Heir of the Six-Winged Angel

"What is this?" Snow White demanded of Eva.

She could sense the immense power contained within that liquid, but her experiences in the fairy-tale world had left her utterly wary of Eva.

"Shh..."

A perfect, kindly smile hung on Eva's face, but her voice was cold as frost. "Something good for you. It will give you greater power and a more noble status, my dear daughter."

"I don't want it! You drink it yourself!" Snow White refused without hesitation.

Those words were far too familiar. Eva had said the same thing when she had made her eat the poisoned apple. Instinctively, Snow White felt extreme danger and resistance.

"You won't be harmed." Eva's smile deepened, carrying a hint of mockery.

"Have you forgotten the rules between us? We cannot harm each other. We are bound by the power of those rules."

As Eva spoke, she brought the mouth of the bottle closer to Snow White's tiny lips.

Snow White felt helpless.

Rules. Yes, rules did exist between them, preventing her from directly hurting Eva, and vice versa.

But she still did not trust Eva. They could not harm one another, but that did not mean they could not trip each other up!

In Snow White's eyes, there was no way this bottle contained anything good.

She did not believe her wicked stepmother had suddenly become a good person.

She twisted her head away with all her strength, sealing her lips tight as she tried to cry loudly enough to summon someone from outside.

But she had forgotten that she was only a frail infant now.

No matter how firm her will was, she could not make this tiny body put up any meaningful resistance.

Snow White's little limbs flailed futilely a few times. In the end, she could only watch helplessly as Eva forcibly poured several drops of pale golden liquid into her mouth. It radiated a sacred aura, yet stirred unease deep within her soul.

The liquid slid down her throat and instantly turned into a scorching warm current. It was not painful. Instead, it carried a strange comfort and boundless vitality as it surged through every part of her body, even reaching deep into her soul.

Snow White felt as though some kind of mark had been forcibly branded onto her body. A power originating from the same source as that pale golden blood began to quietly take root and merge within her.

"That's more like it."

Eva watched with satisfaction as an exceedingly faint pale golden glow briefly emerged around the infant's body before fading away.

She knew the potion had begun to take effect. The seed of the Divine Bloodline had been planted, awaiting its future awakening.

Seeing that the timing was about right, Eva swiftly put away the Magic Mirror and the crystal bottle.

She gracefully lay back down on the bed, waved away the magical barrier around the inner chamber, and activated Reflection Magic at the same time.

At once, the entire bedchamber was replaced by an illusion of Eva drenched in sweat, her face twisted in pain as she struggled through childbirth with the help of the midwife.

"Ah—!"

A painfully realistic cry rang out from the bedchamber, piercing through the tightly shut doors.

The outer hall of Emerald Palace.

That cry made Emperor Snow Night's entire body jolt, and his heart grew even more anxious.

Qian Renxue's heart leaped into her throat, her fingernails digging deeply into her palms.

After what felt like another eternity, the doors to the bedchamber were suddenly thrown open, accompanied by the loud cry of a newborn.

A midwife rushed out with a swaddled infant in her arms, joy written across her face.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations! Madam has given birth to a healthy little princess!"

"A princess?" The joy on Emperor Snow Night's face immediately faded somewhat. Compared to a princess, he preferred a prince. After all, males were more likely to inherit the royal Swan Martial Soul.

But when he remembered that this was a child born to him by his beloved consort Eva, his mood brightened once more.

Snow Night strode forward and looked at the infant in the swaddling clothes. Her skin was snowy white, her hair jet-black, and her tiny face wrinkled. She was indeed a baby girl.

Snow Night smiled. "Good, good. It is enough that mother and daughter are safe."

He took the infant and held her symbolically for a moment before passing her to a maid beside him. His attention immediately shifted toward the bedchamber. "How is Eva?"

Qian Renxue's gaze immediately locked onto the tiny infant.

The moment she saw that striking head of jet-black newborn hair, the nerves wound tight within her abruptly relaxed, and a surge of relief rose in her heart.

Black hair! Not gold!

That further reduced the likelihood that this child was hers. After all, her martial soul was the Six-Winged Angel, the most supreme Divine-Gifted Martial Soul on the entire Douluo Continent, and she possessed level 20 Innate Soul Power.

Once she had a child, that child's martial soul would certainly awaken as the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.

And the members of the Qian family all had brilliant golden hair, not ebony-black hair.

Thank goodness. Thank goodness it isn't golden-haired.

Qian Renxue silently repeated this to herself and let out a long breath.

The shadow cast over her heart by that night's accident was dispersed considerably by that black hair.

She could almost be certain that this child had nothing to do with her! Eva had deceived her!

That letter, that so-called flesh and blood, had all been methods Eva used to control her!

At that moment, Qian Renxue looked toward the bedchamber with not only her usual vigilance and apprehension, but also a trace of icy fury.

The child was fake, which meant all her previous turmoil and panic had become proof that Eva had been toying with her!

She would remember this debt.

Inside the bedchamber.

Lying on the bed, Eva saw Snow Night's disappointment outside the hall through Reflection Magic, as well as Qian Renxue's relieved expression and the cold anger that flashed through her eyes.

Her rosy lips curved into an arc brimming with malicious amusement and possessiveness.

For now, I'll let you be happy, little angel.

Eva chuckled soundlessly in her heart. Her gaze passed through the walls and landed on Snow White, with her jet-black hair, in the maid's arms.

It was still too early for her to relax.

The potion within Snow White's body had already begun to take effect. The angel's bloodline had entered her body, and golden wings would eventually grow from her back.

Eva closed her eyes, savoring the thrill of making her move in this grand game.

The real show had only just begun.

The Crown Prince's Residence, late at night.

Candlelight flickered, illuminating Qian Renxue's cold face, which carried a faint trace of ridicule.

In her hand, she held a letter from Emerald Palace that had just been delivered by a trusted subordinate.

Eva's handwriting remained languid and alluring, but its contents only deepened the sneer in Qian Renxue's heart.

"Your Highness:

I know Your Highness does not trust me. Yet the bond of blood and my true heart may be witnessed by heaven and earth. This girl is undoubtedly Your Highness's flesh and blood. If Your Highness still harbors doubts, you may summon a Soul Master skilled in bloodline sensing to verify it. One test will reveal the truth. My child and I await Your Highness's favor.

Written through tears by Eva."

"Heh."

With a flick of Qian Renxue's fingertips, the letter drifted lightly onto the desk.

"She still refuses to give up? Still putting on an act?"

She looked at the words "written through tears," which seemed so sincere on the letter, and found them utterly ironic.

Eva thought she was Xue Qinghe, so she was highly confident about this child's parentage.

But she was not Xue Qinghe at all. She was Qian Renxue, heir to Martial Soul Hall's Six-Winged Angel.