A light of surprise passed through Huan Caiyi's eyes. She looked at Yun Che with an amazed look and inquired.
"You are from the Yun Family?"
That should not be the case — she thought. If someone as brilliant as Yun Che existed within the Yun Family, there should have been some historical records regarding him.
Huan Caiyi could not remember someone as brilliant as Yun Che to ever exist in the Illusory Demon Realm, let alone from the Yun Family.
She believed that someone who could fight the spirit of the Golden Crow must be at least a hundred years old.
"Yes or no." An awkward expression formed over Yun Che's face. He was sure that the fact Huan Caiyi easily accepted their engagement was not only due to his powers and the Golden Crow, but also because she should still think he is older than her.
He has not even hit his twenties yet! Huan Caiyi would definitely feel awkward knowing that not only was he younger than her, he was the grandson of Yun Canghai.
Eating the young, would that not describe her?
"Why did you suddenly go silent?" Huan Caiyi frowned, wondering if something was wrong.
"Ah, nothing. I will explain it to you later. For now, you should reclaim what's yours."
Obviously, he was talking about the throne of the Demon Empress.
Huan Caiyi stared suspiciously at Yun Che before she returned a nod.
"Caiyi will wait till then."
She did not use her overbearing way of speech when talking with Yun Che; instead, she spoke more politely when addressing him.
This was not only to show her respect to him as her future husband but also her way of showing her sincerity.
Huan Caiyi's grip tightened over Duke Ming, and in the next instant, both of them vanished with Yun Che following after.
1
Though Duke Huai Palace was able to take temporary charge of the Illusory Demon Realm, many people protested his rule, resulting in the division between the two parties; the first one obviously supported Duke Huai Palace and wanted him to take charge, while the other opposed this and wanted to search for the whereabouts of the Little Demon Emperor.
At the start, five families joined the opposition, but after the use of strength from the Duke Huai Palace, backed by the strongest expert within the Illusory Demon Realm, except for the Yun and Mu, every other family decided to join Duke Huai Palace and support him.
Despite wanting to raise the banner of rebellion, the Yun Family was riddled with internal fighting.
The Patriarch wanted to go against the Duke Huai Palace, even if it was the last thing he would do, but the Great Elder, pushed by his son, denied such a decision.
The reason was simple: due to his injuries, Yun Qinghong was effectively crippled, making people question his authority over the family. Following the fact that there were circulating rumors that Yun Xiao was not his biological son, mixed with him losing the Mirror of Samsara, a fight inside the clan erupted.
With the Great Elder as the head, they wanted Qinghong to leave his position and retire; his reasoning was simple — Qinghong was not worthy of the position any longer.
Hence, a competition was held to decide the position of the next Patriarch.
"Have they all lost their minds?!" Yun Qinghong punched the wall, his face filled with anger. "Did they forget to whom our ancestors pleaded their loyalty? Little Demon Empress is missing, and these people care more about the messy position of the Clan Head!"
"Husband, calm down. You will aggravate your health." Mu Yurou, the wife of Yun Qinghong and the young princess of the Mu Family, gently pulled Yun Qinghong's hand and massaged it. "The Great Elder is also worried about the family."
"What is the point of having the Yun Family when we cannot even defend the honor of the Little Demon Empress?"
"Yurou is right, brother-in-law, please calm down."
A man who looked to be in his thirties stood beside Yun Qinghong. He was tall and broad. His face was covered in a beard and he looked like someone who was unconcerned with his appearance.
"Getting angry will not change anything."
He was Mu Yubai, brother of Mu Yurou and the Young Patriarch of the Mu Family.
A frown adorned his face as he looked towards Qinghong and Yurou.
"Brother-in-law, sister, I fear that there is nothing we can do any longer to stop this. Once this competition ends, you both should come back with me to the Mu Family. I would not be able to rest well leaving you both behind here." He paused for a second before continuing. "I fear that the Yun Family is no longer safe. Once you lose your position, they will definitely ally with the Duke Huai Palace."
"Bunch of short-sighted people. Do they really think they will be safe after joining hands with the Duke Huai Palace? Laughable! If that was the case, Duke Huai Palace wouldn't be targeting my Yun Family for centuries now!"
Silence engulfed the surroundings before a servant arrived outside and softly announced.
"It is time for the competition to start, Clan Head. Everyone has gathered and is waiting for you."
"Let's go. Even if I lose my position today, I will never let the Yun Family betray the Little Demon Empress."
"Sigh…" Yubai sighed, seeing the headstrong attitude of his brother-in-law. He looked towards Yurou and softly said. "Yurou, take care of your brother-in-law. I am afraid he might endanger his life at this rate."
"Do not worry, elder brother. I will make sure nothing of that sort happens."
Yubai only nodded and did not say anything else.
At the center of the Yun Family complex was a tall ancestral monument that released purple radiance into the sky. In front of this monument was a giant plaza called the Sacred Cloud Arena where the competitions and events were held.
Today, the whole arena was filled with people of the Yun Family. All were present to see the competition that would decide the position of the next Patriarch.
Yun Qinghong, followed by Mu Yurou and Mu Yubai, entered the arena with a blank expression. Looking at the people present, Yun Qinghong scoffed, feeling angry inside his heart.
"Clan Head, you are here." The Great Elder, Yun Waitian, smiled towards Yun Qinghong. "Please come and sit."
"Elder Waitian, I had high hopes for you, but your heart has wavered, and you have lost your brilliance from when you were young."
"It is all for the future of our Yun Family, Clan Head." Yun Waitian's expression did not change as he continued. "You are injured and cannot bear the burden of the clan anymore. It is time to let someone else do it."
"Then let Yun Xiao handle it. What is the point of this meaningless competition then?" Yun Qinghong snorted. "Aren't you just trying to take over the leadership by making your son the next Patriarch?"
"We would have no trouble making the young Xiao our Patriarch, but his questionable origin makes our hearts waver."
"Waitian!" Yun Qinghong growled angrily.
It was no news to Yun Qinghong regarding the rumors about Yun Xiao not being his legitimate child. But due to the circumstances, he could not do anything about it.
Even then, no one dared to have ever said such words in front of his face.
"You should also understand, Qinghong." Waitian frowned and said. "With Yun Xiao's strength and his inability to use our family's art, Profound Handler, it is impossible for him to become our next Clan Head. Also, there is no need to get angry when you are also aware of the truth."
The rule of the Yun Family was that the head of the Yun Family could only have a single son, who would inherit the position of the Clan Head in the future; this was so they could avoid the battle of inheritance among themselves.
Waitian was simply saying that legitimate or not, with Yun Xiao not possessing Profound Handler, him becoming the Clan Head was impossible.
"You—" Before Yun Qinghong could add anything, he stopped as sweat started to appear on his forehead; an unbelievable suppression appeared over the whole of the Demon Imperial City. It did not matter if one was in peak Sovereign Profound Realm or not, anyone who felt the suppression found their knees going soft and their chest tightening.
A wave of dense profound energy passed over the whole Demon Imperial City, followed by a loud screech.
"T-This is…"
Eyes widened, everyone stared at the sky, finding it taking on a pure golden hue as a gigantic Golden Crow, made up of pure golden destructive flames, appeared there.
A woman of otherworldly radiance stood above the head of the Golden Crow, her glowing crimson eyes staring down at everyone within the Demon Imperial City like a higher being.
"L-Little Demon Empress!" Yun Qinghong shouted, his voice mixed with both happiness and amazement as he fell onto his knees. "Forgive this useless subject! I could not do anything to stop the people of Duke Huai Palace from taking over the Royal Family!"
There was no reply.
By now, everyone had already kneeled in fear, not daring to even raise their heads to look at Huan Caiyi.
"Every Guardian Family head is to be present within the Royal Palace. If anyone is missing, this empress will personally execute the whole family!"
Her voice boomed within everyone's ears, causing astonished and horrified expressions to appear over their faces.
"From henceforth, Duke Ming's lineage shall not exist within the Illusory Demon Realm!"
The Golden Crow screeched loudly and flapped its wings. Like a shooting star, leaving behind its trail, the Golden Crow vanished in the direction of the Duke Huai Palace.
Shouts and screams instantly filled the whole palace, the sound of pleading and begging for mercy was only met with silence. It did not matter if the target of the flames was a child, young, woman, or old; the flames did not distinguish anyone but burned anyone with even the slightest bloodline of Duke Ming inside.
Duke Ming, who saw this, had his eyes turned bloodshot as tears fell from his eyes.
"Huan Caiyi!"
"Worry not. This empress shall soon allow you to join them in the eternal tournament of this empress's flames."
Huan Caiyi replied coldly.
Today, everyone was reminded why Huan Caiyi, despite her strength, was considered the most feared Demon Empress.
"We obey Little Demon Empress's orders!" A collective shout from the Twelve Guardian Family was heard. No one dared to even question her authority today.
With fear of death gripping their hearts, they all left for the palace, not knowing that only eternal servitude awaited them inside.
...
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