"An entire pot, huh..."
Kirin watched the increasing number of extraordinary individuals in the manor below. Although it had the urge to pounce down and swat them all dead with a single claw, Ye Ling had not yet given the order, so it dared not act rashly. It could only secretly poke its head out, observing the people below.
As the sun set, the sky gradually darkened. The Wang family manor was brightly lit.
The patriarchs of the four great families gathered in the central plaza within the manor, each leading their respective extraordinary individuals for the final mobilization.
Su Chen saw that the elites of his own family were all gathered here. Instead of relaxing, his brow furrowed even tighter. He looked at Wang Xing and asked, "Elder Wang, when will the experts from the Shadow Hall arrive? The extraordinary individuals from our four great families have all assembled, and the sky is growing dark. Shouldn't we set off under the cover of night?"
Although the headquarters of the Demon Palace was in Jiangcheng, and they were in the capital, the extraordinary individuals gathered here were the elites of each major family. Their speed far surpassed ordinary means of transportation. If they set off under the cover of night, they could reach Jiangcheng before dawn and launch a full-scale assault on the Demon Palace. By taking down the Demon Palace in one fell swoop under the cloak of darkness, the four great families could announce their dominance over China the next day.
However, Wang Xing was not in the least bit rushed. He chuckled and said to Su Chen, "Don't worry, the adults from the Shadow Hall can arrive at any moment. Let's get ourselves organized first, and we'll depart in ten minutes."
Su Chen remained filled with doubt and inquired again, "Wang Xing, are you truly not deceiving us? After all, this is a full-scale assault on the Demon Palace. Without the support of the Shadow Hall, we would be like moths to a flame! You must remember, Ye Ling has awakened!"
Wei Ling also walked over, echoing Su Chen's sentiment, "Old Su is right. This time, we've emptied the coffers of our four great families. If the Shadow Hall stands us up, who can bear the losses we'll incur?"
"You're still thinking of retreating at this point? Do you really think Ye Ling will let you off if you give up?" Qi Yu, fully armed, walked over and cast a cold glance at Su Chen and Wei Ling. "This is the crucial battle for our four great families to turn the tide. If you retreat now, don't come crawling back with thick skin when it's time to divide the spoils of the Demon Palace."
Being rebuffed by Qi Yu like this, Su Chen was also displeased. He said coldly, "Qi Yu, your Qi family is now living under the roof of others. If it weren't for us, your Qi family would have been wiped out by Ye Ling and the Dragon Department long ago. Watch your words!"
Qi Yu retorted, "Su Chen, if it weren't for the Shadow Hall, would you truly help my Qi family? Don't pretend to be so virtuous now. If my Qi family is to be grateful, it is to the Wang family and the Shadow Hall!"
Su Chen cursed, "Qi Yu, you ungrateful wretch!"
"You hypocrite!"
The tension between Su Chen and Qi Yu grew increasingly palpable. Seeing that they were about to fight, Wang Xing quickly stepped forward to mediate, "With the great battle upon us, we haven't even started fighting, and we're already fighting amongst ourselves. What kind of conduct is this?"
"Calm down, both of you. Return to your respective camps and coordinate your extraordinary individuals. We'll be departing soon."
With Wang Xing's intervention, Su Chen and Qi Yu calmed down. They exchanged cold glances and then returned to their respective groups of extraordinary individuals to check their equipment and elixirs.
However, Wei Ling remained standing in place and quietly asked Wang Xing, "Elder Wang, tell me the truth. When will the adults from the Shadow Hall arrive? My Wei family has gone all out this time. Don't lead me into a trap."
Wang Xing chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, Sister Ling. The adults from the Shadow Hall are always present and will act at the critical moment."
"With your words, Elder Wang, I can rest assured. I'll go organize my Wei family's youngsters now. This time, we must avenge Bingbing when we go to the Demon Palace!"
Wang Xing sighed, "That child Bingbing, it is indeed a pity. Rest assured... we will avenge her."
After conversing with Wang Xing, Wei Ling also turned and walked towards the gathering place of the Wei family's extraordinary individuals.
Wang Xing watched Wei Ling's retreating figure with a smile, but a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes, as if he were plotting something.
Above the Wang family manor, Kirin glanced at the setting sun and yawned. It said to Ye Ling, "Emperor, it's been a long time since anyone else entered the manor. They should all be here by now."
"Indeed, they are all here," Ye Ling replied, still lying on the clouds and looking at the faintly twinkling stars in the sky. "But there's no need for me to act."
"No need to act?" Kirin was stunned, a flicker of confusion in its eyes, clearly not understanding Ye Ling's meaning.
Ye Ling said, "If you can discern what's happening below, it means you have some talent, and I might consider taking you as a guardian pet."
Kirin's large, bell-like eyes immediately lit up with surprise. "Emperor, do you mean it?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
"That's great!"
Upon receiving Ye Ling's promise, Kirin became thoroughly excited. It immediately poked its head out to observe the Wang family manor below, eager to figure out what was happening there.
However, Kirin's eyes grew tired, and it still couldn't see anything. It looked at Ye Ling and said, "Emperor... there's nothing there..."
Ye Ling yawned and said, "It seems your aptitude is insufficient. It's no wonder I won't take you. Find yourself a mountain forest and live in seclusion."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Kirin shivered and dared not speak to Ye Ling further. It began to observe the Wang family manor even more carefully.
This time, it truly did notice something amiss.
"Huh... Has the layout of this manor been moved?"
Kirin's eyes showed confusion. It began to recall the manor's layout from earlier and finally realized that many rockeries and trees in the manor had been relocated!
Upon realizing this, Kirin's first thought was that the Wang family had set up a formation in the manor. It began to observe the entire manor with a comprehensive perspective, trying to figure out what tricks the Wang family was playing in the manor.
Unfortunately, Kirin's bloodline had not awakened its ancestors' memories. Its understanding of formations was only superficial, and it couldn't make out anything at this moment.
In its helplessness, Kirin could only tentatively ask Ye Ling, "Emperor... has the Wang family set up a formation in the manor?"
Ye Ling smiled and said, "Indeed. Do you know what kind of formation it is?"
Seeing Ye Ling's question, Kirin knew it couldn't bluff its way through. Connecting it with Ye Ling's earlier words, it could only make a wild guess, "Could it be... the Wang family intends to sacrifice the extraordinary individuals from the other three great families?"
According to Ye Ling's statement, if Ye Ling didn't need to act, then the only explanation was that the four great families were going to slaughter each other.
"Haha... You fellow, you're quite amusing," Ye Ling chuckled and shook his head upon hearing Kirin's words.
Seeing Ye Ling shake his head and laugh, Kirin thought it had guessed incorrectly and became disheartened. It said dejectedly, "I understand... I am not qualified to follow the Emperor."
Saying this, Kirin was disheartened and turned to leave.
At this moment, Ye Ling said, "Never mind... Although I know you're guessing, you're not far off. You're quite intelligent. I agree to let you follow me."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Kirin froze on the spot, its mind a blank. It hadn't quite processed it yet.
The Emperor agreed?
"Really? Truly?"
Kirin couldn't believe that happiness had descended upon it so quickly!
Ye Ling did not respond to the stunned Kirin. He stood up from the cloud and looked at Wang Xing in the manor below, murmuring to himself, "That guy... he intends to sacrifice everyone in the manor. What a malicious heart..."