As Yun Xiao had foreseen, when the Young Dragon Lord agreed to his conditions for the release of Shen Nanyin, the Million Starlight Palace exploded into a tidal wave of uproar.

"An onlooker sees more clearly!"

From their lofty vantage point, they watched Yun Xiao toy with the Dragon Devil Clan step by step, utterly amazed.

Tens of millions of eyes fixed on Yun Xiao's hands. Though it'd all been concealed by the Primordial Sphere, the imagination of the masses went wild, stirring envy in their hearts. Such a heavenly treasure—who wouldn't want to try it?

"Men of the Southern Divine Dragon Realm value their pride above all!"

"A lowly celestial slave, right before the dignified Young Dragon Lord, under the gaze of the entire Samsara Galaxy, dares to do something so audacious..."

"What a farce! The entire Dragon Devil Clan, drooling over the Supreme Yin Cauldron, ended up not even seeing that female devil and lost their Young Dragon Consort instead!"

"What an extraordinary humiliation!"

The allure of the Young Dragon Consort—her posture and expression at that moment, her struggle and despair, shame and wailing—was etched into many hearts.

"Harmony Divine Palace!"

Amidst this tidal wave of exclamations, the core of the Million Starlight Palace fell into deathly silence.

Until a furious roar shattered the unbearable quiet!

The roar came from the section of the Southern Divine Dragon Realm—it was the Young Dragon Consort's father, the Eastguard Dragon King. His face was ashen, his body trembling with rage, eyes bloodshot.

He bellowed toward the section of the Extreme Yin Celestial Realm, where only one person sat—the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen. A woman, she widened her beautiful eyes at the scene on the screen, her lovely face wearing a peculiar expression.

She had thought the Young Dragon Lord would boldly kill his wife, leaving Yun Xiao utterly helpless. But this act of provocation actually worked?

"Truly a bunch of arrogant, self-important men who can't tolerate the slightest disgrace..."

The Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen had long understood the violent temperament of the Dragon Devil Clan's men.

Now, the Eastguard Dragon King seethed with fury, glaring at her, and snarled, "That lowly, despicable celestial slave was trained by you and those three cheap women, wasn't he? Your Harmony Divine Palace is a dignified member of the Heavenly Deity Alliance. Yet, you allow a base slave to use such disgusting means and still have the face to pretend to be chaste goddesses here!"

Facing this aggressive accuser, the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen remained unafraid. Instead, she smiled slightly and said, "Why so anxious? Wasn't it your Southern Divine Dragon Realm that clamored to capture the 9-Star Boundless Immortal prodigy of our Extreme Yin Celestial Realm to serve as the Supreme Yin Cauldron?

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Isn't your behavior just as despicable and lowly? Aren't you just trying to squeeze us out of the Heavenly Deity Alliance? Could it be that after joining the Alliance, you'd give up the so-called Supreme Yin Cauldron? Stop pretending. Yun Xiao is just learning from you. It's the cycle of heaven—karmic retribution."

The Eastguard Dragon King had no retort, nearly choking with rage. Moreover, in terms of status and strength, he was not qualified to challenge the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen.

"Ice Cloud." Unexpectedly, Gong Tianjian—the head of the Heavenly Deity Alliance Joint Law Enforcement Division—called out to her.

Seated beside the Golden Dragon Emperor, Gong Tianjian was small but radiated a formidable and solemn presence.

"Restrain yourself," she said. "In recent years, the Southern Divine Dragon Realm has made indelible contributions to our Heavenly Deity Stellar River. We cannot allow you to tarnish their name with reckless words."

Gong Tianjian hailed from the Elysian Immortal Palace and was the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen's direct superior. Her words carried weight.

However, she hadn't anticipated that the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen had already thrown caution to the wind.

The Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen herself knew she no longer had a future in the Law Enforcement Division. She also knew that the Southern Divine Dragon Realm would never release Feng Yao. So, why should she remain submissive?

The Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen shrugged. "The pure remain pure; the sullied remain sullied. Right and wrong aren't decided by mere words. Our Harmony Divine Palace isn't filled with saintesses, but that band of cruel and arrogant thugs is no better. And those who build monuments to such thugs—I wonder what you'd call them?"

Their conflict was unmasked, laid bare for all to see. Around them, the elite cultivators of the Heavenly Deity Stellar River listened and watched. As pinnacle powerhouses, these Immortals were well aware of everything between the Southern Divine Dragon Realm and the Harmony Divine Palace.

This wasn't a clash between good and evil; it was a struggle between the strong and the weak.

So people knew that invoking morality for condemnation now was rather pointless.

This loss, this humiliation—the Southern Divine Dragon Realm had to swallow it.

Because of this, aside from the frenzied Eastguard Dragon King, the other experts and elders of the Dragon Devil Clan didn't shout or rage. On the contrary, their side was deathly silent, each face as dark as storm clouds.

They were enduring the humiliation brought upon them by their own youth. The entire Southern Divine Dragon Realm had to bear it. It was a ludicrous case of lifting a stone only to drop it on their own feet. They wanted to seize the Supreme Yin Cauldron? Yet a mere celestial slave had first toyed with their legitimate Young Dragon Consort.

The suppressed fury among the Southern Divine Dragon Realm's experts would undoubtedly lead to even more ruthless brutality—everyone understood this.

But the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen knew even better that in this conflict, the other side wouldn't show a shred of mercy. If she still dreamed of harmonious coexistence now, she'd be deluding herself.

The Southern Divine Dragon Realm was a clan that rose through conquest, plunder, and slaughter. They worshipped brutality and power. Would they show mercy to their prey?

Given that, she might as well wholeheartedly support Yun Xiao and relish the satisfaction this young man brought.

The Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen realized that this kid had plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

"A clever fellow indeed. At such a young age, how does he know to weaken the Dragon Devil Clan's strength by sowing discord between the Southern Divine Dragon Realm and its allies?

"Maybe it's because he's free from worldly desires, focusing solely on his wits? Then why is he so interested in the Young Dragon Consort, that little giantess..."

In her heart, the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen found this youth increasingly enigmatic.

"Perhaps it's Si Ji's personal guidance? But Si Ji is obsessed with cultivation; she's not skilled in such schemes."

From her understanding of the Three Divas, none of them were adept at intrigue, unlike the Golden Dragon Emperor.

Thinking of the Golden Dragon Emperor, the Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen glanced in his direction.

She saw that beside him appeared about 11 imposing figures in luxurious attire. One had to be a master of a Celestial Sourcecore to possess such an aura.

"Bai Qianli of the Gu God Star, the old fiend of the Bloodvine Demon Grotto... The heads of all the Empyrean Emperor sects on Yun Xiao's Personal Pledge list have all gone over."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

A Heavenly Monarch Sect was one with a Heavenly Monarch-level expert within its ranks. There were over 10,000 such celestial sects in the Samsara Galaxy—the basic qualification for participating in the Grand Assembly of Myriad Sects.

An Empyrean Emperor Sect, however, had one or more experts in the Eighth Baptism Realm. The Harmony Divine Palace and Southern Divine Dragon were considered Empyrean Emperor Sects, including other members of the Heavenly Deity Alliance.

The Eight Dragon Emperors of the Southern Divine Dragon Realm were all in the Eighth Baptism Realm.

Bai Qianli, the Bloodvine Great Fiend, and other sect masters of Empyrean Emperor Sects—a total of 11 Eighth Baptism Realm powerhouses—had appeared beside the Golden Dragon Emperor. Combined, their power was not much less than that of the entire Southern Divine Dragon Realm.

"Trying to disrupt their alliance through the youths is indeed impossible. So Bai Qianli and the others must have come to apologize to the Golden Dragon Emperor on behalf of their young ones, to offer explanations and give each other a way out."

The Ice Cloud Valkyrie Queen wasn't so optimistic as to think that the youths' Personal Pledges in the Grand Assembly Arena could change the grand alliance of the sects.

"But it must be said, Yun Xiao has thought it through. If he had only turned Bai Lu, the Southern Divine Dragon Realm could indeed suppress Bai Qianli. But once he has taken down the geniuses of these 11 celestial sects, the Golden Dragon Emperor has to face 11 Eighth Baptism Realm powerhouses. The Southern Divine Dragon Realm cannot possibly push away all these allies.

"This logic applies within the Grand Assembly Arena as well. With just Bai Lu, the Young Dragon Lord was furious and even dared to kill. But if all 11 stand on the opposite side, his commands won't be as effective."

"Moreover, when the Young Dragon Lord agreed to let them hand over their Personal Pledges, it was as if Yun Xiao had forcibly torn a gap in their relationships. He even scared these Empyrean Emperor sect masters into collectively coming to give an explanation to the Southern Divine Dragon Realm, showing how serious this matter was.

"It was the Young Dragon Lord himself who forced his subordinates to hand over the Personal Pledges to our Extreme Yin Celestial Realm. The significance is indeed different. The hearts of those 11 sects' youths will be affected..."

The reasoning was simple. Why did they follow the Southern Divine Dragon Realm? Wasn't it for greater strength, grandeur, and benefits?

Once Yun Xiao had their Personal Pledges, how could they ensure they wouldn't be humiliated and eliminated? Their own Taiyi Sourcecores had yet to conquer a single star.

Therefore, Gusu Yan and the other young prodigies were extremely reluctant to hand over their Personal Pledges. They found it even harder to accept giving it to a lowly celestial slave.

On top of this, when they returned to their own sects, they would become laughingstocks, unable to lift their heads...

JustLivingJL's Thoughts