Chapter 780 Judgment of the Hundred Races
“Shadowcat Patriarch, since you admitted your wrongdoing without making excuses, the Shadowcats will become a vassal race of humanity from this day forward.
Each year, you will surrender ten percent of the resources produced within your territory.
Every member of your race must also provide humanity with five years of labor out of every century.
“As for you, I’ll imprison you inside my Inner Cosmos for only one hundred years. Do you accept that judgment?” Kael asked calmly.
“I... accept.”
The Shadowcat Patriarch bowed his head in defeat.
Kael pointed at him, and he vanished.
His attendants would carry Kael’s decree back to the Shadowcats.
...
Time passed. Before anyone realized it, an entire day had gone by.
Amir publicly recounted the crimes of nearly a hundred races. Kael imprisoned every one of their patriarchs inside his Inner Cosmos.
The longest sentence was ten thousand years, while the shortest was only thirty.
Considering their immense lifespans, however, even those sentenced to ten thousand years could afford to wait.
At last, Amir turned toward Orin.
“You’ve held yourself together remarkably well, Orin. Even now, you haven’t stepped forward to admit what you did.”
“What crime have I committed?” Orin demanded stubbornly.
“The Blood Race caused humanity no shortage of trouble after Kael left. Several groups of cultivators we sent into Blood Race territory disappeared. You secretly sent people to assassinate them, didn’t you?”
“If you’re determined to condemn me, you can invent whatever accusations you please. Humanity has Kael protecting it now, so you can say anything you want.”
Orin had already made up his mind.
He would never admit to anything. At worst, Kael would imprison him inside the Inner Cosmos.
“Are you truly refusing to acknowledge any of this?” Amir asked.
“It hardly matters now.” Orin cast a sidelong glance at Kael. “How long do you intend to imprison me?”
“The Blood Race practices blood sorcery. Locking you inside my Inner Cosmos would only give you a chance to cause damage.” Kael’s voice lost all warmth. “Since you refuse to admit your guilt, you can die.”
He flicked a finger.
A bloody hole appeared in the center of Orin’s forehead. His stunned expression never had time to fade.
His body toppled stiffly to the floor. Even his soul had been annihilated within his body by Kael’s casual attack.
The other patriarchs recoiled, leaving a wide circle around the corpse.
Orin might have been the Blood Race’s newly appointed patriarch, but he still ranked among the ten strongest cultivators on Skyfire Planet.
Kael had killed him the instant he chose to do so, without offering the slightest mercy.
The beast cultivators exchanged uneasy glances.
Until now, many of them had felt nothing but resentment toward Kael. That resentment had finally given way to fear and respect.
“Hazel, thank you for everything you’ve done for humanity over the years. I have several gifts for you.”
Kael retrieved an assortment of treasures.
Pills, Spirit Weapons, artifacts, and talismans floated toward Hazel.
“I found these among the possessions of several Stellar Realm experts. Choose whichever ones you like.”
In truth, Kael had taken every item from Stellar Realm cultivators he had killed. With so many people present, however, there was no reason to state that openly.
“M-Me?”
Hazel could tell that every treasure Kael had offered was extraordinary. Some were valuable enough to make Great Ascension cultivators slaughter one another for the chance to possess them.
“Why don’t you take all of them?” Rook suggested.
Among all of humanity, only Rook dared make decisions on Kael’s behalf with such little concern for propriety.
“May I?”
Hazel looked toward Kael.
“Since Rook suggested it, you may take them all.”
Kael indulged Rook in almost everything. Rook was the only friend who had risen alongside him from the very bottom.
“Thank you, Kael.”
Hazel happily collected the treasures.
Kael then rewarded the other races that had never worked against humanity. Their rewards were far less valuable than Hazel’s, but given their cultivation realms, each one still represented an extraordinary opportunity.
“Malcolm, Adrian, Lucian, Tessa—would you be willing to settle on Skyfire Planet from now on?” Kael asked the four Planetary Realm cultivators.
“We no longer have homes to return to. Settling here would suit us well,” Malcolm said with a sigh.
He still had family and friends laboring in the servant quarters of Sunlance Academy. But Kael couldn’t risk returning for them yet, so Malcolm had no choice but to endure the separation for now.
At that moment, Kael sensed something and looked toward the Phantasmal Oasis.
At the heart of the Phantasmal Oasis, the teleportation array began to hum and rotate.
Before long, a lone figure appeared at its center.
The instant Rhazorn emerged, his immense Spiritual Sense swept across the entire oasis.
He shrouded himself in several layers of protective energy before taking out his Astral Compass.
Thousands of miles away, Kael withdrew his gaze. He produced his own Astral Compass and sent a thread of Origin Power into it.
“Kael, I... I’ve arrived. Where are you?”
Rhazorn’s trembling voice came through the compass.
“That bastard is already here?”
Lucian’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
“Did someone there just insult me?” Rhazorn asked nervously. “Are the people around you hostile toward me?”
“Don’t misunderstand. Fly southeast, and you’ll soon see the Human Oasis.”
Kael ended the connection.
Eventually, another announcement rang out beyond the sacred grounds.
“An unidentified elder requests an audience with Patriarch Lin!”
A short while later, Rhazorn entered humanity’s sacred grounds with both hands clasped behind his back.
His gaze immediately found Kael. Then he noticed Malcolm and the other familiar faces, and his carefully composed expression faltered.
Kael greeted his reaction with a mocking half smile.
“Kael, Sunlance Academy values your talent so highly that I came all the way to Skyfire Planet to find you. Surely that proves our sincerity.”
“What?”
“He’s from Sunlance Academy?”
“Sunlance Academy?”
The remaining patriarchs stared at Rhazorn in disbelief.
They had all heard of Sunlance Academy, but none had ever visited it. They simply lacked the qualifications to enter such a place.
Lucian gave a derisive laugh.
The other human cultivators who had suffered under Rhazorn watched him with the same barely restrained hatred.
Kael remained silent.
Rhazorn’s breathing gradually quickened. The dignified composure he had assumed upon entering began to crumble.
“Kael, Sunlance Academy has always valued exceptional talent. If you return, the Dean will ensure that humanity receives favorable treatment. You will also become a legend to your entire race.”
Kael still refused to answer.
Instead, he shifted into a more comfortable position and continued watching Rhazorn with faint amusement.
“Kael, when we were at Sunlance Academy, we were simply serving different interests. Personally, I’ve always sympathized with humanity. On several occasions, I argued that humans shouldn’t be classified as bloodstock and deserved a fair opportunity to rise through the ranks.
“But the Heavenly Dragon Race is not the Golden Dragon Race. Our influence within Sunlance Academy is limited. Surely you can understand the position I was in?”
Rhazorn’s voice grew earnest, and his manner became almost paternal.