Chapter 173: The Peacock Demon Clan

The young man addressed as Wang Yan gave a slight smile. "Oh no, I'm so scared! Don't you realize how stupid you're being? I was planning to let you go, but now that you're threatening me, I guess I have no choice but to silence you by killing you. Having someone from a golden bloodline as a companion in death for my so-called sister is not a bad option either."

Song Junhou's face changed. "Wang Yan, you're just the trash of your family. Do you have that much confidence that you can defeat us?"

Wang Yan shrugged. "Well, maybe I'm not cut out for this; after all, we're both eighth-order. And me being the black sheep? As the legitimate eldest son, I’m about to lose my inheritance to my dad’s whims. So, I have no choice but to take out anyone threatening me. Don’t think I haven’t figured out why you're getting close to my so-called sister. It’s because you heard my dad might make her an heir to the throne, right? You're reading too much into it. My dad's just trying to fire up some competition between me and my useless brothers."

Pausing, he turned his gaze to Mei Gongzi behind Song Junhou. "But yeah, my sister does work harder than us. She’s not even fourteen and already a sixth-order, which is kind of annoying. If she ends up being the rightful heir, she’d have the divine precedence law on her side, making her a real threat. How can we, descendants of the Peacock Demon Emperor, let a half-blood mutt compete for this? We can only wipe away this disgrace with her blood. As her brother, it is my duty to fix this mess."

Song Junhou's expression grew even nastier. He could feel the immense power of the four Peacock Demon clansmen around him—all of eighth-order cultivation. On their side, he was the only one of the eighth order. Moreover, the Peacock Demon clan was the clan of a Great Demon King. Even though there was no Demon Emperor ruling over them at the moment, their bloodline power was extreme. At the same level, he might not even be a match for Wang Yan.

"If all of you pretend you haven't seen or heard anything, I might just let you off the hook. We can pretend that she just fell into the mouth of a demonic beast. As the legitimate eldest son, even my useless brothers are not as good as me. Once I inherit the throne and carry on the will of the Demon King, I will offer you my favor."

Unless necessary, Wang Yan didn't want to kill Song Junhou. After all, he was the direct descendant of a golden bloodline. If he killed him with no good reason and information got out, Wang Yan himself would be in big trouble. So, his previous words were more for intimidation.

Song Junhou indeed hesitated. He naturally intended to curry favor with Mei Gongzi not just for her beauty, but more so for the needs of his family. The internal strife within the Golden Lion Family was severe. To inherit the throne in the future, not only did he need to be strong himself, but external support was also necessary. He had heard that Mei Gongzi might be one of the candidates for the current Demon King's throne, which was why he had this idea. Otherwise, given Mei Gongzi's human bloodline and the pride of his Golden Family's bloodline, he would never have approached her.

Faced with the potential danger to his life and considering the Peacock Demon clan's exceptional speed, escaping in front of so many powerful beings seemed incredibly difficult, causing him to hesitate.

If he were to fall at the hands of Wang Yan, especially in these remote mountains, and his comrades were utterly silenced, his family might not even find out. Besides, he wasn't the only heir in his family.

Moreover, Wang Yan's approach to eliminating threats seemed normal to him. In any demon clan, such situations arose when one's right to inheritance was threatened. This was the law of the jungle in the demon world.

But, if I simply back off, will Wang Yan really let him go?

Seeing Song Junhou’s apparent hesitation, Wang Yan's smile grew thicker. "You should know who has a better chance: a half-blood or me, the legitimate eldest son. In the history of our demon clans, there has never been a case of a half-blood inheriting the throne. It will not be an exception for her. The Ancestral Court wouldn't allow it, either. She is just a tool used to motivate us. Think it through and step aside. My word is my bond; we won't kill her in front of you; we will just take her away. You just need to pretend you haven't seen anything."

Song Junhou took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "No way! If you want to take her, you must defeat me first!" As he spoke, a brilliant golden light erupted from his body. With a stride, he charged directly at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan was momentarily stunned. The young man was hesitating, so why was he suddenly making a move? But in the next instant, a smirk appeared on Wang Yan's lips. He didn't need to take action himself. A Peacock Demon with his tail feathers spread out had already flashed forward. The tail feathers, ablaze with light, absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy. With a swing of his right hand, a multicolored light surged from his palm, colliding directly with Song Junhou's assault.

With a loud boom, Song Junhou was sent flying away.

As he made his move, the other team members also attacked, each targeting the nearby Peacock Demons. However, the strength of the four Peacock Demon guards was formidable. In just a moment, they had knocked their attackers to the ground and kicked them down the mountain side, into the distance.

In just a few breaths, only Wang Yan and the five Peacock Demons, along with Mei Gongzi, who had neither moved nor spoken throughout, remained in the camp.

Tang San had been quietly approaching since the Peacock Demons appeared, listening to their conversation. He also witnessed Song Junhou and the others being knocked down the hill.

Is the Golden Lion Dog really so weak?

Of course he wasn’t. Tang San watched as he and his teammates fled immediately after being knocked down the mountain side. Yes—he had simply taken his teammates and run away.

There was clearly some trickery involved. It was either a pre-arranged scheme or a newly reached agreement. Given the initial conversation and how quickly they ran, the latter seemed more likely.

"My dear sister, now we can have a good talk," Wang Yan said, a smile curling up his lips, as the other four Peacock Demons slowly moved forward, tightening the circle.

Mei Gongzi's face remained calm, her eyes cold. "I have nothing to say to you, and I'm not your sister."

A cold light flickered in Wang Yan's eyes. "Honestly, I also wish you weren't my sister. With your looks, if we weren't related, it’d be nice to have you as a concubine when you’re older. Too bad you were born into this mess. You shouldn’t have made our dad like you so much. Just come with us. I won’t kill you—don’t want to alert our dad through our bloodline connection. I’ll just lock you up until I take the throne, and then I’ll let you go."

Hearing his words, Mei Gongzi scoffed coldly. "Hmpf! With your cowardly character, you’re still dreaming of inheriting the throne? If you do, that will be the end of the Peacock Demons."

Wang Yan flew into a rage. His most tremendous and deep resentment was due to being labeled as useless since childhood. Though his talent was indeed mediocre, and he was not diligent, such demons were often the ones who desired to prove themselves the most. He might not have any skills to be proud of, but he certainly had a proud heart.

"Take her down!" Wang Yan bellowed in anger.

The four eighth-order Peacock Demons were about to make their move, but they suddenly sensed something and abruptly scattered in all directions.

A cold light fell from the sky, silent as a whisper.