"Du… Duke!!"
Amid the shocked silence that permeated the air, a tragic cry rang out. Following that, an old man whose hair was half white rushed forward and stood in the spot where Duke Zhong had lost his life, his entire body trembling. This person was no stranger to everyone present. He was also from the Illusory Demon Royal Family and was known as Duke Han. He held the position of the highest seniority in Duke Zhong's Palace and was its most senior representative; furthermore, he was also Duke Zhong's uncle. He was at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, the foundation of the entire Duke Zhong Palace. In the Demon Imperial City, both his power and position carried great weight. After Duke Zhong took over the management of the Duke Palace, he supported Duke Zhong from the shadows and became his guardian. With him around, even in the Demon Imperial City, where experts were as numerous as clouds, there was hardly anyone who could harm Duke Zhong.
But today, he could only watch helplessly as Duke Zhong was instantly incinerated to ashes. He couldn't even think of stepping forward to protect him, as he hadn't even been able to react until Duke Zhong met his violent end.
"Little Demon Empress!" Duke Han shouted, as grief and anger intertwined in his voice, "Although the duke of my residence may have spoken out of turn… his crime was not worthy of death, yet you… you were truly so cruel…"
"A crime not punishable by death?" The Little Demon Empress said in a cold voice, "Duke Huai sought to commit regicide, and every root of his clan deserves to be uprooted and burned! As Duke Huai's servile lackey, Duke Zhong deserves to die ten thousand times over! And to show disrespect to this Empress? Even death would not be punishment enough!"
"Duke Han! For the sake of the loyalty you showed to this Empress's royal father, for now, I will not implicate you in his guilt! But if you speak another word in favor of Duke Zhong or Duke Huai, this Empress will kill you as well!"
Duke Han's face contorted, but he suddenly let out a low roar, "You killed my royal duke… if you have the courage, then you can kill this duke as well!"
The Little Demon Empress's eyes, as dark as the night, narrowed faintly as she responded in a voice that carried a chilling promise of death that did not hesitate to pierce the souls of all, "Since you wish to die, then this Empress will help you achieve your goal! You favored Duke Zhong in his treachery, so you too are punishable by death!!"
Before the Little Demon Empress's voice had even fallen, a piercing, icy sensation had already spread through Duke Han's entire body. He was a dignified sixth-level Monarch, yet in that very instant, he suddenly felt an imminent calamity descending upon him. A fear he had never felt before in his life grew frantically, swelling like an awakened demon gnawing at his soul.
He never would have thought that the Little Demon Empress would actually deliver a fatal blow to him without even a shred of hesitation. He certainly never would have dreamed that, given his own strength, he would actually feel such acute dread after the mere killing intent of the Little Demon Empress locked onto him.
The others naturally did not know that under the Little Demon Empress's cold and cruel pronouncement, Duke Han's confidence had nearly collapsed. He fiercely gritted his teeth and launched himself into the air. He let out a stifled roar as he frantically concentrated all the profound energy in his body and exploded toward the Little Demon Empress.
"Little Demon Empress, be careful!!" Su Xiangnan shouted in alarm. Duke Han was considered an expert even among Monarchs, and the Little Demon Empress from four months ago was absolutely no match for him.
But as Su Xiangnan's cry had just left his mouth, a miserable, shrill scream that resembled a pig being slaughtered cut through the air of nearly the entire Demon Imperial City. After a frantic convulsion, Duke Han, who had just launched himself into the air, fell miserably back to the ground… a completely hoarse scream pierced the air, as if he were suffering the most cruel torture in the world.
The entire audience widened their eyes in alarm and fear… they could clearly see that Duke Han's hands were being burned by two beams of golden-scarlet flames!!
Golden Crow Flames!!
These two beams of Golden Crow Flames were neither vigorous nor frantic, neither slow nor fast, neither hot nor blazing; they merely continued to burn, and in the blink of an eye, they burned nearly all the flesh from the hands of this sixth-level Monarch, exposing the white bones beneath. Following that, even the white bones began to glow brightly as they were burned, and both of Duke Han's hands had completely vanished from the tips of his arms…
"ARRRGGGHHHH…."
Duke Han screamed as if his life depended on it and rolled frantically around, as if desperately trying to use his profound energy to resist these devouring flames. But the two beams of golden-scarlet flames that seemed so mild continued to burn steadily, unimpeded in any way. Following his frantic rolling and thrashing, the golden-scarlet flames had even spread to his chest, waist, and thighs… In the blink of an eye, there were more than ten beams of golden-scarlet flames on his body, and his arm had already been burned to half its original length.
Duke Han's miserable screams were as sorrowful and shrill as the wails of a demon from the depths of hell. His entire body writhed and twisted spasmodically, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets from the sheer pain, and the blue veins on his forehead visibly bulged and twisted like worms!
The golden-scarlet flames still maintained their initial speed as they burned silently; they were so mild they almost seemed graceful, yet they devoured the body of a Monarch, inch by inch. All of Duke Han's efforts and his mighty profound strength as a sixth-level Monarch were utterly unable to stop or hinder these flames.
Vast shock and fear appeared on the faces of all those present. Duke Han was a member of the Illusory Demon Royal Family, his body contained a faint amount of the Golden Crow's bloodline, and he also cultivated a fire-based profound art. In terms of fire, his body also had extremely strong resistance to it… Moreover, as a sixth-level Monarch, he possessed a profound strength that was seen as divine by most profound practitioners!
But under these two small beams of flames… In a span of twelve breaths… an entire third of his body had vanished…
"Duke… Duke… Duke Han…" A member of Duke Zhong's Palace extended a violently trembling arm, as if wanting to think of a way to extinguish the flames on Duke Han's body.
"Don't go!!" Someone tenaciously held him back and retreated desperately after that… If they came into contact with a flame strong enough to burn a sixth-level Monarch's body to ashes, they were simply courting death!
Everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror, their mouths agape. Watching Duke Han frantically writhe and twist his body as he burned, and hearing his miserable and lamentable wails, made everyone's bodies turn completely cold. In that instant, they even felt as if they had been plunged into purgatory, where they were watching a sinner being baptized in the flames of purgatory as their "just reward"…
"Little Demon Empress… spare me… Little Demon… Empress… Spare me… Ah… UWAAAAHHHHH…."
No one could imagine how great the pain must have been to make a sixth-level Monarch let out such a miserable scream, to make a sixth-level Monarch beg in such an utterly disgraceful, undignified manner… The golden-scarlet flames spread across his entire body, and gradually, all his struggles and screams were completely devoured by the flames.
When those golden-scarlet flames finally extinguished, Duke Han's body had completely vanished from that place; just like Duke Zhong, who had recently died, not a single trace of his remains was left.
Throughout the entire process, aspects of shock and horror appeared on the faces and eyes of the entire audience and did not dissipate in the slightest. In the entire great hall, only the Little Demon Empress remained completely expressionless from beginning to end; it was as if she were witnessing a spectacle that was simply too commonplace.
*Thud…*
Among the group of people closest to where Duke Han had been, a ninth-level Overlord from Duke Huai's Palace was so paralyzed with fear that his body knelt on the ground. The other profound practitioners, the lowest being Thrones and the highest being Monarchs, all had horror completely etched into their pupils.
As unparalleled and incomparable existences in the eyes of ordinary people, this was the first time in their lives that they felt they were truly so insignificant…
"This… this is impossible…" Duke Huai's pupils continued to contract as he refused to believe what he was witnessing, refused to believe that such power existed in this world… and especially refused to believe that this power actually belonged to the Little Demon Empress.
"What… what… what kind of power is this?" Mu Yubai desperately sucked in cold air. As someone fiercely loyal to the Demon Emperor Clan, seeing the Little Demon Empress, who had returned, become so powerful should have made him wild with joy. But the scene he had just witnessed… the painful and terrifying death of a sixth-level Monarch… actually made the shock and fear in his heart surpass his admiration and joy. Because this was fundamentally a kind of… terrifying power that shouldn't exist in this world.
"Even if her bloodline has awakened, it still shouldn't be… terrifying to this extent…" Greatest Ambition Under Heaven's eyes were wide open as he murmured to himself in a thoroughly dazed manner.
"This power… Could it be some kind of special benevolence manifested by the Golden Crow's Divine Spirit?" Yun Qinghong's eyes became slightly numb… The power he had just witnessed surpassed all his knowledge or understanding. This was no longer a power that could be categorized as "strong"; it could be said to be "heaven-defying."
Ren Zu shook his head and spoke: "Father, you're not wrong… but you're not entirely right either."
His black eyes rested on the Little Demon Empress, her delicate figure reflected in his dark pupils.
There was something complex in that gaze: respect, concern, and a hint of complicity. She had asked him to stay on the sidelines, so that the vengeance would be hers; that's why he restrained himself and helped her with a few tricks. After all, if he moved, he could end all her enemies with one hand, but she wanted them to suffer as much as possible.
On the other hand, everyone was stunned by the power displayed by the Little Demon Empress, but no one knew that her current power came from her thirst for vengeance, and she had given her own life in exchange for it… and if one really wanted to include it, it also came at the cost of her virginity.
"Yun He, Yun Jiang, Yun Xi." The Little Demon Empress spoke again, and those short six words were like icy needles piercing through the hearts and souls of everyone present, making their entire bodies freeze from the cold. "Quickly seize Duke Huai! If anyone dares to interfere… this Empress will kill that person!"
"If one person blocks me, this Empress will kill one person! If a hundred people block me, this Empress will kill a hundred people. If the entire world blocks me, this Empress will baptize this world in its blood!!"
That impartial and blood-cold voice powerfully shook the souls of everyone present. At that moment, everyone came to the incomparably clear realization that… the Little Demon Empress who returned after four months was definitely not the Little Demon Empress they were familiar with!
"… Yes!!"
The same response was given, but the tone became completely different from before. The auras of these three Great Elders of the Yun Family, who had been through countless trials and tribulations, immediately underwent great changes. Three aged hands, filled with dense and robust lightning profound energy, extended directly toward Duke Huai. Before, when they rushed toward Duke Huai, whether in movement or power, they were still thirty percent conservative and seventy percent apprehensive. But now, they were extremely fierce and severe, their profound energy surging rapidly around them, carrying even the piercing sound of thunder.
"Who dares to touch His Highness?!"
The number of experts Duke Huai had under him far surpassed the imagination of the common man. Without exaggerating in the slightest, it could be said that more than seventy percent of the Monarchs in the Demon Imperial City had joined Duke Huai's faction! Today was the grand ceremony of Duke Huai's ascension, so he had a large number of experts by his side… Duke Huai himself was also a mid-stage Monarch, so each of the people qualified to be his bodyguards were the strongest among the strong in the Illusory Demon Realm! The weakest among them was also a mid-stage Monarch!!
This kind of supreme power, which ordinary people might not see even once in their lifetime and which was seen as a fairy tale in their eyes… today alone, in this Demon Imperial Hall, Duke Huai had seven percent of such people by his side!!
This was counting only his personal bodyguards, who were fiercely loyal to Duke Huai's Palace… it categorically did not take into account the pinnacle influences like the Guardian Families and the other Duke Palaces that had already run to his side.
When the three Great Elders of the Yun Family acted, four differently dressed people appeared out of nowhere behind Duke Huai and blocked their advance, colliding abruptly with the three Great Elders. Each of these people was flooded with an extremely robust and dense aura… it was actually an aura so strong that it completely matched the auras of Yun He, Yun Jiang, and Yun Xi.
"Lu Zhanfeng, Bai Jinghong, Tang Luanli, Xiao Qingshan, the 'Four Absolutes of the Southern Heaven' who shook the southern borders seven hundred years ago!!" From the corner of the great hall, an old person shouted in alarm, and the four names he uttered were like four thunderclaps in everyone's ears.
In this world, if someone became a Monarch, their name would shake the heavens! Especially the profound practitioners outside the Demon Imperial City, if they became Monarchs, they would become exceptionally famous, and even after many generations, they would not be forgotten.
"The 'Four Absolutes of the Southern Heaven'…" Astonishment colored Yun Qinghong's face. "Those were impressive people your grandfather used to mention often all those years ago. Seven hundred years ago, they had already become Monarchs, and after that, there was little news of them. I thought they had returned to their homeland to live in seclusion… But who would have thought they had already joined Duke Huai's Palace!"
"… It seems that the ambitions of Duke Huai's Palace originated much earlier than we even imagined." Ren Zu pondered calmly. This was already within his calculations…
"All these years, we never dared to underestimate the power of Duke Huai's Palace." Yun Qinghong said, his brows tightly furrowed. "But it was only in these four months that we became truly aware that the true power of Duke Huai's Palace had far surpassed our previous estimates! In less than three days after the news of the Little Demon Empress's death in the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley spread, the Demon Imperial City had already fallen completely under the control of Duke Huai's Palace; we didn't even have a chance to react. Sigh…"
Ren Zu shook his head. "Father, you don't need to feel so defeated. If it's just Duke Huai, he definitely wouldn't have this kind of capability. It's that Duke Ming; he's simply too terrifying… For the past hundred years, the entire Illusory Demon Realm has been walking in the palm of his hand, yet no one was aware of it! Everything that happened was all according to the plans he orchestrated… but he wasn't good enough…"
At the end of his words, he let out a faint sigh, almost as if bored, and his lips curved into a calm smile.
"… Enough talk. It's time for me to stretch my muscles a bit…"
With those simple words, he took his first step toward the Little Demon Empress.
"Zu'er!!" Yun Qinghong couldn't hide the anxiety in his voice. He feared that in her ruthless state, the Little Demon Empress might do something to him. His wife was more direct; Mu Yurou tightly gripped his arm, her teary eyes fixed on her son's figure.
Ren Zu turned his head slightly, casting a serene glance at the two.
"Father, Mother, don't worry. Your son… is no longer the same as before…"
The calm in his voice was not arrogance but a certainty that overflowed from within. It was so firm that, for a moment, Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou felt their hearts settle, even against their own will.
In the hall, all eyes converged on him. It was inevitable. That slender figure, the long black hair that fell like a cascade of silk to his waist, the eyes as deep as an unfathomable abyss… Ren Zu walked unhurriedly, but with each step, he seemed to erase the air around him, as if nothing else mattered.
There was something in his presence that made hearts race, a cruel, untouchable, and hypnotic beauty. Some averted their eyes, frightened by their own thoughts. Others, without realizing, held their breath.
Ren Zu walked until he was just a few steps from the Little Demon Empress. The entire hall was in a deathly silence, as if even the air had stopped circulating. His black eyes rested on her with an unusual softness amidst the chaos.
"Caiyi'er, do you need my help to deal with these ants?"
The Little Demon Empress, still surrounded by her icy and relentless aura, turned her face slightly. Her dark eyes glinted, but she soon huffed, looking away as if indifferent:
"Hmph! I don't need your help."
There was, in her tone, the typical arrogance of a tsundere, firm on the outside, even if her heart had wavered for a moment.
Ren Zu smiled faintly, a smile that didn't reach cruelty but carried a calm provocation. He looked toward the group of enemies still surrounding the scene—Duke Huai, his bodyguards, and all the Monarchs under his command.
"It's… impossible indeed." He said, as if commenting on something obvious: "What you asked cannot be done on my part… after all, as your husband, I have an obligation to help you at least a little…"
Those words, spoken in a serene tone, fell like a thunderclap.
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