Tens of thoughts went through Jiao Fan's mind, but the one thought that went on repeating was that he was mistaken from the very start and that he had messed up.

'I was blinded by the potential gains from the temple and forgot to read between the lines. How could I do this?' Jiao Fan cursed himself.

​​

Jiao Fan had been a mayor for decades now and had dealt with all kinds of people. There was no lack of unscrupulous merchants and catharsis that wanted to take advantage. He was always 200% alert when signing a contract.

And yet… he had made the biggest mistake that he could have done.

'Had I not chosen to enter the temple and had chosen to evacuate the city instead, perhaps all this would have been different.' Jiao Fan thought.

But Jiao Fan knew there was no medicine for regret now and he would have to bear the cost of his mistakes. He looked at Lin Wu and nodded his head.

"I understand… you were not wrong, I was the one who did not pay attention." Jiao Fan said and closed his eyes.

He was now ready to accept any fate. He did not care whether he was killed now or crippled. He only waited for it to happen any moment now.

'Huh?' But after a few more seconds passed, Jiao Fan could not feel anything happening.

He reluctantly opened his eyes and saw something he definitely did not expect. Lin Wu was no longer in front of him and had instep returned his head to the previous position. He was now looking towards the depths of the inner hall instead.

Old Man Tiandi Who had been observing everything without even blinking for a moment, was shocked to see this happened.

"H-he… he's alive?" Old Man Tiandi said to himself.

He rubbed his eyes, but the result was still the same. Jiao Fan had miraculously not been killed by Lin Wu. Old Man Tiandi was dead, sure that Jiao Fan would not survive this. No beast worth his salt would spare a human like that.

But Jiao Fan, on the other hand, had different thoughts.

'He… spared me?' Jiao Fan thought to himself.

But after a second shook his head.

"Even if he hasn't killed me now doesn't mean that he would not do the same later." Jiao Fan muttered to himself.

All he could do right now was hope that Lin Wu did not kill him. He looked at the beast and saw that he was still staring at the inside of the hall. Jiao Fan moved to the front to see what was actually happening in the inner hall.

~thud~

~thud~

~thud~

The steps of the Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle were still audible as she walked into the inner hall. The inner hall was still a bit too short for the Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle and thus she was walking slower.

The previous temples that they had been to were far smaller than this, and the Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle could not enter them at all. But now she could finally enter and take a look around. She did feel a bit curious about how they were all set up and the things that were within them.

More specifically, she was interested in the items related to the Vermillion bird inside there. She had the bloodline memories, but they were still limited as of now. Until her cultivation base progressed or the right situation arrived, she would not be able to know more.

The Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle was wondering where the Vermillion bird was. There were no traces of it in this world despite her being a descendant. The Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle wondered if she was the only descendant of the vermilion bird in this world or not.

From what she could remember, she had some siblings in the clutch she was born in. Most of them had been killed early on, but a couple should still be alive. She did not know if they had awakened the bloodline or not either.

At least for now, she could not sense anyone with the same bloodline in this world. And while thinking all this, she finally reached the end of the inner hall. There she could see the statue of the vermilion bird in all its glory.

"Is this what my ancestor looked like?" The Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle muttered to herself.

She compared the looks of the Vermillion bird to herself and realized that there were many differences between them. The only thing they had in common as of now was the feathers that she was growing and the flames.

But even then the Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle knew that her flames were not the true flames of the Vermillion bird. Only when she fully awakened her bloodline, would they awaken as well. That was why she wanted to speed up the process. She didn't know why, but there was this urgency that came from deep within her heart, forcing her to do this.

It made her feel like if she did not awaken the bloodline of the vermilion bird soon, something bad would happen. She did not know what it was, but the premonition was enough to change her thinking. This was also why she had decided to give Lin Wu a chance and was now benefiting from it.

She gazed at the statue and tried to sense the presence of the stone feather there. She found it right where it should have been in, the beak.

~Crack~

Ripping the stone feather out of the beak, she saw that itwas not all that was hidden there.

"A bloodline crystal?!" The Silver Beak Sky Soar Eagle said out loud.

Lin Wu heard it too, and so did Jiao Fan and Old Man Tiandi. But only Lin Wu understood what her cry meant.

'How is there a bloodline crystal here? I was sure there was only the stone feather here when I checked before…' Lin Wu thought to himself, feeling confused.