Blood Battle Valley.
"Whoosh!" Emanuel was darting through Blood Battle Valley at breakneck speed. The other warriors inside couldn't help but stare in confusion as he sped past.
"Isn't that the Azure Dragon Clan's Elder Emanuel? Why's he in such a rush?"
"No idea. Maybe something urgent came up."
The warriors of Blood Battle Valley began buzzing with speculation.
At this moment, Emanuel couldn't care less about what anyone else was saying. It felt as though a fire was raging inside him, fury flooding every corner of his mind. He charged straight to his father Fuerhan's residence.
*Bang!* He threw the door open.
Fuerhan had been sitting quietly inside, sipping tea. He looked up in surprise. "Emanuel? What are you doing here?"
Emanuel said nothing. He immediately turned and shut the door with a creak.
*Thud!* Emanuel dropped to his knees, both knees slamming into the ground so hard that a crack split across the hardened floor.
"Emanuel, what are you—" Fuerhan rose to his feet at once.
"Father!" Emanuel cried out, his voice choked with grief and rage.
"What in the world happened?" A sense of foreboding washed over Fuerhan.
"My—my Water System God Clone is dead! It's because of that Lin Lei—all because of him!" Emanuel's body trembled as he spoke. "He deliberately refused to help, then split off and left me on my own!"
"Your Water System God Clone... is dead?"
Fuerhan felt his mind go blank. His son had only two bodies—his Water System God Clone and his Wind System God Clone. The Wind System God Clone was mediocre at best, with absolutely no fusion of Laws profound insights.
His son hadn't even had the chance to refine a Water System divine throne and restore his strength.
"Explain everything. Now," Fuerhan urged.
"Yes, Father."
Emanuel, brimming with fury, now had an outlet and launched into a detailed account. But by the time the words passed through Emanuel's mouth, the story had been twisted. It seemed as though everything was Lin Lei deliberately setting him up.
Fifth Floor of the Azure Dragon Hall, side chamber.
The Grand Elder sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, quietly cultivating. Suddenly her brow furrowed and she opened her eyes. "Why are the two of them here?" She rose immediately and walked out toward the main hall.
"Grand Elder!" Fuerhan's voice rang out.
Fuerhan and Emanuel entered the fifth-floor hall.
"What's this rush about!" the Grand Elder snapped, clearly displeased.
"Grand Elder, Emanuel's Water System God Clone has been destroyed," Fuerhan said urgently.
"Oh?" The Grand Elder started in shock and looked at Emanuel. "Emanuel, weren't you on a mission with Lin Lei? Besides, both you and Lin Lei each had a drop of Sovereign God's power."
*Thud!* Emanuel dropped heavily to his knees.
"Grand Elder, Lin Lei and I encountered three Seven-Star Demons. Those three were extraordinarily powerful—one of them was Elder Buluo of the Ashcroft Family," Emanuel said quickly.
The Grand Elder's expression shifted. "So it was him... Given his status, he should have had a drop of Sovereign God's power as well."
"However, if both you and Lin Lei had used Sovereign God's power and joined forces, even if Buluo had Sovereign God's power too, the two of you should still have had a good chance of escaping," the Grand Elder said.
"That Lin Lei watched me die and did nothing!"
Emanuel continued, "When I was in danger, he didn't lift a finger. Then a powerful expert suddenly appeared and forced Buluo to stop his attack. That expert drove Buluo off. I thought I was safe. Lin Lei then said he had something to discuss with that expert and told me to leave first."
"I didn't suspect anything at the time, so I went off on my own. But who could have guessed..." Emanuel's voice broke with anguish. "Grand Elder, the moment I left, Buluo ambushed me and killed me. Grand Elder... it must have been arranged by Lin Lei! He must have secretly communicated with Buluo using divine sense, telling him to ambush me! Otherwise... why would Buluo leave and then double back to attack me?"
The Grand Elder's brow furrowed.
"It's true that Lin Lei's refusal to help earlier showed intent to harm you. But the ambush afterward... whether Lin Lei secretly communicated with Buluo to collude with him is impossible to confirm," the Grand Elder said in a low voice. "Lin Lei didn't act before, yes, but you were still alive then. You died because Buluo ambushed you. That can't really be laid at Lin Lei's feet."
"Grand Elder!" Emanuel grew desperate.
Though the Grand Elder was his grandmother, she was too rigid and cold. Even her own son Fuerhan had to address her as "Grand Elder."
"Grand Elder, think about it—if Lin Lei truly had no intention of getting Emanuel killed, how could Emanuel's Water System God Clone have died?" Fuerhan pressed urgently. "Why wouldn't he come back with Emanuel? Why insist on splitting up? Even if he needed to talk, couldn't he have let Emanuel wait nearby?"
"And that Buluo—driven off by that mysterious expert—how would he dare come back and hunt Emanuel down? Lin Lei must have colluded with him!" Fuerhan insisted.
They had forgotten one thing—
When Buluo used Sovereign God's power, he could use it to sense his surroundings.
"Grand Elder," Fuerhan pressed.
The Grand Elder looked at Emanuel.
*Thud!* Fuerhan suddenly dropped to his knees. "Mother!!!"
The Grand Elder's body shook. Ever since she had ordered Fuerhan to call her Grand Elder, her own son hadn't called her "Mother" in how many years?
"Mother, Emanuel is my only son. With his Water System God Clone dead, it would take billions of years before his Wind System God Clone could achieve anything significant—if it's even possible! Mother, my son's entire future has been ruined by that Lin Lei. How can you not..." Tears welled in Fuerhan's eyes.
The Grand Elder felt a tightness in her chest.
If she wanted to punish Lin Lei, with just a slight lean in judgment, she certainly could.
"Mother!!!" Fuerhan pleaded.
The Grand Elder looked at the two kneeling before her—one her son, one her grandson. She let out a long, low breath. "Stand up, child." The Grand Elder was always emotionally restrained, giving everyone in the clan the impression of cold detachment.
But after all...
She was still a mother. Deep in her heart, there were soft places—it was not made of iron or stone.