Su Yanqiu froze for a moment.
Lu Changfeng enunciated every word. "I will use these children right now to force you to surrender the Mystic Volume. You need no longer bear this responsibility-"
He rose and stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze profound.
"Have you considered this, sir? If we leave today, the people who come tomorrow will be from Dragon-Slaying City. They have already exterminated an entire clan for the Azure Volume. They certainly won't show mercy! If you die, the Mystic Volume will indeed remain safe, but do you think the Li Clan and the Su Clan will escape being implicated?"
Su Yanqiu's expression shifted slightly.
Lu Changfeng continued, "Your death could certainly preserve the secret, but those children and clansmen would bear the brunt of their wrath. They would surely die! Since that is the case, there is no need to keep struggling under your responsibility to your lineage. We are different. We already have a feud with Dragon-Slaying City, and sooner or later, it must be settled. Give us the Mystic Volume, and leave us to work out how to obtain the treasure, avert disaster, and achieve both ends. This may look like 'passing on the calamity,' but in truth, each side gets what it needs. You need not feel guilty."
Su Yanqiu opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Changfeng raised a hand and stopped him.
"Do you believe that as long as you guard the Mystic Volume, the Imperial Mausoleum will never be opened?"
Lu Changfeng shook his head. "Wrong. Outsiders may indeed find it difficult to enter, but what about the one inside?"
At those words, Su Yanqiu shuddered.
Lu Changfeng spoke each word distinctly. "Nourished by the Nine Provinces Dragon Qi, the Ancestral Dragon's True Form grows stronger by