Xiao Yu'er fixed her gaze on Shen Yi and spoke with utmost seriousness, enunciating each word deliberately: "I, Xiao Yu'er of the Immortal Sea Fish Clan, will not marry you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yi's expression grew even colder. Then, with a sweep of his great sleeve— BOOM—the palace was utterly demolished.
Everything outside came into Xiao Yu'er's view.
They were still high in the sky, and below them lay a vast, seemingly endless plaza that stretched out as far as the eye could see, rivaling the expanse of a plain.
The plaza was paved entirely with exquisite marble, and upon every slab, intricate runes were carved. The runes were all interconnected, forming one unified design.
This boundless plaza, whose end could not be seen, was an enormous grand formation.
At its very center stood a golden statue tens of thousands of meters tall. Even the clouds could only drift at its feet. The statue was vividly lifelike, as if brimming with life—this was the Ancestral God Statue as revered by the God Clan.
Previously, the God Clan had used a refining formation on the Jinchuan Upper Realm, sacrificing martial cultivators as offerings—it was to this very Ancestral God Statue that they had paid their respects.
At the base of the statue, there was a raised platform. It was the formation's core, and the site of the sacrificial ritual.
High above in the void, tens of millions of God Clan members had gathered.
They stood in the sky in orderly ranks, arranged in specific formations surrounding the Ancestral God Statue. From strongest to weakest, from innermost to outermost, they were preparing for some grand ceremony.
Above the vast army of the God Clan stood ninety-nine figures, surveying everything beneath them with the bearing of kings presiding over the world, the air of masters in their own domain.
And masters they were—the most powerful existences of the God Clan. Every one of them was at the Heavenly God Realm, and all were Shen Yi's own brothers. Shen Bai was among them as well.
But at that moment, Xiao Yu'er's gaze fell upon a secluded corner below.
It was a neglected corner of the plaza, packed with dense clusters of figures that, viewed from high above, looked like swarms of ants huddled together.
They were the clansmen of the Immortal Sea Fish Clan.
To the world, the Immortal Sea Fish Clan—the noble rulers of an entire Heavenly River—now found themselves crammed together, person pressed against person. Their hands and feet were bound by golden chains, and even their mouths were fitted with golden muzzles, the kind put on livestock.
Among them were all the top powerhouses of the Immortal Sea Fish Clan—Xiao Yu'er's grandfather, her father, her mother, and her elder brother, Xianhai Shaoyu.
Yet they all received the same treatment, penned together like a herd of animals.
The contrast with the God Clan members standing freely in the sky could not have been more stark.
Xiao Yu'er looked at Shen Yi, seething with fury. "Shen Yi, you said you wouldn't let my clansmen know about today's events."
She was not surprised that her people had been treated this way. What alarmed her was that they were here at all.
"Ah, I did say that. If you chose to sacrifice yourself, I would keep your clansmen in the dark."
"But I've changed my mind."
The moment Shen Yi finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted—it was his brothers.
They all regarded Xiao Yu'er with contemptuous eyes, Shen Bai and Shen Yi included.
"Mmm—"
Sounds rose from below.
The clansmen of the Immortal Sea Fish Clan had overheard the exchange between Shen Yi and Xiao Yu'er. Now that they knew the truth, their emotions surged violently.
But they could not speak. Not even secret sound transmission was possible. All they could produce were muffled whimpers.
Xiao Yu'er looked down at her family, her eyes filled with heartache. Then she turned back to Shen Yi, her tone considerably softer. "What exactly do you want from me?"
"What do I want?" Shen Yi sneered.
"My God Clan is the noblest and most sacred clan between heaven and earth."
"But my brothers and I have not been idle—we have worked harder than anyone."
"We endured fifty thousand years of tempering before we were born into this world."
"We cultivated for ten thousand years before we could step into the Heavenly God Realm and achieve what we have today."
"Noble blood, an unyielding spirit—I, Shen Yi, possess both. It is only natural that I am fit to be the master of this world."
"Our clan has the means to observe the outside world. Do you know why we never bother looking?"
"Because we disdain watching what those ants do, and we don't care what level they reach."
"Sooner or later, once our God Clan emerges, they will have no choice but to submit or die."
"But of all things, I never imagined that one day I would lose to an ant less than a hundred years old."