Princess Shayan’s fiancé, and future royal consort of the Rakshasa Royal Clan, was called Naishu. He was the heir to the Black Demon Banner Lord. This year he was twenty nine years old, yet his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Demon Martial Grandmaster realm.
In the Savage World, bloodline determined the limit of one’s cultivation.
The bloodlines of the Rakshasa Royal Clan and the Thirteen Banner Lord families were all extremely close to the Ancient Demons. As a result, their cultivation was exceptionally powerful, giving them an overwhelming advantage over everyone else in the Savage World.
Among those under the age of thirty, Naishu was considered one of the most outstanding talents in the entire Rakshasa Domain.
Just how strong was Naishu?
His martial ability was roughly equal to Suomo’s.
However, Suomo had already reached his limit, and he was fifty years old.
Naishu, on the other hand, still had enormous potential. He could break through the Demon Martial Grandmaster realm and enter the Demon Lord realm at any time.
The title Demon Lord sounded like a shortened version of Demon Martial Grandmaster.
In reality, it was completely different.
Demon Martial Grandmaster still contained the word “Martial”, but Demon Lord no longer did.
That was because the Demon Lord realm belonged to an entirely different level. Strength alone was no longer used to measure one’s cultivation.
From the Demon Warrior stage onwards, cultivators began learning the Path of Energy. The Demon Warrior, Great Demon Warrior, and Demon Martial Grandmaster realms all belonged to a stage where martial skill and energy cultivation existed together.
Experts at these levels still relied heavily on physical strength. Martial skill remained dominant over demonic power.
Upon entering the Demon Lord realm, however, they completely abandoned reliance on brute strength and completed the transition from martial skill to true demonic power.
Only then could they wield energy capable of moving mountains and changing the heavens.
That was why the Demon Lord realm represented the pinnacle of strength in this world.
Moreover, Demon Lords rarely relied on ordinary weapons to kill their enemies. The sharpness or durability of a weapon mattered little. What mattered most was how much energy it could channel and release.
Naturally, the Human Kingdoms had no opportunity to understand such martial arts.
The Divine Dragon Temple had completely monopolised that level of cultivation. Unless one belonged to its direct lineage, there was simply no chance to learn it.
Princess Shayan’s fiancé was only twenty nine years old and already just half a step away from becoming a Demon Lord.
His talent was truly monstrous.
No wonder he was worthy of marrying the Rakshasa King’s daughter.
The door opened.
A Rakshasa man with long, unkempt hair walked in.
He was Princess Shayan’s fiancé, Naishu.
He possessed a handsome, noble face.
The first thing people noticed about him was his nose.
It was long, high, and prominent.
The second thing they noticed was his eyes.
They were long and slanted, almost feminine, giving him a slightly seductive appearance.
His face possessed feminine beauty, yet his tall build and striking nose gave him an unmistakably masculine presence.
The combination made his appearance both contradictory and exceptionally attractive.
His tail was gone.
He had cut it off himself.
Among the upper class of the Rakshasa Domain, many people had removed their tails in pursuit of more conventional standards of beauty, even though doing so was considered a betrayal of their ancestors.
Naishu wore only a black silk robe with nothing underneath.
His powerful, mountain like physique was fully exposed.
If such a body existed in the modern world, countless women would have admired it.
As soon as he entered, he sat beside Princess Shayan and slipped one hand beneath her skirt.
He behaved like a complete rogue, almost matching Ling in shamelessness.
His body also carried a strange energy aura that naturally attracted women.
“Stop it,” Princess Shayan said in an unusually playful tone.
Although they had not yet officially married, they had already become intimate as an engaged couple.
“Why are you still wearing this mask at home?”
Naishu reached over and removed it.
Princess Shayan revealed her true face.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and filled with exotic charm.
Her beauty completely surpassed Nini’an’s and even exceeded that of Madam Sisi.
She was even more dazzling than Suolun’s wife, Gui Qinshao.
Unfortunately, there was a birthmark on her right cheek.
It formed a crimson arc, resembling a scar left by a blade.
“I happen to love this blood mark.”
Naishu leaned over and kissed the birthmark on her cheek.
Princess Shayan breathed unevenly as her body trembled slightly.
“Not now. We have something important to discuss.”
Before Ling and Nini’an, Princess Shayan had always been cold and proud.
Before her fiancé, however, she was as gentle as a little lamb.
“Naishu, have you heard of Ling and the Flame Demon Tribe?” she asked.
Naishu shook his head.
“What insignificant nobody? I’ve never heard of him.”
Princess Shayan said, “This man deceived me. He obtained the Brilliant Star Tear from me. It should be an incredibly mysterious and powerful energy source. He then used it to destroy the Chimera Tribe.”
“The Chimera Tribe?”
Naishu thought for a moment.
“Oh, one of the tribes under the Silver Alliance.”
Within the Black Demon Banner’s territory were thirteen alliances and one hundred and sixty nine tribes.
As the future lord of the Black Demon Banner, Naishu would one day rule over more than a million square kilometres of land.
It was perfectly normal that he could not immediately remember one insignificant tribe like the Chimera Tribe.
Princess Shayan said, “Go and bring me his head. Wipe out the Flame Demon Tribe as well.”
Naishu nodded.
“Very well.”
“How many men will you take?”
“I’ll go alone. If that lowly Ling hadn’t deceived you before, he wouldn’t even be worthy of me making a move myself.”
Princess Shayan smiled faintly.
“Remember our agreement. I know you’re exceptionally gifted and enjoy chasing women. I don’t care what you do outside or how many women you meet, but don’t bring them back to Rakshasa City. Understood?”
“Understood.”
…
Time returned to two years earlier.
Amid Fang Qingshu’s agonised screams, his lower body rotted away completely, turning into a mass of decayed flesh.
“Brother, should we kill him?” Zhi Li asked.
“No. Cut open his heart and drip one drop of your blood into it,” the Headless Knight replied.
He cut open Fang Qingshu’s chest and allowed a drop of demonic blood to fall into his heart.
“Ah… Ah…”
Fang Qingshu’s body trembled violently as every vein swelled.
His skin split apart inch by inch.
The Headless Knight fought Rogo and Geli alone.
Despite facing two of the greatest experts, he never fell behind.
He was like an impossible existence.
As a being of pure dark energy, blades could not cut him, and strikes could not injure him.
The Headless Knight drew a mysterious energy symbol in the air with his hand.
It was unlike anything that had ever existed in this world.
It radiated strange and mysterious power.
“Hah!”
He struck forward with his palm.
The energy symbol split into two and flew towards Rogo and Geli.
The two desperately tried to dodge.
But the two symbols still entered their bodies and vanished without a trace.
At the same time, a black mark appeared over each of their hearts.
The mark could never be erased unless the entire heart was removed.
“What have you done to us?” Rogo asked coldly, staring at the mark on his chest with dread.
Without question, it was a mark from the Demon World.
If the Sky Temple ever discovered it, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“You may leave now. Pretend nothing happened,” the Headless Knight said. “Perhaps one day we’ll come looking for you again.”
Rogo and Geli exchanged glances.
Their faces twitched with worry.
Then they departed.
Zhi Li looked at Fang Qingshu.
“Perhaps one day I’ll come looking for you too. For now, get lost.”
Fang Qingshu staggered away.
Zhi Li turned to Zhi Ning.
“Wake her up. We have to leave immediately.”
Holding the baby, Zhi Ning stepped forward and pressed Fang Qingzhuo’s pressure point beneath her nose.
She remained unconscious.
Ashi Liren stepped forward and gently transferred a trace of Dragon Force into her.
Fang Qingzhuo slowly opened her eyes.
The first person she saw was Zhi Li.
Of course, she could no longer recognise him.
Yet instinctively her heart tightened.
She stared at his face.
“Who… who are you?”
“A Hell Knight,” Zhi Li answered.
It felt as though something was blocking his heart.
His voice no longer carried any of its former characteristics.
Without a tongue or throat, his speech was produced entirely through energy resonance.
He feared revealing any emotion.
As a Hell Knight, he had to sever all ties with his former life.
Was his ghost like appearance terrifying?
Very much so.
Even so, it was already a fortunate outcome.
At least he still possessed a body.
Once he completed his second transformation, even that body would disappear.
Furthermore, anyone he touched would immediately suffer corruption where he made contact.
Their flesh would rot away.
He could no longer have any connection with his wife.
Nor even with his daughter.
“We leave in a quarter of an hour. Hurry and prepare,” Zhi Li said before walking outside.
…
Outside, Zhi Li asked, “Brother, why did we come to save the Demon Emperor’s woman instead of the Demon Emperor himself?”
The Headless Knight replied, “The two of us can’t save him. More importantly, His Majesty has been throwing himself into danger. Let him die for a while. Only by dying once can he truly undergo rebirth.”
Zhi Li asked, “Do you think he slept with my wife?”
“I don’t think so.”
“When I meet Suolun in the future, can I beat him up?”
“He is our supreme ruler and our highest faith. At a single command from him, we would willingly sacrifice everything, even our lives.”
“So I can’t?”
“You can. It’s just that our lives exist entirely at his whim. If he wanted us dead, he wouldn’t even need to lift a finger. One thought from him would reduce us to ashes.”
“Would he actually do that?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll definitely beat him up first, and afterwards kneel before him and pledge my complete loyalty.”
“Very well. I’ll inform the other brothers in advance, so they won’t attack you while you’re beating up His Majesty.”
The Headless Knight waved his hand.
Pieces of black armour flew onto his body one after another, transforming him once again into the imposing Headless Knight.
Zhi Li said, “Brother, couldn’t you at least wear a helmet?”
“You think I don’t want one? I lost it.”
He mounted his skeletal warhorse.
“Brother, after escorting your sister and your family to the Eastern Li Kingdom, head straight to the Eastern Sea and meet the Faceless One. Receive the Demon Tears and complete your second transformation. In your current state, you’re still in great danger.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I still have to guide our other brothers. Our Emperor has already died. He’ll probably complete his rebirth in a little over a year. We don’t have much time.”
“Brother, who are you going to guide next?”
“Ashiluo, that unfortunate child. I have no idea how much effort it’ll take. I may even have to break into the Divine Dragon Temple.”
With that, the Headless Knight rode his skeletal horse into the darkness and quickly disappeared.