"What?"
Yueye jerked her head up. Her already bloodless face turned as pale as paper.
Her body swayed violently, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
"Princess!"
The maids beside her were horrified. They hurried forward and supported her from either side.
They knew better than anyone that for the past few months, their princess had been searching for someone almost day and night. Her mind and spirit were already exhausted to the limit.
How could she possibly hold herself together after suddenly hearing such news?
Yueye's breathing quickened. It took her a long while to steady herself.
She drew a deep breath, forcing down the sob rising in her throat. Not a trace of emotion could be heard in her voice.
"All right. I'll go."
The maids stared at her in surprise, then quickly recovered and whispered into her ear.
"Princess, things have come to this, but at least we've found that half-blood's whereabouts... You are, after all, our race's princess, and a peak seventh-tier powerhouse. Valen is only a sixth-tier earl. He should at least show you some respect."
"Our race's reputation will certainly suffer, and Valen's actions may well have been directed by the Death Spirit Demon God behind him."
"But we should be able to save him, shouldn't we?"
Yueye said nothing.
She only lowered her head and clutched the piece of fabric in her arms more tightly.
A few seconds later, she raised her head again, her expression once more impassive.
She gave a slight nod.
"I understand."
"Let's go. We're going to Valen."
Seeing that she had agreed, the Undead Demon Race messenger who had been kneeling on one knee resumed his deferential posture and stood.
"Very well. Please, Lady Yueye, come with me. My lord has been waiting in the ambush area for quite some time."
Three days had passed since Xuan Ye was last gravely wounded.
He leaned against a thick tree trunk with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing.
When he sensed the Spiritual Power circulating through his body, he paused.
His Inner Spiritual Power had already surpassed 1,500 points.
He opened his palm, and the long sword known as "Revenge" quietly appeared.
Three days ago, after he killed those two fifth-tier devils, the sword had completed its evolution.
It had leaped from Spirit Demon Grade to Glorious Grade.
The blade was no longer purely black.
Strands of pale golden light and dark purple radiance intertwined and coiled across it, slowly flowing like living things.
Its single effect, "Light to Dark," had been completely enhanced.
It not only retained the ability to convert light-based skills into the Dark Attribute and greatly increase their offensive power.
It had also gained the reverse ability: "Dark to Light."
This ability could imbue his original dark-type skills with special derivative effects.
For example, the Demon God's Shadow he had used so often.
Now, transformed by "Revenge," it had become an entirely new skill: "Light Illusion."
When activated, it allowed him to travel a short distance through space and also grant nearby allies a damage-reducing effect called "Light's Protection."
He could even condense the illusion into a tangible clone capable of attacking, then coordinate with it to strike enemies from both sides.
This effect had already far surpassed the scope of ordinary Glorious Grade Equipment.
Ordinary Glorious Grade Equipment could carry at most one or two fixed skills.
But "Revenge," a system-issued item, could even transform the dark abilities granted by the thin trace of Demon God Emperor Bloodline within him.
It was absurd.
A line of tiny writing shimmered in and out of view on the blade.
[Evolution Progress: 9%]
Xuan Ye looked at the words without a hint of joy in his eyes.
His high Inner Spiritual Power, his rapidly increasing evolution progress...
None of it came from deliberately completing several difficult choices.
It was growth forced upon him as countless devils hunted him like a stray dog in this Demon Realm.
As he pondered—
A deep blue screen abruptly appeared before his eyes.
[God-Tier Choice System activated]
[Choice One: Defeat all incoming enemies head-on. Reward: 2 points of Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power, +30 Inner Spiritual Power, Revenge Evolution Progress +3%]
[Choice Two: Use Instantaneous Movement Steps to escape through a weak point in the encirclement. Reward: +15 Inner Spiritual Power, Revenge Evolution Progress +1%]
[Choice Three: Conceal all your presence and hide in the Tree Hollow ahead, waiting for the enemies to leave. Reward: +5 Inner Spiritual Power, Revenge Evolution Progress +0.5%]
Xuan Ye hadn't even finished reading.
The second and third choices instantly turned gray and became unavailable.
Two cold system notices appeared in turn.
[Notice: Your movement range has been sealed. Choice Two cannot be carried out.]
[Notice: Your movement range has been locked. Choice Three cannot be carried out.]
Only the first choice remained, still glowing faintly.
Xuan Ye understood.
For the past few days, it was as if the devils had deliberately been feeding him.
They had sent wave after wave of fifth-tier squads worth hunting, but not strong enough to overwhelm him, along with groups of fourth-tier devils.
He had taken all this "experience," but his range of movement had also been compressed step by step.
By now, he was trapped in this small grove, less than half a mile across.
He couldn't even escape.
This was already the sixth time in a row that the system had offered "fight head-on" as its only forced choice.
His escape routes had been completely cut off.
"Roar—Found you, you Moon Demon Race traitor!"
With a roar, four bulky figures crashed through the bushes ahead and charged out.
They were four fifth-tier devils he had never seen before.
Two were covered in dark green scales and carried White Bone Staffs. They were Shadow Demons.
The other two were thickly muscled, gripping in both hands huge axes wreathed in molten fire. They were Molten Fire Demons.
One Shadow Demon waved its bone staff. Black-purple mist instantly filled the air around them.
"You're nothing but a fourth-tier weakling, and you dare kill so many of our brothers? Today, we'll—"
He didn't get to finish.
A cold glint flashed in Xuan Ye's eyes, and "Revenge" suddenly blazed in his hand.
"Light Illusion!"
Pale gold and dark purple light burst from the blade.
Xuan Ye split into two figures.
Pure dark Spiritual Power swirled around his original body, while the clone was wreathed in pure light energy.
Both figures moved at once.
"Fifth-tier skill: Dark Devour!"
The original swung his sword. A black-purple vortex of Spiritual Power formed instantly, pulling the Shadow Demon Kalen straight into it. This was a skill transformed by Glorious Grade "Revenge," and its power was terrifying!
The dark mist the enemy had just unleashed touched the vortex and vanished as if melting snow.
The devil didn't even manage to scream before the terrifying vortex ground him to pieces.
At the same time—
The light clone struck with its sword.
"Fifth-tier Knight Skill: Holy Light Judgment!"
A massive golden blade of light, carrying a scorching Sacred Aura, struck the great axe of the Molten Fire Demon Rock with pinpoint precision.
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