Family Meeting

Qin Yi knew he couldn't speak carelessly, or it would cause a huge uproar. Logically, the Dragon Son should be aware of this situation... there must be something wrong here; we need to observe further.

Anyway, the matter with the Feathered People is really settled, so at least we can breathe a sigh of relief in the short term. As for the Jian Mu Fruit, there is now a replacement solution, so it's not necessary to have the fruit at all. Gouzi said that a piece of the Wood Heart can be used for refining as a substitute. Given the Feathered People's current attitude, Qin Yi is sure that they will not object if he asks him to take out a slanted branch for refining.

Because they knelt down again.

They were kneeling to the sacred tree that had been revived, and also to Qin Yi.

All the winged beings placed their hands on their foreheads and bowed deeply in worship, as if welcoming a deity. Turning their heads, they could only see white feathers scattered all over the ground, like snow falling on the island.

Save the sacred tree of your clan and thwart the malicious plot of others.

It's probably second only to the Dragon God's kindness in saving their people back then.

They have served the Dragon Son for tens of thousands of years out of gratitude to the Dragon God, but what about Qin Yi's gratitude?

He also possessed the aura of a phoenix, making him an envoy of the phoenix. Radiating brilliance in every aspect—from lineage and achievements to emotions—he truly resembled a deity at this moment.

Even after wrongly accusing Qin Yi, he felt a mixture of shame and gratitude. For the stubborn Yu Ren, this moment was not only a pious bow, but also a feeling of being too ashamed to look up.

Qin Yi sometimes felt that humans are creatures prone to arrogance and decadence. For example, he used to find their kneeling etiquette incredibly awkward. But now, having gotten used to it, he actually felt a sense of satisfaction. And he even felt it was the proper thing to do; it would be strange not to kneel.

The thought flashed through his mind, but he was too embarrassed to have his mother-in-law and wife kneeling like that, so he immediately strode forward, picked up Yu Shang, and said with a smile, "I just wanted to prove that you didn't trust me wrong."

Yu Shang laughed, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and hung on him like a koala, before kissing him deeply.

Yu Shang was nearly 1.8 meters tall! She spread her wings again. This koala was quite difficult to hug; even Qin Yi felt a little awkward holding her, as if he were being completely enveloped by her, making muffled noises. The winged people secretly glanced up, their eyes filled with smiles.

After a long while, Qin Yi finally poked his head out from beside Yu Shang's wings, looking somewhat disheveled. "Mother-in-law, let's go back to the Holy Temple and talk about important matters."

Yu Feiling nodded with a smile, her voice softer than ever before. "Actually, you can go and rest with Yu Shang first... As for important matters, there's no rush."

That's true in theory, and there really isn't anything urgent at this point, but Qin Yi really didn't have the nerve to Heavenly Hand around like this, so he could only smile and say, "Business is more important."

Inside the temple, phoenix feathers floated softly in mid-air, radiating a warm light. The attendants had been dismissed, leaving only the elite of the Feathered People to listen in, including the High Priest who had rushed back from Xun Wood City and Yu Lan, all of whom stood solemnly to the left and right.

Yu Shang refused to get up from Qin Yi's lap, so Qin Yi held her in his arms during the meeting, ignoring everyone else.

Yu Feiling sat opposite Qin Yi, no longer caring how embarrassing her daughter and son-in-law were. She was too embarrassed to criticize Qin Yi any further. Actually, she knew it wasn't shameful; at this moment, countless other female Yufei were probably envious and wishing they could take her place...

There was also a strange feeling on the scene: the phoenix feathers were their sacred objects, but Qin Yi had already refined them into his possession. The feathered people looked at the soft phoenix feathers floating in mid-air, not knowing what they were thinking.

The first thing Qin Yi said was, "Let me remove Feng Yu's Divine Sense imprint first."

All the winged people were stunned for a moment.

Qin Yi said, "Because this matter has nothing to do with Feng Yu. The degree of conflict between Feng Yu and Jianmu will not manifest without a long accumulation of time, at least a thousand years. The reason I took it was simply to prevent Pixiu from succeeding. Now that Pixiu has retreated, this item should naturally still be placed in the temple for worship, which is very beneficial to all the Yu people."

Yu Feiling remained silent for a long time before saying in a low voice, "Since it will accumulate into problems over time, why be greedy for short-term gains? What's yours is yours, and you don't need to return it."

This time, Qin Yi was taken aback. "Welcoming back Feng Yu has been your wish for tens of thousands of years, hasn't it?"

"An object is ultimately just a symbol. Even without it, the Feathered People have lived for tens of thousands of years," Yu Feiling said calmly. "In times of war, everyone would hope that some member of our clan could subdue the Phoenix Feather and use it for their own purposes. Now that it hasn't fallen into the hands of villains and is still in the hands of our own Husband, isn't that enough? It's the rightful fate for the Phoenix Feather."

Qin Yi praised, "My mother-in-law is so carefree. I thought the Feathered People would be very rigid."

"We can be very rigid," Yu Feiling smiled slightly, "But you really are one of our own."

Qin Yi smiled and didn't stand on ceremony with her. Indeed, if the phoenix feather were left here for too long, it would eventually clash with the Jianmu tree after a certain number of years. There was no point in rigidly worshipping it. It would be a good home for family members to use. This mother-in-law was very sensible.

Although he shares the same mindset as other feathered people, he is truly a magnanimous leader.

Yu Feiling continued, "Moreover, you have done a great favor for my clan this time, so it is only right to give the phoenix feather as a reward. Besides, you risked your life to bring back the phoenix feather, so this must be a predestined fate."

Qin Yi nodded, no longer standing on ceremony, and said directly, "To be honest, I cultivate Fire Element Technique Method, and the phoenix feathers are indeed useful to me. Seeing that they can raise my fire seed to a higher level, I won't stand on ceremony with everyone."

The winged people all looked on as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and some even smiled. It was actually a good thing that he was willing to ask for things; otherwise... if he had asked for people, they wouldn't know what to do.

This also proves the Husband's character. He obtained something that was extremely useful to him, something that could have immediate effects, but he never even considered embezzling it. He went through great lengths to return it to the Feathered Man. He truly is a man of integrity. Compared to the Pixiu ... it's like comparing apples and oranges.

"As for the matter of the Dragon Son..." Qin Yi paused, his expression becoming somewhat solemn, "The Pixiu is only after treasures, so that's understandable. But what do you all think about the matter of Yazi?"

Upon hearing this, the winged people's expressions became serious.

This is a very serious matter. It shows that the higher-ups have a problem with them, and not only do they have a problem, they are also using underhanded methods to try to win them over. This has reached a critical point. It's no longer a matter of simply ignoring them or pretending nothing happened.

It's time to make a decision and compromise.

They either have to leave as a whole clan, or if they can't bear to part with their homeland where they've lived for tens of thousands of years and can't leave Jianmu... then they need at least a solution, such as having a more powerful Dragon Son back them up.

The problem is, Yazi has opinions about them, but what about the other Dragon Son? They may not say it out loud, but do they actually have opinions deep down?

Their problem is the serious issue of "not being on the same side as the Dragon Son," not a matter of choosing sides among the nine princes. You either completely submit to one of the Dragon Son, but how different is that from submitting to Yazi? It's just that they're easier to serve.

The winged people were unwilling to serve others, nor were they willing to betray their Phoenix Lord.

This is an intractable deadlock.

"It's actually very simple. Look at your faces, like your fathers have died. Is it really that big of a deal?" Dog suddenly poked his head out of the ring. "Why don't you just follow me?"

The feathered people were astonished.

Qin Yi almost slapped it; he had already raised his hand halfway when he suddenly paused.

This... might be a viable solution.

If the dog really goes back to take the top position, then the winged people will nominally be under its command, and the other Dragon Son won't have anything to say. If Ya Zi is not convinced, they can just fight.

The question is, why is the dog so sure it can get the top position? There's some inside story, but the dog hasn't explained it clearly.

And... if the dog leaves and someone else becomes its king, will it still be the same adorable dog it is now...?

It's a glutton!