Jia Yan was suddenly surprised and then, without much emotion, stood up from the hall.
He left the hall area where he had been and headed toward the main hall of the Kuditam people.
Along the way, the Kuditam people who saw Jia Yan all showed a mix of great reverence and affection. The reverence was due to Big Mosquito’s strength, and the affection was because he had helped the Kuditam people. Even after obtaining the status of a lord candidate, he had not changed, still letting the Kuditam people handle his daily affairs, including dealing with other species, which had greatly elevated their status within a few days.
When Jia Yan arrived at the Kuditam People’s Conference Hall, he saw a monster about ten meters tall, sitting cross-legged inside the hall, surrounded by several high-ranking Kuditam who were smiling obsequiously.
"I say, this Lord Jia Yan really has some presence, knowing we were coming and yet not waiting in the hall, making me wait for him—it takes guts!"
The monster swung its tail around the hall chaotically, knocking over some cabinets and chairs.
"Interesting, he clearly knows I’ve arrived and yet he says such things." Jia Yan glanced at the creature’s flaunting back and immediately knew it was attempting to intimidate him.
He spoke in a voice that wasn’t that of the familiar Lu Beici, but his strength was not weak; it seemed he was at the Heavenly Peak, looking not much weaker than Kaz.
Jia Yan entered the hall without any change in expression.
"Hello, I am Jia Yan." He did not show much respect, simply starting the conversation directly.
Only then did the other turn around as if just aware of Jia Yan’s presence. It was dinosaur-like with a massive build and bulging muscles. If Jia Yan were to compare, it not only had a strength similar to Kaz but also bore a slight resemblance in appearance.
Seeing Jia Yan, it clearly already knew his appearance and now smirked playfully.
"So you are Jia Yan? Very good, you do look the part. This makes you qualified to be a servant of Lord Xingrong."
Jia Yan frowned slightly.
"Servant? I don’t recall agreeing to become anyone’s servant, Strong One. I defeated Kaz to become a lord of this forest, not a servant!" he said, his compound eyes glowing faintly as if ready to act on any provocation.
"You don’t want to be a servant of the Dragon Strong? Then we shall act as if this never happened, but whoever becomes a lord on Tianlong Star has to nominally become someone’s servant under a Dragon Strong. Oh... if you really hate the term ’servant,’ it’s okay to call yourself a subordinate, isn’t it the same?" the creature chuckled mockingly.
"Are servant and subordinate the same? Sorry, I’m not like you; it doesn’t matter if it’s a subordinate, but I cannot accept being a servant." Jia Yan knew this was the other playing a game of words.
No matter where in the starry sky, a strong one, especially those commanding the power at the Heavenly Peak, are very sensitive about such matters. What’s the point of gaining such strength if still to be servant to another?
There are exceptions, of course, perhaps this ten-meter tall monster before him was one of them.
"Haha, I really don’t understand why you guys are so proud. If you agree to being a subordinate, so be it. In front of Lord Xingrong and other Celestial Dragon strong ones, you are just ants akin to servants anyway." The ten-meter creature laughed arrogantly.
A subtle flicker of light passed through Jia Yan’s compound eyes, though no expression showed on his face.
"Alright, since you are willing to be our Lord Xingrong’s... oh, sorry, not servant but subordinate, then come with me to the Dragon Realm to be officially recognized."
The creature stood up from the ground, its ten-meter tall body hitting the ceiling of the Kuditam People’s Conference Hall.
Although Jia Yan was more than thirty meters long, that was his length; if he didn’t deliberately rise up, he was not as tall as the other.
The being looked down on him, which made Jia Yan slightly uncomfortable, but now there was no other recourse. He just felt a slight sinking in his heart as he followed this strong one out of the Kuditam camp.
"Lord, when you go there, please don’t conflict with the Dragon Strong, as it concerns a matter of life and death."
Behind him, Harrora walked beside Jia Yan and hurriedly whispered.
Jia Yan nodded slightly.
Harrora watched as Big Mosquito and the Celestial Dragon strong one walked into the open area of the camp, trembling, then took to the sky, his face showing a trace of tension.
Based on his understanding, their Lord Jia Yan was a being with a formidable sense of self-respect. He wasn’t sure about Jia Yan’s past life, but his proud nature might rebel against the thought of becoming someone’s subordinate.
Should anything untoward happen in the Dragon Realm where such strong ones congregate, not only would becoming a lord be jeopardized, but their entire Kuditam people could be endangered, leading to their eradication!
After all, that place is Dragon Realm, one of the headquarters of the great superpowers within this stellar galaxy!