Chapter 6404 Peak Human Emperor
With his Sovereign flames still flickering violently, Long Chen stood before the rhino dragon race. Waves of dragon might rolled over them.
His aura grew increasingly terrifying. Furthermore, his Sovereign flames were abnormally excited, as if they had reached a critical point and were on the verge of a breakthrough.
After slaughtering most of the traitors, Long Chen appeared before the rhino dragon race’s experts like a devil god. Their lives now hung on a single thought from him.
In front of this terrifying existence, the rhino dragon race’s experts couldn’t help but gulp. Sweat soaked their backs.
They didn’t dare to say a word, afraid that one wrong word would anger Long Chen and result in their demise. Only now did they realize how laughably foolish it had been to think that they could kill Long Chen by joining forces with other experts.
“There’s no excuse,” Xi Yuanqing replied coldly, his voice steady. “We have been dancing in the palm of your hands the entire time. I noticed this barrier and didn’t warn them so you could finish your slaughter, but I know you won’t spare us over something so trivial. Your so-called chance is a joke.”
Even in the face of such pressure, Xi Yuanqing’s composure was remarkable, as if he had already accepted death. There was something almost admirable in his calmness.
Long Chen was slightly surprised by his response. This man had the guts to speak like that, and he wasn’t foolish either—he had wisely withdrawn from the battle when he could.
“I disdain making excuses to kill,” Long Chen said, his voice steady. “I’m giving you a chance to live. You’d better cherish it.”
Xi Yuanqing sneered. “So what if you’re not looking for an excuse? To the main pillars of the dragon race, people like us are merely tools. When you need us, you wield us. When you don’t, you toss us aside like trash. Now we’ve even betrayed the dragon race and colluded with traitors. I can’t think of a single reason you’d let us live. In that case, all I ask is for a quick death—don’t humiliate us.”
Long Chen’s gaze sharpened. This man could still speak so frankly in the face of death, stirring Long Chen’s curiosity.
“Was it easy to throw away your honor?” Long Chen asked.
“Does Lord Long Chen really want to hear our story?” Xi Yuanqing asked back.
“Don’t play games with me. Tell me the truth and only the truth. My time is limited, and I’m not interested in long-winded stories. Don’t waste your only chance to live,” Long Chen replied, frostily.
Xi Yuanqing was quite impressive, to the point that Long Chen didn’t feel like killing him. He had piqued Long Chen’s interest.
However, Long Chen also saw through Xi Yuanqing’s intentions and told him to speak frankly. He was no fool and wasn’t interested in useless things.
This gave Xi Yuanqing a flicker of hope. As long as Long Chen was willing to listen, their lives had inched a little further from the edge of death.
After taking a deep breath, Xi Yuanqing started his tale.
“In the past, the Primal Chaos Dragon Sovereign united the dragon race. Under his reign, we prospered as never before. But after the primal chaos war, the Dragon Sovereign vanished, and the dragon race splintered. Without a leader, everything descended into anarchy.
“Our rhino dragon race was once part of the sovereign dragon race’s core forces. However, during this period of chaos, we were abandoned.
“During the war, our greatest experts fought to the last, exhausting all resources. To avoid being wiped out, we split into many smaller groups, scattering across the land. Even so, we faced countless tribulations. More than once, our race stood on the brink of annihilation.
“We begged the stronger Dragon Domains for aid, just to survive. However, not only did they refuse, but they even mocked us and kicked us while we were down. We then turned to the Sovereign Domain, but their arrogance was even more unbearable. All hope of aid died then.
“The Netherdragon race pressed us constantly, trying to break us down over the years. We resisted fiercely. But in the last few millennia, under mounting pressure from outside and inner turmoil within, our people’s hearts changed. The rhino dragon race was ultimately corrupted.
“It was something we couldn’t do anything about. To survive, we had no choice but to compromise with the Netherdragon race. They swore that everything would be settled on the heaven region’s battlefield. Once this opening ended, there would no longer be a Sovereign Dragon race. If we still refused to join them, we would be mercilessly hunted down.
“Lord Long Chen, if you were us—alone, abandoned without hope of reinforcements, and on the verge of being destroyed—what choice would you have made?”
Long Chen fell silent as he thought about the competition between the Dragon Domains. It was a cruel cycle where the bigger fish devoured the smaller ones. From the start, the dragon race was locked in constant battles.
Moreover, the only force capable of ending such conflict, the Sovereign Domain, ignored them all. Though they had their own burdens, that was no excuse to abandon their subordinates.
Xi Yuanqing continued solemnly. “And let me be clear. Apart from this clash today, our rhino dragon race has never betrayed the dragon race. Our hands are not stained with the blood of our kin.”
“If it weren’t for that, you would already be dead,” replied Long Chen indifferently.
With the growth of his dragon blood Sovereign flames, Long Chen’s perception of the dragon race had sharpened. He could sense the resentment swirling around the slain traitors, which showed that they had killed quite a few of their kin. Still, he didn’t sense any from the rhino dragon race.
At his words, Xi Yuanqing and his warriors exhaled in relief. Now they understood why Long Chen hadn’t struck them down immediately.
Long Chen sighed. “Betraying the sovereign dragon race... I don’t mind that. Their failings are their own, and I won’t fault you for that. But you knew the Netherdragon race was colluding with the vile dragon race. They aim to topple the nine heavens, and you still side with them. That is unforgivable. If your ancestors’ spirits are still present, they will never forgive you either. They fought to the death to protect our world, yet their descendants have betrayed them.”
Hearing that, Xi Yuanqing and the others lowered their heads in shame. They had no way to refute that.
Revolting against the sovereign dragon race due to their attitude was understandable. However, colluding with the Netherdragon race? That was equivalent to joining the vile dragon race, which was a treachery against the nine heavens and against their ancestors.
Had they been ignorant of the alliance, there would have been room to argue. But they had known. While they could thicken their face and say they knew nothing of it, they couldn’t deceive Long Chen or their own conscience.
Just then, Long Chen’s Sovereign flames shuddered, and a powerful aura surged out of him.
His Supreme Bone had finally refined the Sovereign flame energy of the slain experts. At that moment, Long Chen’s 999th Sovereign flame ignited.
When this Sovereign flame appeared, Long Chen sensed a certain person: Long Xu.
Long Chen waved his hand to summon the Sovereign Dragon Divine Nest and stepped onto it. Just as he was about to vanish inside, he paused.
“Come with me,” he said. “Wash away the shame you’ve brought upon yourselves—and restore the honor of your ancestors.”
Xi Yuanqing and the others froze, their jaws slack. They stared at Long Chen in disbelief.