"Insolent!" Ancestor Jin Zhong flew into a towering rage, his eyes bulging with fury. A demigod-level wave of pressure crashed toward the group like a battering ram.
Clearly, Ancestor Jin Zhong was not the type to compromise easily. The things he had set his eyes on — how could he tolerate these people muscling in? And he would certainly not allow them to take a cut.
He wanted it all for himself.
These men had already reached a tacit understanding among themselves. Seeing Ancestor Jin Zhong try to cow them with his pressure, they felt a surge of anger of their own. With well-coordinated effort, each of them shouldered a portion of the force — and to his surprise, they absorbed his pressure without breaking a sweat.
Ancestor Jin Zhong was genuinely taken aback. He had assumed that once he released his divine sense pressure, these fellows would scatter in disarray — some fleeing, others too slow to escape. He had expected to shatter their composure with a single move.
He had not anticipated that these people would already be acting in concert. Was this an outright rebellion?
Ancestor Jin Zhong regarded them with a frigid gaze and asked in a cold voice, "What's this? Are you openly defying me, Ancestor?"
"Ancestor, don't put it so harshly. We mean well — truly. Right now, we're all in the same boat. When trouble arises, we should stand united, shouldn't we?"
"Exactly. If everyone acts selfishly at a time like this, won't we be walking the same road that led to the fall of the Eternal Divine Kingdom? Come to think of it, those very words were just in your mouth, Ancestor — that we must remain united."
Ancestor Jin Zhong seethed. He had indeed said almost exactly those words moments ago.
And now these men were throwing them right back in his face, leaving him momentarily without a retort.
Though his fury was reaching a breaking point, Ancestor Jin Zhong had not lost his reason. He could see that these people had come prepared.
Obviously, they had already formed a compact.
They were dead set on being part of this.
Ancestor Jin Zhong was not an impulsive man. After weighing the odds, he realized that trying to suppress all of them by himself would be extraordinarily difficult.
More critically, if they descended into open combat, his plans would be completely derailed.
So after a brief moment of deliberation, he calmed himself instantly. Brute force was clearly not an option — he needed to be strategic.
He offered a thin smile. "I appreciate your enthusiasm. Since that's the case, let's speak plainly. This True Dragon must be captured alive. Help me subdue it, and there will be no shortage of rewards for you in the future."
"Ancestor, 'rewards in the future' — that's rather vague, isn't it? We'd prefer to divide things right here and now."
"Nonsense! Do you not understand that a living True Dragon is worth more than ten dead ones?"
Ancestor Jin Zhong was truly enraged.
"Heh heh, then tell us, Ancestor — how do you propose we split the spoils?"
"Indeed. If the living dragon goes to you, Ancestor, and we get nothing — that hardly seems fair."
Their words grew increasingly brazen.
Ancestor Jin Zhong snorted coldly. "Then what exactly do you want?"
"We'll defer to the Ancestor's judgment, so long as it's reasonable. We'll naturally accept anything fair."
"Reasonable?" Ancestor Jin Zhong let out a disdainful snort. After a long pause, he spoke. "Fine. I'll grant each of you three drops of True Dragon blood essence, delivered in installments. As for Ling Shi and Spiritual Medicine, we can negotiate those separately, with a combined value no less than one billion Heavenly Ling Shi. How does that sound?"
It was a generous offer. One billion Heavenly Ling Shi was an absolutely staggering number.
But for titans of major sects and families, while one billion Heavenly Ling Shi was impressive, it was hardly the most enticing part of the deal.
Seeing that these men remained unmoved, Ancestor Jin Zhong's fury boiled over. "Don't be too greedy. Without you, I can handle this just fine on my own."
"Heh heh, Ancestor, the offer shows some sincerity. But compared to the blood essence of a True Dragon, it still falls short."
"Then what would be enough?" Ancestor Jin Zhong was fuming.
"If we help you subdue this True Dragon, Ancestor, and you later break through to the Divine Path, you must owe each of us three personal favors. Whether it's for ourselves or for our descendants, whenever we come to you with a request, you must agree."
"Three favors each?" Ancestor Jin Zhong's voice turned icy.
"Yes."
"There are seven of you. Three each means twenty-one favors total — would you have me at your beck and call for the rest of my life?"
"Ancestor, compared to True Dragon blood essence, that's not much, is it?"
Ancestor Jin Zhong replied flatly, "What if you make unreasonable demands? Am I supposed to fulfill them without question? No such principle exists under heaven."
"Rest assured — our requests will never harm your interests, nor will they violate any fundamental moral principles."
Ancestor Jin Zhong fell silent, clearly weighing the proposition in his mind.
These people are clearly trying to extort me at my most vulnerable. As if I'd let them have their way? I'll agree to their terms for now and deal with them one by one afterward.