Chapter 3: The Territorial Rules of Star-Dawn

Faced with the disdainful glare before him, Su Ziye remained indifferent. He had never cared about others’ contempt; in fact, the more someone looked down on him, the happier he became.

The reason Su Ziye willingly stepped into the conflict between these two was, naturally, because he had his own intentions. Calmly, he shook the Blade of Disillusionment in his hand and smiled at the agile Pegasus before him. “I just want to ask—do you want to fight both of us?”

The Pegasus, Zhuying, was forced to reassess the two standing before it. Even on its own, Xingxi was a formidable opponent, but now with this mysterious youth added to the equation, it was far more difficult to contend with. In this situation, Zhuying had no choice but to regain composure.

“Lord of the Stars, if you continue to shield others like this, one day you will swallow all consequences and bring about your own destruction.”

With that, Zhuying turned and transformed into a long, snow-white streak of light, vanishing almost instantly from sight.

“I thought there would be a fight,” Su Ziye muttered to himself with a chuckle.

At that moment, Xingxi, standing behind him, finally spoke: “True conflicts among overlords are rare. Unless there is a matter of life and death, they seldom engage in outright combat.”

Her voice was calm and steady, without a trace of emotion.

Su Ziye turned to look at her and laughed softly. “I thought you couldn’t speak.”

Xingxi ignored him, turning around and gently descending.

Su Ziye hurried after her. “What exactly is an overlord?”

Of course, Su Ziye knew what an overlord was, but he wanted to talk with Xingxi a little longer.

He hadn’t expected to encounter his sister here, but since fate had brought them together, the young man naturally hoped to spend some time with her.

Xingxi glanced back from midair and asked, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?”

“Compared to two years ago, I’ve grown stronger,” he replied confidently.

The young woman spoke matter-of-factly, her golden eyes flowing calmly without any emotion—simply stating facts.

“I understand. Two years ago, you weren’t skilled enough to become an overlord of the Forest of Twilight, so how is it that you’re now truly a Heavenly Realm expert?” Su Ziye smiled as he asked.

Xingxi said nothing in response and continued her descent until she touched the ground.

“In my territory, no fighting is allowed. You may rest and recover here, but hunting any creatures is forbidden. Should you break this rule, I will expel you, and if you dare return, I will not hesitate to kill you,” the young woman stated calmly.

This time, Su Ziye was genuinely surprised.

“Why did you set such rules?”

Being an overlord of the Forest of Twilight meant surpassing the average Heavenly Realm level and having defeated a previous overlord to claim their territory.

Once granted territory, overlords held the power of life and death over the creatures within—and naturally bore the responsibility to protect the magical beasts living there.

Previously, Zhuying had pursued and entered Xingxi’s domain because, as it said, someone had been slaughtering recklessly within its territory before it gave chase.

Establishing rules within one’s domain was a common practice among overlords, but Su Ziye had never expected Xingxi’s regulations to be like this.

Still, she gave no reply.

She truly did not wish to answer any questions or engage in unnecessary dialogue.

One of the main reasons she chose to live here was precisely because it was so tranquil.

She liked this kind of peace.

Su Ziye sighed softly. He did not press further but followed Xingxi to the ground. Holding the Blade of Disillusionment, he calmly searched the forest and soon found the people he was looking for.

He saw three injured men leaning against a large tree, gasping for breath.

And these three men were very familiar to him.

“Didn’t expect to see me again, did you?” Su Ziye smiled at them, the Blade of Disillusionment in his hand radiating strange red sparks like embers of a dying fire.

“We meet again.”

Originally, they had been hunting Su Ziye, but now fate had turned—the one holding the power of life and death was Su Ziye himself.

The three men exchanged glances, their faces filled with despair. One sighed heavily. “It’s come to this. Rebel prince, do as you will—kill or spare us.”

“Your Highness, we were only following the emperor’s orders, serving our respective lords. Please do not make things difficult for us,” another pleaded.

Su Ziye smiled.

“One of you says to await judgment, another begs for mercy. Who should I listen to?”

“Your Highness, now that you hold the power of life and death, everything lies within your will. What’s the point of asking us this?” The third man, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. He still referred to Su Ziye as “Your Highness.”

Among the three, he was the most powerful—a true Heavenly Realm expert.

But now, severely injured, he was no match for Su Ziye.

“I do want to kill you,” Su Ziye said calmly, “but someone forbids me.”

“I don’t really care about all this. I’m just here to tell you to leave this place as soon as possible.”

The three men exchanged surprised looks.

Once Su Ziye had found them, they had already fallen into despair. Throughout the chase, Su Ziye had slain several of their comrades, and they had inflicted no small damage on him as well. Had he fallen into their hands, they would never have let him go easily.

“But before that, I have one condition,” Su Ziye said quietly.

“What condition?” the third man asked.

“You three can only leave two. Which two leave is up to you,” he smiled.

“Is that true?” the third man forced a smile.

He had never fully believed Su Ziye would let them go, but now that the boy had set conditions, it seemed more credible.

After so long a pursuit, he had come to understand Su Ziye’s character. The youth was decisive and ruthless, never one to hesitate.

With this in mind, he made a quick decision. He struck the most severely injured man among them with a palm. This man had originally been the strongest of the three, but caught off guard, he was struck in the chest. His sternum caved in, blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and he died on the spot.

Su Ziye looked at him and smiled calmly. “You may go.”

The third man sensed unease hidden beneath the youth’s smile.

In the next moment, Xingxi appeared silently beside them. She merely glanced at the corpse on the ground before pointing a finger at the man who had just struck.

Her speed was incredible, but the third man was a Heavenly Realm expert. Sensing danger, he immediately unleashed his domain.

But it was already too late.

As his golden domain unfurled, Xingxi’s finger pierced through it, wielding an unimaginable force that utterly crushed the barrier. Her finger struck his forehead at close range.

In that instant, a sharp chill spread from the wound as her finger pierced his brow. Within moments, his entire body turned into a cold statue before shattering into icy fragments.

The remaining man was utterly stunned.

Su Ziye looked at Xingxi and smiled. “As expected, you deal with intruders by outright extermination.”