Samigina, the Fourth Pillar Demon God, said respectfully, "The appointment of a Crown Princess is a matter of great importance. As it concerns the future succession of the Demon race, it is only proper to be cautious."
"At the very least, Princess Bai Yue must undergo an assessment to determine if she is capable of shouldering the banner of the Demon race."
Samigina’s meaning was clear: the Emperor could appoint a Crown Princess if he wished, but Bai Yue had to be tested to see if she had the capability to hold the position of heir firmly.
Fengxiu was choked up by Samigina’s words. He hadn't even discussed the appointment of the Crown Princess with Bai Yue yet; he had intended it as a surprise for his daughter. Now that an assessment was being demanded, his surprise would turn into a fright!
"Enough. We shall postpone this matter for later. But as for granting Yue'er the title of Holy Maiden of the Demon race, surely none of you have any objections to that!" Fengxiu compromised.
Compared to a Crown Princess, the title of Holy Maiden was merely a pleasant-sounding honorific with no real power. The demons dared not obstruct Fengxiu again.
"As long as Your Majesty is pleased," Agares said with a cold, insincere smile.
After the assembly adjourned, Fengxiu kept the Moon Demon God Agares and the Star Demon God Vassago behind. He wanted to introduce his radiant, newly recovered daughter to his two dear brothers.
Upon hearing that he was to meet Bai Yue, the resentment Agares had been suppressing in his heart could no longer be contained. The knot that had been lingering in his mind needed to be voiced: "Your Majesty, why can you not simply let go of that woman, Bai Lingxuan?"
"This time, you have defied the heavens and all common sense to appoint a half-human, half-demon with Light attribute and no cultivation as Crown Princess. What kind of love potion did Bai Lingxuan feed you to cloud your judgment?"
"Big Brother, I didn't know before that you had actually forced our third brother to use the Life Prophecy. You knew full well that a Star Demon God who uses that art would have their life come to an end within fifty years, yet you made Vassago do it anyway!"
"Do you really consider me and Vassago your brothers? Or are brothers merely like clothing, to be discarded at will, while your beloved is as vital as your own limbs, never to be severed?" Agares roared hysterically. His eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze was filled with a complex mix of anger, heartache, and sorrow as he stared fixedly at Fengxiu.
Fengxiu sighed and exchanged a look with Vassago. Neither of them had expected that Agares would discover the truth.
"Second Brother, you and our third brother are the most important people to me. As for Lingxuan, I truly owed her far too much. Only the third brother's Life Prophecy could grant her a sliver of a chance at survival; I had no other choice."
Vassago finally understood why his second brother had held such an attitude toward his niece earlier; it was purely misplaced resentment toward Bai Yue.
Vassago felt he could not let this misunderstanding deepen further, lest his elder brothers develop a rift because of him.
"Second Brother, although I used the Life Prophecy, it had no impact on my lifespan. Big Brother shared the vast majority of the backlash for me. If there hadn't been a way to ensure the safety of both, he never would have asked me to use it."
Vassago raised his palm, and a pale purple sun emerged. Fengxiu also raised his palm, revealing an orange-yellow star.
Rings of complex and profound incantations swirled around them, establishing a synchronized soul resonance between the two.
"A Life-Sharing Contract!" Agares’s eyes widened as he stared at them in disbelief.
"Third Brother, Big Brother is blinded by love and acting recklessly—why didn't you stop him?"
"Is a Life-Sharing Contract something that can just be signed so easily?"
A glimmer of relief surfaced in Agares’s heart. Fengxiu was still the same good brother he had always known; he hadn't disregarded their third brother’s safety after all. It turned out that the Emperor had already planned a way to extend Vassago’s life, though this contract would bind their lives together—if one died, the other would perish as well.
"Second Brother! What are you making such a fuss about? I have broken through to the Demigod Realm; I have plenty of lifespan to waste on our third brother!" Fengxiu laughed, patting his chest.
In truth, it was not as simple as he made it sound. Throughout history, Star Demon Gods had often died young. While other high-ranking Demon Gods rarely changed over thousands of years, the Star Demon God position changed the most frequently—once every seven or eight hundred years.
This was because the use of the Great Prophecy Arts consumed too much life force. In the six thousand years since the Demon race had descended upon the Holy Demonic Continent, a forbidden art on the level of the Life Prophecy had only been used once, at the cost of the Star Demon God passing away within ten years.
"Big Brother, you just spoil our third brother too much!" Agares glared at Fengxiu, annoyed.
Vassago bit his lip, then recounted how Fengxiu had come to him, holding the lifeless body of Bai Lingxuan, his eyes filled with bottomless grief and despair.
"Second Brother, Big Brother truly frightened me that day. I had never seen him look so defeated. I could feel that his heart had died, that it had stopped beating. But I had a way to save the person he loved most. I was worried that he would follow his beloved into the afterlife at any moment, so I acted on impulse. I invoked the forbidden Life Prophecy on my own to lock in the last bit of Bai Lingxuan’s vitality; Big Brother did not force me."
"On the contrary, it was Big Brother who signed the Life-Sharing Contract to save me. I fell into a coma after using the prophecy, and I only discovered the contract after I woke up."
"..." Agares was left speechless. It turned out he had been overthinking everything. He had assumed his brother had forced the third brother to use the forbidden art to save his lover, but in reality, his "simple-minded" third brother had acted of his own volition, and the contract had been signed by the Emperor himself to protect Vassago.
"I’m sorry, Big Brother. I misunderstood you," Agares said, feeling ashamed.
"I even called you love-blind—I was the fool!"
"I even took my anger out on my niece, Bai Yue. I was truly in the wrong!"
"Exactly! You just called me love-blind! Old Second, come to think of it, you’re the one who’s love-blind!" Fengxiu began to settle the score. He had been so busy calming Agares down that he had forgotten about his brother's offensive remarks.
Vassago watched as Agares was chased around the Demon God Emperor Palace by Fengxiu, shaking his head helplessly. "Second Brother, you’re on your own. I can’t help you."
As Agares ran, he suddenly saw a graceful figure walking through the palace gates.
He decisively ducked behind his young niece and clung to her leg.
Agares straightened his back and, standing on shaky but defiant ground, shouted at Fengxiu, "Big Brother! Yue'er is here. Can't you spare me this once for the sake of our niece?"
"Fine! For the sake of Yue'er, I shall let it pass! But as an uncle meeting his niece for the first time, shouldn't you offer a gift?" Fengxiu reached out his hand, making an exorbitant demand.
"I won't ask for much—just fifty-one percent of the shares of the Moon Night Chamber of Commerce. From now on, it shall be renamed the Yueye Chamber of Commerce!"