Chapter 1723: Divine Continent Federation's Arrangements

Bright light filled the world, accompanied by sacred hymns. As the path of light split open the heavens, a heroic figure strode forth. A golden halo floated behind his head, and a sacred aura washed over everything, scattering all the corruption in the area.

"Radiant King Qi Huang, you've come a little late!" Zhen Linshuang said as she heaved a sigh of relief. That said, her tone was filled with discontent. If he had come a little earlier, the crazy things that had unfolded within the Dragon's Abyss would never have happened.

Qi Huang wasn't offended by her words. After all, she possessed both the strength and the status to speak so bluntly. "They incited countless Other Disasters across the divine continents in order to conceal their plot against the Dragon Race. I had thought that with you here, Chieftain Zhen, there wouldn't be any issues. That is why I was a little late," Qi Huang explained with a smile.

Zhen Linshuang snorted coldly in her heart. No issues? If only he knew how miserable she was after being tormented by Li Luo. The moment she thought back to what had happened on the altar, Zhen Linshuang's gigantic body twitched slightly. She could still feel the inexplicable burning sensation from the flame whip.

She shot a vicious glare at Li Luo, overcome with fury and humiliation. That bastard dared to make her, the Chieftain of the Dragon Race, call him "master!" Just how offensive and demeaning was that? What made her truly mad was the fact that when her mind was in complete disarray, she had actually called him "master." Although that was nothing more than a mere murmur, she was sure that Li Luo had heard it. With that in mind, her claws tightened up into a ball as her heart burned with embarrassment.

"Li Luo! I'll never let you off!" Zhen Linshuang growled through gritted teeth.

Li Luo had sensed the change in her gaze. He instantly knew that her mind was harping over the disgraceful scene atop the altar, and a feeling of awkwardness surfaced in his heart. Even so, he didn't plan to back down. He met her glare and retorted, "You're pedantic and stupid! You should be thanking me. If it wasn't for me, you'd have fallen to the ploys of the Desire Devil King of Sin, reduced to nothing more than a mere puppet! Would you prefer that fate?"

Zhen Linshuang was speechless for a few moments, her eyes were filled with disbelief. Had Li Luo really just called her pedantic and stupid? Now that the bastard possessed the Dragon Ancestor's Physique, had he lost all sense of propriety? "You!" Zhen Linshuang fumed.

Disgusted, Li Luo's gaze turned cold as he retorted sharply, "Quiet! I've always acted for the greater good, without any selfish motives. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, I don't have any interest in bickering with you! Your actions shame your position as Chieftain!"

Zhen Linshuang was so enraged, she felt like she was going crazy. Terrifying energy fluctuations gathered around her as her tail swept wildly, causing thunderclaps and crushing the void. She glared at Li Luo furiously, but he didn't give in—he was glaring right back at her. His sharp gaze and uncompromising attitude actually caused Zhen Linshuang's fury to falter. The hint of disgust in his eyes caused her heart to tremble inexplicably.

For a moment, her resentful gaze wavered. Was she really the bad guy here? Was Li Luo's actions on the altar the best and only way he had to resolve the Desire Devil King of Sin's methods? It was true that he had never acted selfishly. She was the one who had sent too much of the Devil Flames of Desire into him, just to relieve the burning sensation. Thus, she indeed was responsible for a large part of what happened on the altar.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

If the elders of the Dragon Race, who knew how arrogant and overbearing Zhen Linshuang was, found out that she was actually reflecting over her own actions, perhaps the shock they would feel would rival seeing the Desire Devil King of Sin descend upon the Dragons' Domain.

The violent energy fluctuations that surrounded her gradually subsided. Attempting to defend herself, she said, "Are you saying I never took the bigger picture into consideration? Then why did I give you the Ancestral Blood crystal?"

Li Luo indifferently replied, "Then I owe the Dragon Race a favor. I'll return it in the future."

Zhen Linshuang fell silent. Seeing that she had calmed down, Li Luo exhaled in relief. Still, cold sweat beaded on his claws. He had managed to suppress this tyrannical dragon for once.

That whole exchange had taught him that Zhen Linshuang had a strange personality. It seemed impossible to reason with her, but being tougher and more overbearing had led to an unexpected result. That said, he was dancing on the edge of a knife. If he pushed her too far and she exploded, the consequences would be impossible to deal with.

Qi Huang was deeply shaken after seeing Li Luo's attitude towards Zhen Linshuang. He had dealt with her multiple times and knew that she was both haughty and troublesome. If he had dared to speak those same words, she might already have spewed out a destructive torrent of dragonbreath to annihilate him. What was most unexpected was that Zhen Linshuang eventually relented.

A strange look appeared in Qi Huang's eyes as he forced a cough and smiled. "Federation Chief Li Luo, congratulations on obtaining the Dragon Ancestor's Physique. The divine continents have gained considerable strength." His tone brimmed with joy.

With the appearance of the withering glory resonance approaching, Li Luo's growth was undoubtedly good news. Even if he couldn't defeat one of the Ten Devil Kings of Sin, he could at least restrain them.

"I have to thank you for the opportunity, Federation Chief Qi Huang," Li Luo replied with a grateful smile in his Heavenly Dragon form. If Qi Huang hadn't personally gone to the East Divine Continent to deliver the message, he wouldn't have known of the Ten Thousand Dragons' Ancestral Blood Rites.

"Everything is for the sake of the decisive battle to come," said Qi Huang before raising his head to look into the sky. The massive pale face was still floating in the depths of the spatial rift at the end of the void. Ghastly frigid energy radiated from it as it watched them from behind the Realm Wall.

"Truthfully, the Divine Continent Federation did know in advance about the Shadow World and the Origin Reversion Institute's plot against the Dragon Race. After all, having been plotted against by the Origin Reversion Institute countless times has caused us to wisen up," Qi Huang calmly explained.

Li Luo was taken aback. The Divine Continent Federation actually knew about this in advance?

Anger blazed through Zhen Linshuang's eyes as she furiously shouted, "If the Divine Continent Federation knew about it, why didn't you let me know!?" If she had known in advance, she would have made preparations and she wouldn't have let that traitor Ao Yan leave her in such a miserable state.

Qi Huang awkwardly explained, "Well, we intended to use this opportunity to cripple the Shadow World, to better prepare for the battle over the withering glory resonance. Furthermore, this matter was disclosed to the three Heavenly Emperors of the Dragon Race. They approved it."

The fire in Zhen Linshuang's eyes dimmed. She understood now. The Heavenly Emperors of the Dragon Race and the Divine Continent Federation had used the Dragon Race as bait to lure both the Shadow World and the Origin Reversion Institute out. Considering her volatile personality, it was possible that Ao Yan would have found out that she was informed beforehand. However, she was still frustrated and had no way to vent it.

Meanwhile, Li Luo pieced it all together. This entire conspiracy against the Dragon Race had in truth been a counter-plot planned by the Divine Continent Federation. Ao Yan, the traitor planted by the Origin Reversion Institute and the Shadow World, had long been discovered. The Divine Continent Federation had then exploited this in order to trap and kill one of the Ten Devil Kings of Sin. It looked like the Divine Continent Federation was finally fighting back after being bullied for years.