Qiangu Dongfeng stared fixedly at Lu Jun, his voice hoarse and trembling from his injuries.
"Y-you mean it? You'll keep your word? It only needs to last until the Abyss war ends?"
Lu Jun stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze open and frank, carrying the certainty unique to the strong.
"I, Lu Jun, never change my name standing or sitting. My word is law. Once spoken, heaven and earth shall bear witness."
"The day the war ends will be the day your Qiangu Family regains its freedom. Whether you become dragons or worms afterward will have nothing to do with me."
Qiangu Dongfeng took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, as though forcing all the humiliation, anger, and hesitation from his chest.
He glanced at his father, Qiangu Dieting, who stood beside him with equally complicated eyes but a faint desire to survive. In the end, as if exhausting all his strength, he nodded heavily.
"Fine. I... Qiangu Dongfeng, in the name of the Thousand Ancient Family's patriarch... agree to this compensation!"
"A wise choice."
Lu Jun nodded slightly.
He said no more. Raising his right hand, he condensed Soul Power at his fingertips and rapidly traced through the air.
Strands of icy blue light intertwined and sketched themselves like living creatures, swiftly forming a contract document that shone with the radiance of laws. Every term they had just agreed upon was clearly listed upon it:
The Thousand Ancient Family would offer the Leng Family resources equivalent to ten percent of its total annual income, until the war against the Abyss Plane completely ended, at which point the contract would automatically become void.
Once the contract took shape, it emitted waves of binding power as it floated in midair.
"Use your blood to sign your true name."