Ningyan's eyes slowly lifted toward the phoenix beastman who had spoken earlier about respecting elders as he tightened his hold on Su Mian protectively against his chest.
Around them, the atmosphere remained frozen in complete shock from Han Yunyi's death.
But Ningyan simply took a slow step down the stairs.
"Now that this is settled," he said calmly, "let me make something very clear."
His violet eyes glowed sharply within the darkness. "I do not know what exactly you all are planning. And trust me when I say, I am not interested either."
His voice became colder. "But if you believe you can force me into your schemes. If you believe you can drag me into something against my will while involving the people I love in the process…"
He stopped speaking for a moment.
The silence that followed felt suffocating. Then the purple glow around him brightened ominously.
"I will not hesitate to become the cause of the phoenix clan's extinction."
