Soul Land V: Rebirth of Tang San

Once all twelve clan leaders had taken their seats, the entire hall became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and the atmosphere turned noticeably solemn.

Deep in thought seemed to emanate from the Peacock Demon King\'s eyes, until the man seated to his left, who had milky white crystal-clear antlers growing from his head, whispered something. The Peacock Demon King\'s gaze refocused.

"All of you," the Peacock Demon King said indifferently.

The clan leaders all straightened up and looked towards him.

The Peacock Demon King continued, "Since I succeeded to the position of Jiali City Lord, over seventy years have passed. For more than seventy years, I have not dared to slacken in my efforts. Yet, I have always failed to become Emperor, leaving me in debt to my ancestors."

"However, I have always strived to govern wisely. Our Jiali City may lie in a quiet corner, but it has always been peaceful and tranquil. Ever since our clan had no Emperor, I have been in charge here, for over three hundred years, through three generations of Demon Kings. As you all know, even without an Emperor, with our deity-level cultivation bases, living for more than five hundred years is not a problem. But why has no Demon King of our clan ever lived past a hundred years to this day?"

He stood up as he spoke, and a chilling aura began to spread from him.

"All of your clans have been under the protection of Jiali City, which is to say, under the protection of our Peacock Clan. Recently, our city has been coveted by the petty and malicious. Open attacks and secret plots all target Jiali City, creating a climate of fear and suspicion. They aim not only to plunder our wealth but also to take our very land of survival."

"More than a month ago, I received a message from the Ancestral Court, saying that the Ice Dragon Demon King had come to our Jiali City with the Seven-colored Deer Great Demon King\'s blood essence to take part in an auction. After the auction ended, the Ice Dragon Demon King disappeared and has not returned to the Ancestral Court for many months. They have commanded me to thoroughly investigate this matter. They only gave me a month\'s deadline to provide an explanation. The Ice Dragon Demon King, with his rank of Great Demon King and top-tier Ice Dragon bloodline, is of the Second Stage peak. Where should I look for him? When the time came, I could only report the facts, but the Ancestral Court deemed the investigation inadequate and decided to send an emissary group here today. The emissaries will soon arrive, and I have called you all here today to inform you of this. Once the emissaries are here, we must decide how to respond."

After listening to the Peacock Demon King\'s words, the clan leaders exchanged glances. Some looked unfazed, while others showed surprise. However, from the Peacock Demon King\'s tone, it was clear that they all recognized the emissaries as bearers of ill tidings!

Sitting to the right, second in line, a tall and burly man with a pair of slightly spiraled horns atop his head said in a deep voice, "May I ask the City Lord, who is leading this emissary group?"

Looking at him with profound meaning, the Peacock Demon King replied, "Capricorn Clan Leader, this time the leader is none other than the Crystal Phoenix himself."

At these words, the leaders of the various clans could not help but show shock.

The Capricorn Clan Leader especially exclaimed in horror, "How can it be him? He has already become Emperor, and yet he comes as an emissary?"

The Peacock Demon King, however, remained unruffled as he said, "This shows the importance the Ancestral Court places on the matter."

The room fell into utter silence, especially among the older clan leaders whose expressions were extremely solemn. Most of them were aware of the "origins" between the Peacock Demon Clan and the Crystal Phoenix Clan.

The Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King, seated first on the left, frowned and said, "City Lord, I fear this emissary comes with ill intent. We must be cautious in our response."

The Peacock Demon King replied calmly, "Naturally, I am aware of the ill intent. Isn\'t all this precisely his objective? Do any of you have any good ideas?"

The leaders of the various tribes couldn\'t help but fall silent.

Under the Crystal Phoenix crown sits a Great Demon Emperor!

Within the Monsters, only rank 12 powerhouses can be called Great Demon Emperors, followed by rank 11 Great Demon Kings, and then rank 10 Demon Kings. These beings are beyond deity level.

In the entire world of the Monsters, the number of strong beings at the Great Demon Emperor level is also extremely limited. If the Peacock Clan had a Great Demon Emperor, with the Peacock Demon Clan\'s foundation, they would not possibly be guarding this place from afar.

Previously, during the grand auction, Pretty Girl once said, "Our clan is without an emperor, the new emperor without a city."

Although not all Great Demon Emperors have a city to rule over, it still depends on the intentions of the various Great Demon Emperors. Generally speaking, only a Great Demon Emperor has the qualifications to lead a city.

The Peacock Demon Clan has been without an emperor for three generations, and this newly promoted Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor does not have a city of his own. Pretty Girl\'s words at that time were referring to this individual. Not to mention, the Crystal Phoenix Monster Clan and the Peacock Demon Clan itself have a very deep "origin."

As soon as the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor broke through to the Great Demon Emperor level, there were already alarms within the Peacock Demon Clan. Sure enough, it didn\'t take long for this pressure to finally be on the verge of arrival. This was also why the Peacock Demon Clan had previously considered the idea of choosing a successor.

Great Demon Emperors and Great Demon Kings are not at the same level of state. The Crystal Phoenix Clan had also been without a Demon Emperor for several generations. At its root, this is due to the conflict between the Crystal Phoenix Monster Clan and the Peacock Demon Clan. Dueling each generation had become the norm, with patriarchs from both sides suffering casualties. This is also an important reason why the Peacock Demon Clan\'s Great Demon Kings for three consecutive generations have not lived past a hundred years.

Every decade, the Peacock Demon Clan and the Crystal Phoenix Monster Clan have a peak duel. And now there are three more years until the next peak duel. During the last duel, the supreme patriarchs of the Peacock Demon Clan and the Crystal Phoenix Monster Clan were both grievously injured and fell. The current Peacock Great Demon King is already the strongest in the clan. Therefore, even without this visit from the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor, he would still have to face this peak duel between the races three years later. With the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor already crowned, the outcome is predictable.

What the leaders of the various tribes at the venue didn\'t expect was that the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor seemed somewhat unable to wait even these three years, and thus took this opportunity to come—without a doubt, their arrival boded ill!

Taking a deep breath, the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King slowly stood up, "My Spirit Rhinoceros lineage has been graced by the Peacock for generations. While the Peacock survives, so does the Spirit Rhinoceros; should the Peacock perish, so shall the Spirit Rhinoceros. City Lord, if you have any commands, I swear to follow you to the death!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the clans in the venue felt a strong shock. The Deer Demon King had just directly expressed his stance, and that too in a situation where Jiali City was about to face the arrival of a Great Demon Emperor.

The Peacock Great Demon King gave him a deep look and slowly nodded, "Brother Ying Jie takes it too seriously."

The words of the Spirit Rhinoceros Deer Beast King put the other clan leaders present in a rather awkward position.

The first person to the right, who was none other than the Golden Deer Demon King, also stood up and said indifferently, "My Golden Deer lineage does not shun fire and water in loyalty!"

The Deer Demon itself is not an especially strong Monster race, but it is known for its wisdom within the Monster tribe, second only to the Fox Tribe. In the past, it even produced a Seven-colored Deer Great Demon King, which was the peak of the Deer Demon lineage. However, since the fall of the Seven-colored Deer Great Demon King, the Deer Demon lineage once became a lower-rank species. It was with the support of the Peacock Demon Clan that they got the chance to showcase themselves, utilizing their wisdom in trade to achieve significant progress. Therefore, the two Deer Demon factions have always been the most powerful supporters of the Peacock Demon Clan.

Even from a perspective of interest, without the protection of the Peacock Demon Clan, they would almost be coveted by all the strong races. Following the Peacock Demon Clan is the only option for them.

"Had it not been for the rescue under the previous Peacock Great Demon Emperor, our race would have ceased to exist a long ago. We prosper together, we lose together. Our clan gives its support," said the Golden Capricorn King as he rose to his feet.