Yanxi did not expect Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian to be so terrified of death.
Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian began to beg, even getting on his knees before Yanxi.
The soldiers were furious.
"Stand up! You are a prince of the Heavenly King Country! How can you act like this?"
"Prince, by acting this way, aren’t you discarding all the dignity of the Human Clan?"
"You mustn’t do this!"
Even the few soldiers closest to Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian frowned. They said nothing, but inwardly, they too looked down on him.
Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian ignored what others thought. He coughed a few times and said, "Let me go. Please, let me go."
He knew that if he were captured, he would surely die. When the Dog Clan attacked to reclaim their territory, he, Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian, would become their hostage.
But Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian knew his father. When the time came, Xiao Shimin would surely not hesitate to kill his own son rather than lose the kingdom’s rivers and mountains.
Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian did not want to die like this. He still had to make Ye Qingxian understand his true feelings for her.
"Begging me?" Yanxi was taken aback. He had heard that throughout history, during the many great wars between the Human and Beast Clans, there were always some humans who would abandon their dignity and kneel before beasts.
He could not believe he was finally witnessing it himself, and from a prince of a Three-Star kingdom, no less.
"Hmm?" Yanxi’s lips curled into a smirk as an idea came to him. "Bark like a dog. If it sounds pleasant, loud, and realistic, I might consider letting you go."
"Really?" Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian’s eyes lit up.
Yanxi nodded.
Yuwen Nuo was enraged. He rounded on Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian, shouting, "Are you even a man? Why are you barking? Get up!"
"Stand up!"
"Reclaim the dignity of the Human Clan!"
The soldiers shouted one after another.
"COUGH... COUGH... COUGH..." Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian coughed up blood, gritting his teeth as he yelled, "What do you know? You don’t understand my position, so don’t you dare judge me!"
He understands? What could he possibly understand?
Yuwen Nuo and the others clenched their fists, the veins on their arms bulging.
Ignoring them, Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian turned to Yanxi and began to bark. "WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!"
The sound was sharp and clear, truly resembling a dog’s bark. The dog-men on the other side nodded, clearly finding his performance quite convincing.
"So lifelike," Yanxi laughed. "If I couldn’t see you were human, I’d really think you were a dog."
"This..." What could Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian say? He could only manage an awkward, "Thank you for the praise, Prince... So... so can I go now?"
"Did I say I would let you go?" Yanxi shook his head, refusing.
"You..." So enraged that he spat out another mouthful of blood, Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian stammered, "How can you go back on your word? Are you even human?"
"Am I human?" Yanxi laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke.
"You... I... COUGH... COUGH... COUGH..." Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian was seething. Had he abandoned all his dignity for this?
The shock made him cough up more blood. He could not even stand, and with no one willing to support him, he collapsed onto the road.
He could not accept it; he really did not want to die. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian immediately gritted his teeth and mustered the last of his strength to speak. "Wait! Him... we still have him here. Yanxi, didn’t you say you were powerful? If you can kill him, I’ll bark for you again."
Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian’s hand was pointed at Wu Tian. He wanted to provoke Yanxi into killing him.
"Oh, Yanxi, surely you can kill this man, right? That’s right, this man is hailed as the number one dog slayer. You can’t possibly beat him," he continued, using reverse psychology.
Everyone present could see that Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian was trying to bait him.
But Yanxi’s gaze still fell coldly upon Wu Tian.
The other members of the Dog Clan also began to shout angrily, "Who is this person? Why haven’t I heard of him?"
"Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian is just trying to provoke you."
"Who cares? Just kill them all together."
Yanxi nodded, his eyes fixed on Wu Tian, sizing him up. He saw a man who was completely composed, his eyes placid to an extreme.
A person like this is either genuinely skilled... or just a pretender with no substance!
Naturally, Yanxi did not believe the man was some great expert. How could one encounter a so-called expert so easily? He did not believe his luck was that good.
He glanced at Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian, who was still sprawled on the ground, then beckoned to Wu Tian with his finger. "Come on up. It makes no difference if I fight one or two. Just get up here so we can get this over with."
"Over in an instant?" Hearing this, Wu Tian nodded in agreement. "Indeed, it can be over in an instant! Are you sure? You want a one-hit kill?"
Wu Tian spoke with an elegant demeanor, standing with his hands clasped behind his back like a true peerless master.
This gave Yuwen Nuo a sliver of hope.
"That’s right! I will kill you in an instant!" Yanxi replied with a slight smile, mistaking Wu Tian’s words for an admission of his own weakness.
"You’re mistaken," Wu Tian said. "I’m the one who will kill you in an instant."
"What? Do you have any idea what you’re saying?" Yanxi’s brow furrowed, a surge of anger rising as he stared at Wu Tian.
Yet Wu Tian remained utterly unconcerned, his expression impassive.
This infuriated Yanxi to no end.
At that moment, everyone, be they dog-man or human, listened to Wu Tian’s words in disbelief.
"How dare he speak to Yanxi like that."
"This guy is really asking for death."
"I bet Prince Yanxi will kill him with a single claw."
"One strike? Heh, I think he’ll be too scared to keep up his act before the fight even begins."
Most of them had little faith in Wu Tian.
Si’er also wore a worried expression, unconvinced that Wu Tian could defeat Yanxi. After all, Yanxi was a descendant of the Great Heavenly King of Dogs. Triple Shadow! In this region, it was known as the most legendary Martial Arts Technique.
Si’er started to speak, wanting to ask Wu Tian to beg for mercy, but the little one stopped her.
"You have to believe in my dad," the little one huffed, then smiled. "He’s invincible, undefeated. If anyone could possibly defeat him... one would be me, and the other would be the unruly child from his prophecy."
Si’er stood there, dumbstruck.
Wu Tian and Yanxi now faced each other. Everyone else, dog and human alike, watched what they believed to be a battle completely devoid of suspense.
"I want to ask you something. Heavenly Emperor Xiao Tian seems to despise you. Why is that?" The curiosity gnawed at Yanxi, and he could not stand not knowing.
Wu Tian replied coolly, "Talking too much is a bad habit. Besides, you’re not qualified to be so chatty."
"Not qualified?" Yanxi laughed with arrogance. "I don’t mind telling you that my ancestor was an old acquaintance of an Immortal Emperor who reigned supreme, unbound by heaven or earth.
"On the very day his acquaintance achieved the status of Immortal Emperor, my ancestor was immediately bathed in divine imperial light, ensuring his life would be smooth and successful ever after! Since then, not a single failure has been born in our lineage. We have led the Dog Clan ever since!
"It is as if we received that Immortal Emperor’s blessing, allowing us to thrive for generations! Now, do you still dare say I am not qualified?"