Chapter 474: Nemesis

Everyone was startled and turned to look, only to see a figure slowly emerge from the forest.

His figure was not tall; he had white hair and leaned on a walking stick. He looked like an ordinary human elder, but appearing deep in these mountains, no one would believe he was an ordinary person.

Two horns faintly visible in the hair at his temples made everyone present's expressions change, as they had remembered who this person was.

It was his single word that had previously prevented the Embroidered Envoy's deadliest move from being unleashed, leaving them to be defeated one by one until the renowned Embroidered Envoys were completely annihilated.

"That Dragon elder!" Zu An felt a pang of frustration. Damn it, didn't this guy say the Dragon clan didn't meddle in worldly affairs, showing off his word spirit ability once and then leaving?

How is he still around?

From the looks of it, he must have seen the Red Dragon's corpse that I just released, so he came over to investigate.

Just my luck.

His mind was in turmoil, yet he plastered a smile on his face. "Elder, you jest," he said. "How could your clansmen be here?"

The Dragon elder glanced at him, then at the others, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes. "So it's you," he said.

As he spoke, he looked around again, clearly searching for the Night Elves, but there wasn't a single silhouette to be seen.

Zu An chuckled. "What a coincidence!" he said. "I didn't expect to run into you again here. What should I call you, elder?"

The Dragon elder replied, "This old man is Ao Quan."

Zu An was startled. His surname was Ao? How similar to the surnames of dragons in the myths of his previous life. Was it a coincidence?

However, he quickly regained his composure, cupped his hands, and said, "So it's Elder Ao. Didn't you just leave?"

Ao Quan smiled. "This old man saw that the elemental energy here was quite abundant, so I stayed in the mountains to cultivate for a while," he said. "I just didn't expect to suddenly sense the aura of my clansmen, and an aura of death at that."

Zu An thought to himself, "I don't believe a word of it. Nowhere else but cultivating in these very mountains? It seems this 'not meddling in worldly affairs' is all an act. He's probably hiding in the shadows, waiting to reap the benefits."

"Elder Ao, if I'm not mistaken, you are a Dragon, aren't you?" Pei Mianman said, moving to Zu An's side. "How could your clansmen be here?"

Even Zheng Dan rose and stood on his other side, clearly to guard against any sudden moves from the opponent.

"Is that so? Did I really see wrong?" Ao Quan said, though he did not leave, his eyes still scanning everyone present.

Just then, a discordant voice suddenly rang out: "Are the clansmen you're referring to a red giant dragon?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze turned towards Sang Qian, and a dangerous glint flashed in Pei Mianman's eyes.

"That's right. Does this young man know something?" Ao Quan asked with a benevolent expression.

Sang Hong frowned and subtly sent a spiritual message as a reminder: "Qian'er, don't speak carelessly."

But Sang Qian seemed not to have heard and pointed directly at Zu An. "It's right there with him!" he declared. "He just performed a set of 'Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms,' and then that red giant dragon appeared."

Seeing Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan standing one on his left and one on his right, as if he were embracing them both, he was consumed by mad jealousy.

Previously, he had looked down on this street ruffian, believing him incomparable to himself, but having just witnessed his battle with Ding Run, he realized that the other person had even far surpassed him.

That vast disparity was unbearable for him, and the thought that the gap between them would only grow wider in the future made him even more unable to endure.

At the same time, the matter with Zheng Dan sealed their irreconcilable enmity. His only thought was to eliminate him!

Now was the perfect chance to use the Dragon clan's hand!

Sang Hong's brows were tightly furrowed. A certain idea had existed in his mind, and he had truly wanted his son and Zu An to get along peacefully. However, seeing Zheng Dan's intimacy with him, he knew it was likely impossible.

Even so, his son's choice was truly unwise. If you want to turn hostile, at least wait until my injuries have healed. Now, it was hard to tell if this Dragon was friend or foe; who knew how he would deal with them after killing Zu An?

Sang Qian also bit her thin lip tightly. To be honest, she didn't approve of her elder brother's choice. After all, they had just fought side by side, and he had even given her father, her, and her brother three precious healing pills. To turn hostile so quickly was simply too unsightly.

Unfortunately, the other person was her biological elder brother, so she couldn't say much now.

Zu An squinted his eyes and glanced at Sang Qian. He knew exactly what this guy was thinking. It seemed he truly couldn't hold back anymore.

"'Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms'?" Hearing this name, Ao Quan's expression instantly turned cold. He turned directly to Zu An. "You speak with quite the audacity, sir!"

Zu An hastily cupped his hands. "I just casually made up a term to trick people; it's not to be taken seriously," he said. "I didn't expect to offend the Dragon clan, I am truly very sorry."

Ao Quan sneered a few times. "Casually made up?" he scoffed. "Was that Red Dragon also casually made up?"

"Red Dragon? What Red Dragon? How big?" Zu An feigned ignorance.

Ao Quan said indifferently, "Although it is a low-level Dragon, it must have cultivated for many years, its strength is not weak, already reaching nearly one hundred zhang in size."

"'One hundred zhang?'" Zu An chuckled. "You can see for yourself. Looking around here, let alone a giant dragon a hundred zhang long, even a snake a single zhang long couldn't hide."

"Presumably, you've hidden it inside some spatial artifact," Ao Quan snorted.

"'Spatial artifact?'" Zu An laughed. "Where would one find a spatial artifact large enough to hold a hundred-zhang-long giant dragon?"

Everyone thought about it and agreed. Typically, a spatial artifact with even a few cubic meters of space was already considered large; how could it possibly hold a giant dragon?

But they had personally witnessed the scene just now, so what exactly had happened?

Ao Quan frowned; clearly, he also didn't believe such a large spatial artifact existed in the world.

"Don't listen to that guy's nonsense," Zu An said. "I just used an illusion, and he saw it wrong."

Sang Qian became anxious. "How could I have seen it wrong..."

He was interrupted by Ao Quan before he could finish. "Whether he saw it wrong, I don't know," Ao Quan stated, "but I'm sure I didn't see it wrong, and the aura of my own kind just now cannot be hidden from me."

Zu An also dropped his smile. "I've explained so much, and you still don't believe me," he said. "So what exactly do you want?"

Ao Quan said indifferently, "Hand over the corpse of my clansman to me, and come with me back to the Dragon clan to be dealt with by the clan leader."

Zu An chuckled. "After all that talk," he said, "aren't you just coveting a possible spatial artifact on me, and at the same time, wanting to get the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' from me? And you still claim the Dragon clan doesn't meddle in worldly affairs. You want to maintain a good reputation after doing something shameful? Bah!"

Ao Quan was furious. "Impudent youth!" he roared. "How dare you insult our Dragon clan!"

Rage from Ao Quan +999!

Zu An sneered. "Don't flatter yourself," he said. "I clearly insulted you. You don't represent the entire Dragon clan."

Ao Quan was so angry he laughed instead. "Very well," he scoffed. "It's been many years since anyone dared to speak to this old man like that, let alone a human with such low cultivation."

Sang Qian, standing by, was so delighted he almost cheered '666'. *Fight, hurry up and fight!* he thought. *Zu An truly climbed up from the bottom; with some lucky encounters, his strength grew, and now his tail's in the sky, not knowing his place anymore.*

Zu An snorted. "Didn't the Dragon clan get defeated by the human race and retreat to the desolate northern wastes?" he challenged. "Why are you acting so high and mighty? If you've got the guts, go to the imperial palace and say that to our Emperor."

Ao Quan's breath hitched. He naturally knew the human Emperor's capabilities; let alone him, even the Dragon clan leader couldn't defeat the Emperor. How would he dare cause trouble in the imperial palace?

He snorted. "Insolent youth," he growled, "I will make you regret your recent arrogance."

Pei Mianman hastily warned, "Be careful!"

She knew the opponent was about to make a move, so she struck first, a fierce black flame rising directly to attack him.

Ao Quan stood motionless, watching the approaching black flame indifferently. Slowly, he spoke, "Dragon Language Spirit: Extinguish!"

The moment his words fell, the surging flame instantly vanished.

Pei Mianman's expression changed dramatically. She raised her palm several times, but only sparse flickers of flame appeared; she couldn't summon any more fire.

Ao Quan then looked at Zu An. "Young man," he said, "this old man very much dislikes your mouth. So, slap yourself a hundred times to avoid dirtying this old man's hands. Dragon Language Spirit: Slap..."

He hadn't finished speaking when he heard a mocking voice: "What are you looking at?"