
The people of Dragon City instantly shouted, “watch out!” only to see Gu Li press his lips into a smile.
At that moment, the Demon Sovereigns and Zombie Progenitors stood as well. Almost the instant they moved, experts of every clan looked at them from far away.
Cold laughter escaped Gu Li’s lips. Just as the experts of Dragon City were about to send out a warning……
They heard a wild shout from behind. “Die!”
When they turned around to look, they saw Xia Yingqiu plunge his hand into another dragon clan member’s chest and tightly grab hold of his heart.
Cough.
Everyone else in the formation coughed up a mouthful of blood. Xia Yingda stared at his little brother in utter disbelief……
“Yingqiu.”
“You ought to thank me. In honor of our many years of brotherly love, the one I killed wasn’t you.”
Xia Yingqiu smiled ferociously. Then the others watched as he ruthlessly crushed the heart to bits. Golden blood dripped from his hand.
“It’s settled. I’d like to see just where you’ll find another clansman with a pure golden dragon bloodline.”
The experts above Dragon City were all stunned, especially Xia Yingda, who shouted in agony, “why?!”
“Who knows?” Xia Yingqiu shrugged back at him, then calmly walked out of the Four Beasts Formation. He looked disdainfully over the Dragon City experts as well as the heavily injured Sacred Beast clansmen.” “I wish you luck.”
Then a roaring golden dragon took to the skies and landed beside Gu Li.
When he saw Xia Yingqiu land in the demon’s camp, Xia Yingda roared, eyes bloodshot, “Xia Yingqiu, you traitor!”
