When Yasenia killed the parasite, Liraxa's face twisted. "Dragon! Do you even know how valuable the thing you just killed is!? Not even a thousand of your lives would be enough to compensate!"
Xing Jimie was not having it, though. With the dragons still standing on the side and observing everything develop, she glared over coldly. "Liraxa, you'd better have a good explanation for what is happening. Otherwise, you won't be able to leave this place with your life!"
Liraxa looked at Xing Jimie and snorted. "That dragon clearly asked for it. Are you saying that I should swallow her insulting our races and not retaliate even once!?"
Elyndor didn't stop the demoness, nor did he show any hint of helping to confront her.
While they were enemy races, it didn't mean that they couldn't do personal deals between individuals. Of course, depending on the contents, there was a chance of being labeled a traitor of the race. Therefore, Divines and Demons would avoid working together as much as possible.
Everything happened a few weeks ago, when Ling Suya spoke to their planted spies, who were posing as major elders, about her desire to eliminate Yasenia. Since they had intended to at least squeeze some compensation out of the Astral Death Sect already, they chose to act during that day.
After all, the Demons and Divines knew that Yasenia was important, but not to what degree. They were extremely confident that the Astral Death Sect would not dare make them their enemies just to protect a dead dragon girl.
So, as long as they entrapped her and killed her during the confrontations, losing a few people wouldn't be that much of a problem. Yasenia dying within the protective walls of the sect would send a powerful message to others, making it worthwhile.
Not to mention, killing a Sixth Realm individual was really hard without ridiculous offensive capabilities like Yasenia's. That time when Yasenia bombarded a Transcendence Realm cultivator with several powerful talismans and survived was good proof of that.
Initially, they had expected Yasenia and the others to go check the treasury, find that it was empty, and then Ling Suya would sneakily approach and use the parasite they implanted in her. Most Sixth Realm cultivators don't even consider mortals a threat, so a living time bomb would be extremely effective.
Not to mention, the elders on their side had also established a few formations to aid them in completing their objective while emptying the first level of the treasury.
Liraxa's eyes burned with anger as she glared at Yasenia. 'However, this dragon doesn't play by the rules! The entire plan has gone awry, and we even revealed our spies…'
Yasenia wasn't the only person who wasn't following the script. In Liraxa's opinion, Xing Jimie had always been someone who looked at things from an outsider's perspective. She felt like a person who would not even flinch if the entire sky suddenly collapsed.
So, her stepping forward in the most critical moment was also wildly outside of their initial calculations.
At the end of the day, Yasenia was a little Level Two Sixth Realm Dragon. Would they need anything more complicated than a simple plan and much more powerful cultivators to deal with her? A singular slap from Liraxa would probably result in the Dragon's death.
But now, not only did they fumble their best attempt at finishing off Yasenia, but they even lost the incredibly precious parasite that was in her.
Xing Jimie looked at Liraxa and spoke coldly. "A bunch of old people dared to surround a child for her treasures. Yet you are asking for compensation? What? Does this entire world belong to you? Can't juniors get treasures with their own ability? Greedy and useless, unable to properly defeat a junior when the field is equalized, and they still dare covet?"
Elyndor sneered. "You speak so high and mighty. However, aren't you the one who is a hypocrite? Yasenia doesn't belong to the Death Astral Sect. She is an invited guest elder of the Star Immortal Sect, a small sect in some forsaken continent ranked beyond the 200th level!"
Yasenia's face and body didn't flinch, but inside, she was worried. She had not expected her identity to be hidden. On the contrary, she knew for certain that it would be easy for these superpowers to investigate and get her origins from the time she first appeared on the Blue Pearl World within a short amount of time.
That's why she warned Star Forge in the first place. 'I hope they are safe.'
Liraxa had been observing Yasenia, and her lips arched slightly. She couldn't sense any emotional fluctuation, but it was worth a try. "Yasenia, don't you want your friends from that small sect to survive?"
Yasenia glanced over to her and spoke, her tone measured. "I stayed as a guest elder. I've repaid the favor that they owed me. So, whatever happens to them from now on is not related to me. If you attack them to vent just because they have some relation with me…" Yasenia's lips arched coldly. "I wonder. Are there more people in one small Star Immortal Sect? Or are there more people in a few mortal cities belonging to the demons? I guess that flattening one city per life lost would be a fair price, wouldn't it, Lady Liraxa?"
Everyone turned silent. It was true that Liraxa could perfectly threaten Yasenia with those close to her. However, what could they do to her? Yasenia was not someone they could kill just because. If Yasenia began attacking random demons in revenge, the ones that would end up on the losing end would not be Yasenia.
In a way, Yasenia was basically challenging them to strike low. Because, if they did, she would hit them even lower.
Elyndor also had not expected the threat to completely backfire. Now, if they touched the Star Immortal Sect, they would be giving Yasenia a reason and justification to massacre demons and divines alike.
The war resulting from this was not worth it because, at the end of the day, Divines and Demons couldn't ally together as factions.
Xing Jimie couldn't help but look at Yasenia with surprise. Many with intelligence could think of what Yasenia just said, but not many would dare to bring that threat into words. Liraxa's expression turned freezing cold. "Good, good, good. You are very clever, aren't you?"
"I do my best." Yasenia nodded nonchalantly. "Now, I don't want a war to start because of some simple treasures. So, how about you try to find compensation in a traditional fashion?"
Xing Jimie frowned. "Yasenia. You have nothing to compensate for. Just stand at the side obediently and act your age for once."
Liraxa's cold face eased a bit. At least, Yasenia was not slapping her face continuously. The talks of compensation gave her some face, which, after being humiliated constantly, felt better than she would ever admit. "How about you let the child speak? I want to hear where she is going."
The Death Saintess glared at her, but she also knew that a fight would be disadvantageous. Even if the dragons fought on their side, two versus four, killing the other party would be almost impossible without many sacrifices.
Noticing the dragon not speaking, Xing Jimie turned to look and saw the beautiful lady looking at her. '...Is she asking for permission to speak?'
Strangely, she had the urge to laugh. 'Stupid dragon.'
"Yasenia, think before speaking. If you truly are in trouble, the Astral Death Sect can sacrifice everything to protect you."
This sentence not only petrified the demons and divines, but also the dragons and some members of the Astral Death Sect. Yasenia was surprised as well, but thinking about how her mother usually did things, it was very possible that these higher-ups had an order to sacrifice everything just to make sure that she was okay.
When she organized her thoughts, Yasenia looked at Liraxa and Elyndor and spoke in a measured tone. "Lady Liraxa, Lord Elyndor. Usually, when conflicts arise, a duel is the best way to settle things."
Liraxa squinted for a second. "Are you saying that you want to fight with juniors of a similar age to yours with different compensations?"
Xing Jimie's eyes tightened. "Yasenia."
The dragoness raised her hand, telling her not to worry. She was not so stupid as to reveal her real age to these people publicly. If she did so, she would become number one on the blacklist of countless assassination sects. Talent was revered at the same rate as it was hated.
"That's not exactly it, Lady Liraxa. While that would be the fairest method, the tournament would not even need to start, and the conflict may still arise. Therefore, I am willing to forgo the age requirement. Instead, I will compete with your elders who have similar cultivation realms to mine. I don't care if you send a 100,000-year-old Level 2 Demon Monarch or Throne Cleansing Divine to fight me."
Liraxa and Elyndor looked at Yasenia suspiciously. These terms were too disadvantageous for Yasenia to have no tricks hidden. Not to mention, Xing Jimie did not stop Yasenia after she heard the condition, which made them even more wary.
Elyndor spoke, his eyes full of scrutiny. "What is the catch? I don't believe that you would place yourself at such a disadvantage for nothing."
Yasenia smiled faintly, her cold facial features showing boundless confidence. "The only condition I have is that external consumable items are not allowed. When entering the arena, the only items we are allowed to use must be below the Supreme Rank."
Liraxa still wasn't convinced. She crossed her arms below her full breasts, her face still full of suspicion. "So, you won't mind if someone uses a needle with poison at the peak of the Transcendence Ranked? Or if someone tries to use a parasite of the same rank? What if someone has a portable killing formation? That's not a consumable item."
Yasenia looked at Liraxa and smiled. "I think that Lady Liraxa understands what I mean—poisonous needles, swords, parasites, and so on… I don't mind. They are weapon types or cultivation paths, after all. However, a portable formation that is not drawn during the combat is naturally an external aid. I am placing myself at such a disadvantage that I don't believe that the seniors would try to exploit loopholes to fight me. After all, wouldn't that be too shameless? Who would dare challenge you to a duel to resolve conflicts at a later date?"
"I think that's something we, the Dragon Clan, can become arbiters of."
After all this time, Ao Yuelan finally spoke. Since the very beginning, her lips had been arched, her wine-red-colored eyes shining with brilliance as she saw Yasenia maneuver through the traps like a fish in the water.
The Demons and Divines looked back and forth between them, their expressions unreadable. After a while, they finally agreed. "We will create a Heavenly Oath. That way, there won't be any cheating from either of us."
Yasenia didn't mind. "I will review the oath and also ask the other elders to take a look, not to miss any loopholes. If you create the oath with malicious intentions, I won't dare sign another one, as I'll be too paranoid. So, I hope that you make it right the first time."
Liraxa snorted and walked toward the exit of the banquet hall. "We are leaving."
Her eyes momentarily glanced at Ling Suya's body, but she then shook her head ruefully. '...That parasite took 14,000 years to grow and countless resources. What a loss.'
Because parasites were taboo, each and every one of them was precious and hard to develop. Liraxa using it this time around was a risk, but no one would use it as a way to attack their group.
Elyndor also moved away, guiding Lataria and the others away. Yasenia quickly moved to Xing Jimie's side, her eyes full of wariness when looking at Serathel.
Elyndor snorted. "She won't attack you. Don't be so dramatic, child."
Yasenia leaned down and hugged Xing Jimie's arm between her soft breasts. "She doesn't look like she won't attack. Look at her malicious eyes. If gazes could kill, I would be on a permanent visit to the Underworld already. Lady Death Saintess, you must protect this harmless and innocent little disciple."
Xing Jimie's eyes twitched, while everyone else in the room felt their hearts constrict to the point that they wanted to cough up blood. 'Harmless!? Innocent!? You who played two major factions and got away with what you wanted!? Shameless Dragon!'