Then This Junior Will Offend You

The atmosphere in the entire main hall turned grave in an instant, stifling to the extreme, as if even the air had become a thick glue.

The gazes of the two Dou Sheng Elders, even without deliberately releasing their pressure, were enough to make an ordinary Dou Venerate's mind collapse and his Dou Qi scatter. An invisible storm seemed to be brewing in the silence.

Under that heavy silence that seemed to have frozen time, and beneath the invisible pressure of the two Dou Sheng elders, time seemed to stretch especially long. Every breath was like moving through the deep sea, bearing immense pressure from every direction.

At last, after that long, heart-palpitating scrutiny, the Great Elder on the left, dressed in hemp robes and with a withered face, slowly spoke.

His aged voice was not loud, yet it seemed to possess a strange penetrating force, like an ancient bell chime, echoing clearly through the vast space of the main hall. Every word carried a heavy weight, along with a faint, barely perceptible scrutiny and question:

"Zhu Li."

The Great Elder's gaze was like a warm yet bottomless ancient well. It swept over Zhu Li, who stood respectfully, then seemed to pass over Lin Ming, Qing Lin, and Xiong Zhan behind him as if by accident, before finally settling on Zhu Li once more. His tone was deep and grave, carrying the majesty accumulated through the years.

"You did not hesitate to use the Bloodline Mark to forcibly awaken us from the deep slumber that delays our lifespan... for what reason?"

He paused slightly. In those eyes that seemed to contain the birth and death of stars and the turning of the universe, a sharp light flashed as he continued, "I remember giving clear instructions. Unless East Dragon Island encountered