Fox Borrowing the Tiger's Might, Negotiations Begin!

Even the human Lords of the Era did not dare answer Ao Guang's question head-on.

Instead, he tossed the difficult problem to Xuan Shiba, who was watching the show from the side!

The meaning was clear: the human race was merely a Tier-B Race and a subordinate race of the Black Tortoise Race. With the strength of the entire human race, they dared not offend the Dragon Race. But as one of the Seven Royal Races, was the Black Tortoise Race really going to stand by and watch the humans be bullied?

"Uh..." Xuan Shiba poked out his head, looking troubled.

"Xuan Shiba, I advise you not to ruin yourself. This decision came from within the Haotian Pagoda. If your Black Tortoise Race insists on sheltering the human race over this matter, then once war breaks out, the fire at the city gate will spread to the fish in the moat. Though your Black Tortoise Race is one of the Seven Royal Races, I fear you won't be able to bear the fury of the entire Dragon Race!"

Xuan Shiba rolled his eyes. Ao Guang had truly mastered the art of borrowing the tiger's might to scare others!

Then he turned his turtle head toward that enormous eye. "Lord Tianyan, although Ao Guang isn't much of a thing, what he says does make some sense. This time, your human newcomer Gaia overwhelmed the myriad races. Our race's Saint Son Tian didn't say anything, but the Dragon Race, which has dominated the rankings for years, had even Zhu Jiu—the genius upon whom the entire Dragon Race had placed great hopes—suppressed by her. I'm afraid they won't be able to swallow that anger!"

Lord Tianyan remained silent. Xuan Shiba continued to fan the flames. "Besides, your human newcomer Kun actually received an unprecedented SSSS-tier rating. Even the Three Saint Races have never received such glory. Our Black Tortoise Race isn't jealous, but you know as well as I do that the Dragon Race has never been particularly magnanimous!"

"Xuan Shiba, watch your words!" Ao Guang roared.

Xuan Shiba shook his head, not taking him seriously at all.

After a long silence, Lord Tianyan finally spoke. "So, from what you're saying, the Black Tortoise Race does not wish to shelter the human race?"

Xuan Shiba shook his turtle head from side to side. "That's not what I mean. Since the human race is a subordinate race of the Black Tortoise Race, just as when this idiotic dragon Ao Guang wanted to flood the entire Jiangnan Base City, our Black Tortoise Race naturally cannot simply stand by!"

"But in the end, the Dragon Race has no intention of making a huge fuss this time. They only want you to hand over one person. That isn't excessive, is it?"

Hearing Xuan Shiba speak on his behalf, Ao Guang nodded as well, though the words "idiotic dragon" sounded particularly grating to him.

"At least you, Xuan Shiba, understand the bigger picture!"

Xuan Shiba could not help rolling his eyes again, muttering inwardly, Idiot. You really think I'm speaking for you? I insult you and you still thank me. What a pig brain!

"Not excessive? He is a newcomer who has brought enormous gains to the entire human race. If we humans betray him, how will we ever stand tall in this world?" Emotion had already seeped into Lord Tianyan's voice.

Ao Guang, who had only just become a little bolder, immediately shrank back, afraid that the other party might lose his temper and kill him on the spot.

Xuan Shiba forced himself to continue. "Lord Tianyan, what you say is certainly true. But as far as I know, although this human newcomer achieved unprecedented results, his talent is only the lowest-ranked F-tier talent among all races!"

"This time, he probably only received an SSSS-tier rating through a lucky coincidence!"

"It isn't that I'm heartless, but I ask Lord Tianyan to think carefully. Between an F-tier Talented Individual and the survival of the entire human race, which is more important? I believe you can tell the difference, my lord."

After saying that, Xuan Shiba put on an expression of concern for him. "My lord, you wouldn't want the entire human race to bury its great prospects because of a single decision, would you?"

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Though he was the person at the center of it all, Xu Kun—now merely a spectator—felt his lips turn pale.

He looked at Hao Jian beside him. "Jian Jian, if it were you, would you hand him over or not?"

Hao Jian froze, unable to understand why Xu Kun would ask such a question. Was this even something they could decide?

"Answer me. Hand him over, or not?"

In his anxiety, Xu Kun tightly gripped Hao Jian's shoulders.

Hao Jian's breathing became hurried. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I... I don't know!"

But seeing that something was wrong with Xu Kun's emotions, Hao Jian added, "If it were only me, I'd rather die than betray one of my own. But what Lord Tianyan has to weigh is the future of the entire human race..."

Hearing this, Xu Kun's heart instantly went still as death, and his hands fell limply to his sides.

"Kun Kun, don't scare me. What are you doing? With Lord Tianyan here, even if the sky falls, there are taller people to hold it up. What are you afraid of?"

Hao Jian supported Xu Kun. Feeling that his body was ice-cold, he immediately panicked.

"Xuan Shiba, the human race is willing to increase our forces on the Myriad Races Battlefield by 20% for ten consecutive years and fight for the Black Tortoise Race. We beg the Black Tortoise Race to shelter the human race this time. We humans will never betray our own kind! This is the foundation upon which the human race stands!"

Xuan Shiba was taken aback upon hearing this and was somewhat tempted, but in the end, he still shook his head.

"30%!"

At that astonishing figure, even the pupils in Xuan Shiba's tiny eyes contracted.

Yet he still refused. "Lord Tianyan, forgive our race for being unable to help. Our race will not go to war with the Dragon Race over the human race's mistaken decision!"

Lord Tianyan seemed to grow agitated. He turned to Ao Guang again. "The human race can agree to the Dragon Race's other conditions, including giving up a portion of our high-level resources. But Trial Taker Kun absolutely cannot be handed over!"

Unlike Xuan Shiba, who had been tempted, Ao Guang's stance was much clearer. "Lord Tianyan, my apologies, but this matter is not a transaction. The intentions of the Dragon Race behind me are already very clear!"

"Hand him over, or go to war!"

Xuan Shiba lowered his head, laughing wildly inside. Good, this is exactly what I wanted!

The more stubborn you are, the happier I'll be. Yang Jian, I know your character. You would rather be shattered jade than intact tile. If you yield this time, then the human race's foundation of a hundred years will collapse, and the faith in humanity that you built will shatter into pieces!

If the human race is not united, it will be nothing but a heap of loose sand. Then it will be effortless for our Black Tortoise Race to completely absorb the human race and use them for ourselves!

But I still hope you keep standing firm, because only then can our Black Tortoise Race gain both fame and fortune!

Sure enough, after seeing that neither great race had accepted his request, Lord Tianyan spoke again.

"Then let us fight!"

"The human race would rather die standing than live kneeling!"

"Never before, and never in the future! The human race will not trade the betrayal of our own kind for temporary peace!"

"All humans of Jiangnan Base City, listen well!"

"Our human race has endured to this day. From near extinction, we have grown into a race ranked close to a thousandth in the Myriad Races Sequence. What we relied on was not the Lords of the Era, one of whom emerges every century, myself included!"

"We relied on the unyielding faith of our human race!"

"The era has power, humanity has hope, and the people have faith. Through thousands of years of inheritance, we were once the rulers of Blue Star. We have never yielded to any race or anything!"

"Even if the enemy outnumbers us, even if it is one of the Three Saint Races, even if it is the Dragon Race, foremost among the myriad races—if they wish to bully humanity, then humanity will not submit!"

"Today, I will use Ao Guang's blood to forge humanity's immortal faith. When the Dragon Race's armies reach our gates one day, I, Yang Jian, swear in the name of a Lord of the Era that I will be the first to perish before the battle lines, with no regrets even after a hundred deaths!"

Having said that, he ignored the hundreds of millions of human citizens below, whose emotions had already been whipped into a frenzy. His enormous eye flew open, and his gaze became tangible, tightly binding Ao Guang's entire dragon body in place!

Since negotiations had fallen apart, there was no need to keep talking. Since Ao Guang was willing to represent the Dragon Race in oppressing humanity, then he could not blame humanity for making an example of him first!

Under Lord Tianyan's overwhelming power, Ao Guang, who had been about to resist, lacked even the slightest ability to fight back. His entire dragon body was nailed firmly to the ground by the tangible gaze.

Dragon scales shattered one after another, dragon blood flowed freely, and Ao Guang let out wave after wave of miserable cries.

"Yang Jian, you can't! Stop!"

"When two races go to war, they do not kill envoys! You're breaking the rules!"

"Bullshit! Your Dragon Race trying to make an example of humanity is already a violation of the Myriad Races Pact! If anyone broke the rules, it was your Dragon Race first!"

Lord Tianyan, a Lord of the Era, had actually cursed in public!

Was this a distortion of humanity, or a loss of morality? Welcome to CCAV... Ahem, wrong channel!

This was not the Haotian Pagoda, where one could judge a creature's life force by its health bar. Ao Guang now possessed a body of genuine flesh and blood. The dragon that had previously declared it would flood Jiangnan Base City now had not the slightest power to resist against humanity's Lord of the Era of this generation!

Before long, Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, would perish here!

Xuan Shiba watched as Ao Guang was beaten until he wept and wailed miserably. While secretly delighted, it also knew that the time had come.

"Lord Tianyan, stop. Everything can be discussed. If you kill Ao Guang, there truly will be no turning back!"

"What is there left to discuss? Your Black Tortoise Race refuses to offer protection, and the Dragon Race refuses to yield. Since we cannot reach an agreement, then there is nothing to discuss! Humanity can only fight to the death with blood!"

"When the human elders within the Haotian Pagoda learn of this, they surely will not blame us descendants for choosing to resist the coercion of the Dragon Race, leader of the Three Saint Races. As descendants, when faced with threats, we did not compromise, did not retreat, and instead chose a fight to the death. Even if we die, humanity will die with honor and be remembered by future generations forever!"

"If the hide is gone, where can the fur attach? Our human elders will surely let the Dragon Race know that since they wish to destroy humanity's foundation, then the elders who have struggled for centuries will no longer have any reservations. Dragon Race, prepare to be dragged down from your pedestal!"

Humanity was not a race to be slaughtered at will!

Your Dragon Race was strong, but humanity also had nine Lords of the Era. Even if we could not defeat the Dragon Race, when all the common humans were wiped out, the goal that countless human elders had fought for would no longer exist!

If the foundation was gone, then there was only a desperate fight to the death. Humanity did not fear death. Once we exhausted all our reserves, how many of your Dragon Race's upper echelons could bear the price of falling?

Since Cang, humanity had never feared war. Every generation of Lords of the Era had fought their way out through blood and fire. When the race for which they had shed blood and sacrificed their lives no longer existed, then they would only feast upon their enemies' flesh in righteous fury and drink the blood of the myriad races with laughter!

The rules maintained for a thousand years would be utterly shattered here. Let humanity be the one to usher in an era of great chaos!

The only question was whether your Dragon Race could bear such a price!

This was the confidence that set humanity apart from ordinary Tier-B Races!

It was also why, despite humanity's repeated declines, no race had ever dared to completely exterminate humanity!

No one could calculate the consequences. The price was far too heavy!

"Ao Guang, if you don't want to die, then hurry up and yield! Contact your Dragon Race's upper echelons. If this matter can still be discussed, then discuss it!"

Hearing Xuan Shiba's reminder, Ao Guang hurriedly pleaded, "Stop! Let me ask for instructions!"

"But I don't want to negotiate anymore. Today, I want to see just how tyrannical your Dragon Race truly is!"

When it came to being tyrannical, Yang Jian was even more so at this moment.

Xuan Shiba could not stand by any longer. Gritting its teeth, it pulled its head, limbs, and tail into its tortoise shell. Then its entire body spun, rolling rapidly into the air above Ao Guang, who was struggling on the ground.

It used its formidable shell to block Yang Jian's gaze attack!

But even with its defenses, the instant it made contact, it spat out a mouthful of blood, and cracks actually appeared across its shell!

Yang Jian truly intended to kill!

Xuan Shiba gritted its teeth and roared furiously, "Yang Jian, stop right now! Is offending the Dragon Race not enough for you? Are you planning to offend my Black Tortoise Race as well?"

Whoosh!

Yang Jian ultimately retained a trace of reason and withdrew his devastating attack.

Xuan Shiba crashed to the ground on its back, limbs flailing in the air. Its exposed turtle head went limp and drooped onto the ground, white fluid continuously dribbling from its mouth. It looked considerably weaker, and it would be hard for it to recover anytime soon.

Ao Guang was in even worse condition. Its dragon scales were shattered, dragon blood poured out endlessly, and even its two Dragon Horns had been broken by more than half.

If this had been inside the Haotian Pagoda, it would have had only a sliver of health left.

"Ao Guang, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and contact your Dragon Race's upper echelons!"

With white fluid spilling from its mouth, Xuan Shiba cursed irritably. It knew humanity's Lords of the Era were powerful, but it had not known they were powerful to this extent!

It was clearly from the same era as him, yet just how strong had Yang Jian become now?

After all, Ao Guang and it had come here in their true bodies, while Yang Jian's true body had not appeared. The eye in the sky was merely a manifestation of his power, yet even so, it had nearly killed both Ao Guang and it instantly!

Ao Guang did not dare delay. Enduring its injuries, it sent a message back to the Dragon Palace through a special method.

The final reply was, "The Dragon Race's bottom line is that we absolutely will not allow Kun to grow into the existence of that one!"

The giant eye in the sky narrowed. "How is that any different from handing him over? Is your Dragon Race trying to snuff out his future?"

Having said that, it prepared to attack again.

"Wait, wait!" Xuan Shiba struggled to roll over, its massive body making the entire ground tremble.

"Let me say something fair!"

Xuan Shiba stopped it, panting heavily as the cracked shell on its back rapidly repaired itself.

"I understand what the Dragon Race means. You're afraid another being like that one will appear, aren't you?"

Ao Guang nodded weakly. The reply to his message had come quickly just now; clearly, the entire Dragon Race had already prepared a contingency plan for this.

Although Kun had received an SSSS-tier rating, his talent was ultimately only F-tier. The Dragon Ancestor's original intention had merely been to prevent trouble before it happened. They had no intention of completely falling out with the human race over this, much less disrupting the order that had been maintained for a thousand years!

"I have a way to put the Dragon Race at ease without making the human race betray its beliefs!"

Xuan Shiba wept inwardly. I've finally made it to this point. Good thing I didn't give up. At least I didn't nearly get myself killed for nothing!

Two gazes locked onto Xuan Shiba at the same time.

Xuan Shiba had recovered considerably by now. Facing those two doubtful gazes, it smiled. "The Dragon Race is only afraid that Kun will grow into an existence as terrifying as that one. In that case, wouldn't it be enough to ensure that all his actions remain under the Dragon Race's control?"

"Isn't our Black Tortoise Race's Mystic Sky Seal made precisely to restrain this kind of existence?"

Ao Guang's eyes lit up at those words.

Xuan Shiba, meanwhile, cautiously glanced at the giant eye in the sky.

Ao Guang was such an idiot. He probably didn't even know that Xuan Shiba had waited so long and gone through all this trouble precisely for this outcome!

But Yang Jian was different. Aside from his personal strength, which made Xuan Shiba wary, his formidable intellect was what made even the Black Tortoise Race's upper ranks sigh in awe and fear him!

With that brain of his, he had probably understood Xuan Shiba's real intentions the moment he heard those words, hadn't he?

Sure enough, the moment Xuan Shiba finished speaking, Yang Jian's gaze turned hostile. "Your Black Tortoise Race has planned this deeply indeed. You waited all this time for the human race to refuse and the Dragon Race to compromise, so that your Black Tortoise Race could reap the benefits!"

Ao Guang froze upon hearing that.

Was that true?

Xuan Shiba had risked its life to protect me just now... because it had an ulterior motive?

Xuan Shiba's eyes flickered, and it said awkwardly, "This is the best way to handle things. Our Black Tortoise Race will give the Dragon Race the means to monitor the Mystic Sky Seal. That way, the Dragon Race's upper ranks can rest easy. Your human race will neither betray its convictions nor suffer a calamity. Why not?"

Ao Guang hurriedly sent a message and received the answer: if "Kun" could be branded with the Mystic Sky Seal and the Dragon Race could obtain the monitoring method, then this could be done!

But before he could rejoice, Yang Jian said bluntly, "I disagree!"

"You want a prodigy of the human race to become a puppet of your Black Tortoise Race? What happened back then will never be allowed to happen again!"

Xuan Shiba looked as though it had expected this.

Once bitten, twice shy. The human race truly still harbored deep resentment over what had happened three hundred years ago and would not allow history to repeat itself!

But that hadn't been its original goal anyway. A mere F-tier Talented Individual would be easy enough to control!

Far easier to deal with than that one from back then!

It shot a glare at Ao Guang, who was about to speak, its meaning obvious.

I know you're anxious, but don't be.

Ao Guang apparently understood the meaning in its gaze and shut his mouth.

Really, he was just afraid of dying. Who knew what that lunatic Yang Jian might do?

"If the Mystic Sky Seal won't do, then the Mystic Spirit Seal should be acceptable, right? Lord Tianyan, if even this is unacceptable, then there's clearly nothing left to discuss. As a subordinate race of our Black Tortoise Race, the human race can consider Xuan Shiba to have done all it could for you today!"

After saying that, it glanced at Ao Guang.

Before Ao Guang could send the message to his clan, he received a reply from the Dragon Palace.

"The Mystic Spirit Seal is acceptable as well, but we must obtain the monitoring method!"

Ao Guang took a deep breath, cursing those old geezers inwardly. Every one of them understood the situation here perfectly, yet none of them dared show up in person. They were all afraid of Yang Jian!

"If you refuse even the Mystic Spirit Seal, then there is nothing more to discuss. Our Dragon Race agrees to the Black Tortoise Race's proposal. What does the human race say?"