Jiang Chen’s eyes were incredibly sharp. Even without using his Ear of the Zephyr, he could perceive their unruly stubbornness. They clearly had no intentions of easy compromise. Despite his example and warning, they thirsted for a fight.

Tritalent hoped to squeak by. What could a dozen people do against an entire capital’s worth of elites?

What face would they have left if they surrendered without struggle?

“Don’t be discouraged, Your Majesty. We are willing to shoulder your burden.”

“Your Majesty, please order us to fight! Maybe they’re just trying to bully us by using another’s name!”

“Your Majesty, even half of the spirit stones on those islands would be enough for us for centuries. We can’t let such a tremendous amount of wealth pass us by.”

The emperor was swayed by his subjects’ words.

Yes, what if Rejuvenation was borrowing someone else’s reputation? Tritalent wouldn’t be scared off so easily. He began to have his own ideas about the situation.

“Imperial Prince Huo, Tritalent and Rejuvenation don’t have irreconcilable differences or blood feuds. We would merely like to share in the bounty in front of us. Why not give us fifty percent of the spirit stones there? That’s not too extreme, is it? If you’ll agree to that, then let the matter be settled. I think that would be preferable to any loss of life.” The emperor spoke these words to test the waters.

If Imperial Prince Huo readily agreed to this, that meant there was no bite behind his bark.

On the other hand, if he staunchly refused, they could take advantage of their home field advantage to battle it out. No one on Tritalent’s side believed they would lose.

Imperial Prince Huo smirked coldly. “Rejuvenation has entirely delegated its authority in this matter to the young gentleman here.”

The Tritalent emperor’s expression darkened. “Rejuvenation intentionally chooses depravity then. If that’s the case, our ensuing ruthlessness cannot be blamed! Listen up, men! We ready for war!”

Jiang Chen watched all of this happen with a cold eye. He knew that at the end of the day, these people wouldn’t so easily let go of a tasty morsel that was already on their plate.

Harrumphing, he suddenly roared into the sky. Heaven and earth paled at the sound; every light around him dimmed and the ground rumbled.

The sound of a dragon’s roar resonated with the din of a brood ten thousand strong. The weather began to change – already, roiling clouds were gathering in the firmament.

“A dragon’s roar!” There was someone on the ground who was knowledgeable enough to recognize it.

Tritalent’s cultivators uniformly paled.

“So what?” shouted the militant ones with murderous expressions. “We might as well use our defensive formation to kill our enemies. We’re already past the point of no return!”

“Turn on the great formation!”

Belligerence was an emotion that easily spread to others. Experts joined the militant faction in droves. Zhao Situ could only watch on in horrified silence. He had thought his advice would convince the emperor to avoid bloodshed.

Alas, the drive for profit had caused these people to lose sight of reason. The young man before them was so incredibly talented that he had to be from a big faction. Even if he wasn’t young lord Jiang Chen, he was surely some other top-quality genius from the Ten Sacred Lands.

How could the Tritalent Isles make an enemy out of someone like this?

Zhao Situ couldn’t affect the direction of things by himself, though.

Jiang Chen suddenly tossed a golden bell and a magnetic mountain into the air.

Mountain and bell hurtled viciously towards the defensive formation.

“Old brother Vermilion,” Jiang Chen called out simultaneously, “show them a little pain!”

The Vermilion Bird nodded. Its body suddenly expanded several hundred times over with a flourish, its huge wingspan blotting out the sun.

Its divine aura expanded outward to paralyze everyone caught within its influence. Its pinions slanted down on a corner of the defensive formation, reducing to dust everything beneath. Countless disintegrating runes were among the rubble, their designs reduced to nothingness. The well-built defensive formation around the capital had been damaged by a single blow from the Vermilion Blow.

The formation whined in alarm.

The emperor and his militant subjects were blindsided by this development. One slam had destroyed a corner of the formation? What incredible power did this bird possess?

Zhao Situ paled. “It really is him. Your Majesty, please call for peace. We may yet have a chance at life. That young man really is the young lord of the Eternal Sacred Land. The bird is the sacred fowl that was instrumental in his exploits, the Vermilion Bird!”

It was already too late for that, though.

Several brutish cultivators charged at the forefront. Their piratic careers and capable cultivation made them naturally aggressive. They ran especially fast out of a desire for glory and riches.

Within a breath or so, they were only several hundred meters away from Jiang Chen. Just as they were about to be within reach, the cultivators collided with a translucent wall of golden air. Ripples expanded in the air from the impact.

As soon as they came to a forcible stop, Jiang Chen guided his magnetic golden mountain and golden bell down onto their heads with a hand seal.

Long Xiaoxuan unceremoniously joined the fray as well. His Claw of Crushing Mountains and Rivers seized a cultivator’s head and stuffed the man’s soul into his maw.

While he did so, the golden bell had already captured a cultivator as well.

The magnetic golden mountain was not to be outdone. Its potent storms snatched up another.

The men in the vanguard were neutralized in the blink of an eye, before the Vermilion Bird even had a chance to act. They couldn’t even reach Jiang Chen, much less threaten him.

The development stunned everyone watching. The ones who’d clamored for a tough stance wanted to find a hole in the ground and bury themselves. The militants were completely quiet now.

Any desire to keep on fighting was tantamount to suicide.

Though the exchange just now had lasted only a few short moments, Tritalent’s people felt like they’d just suffered through a lifetime of hell. They were also thankful that they hadn’t been at the very front. Those were now dead or captured.

The emperor felt the blood drain from his face. His heart trembled painfully. A minute ago, he had charted an ambitious course for Tritalent’s future.

Now, that seemed an utter daydream!