A fight to the death!
The moment those words left the Second Elder's lips, the atmosphere on the scene shifted dramatically.
Had anyone else said such a thing, it might have been nothing more than a threat. But coming from the Second Elder herself, it was a declaration of absolute, unremitting hostility! She had been pushed to her absolute limit, and only Yang Kai's blood could wash away the humiliation inflicted upon the Dragon Clan.
Zhu Qing's face went pale.
She had believed that capturing Fu Chi would give them room to negotiate with the Elders. Who could have imagined it would provoke the Second Elder into making such a pronouncement? Panic surged through her heart, and she no longer knew what to do. All she could do was fix her gaze on Yang Kai's tall, broad back.
"You still dare to threaten me?" Yang Kai's expression turned vicious. Without another word, he seized one of Fu Chi's arms. The enormous disparity in their sizes made his two fingers look as though they were pinching a toothpick.
"What are you doing!" Fu Chi cried out in alarm.
Before the words had even left his mouth, Yang Kai had already exerted his strength.
Rip...
Blood sprayed into the air.
Fu Chi froze for an instant, and then a terrible scream tore from his throat.
That arm had been ripped clean off Yang Kai's body. The severed end was ragged and uneven, and blood gushed forth in torrents. Each drop of pure dragon blood fountained into the air like a spring—crystalline and perfectly round—and the moment they struck the ground, the earth was stained crimson.
Dragon blood was an extraordinarily precious substance. Any single drop was worth a fortune; it could be used to refine pills or consumed directly. For dragon descendants like Li Jiao, dragon blood was even more effective than Dragon Blood Flowers.
Yet at this moment, this inconceivably valuable dragon blood was pouring out as though it cost nothing. The vivid crimson assaulted everyone's senses, leaving them stricken with dread.
"Hsss..."
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Every person stared at him with blank, uncomprehending eyes, their faces filled with shock and horror.
Zhu Yan and Zhu Kong both took a step forward simultaneously, their expressions turning grave. An overwhelming dragon aura crashed down upon Yang Kai like a tidal wave. They had held back before because Yang Kai had not yet done anything that genuinely harmed Dragon Island's interests, and for Zhu Qing's sake, they had been unwilling to bully a junior.
But the situation was different now. The arm of an eighth-rank Thunder Dragon had been torn from his body with bare hands. As Dragon Island's Grand Elder and Fourth Elder, they could not simply stand by and watch.
"You dare!" Yang Kai turned his head and glared at Zhu Yan and Zhu Kong, clamping his hand around Fu Chi's other arm. His expression was savage, like a beast ready to devour a man at any moment, and his eyes blazed with a terrifying, murderous light.
Zhu Yan and Zhu Kong halted in their tracks. The Grand Elder spoke in a deep, heavy voice: "You have gone too far."
Yang Kai shook his head. "It is your Dragon Island that has gone too far!"
"The rights and wrongs of this matter are plain for all to see. Release Fu Chi, and there is still room for discussion."
Yang Kai answered without a moment's hesitation: "There is nothing to discuss with you. Let me and Qing'er leave, and I will let him live. Otherwise, we all die together!"
If before these words had been nothing more than an empty, toothless threat, they now carried tremendous weight. He had torn off one of Fu Chi's arms over a single disagreement—he had clearly already made up his mind to drag Fu Chi down with him.
The Grand Elder and Second Elder of the Dragon Clan, either one of them possessed the power to take his life. But killing him would mean Fu Chi's certain death as well. The Dragon Clan was small in number and simply could not afford such a loss.
"Release him!" the Second Elder snarled through clenched teeth.
Yang Kai wasted no more words. He simply let out a cold snort and exerted his strength once more.
Rip...
Fu Chi's other arm was torn off as well. Yang Kai tossed the severed limb aside without a care, and his eyes locked onto Fu Zhun without the slightest flicker, brimming with provocation.
You threaten me, I rip off one of Fu Chi's arms. You shout at me, I rip off another. Lose the arms and there are still the legs. Dragonkind possessed extraordinary vitality after all—these wounds alone were not enough to be fatal. You want to betroth Zhu Qing to Fu Chi? Fine, I'll kill Fu Chi first and see how you manage that.
Against the Dragon Clan, one could not afford a single shred of weakness. If you played hard, he would play harder.
Fu Zhun's face had turned an ashen shade of fury.
Even the events of over a decade ago had never provoked such rage within her. But this time, Yang Kai's actions had pushed her anger to unprecedented heights.
With both arms torn from his body, Fu Chi's face was deathly pale and his entire frame trembled uncontrollably. He was a member of the Dragon Clan—his body should have been extraordinarily tough. Under normal circumstances, no one should have been capable of ripping his arms from their sockets like this.
But Yang Kai had assumed his eight-zhang dragon form, wielding strength beyond measure. Forget Fu Chi—even if the Grand Elder or Second Elder were caught in his grip, he could tear them apart for all the world to see.
Fu Chi hung his head low, his eyes filled with venomous hatred.
"You have ten breaths to consider your answer. Decide what you will!" Yang Kai's gaze swept over the three Dragon Clan Elders, and the moment he finished speaking, he began counting aloud.
He was clearly the one at a disadvantage, yet his posture was supremely arrogant—as though he were the one in control of everything, as though he alone held dominion over the situation. The sight of it left everyone watching feeling profoundly unsettled.