Long Ding trembled, and just as he was about to raise his hand to save her, he saw Li Ye’s hand tighten, instantly dispersing one of Long Shu’s hun-souls like flying ash.

“High God, please calm your anger!” Long Ding dared not move again, and urgently said, “This matter is truly not my daughter’s fault. High God is not an unreasonable person, so why would you…”

Looking at his beloved daughter’s dispersed hun-soul, he was too heartbroken to continue speaking.

Long Shu was Long Ding’s most cherished daughter. From hatching to dragon transformation, she had always been by his side. For her sake, Long Ding had even sent away the newborn Long Xu, all because Turtle Immortal’s divination said Long Xu’s fate would suppress Long Shu’s.

He had given all his thousands of years of fatherly love to Long Shu. Even with Li Ye standing before him now, he still wanted to protect Long Shu.

However, Li Ye’s eyes were completely indifferent, looking at him as if gazing at some insignificant speck of sand: “Not her fault?”

A chill ran down his spine, and Long Ding gritted his teeth as he cupped his hands: “High God, please see clearly. My daughter was merely playing by the sea when she was severely injured without cause by this immortal from your sect.”

“Oh.” Li Ye nodded. “So?”

“…” What more was there to say? The right and wrong were obvious. Even if Li Ye wouldn’t bow his head and admit fault, he should at least release Long Shu’s soul.

…

…

Long Ding grew anxious, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. “One injury balances another. These youngsters have all been hurt, so why not let it end here?”

One injury balances another.

Savoring these words with interest, Li Ye withdrew the light in his hand and stood up while holding Er’er.

“They cannot be balanced,” he said softly. “What kind of creature is this that you presume to balance against my Li Clan’s treasure?”

As his words fell, the remaining two soul strands in his hand shattered with a “boom.”

Long Shu, prostrate on the ground, instantly turned ashen, her limbs stiffening.

“My child!” Long Ding roared, heedlessly casting a spell to gather her shattered hun-souls.

The hun-souls dispersed extremely quickly. He barely managed to retain a few fragments. His eyes reddened with fury, no longer caring about High Gods or anything else. He raised his head and berated: “Long Ding has only this one daughter—you go too far!”

Long Xu stood quietly to the side. Hearing this, her fingertips trembled slightly, her eyelids lowered, her face as impassive as if she had heard nothing.

Er’er had barely recovered when she was frightened by this scene. She hadn’t expected Li Ye to be so unreasonable, killing without hesitation. Long Shu was, after all, the Western Sea Princess. Wasn’t this deliberate provocation?

Sure enough, Long Ding could no longer endure it. He transformed back into his golden dragon form and fiercely attacked.

“What are you doing?” she anxiously clutched his robe.

Li Ye held her with one arm, swiftly retreating to avoid Long Ding’s strike, then raised his hand to summon a massive wave that drove the entire dragon back into the sea.

“He hurt you,” he said without lowering his head, his mist-colored eyes calmly looking forward, though killing intent had already appeared in their depths.

Er’er was torn between laughter and tears: “How did you suddenly appear here?”

Li Ye remained silent, his lips pressed tightly together. After a long while, he finally said, “It wasn’t sudden.”

He had been following them the whole time, watching them chat as they walked and stopped, also watching them roast food by the seaside.

She had given all her roasted corn to Long Xu, which made him extremely uncomfortable. So he turned away to contact Zhu Yan through divine thought, wanting to busy himself with important matters. Unexpectedly, in just that brief moment, she had been bullied.

That’s right—regardless of who struck first, regardless of the process, she was hurt, which meant someone had bullied him.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Er’er looked at the line of his jaw, not knowing what to say. After hesitating for a while, she finally said quietly: “You didn’t bring Zhong Qin out.”

“What would I bring her for?” Li Ye snorted with a laugh. “She’s only useful in the Netherworld.”

Useful?

Er’er blinked in confusion. She was about to ask if his words weren’t a bit too heartless when she noticed Long Ding surging up from the sea again.

A Dragon King’s wrath could overturn rivers and seas. Er’er glanced at the village not far from the shore, her brow furrowing.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Li Ye raised his hand and sent the emerging Long Ding back into the sea, along with a barrier that pushed back the mountainous waves.

How cool…

Er’er had meant to marvel silently in her heart, but somehow she couldn’t control herself and spoke aloud.

The person holding her smiled slightly, then slowed his movements.

Long Ding was struck until his head spun, but the anger in his heart was difficult to dispel. He burst out of the sea surface once more: “Li…”

Before the “Ye” could be uttered, he was sent back again. This time the force was great, but the immortal power wasn’t too heavy, not injuring him, so he still had the strength to continue flying upward.

As a result, Li Ye seemed to be toying with him, not injuring him seriously but preventing him from leaving the sea, pushing him back down each time he emerged.

This was humiliation!

Long Ding was furious, trying to leap out from different locations, but after an entire hour had passed, Er’er had been forced to praise the High God until her mouth was dry, and he still couldn’t reach the shore.

“You, you are unreasonable!” Buried in the sea, Long Ding finally couldn’t bear it and broke down in a great shout.

Li Ye looked at him calmly, reaching out to stroke the head of the person in his arms: “A High God is precisely unreasonable. If one were to follow reason, what kind of High God would that be?”

“…” Long Ding fell silent. A wave rolled over, carrying away Long Shu’s corpse. The sea surface churned violently, but before long, it gradually returned to calmness.

Long Xu, having watched the spectacle, lightly clapped her hands, then stepped on the traveling clouds to fly before Li Ye and Er’er.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Er’er stuck out her head, asking in confusion: “Thank you for what?”

Long Xu didn’t answer, lowering her eyelids, her expression rather uncomfortable.

Li Ye looked at her and said coldly: “Apologize.”

Er’er froze, instinctively restraining him: “Apologize for what? Don’t frighten her; she’s my friend.”

Li Ye raised an eyebrow without further explanation. Long Xu, however, was straightforward, directly bowing: “I’m sorry.”

It was her momentary playfulness, knowing Long Shu was nearby, wanting to use Er’er’s immortal energy to harm her. She hadn’t expected it would cause such trouble later. If Li Ye hadn’t been there, she truly might not have been able to protect Er’er today.

Er’er was completely bewildered, frowning as she clutched Li Ye’s robe: “It’s one thing for you to be stern with me, but why are you bullying others?”

“When have I ever been stern with you?” Li Ye lowered his eyes to look at her.

“Many times!” Er’er pouted. “But you’re a High God, so it doesn’t matter if you’re stern.”

How could someone be so adorable even when being unreasonable?

Perhaps because her heart felt so light, Long Xu laughed. Er’er looked at her with a pitiful expression: “You weren’t like this before…”

Looking favorably upon Li Ye!

Before she could finish the latter half of her sentence, Long Xu quickly said: “This place is not suitable for a long stay. High God, please proceed.”

Li Ye came back to himself, summoning traveling clouds to carry Er’er away from the Western Sea. Long Xu followed behind, stopping to cup her hands once they passed the Western Sea’s boundary: “Safe journey to you both. I have matters to attend to, so I won’t impose further.”

Er’er turned her head, reaching out to wave at her, then frowned and looked at the person still holding her: “I’m fine now; I can stand on my own.”

“I know.”

“If you know, why won’t you let go?”

Li Ye snorted with a laugh, glancing at her from the corner of his eye: “I don’t want to let go. Can you do anything about it?”