Cao Yun tried to quickly sift through Jin'ao's memories. At the very least, he was comforted by the fact that the Raging Volcano tribe didn't seem that dangerous. To be more accurate, they weren't that dangerous to Cao Yun. Despite their mastery of the Dao of Fire, Cao Yun was much stronger than they were. Only a handful of elders might be a match for Cao Yun, and this wasn't even certain. Besides, he had an overwhelming advantage: he knew more about them than they knew about him, and he intended to keep it that way.
Jin'ao's father was Rong Shan. Most likely, he was around Cao Yun's age. Flameborns tended to have fewer kids and have them much later than humans. As such, Rong Shan was only one or two decades younger than Cao Yun. Rong Shan was a powerful chieftain, and a terrifying fighter. However, he wasn't the most powerful chieftain of all the tribes. So he had a lot of ambitions, and wanted to become much stronger. Cao Yun wasn't entirely sure how Rong Shan would take his son's death. Apparently, Rong Shan really only cared about his ambitions. But this was seen through the eyes of Jin'ao, who wanted to impress his father.
For a moment, Cao Yun thought about his first time meeting Feng Yingyue. Similar events had unfolded. Unlike that moment, Cao Yun had been fully in control when he had decided to kill Jin'ao. If Jin'ao had been reasonable, Cao Yun would have spared his life. But Cao Yun had seen that Jin'ao wouldn't change. It was better to get rid of a present threat right now. Even if Cao Yun had not killed Jin'ao, he would have become a problem anyway. It was better to get rid of a present threat right now instead of letting it fester like Lü Bai. Hopefully, Cao Yun could contain the massacre. Indeed, he was absolutely certain that a massacre would occur, no matter what he tried. But he could reduce it as much as possible.
Unfortunately, Cao Yun didn't have the time to fully sift through Jin'ao's memories. His soul was slightly different from a human being. As such, Cao Yun had a harder time going through everything, and it would take time if he didn't want to risk damaging the memories and the information. Thus, he turned his attention toward the tribesmen before him. There were ten Flameborns left before him, and the twin sisters slightly behind him. Everyone was shocked, and no one dared to move.
Cao Yun could physically feel fear in the air. After all, Jin'ao was the most powerful of the bunch. To be fair, they were all very young. Jin'ao himself hadn't been much older than twenty. However, Jin'ao might have won a fight even against early Spirit Warriors, just through his mastery of the Dao of Fire. The most powerful warrior couldn't fight if his body was destroyed by flames. Thankfully, Cao Yun's body was much more resistant to what Jin'ao could do. Even if that hadn't been the case, Cao Yun was also much faster than Jin'ao. He literally could have killed him in an instant without Jin'ao being able to do anything, but Cao Yun had wanted to show his absolute strength to the bunch. At the very least, it would make the Raging Volcano tribe more cautious.
He didn't want to show all his abilities and his full strength, but just enough to deter any further conflict for now. Even if the Raging Volcano tribe wanted to strike back, which they probably would, they would take some time to get ready. On one hand, this gave Cao Yun more time. On the other hand, they would be stronger when they fought.
The human's eyes stayed on each and every member of the Raging Volcano tribe present. He could easily detect their intentions. Most of them were just obeying orders and didn't care one way or another. A few were not comfortable with killing the twin sisters. And a few were very happy to inflict pain upon the Ancient Obsidian tribe. Cao Yun made sure to remember them all. They all had one thing in common. They were all terrified of Cao Yun. Even those who didn't mind Jin'ao's death were shaking in fear. They all knew that Cao Yun could kill them easily. And there were no elders nearby to protect them. After all, they had not feared the presence of a terrifying fire beast, let alone a human or a demon expert.
Finally, Cao Yun turned toward Jinyang and Jinyue. He kept on talking in Primitive Nuhua. Jinyang had a hard time understanding some words, so Cao Yun had to reformulate his sentences from time to time. On the other hand, Jinyue tried her best to even understand a few words here and there. While Cao Yun and Jinyang talked, the ten tribesmen didn't dare to do anything. Like Jinyue, they were trying to follow the conversation, fearing that it concerned their lives and deaths. However, they couldn't understand a word that was being said. They simply waited for Jinyang or Cao Yun to look at them. A few times, they heard words that sounded like their respective names, but it seemed to only be a coincidence.
"Girl, did any of those Flameborns do anything worthy of death?"
"Our Ancient Obsidian tribe cannot be responsible for more deaths, noble senior."
"That wasn't my question. But I will take your tribe's will into consideration. Tell me what happened and why."
"The Raging Volcano tribe covets our divine treasure and our lands. Because our tribe refuses to cede to them, they've been trying to pressure us for months now. It became more violent recently. Jin'ao tried to force himself on sister Jinyue, so our friend Xuanhui protected her. Jin'ao killed him. We... we ran as Xuanhui was being killed. We abandoned him..."
Jinyang was clearly disturbed and held back tears, so her sister hugged her and glared at Cao Yun. Jinyang talked to her sister to tell her that everything was fine. Cao Yun didn't press on the matter. This was a mere dispute between tribes, and a young idiot had pushed it too far.
"Had there been any violence before?"
"No. They usually just harassed us. They took our hunting grounds, they intimidated us, but they never... At least, no one ever talked about anything. Of course, a few of us disappeared while going out, but no more than usual. I don't think that the Raging Volcano tribe wanted things to escalate this far."
Or maybe they were just tired of waiting and seized an opportunity. From Jin'ao's memories, it was clear that he had intended to be violent from the beginning. Maybe it was just his personal lust for the sisters, or maybe there was something else, Cao Yun wasn't sure yet. However, the other Flameborns couldn't be killed for no reason at all. To be honest, this wouldn't have been that much of a problem for Cao Yun. They were all ready to watch their leader abuse a young girl before them. To be fair, a few of them wanted to stop him, and a young man had even tried to actually stop him. They weren't all terrible. And they were young.
Cao Yun would accept Jinyang's will. He wouldn't kill them all. Besides, keeping them alive would slow things down, as they would bring information to their tribe. With this information, they would spend time talking and thinking. They wouldn't attack Cao Yun and the Ancient Obsidian tribe right away.
"I understand the situation now. Please, translate my words for the Raging Volcano tribe."
Then, Cao Yun turned toward the ten Flameborns. Suddenly, his eyes changed. They were filled with blood. The Flameborns all felt a terrifying sensation, they felt frozen. For a Flameborn, it was as if they had died on the spot. Cao Yun's tone was also piercing their very souls. After Cao Yun's terrifying voice, the young and frail voice of Jinyang could be heard. This created a strange sensation. Even Jinyue was taken aback by this scene. It was as if a young maiden translated the words of a demonic ogre.
"Your friend killed someone for no reason but to satisfy his lust. If he had listened to reason, I wouldn't have killed him, but he persisted in his stupidity and cruelty. If one of you is dissatisfied with his end, let him walk forward and face me. I won't use any weapon or technique, I will use my bare fists to teach you. Is there anyone?"
After Jinyang translated those words, the Flameborns looked at the corpse of Jin'ao. It was already turning into ashes as his life fire had been extinguished. No one would dare to step forward. Even if Jin'ao had been alive, they probably wouldn't have given their lives for him, especially after seeing him assault Jinyue. That moron had disobeyed Rong Shan's orders. Thinking about Rong Shan, they were terrified that he would punish them. But they still wouldn't step forward. Cao Yun was much more frightening, and his threat was immediate. With Rong Shan, they had a chance to plead their case.
"Fine. None of you has committed a crime against me. I will not make you suffer for this fool's crimes. But you will transmit a message to your tribe. I, Cao Yun, take full responsibility for the death of Jin'ao. I acted rightfully to stop a heinous crime. I will not apologize for it, I will not suffer judgment for it, and I will not give reparation for it. If his father, Rong Shan, or the rest of Raging Volcano tribe think that I have wronged them, I will listen to their grievances. Tell your tribe that Cao Yun is the one who killed Jin'ao and do not lie about his crimes. If any of you dare to conceal the truth of the matter, I will not be lenient. Let your entire tribe know of the events that transpired. Then, ask them and yourselves: what would your Raging Volcano tribe have done if it had happened to your fellow tribesman? If Rong Shan or the Raging Volcano tribe still hold a grudge, I will listen to it. But do not expect to be met with a better disposition on my part."
Cao Yun paused here and there to make sure that Jinyang could translate everything. Jinyang barely understood what she was saying because she was too busy translating things. Primitive Nuhua wasn't a very easy language for her. She had learned it because of old legends, but she wasn't that fluent in it. Thankfully, Cao Yun was speaking slowly enough and even made sure to use simple words. On the other hand, Jinyue was terrified. Cao Yun was basically provoking the Raging Volcano tribe.
They wouldn't care what Jin'ao had done. They would obviously defend their tribesman even if he was in the wrong. At least, that was what Jinyue thought at first. But then, she realized that Cao Yun was making sure that they targeted him and not the Ancient Obsidian tribe. Besides, this might create a divide between the tribe and Rong Shan. After all, his only son was the one responsible for making an enemy of such a powerful cultivator. If Jin'ao had stepped down, Cao Yun claimed he wouldn't have killed him.
The Flameborns were terrified. They all swore on their life fire to tell the entire tribe about the events, exactly as they had unfolded. For a moment, Cao Yun hesitated to put a seal on them, but he decided against it. To be honest, he wasn't completely confident he could do so without damaging their souls because they were slightly different from human and demon souls. Moreover, accidentally killing or crippling one of them out of the blue wouldn't be very good, and he didn't think they necessarily deserved it in the first place. Maybe a couple of them deserved it, but Cao Yun wouldn't press the matter.
"Now, go back to your Raging Volcano tribe. I won't ask your tribe to apologize to me for this, or for Jin'ao. On my end, consider the incident closed. If your Raging Volcano tribe wishes to hold grudges against me, I will respond in kind. Tell your tribe to choose wisely. Now, leave!"
As soon as Jinyang was finished, the ten Flameborns knelt before Cao Yun and flew away as fast as they could. In that moment, Cao Yun realized that Flameborns could fly. Even young Flameborns could fly. They couldn't go very high or very fast. Hongyu and Cao Yun could have easily caught up with them. But the mere fact that kids younger than twenty could fly was shocking. The Flameborns were very different from humans and demons. However, Cao Yun also knew that they couldn't go too high in their cultivation. Unlike humans, asuras, or devas, Flameborns were stuck working on the Dao of Fire. They couldn't study all the aspects of the Dao. So their growth was limited at birth. However, Cao Yun wondered about that. Maybe Flameborns could slowly expand their knowledge of the Dao. Maybe it was the Withering Fusang Tree causing this stagnation. After all, Cao Yun had no other information about Flameborns from other worlds.
Anyway, Cao Yun wasn't here to solve this mystery. He was here to visit the Ancient Obsidian tribe. Indeed, this was the tribe where Emperor Nuwa had stayed. From her journals, the Ancient Obsidian tribe should have been a very powerful tribe. At least, they were completely domineering and even hegemonic during her presence. Clearly, the tribe had fallen from grace. Since Emperor Nuwa's visit, Cao Yun had no idea how much time had passed.
Now that he was alone with the twin sisters, Cao Yun talked to Jinyang. He wanted to learn more. Jinyue didn't like this at all. The young girl was pouting and glaring at Cao Yun because she couldn't do anything else. At the very least, she could tell that Cao Yun had no evil intentions toward either of them. Cao Yun asked Jinyang a lot of questions. From time to time, he tried to use a few words in the language of the Flameborns. Every tribe had a slightly different dialect, but they were all speaking one language on the Broken Fire World.
Despite the infighting, the tribes were all united under the umbrella of the great shaman, the Fire Thearch. That was a name Cao Yun had read about too. However, he concealed his interest for now as he didn't want to appear like a threat.