Chapter 205 - Quiet Departure

The Demon King tried to blank out his hatred towards the beastkind, ‘I don’t have to work with these stupid creatures forever, when we’ve sabotaged the plans of those humans, I will get rid of them somehow.’

The Beasts were born with thick skin and powerful bodies, thus the Demons had always needed them to fight for them on the frontlines; Demons were born with superior intelligence and were raised to be devious, the alliance between beast and demon was therefore amongst one of the oldest cross-race partnerships.

After the brief verbal treaty between the Skeleton Demon King and the Quadwing Barren Beast, the human squads escaped, while a few of the beast leader’s quickest inferiors followed the royal squad and watched their every move.

***

Three days had passed since Ye Wei began to study the Eternal Star stance at the Supreme Yu Palace. The pillar of starlight gradually faded away and the underwater current grew weaker.

‘It’s been three days. They should be done fighting by now...’ Ye Wei thought to himself, eager to get out of the palace and into the world. He needed diversion from cultivating to get inspired, needed to find an opportunity to unearth Supreme Ye Yu’s treasure.

He looked to his side to see that Helian Jieyuan was still cultivating.

“I will be heading off for a while! Take care and thank you!” The palace’s gate opened as Ye Wei approached. He turned and bowed.

The palace was protected by a freezing current created by Supreme Ye, and, although Ye Wei currently had the strength of a three-star returned prime Warrior, his body still could not withstand the cold.

The young Runemaster immediately used Starblink Steps and melted into a belt of runic light; he escaped the thirty-feet-thick layer of the densest freezing water in less than half a second.

The brief exposure was enough to cover Ye Wei’s whole body with a sheet of blue ice; had he hesitated while escaping, his whole body would have turned into a block of ice regardless of his three-star returned prime level bodily prowess.

“Splash!”

The surface of the pound broke open in the shape of a flower, and Ye Wei flew out from the middle.

“Haha! Here it is! Guys! The Drakehead is underwater!” Ye Wei heard a chant the moment he surfaced.

“Get him!” Huyan Haoze was elevated; his men recklessly rushed towards the direction of his finger.

‘These are... Huyans?’ Ye Wei looked up to confirm his senses. ‘More than ten of them, and they are all returned prime Warriors.’

The corner of Ye Wei’s mouth twitched and moved up to form a smile. He expected the Drakehead’s location to be discovered sooner or later, and he also knew the exposure would be meaningless as long as Helian Jieyuan was around.

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‘I would love to see you try.’ Ye Wei calmly stood next to the body of water with arms crossed in front of his chest, waiting to watch a show.

“Bang!”

A shock-wave came from each of the returned prime Warrior’s direction, all having expanded their presences to pile pressure onto Ye Wei.

“Kid, is the Drakehead at the bottom of this pond!?” Huyan Haoze’s voice boomed, and the pond began rippling; he surfed the wind, looking down at Ye Wei.

The vast pressure began stacking onto Ye Wei’s upper body; it startled him to a recoil as he backed off a few feet. ‘This must be the royal family’s young leader... His strength and power are insane!’

Ye Wei had gained a lot of confidence since defeating Lu Qianhuan, but he was again humbled by this confrontation.

“Yes, you are right, the Drakehead is in there.” Ye Wei said, pointing at the pond.

“Good! I like it when people cooperate!” Huyan Haoze’s eyes lit up as he gazed upon the water, while his men smiled excitedly

For a family like the Huyan, the Drakehead meant more than the nine marks all together, it was easy for the resourceful royal family to set up a base around the area and and have their young benefit from the accelerated cultivation speed. Having a whole generation strengthened might even topple the balance between the three families in the Huyan’s favor.

“Huyan Haoze, you are as sloppy as you are weak!”

When the royal squad was already daydreaming about the rewards they will be given for discovering the Drakehead, a shrill voice snapped them out of their stupor. The Skeleton Demon King, Quadwing Barren Beast, and their followers, appeared from behind the dense woods.

“You two have taken seven out of nine marks together, while the Huyan took two, and you are going to chase us? What for? Your kind can’t even use this place!” The seven-star returned prime Warrior flicked his fingers behind his back, signalling his men to guard the pond and to prepare for a fight.

‘Haha, everyone is here! It’s gonna be a good party.’ Ye Wei looked up, astounded by the gathering of world-shattering powers.

During their last encounter, Ye Wei felt like an ant within a pack of elephants, but now he was mentally prepared and physically stronger. He was able to stand his ground, able to feel comfortable spectating from a rather close distance. ‘It’s good that Grand Elder Helian is close by, but I think I will be able to get out in one piece even if they decide to turn their aggression to me...’

Huyan Haoze flew up into the sky to the Demon King’s altitude, ready to bargain.

“Mister clean robe, you can’t be more correct about the Drakehead. No, us demons can’t really use it, nor can the beasts, but together, we are stronger than you. So I am going to make you an offer you can’t really refuse.” The Demon King wore a creepy smile. The threats made Huyana Haoze furtively sweat.

“What do you want!?” The youngster glared at the Demon King, gritting his teeth as he spoke. Huyana Haoze had grown up thinking the beasts and demons were evil and believed the demon’s request would not be a reasonable one.

“Hahaha, ready to talk?” The Skeleton Demon King clapped and laughed, staring at the man’s interspatial bag. “As you said, the Drakehead is worthless to us, but it’s worth more than physical treasure to you, especially when your family is already that powerful.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Huyan Haoze’s whole body shook. He was even prepared to sacrifice one of his arms. “The marks are ours; we fought and won them over fair and square!”

The sacred marks were not only the keys to great treasure, they were also left behind by a Supreme. The prideful Huyan refused to just hand them over to a demon.

“You are welcome to say no. It won’t take much effort for me and wings here to destroy this place.” The Demon King said in a cold tone.

“You...” The seven-star returned prime Warrior was furious, his shoulders shaking so much that it almost looked like he was having spasms. “One mark, final offer! I planned this mission for weeks. I cannot have you unreasonably demand what I worked so hard for!”

“It’s your problem, not mine. You can tell your family, so the next time they send you on a mission, they will give you twice the men. Maybe then I will reason with you.” The Skeleton Demon king read the situation perfectly and left little space for negotiation. ‘Pfft, easiest hustle in my life!’

“You are pushing it too far!” Huyan Haoze’s hysterical gaze intensified. His Qi materialized and oozed out of his body like a mist of smoke, raising the temperature around him as he got angrier.

‘I hope he fights for it instead of giving up the mark...’ Ye Wei could sympathize with him, knowing that the Drakehead will never fall into the hands of the Huyan nor be destroyed by the demon.

‘Wait, they are greedy enough to want my family’s treasure and the Drakehead! What was I thinking?’ The young Runemaster shook his head, deciding to keep a distance from it all. ‘I am on my own side - my family’s side.’

A duo had tailed the demons and beasts since they left the battlefield, catching the development from afar.

“For sage’s sake, whenever there is trouble you have to be in the middle of it all...” Lin Ziyan thought to herself, nibbling on her bottom lip as she watched the confrontation escalate.

“Miss, we’ve seen enough. We should get going.” Senior Qin urged impatiently, “Right now, you are not helping him and certainly not helping yourself!”

“Can’t you see he is still in danger? If I leave right now, I won’t be able to help him when he needs it!” Li Ziyan’s frown was deep for her young age, and so was her attachment to Ye Wei.

“You know that Helian Jieyuan is at the Drakehead; why are you being so stubborn and unreasonable!?” Senior Qin replied. “We still have to finish our task; Your target will soon be out of detection range!”

Having spent the last decade watching over Lin Ziyan, Senior Qin had grown attached to her, becoming more and more protective.

“Yes... You are right,” Lin Ziyan nodded. Saddened, she turned around and stepped away. “I am sorry for being unreasonable.”

She turned into a flash of light, and her guardian followed, ‘Wei, I have to go for now, please take care of yourself!’

‘I may be a million miles away, but I will come back someday...’ She thought as Ye Wei’s Qi signature faded from her detection range.