362: Chapter 362 You all deserve to die.

Ye Qingyao's sleeves were stained with a few charred dragon scale fragments; she stood before Su Changge, her tone steady.

"The four dragons have been separately detained."

"Red Ember is being held alone on the Dragon Pillar Execution Platform on the eastern side of the assembly grounds; Dragon Soul Chains have already bound his limbs and horns."

"The other three dragons are being held at the southern, western, and northern ruins respectively, each guarded by three Tribulation Transcendence Stage Elders."

Su Changge opened his eyes and gave a nod.

"How did they react?"

Ye Qingyao tilted her head slightly, thinking for a moment.

"Black Armor and Ink Abyss were very well-behaved and offered no resistance when they were detained."

"Earth Collapse struggled a bit, but after this Disciple sliced off half of his back carapace with a sword, he became honest as well."

She pointed at the sword marks and creases on her sleeve.

"These two were left by Red Ember."

Su Changge glanced at her.

"He still dared to strike?"

Ye Qingyao shook her head.

"It wasn't a strike. When this Disciple was applying the chains, the Heaven-Burning Fire Seed within him spontaneously protected its Revered Master, scorching this Disciple's sleeve."

She paused for a beat.

"The fire seed has already been suppressed and extinguished by this Disciple. Red Ember himself didn't say a single word from beginning to end, his eyes fixed on the ground."

Su Changge's fingers tapped silently on his knee twice.

[Red Ember isn't speaking and is staring at the ground.]

[This means he's still thinking.]

[He's wondering whether that palm strike of mine actually injured him or not.]

[If he figures it out and realizes he's actually unharmed, things will get messy.]

[I have to settle this matter before he figures it out.]

"What about Xiao Huang?"

"He is waiting at the assembly grounds for the Dao Lord's verdict."

After saying this, Ye Qingyao added another sentence.

"Xiao Huang's meaning is that the four dragons have committed heinous crimes and, according to the laws of the Blazing Dragon Sacred Hall, should be executed."

Su Changge did not respond.

Ye Qingyao continued.

"But he didn't dare to take matters into his own hands, saying that everything would be decided by the Dao Lord."

Su Changge stood up.

He brushed off non-existent dust from his robes and walked down the mountain path.

Ye Qingyao followed his pace.

The two walked back along the mountain path one after the other; charred tree trunks flashed past on both sides, and the air was filled with the bitter scent of the aftermath.

Su Changge calculated rapidly in his mind as he walked.

[Kill them?]

[What would I use to kill them? I'm only at the Qi Refining First Layer; I can't even pull out a single dragon whisker from Red Ember.]

[Let Ye Qingyao kill them? Her being at the Mahayana Stage means dealing with Red Ember at the Late Stage of Tribulation Crossing isn't a problem, but having a Disciple do the killing in front of so many people—where would my Face as her Revered Master go?]

[Besides, I'd gain nothing from killing them.]

[Dead people don't generate emotion points.]

[But living ones do.]

[Four Tribulation Transcendence Stage dragons—if they stay alive and remain in awe of me, they'll be four walking Emotion Point generators.]

[Furthermore, they have the entire power network of the Chixiao Dao Domain behind them; one move affects everything.]

[Keeping them is ten thousand times more cost-effective than killing them.]

Su Changge's mouth twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Ye Qingyao observed her Revered Master's back from half a step behind.

Revered Master's walking speed was a bit slower than when they had arrived.

To Ye Qingyao, this was a sign that her Revered Master was deliberating.

She didn't urge him, nor did she speak.

After walking for about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, the ruins of the assembly grounds appeared in their sight.

The once magnificent main venue of the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly was now unrecognizable; collapsed viewing platforms were piled into small hills, the dragon-patterned stone tiles on the ground were cracked into spiderweb-like patterns, and stray remnants of Spiritual Qi floated in the air.

But there were many more people in the ruins than when Su Changge had left.

Not just people from the Blazing Dragon Sacred Hall, but Cultivators from various Sects of the Chixiao Dao Domain had also emerged from their shelters, gathering in small groups at the edge of the ruins, whispering among themselves.

As soon as Su Changge appeared at the end of the mountain path, the whispering stopped instantly.

Over a thousand gazes turned toward him in unison.

Su Changge felt the weight in those gazes.

Awe, gratitude, curiosity, fear, admiration.

Various emotions mixed together, surging toward him like an invisible tide.

His pace did not change.

Neither fast nor slow, he walked from the mountain path into the central area of the ruins.

Xiao Huang was already waiting there, flanked by over a dozen Elders of the Blazing Dragon Sacred Hall and the Sect Heads of various major Sects who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Su Changge walked to the center of the assembly grounds.

He came to a halt.

Everyone's breathing became light.

Xiao Huang took the lead in cupping his hands.

"Dao Lord."

The Elders and Sect Heads behind him followed suit, bowing.

"Dao Lord."

Su Changge's gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the Dragon Pillar Execution Platform not far away.

Red Ember was bound to the black dragon pillar by four shimmering Dragon Soul Chains; his crimson-gold scales had mostly dulled, his wings drooped at his sides, and the Undying Dragon Fire on his wings had been extinguished.

His head hung low, his expression hidden.

Su Changge withdrew his gaze.

"Bring the other three over as well."

Xiao Huang immediately waved his hand.

A moment later, Black Armor, Ink Abyss, and Earth Collapse were escorted to the center of the assembly grounds by Tribulation Transcendence Stage Elders, kneeling before Su Changge alongside Red Ember.

The four demonic dragons, who once dominated the Chixiao Dao Domain, were now like four discarded broken stones, kneeling on the shattered floor tiles, not one of them looking up.

Su Changge looked at them.

The area was pin-drop silent.

Xiao Huang spoke up cautiously from the side.

"Dao Lord, these four dragons colluded with the Heavenly Demons, brought chaos to the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, and caused the deaths of dozens of our Blazing Dragon Sacred Hall Disciples."

"According to the law, they should be executed."

"Please issue your decree, Dao Lord."

Su Changge did not speak.

Ye Qingyao stood behind him, her gaze scanning the Faces of the four dragons.

She too was waiting for her Revered Master's decision.

The silence lasted for ten breaths.

Then Su Changge spoke.

"Look up."

The two words weren't heavy, but the bodies of the four dragons shuddered simultaneously.

Red Ember was the first to raise his head.

In his eyes were fear, resentment, struggle, and a faint trace of stubbornness.

Su Changge met his gaze.

Red Ember's trace of stubbornness held for two breaths under Su Changge's gaze before it shattered.

His head lowered again.

Su Changge looked at Black Armor.

The Poison Patterns on the black-scaled dragonman's broken horn had spread significantly, and he was as listless as a snake about to dehydrate.

"Dao Lord, have mercy."

Black Armor's voice was hoarse and dry.

Su Changge then looked at Ink Abyss.

The Gloom Mist surrounding the dark dragonman had completely dissipated, and his pupil-less eyes stared blankly in Su Changge's direction, the chains on his dragon horns clinking.

Ink Abyss didn't speak, but his body was trembling.

Finally, there was Earth Collapse.

The earth-yellow scaled dragonman's kneeling posture was like a half-collapsed hill; several Rock Spikes on his back were broken, and blood was still seeping from the wounds.

"This lowly one acknowledges his crimes."

Earth Collapse's voice was muffled and thick with a sob.

Su Changge looked over all four of them.

Then he turned to Xiao Huang.

"Hall Master Xiao, you say they should be executed according to the law."

Xiao Huang lowered his head.

"Yes."

"How many years have they cultivated?"

Xiao Huang was taken aback.

He hadn't expected the Dao Lord to ask this question.

"In reply to the Dao Lord, Red Ember has cultivated for over seven thousand years, Black Armor for over five thousand years, Ink Abyss for over six thousand years, and Earth Collapse for over four thousand years."

Su Changge gave an 'en' of acknowledgement.

His gaze fell back onto the four dragons.

[Seven thousand years, five thousand years, six thousand years, four thousand years.]

[Added together, that's over twenty thousand years of cultivation time.]

[Over twenty thousand years' worth of Emotion Point sources.]

[Kill them? Wouldn't that be a waste of heaven's gifts?]

[Keep them. I must keep them.]

[But I can't say I'm keeping them because they can generate emotion points for me.]

[I have to give a sufficiently grand and noble reason.]

Su Changge's expression didn't change at all; his voice spread flatly across the entire ruins.

"Thousands of years of cultivation, ruined in a single day by falling into the demonic path."

"You truly do deserve to die."

The bodies of the four dragons tensed simultaneously.

Red Ember's fingers clenched until his knuckles cracked.

Black Armor's body was shivering.

Two lines of turbid tears flowed from Ink Abyss's pupil-less eyes.

Earth Collapse collapsed directly onto the ground.

"But this Seat shall not kill you today."

When Su Changge said this, the entire assembly grounds fell silent for a moment, and then, like a stone thrown into water, ripples spread out one after another.

Xiao Huang raised his head.

Ye Qingyao's brow twitched slightly.

The four dragons were stunned.

Red Ember snapped his head up to look at Su Changge, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Considering that your cultivation was not easily attained, and a ten-thousand-year Dao Heart is hard to come by."

Su Changge's speaking speed was very slow; every word seemed to be weighed before being uttered.

"Cripple your Demonic Techniques, and behave yourselves."

When these eight words landed, everyone's mind in the assembly grounds buzzed.

Xiao Huang's mouth opened as if to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.

Behind Su Changge, Ye Qingyao closed her eyes briefly; when she opened them again, they held a layer of complex light.

She looked at her Revered Master's back, her heart surging with unspeakable emotions.

Crippling their Demonic Techniques instead of taking their lives.

What kind of magnanimity was this?

What kind of bearing was this?

Revered Master could clearly crush them with a single palm, yet he chose the most merciful and yet most cruel method.

The mercy lay in sparing their lives.

The cruelty lay in stripping away everything they relied on for survival.

This was a true punishment of the Great Dao.

Not slaughter, but judgment.

Ye Qingyao's back straightened even more.

Red Ember knelt beneath the dragon pillar, his entire being trembling from head to toe.

Not because of fear.

But because he understood the weight of those eight words.

Crippling his Demonic Techniques.

The Blazing Dragon World-Burning Art he had practiced for seven thousand years, the Heaven-Burning Fire Seed that had burned within him for seven thousand years, and all the Foundations he relied on to run rampant in the Chixiao Dao Domain—all were to be stripped away.

But he could live.

He, a demonic Cultivator who had committed a heinous crime, could actually live before this Dao Lord.

Red Ember's forehead struck the shattered floor tiles heavily.

"This criminal dragon knocks his head in gratitude for the Dao Lord's mercy in sparing his life."

Black Armor, Ink Abyss, and Earth Collapse followed suit immediately.

"We knock our heads in gratitude for the Dao Lord's mercy in sparing our lives."

Su Changge stood where he was, his white robes swaying gently in the breeze.

His expression had not changed from beginning to end.

[Alright, step one complete.]

[The reason has been given, and the people have been kept.]

[Next is step two.]

[Crippling their Demonic Techniques.]

[This is the most critical part.]

[Because I simply can't do it.]