"Long Haochen, hand over Bai Yue!"
"Kill her! Kill her!"
"Long Haochen, she is the daughter of the Demon God Emperor Fengxiu! As the Chairman of the Human Alliance, do you intend to shield her?"
"She is my mother! She has never done anything to harm the human race, and she cannot even cultivate! Just because she possesses the bloodline of the Demon race, must you drive her to a dead end?"
"Father, please, say something for Mother! You understand her character best, don't you?" Long Haochen stood upon the high platform, looking out at the masses of the Alliance clamoring for him to surrender Bai Yue, his face filled with sorrow.
He did not understand how things had come to this. In the blink of an eye, he had become the grandson of the Demon God Emperor of the Demon race. In recognition of his past merits to the human race, and thanks to the desperate pleas of his companions from Light Dawn, he had merely been placed under house arrest, shackled with spiritual restraints that rendered him unable to channel his power. But his mother, Bai Yue, had become the target of the crowd's collective fury.
At this moment, Bai Yue was bound to a wooden stake on the high platform, with stacks of firewood piled beneath her.
Ever since the Demon God Emperor Fengxiu used the seventy-one Demon God Pillars to perish alongside the Heavenly Condemnation, the Demon race had collapsed, and the human race had risen to power. Once the dust settled, the Temple Federation began its "cleansing" phase. First in the crosshairs was Bai Yue, the half-human, half-demon who carried the blood of the Demon God Emperor.
Bai Yue watched with cold eyes as the humans below clamored to burn her. Suddenly, she found her entire life absurd.
The man she loved had always viewed her as unclean, wrongly accusing her of having an affair with her own biological father. She had only learned the truth at the very end, but the day the truth was revealed was the same day she and her father were parted by death.
As the flames rose and ash swirled, Bai Yue cast a detached glance at Long Xingyu, who stood unmoved despite the bitter pleas of his son, Long Haochen. She realized then that if she were to live her life over, she would never again be a fool blinded by love.
...
In an endless, grey world, an archaic book with complex light patterns carved into its cover emitted a golden radiance.
Bai Yue rubbed her throbbing head and slowly opened her eyes. She instinctively grabbed the book, squinting in confusion as she looked at the four characters inscribed on the cover in an ancient Demon script: "Divine Throne?"
"Beep—"
"Activating the Mother of Destiny cultivation plan. Heavenly Dao System 666, serving the host with the highest quality service."
A mechanical voice rang in her ears, startling Bai Yue so much that she dropped the book to the ground.
"A talking book?" Bai Yue stared unblinkingly at the archaic tome.
As it hit the ground, the book flipped open rapidly, and a moment later, a lovable, chubby iron-eating beast crawled out.
"Host, I am Heavenly Dao 666 of the Divine Throne world. You may call me Liuliu; my colleagues all call me that."
Bai Yue clearly remembered being consumed by flames and burned alive. Yet, as she looked at her arms and legs, she felt unmistakably alive, her consciousness crystal clear.
"Liuliu, where am I? Is this heaven? I was clearly dead!" Bai Yue asked hurriedly.
Liuliu trotted over on its short legs and pointed a black-and-white paw at the book. Images began to flicker on its pages, rushing into Bai Yue’s mind like a rapid slide show.
"Host, the world you lived in was actually a world born from the book 'Divine Throne'. Because the final ending caused great dissatisfaction among the readers, they lodged numerous complaints. The Heavenly Dao Joint Governance Committee sent me to assist the host in changing the outcome, making up for regrets, and creating a happy ending."
"However, I am a low-level system. My initial energy is only enough to send you back more than twenty years, to when the Child of Destiny, Long Haochen, was just conceived in your womb. I hope you will seize this chance to be reborn and change your fate!"
"After the initial energy is exhausted, I will enter a period of dormancy. Please charge me as soon as you detect a new energy source!"
Bai Yue sat in a daze, sorting through the chaotic memories. After her death, Haochen had completely broken with the Temple Federation. Fearing that Haochen might side with the remnants of the Demon race, Long Xingyu and others had hunted him down.
The comrades-in-arms of the past had turned their blades against him; only his friends from Light Dawn had stood by his side until the very end.
But how could the strength of ten people compare to a thousand armies? And since these children were such kind souls, they had met a tragic end together.
Haochen committed suicide; Caier followed him in death. The others from Light Dawn—Han Yu, Sima Xian, and Lin Xin—sacrificed themselves to rescue the imprisoned Haochen. Chen Ying'er and Wang Yuanyuan struggled to grasp power within the Federation, climbing the ranks until they could finally clear Long Haochen's name after the old guard retired.
But with everyone gone, what was the point of clearing his name?
Seeing the ending of the story from the images in the book, Bai Yue laughed at herself. Her life had truly been a farce.
She had misplaced her trust in that scumbag Long Xingyu. Blinded by infatuation, she had been brainwashed by him day after day into loathing the Demon race. But now, thinking back, wasn't the Demon race, where her father Fengxiu resided, a home she could have relied on?
She had kept them at arm's length for so long. Now that she had a second chance, she would live for herself and live brilliantly. This time, she would teach Haochen that one could be kind, but not foolish or cowardly. He would not pay for the mistakes of others. Unlike her, who could not cultivate and was at the mercy of others, Haochen was a genius—yet he had been manipulated by the moral blackmail and gaslighting of these humans into killing himself. She could only blame herself for failing to teach him better.
Haochen was like a white pastry—pure and unblemished. But in this second life, she would teach her son to be a black-sesame-filled tangyuan—calculating and cunning, without blinking an eye.
...
When Bai Yue opened her eyes again, she found herself wearing a red wedding dress, sitting before a mirror.
She scanned the room, which was decorated with red "double happiness" symbols, filled with the festive atmosphere of a grand wedding.
With a cold face, she expressionlessly ordered the others to leave. She sat at the vanity, combing her long hair over and over, silently waiting for that person to arrive.
She still remembered her wedding day: Long Xingyu had abandoned her to fight Anan for three hundred rounds before Zhennanguan, not even leaving enough time for them to perform the wedding kowtows.
At the time, she had felt that a man should prioritize the bigger picture. What did it matter if they hadn't bowed? She was already Long Xingyu's wife.
Thinking back now, she could only find her past thoughts laughable.
If a man truly loved and cherished a woman, how could he trick her into physical intimacy before they were even wed?