Demon Empress × "Divine" Zhong Hui √

"Alas... it seemed the plan to find the Demon Empress had fallen through."

After sending off the last Sea Soul Beast that had come to report information, Su Ming finally gave up hope.

After all these days, he had come up empty-handed.

And tomorrow afternoon, he would officially set out from Salted Fish Village and return to the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

Thus, his plan to find and persuade the Demon Empress to sacrifice herself had come to nothing.

He could only wait until he was strong enough in the future before trying again.

What Su Ming did not know was that high in the sky, a stunning woman in a purple-gold gown was watching him.

This peerless woman was none other than the Demon Empress in her human form.

With the Demon Empress's abilities, she had naturally traced the source of the spreading information immediately.

After confirming that the source was a human child, the Demon Empress was undoubtedly astonished.

A human child could actually communicate with Sea Soul Beasts and even knew of events from ten thousand years ago.

It was simply too absurd.

However, the Demon Empress did not alert the enemy. Instead, she changed her appearance, concealed her aura, and secretly observed from the shadows.

For two consecutive days, the Demon Empress had been watching Su Ming from the dark.

She had also successfully gathered information about him.

Other than being a human genius and having ties to a major land-based sect, there was nothing unusual about him.

Yet it was precisely because of this that the Demon Empress found him difficult to fathom.

The simpler he appeared on the surface, the more mysterious his knowledge of secrets from ten thousand years ago and his ability to communicate with Sea Soul Beasts became.

And after considering what had happened to her before, the Demon Empress had become somewhat oversensitive. She immediately began speculating that Su Ming might be the heir to a divine trial.

That was why she had observed him so cautiously, not daring to reveal even the slightest trace of herself.

Leaving Salted Fish Village? It seemed I would have to meet this brat.

Listening to Su Ming mutter, the Demon Empress finally decided to reveal herself and meet him.

Since she had not detected any so-called divine power for the moment, nor seen anything about him that could threaten her, she had to take this step eventually.

After all, if Su Ming truly entered the inland regions, it would become very difficult for her to continue tracking him.

"Would my coming here allow you to avenge me?"

A cold voice descended from above. Immediately afterward, the Demon Empress's breathtaking figure appeared and blocked Su Ming's path as he was about to leave.

The Demon Empress had finally come?!

Looking at her exquisite figure, Su Ming knew that his plan had finally succeeded.

Her appearance was almost identical to how she had been depicted in the Dragon King Era: the same dress, the same unparalleled beauty.

As for not having noticed the Demon Empress, Su Ming remained very calm.

His Listening to the Sound of All Things ability either had to be actively activated or passively receive sounds.

And even if he kept it active at all times, Su Ming did not believe he would be able to detect the Demon Empress directly.

After all, his current strength still limited the range of what he could hear too severely.

"Oh?"

"Why had you gone silent? Weren't you the one eagerly searching for me?"

Seeing Su Ming remain silent, the Demon Empress pressed him again.

She was quite pleased with the title Demon Empress that Su Ming had given her, so she simply adopted it.

Just as I expected, the Demon Empress still wanted revenge, but she was nowhere near as extreme as she would become in the Dragon King Era.

Though the Demon Empress's attitude was ice-cold, seeing that she was still rational and capable of normal conversation made Su Ming feel immensely relieved.

It meant he had guessed correctly.

The changes in the Demon Empress's state of mind had unfolded exactly as he had judged.

At first, she had hated Tang San and, by extension, humanity. Secretly, she had devoured others in an effort to accumulate enough power for revenge.

At the same time, throughout this emotional journey, Tang San's descendants and affiliated forces had continued to prosper, causing the Demon Empress's hatred for humanity to deepen further and further.

By the later Dragon King Era, human Soul Masters had gradually begun conquering the sea and threatening even more Sea Soul Beasts, deepening her hatred once more.

And although the God Realm had vanished by then, meaning the Demon Empress no longer needed to devour others in secret and could act without restraint—

The problem was that the disappearance of the God Realm had also caused Tang San to vanish, leaving the Demon Empress without a target for her revenge.

Thus, she had turned her fury upon all Soul Masters, intending to destroy the entire human world.

Mm, the Demon Empress's psychological transformation was somewhat like an alternative Zhong Hui.

At first, it was, I'll remember this grudge, avoid their edge and endure for now, bide my time and seize the right moment...

But when she was finally able to take revenge, her enemy was gone. Naturally, she set her sights on all humanity and prepared to destroy the world.

In the end, she would become a god and establish a God Realm of her own.

After considering the Demon Empress's later development, Su Ming suddenly felt that this whole routine was exactly that of a divine Zhong Hui.

Of course, that was assuming the Demon Empress's plan did not fail.

"If you cannot reasonably explain how you learned of that information and why you spread it—"

"Then this beach will become your burial ground."

Seeing that Su Ming still showed no reaction, a trace of impatience flashed across the Demon Empress's face.

Then, she voiced another threat.

In truth, if Su Ming's circumstances had not been so unusual, the Demon Empress would have already used more direct methods.

In the ocean, she simply devoured them outright.

Question them? That was impossible.

That was enough. It was time to get to the point.

A thought flashed through Su Ming's mind as he prepared to address the matter directly.

The reason he had acted that way just now was to probe her a little further.

There had certainly been risks, but the rewards were equally immense.

At the very least, Su Ming could now be certain that he had not merely guessed right. The situation was exceptionally favorable.

Without a doubt, the Demon Empress's inner monologue when she fought Chen Xinjie during the Dragon King Era had been entirely genuine.

The Demon Empress of the beginning truly had been an innocent young girl who knew nothing of the world, just as she had described herself.

"Your Excellency Demon Empress, please allow me to introduce myself."

Immediately afterward, Su Ming began introducing himself to the Demon Empress, his expression utterly calm.

"My name is Su Ming. I come from Salted Fish Village, possess Innate Full Soul Power, and have the Heavenly Dragon Sect behind me."

"I presume that is the information Your Excellency Demon Empress was able to uncover about me."

At the end, Su Ming even asked her, "Am I right?"

"That's right." The Demon Empress nodded reluctantly. She wanted to see just what medicine Su Ming was selling in his gourd.