Chapter 20: Forced to Hand Over the Ring

The Saintess of the Black Dragon Sect, by all accounts, could be no older than twenty, yet she had already reached the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage. If not for her astounding talent, then surely her cultivation owed much to the Black Dragon Sect’s careful nurturing.

Huang Xiantang, as the head of the Fire Moon Sect, was the first to offer a respectful greeting to Long Ziyan and her companions.

Long Ziyan inclined her head in acknowledgment, but her gaze remained fixed intently on An Yue’er.

“So this is the Third Princess of Anluan?”

“Yes, this is my third sister, An Yue’er,” An Wenxuan replied with obvious obsequiousness.

Long Ziyan said nothing, her eyes locked onto An Yue’er.

An Yue’er met her gaze without arrogance or fear.

There was fire burning—burning fiercely!

These words echoed ceaselessly in Long Ziyan’s mind.

The longer she looked, the more her eyes began to ache.

“I am,” An Yue’er answered calmly.

Excellent—truly excellent! An Yue’er’s strength far surpassed the likes of An Wenxuan and An Fei’er, those two useless wretches. Inwardly, Long Ziyan nodded in satisfaction.

“Third Sister, enough with words. Hand over the Imperial Treasure, the Blaze Ring, at once,” An Wenxuan ordered bluntly, not sparing An Yue’er a shred of respect.

“The Blaze Ring? Why should I give it to you?” An Yue’er retorted instantly.

That was her mother’s relic. On what grounds did An Wenxuan demand it from her?

The mere thought filled An Yue’er with blazing anger.

“I’m talking to you!” An Fei’er interjected overbearingly. “Wasn’t your mother a subject of Anluan? In life, she belonged to Anluan; in death, she’s a spirit of Anluan. Her possessions are the property of our country! Hand them over, now!”

“Hurry up!” Seeing An Yue’er’s hesitation, she urged impatiently.

An Yue’er was consumed by wrath.

“An Fei’er, what did you say? My mother gave everything for Anluan, and now you come to seize her keepsake? How dare you?” An Yue’er cried, voice trembling with indignation.

Her mother had been but a lowly concubine of Anluan, sacrificing herself to protect the Emperor, only to be betrayed. She had fought with her life to hold off the enemy, all for the Emperor’s safety. And her reward? The Empress of Anluan, disregarding her mother’s peril, sent people to personally snuff out her final chance at survival…

And what of the Emperor? With fine-sounding words, he posthumously honored her mother and gave her a grand burial, sent men to kill the assassin in vengeance.

Yet the true culprit still stood high above them all.

She hated—oh, how she hated! An Yue’er bit her cheek, keeping this bitter hatred alive in her heart for years, never daring to forget, not even for a moment.

“How long has it been? Father has already given your mother her due. What more do you want?” An Wenxuan said impatiently. “Besides, I’m asking for the Blaze Ring for the sake of Anluan, for the good of the royal family. You, as a subject, ought to support your country unconditionally.”

His words were nothing but sophistry, yet his arrogance was overwhelming.

An Yue’er bit her lip so hard her teeth broke the skin, her fist clenching so tightly her nails dug into her flesh.

“Please, do not be angry. We will return it once it is used,” Long Ziyan said, her beautiful eyes glinting. In an instant, a wave of pressure crashed down upon An Yue’er.

Despair filled An Yue’er’s heart.

She had tried so hard, yet she could not even protect her mother’s last keepsake.

“Enough! You’ve gone too far, trying to snatch even a mother’s relic!” Leng Qianxue could bear it no longer and stepped forward.

An elder at Long Ziyan’s side took a step, the air around him swirling with power.

“Ignorant child! How dare you speak to the Saintess of the Black Dragon Sect in such a way? You must have a death wish!” His booming voice carried a fierce wind that lashed toward Leng Qianxue.

“Careful!” Yu Qiushui’s expression changed drastically. She rushed forward, gathering her power to shield Leng Qianxue.

But before she could finish speaking, the force struck Yu Qiushui in the chest.

A mouthful of fresh blood spilled from Yu Qiushui’s lips.

So powerful!

At least the strength of the Void Division stage.

Leng Qianxue rushed to steady Yu Qiushui’s faltering frame. “Grandmaster, are you all right?”

Huang Xiantang clenched his fists in fury, barely restraining his anger.

For the Black Dragon Sect to act in this way was to utterly disregard the Fire Moon Sect!

“Stand down!” Long Ziyan’s eyes flashed coldly.

“Saintess!” The old man trembled, at a loss.

“Did I tell you to act?” Long Ziyan’s words were light, but the old man was terrified.

He dropped to his knees on the spot. “Forgive me, Saintess—I merely wished to teach her a lesson for her insolence.”

“Enough,” Long Ziyan said, waving him away.

This was but a minor sect; there was no need for discord among her own people.

“You act with impunity, coming to our Fire Moon Sect to flaunt your power. Do you really think we are so easily bullied?” Huang Xiantang was seething with rage.

The Black Dragon Sect’s arrogance had reached his very doorstep!

Long Ziyan had no interest in further words. Her tone was cold. “Even so, what of it?”

“Even if you have patrons behind you, can they compare to the Black Dragon Sect?”

“To you, they may seem powerful. To us, they are beneath notice.”

Long Ziyan’s lofty words overflowed with condescension.

She was the Saintess of the Black Dragon Sect—what had she not seen? Ordinary strongmen were nothing in her eyes.

She had already sent people to investigate before coming; Fire Moon Sect was a trivial group, and even if they had a backer, it could not be anyone truly formidable.

At most, a single expert at the Integration stage.

But to the Black Dragon Sect, that was nothing.

Long Ziyan’s words were so arrogant that Huang Xiantang nearly laughed aloud.

He could not decide if the Saintess was supremely confident or merely deluded.

A figure like Elder Zhu, in their mouths, was dismissed without a thought.

Huang Xiantang wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes. If not for the fact that Elder Zhu was in the midst of laying out his strategy, perhaps about to provoke a greater upheaval, he would have told him everything.

An Yue’er’s face was ashen, her defeat complete.

Yu Qiushui and the others had spoken up for her, only to bring the wrath of the Black Dragon Sect upon themselves.

“Hurry and hand it over! Or today, I’ll see you and these Fire Moon Sect weaklings vanish together!” An Wenxuan stretched out his hand, cold and merciless.

An Yue’er fell silent...

Silent...

At long last, under An Wenxuan’s repeated urging, she slowly raised her hand. In her palm lay a ring.

Fiery red, exquisitely crafted.

An Wenxuan smiled in satisfaction, snatching the ring from An Yue’er’s palm at once.