"Do you intend to declare war on my clan?"

Chong Yuan's voice boomed like thunder in the villagers' minds, causing them all to vomit blood and faint on the spot.

Though his dantian had been destroyed and his cultivation boundary was gone, he was still an Elder of the Chongming Bird Clan.

His imposing aura remained.

"I don't know who you are, but if you anger the Demon King Bloodline, you will surely die without a place for burial!"

Chong Yuan couldn't help but roar again, "Furthermore, Wei Qing's ancestor was a traitor to our clan who hid on this abandoned planet and intermarried with the lowly Human Race. This is the height of disrespect!"

"The Human Race is lowly…"

Xu Lai laughed, but his smile was cold. "You just asked who I am. Listen closely. I am Xu Lai of the Human Race."

Xu Lai of the Human Race!?

Those few words froze the murderously furious Chong Yuan in place.

Eighty thousand years ago, a young human astounded the Universe by achieving the Emperor Realm after only twenty thousand years of cultivation.

At the time, the leader of the ten great rebellious Demon Race Royal Clans was a Quasi-Emperor. He was unwilling to submit to the Human Race for the next million years, much less allow another to occupy the Emperor's throne.

Twenty thousand years ago, the Human Race was still considered the lowest of all beings. How could they possibly become the foremost race? How could they produce someone who achieved the Emperor Realm!?

But the battle was over before it even began.

Because that Quasi-Emperor, renowned throughout the Demon Race, was slain by the young man with a single sword strike. The other nine clan leaders were also beheaded.

Blood splattered across the starry sky.

Only afterward did the new Ten Great Demon King Clans, with the Chongming Bird Clan at their helm, rise to power.

The name of that young man was one that every member of the Demon Race was ingrained to remember from birth, a name they could not and dared not forget, even in death—

The Human Race.

The Supreme Emperor, Xu Lai!

* * *

At this moment, Chong Yuan stared blankly at Xu Lai, his pupils gradually dilating. Could the man before me be the Supreme Emperor Xu Lai?

Impossible!

If not for his pursuit of Wei Qing's ancestor, Chong Yuan would never have found his way to the Solar System, an obscure corner of the Universe. The Heavenly Court was located in the deepest depths of the Universe. According to rumor, the Supreme Emperor had not taken a single step out of it in five years. So how could he be here?

But the more his heart denied it, the more terrified Chong Yuan became.

"You are not the Supreme Emperor! I have seen the Supreme Emperor with my own eyes; he visited our ancestral land thirty thousand years ago!"

"Perhaps you were kneeling too far away," Xu Lai said, his hands clasped behind his back. He spoke word by word, "It's perfectly normal that you didn't get a clear look at me."

He paused. "Did you just say that my Human Race is lowly?"

"I…" Cold sweat beaded on Chong Yuan's forehead.

"And did you just ask if I intended to declare war on your clan?"

"..."

Chong Yuan's mind thundered. The words "I did not" were caught in his throat; he dared not speak them.

He knew that if he did, the Chongming Bird Demon Clan would soon be erased from the Immortal Domain.

Xu Lai's eyes were cold as he looked at Chong Yuan. The tremendous psychological pressure made the ten-thousand-year-old Great Demon's body sway.

Finally, with a thud, he collapsed to his knees, trembling so violently he was unable to utter a single word, a far cry from his previous murderous resolve.

Xu Lai's gaze turned icy. He lifted his hand and placed it on Chong Yuan's head. With just a slight application of force, this Quasi-Immortal Venerable who had dominated an entire region would die without a grave.

But then, Xu Lai suddenly withdrew his hand.

He looked toward the old house of Wei Qing's grandmother and vanished.

This sudden turn of events left Chong Yuan stunned for a moment, before his expression twisted into one of utter despair.

If the Supreme Emperor had killed him, the Chongming Bird Clan might have had a chance to escape this catastrophe. But the Supreme Emperor had spared him…

It's over!

Chong Yuan's face was ashen. He could already foresee himself becoming the second great sinner in the history of the Demon Race, the first having been that Quasi-Emperor from eighty thousand years ago.

At that moment, a cold voice reached his ears. "Have your Old Ancestor come and give me an explanation."

Shivering, Chong Yuan pulled a bird's beak from within his robes and sent a message back to his ancestral land, billions of light-years away from Earth.

Hearing only silence from his Old Ancestor, Chong Yuan gave a wry smile.

He slammed his head into the willow tree in the village—a tree he himself had planted a century ago.

* * *

Xu Lai stood silently at the doorway of the house.

He had been about to kill Chong Yuan when he heard Ruan Tang's scream and had rushed back.

But then he heard Wei Qing's comforting words, "It's just a mouse, don't be afraid."

Xu Lai relaxed. His gaze swept over to Zhu Liu and his wife, who were still lying motionless on the ground. He asked in surprise, "You haven't left yet? Are you planning to spend the night?"

Zhu Liu truly felt like crying. Leave? He wanted nothing more. He silently begged for mercy. Please, be magnanimous and let us go!

It was already September, and sleeping on the cold, damp mud all night could be lethal.

However, Xu Lai simply pushed the door open and walked inside.

This time, Zhu Liu really started to cry, two streams of tears flowing from the corners of his eyes. I was wrong, he lamented internally. I'll never try to pull a scam again...

* * *

Ruan Tang was huddled in a corner of the kang bed, her face pale, while Wei Qing continued to comfort her.

Seeing Xu Lai return, Wei Qing said, "Xu Lai, a mouse just scared Ruan Tang. You should come and comfort her."

As she spoke, she winked at him.

She had just gotten a thorough understanding of the pair's relationship from Ruan Tang and naturally wanted to play matchmaker. And no, she hadn't actually been the one to let the mouse loose.

This is what they mean by good karma paying off, Xu Lai thought with an internal nod. Look how perceptive Wei Qing is!

"Wei Qing, don't go, don't..."

Ignoring Ruan Tang's anxious pleas, Wei Qing waved her hand. "I'm going to sleep in the side room. Whatever you two do tonight, I won't hear a thing, you know."

"Oh, by the way," she added, "this part of the country has a lot of mice, cockroaches, and snakes. So you should probably abandon any ideas about sleeping on a mat on the floor."

Ruan Tang was speechless.

Just a moment ago, we were hitting it off like we'd known each other for years, and now she sells me out in the blink of an eye, even exposing my secret plan! So much for our newfound sisterhood!

Wei Qing, however, murmured to herself, I can't let you miss out on happiness. Ruan Tang... Xu Lai is worthy of your lifelong trust.

"Alright, you get some sleep."

Xu Lai was quite nonchalant. "I'll just meditate," he chuckled.

Ruan Tang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"...It means nothing."

"Lie down. Go to sleep!"

Ruan Tang lay on her pillow and patted the one beside her, speaking coolly, "I'm not as delicate as you think."

Xu Lai hesitated. "Ruan Tang, you really don't have to force it. I can just meditate. I'm just afraid..."

"Afraid you won't be able to resist making a move on me?"

Ruan Tang's heart softened. That was actually quite gentlemanly of him.

"I'm afraid you'll make a move on me."

"..."

Ruan Tang's face instantly flushed. "You, you, you—"

"I mean, look at our first meeting, and that night you were drunk," Xu Lai sighed. "I'm genuinely afraid that when I'm not paying attention, you'll suddenly…"

"AHHHH! Xu Lai, I'm going to kill you!"

Her cheeks burning with a mix of shame and anger, Ruan Tang bit down hard on Xu Lai's neck.

Xu Lai grimaced. Why does she always resort to biting?

His hand reflexively pushed outward, but then they both froze.

His hand had landed somewhere it definitely shouldn't have.

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