The Dragon Clan members trembled in fear, landing on the ground and bowing their heads in submission.
A smile played on Zi Linling's lips, and the spiritual energy gathered in her palm suddenly vanished.
Ye Lingyuan grabbed the black dragon's tail with both hands, smashing it fiercely onto the ground. He flickered and appeared beside Zi Linling.
Long'er stiffened, flicked his tail at the red dragon, landed on the ground, and transformed into human form.
The golden dragon descended, transforming into a burly man, none other than Long'er's father, Ao Xiangtian.
Ao Xiangtian saw Long'er and was momentarily stunned, his eyes immediately misting over.
He held Long'er tightly in his embrace, his voice trembling as he said, "Long'er..."
In this one call, there was nine parts shock and twelve parts fatherly love.
"Daddy..."
Long'er suddenly burst into tears.
It had been over ten years since they parted in the Misty Forest. In these ten years, he had missed his father dearly and mourned his mother.
"Long'er, you're back, you're truly back!"
Ao Xiangtian's eyes were teary, but he managed to hold back the tears.
"Daddy, Long'er is back! Long'er is back!"
Long'er's voice was choked, and he was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Although he had grown into a young man, he was still the child who reluctantly bid farewell to his father.
Father and son embraced, time stood still.
Watching the scene before her, Zi Linling's heart softened.
Ye Lingyuan felt her change and reached out, encircling her slender waist.
"Daddy, Long'er wants to pay respects to Mother!" Long'er wiped the tears from his eyes and said.
Ao Xiangtian smiled, gently stroking Long'er's head, and approached Ye Lingyuan and Zi Linling, saying, "Two, it's been a long time!"
Ye Lingyuan remained silent, looking at Zi Linling with affection.
Zi Linling understood and smiled, "Time flies, it's been ten years. Clan Leader Ao, I hope you've been well!"
Ao Xiangtian said heartily, "Ten years have passed, Miss Zi and His Highness the Underworld King are as radiant as ever! Please come to my manor to chat!"
Zi Linling and Ye Lingyuan nodded and said, "Please!"
Ao Xiangtian smiled and led Long'er, Zi Linling, and Ye Lingyuan towards the central area of Dragon Island.
The central area of Dragon Island was where the clan leaders and elders of each lineage of the Dragon Clan resided, along with their outstanding disciples.
These outstanding disciples were granted residence here after passing through numerous assessments.
As the clan leader of the Golden Dragon lineage, Ao Xiangtian naturally had his own cave dwelling.
Half an hour later, the four arrived at Ao Xiangtian's cave dwelling.
Ao Xiangtian's cave dwelling was adorned with various kinds of dazzling gold gems, giving it a sense of extravagant yet not overly ostentatious luxury.
It was as if someone who had been poor all their life suddenly became rich and wanted to flaunt their wealth to everyone.
Of course, Ao Xiangtian was not a nouveau riche. This ostentatious display was because dragons naturally loved shiny things.
As the four were seated as guests, before they could even begin to converse, a commotion arose from outside the cave dwelling, and then ten people barged in.
Zi Linling and Ye Lingyuan raised their eyebrows and elegantly picked up the teacups on the table.
Long'er, not understanding what was happening, looked at his father, Ao Xiangtian.
Ao Xiangtian's face was grim, and his body exuded anger. "Who allowed you to come in?"
The old man at the forefront casually cupped his hands towards Ao Xiangtian and said arrogantly, "We heard that the clan leader's son, who was born unable to transform into a dragon, has returned, is that right?"
Ao Xiangtian let out a cold snort and said, "He has indeed returned. Does the Great Elder have any objections?"
The old man, referred to as the Great Elder, became even more arrogant. "Clan leader, have you forgotten that he was already expelled from the Dragon Clan?"
"Slap!"
Ao Xiangtian slammed the table in anger. "He is my son! Who dares to expel him from the Dragon Clan?"
The Great Elder sneered and turned to the nine people behind him, "Elders, what do you say?"
"Clan leader, although he is your son, he was born unable to transform into a dragon. This is a stain on our Dragon Clan's bloodline. What is wrong with expelling him?"
"Exactly! Expelling him was a decision made by us ten elders over ten years ago!"
"Indeed, it was a decision we made together. We will not allow such a dirty bloodline to remain in the Dragon Clan and insult us!"
"Yes, we will not allow it!"
"..."
The ten elders spoke one after another, their voices stern and commanding, each with an air of arrogance.
Upon hearing this, Ao Xiangtian's face grew darker, and a chilling aura filled the entire cave dwelling.
Zi Linling "slammed" her teacup down and said sarcastically, "Ye Lingyuan, is this really the Dragon Clan? Why do I feel like it's more like a clan of beasts without a shred of intelligence?"
Ye Lingyuan smiled affectionately. "Lin'er, that's not right. Even though beasts lack intelligence, they are not this heartless."
Zi Linling suddenly realized. "That's right! It seems that calling this place a beast clan is an insult to beasts!"
Ye Lingyuan said with a faint smile, "Lin'er is indeed smart, she understands with just a hint. To haughtily force someone to abandon their own flesh and blood, this is worse than pigs and dogs!"
Zi Linling nodded. "Indeed, indeed! It's not wrong to be proud, but if one's pride is so great that they disown their own kin, they are not even worthy of being called animals."
The two of them went back and forth, instantly enraging the ten elders.
The Great Elder said, "How dare you! Are the affairs of our Dragon Clan something you two humans can slander?"
Zi Linling didn't even bother to look at him. "Slander? Are you worthy?"
"You..."
The Great Elder was so furious he didn't know how to respond. He could only glare menacingly at Ao Xiangtian. "Clan leader, the Dragon Clan and the Human Clan have always kept to themselves. Why are they here in our Dragon Clan?"
Ao Xiangtian sneered. "They are my honored guests. Why can't they be in the Dragon Clan?"
The Great Elder retorted angrily, "Clan leader, this is against our ancestral rules!"
"Slap!"
Ao Xiangtian slammed the table again and stood up, roaring, "Ancestral rules? You have the audacity to talk to me about ancestral rules? Let me ask you, even if Long'er was born unable to transform into a dragon, which ancestral rule did he break?"
"Not to mention that Long'er is my child. Even if he were the child of an ordinary Dragon Clan citizen, what if he was born unable to transform into a dragon?"
"This..."
The ten elders were speechless, looking at each other. Indeed, there was no such rule in their ancestral records.
Ao Xiangtian let out a cold snort. "I'll make it clear today: Long'er is my child. Whoever wants to expel him from the Dragon Clan must first defeat me!"
As he spoke, he let out a long roar and transformed into his true form.
A powerful dragon's might instantly filled the entire cave dwelling.
"Come! Let me see who dares to expel my child from the Dragon Clan!"