Witnessing this scene, Teng Chuanxing was so terrified his soul nearly left his body.

It wasn’t just Teng Chuanxing; every Cultivator who saw this was scared witless.

The Celestial Serpent King, a man so fiercely protective it was the stuff of legend, had actually apologized?

He had even bowed?

And now he was going to execute his own precious grandson?

Were they seeing things?

Were they all hallucinating?

The expressions on the faces of the many Cultivators were beyond strange.

The Celestial Serpent King’s expression immediately turned cold and grim. A murderous glint flashed through his eyes before vanishing. He then gathered the Battle Power of his Ancestor Dao, preparing to strike his own grandson, Teng Chuanxing, dead!

"Ahh—Grandfather, spare me!"

"Your grandson was wrong!"

"Your grandson knows he was wrong!"

Teng Chuanxing had always been arrogant and domineering. Although he had reached the Void Realm, his temperament was weak. Crushed by the terrifying, overwhelming fear of death, his Dao Heart nearly shattered, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

This useless display only served to make the Celestial Serpent King even more displeased. He had already cleaned up far too many of his grandson’s messes. Now, the world had become incredibly complex, with new powers blossoming everywhere, hidden experts emerging, and geniuses running rampant. If he let his grandson continue on this path, how could he, a mere One Path Sword Ancestor Realm Cultivator, possibly protect him from all the trouble he would cause?

Sooner or later, he would bring ruin upon their entire clan!

"Die!"

After much consideration, the Celestial Serpent King finally hardened his heart. He gathered fifty percent of his Battle Power into his palm and viciously struck!

VMM—

At this moment, Ye Tianling still hadn’t made a move. He had to play his part, after all. Besides, the Celestial Serpent King had already sensed his noble bloodline.

’If I gave in so easily, wouldn’t that be dreadfully boring?’

Just then, the Elder Roc King stepped forward. "Enough. For you to go this far, I, the Elder Roc King, am quite impressed. Let this matter end here. However, while he may be spared the death penalty, he cannot escape punishment. Let us see what sentence our clan’s Tianling Divine Son will mete out."

As he spoke, he shot Ye Tianling a meaningful look. The unspoken message was clear: ’The Celestial Serpent King has hardened his heart for now, mostly because he’s intimidated by your bloodline and doesn’t want to cross you. But if he finds an opportunity in the future, I fear he will most certainly move against you, Divine Son. Rather than making him an enemy now, it would be better to take a step back and have him owe you a massive favor.’

Ye Tianling understood the Elder Roc King’s meaning, though he didn’t particularly care.

However, since the Elder Roc King had already intervened, Ye Tianling decided not to press the issue of killing Teng Chuanxing and cause the old king to lose face.

"Celestial Serpent King," Ye Tianling said coolly.

Hearing this, the Celestial Serpent King breathed a sigh of relief. ’It’s good that he’s talking. I was afraid he wouldn’t say a word, and then this stalemate would be impossible to break.’

As for killing Ye Tianling?

It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t crossed the Celestial Serpent King’s mind, but it was extinguished the very instant it arose.

The news that the Golden Roc Royal Family had produced a peerless Kunpeng Divine Son had already spread like wildfire, becoming known throughout the world.

This was Divine Blood—an existence that commanded respect and reverence, even among the Ten Thousand Races! If he were to make a move against the Divine Son... well, killing him would be one thing. But if he failed, he would not only have made a powerful enemy, but for an existence at the Ancestor Dao level to attack a Divine Son, especially at the very beginning of this new era...

It would surely incite the collective wrath of the Ten Thousand Races. When that time came, he would absolutely be annihilated by the combined forces of the Demon Race’s many clans. There would be no other outcome!

A Divine Child!

That was no mere Saint Child, nor was it a simple Prince!

How impossibly difficult was it for any race to produce a Divine Child? To kill another race’s Divine Child was tantamount to severing their entire legacy!

Never mind the fact that he couldn’t even defeat the Elder Roc King alone. Once the other peerless experts of the Golden Roc Royal Family fully awakened, it would be like unleashing an apocalyptic storm upon the world!

"Tianling Divine Son."

The Celestial Serpent King cupped his fist, giving a slight, reluctant bow.

"I didn’t speak up before because, frankly, whether Teng Chuanxing lives or dies is of no great importance to me," Ye Tianling stated coolly.

"Yes, yes. That is indeed the case," the Celestial Serpent King immediately replied.

"We won’t rehash the details of what happened. Let’s just talk about my Venerable Blood of divine origin, which was insulted to the highest degree. That Teng Chuanxing of yours couldn’t open his mouth without calling me ’lowly,’ ’base,’ and ’inferior.’ He has it backward. In the presence of my bloodline, he is the one who is truly lowly, base, and inferior.

"So, here’s what we’ll do. My Combat Boots are covered in bits of flesh and blood. Have him crawl over here and lick them clean. With every lick, he will declare how base he is, loud enough for all the assembled Cultivators to hear."

Ye Tianling clasped his hands behind his back.

Upon hearing this, the Celestial Serpent King wasn’t the least bit angry; he felt this was only natural.

Divine Blood, being called inferior?

This was the Tianling Divine Son showing mercy.

If it were he who had been insulted so grievously, he would have dug up the offender’s ancestral graves and annihilated their entire clan.

So, he didn’t feel this was excessive in the slightest.

And as for Teng Chuanxing?

He had thought he was about to be beaten to death. Now that he had a chance to live, his mind was blank of all other thoughts, his heart filled with an indescribable excitement.

At this point, never mind licking boots; he would do things far more degrading to survive.

He immediately reverted to his true form, carefully slithering out of the void and over to Ye Tianling, where he began to lick his Combat Boots.

With each lick, he would loudly proclaim, "I, Teng Chuanxing, am lowly and base!"

After about a hundred breaths of this, Ye Tianling’s Combat Boots were licked completely clean.

Afraid that Ye Tianling might still be dissatisfied, Teng Chuanxing then used the Energy of the Void Realm to wash the Combat Boots until they were pristine and gleaming.

"Hmm, your snake meat isn’t half bad. I already lopped off one arm. Now, leave the other arm and both legs behind! Then, grill them up nicely and serve them to me. If I’m satisfied, we can consider this matter closed."

Ye Tianling glanced at Yao Lun, who was practically drooling, his eyes shining with anticipation. He then looked over at the Little Fox and saw that her eyes were also sparkling as she stared at Teng Chuanxing. Seeing this, Ye Tianling immediately added another condition.

When this condition was presented, even the Celestial Serpent King’s old face twisted into a complex expression.

A muscle in his cheek twitched. He barked, "The Divine Son is showing you such grace! What are you waiting for? Do it!"

"Uhh—yes, yes."

How could Teng Chuanxing dare to act arrogant now? Gritting his teeth, he made the painful sacrifice.

With one arm already gone, he used his Void Realm Ability to control a Spirit Sword and sever his two legs.

The severed limbs immediately transformed into cuts of snake meat, as translucent and sparkling as jade.

Then, Teng Chuanxing obediently began to grill the meat. Although he had already consumed a large number of Elixirs to regrow his lost limbs, only he could truly savor the bitterness of the experience.

Once the meat was cooked, Teng Chuanxing meekly presented the grilled snake and then stood obediently to the side, awaiting further orders.

"Hmm, not bad. You can go."

Ye Tianling, holding his Profound Ice Cold Iron Rod, casually tapped Teng Chuanxing on the forehead with it twice and said bluntly.

"Oof... Thank you, thank you, Divine Son, for your mercy."

Teng Chuanxing began to cry. The once proud and unruly Prince Celestial Serpent now had tears streaming down his face.

Whether they were tears of humiliation or gratitude, perhaps only he himself knew.

"Mm. From now on, turn over a new leaf. Be a new man—oh, wait, a new snake. Of course, I would also welcome you to challenge me a few more times in the future. Your snake meat is quite fragrant. I think I’m getting addicted," Ye Tianling chuckled darkly.

Teng Chuanxing staggered. ’Challenge him a few more times?’

’If I ever fucking challenge you again, I’m a complete fucking idiot!’

’This one time was already traumatic enough to last a lifetime, okay?’

’And he wants more?’

’If you don’t end up grilling and eating me, my own grandfather will slap me to death, you know?!’