Chapter 535: The Will of the Yun Clan
The bizarre little girl’s profound force was far too terrifying; killing an Overlord Emperor indeed took no effort at all. But that previous strike, even if it hadn’t been flames, still wouldn’t have instantly killed Yun Che, because the eighteen months of hellish spatial storm tempering he had undergone aboard the Primordial Mystic Ark were no joke. Even Mo Li had said that Yun Che’s body, in terms of pure toughness alone, was already comparable to a low-level Emperor Lord, and its recovery ability far surpassed that of an Emperor Lord.
But not being instantly killed didn’t mean not being killable. Under the vast gap in strength, if she wanted to kill Yun Che, it would still be as easy as turning over her hand.
However, that power turned out to be flame profound force, which naturally couldn’t threaten Yun Che’s life. When the sea of fire descended, he directly seized the opportunity from the flames, hiding himself beneath them. As the fire dissipated, he used Flowing Light Thunder Concealment to mask his aura and burrowed underground… escaping this deadly crisis by a hair’s breadth.
=Zhu=Zhu=Island=Novel=zhuzhudao= If not for Flowing Light Thunder Concealment, even a hundred lives would have been lost today.
“Someone is coming from the south, more than ten people. If you don’t want to attract trouble, leave this place immediately,” Mo Li warned.
Yun Che stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and felt a lingering fear… The Demon Queen’s Grand Ceremony was only three days away. He had originally wanted to come out and stretch his limbs, to familiarize himself with Phantom Lightning Extreme, but he had nearly thrown his life away. He still had a major matter to accomplish at the Grand Ceremony; if he died here, it would be an unjust death indeed.
Yun Che concealed his form, avoided the people coming to investigate the situation, and took a circuitous route back to Yao Huang City. On his way back, he was constantly on guard, so his speed was not fast. By the time he returned to the Yun Clan, the sky was already dimly light. At this hour, many in the Yun Clan were already busy… The Demon Queen’s Grand Ceremony was imminent, and the clan attached extreme importance to it, because it would likely decide the Yun Clan’s future direction and even its fate. They had to make the most thorough preparations.
Yun Che returned to the Yun Clan and went straight to sleep, not mentioning his “exciting encounter” to anyone. After all, sneaking out in the dead of night and seeing a little girl completely naked… was really not something easy to describe to others.
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Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Today, Yao Huang City was just like usual, only a bit more lively. But even ordinary people without profound force could vaguely sense something unusual in the air.
By today, the Little Demon Queen had been on the throne for a full one hundred years. Throughout history, every Demon Emperor had reigned for a thousand years, with no exceptions. One hundred years was merely one-tenth of that. But this time was different. Although she was the ruler of the Illusion Demon Realm, her title was not “Demon Emperor” but “Little Demon Queen.” As early as ten or even decades before the Little Demon Queen’s hundred-year reign, an abnormal atmosphere had been pervasive among the Illusion Demon royal clans.
Everyone was guessing that today might be the day when the undercurrents finally erupted… The hundred-year ceremony was a perfect opportunity.
Today, major events were highly likely to occur in Yao Huang City.
Yun Che rose early. When he pushed open his door, he saw Yun Qinghong already standing in the courtyard, silently facing the somewhat withered grape trellis. Hearing the door open, he did not turn around, but said calmly, “Che’er, you’re awake.”
A heavy layer of morning dew clung to Yun Qinghong’s clothes, showing that he had been standing there for a long time. From his back, Yun Che could sense a heavy burden… In recent days, he had been preparing day and night for today’s Demon Queen’s Grand Ceremony, but the heaviness in his back told Yun Che that he had no confidence in controlling the situation and its development today… In fact, he was somewhat pessimistic.
Yun Che paused for a moment, hesitated briefly, then spoke up, “Father, there is a question I’ve always wanted to ask.”
Yun Qinghong turned to look at him. “Are you asking why I am willing to be so loyal to the Demon Emperor clan?”
“Yes and no,” Yun Che said. “As one of the Twelve Guardian Clans, the Yun Clan’s loyalty to the Demon Emperor clan is a mission passed down from our ancestors. Grandfather was like a brother to the former Demon Emperor, and the Little Demon Emperor and father once called each other brothers. That shows the Demon Emperor clan has always held the Yun Clan in high regard. But… after the Little Demon Queen succeeded the throne, she repeatedly punished the Yun Clan, making things even harder for a clan that had already lost Grandfather and its ten most crucial pillars. The younger generation fell far behind the other Guardian Clans as a result. Now, the Yun Clan is even mocked as unworthy of remaining among the Twelve Guardian Clans.”
“The Little Demon Queen has been on the throne for a hundred years, and the Yun Clan has borne blame for a hundred years, unable to raise our heads or rise. That is the main reason for our rapid decline. Yet these days, when Father retook control of the clan, most of the preparations you’ve made have been for the Little Demon Queen’s sake, with preparations for the clan itself taking second place! The Little Demon Queen has treated our Yun Clan so harshly, yet Father shows no resentment or disloyalty, instead sparing no effort for her. I… don’t quite understand.”
“Punishing the Yun Clan was not the Little Demon Queen’s wish,” Yun Qinghong sighed. “Punishing us was also a helpless move. In fact, a large part of the reason lies with our own Yun Clan.”
“Because Grandfather caused the Illusion Demon royal clan to lose the Demon Emperor Seal?” Yun Che asked.
“That was only the trigger,” Yun Qinghong said. “The Illusion Demon royal clan has unified the myriad spirits of the Illusion Demon Realm, and the Twelve Guardian Clans have sworn loyalty and protection for ten thousand years. During that time, our Yun Clan, thanks to the power of the Arcane Firmament, has always surpassed the other Guardian Clans in overall strength, never once overtaken. For this reason, the Yun Clan has always been the most valued by the Illusion Demon royal clan. By your grandfather’s generation, he was even granted the title of ‘Demon King.’ The Demon Emperor declared that your grandfather could stand as his equal. In substantive status, he even surpassed those Commandery Princes! Truly, second only to one, above all.”
“Che’er, if you were a member of another Guardian Clan, always overshadowed by another, how would you feel? You would be envious, perhaps jealous… And when a clan of originally equal standing receives the immense honor of ‘Demon King,’ which other Guardian Clans would never dare to hope for, elevating the entire clan above the others… What would they think? It would easily breed dissatisfaction and even resentment due to envy and imbalance.”
“…Do you mean that a hundred years ago, the other Guardian Clans joined forces to pressure the Little Demon Queen?”
“Correct,” Yun Qinghong said with closed eyes. “Your grandfather was the core of the Yun Clan at the time, and the ten strongest Supreme Elders were the clan’s ten pillars. Losing any one of them would have been an extremely heavy blow to the clan. But in a single night, both your grandfather and the ten Supreme Elders were lost. The highest and most important level of the Yun Clan’s strength plummeted. Moreover, the Demon Emperor Seal also fell into the Tian Xuan Continent. Those Guardian Clans that had eyed the Yun Clan with envy for countless years seized this once-in-ten-thousand-years opportunity. They had people spread the Yun Clan’s ‘heinous crimes’ throughout Yao Huang City and even the entire Illusion Demon Realm, filling the realm with accusations against the Yun Clan, reaching a point where ‘severe punishment was necessary to placate the people.’ ”
“These schemes were led by the Helian Clan, with more than half of the Guardian Clans involved. The only ones I can be sure did not participate are the Mu Clan, where your mother is from, and the Tianxia Clan, which never seeks trouble. The various royal clans, led by Prince Huai, also loudly condemned the Yun Clan, saying that our crimes were unforgivable, and that if not for the millennia of our protective service, exterminating the entire clan would not be excessive… It was probably at that time that Prince Huai’s lineage began to have different intentions. After all, the Demon Emperor bloodline was destined to end, and he saw hope of replacing them.”
“At that time, the Little Demon Queen had just ascended. Her position was unstable. She was a woman, and after her, there would be no pure Demon Emperor bloodline. Without the Demon Emperor Seal, she could not cultivate the ‘Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record’ to obtain the overwhelming power of a Demon Emperor… Under such heavy pressure, she was walking on thin ice. She had no choice but to punish the Yun Clan. However, she did not kill a single member of the Yun Clan. She only cut off the clan’s resources for a century, forbade entry into the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley, and left our generation extremely impoverished in resources, severely weakened in strength… But this weakening was also a form of protection for our Yun Clan. When we become too weak to be a threat, unworthy of being enemies, we might actually gain peace.”
“So… that’s how it was…” Yun Che slowly nodded.
“Che’er, remember this,” Yun Qinghong said solemnly. “The Founding Demon Emperor was the savior of our Yun Clan ancestors. If not for his rescue, our entire clan would have been wiped out ten thousand years ago. You and I would not exist! Our ancestors followed the Founding Demon Emperor to unify the Illusion Demon Realm and became one of the Guardian Clans, swearing that as long as the Demon Emperor clan would not be extinguished, the Yun Clan would protect them for generations. This oath, for these ten thousand years, our Yun Clan has never violated for even a moment! In the future, we must never violate it either!”
“However, what we protect is the Demon Emperor clan! The inheritors of the Founding Demon Emperor’s bloodline! Not those miscellaneous kings who merely possess a trace of the Demon Emperor bloodline! The Little Demon Queen may be a woman, but she possesses the complete Demon Emperor bloodline. Since she ascended the throne, she is the true Demon Emperor! As long as she sits on the throne for even one day, our Yun Clan must exhaust everything to be loyal and protect her.”
“But…” Yun Qinghong’s voice lowered, and his gaze turned cold. “If she is truly forced to abdicate, and some miscellaneous king becomes the Illusion Demon Emperor, then the Yun Clan’s mission of protection will end there. At that time, leaving the ranks of the Twelve Guardian Clans will be something we welcome instead! We would rather not have the status of being attached to the royal clan!”
Yun Qinghong’s words were resolute. From his eyes, Yun Che saw an iron-like determination. Yun Che nodded deeply. “Father, I understand. Though I did not grow up in the clan, I carry the blood of the Yun clan, especially the line of the clan head. I will never go against the will of the Yun Clan!”
“Mm.” Yun Qinghong nodded and smiled slightly, even the frown that had been perpetually furrowed relaxing.
Yun Che glanced at his expression and, after a brief hesitation, asked, “Is that Prince Huai really so formidable? From the look on Father’s face, it seems quite worrying?”
Yun Qinghong sighed softly. “A month ago, you must have noticed their arrogance and treachery. That day, Helian Peng personally shouted that more than half of the Guardian Clans had already sided with Prince Huai. Among the royal clans, more than sixty percent have united, led by Prince Huai, gathering a large number of royal clan experts and strong practitioners recruited from the remote corners of the Illusion Demon Realm. With these forces under his control, Prince Huai naturally has the capital to be unscrupulous. The Little Demon Queen is by no means an indecisive person, but toward Prince Huai, whose ambitions are known to all, she has never taken suppressive measures. It’s not that she doesn’t want to, nor that she dares not, but that she cannot. If she really made a move, it would be difficult to succeed, and instead, it would give Prince Huai the perfect excuse to counter-press and replace her. That Prince Huai has sufficient capital but has not acted yet, lacking an excuse, is also one of the important reasons.”
Yun Che: “…”
“Clan head, we are all ready, only awaiting your order.”
From outside the main gate came a respectfully solemn voice, and it belonged to none other than Grand Elder Yun Waitian.
Yun Qinghong turned his head and said, “Good! Everyone, assemble before the main hall. We depart for the Yaohuang Hall in a quarter of an hour!”
“Yes, Clan Head!”
“Che’er, go wake Xiao Yun. It’s time for us to set off.” Yun Qinghong looked up at the sky, as if trying to discern the will of heaven for today.