Tie Lang then looked calmly at Min Ren who was being blocked and said in a hushed tone.

“I’m sorry.”

****

Dum!

As soon as he said this, a terrifying and uncontrollable bloodlust erupted from Tie Lang’s body.

The warmth from the sun disappeared and a deathly chill ran up everyone’s spines.

It was like a beast from primordial times had awakened and stepped forward into the present.

Tie Lang’s eyes slid on Ce Renwu and the latter took a step back under the coercion of Tie Lang’s aura.

He could swear he saw countless bodies from a war long past being collected under the claws of a demon who looked shockingly similar to Tie Lang.

He swallowed a ball of saliva when witnessing all this.

However, when he realised he had stepped back in front of everyone, he steeled his nerves and stepped forward again. He would never admit to being unnerved by what he assumed was a mongrel.

“What Yu Lang demon!? You are a fraud who deserves to die!”

Ci Renwu made a move to attack Tie Lang but before anyone could react, Tie Lang already stepped behind him and was walking to Min Ren and his guards.

“You think you can escape!? What are you doing!? Get him!” Ce Renwu yelled.

The guards who came with him moved when the one who attacked earlier saw his club falling in several pieces shocking everyone present.

How could the club be destroyed!? That was a high-grade black-rank secular weapon!

Ce Renwu finally turned around to make another move when a cold feeling enveloped him.

He shrugged it off and finally drew his weapon to kill Tie Lang.

Strangely, however, he noticed that everyone was looking at him with strange and horrified expressions.

It would be normal and he would even welcome it if it was just from Min Ren and his squad of mixed-bloods, but he was also receiving the same look from his own men.

He then saw that most of them were looking at somewhere specifically on his body. Following their line of sight, his own gaze drifted to his chest where a gaping hole could be seen.

“What the-” He fell to his knees clutching the wound, trying to staunch the blood flow with little success.

Due to the silence that permeated the area, a faint thump could be heard and his head subconsciously drifted to Tie Lang who was walking away with little thought for him.

He saw a still beating heart in the latter’s hand, and immediately he knew what befell him.

“G-Give it ba—Puah!” A mouthful of blood stifled his pleas.

“Sorry, my mongrel ears aren’t attuned to listening to your pure-blooded words. Why don’t you try dumbing it down for me oh great one?”

Tie Lang didn’t even look back as he mocked Ce Renwu. The heart he ripped from the latter’s chest beat futility in his grip. It provided blood to no one, and losing the embrace of its home would award death to both it and its former abode.

Tie Lang finally approached Min Ren and the others. His expression was cold and his bloodlust was still flaring uncontrollably.

“Shall we go now?” He asked calmly.

They trembled in fear under the assault of his bloodlust and the lack of care he held for what he had done. It was so to the point where they found it hard to breathe much less speak.

It was Min Ren who eventually mustered the courage to speak, albeit with much difficulty. “W-What have you done?”

“Killed someone.” Tie Lang stated.

“Do you know who you’ve killed?” Min Ren wanted him to know just how severe the crime he had just committed was.

“No, and before you continue, I don’t care. You would suffer humiliation and embarrassment and for what?” He looked over his shoulder at the pure-blooded demons staring at him with even more fear in their eyes. “Them?”

He shook his head in disappointment. “You should have dignity as a cultivator. If you don’t, then why cultivate? I take back my earlier apology.”

Tie Lang’s bloodline as a Yu Lang demon contained many secrets that were unknown to him even now.

His time inside the Yu Lang Temple was excavating those secrets and stimulating his bloodline.

Memories and many other things were being opened to him. However, one thing he was sure that he now felt was an indescribable pride in himself as a Yu Lang demon.

Moreover, he somehow felt unprecedented hatred for any demon that hated mixed-blooded demons despite his lineage. He wasn’t sure where these feelings came from and so strongly at that, but felt them deeply.

This was why he said ‘sorry’ to Min Ren earlier. As he believed the latter might be in a bit of trouble for his killing of Ce Renwu, but when he saw how little pride he had in himself and even worse, his humbling nature in front of a pure-blooded demon, his ire was struck somewhat.

“Just take me to-”

“What an interesting development.” A calm and collected voice echoed out, drawing everyone’s attention.

They looked over to see an elegant-looking demon with deep purple skin and black hair with a shimmering violet sheen standing not far from them. The robe he wore was a clear indication of his high status and the smile he donned was ever-present and unchanging.

This was the demon that accompanied Mina last time, First Minister Yaomu Lie.

“It seems the Yu Lang temple has been good to you,” Yaomu Lie commented with a smile when he saw all the changes Tie Lang had gone through.

He specifically eyed the crystal claws Tie Lang brandished and a touch of envy appeared.

“The legendary Jade Claws,” Yaomu Lie said in awe.

Tie Lang sensed great danger from Yaomu Lie. He crushed the heart he held in his hand and then took up a defensive stance in return.

“Why align yourself with mongrels, with mixed-bloods? It’s quite beneath your station. If you come with me, I’ll answer all your questions. In addition, the Grand Secretary has taken great interest in you. Come with me,” Yaomu Lie held his hand out for Tie Lang to take.

Tie Lang narrowed his eyes at Yaomu Lie and his offer. His own eyes slid to the latter’s outstretched hand.

“I’ll have to refuse…” Tie Lang said warily.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Yaomu Lie replied with that same smile. “Well, if you need anything, you can ask any of the guards.”

A guard who was in Ce Renwu’s squad blurted out. “W-What!? But Lord Yaomu Lie, the Second Minis-”

His next words were cut off when Yaomu Lie’s gaze landed on him. Though the latter remained smiling, that gaze told him something very dangerous. It told him that should he continue talking, his continued breathing will see difficult times.

“Go on now,” Yaomu Lie turned his attention back to Tie Lang. “Go see what Lord Preceptor wishes.”

Tie Lang then allowed Min Ren and his men to take him away. He never took his eyes off him until the corner of a building cut off their line of sight.

“Come along fools.” Yaomu Lie turned around and strode off compelling the guards to follow him.

“Ce Renwu had a brother, correct?” He asked the still distraught men trailing behind him.

A scattershot yes was his response.

“I’ve heard he’s quite vengeful.” Yaomu Lie’s smile deepened. “Have him report to me. I’ve heard that there’s a new sect that rose from the ashes of another recently. Regardless of its intentions or its status, it has deep ties to our friend there. I’m sure he’ll come around when he hears of its… situation.”

As he said this, his smile became downright malicious as he exited the Ancestral Temples Ground.