"ARE YOU UNHARMED?! DID HE FORCE YOU TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THE UNDERWORLD?! LOOK AT ME! HOW MANY FINGERS AM I HOLDING UP?!"
"Stand back, Holy Son!" Lu Jianheng roared, vaulting over Zhiwei, his black leather harness creaking as he leveled Autumn Shine directly at Yan Zhaoge's throat. "Insolent Sovereign! You have detained the Vanguard Leader in an unauthorized private enclosure for precisely forty-seven minutes!"
"MATE! IS! NOT! FOR! SALE!" Hu Yanlie bellowed, charging forward like a rabid rhinoceros, his bare, scarred pecs vibrating with righteous fury.
And from the shadows, Xie Wangchen moved.
The Ice Demon did not speak. He did not even issue a challenge.
He moved with the silent, terrifying speed of shockwave, and materialized between Ji'an and Yan Zhaoge, his massive, thirty-foot black frost scythe whistling through the air, the freezing edge coming to a dead halt precisely one millimeter from the Sovereign's throat.
