Golden Dragon Hall.
Chilling yin energy filled the air, clouds and mist swirling through it, at once ethereal and demonic.
The cold, arrogant, silver-haired Snake Demon coiled within the palace hall. His indifferent snake pupils were filled with disdain and disgust for the emperor, making him look more like a death-dealing asura.
His silver serpent tail hung like a sword above the emperor's head, brazenly poised to slay the sovereign at any moment.
"I can come and go freely in the Imperial Palace. Why shouldn't I be here? As for why I came, doesn't Your Majesty know perfectly well?"
Had the emperor not dared to scheme against Xie Huizhou and send him to his death, Zhang Lanhe would not have wanted to set foot here.
"Hmph. I never imagined the Imperial Preceptor would one day care so much about someone. You truly surprised me." The emperor looked at Zhang Lanhe with some astonishment. "All I did was give him a chance to undergo a trial, and you grew so angry you revealed your serpent form. To think a beast like you could have human feelings."
In the emperor's eyes, however beautiful and powerful Zhang Lanhe was, he was ultimately a snake, inferior to a human-nothing more than a tool to ensure their dynasty endured forever.
Only, he refused to obey orders and was always thinking of turning on them and escaping with his life.
"Still better than a heartless, faithless wretch like you." Zhang Lanhe mocked him without restraint. "Is anything you've done fit for a human?"
The retribution for the imperial family's sins had fallen upon Zhang Lanhe, and he had resented it for a long time.
"You're weaker than before. You've been helping Zhou'er purge his poison, haven't you?" As Zhang Lanhe approached, the emperor noticed that his