"Bang!"
"Ao Qing, you must remember, the blood flowing in you is the blood of my Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, the blood of the dragon race."
"My Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan has endured turmoil. Millions of years of glory were destroyed by the demon invasion. The clan was torn apart, and its strength was weakened. For the sake of our people and the continuation of my Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan's lineage, we had no choice but to let various branches abandon their ancestral lands and lead their people to seek survival and escape the catastrophe of our clan's extinction."
"What about now?"
"Are your wings all grown?"
"How dare you utter such treasonous words before the ancestors! Ao Qing, as a descendant of the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, you have enjoyed the grace of your ancestors and were appointed the patriarch of your branch. Yet, you have no regard for the great aspirations of your ancestors, but have instead allied with the Great Han Dynasty, thinking you have found a reliable patron, and dare to defy the clan leader's orders so brazenly!"
"Do you still have the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan in your eyes? Do you still recognize me, the Grand Elder of the orthodox bloodline of this clan?"
Within a city on the eastern coast of the Eastern Barrens Continent's Crimson Night Imperial Dynasty, this was the enfeoffed land of the orthodox bloodline Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan. Having endured the demon invasion, the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan plummeted from the ranks of the top powers of the Eastern Barrens in a single battle, even nearly being wiped out.
At that time, the clan elders, for the sake of the clan, dispersed many branches and some of the orthodox bloodline to the four corners of the land, searching for places to survive.
This passed for a million years. Now, the orthodox bloodline Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan remaining on the Eastern Barrens Continent's Eastern Sea had allied with the then powerful Celestial Demon clan, which, despite being suppressed by the demons, still stood tall on the Eastern Barrens Continent.
After tens of thousands of years of bloody battles, the demons were forced to retreat step by step until they withdrew from the Eastern Barrens Continent. The then clan leader of the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan fought alongside the Celestial Demon clan in all directions. After tens of thousands of years of territorial expansion, the Celestial Demon clan finally established a kingdom in the Southeastern Crimson Realm of the Eastern Barrens Continent.
The orthodox bloodline Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, which had followed the Celestial Demon clan, gained the favor of Emperor Crimson Night, who bestowed many rewards upon them and granted the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan a fiefdom, which Emperor Crimson Night personally named the Dragon Palace.
From then on, the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, which had faced several near-destructions, was finally reborn. Relying on the Crimson Night Imperial Dynasty, they established a foothold on the Eastern Barrens Continent. After more than a million years of development, the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan gradually recovered and eventually produced three cultivators at the Venerable realm.
The current patriarch of the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, Ao Ye, was further promoted by Emperor Crimson Night and enfeoffed as "Dragon King!", known as one of the Four Kings of the Crimson Night Imperial Dynasty, his prestige was immense!
With Ao Ye's help, the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan had been searching for the scattered clan members from a million years ago in recent years. Three months before the Great Han Dynasty's imperial court session, they arrived at the Great Han Dynasty and found Ao Qing's branch. Under the guise of returning to their ancestral roots, they took Ao Qing, Ao Hai, and Ao Bing away from the Great Han Dynasty.
At first, Ao Qing and the other two were overwhelmed with emotion upon seeing their clansmen, tears streaming down their faces, a mixture of joy and sorrow. After this matter was reported to Chang'an, Yang Hao did not think much of it and could not interfere with Ao Qing's return to his ancestral roots. Thus, Ao Qing and the other two went to the Crimson Night Imperial Dynasty east of the Eastern Barrens Continent.
They thought they were returning to their ancestral roots and finding their origin, which would allow them to explain themselves to their ancestors. With great anticipation, Ao Qing excitedly arrived at the Dragon Palace. After the rituals for returning to their ancestral roots, he intended to take his leave and return to the Great Han Dynasty, as the separation had been too long.
Though they were of the same root and ancestry, there was no emotional attachment. He intended to return, offer incense, and pay respects to the ancestors, and then be done with it.
However, Ao Hong, the Grand Elder of the Dragon Palace lineage, stopped Ao Qing and the other two who were eager to return to the Great Han Dynasty, and brought them to the ancestral shrine.
After a series of events, the intention was not only for Ao Qing's branch to return to their ancestral roots but also to relocate all their clansmen from the Great Han Dynasty and integrate them into the Dragon Palace to strengthen the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan.
If this had happened in the past, Ao Qing would have certainly relocated his entire clan from the Savage Realm to seek refuge with the Dragon Palace.
But times were different now. Ever since he joined the Great Han and became an official, Ao Qing had witnessed the rise of the Great Han. One impossible feat after another, under the control of the Human Emperor Yang Hao, the Great Han Dynasty, from a corner of the southwestern seas of the Eastern Barrens Continent, had now occupied an entire realm and ascended to the pinnacle of power in the Eastern Barrens Continent.
He himself, deeply indebted to the Emperor's grace, had been a cultivator who had never surpassed the Spiritual Sea realm. Now, relying on the Great Han's emoluments, he had reached the Heaven Transforming realm in just a few years. Moreover, he had gained the favor of the Human Emperor Yang Hao.
He had been conferred the title of General Valiant by Yang Hao, commanding over three million soldiers of the Great Han navy, a formidable force.
Not only him, but the entire Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan had undergone earth-shattering changes. Not to mention other clansmen, those who had merged with the dragon souls of the five-clawed golden dragons had now reached the Nirvana realm. What glory was this? What could they have possibly obtained by allying with the Crimson Night Imperial Dynasty?
"Ao Hong, I respect you as the Grand Elder of the orthodox bloodline of the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, but do not insult the Human Emperor thus!"
"If the ruler is insulted, the subject dies!"
"My Ao Qing lineage has been blessed by the Human Emperor's protection to establish ourselves on the Eastern Barrens Continent. Such immense grace, Ao Qing could never repay even with a hundred deaths."
"Ao Qing's life is dedicated to serving only one master. I will vow to follow the Human Emperor to the death!"
Ao Qing glared at the elders, his body erect, his hands respectfully clasped towards the direction of the Great Han Dynasty.
"We are willing to follow the patriarch and pledge our loyalty to His Majesty the Human Emperor!"
Ao Bing and Ao Hai knelt down thunderously, their foreheads striking the ground.
"You..."
"How dare you!"
The Second Elder, Ao Xing, stood up in anger, his face flushed red, and cursed, "As members of the Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, you fail to repay the clan, but are willing to be dogs of the Great Han. What use do we have for such disloyal and unfilial clansmen!"
"Drag them away, and immediately enforce the clan law!"
"Wait!"
Ao Hong stood up, his aura erupting like a cataclysm, directly crushing Ao Qing and the other two onto the ground, blood splattering and dragon bones dislocating.
"This matter still requires the clan leader's decision. Take these filthy wretches and detain them to await the clan leader's judgment."
"I have a word for you all, I hope you remember it!"
Ao Hong walked to the bloodied and weak Ao Qing and the other two, his head unbowed, merely looking down from above: "What is the Great Han? Does it have the qualifications to be compared with our clan, with the Crimson Night Imperial Dynasty?"
"A mere corner of the land, barely able to reach the pinnacle only by relying on Huoyun Cave. Such a nation, I can destroy its descendants and overthrow its kingdom with a flip of my hand!"
"You guys... Hmph!"
"How dare you scorn the clan like this! You just watch, when the clan leader arrives, he will surely petition the Great Emperor to wage war on the Great Han Dynasty. A small imperial dynasty dares to meddle in my Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan's affairs."
"This is an insult to my Azure Azure Azure Dragon clan, a provocation to my Crimson Night Imperial Dynasty. Such humiliation will surely lead to the extermination of the Great Han Dynasty!"