No need to guess; the teenager looking to be in his early teens right before her eyes was undoubtedly the offspring of yet another Demon God.
She was no longer the novice who knew next to nothing about the Demon Race. Having spent time with Abao and the others, she had long since learned that the more human-like a member of the Demon Race looked, the greater their strength—which meant the higher-ranking Demon Gods and their descendants were always the most attractive.
She just wondered whose son this one might be.
"Overpraised. Just a few cheap tricks, hardly worth mentioning."
Though she thought this, Anlan had no desire to have any dealings with him; when traveling far from home, utmost caution was always the wisest course. With that, Anlan turned to leave, but the fellow evidently was not pleased.
"Wait. I am Shenshang, son of the Fourth Pillar Necromancy God. Might I have the honor of learning this young lady's esteemed name?"
Anlan felt a wave of deeply unpleasant aura flash past her, and in the very next instant, Shenshang materialized right in front of her, blocking her path. Despite this, the words spilling from his lips were exceedingly polite and courteous.
"The Fourth Pillar?"
Anlan halted her steps, her mind racing as she swiftly scanned every piece of intelligence regarding the Fourth Pillar Necromancy God, which quickly brought the information about the person before her to mind.
Shenshang—was he not the designated heir of the Fourth Pillar Necromancy God?
No wonder he was so overbearing and rude!
Anlan curved her lips into a mocking smile, then flicked her figure and vanished from the spot, reappearing five meters behind Shenshang.
"So it's the Heir to the Fourth Pillar Demon God. I've heard much about you, but I'm afraid this princess doesn't care for being forced to give her name. Therefore, Lord Shenshang, please feel free to go your own way. I will not accompany you any further. Farewell!"
Without even giving Shenshang a chance to react, she turned and left without looking back, looking as though she desperately wanted to be as far away from Shenshang as possible. Her haste left him looking thoroughly amused.
"Interesting. Whenever the women of the past heard that I am the heir to the Fourth Demon God, they were always eager to throw themselves at me. Yet this woman actually goes out of her way to avoid me like the plague. Could it be that she's still too young?"
Members of the Demon Race matured early and lived long lives; judging their exact age by appearance alone was difficult. Who knew what expression he would wear if he discovered that, despite her stunning looks, Anlan was merely nine years old?
Then again, who could blame him? Her aura was simply too commanding and her strength too extraordinary, making it nearly impossible for anyone to remember that she was only nine.
Since Shenshang's interest had been piqued, how could he possibly let the matter drop?
And so, over the next few days, Anlan found that this fellow kept popping up from time to time.
Wielding that large green saber, he had stolen her prey.
The first time, she endured it. The second time, she let it slide for the sake of his background. But by the third time, she could endure it no longer.
"Enough! Shenshang, what on earth is your game? Will this never end? Why do you keep stealing my monsters?"
"I'm not playing any game. I need to train and gain experience, too."
Shenshang actually looked aggrieved, which nearly infuriated Anlan to death. She pointed right at him and cursed, "If you want to train, go lure your own monsters! Why steal mine? Let me tell you, don't think I wouldn't dare deal with you. Get lost right now, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
This was the first time Anlan had ever lost her temper to such a degree. Her usual self-proclaimed air of maturity and dignity had completely gone down the drain, and her pretty face was flushed red as an apple.
Yet she did not realize that this only made her more alluring. Shenshang stared at her without even blinking.
He even decided to tease her further.
"Luring them yourself is never as convenient as just stealing them. Don't be so stingy—we're all out here to gain experience."
"Damn you to hell!"
Anlan had finally reached her absolute breaking point. Not only was she fuming with rage, but she even lunged straight at him, ready to throw down and brawl with Shenshang.
A flash of a guilty conscience crossed Shenshang's eyes, causing him to merely dodge Anlan's fierce palm strike.
Yet as they dodged back and forth, the nature of the encounter shifted, turning into a genuine, earnest confrontation.
Anlan was the same; both of them recognized the other's strength, and it had instantly ignited a fierce desire to fight.
Thus, the hidden guards lurking in the shadows watched in absolute dumbfounded silence as two descendants of Demon Gods started a magnificent, full-blown brawl over something so trivial.
And a dead serious one at that, throwing blows with lethal intent?
"Bang!"
Shenshang chopped down with his saber, shattering Anlan's incoming palm strike. Unconvinced, Anlan struck out with another palm, which Shenshang quickly parried with his blade.
Seeing this, Anlan pressed down fiercely. Shenshang had not expected a mere girl to meet his strength head-on with such brute force, and caught off guard, he was forced back step by step. But once he recovered, the two locked into a stalemate.
"This young lady's strength isn't quite up to par, it seems!"
"Is that so? Then let me show you what real strength looks like!"
Spiritual power surged violently within her palms, and a barrage of purple light rays shot outward. Taken aback, Shenshang immediately threw up his defenses.
"Bang!"
Yet he was still driven back step by step under the bombardment.
"You launched a sneak attack!"
"What are you talking about? Humans have a saying: all is fair in war. You're just foolish, you can't blame me for that."
"Fine, very well! You are the first woman to make me, Shenshang, suffer a loss. In that case, don't blame me for not holding back!"
As he spoke, an aura even more unpleasant than before erupted from his body—it was deathly qi!
Upon seeing this, Anlan leaped far away with extreme caution. As Shenshang transformed, her pupils dilated in severe shock!
"What is this?"
"Necromantic Power. My father is a necromancer, but I don't care much for that; I only like fighting with real steel and blood! So I've fused Necromantic Power into my own body. You'd better watch out!"
With that, Shenshang's speed accelerated drastically, and his physical power became terrifyingly immense. Charging directly toward Anlan, he shattered the ground beneath his feet with a single step.
More importantly, in this state, he actually surged briefly from the third level of the Fifth Tier straight into the Sixth Tier!
"Interesting. So this is what necromancy is all about!"
Anlan was filled with excitement, dodging immediately the moment Shenshang closed in on her.
Anlan was no fool; in this state, his physical strength was clearly far superior. To try and meet him head-on right now would be no different from seeking death!
However, since a direct head-on clash was out of the question, a flash of inspiration struck Anlan's mind.
She swiftly snatched the belt from around her waist, gripped it in her hand, infused it with spiritual power, and lashed it outward with all her might.
"What?!"
Shenshang was completely dumbfounded by Anlan's sudden move, his momentum pausing for a split second. Seizing the opening, Anlan showed no mercy; wielding the belt controlled by her spiritual power like a venomous snake, she wrapped it directly around Shenshang's waist and yanked it hard.
"Ugh—what are you doing?!"
With his waist snared, Shenshang felt as though the vital knot of his fate had been seized. He instantly lost his footing, scrambling in a panic to steady himself—and this was the precise opening Anlan had been waiting to exploit.
"Bang!"
Anlan delivered a fierce kick straight to his waist, and while he was reeling from the pain, she followed up with two more magic attacks.
Crying out in pain, Shenshang hurried to break free from the belt, but Anlan relentlessly harassed him with it. Moreover, she seemed capable of seeing through every single one of his flaws; while constantly disrupting him, she simultaneously struck at his vulnerabilities. Gradually, Shenshang fell behind, growing increasingly exasperated and frantic the longer the fight dragged on.
"Stop, I yield! No more fighting! Who fights like you with such underhanded tricks? You don't dare face me head-on at all."
By the time he shouted for a halt, Anlan had already decisively retracted her belt and neatly retied it around her waist. Yet upon hearing his final remark, having truly gotten to know each other through the fight, she had already grown somewhat fond of him. Immediately, she fired back a retort:
"You have the nerve to complain! Who fights like you, just blindly charging forward? Do you even understand the concept of overcoming brute force with softness? Idiot!"
Shenshang was infuriated by her words, opening his eyes wide to glare at her. Anlan refused to back down and instantly stared right back.
Yet the moment their gazes locked, they held it for barely a single second.
"Pfft—"