Chapter 1223 Chapter 527: Ying Zheng: Do You Think I'm Joking With You?

"In former days, when His Highness personally descended upon your Dragon Clan, he bestowed upon your Dragon Clan equal dignity and favor, allowing your Dragon Clan to possess enduring honor, and even entrusted all the lakes and rivers within the Great Qin Territory to your Dragon Clan for their upkeep."

Han Xin's gaze was icy cold, his voice as though coming from the Nine You, devoid of the slightest warmth; every word was like a keen blade, echoing through the Dragon Palace's deep and shadowed expanse.

"Yet your Dragon Clan refused."

Han Xin slightly raised his head, his eyes full of disdain, as if mocking the Dragon Clan's past folly.

"Therefore, do not speak again of any favor."

"What was once grace, now that Qin's spear-edge has arrived here, there is no longer any talk of favor or no favor."

"That your Dragon Clan may preserve itself from annihilation—this is already Qin's greatest favor."

Han Xin stepped forward once more, and the Blood Qi emanating from his body thickened in an instant; the immense pressure shook even the surrounding seawater.

"Swear, quickly."

"Otherwise, the Dragon Clan shall not exist." Han Xin's words were firm as iron, leaving no room for negotiation.

These words shattered the Three Ancestors' final illusions.

Before the campaign, Ying Zheng had already decreed: should the Dragon Clan surrender, their clan might be preserved from extinction; should they refuse, the Dragon Clan would be eradicated, and those who survived would be cast down as slaves.

This time, the Dragon Clan naturally chose resistance, and thus the outcome was utterly different.

To preserve the root of the clan was already Qin's "benevolence."

Under such coercion, though the Three Ancestors' hearts were filled with unwillingness and rage, when they looked around, they saw Qin's powerhouses lined in ranks, Power of Laws overflowing on all sides, the shadow of death like dark clouds shrouding the entire Dragon Palace.

Their hearts were full of humiliation and helplessness, yet for the sake of the Dragon Clan's continuation, they could only swallow this bitter breath.

"I, Azure Dragon, swear by the Human Dao: henceforth the Dragon Clan shall submit to the Qin Court; should we betray this, the Dragon Clan shall forever fall into the Dragon Abyss, until heaven and earth themselves are destroyed."

Azure Dragon's vast body trembled slightly, its voice laden with boundless unwillingness.

"I, Candle Dragon, swear by the Human Dao…" Candle Dragon's voice was low and hoarse, every word squeezed out between its teeth; its gigantic claws carved deep scars into the floor of the Dragon Palace, venting the rage in its heart.

"I, Yinglong, swear by the Human Dao…" Yinglong's voice too carried a note of grief.

The Three Ancestors, filled with fierce resentment, made their vow in the name of the Human Dao.

As their voices fell, the vast Human Dao pressure already pervading the space instantly took form; three blinding halos of Gold, like long spears made manifest.

They drove straight into their Dragon bodies.

Though what stood here were but incarnations, this Human Dao Rule Power was like seeking its source and returning to origin, piercing through layer upon layer of space and branding itself into the deepest reaches of their true souls' Primordial Spirits.

Human Dao Oath!

As with a Heavenly Dao Oath, one who swears by it must be bound.

"This Human Dao Oath is the same as a Heavenly Dao Oath… it has branded our Primordial Spirits."

"Moreover… it has entered into our Dragon Ancestors' Qi Fortune."

"What, in the end, is this Human Dao?"

At the moment the oath was completed, the Three Ancestors clearly felt the immense deterrent force carried by the oath, and, more terrifying still, sensed that this mysterious Human Dao power had already fallen into the Dragon Clan's Qi Fortune.

As Dragon Ancestors, they represented the Dragon Clan itself; their oath was the oath of the entire Dragon Clan.

Naturally, it was branded into the Human Dao Oath.

"From this day forth, the Dragon Clan submits to Qin."

Seeing this, Han Xin cried out in a voice like thunder, and the mighty Blood Qi that had surged around him, filling all directions, receded like the ebbing tide, dispersing swiftly.

The Blood Qi upon the many Shangjiangjun likewise withdrew at once.

The Qin powerhouses in the seabed Void also all retracted their outwardly released Power of Laws, no longer letting that dread-inducing aura run rampant.

The all-consuming killing intent that had hung over the entire Dragon Palace of the East Sea, nearly solid in its ferocity, vanished in an instant like an illusory bubble, without a trace.

And at this moment—

The countless Dragons and Dragon Kings within the Dragon Palace of the East Sea all seemed to have had their spine removed, collapsing to the ground one after another, letting out a long breath.

At the very least, their lives were spared.

This time, the Dragon Clan would not end in utter extermination.

"Had we chosen the Qin Court back then, there would not be such a scene today."

"The Heavenly Court truly is not to be relied upon. They sent only a mere few hundred thousand soldiers, never intending to truly save our Dragon Clan."

"Detestable!"

To the Three Ancestors, this moment was likewise incomparably humiliating.

In former days, the Qin Court was far from as mighty as it is now; Zhao Feng had already come to see them. At that time, they met as equals, and Zhao Feng even offered them the greatest grace—yet they rejected it.

Now, they had fallen to the point of being forced to surrender.

Where the Dragon Clan would go in future, none could say.

"I report to Your Majesty. The Dragon Clan is settled."

"The Three Ancestors of the Dragon Clan have submitted."

"May Your Majesty issue your decree."

With the Three Ancestors' oath sworn, Han Xin turned toward the direction of Qin, clasped his fists, bent in formal obeisance, and loudly reported.

At this moment, the Nine Tripod Cauldrons sealed the seabed of the East Sea.

Yet where Heavenly Fortune resides, Ying Zheng may appear at any time.

At Han Xin's summons, the previously tranquil Void above suddenly gathered Gold light; that radiance grew ever more intense, like a blazing sun born within the Void.

Gradually, within that light, Ying Zheng's tall and majestic figure slowly emerged, appearing above the Dragon Palace.

Though this was but a single incarnation, the terrible pressure was like an invisible surge of waves, sweeping through the entire Dragon Palace of the East Sea in an instant, leaving all living beings here with a sense of suffocation.

"We pay homage to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty's sacred longevity be without limit, undying through ten thousand tribulations."