Nini’an no longer dared to go outside. She felt that she had become a complete joke.
Yes, she was the Little Rakshasa King’s concubine.
But within the Rakshasa Royal Clan, she was nothing.
In this supreme family, not even a servant thought highly of her. They treated her like a stray cat or dog.
Now Nini’an finally understood. The Little Rakshasa King had married her, yet after that first night, he had never seen her again. He had simply thrown her aside.
As for the Chimera Tribe, there was nothing she could do.
However, when she received the latest letter from the Chimera Tribe, she felt as though she was about to collapse completely.
The letter had been written by Yang Gu. There were no words of longing or affection, only a cold statement of facts.
Ling had led an army to plunder the Chimera Tribe before burning it to the ground. Her mother, Gou Li, had completely surrendered to Ling and become his woman, suffering humiliation before everyone. Her elder brother, Constantine II, had become a prisoner, with his fate unknown. Her father, Constantine, had gone completely mad.
Not only that, of the tribe’s original population of more than fifty thousand, only a little over twenty thousand remained. The rest had all been slaughtered by Ling. Those who survived possessed nothing. Even the clothes on their backs had been taken. They had no homes and suffered from hunger and cold.
Nini’an read the letter again and again.
She did not scream or cry out. She simply wept silently.
She felt as though she too was going mad.
If she had known things would end like this, she should have killed Ling long ago, cut off his head, and hacked his body into pieces.
No.
She could not give up.
She had to take revenge.
She had to kill Ling.
Had every possible path truly been closed to her?
No.
There had to be one path left.
The Rakshasa Royal Clan stood far above her reach. She could neither approach nor influence them. Now Nini’an finally understood that her status as the Little Rakshasa King’s concubine was nothing more than a joke.
The Little Rakshasa King had taken so many concubines for a reason.
Perhaps she had possessed some quality that fit his requirements, allowing her to become one of his concubines. But after trying, he discovered that she was not what he was looking for, so he simply placed her in a castle and left her there.
She had absolutely nothing to do with the Rakshasa Royal Clan. She was not one of them. She was not even as valuable as the Little Rakshasa King’s pet.
She could not meet a single member of the royal family.
Perhaps there was one exception.
Princess Shayan.
She occasionally appeared at the Heaven and Earth Pavilion’s auctions, always disguised. Nini’an even suspected that Princess Shayan was the true master behind the Heaven and Earth Pavilion.
From then on, Nini’an visited the Heaven and Earth Pavilion every day, hoping to meet Princess Shayan.
Each time she made the request, the pavilion’s manager would bow respectfully and tell her that Princess Shayan had not come. Whenever she hinted that Princess Shayan owned the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, the manager firmly denied it.
At that moment, Nini’an could finally see clearly.
Although the manager bowed every time he saw her, there was not the slightest trace of respect in his eyes. Instead, they hid mockery.
She found it laughable that she had once enjoyed such false honour.
The monthly auction arrived once again, and Nini’an attended on time.
This time she spotted the disguised Princess Shayan again. As soon as the auction ended, she rushed over and knelt before her.
Princess Shayan still wore her mask as she looked down at her coldly.
Her gaze contained only indifference.
There was neither love nor hatred in it.
It was the same expression one would use when looking at ants or cockroaches.
To Princess Shayan, Nini’an was nothing more than an ant.
“What is it?” Princess Shayan asked coldly.
Nini’an said, “Your Highness, may I ask why the Little Rakshasa King married me?”
“You should ask him, not me.”
“I can’t meet him. Even now I have never seen his face. That night I merely accepted everything passively. I was so frightened that I did not dare look at him.”
Princess Shayan looked at her for a moment before saying, “He was searching for a woman with a special energy aura. By chance, he sensed a trace of it from you. But after taking you as his concubine, he discovered that the energy did not actually belong to you.”
Nini’an’s heart trembled, overwhelmed by sorrow.
She had never been particularly outstanding among all the candidates.
She had always wondered why she alone had defeated so many rivals to become the Little Rakshasa King’s concubine.
Now she finally understood.
She also vaguely knew why that special energy aura had been on her.
It was because of Ling.
Princess Shayan asked, “Anything else? If not, stop blocking my way.”
Nini’an said, “My Chimera Tribe… my Chimera Tribe has been burned down. My father has gone mad, and the tribe’s army has been wiped out.”
Princess Shayan merely glanced sideways without speaking.
The meaning was obvious.
What did the destruction of the Chimera Tribe have to do with her?
Although the Rakshasa King was the supreme ruler over millions of square kilometres, he did not directly govern every part of the land. Tribal conflicts were settled through strength, and the Rakshasa Royal Clan rarely interfered.
Nini’an said, “But the ones who destroyed my tribe were not another Rakshasa Tribe. It was a Near Human tribe. A Near Human called Ling led a group of Near Humans to betray the Chimera Tribe, rebel, establish the Flame Demon Tribe, and grow stronger every day. Recently they even destroyed the Chimera Tribe. A Near Human tribe has been established on Rakshasa territory and even wiped out a Rakshasa tribe. Will the royal family really ignore that?”
Princess Shayan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She thought for a while, recalling her father’s instructions, especially those concerning the Near Human exiles.
Then she said, “This matter is too insignificant. A conflict involving only tens of thousands of people is beneath the attention of the Rakshasa Royal Clan. Besides, the alliance your tribe belongs to should be the one sending troops.”
Nini’an replied, “But the Silver Alliance keeps making excuses and refuses to send an army against Ling’s Flame Demon Tribe.”
“The Silver Alliance?”
Princess Shayan searched her memory. There were one hundred and sixty nine alliances within the Rakshasa Royal Clan’s territory, and she could not immediately remember this one.
“Oh, it belongs to the Black Demon Banner. Go to the Black Demon Banner Lord. The Rakshasa Royal Clan cannot travel such a great distance to deal with such a trivial matter.”
Then Princess Shayan turned and left.
The Black Demon Banner Lord?
Even the Silver Alliance refused to interfere with Constantine’s affairs, so why would the lofty Black Demon Banner Lord care?
Nini’an knelt helplessly on the ground.
Seeing Princess Shayan walking away, she suddenly shouted, “Your Highness, the Flame Demon Tribe’s Chief, Ling, only exists because of your indulgence. The destruction of my Chimera Tribe is indirectly your responsibility.”
Princess Shayan stopped.
An icy aura burst from her body, suppressing Nini’an until she could barely speak.
She turned around.
“What did you say?”
Nini’an answered, “Ling is the one who bought the Brilliant Star Tear at the auction over two months ago. He absorbed the mental energy inside it and created an enormous mental trap, leading more than twenty thousand of my father’s soldiers into a deadly snare.”
This was nothing more than Nini’an’s guess.
She had no evidence.
But she no longer cared.
Princess Shayan’s eyes became as sharp as swords, flashing with cold light.
“That man called… what was his name?” she asked.
“Ning Xue. That was Ling’s false name,” Nini’an replied. “You even sent people to escort him safely out of Rakshasa City.”
Yes.
Ning Xue.
Princess Shayan had found him extremely unpleasant.
Even so, she had sent guards to protect him because he had brought enormous profits to the Heaven and Earth Pavilion.
Nini’an continued, “He deceived you. I don’t know what he told you, but he bought the Brilliant Star Tear to destroy our Chimera Tribe, a Rakshasa tribe. Everyone there was a subject of your family.”
Princess Shayan recalled the conversation.
She remembered asking Ning Xue why he wanted the Brilliant Star Tear.
His answer had been that he wanted to save someone.
Nini’an said, “The Brilliant Star Tear was an enormous source of energy, not some ordinary gem. Ling had long known its secret and immense value, yet he tricked you into handing it over.”
Shayan replied, “Stop trying to sow discord. Don’t worry. I will deal with him. He and his Flame Demon Tribe will not live much longer.”
Nini’an trembled with joy.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
After returning to her enormous palace, Princess Shayan immediately gave an order.
“Where is my husband? Tell him to go to the Silver Alliance, destroy that Flame Demon Tribe, kill its chief, Ling, and bring back his head.”
…
Time returned to two years earlier.
“Fortunately, we made it in time,” Zhi Li said.
“Yes, fortunately we did,” the Headless Knight replied.
Feeling two overwhelmingly powerful presences, Rogo and Geli’s expressions changed dramatically. Fang Qingshu’s eyes narrowed as he abandoned all distracting thoughts and grabbed the sword beside him.
Zhi Li said, “I’ll deal with the one without clothes. You handle the other two.”
“Fine,” the Headless Knight replied.
Then both sides charged into battle.
The fighting style of Zhi Li and the Headless Knight was extremely simple.
They walked straight towards their enemies and hacked at them with their swords.
Fang Qingshu’s swordsmanship had once been graceful.
After more than a year of imprisonment, it had become cold and deadly.
Swish. Swish. Swish. Swish.
Within moments, he stabbed Zhi Li over a hundred times.
Yet…
It was as though none of the strikes had any effect.
Zhi Li’s body was already charred black. He no longer had skin, and in many places his bones were exposed.
His severed tendons regenerated almost instantly.
His broken bones also recovered immediately.
He simply could not be killed.
“Who… who are you?” Fang Qingshu asked with a trembling voice.
“A Hell Knight,” Zhi Li answered coldly.
Fang Qingshu’s face turned pale with shock.
Meanwhile, Rogo and Geli, the two supreme experts, were fighting the Headless Knight together.
Their swordsmanship was naturally extraordinary.
In the blink of an eye, they had stripped away his armour piece by piece and thrust their swords hundreds of times into his body.
Yet…
They discovered that the Headless Knight not only had no head, he had no physical body at all.
He was merely a mass of dark light.
No attack could harm him.
“The Hell Guide Knight greets the two fellow cultivators from the Divine Dragon Temple,” the Headless Knight said politely. “You should apply for a special Dragon Gold Demon Slaying Sword. Only that kind of weapon is effective against us.”
A chill ran down Rogo’s spine.
Although he had climbed high within the Divine Dragon Temple, anyone who had not entered the Sky Temple was still not among its true core members.
As a result, he knew very little about the Hell Knights or the World Destroying Demon Emperor.
Now that he had met a genuine Hell Knight, he was truly shaken.
“I’ve met the Hell Knight Ashiluo before. He wasn’t like this. He was very weak,” Rogo said.
“That child? He has never died. He doesn’t count as a true Hell Knight,” the Headless Knight replied.
It was true.
The power contained within the Ancient Demon King’s blood was too overwhelming for a human body to bear.
The first transformation of a Hell Knight required genuine death.
Only after dying could they break free from the limitations of their frail human bodies and become truly powerful.
The second transformation came after drinking the Demon Tears.
Then the Hell Knight would become a true energy being, completely abandoning a physical body and becoming unimaginably powerful.
Step by step, Zhi Li approached Fang Qingshu.
Fang Qingshu slashed wildly, but he could not injure the Hell Knight at all.
He was on the verge of despair.
“Brother, you’re still too weak,” the Headless Knight called to Zhi Li. “It’s taking you far too long.”
Then he spread out one hand.
Fang Qingshu instantly froze in place, completely unable to move.
Zhi Li smiled at Fang Qingshu.
“It’s been a long time. I never expected you to still be alive.”
Then he gently patted Fang Qingshu’s face.
“Ah…”
Fang Qingshu let out a miserable scream.
Wherever Zhi Li touched, darkness spread like corrosion.
His face began to melt away.
Then Zhi Li looked towards Zhi Ning and the baby, Zhi Yu, in her arms.
Despite his terrifying appearance, little Zhi Yu showed no fear.
Instead, the child stared at him with wide eyes, full of curiosity.
The terrifying Hell Knight Zhi Li and baby Zhi Yu simply stared at each other.
“Waah.”
Baby Zhi Yu reached out with chubby little hands, trying to touch Zhi Li’s face.
Zhi Li’s heart trembled.
When he held power, he had felt nothing for family.
He had even cruelly threatened Ling with the lives of his own younger sister and nephew.
Now that he had lost his physical body, his emotions had become far stronger and far more sensitive.
“Hehe…”
He smiled at baby Zhi Yu.
He had no lips or jaw.
Only white bones and exposed teeth remained, making him appear horrifying.
“Giggle, giggle.”
Baby Zhi Yu clapped happily and laughed with a bright, ringing voice.
Looking at Fang Qingshu, Zhi Li sighed.
“You are even more heartless than I used to be.”
Then he reached out and lightly grabbed Fang Qingshu’s crotch.
“Ah…”
Fang Qingshu let out an agonised scream.
That part of his body slowly dissolved inch by inch until it became a mass of ruined flesh.