Translator: Fate Proofreader: Silavin Right now, even if she was at the brink of death, Chi Ling wouldn’t believe that Gu Changge, who was right in front of her, was the Successor of Demonic Arts she was looking for. Not only that, but she would also have never guessed that Gu Changge was the one responsible for putting Ye Ling under such a dire situation. After all, Gu Changge had never met Ye Ling, so it didn’t make sense that they would hate each other. Even if they did, it would only be due to a conflict of interest. As Chi Ling never had such a possibility in mind, thanks to Gu Changge’s assistance, all she felt was glee and relief. “Lady Chi Ling, since you’re so confident about Ye Ling, you must know his whereabouts, yes?” At that moment, Gu Changge suddenly asked with a baffled face. “I am not sure, but I can figure out ways to contact him.” After a moment of contemplation, Chi Ling decided to be honest with Gu Changge. Since she needed his help, honesty was the only way to gain his trust. “Good.” Receiving the answer, Gu Changge subconsciously revealed a grin. He was racking his brains to come up with ways to determine Ye Ling’s actual location. However, with Chi Ling voluntarily offering to help, Gu Changge was, out of joy, at a loss for words. As the two chatted while wandering around a number of Godly Island, they eventually arrived at Gu Changge’s Supreme Peak. From afar, Chi Ling could see an extravagant palace in front of them, where an incomparably beautiful woman in a plain dress was crossing her arms, gazing with her cold eyes. Her appearance seemed divine, as if it was out of this world. Her hair swayed in the wind as her garments highlighted her glamorous figure. Her eyes, resembling that of an all-powerful emperor, filled with an immensely oppressive aura. Intimidated, Chi Ling could feel her body trembling. “Brother Gu, is that Princess Mingkong?” Chi Ling nervously asked. At the same time, she forced an awkward grin. Despite being a mighty young prodigy who always appeared emotionless, she couldn’t help but feel intimidated at the woman’s glare. She could not help but intuitively lower her head. Gu Changge smilingly replied, “She’s been throwing tantrums at me recently. Don’t worry about her expression.” [Throwing tantrums?] Dazed, Chi Ling felt awkward as she came back to her senses, thinking her stroll with Gu Changge might cause a misunderstanding to Mingkong. For some reason, she felt obliged to explain herself to Yue Mingkong so the latter wouldn’t misunderstand. It was not because she was afraid of her, but simply because there was no need to upset the princess over such an insignificant matter. At the very least, in Chi Ling’s eyes, Gu Changge and Yue Mingkong were a couple, a match made in heaven. All the marriage arrangements between youthful prodigies in the Beyond could never hope to compare to their union. Regardless of their identity or appearance, it seems that they were truly meant for each other. Especially after having chatted with Gu Changge for so long, she thought of Gu Changge as a virtuous man. “I’m worried that Princess Mingkong might misunderstand us,” Chi Ling claimed. “Misunderstand? Don’t worry, she won’t,” Gu Changge assured with a smile. Seeing how natural Gu Changge’s expression was, Chi Ling refrained from overthinking. [Anyway, Princess Mingkong is too terrifying! She’s so young yet she already possesses the might of an unrivaled emperor!] With that, as Chi Ling was about to leave, something popped up in her mind, after which, she muttered, “By the way, Brother Gu, I was wondering who is most likely to be the Successor of Demonic Arts among us youthful prodigies…” Hearing that, Gu Changge grew fascinated as he instinctively asked, “Who do you think it is, Lady Chi Ling?” “From what I see, it’s most likely the Young Master of the Ye Family, Ye Langtian… Though, it’s just a speculation. He is too hostile toward Ye Ling.” After a moment of silence, Chi Ling revealed her guess to Gu Changge. Despite knowing that Gu Changge and Ye Langtian were closely acquainted, she believed that Gu Changge wouldn’t expose what she said to Ye Langtian. In fact, she had utmost confidence in Gu Changge, but only suspicion and doubt toward Ye Langtian’s behavior. “Oh, you think it’s Brother Ye?” Gu Changge subconsciously dropped his smile before interrogating out of fascination. “That’s quite a surprise. But why don’t you suspect me to be the Successor of Demonic Arts?” In response, Ye Ling shook her head, and without hesitation, she answered, “Given your identity, Brother Gu, you’re someone who’s destined to change the world, so how could you be the Successor of Demonic Arts? You being the Successor of Demonic Arts is simply impossible.” [Any one of the youthful prodigies could be the Successor of Demonic Arts, but Gu Changge’s certainly not the one. The identity of the Successor of Demonic Arts is bound to be exposed one day, and Gu Changge’s identity forbids him from becoming the successor unless he has gone insane and decided to abandon his future position as the leader of both Immortal Gu Family and Skyward Schloss. Or… He has become so confident that he could take on all the forces in the world at once.] “It’s surprising how much you trust me, Lady Chi Ling. I feel honored,” Gu Changge stated with a benign smile. Afterwards, Chi Ling summoned an Arcane Bridge and departed to meet with her clan members to discuss matters pertaining to the Immortal Ancient Continent. Withdrawing his smile, Gu Changge returned to the palace. “Chi Ling, the Successor of the Vermillion Bird Clan?” At the entrance of the palace, Yue Mingkong shot him a glare as she blandly asked him. Naturally, she recognized Chi Ling. In her previous life, Chi Ling was merely one of Ye Ling’s many women. Nevertheless, to see her tagging along Gu Changge so cheerfully made Yue Mingkong startled by Gu Changge’s methods. A short while ago, Gu Changge turned Ye Ling into a public menace. Now, Ye Ling would no longer dare to show himself and was most likely hiding somewhere. And just a moment ago, he was interacting with one of Ye Ling’s future women as though they were discussing something. Seeing that, Yue Mingkong was left dumbfounded. However, she could tell that Chi Ling was merely a deceived pawn on Gu Changge’s chessboard. “So you know her.” Gu Changge smiled. As he was about to wrap his arms around Yue Mingkong’s waist, she lightly stepped backward and evaded his touch. Instead, she shot him an icy glare, not giving him the opportunity to take advantage of her. “Mingkong, are you still angry at me?” Gu Changge heaved a sigh. With an agonized look, he continued, “You’ve been angry since that night. Are you still not over it?” Things would have been fine if he didn’t bring that up, but upon mentioning that night, icy coldness surged from Yue Mingkong’s eyes. As a matter of fact, for the past few days, she had been sending men to investigate the identity of the woman Gu Changge went to see that night. It was the day that the turmoil broke out, when Ye Ling was alleged to be the Successor of Demonic Arts, and she was still not able to discover anything. Even until now, Yue Mingkong was confused as to how Gu Changge managed to frame Ye Ling to be the Successor of Demonic Arts. “Unless you tell me who that vixen was that night, don’t even think of touching me!” She fiercely glared at Gu Changge, unaffected by his facial expression. “I’ll let you know if the need ever arises, but if it doesn’t, then you don’t have to know about it. Anyway, it’s been so many days. Don’t you suspect me at all?” Hearing that, the smile on Gu Change’s face faded as he revealed an enthralled look. At once, Yue Mingkong grew distressed as she understood his insinuation. However, she pretended to be clueless, questioning, “Suspect you for what?” Shaking his head, Gu Changge bitterly stated, “You’re smart, so you should know better than to play dumb with me..” Triggered, Yue Mingkong squinted her eyes as grasped the runed sword concealed in her clothes with her snowy hands. She knew Gu Changge too well and understood that the calmer he seemed, the graver the matter was. All this time she spent by Gu Changge’s side, she observed his every gesture and discovered that one crucial key that allowed him to successfully pin the name of the Successor of Demonic Arts on Ye Ling. It lay within the corpse of Bai Lie, who died from Nommening. His body somehow suggested that Ye Ling was the Successor of Demonic Arts. In fact, Yue Mingkong knew better than anyone as to how Bai Lie actually died. Back then, when Gu Changge coincidentally left the courtyard, she pretended to be oblivious, but she easily caught the obvious flaw. With that knowledge, anyone with a brain could figure out that Gu Changge was either the Successor of Demonic Arts or someone related to it. Either way, it bore a tight connection to Gu Changge’s greatest secret. Having regressed from her previous life, she already knew of the secret a long time ago. And instead of revealing her knowledge of it, she pretended as if she had not a clue. Nonetheless, right now, Gu Changge was behaving as if he already knew that she was aware of his secret. His identity as the Successor of Demonic Arts, which sounded rather complicated and unthinkable, but it summed up the situation. As a matter of fact, the reason Gu Changge did not expose her was because he simply wished to see her reaction. His identity as the Successor of Demonic Arts was his greatest secret, which shouldn’t be divulged to anyone. In fact, for the past few days, she was unknowingly under grave danger as Gu Changge could murder her anytime he wished. Judging by his personality, he wouldn’t even care about the thin affection they shared. Hence, the key was when he would decide to kill her. Upon hearing his words, Yue Mingkong kept her guard up. Right now, besides the fact that Skyward Schloss was his territory, he even had a follower of Sacred Lord Realm that was protecting him in the dark. Therefore, it would be easy for him to kill her. Thinking that, Yue Mingkong instantly grew nervous as she was reminded of the night of their wedding. The night where she was engulfed by an ambiguous murderous aura that she couldn’t be more familiar with. She never expected she would have to go up against Gu Changge so soon in this life. In this life, although she hadn’t had much interaction with Gu Changge, and was occasionally teased by him, she couldn’t help but feel attached to him. She never experienced such a feeling even in her previous life. Whoosh! Yue Mingkong gripped her runed blade underneath her garment. In order to defend herself from Gu Changge, she made countless preparations in secret. Even so, her chance of defeating him remained low. “Mingkong, I find myself adoring you more and more each day. You’re beautiful, smart, well-mannered and strong… You’d make a perfect wife.” At that moment, Gu Changge revealed an indescribable expression as though he was subtly smiling. He approached Yue Mingkong as he spoke. “A perfect wife?” Hearing that, Yue Mingkong was dazed. She was visibly baffled. After coming to her senses, she was certain that Gu Changge was only trying to charm her and was obviously going for her head. In that instant, Yue Mingkong felt a chill run up her spine. “You’re a smart woman, Mingkong, so why are you still playing dumb with me? It’s been so many days. I’m sure you’ve figured it out.” Gu Changge seemed rather disappointed. “What are you talking about, Gu Changge? I don’t understand.” Yue Mingkong coldly gazed at him, despite knowing that Gu Changge was referring to his usage of Nommening. “Even now, you’re not going to confess?” Gu Changge heaved a sigh. “You already know that Ye Ling isn’t the Successor of Demonic Arts, but the Successor of Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being. Remember? You’re the one who told me that. Besides, the rumors couldn’t make it more obvious. Are you still going to play dumb with me?” Yue Mingkong grew silent. At that moment, she knew persisting to be ignorant would no longer be of any use. “So are you going to kill me now?” Yue Mingkong stared at him. “Yes, I know you are, in fact, the true Successor of Demonic Arts.” Despite that, Gu Changge remained unaffected. Chuckling, he replied, “See? You should’ve been upfront from the beginning. There’s no point pretending. As for the Demonic Arts, they are indeed a confidential matter. To be honest, I wanted to kill you…” Having said that, Gu Changge paused with a pained look. “Oh, what’s stopping you?” Yue Mingkong was confused as to why Gu Changge hadn’t attacked her after disclosing the truth of his identity as the Successor of Demonic Arts. In response, Gu Changge revealed a sentimental smile. He answered, “I can’t bring myself to.” [What!?] Yue Mingkong was thoroughly stupefied as her eyes seemed to want to pop out of their sockets, thinking that she must have misheard him. [I already know of his secret, yet you are not going to kill me?] She was absolutely perplexed, surprised by Gu Changge’s words. “Y-You’re not going to kill me?” Yue Mingkong was still in disbelief. “It seems like we have a serious misunderstanding going on between us, Mingkong.” Hearing that, Gu Changge stated with a calm look. Shaking his head, he added, “I wouldn’t have said those things if I intended to kill you.”