Wen Zishan opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Lei Hong's figure flickered, a crackling boom rang out, a bolt of lightning flashed on the spot, and he enveloped several people from the Star God Palace before streaking away as a rainbow toward the distance.
"You, Lei, get back here!" Zhu Lie suddenly roared, his voice carrying across the fields. "You Southern Region warriors dare treat the Dragon Clan like this? My Dragon Island will absolutely not let this go!"
Lei Hong ran even faster, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
He had originally wanted to ask Yang Kai about this Dragon Transformation Secret Art and what it was all about, but now he had no such thoughts—he only wanted to get as far away from this trouble as possible.
Yang Kai stared in the direction Lei Hong had left and chuckled for a while, but soon his laughter died. He turned his head to find Gao Xueting and Wen Zishan looking at him with speechless expressions.
"What do we do now?" Gao Xueting asked.
"No idea!" Yang Kai wore an innocent expression, but paired with his half-dragon body, the look was exceptionally fierce.
"Why don't we just let him go?" Chen Qian suggested in a small voice. She was still quite fearful of Dragon Island's reputation, and seeing Zhu Lie beaten so wretchedly, she felt somewhat sorry for him.
Zhu Lie gritted his teeth. "That's right. If you know what's good for you, release me immediately. Otherwise, you'll all meet terrible ends."
Yang Kai stomped down again and snorted. "Figure out your situation before you speak, brat!"
"I am of the Dragon Clan! How dare you treat me like this!" Zhu Lie looked utterly humiliated.
"So what if you're the Dragon Clan? You're still crawling beneath my feet."
Zhu Lie's face flushed crimson as he pressed it into the ground, looking as though he wished he could burrow into a hole and never show his face to anyone again.
"We can't let him go, and we can't kill him..." Wen Zishan smiled bitterly. "Kid, you've really given me a massive headache."
The Dragon Clan were such arrogant creatures. Humiliated by Yang Kai like this, if he were truly released, they would never let the matter rest. They would almost certainly send word to Dragon Island immediately, and within days a horde of great dragons would come charging in. Killing him was definitely out of the question too. If Zhu Lie were actually killed, it would mean making a permanent enemy of Dragon Island. The fury of Dragon Island was something even the Great Emperor Sects might not be able to endure, let alone the Azure Sun Divine Temple.
Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it, forget it. Don't worry about this. A man takes responsibility for his own actions. I'll handle it myself."
Gao Xueting asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Yang Kai spread his hands. "If I can't kill him and can't let him go, then I can only imprison him. What else is there?"
Zhu Lie was shocked upon hearing this and raised his head to roar, "You wouldn't dare!"
Yang Kai sneered. "Open your dog eyes wide and see whether I dare or not."
As he spoke, he tossed his hand out, and an ancient, unadorned small bell appeared before him, spinning as it dropped from the sky and rapidly growing larger.
Zhu Lie clearly sensed the danger as well. This bell looked utterly unremarkable—plain and without ornament—yet it gave him an impression of being as solid as a fortress. If he were truly trapped by this thing, he feared there would be no escape.
He struggled with all his might, but this only earned him a beating from Yang Kai that left him grimacing in pain.
The Mountain and River Bell descended, suppressing Zhu Lie within it. Yang Kai flashed out in an instant. Immediately, curses and sounds of frantic attacks came from inside the bell, but Yang Kai merely formed a hand seal, and the commotion fell silent.
The Mountain and River Bell was, after all, a mystical treasure from the primordial era, capable of suppressing all things. The True Phoenix Fire had been sealed within it for tens of thousands of years without being able to escape. Though Zhu Lie was of the Dragon Clan, once suppressed within it, he was equally helpless.
"This isn't a permanent solution!" Wen Zishan sighed.
Yang Kai said, "Palace Master, you and the others focus on the demonic will and the Great Emperor. Leave him to me. I guarantee he'll be completely docile within a month."
"If you're confident, that's for the best. But everything should be done in moderation." After saying this, Wen Zishan led the others away.
If not for all the upheaval that had occurred before, he would certainly have tried to resolve the Zhu Lie matter first. But now, for the Temple and the entire Southern Region, the most pressing matter was tracking down those fragments of demonic will, as well as the Red Dust Great Emperor. Wu Kuang had taken over Duan Hongchen's body, and no one knew what he would do.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Heaven-Devouring Great Emperor had brought calamity upon all living beings. Countless lives withered because of him. Compared to that, Dragon Island's fury and追究 were of secondary importance.
Within just a few days, the entire Southern Region was operating in high gear. Once the Great Emperor's Demon-Extermination Decree was issued, billions of warriors across the Southern Region were mobilized.
Yang Kai did not participate in any of it. During those days, he remained on Spirit Sword Peak.
Though a Demon-Sealing Ground had appeared on Spirit Sword Peak, the demonic will sealed within had all escaped. The ruins left behind held no dangers or anything special, so Spirit Sword Peak remained Yang Kai's spirit peak.
Yang Kai had already moved the Mountain and River Bell to Spirit Sword Peak, where Zhu Lie's cursing never ceased for even a moment, disturbing the peace.
Every day, Yang Kai went to teach him a lesson.
After losing that special dragon scale, Zhu Lie was no longer Yang Kai's match. In the face of Yang Kai using the Dragon Transformation Art, he couldn't even manifest his true form as a great dragon.
The Dragon Clan were tough to beat—no matter how severely Yang Kai beat him, Zhu Lie would recover to normal by the next day.