“Why?” Lan Ling asked.
Gou Li knelt quietly on the ground without moving.
She had no way to answer Lan Ling’s question because her heart was already filled with regret and pain beyond measure.
“Master, I cannot answer. If I must give a reason, then it is my own stupidity,” Gou Li replied.
Lan Ling said, “Can you imagine what the consequences will be?”
Gou Li nodded.
“I know that I am bound to die, but… I still want to try.”
“Try? Try what?” Lan Ling asked.
Gou Li replied, “To see whether I still have a chance to live, to see whether You are willing to give me one opportunity.”
Lan Ling nodded.
“Very well, then go ahead and try.”
He remained completely calm.
He could not say that he had expected Gou Li’s betrayal, but he was certainly not surprised by it.
The only reason he had spared Gou Li’s life was to conduct an experiment, a test of the barbarian people.
After all, Lan Ling could not possibly kill every Rakshasa. Some of them would eventually have to serve under him.
Gou Li said, “Please bring my son here.”
Lan Ling waved his hand.
Gang Tuo walked out.
A short while later, Gou Li’s son, Constantine II, was brought inside.
After being held captive for over a month, Constantine II had become much thinner, and his face was deathly pale.
When he had first been captured, he had fiercely resisted.
Especially after learning that his mother, Gou Li, had become Lan Ling’s woman, he had wanted nothing more than to kill her himself.
Yet now, the moment he saw Gou Li, he immediately fell to both knees.
“Mother, save me, save me! Please beg Chief Lan Ling to spare me!” Constantine II cried as tears streamed down his face. “I am willing to surrender. I am willing to surrender!”
Seeing this scene, Lan Ling was somewhat surprised.
Gou Li was even more shocked.
Her son had never possessed any particular strengths except his stubbornness and reckless courage.
She had never expected him to kneel and beg for surrender.
Seeing that his mother remained silent, Constantine II crawled on his knees to Lan Ling, hugged his leg, and pleaded,
“Chief Lan Ling, please do not kill me. Spare my life. I am willing to serve You. I am willing to become Your slave.”
Lan Ling asked, “Why?”
Constantine II replied, “Because You defeated my father. Because You defeated Lord Nai Shu.”
Those words revealed the absolute truth.
In the barbarian world, the strong ruled above all.
Before true strength, all pride and dignity meant nothing.
Lan Ling remained silent and turned his gaze back towards Gou Li.
She had said she wished to make one final attempt to save her life.
So Lan Ling intended to see exactly what she would do to change his determination to execute her.
Gou Li took a deep breath.
She walked over to Constantine II and gently embraced him.
“I am sorry, my son. All these years, I spoiled only your younger sister. I never cared enough about you.”
Constantine II burst into tears.
“Mother, please save me. Please save me.”
Gou Li sighed softly.
“It will be over very quickly. It will not hurt.”
Constantine II froze.
Gou Li gently wrapped one arm around her son’s neck.
Then she suddenly twisted it.
“Crack…”
A crisp snapping sound echoed.
Constantine II’s neck broke instantly, his head twisting backwards.
He did not die immediately.
Instead, his body convulsed.
It continued convulsing…
Several minutes later, Constantine II finally died.
His already small eyes bulged wide open, bloodshot as they stared fixedly at his mother.
Even in death, he could not believe that it had been his own mother who had killed him.
After killing her own son, Gou Li did not shed a single tear.
She laid his body on the ground before once again kneeling silently, awaiting Lan Ling’s judgement.
Seeing Gou Li personally kill her own son, Suo Mo, Gang Tuo, and Duo Duo all flinched, their eyes narrowing.
People often said that even a vicious tiger would not eat its own cubs.
Even in the barbarian world, among people who were far from civilised, parents still loved their children deeply.
None of them had expected Gou Li to be so ruthless that she would kill her own son simply to survive.
Among everyone present, the only other person without any expression was Lan Ling.
He watched Gou Li kill her own son as though she had merely crushed a rat.
“Is this your attempt?” Lan Ling asked.
“Yes,” Gou Li replied.
“This is my attempt. Whatever judgement You pass afterwards, I will accept without objection.
“But I wish to say this.
“If You accept my loyalty, if You spare my life, then for all eternity I will serve You faithfully and never betray You again.
“Heaven is my witness.
“The Demon God is my witness.”
Lan Ling spoke slowly.
“I am willing to believe you.
“I am also willing to give you a chance.
“However…
“For a traitor, there is never a second chance.
“One betrayal means death.”
Hearing those words, Gou Li’s body trembled.
She lowered herself even closer to the ground without moving.
Lan Ling continued,
“Very well.
“I will give you one final chance to be judged.
“We shall see whether Heaven wishes you to live.”
The moment he said this, Suo Mo immediately stood.
He turned to Gang Tuo, Duo Duo, and the others.
“Come. Let us leave.”
The group walked outside, leaving only Lan Ling and Gou Li inside the room.
Duo Long scratched his head.
“Has the Chief still not had enough? Is he planning to sleep with Gou Li until she dies?”
Suo Mo and Gang Tuo pretended not to hear.
Duo Duo, however, could no longer tolerate it.
He slapped the back of Duo Long’s head.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Inside the room.
“Stand up,” Lan Ling ordered.
Gou Li rose to her feet, her eyes still lowered.
Lan Ling stepped forward, held her beautiful face, and bit fiercely into the artery in her neck.
His teeth suddenly lengthened.
Terrifying fangs emerged.
They easily pierced Gou Li’s neck as Lan Ling began desperately drinking her blood.
“Ah…”
A scream of agony rang out.
Although Gou Li had prepared herself for every possible outcome, she still let out a horrifying scream.
To survive, she had personally killed her own son before Lan Ling, severing all ties with her past.
She had already accepted death.
At least until that moment, she had not been afraid.
However…
The instant Lan Ling bit into her neck and frantically drank her blood, overwhelming terror seized her.
The feeling was utterly horrifying.
It was as though every trace of strength and life was rapidly leaving her body.
Lan Ling continued devouring Gou Li’s blood.
Wave after wave of powerful energy poured into his own bloodline before finally flowing deep into his heart.
“Ah… Ah… Ah…”
Gou Li’s screams became increasingly shrill and terrifying.
Outside, Duo Long muttered,
“Looks like Gou Li really is going to die.”
Duo Duo could bear no more.
He scooped up a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his younger brother’s mouth.
Duo Long was not offended.
He even chewed it a few times before spitting it out.
“You fool,” Suo Mo laughed before walking back to his own residence.
“I shall take my leave,” Gang Tuo also departed.
Duo Long looked puzzled.
“Brother, why did you stop me from talking? I have joked like that before. The Chief never got angry.”
Duo Duo replied,
“You fool.
“From now on, never joke about the Chief again.”
“Why?” Duo Long asked.
“I think the Chief is very easygoing.”
Duo Duo said,
“There is a saying in the Human Kingdoms.
‘Serving a ruler is like living beside a tiger.’
Have you heard it?”
“No,” Duo Long replied.
“But tigers are not scary. I could punch one to death.”
Duo Duo was speechless.
He changed his approach.
“Would you joke with the Black Demon Banner Lord?
“Would you joke with the Rakshasa King?”
“Of course not,” Duo Long answered.
“They could slap me to death.”
Duo Duo nodded.
“Then from now on, treat the Chief as though he were the Black Demon Banner Lord.
“As though he were the future Rakshasa King.”
Duo Long stared blankly.
“No way.
“The Chief… is really that incredible?”
Duo Duo slapped the back of his head once again.
“You fool. What do you know?”
…
Gou Li’s screams had stopped.
She was dead.
Her beautiful, curvaceous body had been completely drained until it resembled nothing but a dried corpse.
Lan Ling had no idea what a Vampire Clan’s Embrace truly was.
He only knew how to drink blood.
He did not know how the Vampire Clan performed their Embrace.
So he asked the Mirror Demon King.
The Mirror Demon King knew almost everything.
Unfortunately, it had never captured a member of the Vampire Clan, so it could only provide Lan Ling with a rough explanation.
While drinking the victim’s blood, one must simultaneously inject one’s own energy into the victim’s body.
Following those instructions, after completely draining Gou Li’s blood, Lan Ling injected a portion of his own demonic blood into her.
Only then did he truly notice that his fangs resembled those of a venomous snake.
They were hollow.
They could both absorb and release.
Unfortunately…
His attempt at performing the Embrace seemed to have failed.
Gou Li remained a dried corpse.
She had stopped breathing.
She was dead.
Lan Ling nudged her lightly with his foot.
Then he ignored her.
If she was dead, then she was dead.
He sat cross legged nearby.
Having just absorbed Gou Li’s blood and devoured the energy within it, he now began tempering his muscles and bones, transforming the power of his bloodline into physical strength.
Once Gou Li’s blood and energy had been completely absorbed, everything flowed deep into Lan Ling’s heart.
Then the energy surged outward again, spreading throughout every part of his body.
“Boom… Boom… Boom…”
Inside Lan Ling’s body, immense energy repeatedly struck every muscle and bone.
He clearly felt his body becoming hotter.
It swelled as the energy continuously refined it.
Fifteen minutes…
Half an hour…
A full hour later…
The tempering finally ended.
Lan Ling opened his eyes.
Gou Li still lay beside him as a dried corpse.
She had no breathing.
No heartbeat.
She was completely dead.
Lan Ling walked outside and headed towards the calibrated deadwood weights.
He wanted to see how much his cultivation had increased.
After all, Gou Li had been a Demon Martial Grandmaster.
After absorbing both her blood and energy, his own strength should have increased considerably.
Previously, after absorbing the Black Ghost Elder Monster, his strength had risen by a full eight hundred jin, reaching five thousand five hundred jin, advancing him to a Seven Star Great Demon Warrior.
He adjusted the deadwood weight to five thousand seven hundred jin.
With a fierce effort, he lifted it with one arm.
By strength alone, he had already reached the level of an Eight Star Great Demon Warrior.
He increased the weight to five thousand eight hundred jin.
Taking a deep breath, he lifted it again.
This time, however, it was extremely difficult.
Lan Ling stopped there.
It seemed that absorbing Gou Li’s blood and cultivation had increased his strength by only three hundred jin.
The result surprised him slightly.
The improvement was far too small.
Gou Li had been a Demon Martial Grandmaster.
Previously, absorbing only a small portion of the Black Ghost Elder Monster’s energy had increased his strength by eight hundred jin.
Yet absorbing all of Gou Li had increased it by only three hundred.
Why?
That made no sense.
After thinking for a while without finding an answer, Lan Ling stopped worrying about it.
He wandered through the Flame Demon Tribe under the night sky.
Apart from the sentries, everyone had fallen asleep.
The past month had been exhausting.
They had worked day and night.
During the recent battles, they had fought desperately.
Now, after achieving such a great victory, both the soldiers and the people of the Flame Demon Tribe could finally enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep.
The entire tribe was silent except for countless snores.
Lan Ling walked aimlessly.
Then he noticed an enormous figure standing upon the city wall.
It was a gigantic warhorse.
Over four metres tall.
More than eight metres long.
It was Xie Li II.
He stood gazing at the moon.
Perhaps he was remembering what it had felt like to be a Centaur.
Being transformed from a Centaur into an ordinary horse had nearly destroyed both his soul and his future.
Lan Ling called,
“Come down.”
The gigantic horse leapt directly from the ten metre high city wall.
Despite its enormous size, it landed almost silently.
Xie Li II approached Lan Ling and knelt on both knees.
He believed Lan Ling wished to ride him.
Lan Ling concealed the antidote to the Demon Dispelling Restoration Pill within his palm.
It had been this very antidote that had transformed Xie Li II into a horse.
He then drew a dagger and made a small cut upon Xie Li II’s forehead, allowing blood to flow.
Next, he cut his own palm, letting the antidote dissolve into his blood.
He pressed his blood covered hand against the wound on Xie Li II’s forehead.
Immediately, the wound healed before the naked eye.
Lan Ling’s demonic blood, together with the antidote, entered Xie Li II’s body.
The gigantic horse trembled violently.
Then he lowered himself completely to the ground, gently touching Lan Ling’s boots with his muzzle.
He understood.
Lan Ling was using His own blood to restore the bloodline of the Moon Demon God.
For reasons he could not explain, Xie Li II felt his entire body burning with warmth, as though bathed in divine energy.
He could not speak.
But he silently swore that once he became a Centaur again, he would devote his entire life to serving the Moon Demon God before him.
He would become the whip that destroyed the world in His hands.
…
The following morning, just before dawn…
The already dead Gou Li suddenly sat upright.
She was no longer a dried corpse.
Her beautiful pale body had been completely restored.
However, her skin was deathly white, completely devoid of colour.
Her eyes had turned an eerie ghostly green.
She still had no breathing.
She still had no heartbeat.