Duke Mesestan’s figure suddenly appeared in the sky a hundred meters high. He paused for only a moment before helplessly plummeting, like a falling star, crashing heavily onto the ground. His vitality rapidly dissipated, and in his final moments, he was still immersed in great astonishment, gazing at Qian Ye with trembling lips, “You, you…”
Qian Ye watched him until the duke’s vitality was completely extinguished, then raised his head, countless blood threads spraying forth, instantly slaying all the duke’s attendants within a hundred-meter radius. Then, his figure flickered, and he vanished over the horizon.
In the depths of the void, inside that enormous warship that seemed to perpetually burn with pale flames, the Everlasting Flame had transformed into a ball of azure fire, hovering in the bridge hall, listening to a subordinate report on critical military matters.
The first item on the agenda was a series of events on the continent of Salfis, where the situation was rapidly deteriorating. Five marquises and two ducal families had suffered heavy blows, and some minor families were also affected. However, those below the rank of count were not considered significant enough to be included in urgent military reports.
Upon hearing half of the report, a strand of flame suddenly split from the Everlasting Flame, coiling around the reporting count, and lifting him up, roaring, “Duke Mesestan has fallen?”
How could the count withstand the azure flames of the Everlasting Flame? The demonic aura quickly diminished, and in an instant, he was on the brink of death.
The Everlasting Flame snorted and threw him down.
At this moment, another count hurried in, saw the scene, and shivered, then, with a stiff neck, reported, “Your Majesty, there is a new military update.”
“Speak.”
After witnessing the Everlasting Flame’s wrath, this count, looking pale, naturally knew the news he brought was not good. With a stiff neck, he said, “Ludern Island was attacked, and the old Duke Mesestan perished in the void, but most of the clan’s descendants were preserved.”
The flames on the Everlasting Flame flickered, saying, “Be more detailed.”
The count quickly recounted the events. After Ludern Island was attacked, the old Duke Mesestan went to battle, fighting the assailant in the void. He never returned, and the assailant, seemingly injured, did not continue the assault on Ludern Island, allowing most of the Mesestan family to survive.
The Everlasting Flame snorted coldly, “Those descendants are all useless. What use is it to keep them?”
The count hastily added, “At least the Mesestan bloodline is preserved.”
The Everlasting Flame’s anger slightly abated, and he said slowly, “That’s true. As long as the bloodline remains, even if they are weak, there will always be ways to gradually enhance and strengthen them. The Mesestans are the source of the Thousand Shields; their bloodline cannot be allowed to be severed.”
This count, who had served the Everlasting Flame for a long time, knew many top-secret matters of the demon race. He whispered, “Your Majesty, if it was indeed Qian Ye who struck, was it a coincidence that he chose Salfis, or did he know something? Otherwise, how could he have so accurately targeted the Mesestans?”
The Everlasting Flame replied indifferently, “Even if he had several family charts, he wouldn’t be able to discern much. The mysteries of bloodline power, even the Demon Emperor can’t claim to fully understand. Our demon race has over eight hundred bloodlines, and the combinations are endless. The Mesestans’ Thousand Shield origin is something even vampire seers cannot touch. Qian Ye just recently converted to a pure-blooded vampire, and I haven’t heard that he was an oracle in the human race.”
“Indeed. It seems I was overthinking it.”
“That’s fine. You may go now.”
As the subordinate left the room, the Everlasting Flame still harbored a faint, lingering doubt. At this moment, he suddenly thought of the Black Book that the Demon Emperor had always wanted, and frowned.
His gaze fell on the large screen occupying one entire wall, which displayed a map of the entire Evernight. The dense, varied light points represented different armies and strong individuals.
Without even looking, the Everlasting Flame knew very well that both the Council and the demon race had reached the limit of their military capacity, with no room for maneuver.
It seemed that the two major factions, Evernight and Dawn, were currently in a rare period of peaceful truce following the New World War, with only internal holy wars stirring up some waves in Evernight. In reality, for the upper echelons, the tension for total war was already at a point of being ready to break out at any moment.
Evernight was like this, and so was the Empire. Both sides were in position, eyeing each other warily. Just like him, he had to keep an eye on Black Sun Valley, unable to move. For Qian Ye, cannon fodder was useless, and ordinary elites could be disregarded.
The Everlasting Flame did not question the Demon Emperor’s decision, but at this moment, he couldn’t help wondering why the Demon Emperor had made such a self-binding promise to the newborn ancestor of the vampires. And what was the supreme emperor thinking and doing now, or would he do nothing?
Qian Ye paused in mid-air, gazing at an ancient castle ahead. The long banners hanging from the castle bore the emblem of thorny branches and crossed swords, marking the Blacksor family, a mere count-level clan.
On the continent of Salfis, the Blacksor family was insignificant, barely qualifying to build a castle. Even if they were destroyed, when reported to the Everlasting Flame, they would only be lumped together with other similar families, becoming a single line: “There are other clans.”
However, in the family lineage revealed by the Black Book, the Blacksor was connected to multiple families, especially the Mesestan bloodline, which had significant complementary properties. This meant that the Mesestan bloodline would only be fully activated with the stimulation of the Blacksor bloodline.
“As long as the Blacksor family is eliminated, the Thousand Shield source will truly disappear,” Qian Ye thought.
Each demon family’s chart was not a simple document. When Qian Ye absorbed the essence of the corresponding clan members, the Black Book could expand to reveal more complex charts.
Qian Ye also discovered that the demon families’ emblems were not simple. Each pattern held a specific meaning, and in most cases, the Black Book could deduce the bloodline lineage without needing to analyze the blood, as long as it had the corresponding emblem.
Qian Ye had a vague feeling that the bloodline lineage in the Black Book might have touched on the greatest secret of the demon race.
Qian Ye leaped and flew into the Blacksor family’s castle. In a short while, he appeared in the air, his figure flickering as he quickly departed, and the castle below once again burst into flames.
As he retreated, Qian Ye pondered.
When the old Duke Mesestan fell, he offered the family chart in exchange for the survival of his descendants. At the same time, he revealed many secrets of the demon race. Among the numerous bloodline talents, the Mesestan bloodline, though not particularly strong, was of great importance.
The Mesestan bloodline was renowned for its powerful primordial shields. In this aspect, even the major noble families could not match the Mesestan. For the physically fragile and difficult-to-strengthen demon race, the main way to survive was through primordial shields.
The Mesestan bloodline, having no other special traits, could easily blend with most bloodlines, creating offspring with even stronger defensive talents. Over thousands of years, many demon families had merged with the Mesestan bloodline, significantly enhancing their primordial shields and boosting the overall strength of the race.
The combination of the Mesestan bloodline with other bloodlines produced primordial shields with varying effects. Therefore, in the highest ranks of the demon race, the Mesestan family was hailed as the Source of the Thousand Shields, ranking alongside the three other top-tier bloodlines.
The annihilation of the Blacksor family meant that the Thousand Shield bloodline was almost severed. To reactivate it would require generations of strengthening the current Mesestan descendants, and with the known bloodline enhancement techniques, this might take hundreds or even thousands of years.
Qian Ye looked at the still-burning Blacksor Castle, finally feeling a sense of satisfaction, and his figure flickered, vanishing into the distance.
The mighty demon edifice, though supported by countless pillars, had been broken by Qian Ye.
By nightfall, Qian Ye was a thousand miles away. He built a small camp, lit a bonfire, and sat quietly. With his current cultivation, he no longer needed a bonfire for warmth, and no beast or insect dared approach. Building a camp was more of a nostalgic gesture.
Qian Ye poked at the bonfire, his mind already immersed in the Black Book, carefully flipping through the ever-expanding family chart.
In the Black Book, only the demon race could establish such a lineage. Vampires, werewolves, and arachne demons could not. With the support of the family lineage, over a long period, the demon race could grow stronger step by step. In comparison, the other three races still emphasized the purity of blood, with the werewolves even wanting to return to the era of their ancestors.
According to the deductions of the Black Book, even the famous families like Dark Abyss, Yelusen, and Mesfield, with their bloodline powers, were not perfect and could still be enhanced by distinct bloodlines like the Mesestan. Only at the very bottom of the lineage would the most perfect demon be born.
The other three races’ emphasis on bloodline purity was a backward trace, ultimately resulting in the revival of the original ancestors’ blood, with their inherent flaws still present.
By now, Qian Ye vaguely understood the uniqueness of the demon race, realizing why they could occupy the top spot among the dark races. Even with the Blood River’s blessing, the vampires gradually lost ground in the struggle and were even seized by the demons, who annihilated nearly half of the twelve ancient families.
However, the vampires had their own formidable asset—the existence of the Night Queen.
Qian Ye threw a withered branch into the bonfire, sat cross-legged, and concentrated, beginning to circulate the Tai Xuan Battle Technique. Now, with the Black Book as the foundation, whatever kind of primordial force the Battle Technique drew, he could use it for himself.
As the Battle Technique operated, wisps of void primordial force seeped from the space, the increasing pull expanding the range, slowly forming a terrifying vortex in the air.
In the distance, a group of demon strongmen, guarding a central figure, were rushing along a valley.
The central demon was quite young, holding a highly precise instrument, staring at the changing lights, occasionally directing the team to change direction.
One of the strongmen suddenly looked up at the sky and said, “Prince Anwen, the primordial force environment seems off.”
Anwen, in the center, put on a special pair of glasses, looked around, and the lenses transformed into countless numbers. After a moment, he said, “The flow of primordial force is indeed abnormal. The void primordial force seems to be converging in that direction.”
The strongmen were invigorated, saying, “Is the node there?”
Anwen frowned, saying, “It doesn’t seem like it. But let’s go and check it out.”
One of the strongmen said, “Your Highness, perhaps we should scout it first? If there’s danger…”
Another interjected, “What danger could there be in Salfis?”
“You never know! Don’t forget, Qian Ye is said to have come here and already slaughtered several families.”
“A rumor like that? You believe it?” A clearly influential strongman sneered, then said, “To hunt Qian Ye, His Majesty even dispatched Master Preritick. If Qian Ye were here, would Master Preritick not know? The Council’s army should have been mobilized long ago. So, even if you say a human emperor snuck in, it definitely can’t be Qian Ye!”
The strongmen felt this was reasonable, and Anwen suddenly said, “Hmm? The flow of void primordial force is intriguing. I want to see it for myself. As for safety, don’t I have all of you?”
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