Fate

"You old hag! Shut your mouth! Medusa is my woman now. You have no right to judge her!"

Hearing the Snake God's words, Long Xiao laughed in fury. If she put his queen in a foul mood, who was going to soothe her?

How could this Snake God be so beautiful yet so vicious at heart?

Long Xiao's words eased much of the pain in Medusa's heart. Her grip on his wrist tightened involuntarily, and she felt a sense of security unlike anything she had ever known.

Seeing Medusa's gesture, Long Xiao's gaze darkened. Then he turned to her with a gentle smile. "Don't worry. I won't let you die."

A warm current rose in her heart.

The Snake God's gaze turned sinister at Long Xiao's actions. She had to admit that this brat was far too bold.

Long Xiao looked at the Snake God again and sneered. "I've read the histories of the Medusa Lineage, but I noticed that every Queen Medusa's death was shrouded in mystery. Disappearance? Suicide? Cultivation deviation?"

"Now that I think about it, you were behind all of them."

Everyone was stunned by Long Xiao's words.

If this truly was the Snake God's doing, then she was the traitor through and through!

The Snake God said nothing, merely watching Long Xiao with interest. This little fellow intrigued her.

She truly had not expected this. This human was quite perceptive. No wonder he had bewitched the current Medusa so completely, and could even help her evolve.

But however many secrets he had, they would soon all belong to her.

"Every Medusa was your sacrifice, a tool for selecting a body for your resurrection. To spur competition between them, you established a rule: if twins hatched from a single egg, one had to die."

"What's more, you arranged their education from childhood: tribal rules, the tribe above all else, and the need to be cold, heartless, and alone. Only such a disposition could make them strong. After being steeped in those ideas for so long, they would most likely agree even to the demand you just made."

"Every Queen Medusa underwent a baptism at the altar at birth and again upon reaching maturity. The first baptism, at birth, was how you screened for exceptional talent. Only someone whose talent surpassed yours could become your target, but in all these years, there hasn't been a single one."

"As for the second baptism, it was possession!"

"I found no shortage of outstanding queens throughout history. Some were Dou Zun, others Dou Sheng, yet all met untimely deaths. I imagine that after their second baptism, you destroyed their souls and took over the rest of their lives, didn't you?"

"Once your soul power declined and you grew tired of playing, you found some convenient way to die, let a new queen succeed you, and returned to the altar to rest and recover."

"As for why the queens of recent generations lived shorter lives, their bloodlines and strength probably grew weaker and weaker. You didn't think them worth your attention, so you simply killed them as soon as they gave birth to the next generation. Medusa's mother supposedly died from cultivation deviation, but she died at your hands too, didn't she?"

"If the current Medusa failed to evolve, she probably would have died within two hundred years."

"So you're the greatest traitor of all! The Snake-People Tribe should control their own future, not remain your puppets forever!"

Long Xiao's voice brimmed with anger as he spoke.

At his words, Medusa's face turned pale. She swayed, almost falling to the ground. She had never imagined the truth would be like this.

"Mother... Sister..."

Medusa's eyes instantly filled with tears. She stared unblinkingly at Long Xiao, her chest so constricted that she could barely breathe.

All the other tribespeople were stunned by Long Xiao's words as well. To think this was the fate of their Snake-People Tribe.

Had all of this been under the control of the Snake God and the High Priest's lineage?

Anger, bitterness, grief, shock-countless emotions mingled together.

Everyone fell into deathly silence again.

"My queen, your subordinate Yue Mei will always support you!"

Suddenly, Yue Mei prostrated herself toward Queen Medusa from among the crowd, declaring her loyalty.

"Your subordinate Mo Bass will remain loyal to Your Majesty forever!"

"Your subordinate Tong You swears to follow Your Majesty unto death!"

"We support Your Majesty!"

As soon as Mo Bass finished speaking, the other tribespeople knelt in homage, their passions surging together.

"All of you..."

Looking at the people kneeling on the ground, Medusa's heart overflowed with emotion. They were all so loyal to her. What right did she have to give up?

"And I support Your Majesty too."

Suddenly, one hand patted Medusa's shoulder while another took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Medusa raised her head to look at Long Xiao and said gratefully, "Thank you."

Medusa composed herself, regaining her noble, regal bearing.

Long Xiao suddenly pressed a jade bottle into her hand.

"What is this?"

Medusa turned the jade bottle over in her hand.

"It's a secret. Don't open it yet." Long Xiao, however, made a gesture for silence.

Medusa put away the jade bottle and nodded. She looked at the Snake God without a trace of fear.

"The Snake-People Tribe's fate has indeed been fraught with hardship. But this is our era, and no one else will ever toy with our destiny. Even if we must fight until the heavens collapse, we will not bow our heads."

"This world has gone mad. I will lead my people to strength and prosperity in my own way. This desert will not be our prison forever. I will do better, and no one can stand in the way of our resolve!"

"For the Snake-People Tribe of today... I am the queen!"

Medusa's ringing voice resounded across the heavens and spread throughout the tribe, an aura of sovereign majesty rising naturally from her.

"Long live Her Majesty!"

"Glory to the queen!"

"We swear loyalty to the queen unto death!"

As soon as Medusa finished speaking, everyone began to shout. They looked at her excitedly, their eyes filled with worship and admiration. They believed their queen would surely lead them back to glory!

At that moment, killing intent surged in Medusa's heart. She would make this creature who had toyed with the Snake-People Tribe's fate pay!

Seeing Medusa and the others like this, the Snake God smiled contemptuously.

"A pack of traitors. Without me, you are nothing!"

Watching from a distance, the High Priest also uttered a single word indifferently. "Ignorant."

"Since you persist in your folly, I shall destroy you."

The Snake God snorted inwardly, her gaze turning cold. She chanted an incantation, and streams of seven-colored radiance poured from her body, spreading in every direction and whipping up endless yellow sand!

Boundless pressure shrouded the earth from the heavens. Even space could not withstand it and began to collapse.

Watching the Snake God's actions, Medusa's heart filled with unease. The Snake God's strength was actually this terrifying? With her strength as a five-star Dou Zong, she felt like nothing more than an ant.

A trace of solemnity crossed Long Xiao's face as well. Talk was one thing, but this Snake God had once been a Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Although her soul state left her with less than one percent of her strength in life, she was still comparable to an Advanced Half-Saint. A casual wave of her hand could destroy heaven and earth!

A five-star Dou Zong against a Half-Saint... That should be manageable, right?

"Take cover!"

Medusa shouted to her people, then swept her sleeve. A gentle wind lifted everyone into the air and brought them to her side.

Then she raised a barrier to protect her people.

"Shasha, protect the tribe. I'll deal with her!"

Whoosh!

A sea of golden fire suddenly rose from the sandstorm, swallowing the Snake God's seven-colored radiance.

Immediately afterward, a golden pillar of flame shot skyward, carrying towering waves of heat!

A radiant figure stepped out of the pillar of light.