Chapter 678: Chapter 403: Repositioning Oneself
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Yan Xiaobao took a moment, his lips curling into a smile. The only thing he needed to do now was defeat Li Xiaopeng. Once he was defeated, then the Siban Empire would belong to the beasts. They could at last attain the freedom they had fought for. Knowing that everything now rested on Wan Qiao and her battle with Li Xiaopeng, Lan Feng steadied his movements. He soared into the sky before turning toward the men and women who were currently locked in combat.
Though Yan Xiaobao was intensely focused on observing the battle on the ground, he couldn’t help but notice Lan Feng’s euphoria while flying through the air. He circled above the battlefield, repositioning himself again and again. For the first time in four thousand years, Lan Feng had revealed his true form. His longing was so palpable that Yan Xiaobao was certain the arrogant bird was cheering with glee.
Yan Xiaobao said nothing, allowing Lan Feng to cavort through the skies. His gaze swept over the beasts below, who were watching the battle between Wan Qiao and Li Xiaopeng with a mix of shock and awe. Observing the fight, Yan Xiaobao was surprised to see that Wan Qiao wasn’t attacking the shorter man; instead, she was only defending herself. Something about it was completely out of character for her.
"Is she waiting for her opponent to exhaust himself?" Yan Xiaobao muttered to himself, his chin resting on his hand as he focused on the fight in front of him. "If she loses energy, she’ll gain nothing... Will she run out first?" He continued complaining. "She should be stronger than him. She was just healed. Why won’t she take action?"
Just as Yan Xiaobao was filled with questions, Wan Qiao transformed into her usual beautiful form that Yan Xiaobao had grown accustomed to seeing. "What is she doing?!" he shouted again, but no one answered him. Lan Feng was too caught up in his emotions to hear Yan Xiaobao’s words, and no one could hear him as he resided within his Lower Dantian.
"This fight is pointless!" Wan Qiao shouted as she dodged yet another attack. This time, it came in the form of a golden, dragon-shaped lance, its incredible power evident from its sharp and deadly tip. Seeing it, Yan Xiaobao was convinced it was sharp enough to pierce through stone.
Wan Qiao’s declaration left all the beasts stunned. None of them had expected her to denounce the fight. "Look at your precious sister!" she continued, though Li Xiaopeng seemed intent on continuing the battle. However, her words caused him to pause and glance at his sister.
"She’s wearing the black uniform of the Crusaders. There are four holes on her forehead. She was found among a horde of Crusaders. Now tell me, how can we trust her while standing side by side with Crusaders?" Wan Qiao attempted to reason with the angered Saint before her. Though her earlier words had fallen on deaf ears, they now held weight. Li Xiaopeng’s hand trembled as he slowly touched the four holes on his sister’s forehead, his brow furrowing deeply.
"This is all your fault from the beginning," he replied, though he didn’t attack Wan Qiao. Instead, he picked up his sister and began walking away. "She came back terrified. Don’t tell me this had nothing to do with you!"
"I admit we might have frightened her, but when we could have killed her, we treated her as a guest. We warned her about the war so you could prepare in time. We even sent her back to your border without letting anyone harm her," Wan Qiao retorted, her words ringing true to Li Xiaopeng. He understood that the responsibility lay with the Emperor who had sent his sister to the Divine Domain. The beasts who could have killed her treated her well, only for the Siban Empire to deliver her to the Crusaders.
These thoughts left him conflicted. Though his anger didn’t subside, he couldn’t shake the sense that the beasts might be in the right. After standing in hesitation for a while, he finally nodded at Wan Qiao before soaring into the sky, disappearing in the opposite direction of most of the Saints.
Lan Feng descended to the ground beside Wan Qiao and sighed, relinquishing control of the body back to Yan Xiaobao. Once the transformation was complete, his feathers and beastly form gave way to his human appearance. He quickly grabbed a robe from where it had been stored on a stone, draping it over himself.
"That’s not like you," he remarked, his gaze fixed on Wan Qiao. The comment made the eagle momentarily blush, but she quickly cleared her throat and refocused. "I know," she replied, her voice trembling slightly. "I understand his emotions," she sighed. "I lost someone important in this battle too, and I know the urge to kill those responsible," she confessed. Tears began to form as her eyes reddened slightly. Yan Xiaobao knew she was thinking of Lord Pan, and he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "He’ll be reborn somewhere, becoming a great hero," Yan Xiaobao reassured her with a sorrowful smile. He had liked Lord Pan as well.
Hearing Yan Xiaobao’s words, a faint chuckle escaped Wan Qiao’s lips, and she nodded. "We’ve just won a war. We can’t let ourselves be too disheartened!" she exclaimed, and Yan Xiaobao nodded with a smile. "We did win this war," Yan Xiaobao sighed, feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you for your hard work, Great Marshall!" One by one, the Saints approached Yan Xiaobao, expressing their gratitude for his help. Those who had once treated him as an equal now regarded him as a superior being far above them. Yan Xiaobao remarked, "I don’t think being a Divine Beast matters," but his statement only earned a huff from Lan Feng. "Of course, they respect me. Only four Divine Beasts of direct bloodline are considered true Divine Beasts. When I and the others were exiled and deceived, I was sure all our descendants had been killed or enslaved. It has been four thousand years since the last Divine Beast appeared. For me to be here now should be impossible, yet here I am. They would celebrate my return."