The Legitimate Son

The setting sun cast a viscous crimson light, blanketing the vast city of the Yin Clan City-State. The blood-mist barrier above the Yin Clan City-State, illuminated by the sunset's bloody glow, reflected a monstrous crimson light that made one want to vomit.

In the dark cyan and red sky, the Blood Parrot, a secret treasure of the Demon Race forged with cross-border immortal arts and transmitted through secret techniques, slowly glided across. The Blood Parrot, a spherical object with a diameter of three hundred meters, had a dark cyan surface that gleamed like a mirror. The densely layered demonic talismans on its surface occasionally flashed with a crimson blood-red light. The Blood Parrot, like the legendary eye of a demon, coldly and arrogantly overlooked the land.

It also overlooked the hunting party that had just returned to the Yin Clan City-State.

Led by six flying chariots cast entirely from metal, these massive chariots, enveloped in a blood-red glow, were slowly pulled by dozens of Night Netherblood Leopards, kicking up trails of dust as they moved across the land. Behind these six flying chariots, tens of thousands of men, women, and children in tattered clothes were bound by long ropes. They were being hurried along, following the chariots in a state of panic and disarray.

Surrounding these disheveled civilians were hundreds of Yin Clan knights, driving Unicorn Blood Beasts nurtured by demonic secret arts. They formed neat ranks, vigilantly scanning their surroundings. At the very rear of this massive procession, guarding the rear, were another twelve flying chariots.

At the entrance to the Yin Clan City-State, which was encircled by metal walls a hundred meters high, stood two tiered pyramids, each a li (about half a kilometer) high, on either side of the wide, hundreds-of-meters-wide city gate. From top to bottom, the pyramids were divided into nine levels, and now, three to five Yin Clan warriors stood on each level.

The Blood Slave warriors, of lower status, held magical artifacts powered by various colored crystals and wore dark red, full-coverage combat armor. They scanned their surroundings with extreme vigilance. The Yin Clan members of higher status, clad in ancient, somewhat mysterious and demonic blood-red robes, stood with their arms crossed, arrogantly surveying the men, women, and children scrambling behind the flying chariots.

"A rare bountiful harvest!" A young boy in a blood-red robe, who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen, stood at the very top of a pyramid. He squinted with a cold sneer, his sharp gaze constantly sweeping over the tender faces of the girls his age in the crowd. His pupils were faintly tinged with red, and a wisp of evil energy flowed in his eyes, allowing him to clearly discern the pretty faces of the girls in the crowd from two or three li away.

"That one in the black trench coat, and the one in the red skirt. Clean them up and send them to my room!" In just a few breaths, the boy had found the prey that satisfied him, and he smiled with immense joy.

An old man with white hair standing behind the boy let out a few sinister and cruel cold laughs before bowing deeply.

With a low whistling sound, the flying chariots slowly landed at the city-state's entrance. Several doors silently opened on the smooth, clean chassis, devoid of any seams. Large numbers of Yin Clan warriors in dark red armor emerged from the chariots, and shouts and curses immediately erupted. The crowd bound behind the chariots also descended into chaos, with cries of children and wails of parents filling the air.

"Everyone listen up! Line up here!"

"No disorder, no disorder! Line up here according to your family relationships!"

"You lowly, wretched commoners, your good fortune has arrived!"

"This is the fortune bestowed upon you by our Yin Clan! No disorder, everyone line up!"

"Seize your opportunity firmly. Anyone who dares to move or make noise knows the consequences!"

A gaunt old man, dressed in a tattered black robe, utterly filthy, with an oily face, screamed hoarsely. The ropes binding him had just been untied, and he rushed out of the crowd, waving a silver cross the size of his palm and shouting loudly.

"My children, do not believe the words of these demons! They are bloodthirsty demons, luring you to fall with sweet yet poisonous fruits! Do not believe the words of these demons; you will become their food, their sacrifices! Never believe them!"

A Yin Clan warrior, dozens of meters away, brought forth a gust of wind and crossed dozens of meters in a single step, arriving beside the ragged old man. He drew a black longsword, over four feet long and barely a finger wide, as thin as paper. Without hesitation, he thrust it into the old man's heart. The sharp longsword passed through the old man's body silently. The old man's already emaciated body suddenly shriveled and withered, all the blood within it being sucked dry by the sword in the time it takes to snap one's fingers.

The Yin Clan warrior withdrew his sword and snatched the silver cross from the old man's hand. He weighed the cross, made of pure silver and covered in ancient, mottled colors, in his palm. The Yin Clan warrior then slowly walked towards the long table lined up behind the city-state entrance.

Yin Xuege sat behind a long table, his entire body feeling cold as he looked at the withered, shriveled corpse of the old man lying on the ground. The old man's face was turned towards Yin Xuege, and his vacant, empty eyes held a deep despair. Yin Xuege had seen countless withered, shriveled, despairing faces like the old man's, yet he still felt a chill run through him, a chill so intense that his body trembled uncontrollably.

The boy who had been standing on the pyramid searching for his prey arrived behind Yin Xuege at some point. Seeing Yin Xuege's trembling body, the boy, who was clearly a head taller than Yin Xuege, shook his head. He took a python-skin whip, as thick as a thumb, from a Yin Clan member behind him and, without any warning, whipped Yin Xuege fiercely on the shoulder.

Intense pain suddenly struck. Yin Xuege's face turned deathly pale, his facial muscles contorting, making his tender young face look as ugly as a demon's. The python-skin whip, made from the shed skin of the highly venomous 'Three-Headed Blue-Spotted Python,' was covered in protruding, sharp scales. A large section of Yin Xuege's blood-red robe was torn open, and a thin strip of flesh, two feet long, was ripped from his shoulder.

Blood flowed from the wound, but after Yin Xuege took a deep breath, the blood flowing from the wound flowed back in, quickly being reabsorbed by the bloody, mangled wound. Yin Xuege's wound healed at a speed that would astonish ordinary people. Within three to five breaths, the flesh and blood lost from that whip had regrown.

He exhaled heavily, forcing down the dizziness in his head and enduring the lingering pain of the whip. Yin Xuege stood up stiffly. Gritting his teeth tightly, Yin Xuege slowly turned around, his resentful gaze shooting towards the boy holding the whip, who was still playing with it in his hand, with endless icy malice.

"Yin Xuejiao!" Yin Xuege spat out the boy's name word by word through his teeth.

Yin Xuejiao pursed his lips and smiled strangely. He looked at Yin Xuege's pale face and trembling body, shaking his head with disdain. He raised an index finger and poked Yin Xuege's chest several times. Yin Xuejiao leaned close to Yin Xuege's ear and chuckled softly, "A bastard is a bastard. You pity these lowly people? You were born to be with these lowly people!"

After a few wicked laughs, Yin Xuejiao straightened his body and, with a smug and provocative air, beckoned to Yin Xuege.

"I just spotted two very nice girls. I'm going back to enjoy them properly later!"

Yin Xuege's face turned crimson, and a faint blood-red light rippled in the depths of his eyes.

Yin Xuejiao quickly retreated a couple of steps. Several tall Yin Clan members behind him quickly stepped between them. Among them, a middle-aged man exuding a sinister aura placed a hand on Yin Xuege's shoulder. "Young Master Xuege, please understand your position and don't make things difficult for us! Heh!"

The middle-aged man let out a mocking laugh. His five fingers tightened on Yin Xuege's shoulder, making his bones creak.

"That's right! Understand your position!" Yin Xuejiao said to Yin Xuege with a playful smile, a deep sense of apprehension flashing in his eyes, followed by a deliberately feigned arrogance. "Although you bear the name of a direct descendant of the Yin Clan, you must understand that you are just a bastard!"

Yin Xuege's body trembled violently. He wanted to break free from the middle-aged man's control, but the other party's strength was far superior to his. His body was completely immobilized under the other's control. The five fingers digging into his shoulder made his shoulder blades creak under the immense pressure.

Frivolously reaching out to pat Yin Xuege's face, Yin Xuejiao turned around triumphantly and headed into the city-state.

"Finish your chores properly, or you'll have a hard time in tomorrow's class. Alas, that's how it is for unfortunate bastards. While I'm enjoying those tender and lovely little Blood Slaves, he's stuck here eating sand, registering those commoners."

"Oh, what do you guys think? Isn't this a bit too tragic? The hunting party caught so many Blood Slaves today, it'll take them most of the night to rest, right? That means he won't have time to cultivate tonight again! Won't he fall even further behind?"

A burst of arrogant and triumphant laughter drifted from afar. Yin Xuege stared at Yin Xuejiao's departing, arrogant back, his eyes almost bleeding.

After Yin Xuejiao had gone far away, the middle-aged man who had been firmly gripping Yin Xuege released his hand. He chuckled at Yin Xuege with a forced smile, "Young Master Xuege, you can't blame us for being rude! Last time you went berserk and almost bit Young Master Xueao's neck, we had to be cautious, didn't we?"

He glanced at Yin Xuege, who stood motionless, with a strange expression. The middle-aged man said in a feigned tone of persuasion, "You really should recognize your status! Although you carry the name of a direct descendant of the Yin Clan, your status! Haha, why do you have to go against the young masters? Why not just beg for mercy and kowtow to the young masters? Wouldn't that be enough?"

'Ha, haha, hahahaha!' The middle-aged man threw his head back and laughed loudly, then arrogantly tilted his head back, putting his hands behind his back and swaggering away. Wherever he passed, the fully armed Yin Clan warriors saluted him, further highlighting his arrogant and overbearing demeanor.

Yin Xuege stood in place, breathing heavily.

But his long table was suddenly struck heavily. The Yin Clan warrior who had just killed the gaunt old man impatiently pounded on the tabletop. "Young Master Xuege, please don't waste our time! Please register me. Today I killed one heretic of the Light God Cult and captured one heretical artifact. That's two merits!"

Yin Xuege stared blankly for a moment, then touched his recently injured shoulder and slowly sat back in his seat.

He raised his head, his eyes, which had concealed all their blood-red light, looked at the Yin Clan warrior coldly and mercilessly. Yin Xuege said icily, "Name, number, affiliation, merit earned. Killing one heretic of the Light God Cult earns ten family merit points; one low-grade heretical artifact, forged from Blazing Radiant Light Silver, earns twenty family merit points!"

The sun gradually set, and a bright moon quietly appeared. The Blood Parrot had completed its sky-patrolling journey and slowly glided across the sky again. The Blood Parrot, dark cyan all over and emitting a faint blood-red glow, silently passed over the moon's surface. Against the backdrop of the silver moonlight, the Blood Parrot appeared even more sinister and malevolent.

Occasionally, some Yin Clan members would look up, curiously observing this secret treasure of the Demon Race, which held immense destructive power. In their sight, countless hair-thin strands of moonlight were being continuously devoured by the Blood Parrot. Just like these Yin Clan members, moonlight was also an energy source for the Blood Parrot, this secret treasure of the Demon Race!

Under the moonlight, the Blood Parrot possessed a destructive power a hundred times greater than during the day.

Just like these Yin Clan members, under the moonlight, during the night, the Yin Clan members absorbed the essence of moonlight. Their combat power and cultivation speed were several times, or even dozens of times, that of daytime. For the Yin Clan members, moonlit nights, especially full moon nights like this, were incredibly precious. Any cultivation on a full moon night was enough to significantly improve the Yin Clan's young children.

Yin Xuege, only eleven years old, was a proper young child of the Yin Clan. Before the age of eighteen, the moonlight essence on a full moon night was as important to Yin Xuege as it was to any other young child of the Yin Clan.

The blood mist barrier that had enveloped the entire Yin Clan City-State had dispersed, revealing the layered buildings within. Atop the various towers and tall buildings, large groups of Yin Clan youths occupied advantageous positions, sitting cross-legged and devouring moonlight essence in great gulps.

Yin Xuejiao was also cultivating. He sat alone atop a towering spire three hundred meters high, with a formation of dozens of fist-sized blood-colored orbs floating around him. With the help of this profound formation, a large amount of moonlight essence was being drawn in, swirling around Yin Xuejiao. The dense moonlight essence had even condensed into a visible mist.

The mysterious and wondrous innate Taiyin energy continuously flowed into Yin Xuejiao's body along with the moonlight essence. His handsome face, imbued with a proud and fierce aura, wore a satisfied smile. As the Taiyin energy refined him, his physical body grew stronger, his blood energy became more vigorous, and his soul power became increasingly robust.

However, at the entrance of the Yin Clan City-State, twenty long tables were arranged in a single line, with a person in blood-colored robes sitting upright behind each table. In front of their tables, twenty long queues had formed. Countless terrified men, women, and children stood trembling in the lines, slowly advancing.

Behind the twenty long tables, only Yin Xuege, a youth, was present. He was the only one with the status of a direct descendant of the Yin Clan! All the others were adults and were external affairs stewards of the Yin Clan. Yin Xuege was the only youth, and he held no official position within the clan.

He had only been temporarily "seconded" on this full moon night to assist the understaffed Yin Clan's External Affairs Hall in registering the Blood Slaves who had just been captured. It just so happened that the number of Blood Slaves captured today was exceptionally large, and the number of stewards in the External Affairs Hall was unusually low compared to normal. Therefore, it would be impossible to complete the registration task without spending the entire night.

A thick, black register lay before Yin Xuege. He held a slender brush and rapidly recorded the names, identities, familial relationships, and other information of the new Blood Slaves in front of him with blood-colored ink.

Yin Xuege wrote at his fastest speed, logging the data of these Blood Slaves. But just like countless full moon nights before, the number of Blood Slaves captured today was exceptionally large. No matter how fast Yin Xuege's wrist moved, his hand grew numb, and there was still a long queue in front of him.

After completing the data registration with Yin Xuege, a gaunt young girl was roughly dragged by several Yin Clan warriors through a small door next to the city gate. The girl's clothes were stripped clean, and a chillingly cold high-pressure water stream washed over her body. White disinfectant powder was poured down from above, and the irritating powder caused the girl's eyes to sting, eliciting a desperate scream.

Like cattle in a slaughterhouse, these registered Blood Slaves, after completing their disinfection, each received a coarse white cloth robe. They then lined up and proceeded into the depths of the dark Yin Clan City-State.

Yin Xuege listened to the girl's sharp cries of pain. He looked up at the full moon, which was already gradually shifting westward, and then at the still long queue ahead. He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Although he was only an eleven-year-old boy, Yin Xuege's sigh was filled with an indelible sense of weariness and sorrow. However, if someone were to observe him closely, they would see a flash of blood-red light, like scorching lava, in Yin Xuege's eyes.

Yin Xuege's left hand was hidden in his sleeve, curled into a fist beneath the long table. Beneath his fair skin, blue veins and sinews bulged. In his heart, he harbored the deepest hatred.

Before the first ray of dawn arrived, the blood mist barrier of the Yin Clan City-State silently spread out once more.

An External Affairs Steward of the Yin Clan arrived beside Yin Xuege at some unknown time. Looking at Yin Xuege, who had been busy all night, the steward, with a malicious smile, gently patted Yin Xuege's shoulder.

"Young Master Xuege, you must be tired. Hurry and wash up; you have to attend the elders' lessons soon!"

With a slight curl of his lips, filled with malice, the External Affairs Steward said flippantly, "You've been busy all night. You'll definitely get these two family merit points! Hurry and go to your lesson; don't be late!"

"Oh, right. Young Master Xuejiao and Young Master Xueao reportedly made breakthroughs yesterday, so the elders' lesson today is said to be a combat class!"

Yin Xuege's hand suddenly froze, and his eyes were once again filled with a frenzied bloodlust.