"Wait..."
Then Zhao Fengtian's expression abruptly changed.
What did Su Ya mean by that?
Weren't they here to help the Zhao Imperial Clan resist the Devil Race?
Did he mean what Zhao Fengtian thought he meant?
As if seeking confirmation of his suspicions, or perhaps unable to accept the truth, Zhao Fengtian gritted his teeth and demanded, "Su Ya, make yourself clear!"
Seeing the patriarch of the Zhao Imperial Clan still acting so self-righteous at a time like this, Su Ya couldn't help laughing in anger. "Zhao Fengtian, listen carefully. I, Su Ya, came here today to see how your Zhao Imperial Clan fights the Devil Race."
"Didn't you say that our Su Imperial Clan volunteered to guard the Realm Sea and suppress the Devil Race? Well, now we're no longer willing!"
"This isn't the responsibility of our Su Imperial Clan alone. You eleven great imperial clans have enjoyed a hundred thousand years of peace and comfort. It's time you did your part!"
"From this moment on, you eleven great imperial clans will take over this task!"
When his words fell, a deathly silence descended over everyone for a moment.
Then the members of the Zhao Imperial Clan were once again enveloped by fear.
They had finally seen Great Emperor experts from another imperial clan arrive, only to be told they hadn't come to help, but to watch the show?
What the hell!
Their composure shattered on the spot!
Alongside their despair, anger welled up in even more of them-anger at Su Ya and at the entire Su Imperial Clan!
"Traitors! The Su Imperial Clan has betrayed us! They're in league with the Devil Race, and now they even want to attack their fellow humans! Their crimes are too numerous to record on all the bamboo in the world!"
"That's right! Maybe they were the ones who let the Devil Race out! Otherwise, how do you explain why the Devil Race isn't attacking the Su Imperial Clan?"
"Curse them! They're a disgrace to the human race! They've become the Devil Race's lapdogs! They don't deserve to be human!"
"Everyone, we have to get word of the Su Imperial Clan's crimes out! Even if our Zhao Imperial Clan is destroyed today, we must expose their crimes and make all living beings spit on them! The Liu Imperial Clan won't let them off either!"
"That's right! Let their names stink for ten thousand years!"
At that moment, the Zhao Imperial Clan's anger toward the Su Imperial Clan was almost greater than their fear of the Devil Race.
Their faces twisted, they roared furiously in the direction of Su Ya and the others.
If they could, they would have torn Su Ya and the others limb from limb and skinned them alive.
"Interesting! Interesting!"
Elsewhere, the Blood Serpent Devil Emperor had been worried that Su Ya and the others would step in to help.
She hadn't expected the Zhao Imperial Clan to be so eager to bite Su Ya and his people like mad dogs.
If the Su Imperial Clan still chose to "overlook past grievances" after that, she really had nothing to say.
"Grand elder, is this the Zhao Imperial Clan, one of the imperial clans on the same level as our Su Imperial Clan?"
Behind Su Ya, several young men and women watched the scene, disappointment flashing in their eyes.
Su Ya himself shook his head with a bitter smile. "Hard to believe?"
"Yes!"
They nodded.
In fact, before setting out, they had comforted themselves with the thought that the Su Imperial Clan was the second-greatest imperial clan in the Black-Yellow Realm. Since their Su Imperial Clan was capable of suppressing the Devil Race, it wouldn't hurt to contribute a little more.
But now, it seemed these people took everything the Su Imperial Clan had done over the years for granted.
How many members of the Su Imperial Clan had died over the past tens of thousands of years?
To put it bluntly, the Su Imperial Clan's current population might not even be one-tenth that of the smallest of the other eleven great imperial clans.
It wasn't worth it!
It truly wasn't worth it!
"You're still young and have met too few people. You don't know how treacherous human hearts can be." Su Ya reached out and stroked one of the young men's heads. "Travel more in the future, and you'll see and hear many more things you can't understand!"
"People are selfish. Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt-even we have them. We merely keep these negative emotions suppressed, while they let theirs out."
"Time will bear witness to everything. As long as our Su Imperial Clan has a clear conscience, that's enough!"
With that, Su Ya swept up the people behind him and withdrew more than a thousand meters.
Seeing Su Ya's move, the Blood Serpent Devil Emperor's last trace of concern vanished. She smiled at the devils. "Little ones, carry on! Our battalion must be the first to achieve its objective!"
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Having confirmed that there was no threat from the Su Imperial Clan, the devils resumed their massacre.
Members of the Zhao Imperial Clan died one after another at the devils' hands. Blood sprayed everywhere, and bodies burst apart.
"Su Imperial Clan, I won't let you off even as a ghost!"
"I hate this! Why won't the Su Imperial Clan help us? They're humans too!"
"This is all the Su Imperial Clan's fault!"
The curses and abuse chilled Su Ya's heart completely.
The Devil Race was the one actually slaughtering the Zhao Imperial Clan, yet most of the Zhao Imperial Clan hated the Su Imperial Clan far more than they hated the Devil Race.
It was ridiculous!
They had merely chosen to stand by and watch.
The Zhao Imperial Clan and the other ten great imperial clans had stood by and watched for a hundred thousand years. He had merely paid them back in their own way, so why couldn't they accept it? How had it become the Su Imperial Clan's fault?
"What are you standing around for? You'll miss all the best parts!"
The last trace of mercy vanished from Su Ya's eyes. The corners of his mouth curled up as he reminded the young men and women behind him of the purpose of their trip.
"Oh, right! We almost forgot!"
After his reminder, the ten of them split up, each producing several image stones.
Meanwhile, in the Su Clan's ancestral land in the Realm Sea, at the Eternal Imperial Palace.
On a square that stretched beyond sight, at least several thousand members of the Su Imperial Clan sat directly on the ground.
In the air above them were the images projected back from the image stones being used to record events by the groups led out by the elders.
"Look, isn't that Feng Xiaotian, the patriarch of the Feng Imperial Clan? He got beaten so badly he was scared into hiding in the Feng Clan's protective formation and didn't dare come out again! Hahaha, this is killing me!"
"Hey! Look at the Mo Clan in Four Symbols Province. They aren't an imperial clan, but they're a subordinate lineage of one. To save his own life, that man actually attacked one of his own clansmen!"
Someone on the square pointed at one of the images, his face full of contempt.
It was a man from the Mo Clan. To escape from the Mo Clan, he had actually used an immobilization technique to hold his "good brother" in place.
That way, he could buy himself a little time to escape.
"This is from the grand elder's side. Look, isn't that the Zhao Imperial Clan? Wait, why are they cursing us? Are the lives of our Su Clan members supposed to be worthless? Are we supposed to die?"
"Honestly, if we'd known this would happen, we shouldn't have guarded the Realm Sea by ourselves for so long. They really got off easy!"
"Hahaha! Look, it's Su Heizi and Su Goudan! This is killing me. Those two really know how to stir things up!"
In one of the images, the man who had previously said he wasn't the sort to stir up trouble was none other than Su Heizi.
At that moment, he called out to a nearby devil and pointed at a man from the Zhao Imperial Clan not far away. "Hey! You ugly freak! That Zhao clansman just said he was going to beat the shit out of your mother!"
"No, no, no! I didn't! I didn't say that! He's framing me!" The man, who had just caught his breath, hurried to explain in fright.
The devil was naturally furious at being called an ugly freak by Su Heizi, but he didn't dare attack someone from the Su Clan. So he let out a roar and vented all his displeasure with Su Heizi on the man instead.
After a bout of fighting, the man had become food in the devil's belly!
Elsewhere, seeing that they would lose their lives if the fighting continued, Zhao Fengtian and Zhao Qianjun exchanged a glance and bit their own fingers.
A flash of blood-red light enveloped them both, and they vanished from the sky above the floating island in an instant.
Clearly, having determined that the Zhao Imperial Clan could no longer resist, they had chosen to flee for their lives.
As long as the two of them remained, the Zhao Imperial Clan's bloodline could continue.
On the floating island, the few remaining members of the Zhao Imperial Clan saw their patriarch and ancestor abandon them and leave. Their fighting spirit vanished, their eyes dimmed, and they collapsed to the ground.
The stench of death and blood completely enveloped the floating island!