The great hall fell silent for several breaths.
The expression of the Dragon-Robed Elder changed, taking on a look of renewed scrutiny.
"You're clever." The old man's voice slowed. "But clever people should know that some things are not theirs to refuse."
"I just refused."
Zhou Xuan answered without hesitation.
"An Immortal Vein, ten thousand years of life. Sounds nice."
Zhou Xuan stepped half a pace back and leaned against the edge of the table to rest.
"But what happens after we submit? What do the three million mortals of the Northern Lands become to you? Cannon fodder? Or Vow Power batteries?"
The golden beads on the old man's ceremonial crown clinked together with a faint, scattered sound.
"What gives you the right to refuse?"
The moment he finished speaking, the starry sky overhead abruptly pressed down three feet.
Ye Changqing, who had only just stood up, crashed back to the floor. He fell flat without even managing a grunt.
Lin Qingzhu's forehead struck the stone tiles with a dull thud.
Zhou Xuan's legs bent again, his kneecaps crackling.
This time, Zhou Xuan did not use Sword Intent to break through.
Zhou Xuan reached into his robes and took a Crystal Stone from his Storage Ring.
The Crystal Stone was the size of a thumb and transparent throughout, with fine patterns slowly flowing inside it.
Those patterns were neatly arranged, free of breaks and impurities, their lines exquisitely precise.
This was a Law Crystal Zhou Xuan had purified using the system's Gold Touch Value.
The instant he took out the Crystal Stone, the great hall grew warmer.
The illusory starry sky overhead dimmed somewhat before the Crystal Stone's faint glow.
The Crystal Stone's light was gentle and pure, without any aggression, yet it suppressed every other fluctuation of energy in