"As for the other imperial clans, we also went to them for aid, but their answers were almost all the same: how could the Devil Race possibly break through the Nine Heavens Devil-Suppressing Mystic Firmament Grand Array?
They said it was nothing more than an excuse our Su Imperial Clan had cooked up to obtain some top-tier resources!
After all, our entire clan moved from the heart of the Black-Yellow Realm to put down roots near the Realm Sea. Perhaps our first-generation ancestor did so willingly, but so many years have passed that differing opinions and views have inevitably arisen within the clan. That was why we came up with this excuse!"
Moving from their ancestral lands to the Realm Sea to keep watch over the Devil Race had been the will of the Su Imperial Clan's first-generation ancestor.
Now that a hundred thousand years had passed, it was only natural that the descendants of the Su Imperial Clan no longer wanted to live in a place where even birds wouldn't shit.
But their ancestor had left instructions, and his descendants could not disobey his final wishes.
So they could only obtain whatever benefits they could through other means!
Su Ya paused for quite a while, seemingly gathering his words again.
Seeing this, Su Chen gestured for Su Ya to continue.
At that moment, a sob crept into Su Ya's voice. "And... and over the years, the clansmen we sent out to seek aid heard and even recorded some remarks that cast our Su Clan in a very bad light!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ya shook at least several hundred image stones out of his storage ring.
Images began to appear before everyone.
"Su Yi, what kind of joke are you playing? The Devil Race is in revolt? Have you gone mad, or have I? If the Devil Race were in revolt, wouldn't our Liu Imperial Clan know about it? If you want resources, you can just come out and say so. Why use such a lame excuse?"
"Hurry back to the Realm Sea. Don't come making trouble on our Liu Imperial Clan's turf!"
Su Ya began recounting the grievances one by one. "These were the exact words the Liu Imperial Clan said when Su Yi went to them for aid! Su Yi didn't even get to see the Liu Great Emperor, much less that empress!"
"Wait, Su Yi, I was only talking. You actually want to ask us for resources? Can't make ends meet anymore, is that it? It wasn't as if we forced your Su Imperial Clan to guard against the Devil Race back then. Your Su Imperial Clan volunteered! How ridiculous!"
Su Yi had wanted the Liu Imperial Clan to provide some resources to help, but he had been mercilessly rebuffed and even mocked.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Have you heard? The Su Imperial Clan wants to return to its ancestral lands, and now they're trying every trick they can think of. One moment there's unusual activity from the Devil Race, the next their clan's Great Emperor is injured!"
These were words a clansman had heard in Azure Cloud Province. Azure Cloud Province was the Li Imperial Clan's territory. Even ordinary people thought this way; it was easy to imagine who had put such ideas into their heads!
"The Su Imperial Clan? Pfft! Hahaha! Regretting it now, aren't they? They moved to a place where even birds wouldn't shit. I bet their first-generation ancestor just wanted to show off and save face. To put it bluntly, he was putting on airs. Otherwise, who would take on a thankless job like guarding against the Devil Race? Everyone's eyes are as clear as mirrors. Do they really think we can't see through their little schemes?"
These were words a clansman had heard among the people of Flying Moon Province, which was the Zhao Imperial Clan's territory.
Nor was this an isolated case. The Zhao Imperial Clan could not have been unaware, yet they had allowed these people to spout nonsense. Their intentions were plain to see!
"What a pack of ungrateful wretches. Granted, the Su Imperial Clan did render a service by helping suppress the Devil Race, but now, at the Realm Sea, all they do at most is send people on a patrol every day, then come back and report, 'All safe today. No unusual activity from the Devil Race.' It's that simple, and yet they lie to us, saying the Devil Race is about to break free of the seal!
The Su Imperial Clan gets more disgusting with every generation. They want to drag two imperial clans into that godforsaken corner with them, don't they?"
This was in Primordial Province, territory governed by the Qian Imperial Clan.
This was...
This was...
Su Ya did not say the rest aloud, but the image stones continued to play, one after another.
From the time Su Ya began taking out the image stones until now, there had already been over a thousand of them.
And there were still more in his storage ring!
These were only the things they had managed to record. Who knew what else those people had been saying about the Su Imperial Clan that had gone unrecorded!
"They've gone too far!!!"
It would take at least several days and nights for all these image stones to finish playing.
Su Ting, the Su Clan patriarch, could be seen bristling with rage. He sprang to his feet and slammed a fist into the ground.
In an instant, the entire main hall trembled with a hum.
At that moment, he could no longer concern himself with the fact that Su Chen was still there. He looked at Su Ya and demanded coldly, "Grand elder, why have I never heard you speak of these things before?"
It was clear that Su Ting's anger had reached a critical point.
If he had known earlier that this was what the other imperial clans and the people of the entire Black-Yellow Realm thought of the Su Clan, even if he had still wanted in his heart to follow their ancestor's final wishes, he would certainly have done something.
At the very least, he had to put the fear of them into the other imperial clans!
Meanwhile, the scenes recorded by the image stones were being shown outside the main hall as well.
By now, hundreds upon thousands of Su clansmen had also seen what these people were saying about their Su Clan!
"Damn it! How can they think of our Su Clan like that?"
"I'm so angry! Our Su Clan has done so much and protected the people of the Black-Yellow Realm for so long. Without us, the seal at the Realm Sea would have broken tens of thousands of years ago. How many families would have been destroyed then? How many people would have become food for the Devil Race?"
"Why? Why does the Liu Imperial Clan treat us like this? And the other ten great imperial clans too-they all stand by and watch coldly, and slander us with vicious words!"
"I won't accept it! Why is it that those people get to live in imperial dynasties from birth, while the sons of our Su Clan have to enter the Realm Sea and fight the Devil Race once they reach a certain realm?"
"That's right! We should make them deal with the Devil Race too. Let's see if they can still laugh then!"
For a time, voices of discontent and resentment rose and fell in waves outside the hall!
It was not that they resented having to fight the Devil Race.
It was that they had done so much, yet everything they had done was worthless in others' eyes. Those people had dragged the Su Imperial Clan straight into the mud.
Even a person made of clay had a spark of anger, didn't they?
The commotion outside was loud enough that it naturally reached the ears of everyone inside the hall.
Yet not a single person stopped it.
Su Chen tapped his fingers slowly against the armrest, his divine sense sweeping over everyone's faces. After quite a while, he smiled and said, "Since you all think it's unfair, why has no one resisted?"
As he spoke, the corners of Su Chen's lips curled up slightly. "For example, you could stop guarding the Realm Sea and leave this place!"
"If you wanted to leave, who could stop you?"
Su Ting did not know what attitude his father held at that moment. He scratched his head and said, "Father! You see, didn't the first-generation ancestor leave behind two plaques? Naturally, we have to obey them!"
As he spoke, Su Ting took the two plaques out of his storage ring.
One of them read, "Harmony above all."
Without having to guess, everyone knew what it meant.
The first-generation ancestor had been known as a battle maniac. Presumably, he had known he had a hot temper, so he had written this plaque to tell his descendants to be reasonable in all things.
The other read, "In guarding against the Devil Race, our generation shall lead the way!"
It was precisely because of this plaque that the Su Imperial Clan's mission to suppress the Devil Race had continued to this day.
An ancestor's command could not be disobeyed!
However, with Su Chen's current abilities, he saw at a glance that the second plaque differed from the first.
He gently snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The next second, there was a tremor behind the second plaque, and a large mass of black, dust-like matter came pattering down.
The moment everyone present saw what was behind the plaque, they were all astonished!
For there was another line of words behind the second plaque. It read...
If there is injustice, our clan shall reign supreme!!!