Princess Shayan stood up and was about to leave. The so-called Princess Yudie beside her also stood up. Neither of them had removed their masks.
They still had no intention of looking at Lan Ling.
Suddenly, the leader of the Black Blood Demon Cavalry stepped forward and said quietly, “Your Highness, the Black Demon Lord… he lost!”
Upon hearing this, Princess Shayan stopped where she was and remained motionless for a long time.
She needed to determine whether she was still in meditation, whether she was having a nightmare during meditation, or whether she had simply heard things.
The leader of the Black Blood Demon Cavalry said, “Your Highness, you heard correctly. Lan Ling really won!”
Princess Shayan’s delicate body trembled.
An utterly absurd feeling surged through her heart. She suddenly tore off the mask covering her face.
Then she saw a scene that she could not believe.
The Black Flag Lord’s entire body was charred black, lying motionless on the ground, while that extremely detestable Lan Ling stood there completely unharmed, receiving the worship of countless people.
How… how was this possible?
This scene was simply too unbelievable and too terrifying.
Wasn’t Lan Ling’s martial arts extremely poor? Wasn’t his cultivation in the Qi Dao only at the level of a low-level Demon Martial Warrior? How could he possibly defeat the Black Flag Lord?
What had happened just now? Had the entire world been turned upside down?
Otherwise, how could such an absurd thing have happened?
The leader of the Black Blood Demon Cavalry said, “Your Highness, Lan Ling summoned the Hell Lightning just now and struck the Black Flag Lord to death!”
“Hell Lightning?” Princess Shayan’s delicate body trembled. She stared at the leader of the Black Blood Demon Cavalry beside her in disbelief.
Summoning the power of heaven and earth already belonged to the domain of Demon Kings.
“What is his cultivation?” Princess Shayan asked in a trembling voice.
“Five-star Demon Sect.”
“Such deep scheming.” Princess Shayan said coldly. Naturally, she believed that Lan Ling must have deliberately concealed his cultivation before.
She noticed that everyone’s eyes were fixed on her, waiting for her response.
Because among the three parties bound by the Heavenly Demon Blood Oath, she was also one of them. Once Lan Ling won, she would have to marry him.
She had made this Heavenly Demon Blood Oath because she believed that even if the sun rose in the west and seawater flowed backwards, Lan Ling could never win. She could resolve this crisis at the smallest possible cost.
However, she had never expected that she would not only lose the Black Flag territory, but also get herself involved.
Did she really have to marry Lan Ling?
She could not help looking towards Lan Ling again.
It was still that face she found utterly detestable, without any remarkable aura or the slightest hint of an energy presence that could make one’s heart move.
In fact, before the battle began, neither the Black Flag Lord nor the Lord of the Doom Cave could understand why Lan Ling had chosen to appear with this ordinary face.
Of course, both faces belonged to Lan Ling. There could be no mistake, nor could this be used to deny the result of the duel.
Neither the Black Flag Lord nor the Lord of the Doom Cave identified people by their faces. They relied mainly on unique energy attributes.
But the difference between these two faces was simply too great. Although their outlines were similar, one was almost as handsome and captivating as the Little Rakshasa King, filled with irresistible charm. The other was as ordinary as an anonymous passer-by, and Lan Ling was currently wearing this passer-by’s face.
This was not Lan Ling playing a prank. He had an ulterior purpose.
What was that purpose?
It was to have his Flame Demon Flag recognised by the Rakshasa Royal City while still maintaining its independence.
Therefore, he absolutely had to marry Princess Shayan. However, he also needed the two of them to live apart.
More precisely, they needed to have a fake marriage.
If the charm Lan Ling displayed was too astonishing and genuinely made Shayan fall in love with him, she might actually follow him and live with him, which would make many things inconvenient.
Lan Ling had never intended to truly submit to the Rakshasa royal family. He simply needed time to digest this enormous victory and completely transform the Black Flag territory into his own territory.
To him, Princess Shayan was merely a tool. He had no genuine intention of bringing her into his household as his wife.
……
At this moment, everyone was waiting for Princess Shayan to respond.
Wearing the ordinary passer-by’s false face, Lan Ling smiled and asked, “Your Highness Princess Shayan, I have won. According to the Heavenly Demon Blood Oath, you should marry me. So, are you willing to honour the Heavenly Demon Blood Oath?”
Obviously.
In the Southern Wilderness, who would dare violate the Heavenly Demon Blood Oath, even someone from the Rakshasa royal family?
It could be said that if Princess Shayan dared to violate the oath publicly, once she returned to Rakshasa City, she would face a fate worse than death.
If the Rakshasa King was there, he would personally execute her. If he was absent, the Little Rakshasa King would do it.
No one could violate the Heavenly Demon Blood Oath.
Of course, it was not impossible for Princess Shayan to violate the oath. She could simply kill herself.
But… she obviously did not have the courage to seek death.
As a member of the Rakshasa royal family, Princess Shayan had always been the centre of attention. She had long since become accustomed to it.
However, this kind of attention made her feel unbearably painful and uncomfortable.
Every second was torture. The detestable Lan Ling before her was simply her nightmare.
Ever since she had become involved with him, her misfortune had begun.
At this moment, no words could describe the hatred in Princess Shayan’s heart. She almost wanted to use every ounce of her strength to curse Lan Ling.
Why… why wouldn’t he just die?
She truly wanted to tear Lan Ling apart and cut him into pieces.
If she really married Lan Ling, then her love, her happiness and a large part of her life would all be ruined.
But if she dared to violate the Heavenly Demon Blood Oath, there was only death, and she would also bring enormous disgrace upon the reputation of the Rakshasa royal family.
Taking a deep breath, Princess Shayan gritted her teeth and said, word by word, “I am willing to honour the Heavenly Demon Blood Oath. I… I am willing to marry Lan Ling.”
After saying this, her chest churned violently, and she almost vomited blood.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. She bit her tongue and actually spat out a mouthful of blood.
She wanted to use this method to show everyone the pain and unwillingness in her heart.
“Lan Ling, I will wait for you to come to Rakshasa City and propose marriage!” Princess Shayan said coldly, her gaze towards Lan Ling filled with deep-seated hatred.
“Let’s go…” Princess Shayan said coldly, leading the so-called Princess Yudie and more than a dozen Black Blood Demon Cavalry away.
……
After Princess Shayan left, Flame Demon Mountain’s Young Lord, Fire Cloud Mo, stood up and said, “Brother Lan Ling, I will leave as well. I hope you will treat the Black Clan well in the future.”
Lan Ling bowed towards him and said, “I will, honoured Fire Cloud Mo.”
Then Fire Cloud Mo led the Flame Demon Mountain forces away.
The Lord of the Doom Cave also stood up and bowed halfway to Lan Ling.
“Everything is over. Congratulations, Brother Lan Ling. I will return to the Doom Cave now. If you need anything, just send someone to the Doom Cave.”
Lan Ling bowed and said, “I will certainly visit you, Brother.”
The Lord of the Doom Cave was even older than Suo Mo, yet Lan Ling still had to address him as brother. It was truly an awkward situation.
After the representatives of Rakshasa City, Flame Demon Mountain and the Doom Cave left, those remaining were all former subjects of the Black Flag. From now on, they would all become Lan Ling’s subjects.
Lan Ling looked around.
By controlling these thousands of people, he effectively controlled the tens of millions of people throughout the entire Black Flag territory.
But clearly, achieving this was far from enough.
Defeating the Black Flag Lord in the duel had only given him the Black Flag territory in terms of legal authority. In terms of people’s hearts, there was still a huge distance.
When Lan Ling’s gaze swept across them, almost everyone avoided his eyes. Their expressions were cold and awkward.
Therefore, Lan Ling needed time.
To completely swallow this enormous victory, to turn the tens of millions of people in the Black Flag territory into his own people and transform them into his own strength, would require a considerable amount of time.
In modern Earth, Hong Kong had returned to China for twenty years, yet people’s hearts had still not completely accepted it.
Not to mention Lan Ling, who had conquered the Black Flag territory in this manner.
Lan Ling looked across all the Black Flag warriors above the level of Great Demon Martial Warriors and swept his gaze around before saying, “Return to your respective residences. Without my order, you are not permitted to leave!”
With that, Lan Ling went straight back into the castle.
The subjects of the Black Flag territory present could not help being stunned.
Was… was that it?
Was he not going to give a speech to win their hearts? Was he not going to make promises? Was he not going to issue some kind of conqueror’s declaration?
It seemed that this new ruler was extraordinarily arrogant.
……
The duel was over, but the matter was not over. In fact, it had only just begun.
Lan Ling still needed the Rakshasa King’s decree before he could legally obtain the Black Flag territory and change its name to the Flame Demon Flag.
His marriage to Princess Shayan also required the Rakshasa King’s decree.
Suo Mo said, “Little Ling, if you want to win the hearts of the people in the Black Flag territory, it seems there is still a long road ahead.”
Lan Ling nodded.
Suo Mo said, “In the past, we could rely on slaughter, but we cannot do that now. They are nominally your subjects. As long as they do not rebel, we cannot slaughter them indiscriminately. Unfortunately, we do not have enough manpower. We cannot find enough talented people to govern such a vast territory and so many subjects.”
Gouli said, “Master, what is your plan?”
Lan Ling said, “My plan has two steps. First, we will use the existing people to govern the people of the Black Flag territory, continuing to use the old administration of Black Demon City. We cannot immediately gain the loyalty of the people in the Black Flag territory, nor can we immediately gain the loyalty of the several thousand core members of the Black Flag outside. In the short term, we can only obtain the loyalty of the highest level of the Black Flag.”
Suo Mo said, “At present, the highest level of the Black Flag consists of the Flag Lord’s wife, his two sons and the five elders. These eight people are now filled with hatred towards you and are the most difficult to subdue. If you turn them into Death Warriors, however, they will lose their ability to govern the territory.”
In fact, the simplest way to conquer a territory was very simple, slaughter everyone at the top. Kill all the high-ranking figures in the territory, leaving the people like lost lambs without leaders.
Then, select a group of traitors from among them and construct a new internal hierarchy.
It was like when the Manchu Qing entered China. They first carried out massacres, killing all those who dared to resist, leaving countless civilians in fear and confusion.
Then they promoted large numbers of Han officials into the ruling class and allowed Han officials to govern the countless Han people. The Manchu Qing royal family only needed to control these Han officials.
After several decades or even a century, all the people would completely accept the fact that the Manchu Qing were their rulers, and large-scale resistance would no longer occur.
Look at the end of the Manchu Qing period. Who knew how many Han scholars were even willing to die for the Manchu Qing dynasty, repeatedly referring to the Manchu Qing emperor as the true Son of Heaven?
But Lan Ling did not intend to do that. He did not have that much time.
Strike the snake at its vital point, capture the leader to control the followers.
He only needed to control the Black Flag Lord. Once he obtained the Black Flag Lord’s loyalty, he would be able to obtain the loyalty of the entire Black Flag’s upper ranks.
Of course, the Black Flag Lord was now considered dead.
……
“Master, Fire Phoenix requests an audience!” Death Warrior Constantine said.
“Let her in!” Lan Ling said.
The former Black Flag Lord’s wife, Fire Phoenix, walked in. She looked as if she had aged ten years. Her once bright and radiant eyes were now filled with despair.
Her beautiful face was filled with hopelessness.
There was no shock in her heart, nor any astonishment that Lan Ling had actually won, because her grief had already overwhelmed everything.
She had loved her husband so deeply that he had effectively been the other half of her life.
Now that her husband was dead, it was as if her vitality had also been drained away.
After entering the hall, Fire Phoenix did not rush forward to fight. Instead, she knelt before Lan Ling and said, “I beg two things of you.”
Lan Ling said, “Speak.”
Fire Phoenix said, “First, my other two sons are not like Na Shu. They are brave, fearless and upright. I hope you will treat them well in the future and give the Black Clan a chance to rise again.”
Lan Ling nodded and said, “Good.”
Fire Phoenix said, “Second, I want to be buried together with my husband.”
Her meaning was already very clear. She intended to die with her husband.
Of course, she did not say anything about dying with him. Her husband was dead, and she simply could not go on living.
With that, Fire Phoenix drew her sword and suddenly moved it towards her neck.
She was not merely trying to wound herself. She intended to cut off her entire head.
Lan Ling had already been prepared. He immediately released his Spiritual Body Restraining Technique.
If this had happened before, Lan Ling would never have been able to restrain Fire Phoenix. But his cultivation had now risen dramatically, and Fire Phoenix’s mind was completely shattered, leaving her without any mental defence.
She was easily immobilised by Lan Ling.
Lan Ling then stepped forward and effortlessly took the sword from her hand.
After regaining the ability to move, Fire Phoenix cried out in anguish, “What are you trying to do? Can’t I even die together with my husband?”
Lan Ling slowly said, “You can kill yourself if you want, but at least wait until your husband is truly dead before doing so.”
Fire Phoenix froze. She looked at Lan Ling in disbelief.
“You… what do you mean?”
Lan Ling said, “I will do everything I can to see whether I can revive the Black Demon Lord. If I succeed, you will not need to die. If I fail, you can kill yourself then, and I will have you both buried together.”
Fire Phoenix’s eyes suddenly lit up. She immediately kowtowed desperately before Lan Ling.
“Please, save my husband. As long as you can revive him, I will do anything. Please…”
Lan Ling said, “I can only say that I will do my best. Gouli, help Madam Black Demon Lord up.”
His attitude was very clear. He absolutely would not take advantage of Fire Phoenix.
Gouli stepped forward and helped Fire Phoenix up.
Lan Ling waved his hand, and Chi Yan Khan entered carrying the charred body of the Black Flag Lord.
He looked as though he could not possibly be any more dead.
At this moment, the five elders of the Black Flag and the Black Flag Lord’s two sons also entered the hall.
Lan Ling was about to perform another miracle.