How could Demon God Emperor Fengxiu and Agares fail to notice such an anomaly?
Having noticed it, both of them were somewhat shocked.
"Truly worthy of the Divine Favored Bloodline! Not only did she feel no cowardice or adverse effects under Your Majesty's coercion, but she actually triggered a spiritual energy resonance!"
Agares was extremely excited right now. Even he could not refuse the prospect of having an exceptional successor. As the second pillar of the seventy-two Demon God Pillars, not having a formidable heir had always been a thorn in his heart. No matter how much he doted on his wife and daughter, he had to admit that without an outstanding successor, he would eventually have to make unavoidable concessions for the sake of one.
Yet now, Lan'er's sudden emergence had resolved all these problems effortlessly.
Thus, Agares simply looked on with a gratified expression as Yue Anlan's surrounding spiritual energy climbed step by step until it reached one thousand four hundred points.
"Not bad. A single burst of pressure increased her spiritual energy by four hundred points. Finally, a passable candidate for the next successor has appeared. Agares, congratulations!"
Even Demon God Emperor Fengxiu voiced his praise, a trace of a smile appearing on his icy face. One could well imagine how rare such a growth rate was within the Demon Race.
"Your Majesty flatters her. Lan'er is merely fortunate; she cannot compare to Your Highness Abao."
With these words, the Demon God Emperor's gaze shifted to his own son.
Yet this single glance made his hard-won smile vanish entirely.
"As a prince of the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Clan, you cannot even handle a pack of trash. You are nothing more than a piece of trash yourself."
The cold, merciless words made Abao feel as though he had instantly plunged into an icy abyss, yet he could not utter a single word in defense.
The pressure his Imperial Father inflicted upon him was already deeply ingrained in Abao's bones, leaving him too terrified to even utter a word of defiance. He merely lowered his head, assuming the posture of one pleading for punishment.
Yet upon waking up and hearing this—having already completed the divine blood tempering and thoroughly activating the Divine Blood—Anlan could not help but frown deeply.
"Your Majesty..."
"Yes, Imperial Father, it is entirely this son's fault! This son willingly accepts punishment!"
Before Anlan could finish, she was interrupted by Abao's sudden voice, choking back the plea she had intended to make.
Anlan looked over. Abao still maintained his head-lowered posture of pleading for punishment; she could not see his face at all, but she just knew that Abao was doing this entirely to keep her from speaking out.
Was he afraid that her impudence would provoke the Demon God Emperor's wrath?
Anlan sighed deeply in her heart. This younger brother Abao was simply too heartbreaking!
If this Fengxiu didn't know how to raise a child, why didn't someone just say so?!
Did he not see what kind of people those troublemakers were? How could Abao, a mere Tier 4 unfavored prince, possibly be their match?
Anlan's heart ached terribly for him, yet she had no idea that Abao's action actually caused Fengxiu to hold his son in slightly higher regard.
His expression was no longer quite so icy.
"Go and receive your punishment."
"Yes, Imperial Father!"
Watching her daughter wear an expression of immediate heartache upon hearing those words, Agares was rendered speechless. While he no longer needed to worry much about Lan'er's cultivation, it currently seemed that she still needed to be taught a thing or two about scheming.
Where on earth did Your Highness Abao need your heartache?!
Did you have a fundamentally mistaken understanding of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Bloodline?
Though he thought this, Agares still felt the children were too young, and His Majesty's actions remained far too harsh.
He quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, I still have some important matters to report to you. Why don't we—"
"Hmph."
Fengxiu glanced at the two children and ultimately stepped down the ladder Agares had provided.
In truth, had the Divine Favored Bloodline not been of such vital importance to the Demon Race, Fengxiu would not have bothered to make this trip today. Mills was not entirely wrong about one thing: aside from his deeply beloved Bai Lingxuan, Fengxiu did not care deeply for offspring whose sole purpose was to continue the bloodline.
However, not caring deeply did not mean ignoring them entirely, nor could he allow them to be bullied at will.
Suffice it to say that within the Demon Race, raising children meant as long as they didn't die, it was fine.
After Fengxiu and Agares left, both Anlan and Abao breathed a massive sigh of relief.
Especially Anlan, who almost collapsed to the ground.
"Little sister Lan! What is wrong?"
Fortunately, Abao had been keeping his eyes on her. Seeing her like this, heartache instantly surged into his heart, and with unbelievable speed, he darted to her side and caught her.
Anlan panted heavily. "I'm fine, just a bit exhausted, hahaha~"
"Little sister Lan?"
Apostle Abao pulled her into his embrace, only to see the worried Anlan suddenly burst out laughing in his arms, leaving him completely baffled.
What was wrong? Little sister Lan seemed very happy?
Of course she was happy!
This Fengxiu was an absolute blessing! Because of his stimulation, the sleeping Divine Blood had been completely and thoroughly activated. Although she could not yet command the Divine Blood directly at present, she had forcefully skimmed and absorbed several wisps of blood Qi thanks to Fengxiu's coercion just then, effectively binding the Divine Blood to herself by force and completely remaking Yue Anlan's good-for-nothing body.
From this day forward, Yue Anlan would no longer be a good-for-nothing; she possessed true divine talent and would be able to walk a higher, stronger path in the future, attaining the realm of a deity!
Anlan naturally laughed until her waist bent.
However, this fact could not be shared with outsiders, so Anlan looked up at Abao with tear-filled, glistening eyes.
"I'm alright, I'm just happy that my strength has advanced further. Brother Bao, my spiritual energy is now at one thousand four hundred points! I believe it won't be long before I can advance to the Fifth Tier."
"R-really?"
Apostle Abao could barely take in a word of Anlan's speech right now, utterly immersed in those glistening eyes that made the tip of his heart burn intensely.
Deep within those dark eyes, a sense of increasingly bizarre fixation took root.
It was a desire for absolute possession over something.
"Brother Bao?"
"Hmm?"
Abruptly meeting Anlan's puzzled gaze, Abao snapped back to his senses and released her.
"My apologies, little sister Lan. You are truly worthy of yourself, so amazing—you're almost at the Fifth Tier!"
"You can do it too, Brother Bao! Your talent isn't bad either. As long as you work hard properly, ten Mills won't be a match for you!"
Seeing Anlan's earnest expression, Abao's cheeks flushed red at first, but the smile at the corners of his mouth grew increasingly intense.
Indeed, I am a prince of the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Clan! I ought to be an existence that looks down upon everything; how could I let myself be bullied by a pack of trash?!
Was it true that as long as I became stronger than everyone else, I could make my Imperial Father look at me and value my mother?
And also make...
Apostle Abao lowered his head, watching Anlan—who stood a head shorter than him—still lost in her own thoughts, which made him completely unafraid of exposing his true nature.
His eyes revealed his terrifying possessiveness toward the person before him.
You will become mine!
As long as I become the crown prince of the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Clan, and become the next successor of the Demon God Pillar of Sun!
Thinking thus, the lingering weakness in Abao's eyes completely faded away as he slowly marched toward becoming a true powerhouse—and that power was ambition!
"B-Brother Bao?"