Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1405 - 1404 - I Refuse

Lind started a cascade of events that led to him having several Heaven and Sky Realm phoenixes currently sitting in a room with a simple chalkboard behind him.

It was a classroom used to educate the recently intelligent beasts to read and write the basics. It also was where they held math classes too.

The group sullenly sitting had all their cultivation sealed not by collars but a weaving shimmering over the area.

It was tied to their bloodline so any phoenix that entered suffered the same effect. Lind just wanted the way out but sadly none of them knew.

The only ones that would know were not due to arrive anytime soon but they would be aware of his actions already.

He was under something called the Nightflame Clan's Resource Procurement Forces. It was a weak attempt to cover for the slavery but they did have some knowledge for him.

The lack of humans and demons was due to treaties the various powers lived by. No beast race was allowed to enslave humans or demons.

They already did not enslave aether children or Elementals. The suffering at the hands of other races were bad enough.

Fiends were slaughtered for obvious reasons.

Yet the reason so many avian races were there was due to simple proximity. The Throne of Living Fire was ruled by the phoenix race and that drew the lower bloodlines. No one expected to be enslaved for it!

Lind learned the issue was a matter of betrayal of course. Foolish bastards that wanted to grasp power they did not deserve or earn. It resulted in several coup attempts and predictable results in failure.

The aftermath, however, led to the current system. The phoenix clans had no desire to endure constant uprisings.

The cat people were actually an accident. Humans had helped their domesticated pets cultivate but then lost all control. Rather than war, it would be better to call it natural selection.

The humans were killed and a new power was born.

Unfortunately, that power was at the cost of a Heaven Realm trading partner with the Throne of Living Fire.

It was one thing for those actually guilty of the crimes to be enslaved but that was all ancient history. The current generation was at least several million years removed!

All in all, they just made the excuse of paying for their ancestors' crimes. It was the most idiotic thing he ever heard.

Ignoring history was one thing. Denying that nothing ever happened in the past was not something to be done either after all.

Yet, continuing to persecute all the generations that followed was just insane. One past mistake by generations cannot be applied to the newer ones that never existed at the time!

Lind found it more annoying they did not even hide what they were doing.

"Mister! Look! I got it to glow!" A very young boy was dancing around him for attention. He had partial humanoid features mixed with 2 fluffy ears on top of his head and a long tail with soft orange fur. His hands only had 4 fingers with very sharp nails at the end.

His feet were still paws!

Some beasts were naturals in the Celestial Fields. They not only gained sentience but like Ethry long ago, they could transform far earlier. Unlike her, theirs were incomplete.

He smiled as the simple artifact was used to train the external channeling of elemental Qi.

"Well done. Now, try to focus on a specific color like you saw in your mind. Hold it as long as you can." Lind wanted to go but he had to wait.

He needed a guide to get him out.

Forcing his way out would only lead to unacceptable delays. The sealed phoenixes sneered at the child behind his back but Lind only glanced at them to make them flinch.

Now that they were free, and their parents too, their learning had exploded forward. It was remarkable what raising the spirit could do for someone.

Still, only the children showed such drastic changes. The adults were still reeling from the change in their freedom.

He was about to focus on a new lesson when his eyes narrowed. He felt a change in the air not only in the flow of it but the power of the Qi that came with it. The quality was much higher.

His wards actually improved instantly but he did not move. They would come to him no doubt and he wanted it on his terms even if he was in the wrong for infiltrating their Throne.

A short while later, the small children began to gather around him whimpering. Fear was thick in their actions. He did not like seeing that.

The adults came swiftly after with some of the younger children still just animals.

Some men were weeping in fear while the women tried to comfort them.

Lind smiled at them and his fingers glowed before more sigils began to appear.

"Stay behind these, you will be safe." They nodded and the ward sprang into existence. He then turned and saw a regiment marching swiftly toward them. The were covered in armor of indigo, black, and blue.

As they moved, it was like a mighty flame moved with them but his eyes narrowed at their necks. Each soldier had a medallion that was like a bright star. It was of a vibrant orange that seemed to glow like it was alive.

He felt something damned familiar at those medallions. Their shapes varied but the material did not.

[Chosen.] Haro suddenly spoke in his mind but did not elaborate. Yet, the fact he recognized them enough to be shocked spoke volumes.

At the head of the soldiers was an old woman who looked at him like he was the filth under a boot.

He sighed as he recognized that particular look but was surprised none of the soldiers looked at him that way.

They did, however, seem to instantly notice the former slaves huddling behind his wards and their fellow phoenixes sealed in the classroom.

Lind noticed they did not stop when they reached his sealing barrier. The old woman marched right in and then stumbled as its effects took hold. Shock crossed her face as she was a peak Sovereign Tier but his weavings were strong enough to affect her.

"You are quite rude, True Lord Frey. Yet, you are lucky as well. You are free to leave this place for the Sovereign Lands. Your wife's location is likely known to you but here is the freshest map we have. Keep in mind, some lands shift day to day here." The jade stone was not bad.

Lind even confirmed everything was there and more, but he frowned. It was too easy and she seemed to realize that.

"Our leadership realizes you are under extenuating circumstances. In return for a future favor, you are free to leave and we will make no mention of this–incident." His emerald eyes flared and for just a moment, all heard the Heavens rumble.

"If you know me, senior, then you know how I feel about those that use people as tools. Especially raising them to be tools." There was no Authority in his voice but a shiver washed over the soldiers.

A power they knew was far stronger than any Law had come from his harmony at that moment. If there was any time the Dao of Defiance would react, it would be now.

The old woman sneered at him as she was hardly affected.

"You are impressive, True Lord or not, to have grasped the Dao. Yet, you are naive." Pressure suddenly appeared and his wards trembled. He felt it!

At least 3 or 4 Dao! She was also wielding them far easier than he ever could. Yet, the price was just as steep for her as it was for him.

Even so, he grasped her meaning but he did not move.

"I refuse to leave things as they are. You want my favor, fine, but I have a condition. Let them go. The ones who wronged you are long dead. If you worry about retribution, I have a solution for that as well." She paused and retracted her Dao.

"Oh, and just what can you offer that will replace all that labor that we need doing." Lind summoned all 18 small Seeds he carried with him.

The spheres were constantly improving inside his ring with the arrangement he made. Now, he revealed something only rumored to exist.

Crystals, herbs, ores, and anything one could dream of being artificially grown! Greed flashed in the old woman's eyes but Lind only sneered. She only saw the surface treasures.

At the heart of each Seed he carried was a harmonic crystal. Before she realized, 18 Dao washed over them all. Lind bled from his orifices but his wards held.

The soldiers were no better and even the old woman stumbled. Horror was on her face as she looked at him.

"You release them to the Frey Clan, and I will teach you how to create these. They take time and nourishment but anyone can make them." The Seeds then vanished back into his ring.

The old woman looked contemplative but then shook her head.

"I refuse. We may see future benefits but we cannot lose face in front of our enemies. You are a dragon. Only your current status and situation allow you to leave here unhar–" A new aura suddenly pressed on them all and Lind finally felt his wards snap.

He also felt something he had never felt before. His Authority was restricted!

Another True Lord had come!