"Father-in-law, we're all family here—no need to stand on ceremony." Nie Li slapped Ye Zong on the back with an air of knowing familiarity that seemed far too confident for his age.
How had Nie Li managed that?
At the thought of the way Nie Li addressed her father, Ye Ziyun felt a knot of frustration in her chest. When had she ever agreed to anything like that?
It was actually possible to do this? This silver-bullet offensive was devastatingly effective!
"To win over the girlfriend, you start with the father-in-law—now that's a brilliant move!" Lu Piao's eyes gleamed with admiration.
Seeing Ye Zong still hesitating, Nie Li leaned in close and whispered in his ear: "Father-in-law, this time we activated the ancient formation and discovered a tremendous secret!"
"What secret?" Ye Zong's curiosity was immediately piqued. The ancient formation had been left behind from a bygone era, its barriers unopened by anyone to this day. To think that Nie Li had actually managed to open it—what on earth was hidden inside?
"Well." Nie Li glanced meaningfully at the Crimson Blood Crystals in Ye Zong's hands. "Father-in-law still considers me an outsider, unwilling to accept my gift of Crimson Blood Crystals?"
This was outright coercion dressed up as generosity. Ye Zong weighed his options back and forth. For the sake of the
"That ancient formation connects to the Black Hell World. Although there are many monsters, thirteen families have also established themselves there. They've been passed down for thousands of years and have three Legendary-level powerhouses." Nie Li spoke at length, recounting everything he had seen and learned along the way.
Once Ye Zong had accepted the gifts, Nie Li became far more generous with his information, holding little back.
"The Black Hell World? Three Legendary-level powerhouses?" Ye Zong was stunned for a moment. Although he'd heard that those three Legendary-level powerhouses were merely Warriors—not as powerful as Legendary Demon Spirit Masters—it was still shocking news. Besides, those thirteen families didn't appear to be a united front.
Knowing this information meant the City of Radiance effectively had a place from which they could both attack and retreat. For the city, this was incredibly important.
"Oh, right, Father-in-law. Have you ever heard of someone who calls themselves the
The Demon Lord? Both Ye Zong and Ye Xiu's expressions turned grave.
"Where did you learn of the Demon Lord?" Ye Zong asked.
"I just heard someone mention it, that's all." Nie Li shrugged.
"The Demon Lord you heard about and the one we know of may or may not be the same person—we're not entirely sure. It was several hundred years ago. An anomaly appeared in the City of Radiance. A young boy, destitute and starving, was taken in by an old man and grew up slowly until he was seventeen. At that time, there was a family in the City of Radiance called the Crimson Jade Family—a massive clan second only to the Wind Snow Family, with experts emerging in great numbers. They had dozens of Black Gold-level Demon Spirit Masters, and their strongest was on the verge of breaking through to the Legendary realm."
Ye Zong continued with a tinge of melancholy: "Speaking of this truly makes one sigh with regret. Back then, the City of Radiance was still quite chaotic, and the members of the Crimson Jade Family were arrogant and domineering as a matter of habit. The old man worked for the Crimson Jade Family, but because he'd made some mistakes, he was beaten to death by the family's people. The boy suddenly vanished—nobody could find him anywhere. Everyone assumed the Crimson Jade Family had cut down the root to prevent future trouble. But who could have guessed that more than a decade later, the boy reappeared, wearing an eerie mask, calling himself the Demon Lord, and charged straight into the Crimson Jade Family, beginning a frenzied massacre!"
A single individual taking on an entire family? That was truly something. Du Ze and Lu Piao were all ears as they listened.
"How did it end?" Nie Li asked.
"The Crimson Jade Family was slaughtered to the last person. Dozens of Black Gold-level experts, including one who was just a step below Legendary." Ye Zong let out a long sigh. "That Demon Lord must have reached at least the Legendary realm. However, after the massacre, he was gravely wounded as well. His terrifying act of destruction incited panic and outrage among all the other families, who dispatched numerous top-tier experts to hunt him down. A massive, earth-shaking battle ensued, and in the end, the Demon Lord fled into the
"Then what happened?" Nie Li asked. In his previous life, he had been forced to leave the City of Radiance at only sixteen, so he knew nothing of these events.
Ye Zong and Ye Xiu exchanged a glance.
"That Demon Lord went on to establish the
The leader of the Dark Guild had always been called the Demon Lord? In his previous life, Nie Li had never known any of these hidden truths. He recalled the images he had seen on the ancient stone tablet—that young man. Could he have been the leader of the Dark Guild? He didn't seem quite like one. The young man might have been a skilled fighter, but Nie Li couldn't detect any aura of leadership about him. Could it be that the stone tablet showed the Demon Lord from when he was young? During that period when he had disappeared, had he entered the Black Hell World?