Vol 4. Chapter 10: Xiao’s Thoughts

"Xiao, long time no see."

Looking at the exceptionally handsome black-haired man standing respectfully before her, Yumo gave a rather emotional, sweet smile. Then, almost instinctively, she jumped down from the huge boulder, slowly walked up to Xiao, and raised a hand to rub his head.

Since Miss Yumo looked younger and was also quite a bit shorter than Xiao, this scene looked somewhat strange. Xiao, however, did not seem to mind at all. Instead, he lowered his head quite willingly, making it easier for the black-haired girl to stroke him.

A rare trace of happiness appeared in Xiao's black eyes, which were normally indifferent and emotionless, even filled with a chilling murderous air.

Although he did not directly call Miss Yumo 'Mother' like those other little Demon King-class ancestors did, Xiao had lost his mother when he was young and had grown up under Yumo's care. Deep down, he had long since come to regard the black-haired girl before him as something akin to a mother.

A child receiving his mother's affection would naturally be filled with happiness.

"Yes, Lady Yumo. It has been many years."

"That's right, it really has. You didn't come back to visit the forest very often before either. Was managing the Black Rose Family really keeping you that busy?"

"My apologies, Lady Yumo. If I were a little more capable, I should have been able to save quite a bit of time and return to visit the forest more often."

"Ah, there's no need to apologize. I was just feeling a little sentimental. Besides, why has some of your hair turned white..."

Picking up a strand of white hair beside Xiao's ear, Miss Yumo could not help but frown slightly. A solemn look unconsciously surfaced in her crimson eyes.

"Xiao, this is..."

As an Eighth-Tier God of Magic, Xiao had long since regained his youth, and his lifespan had also been greatly extended. Yet such a young Duke had actually begun developing white hair? That clearly went against common sense. It was most likely a sign that his life force was rapidly being depleted.

After thinking it over, Miss Yumo could come up with only one possibility capable of leaving Xiao in such a state.

The Demonic Spear—Puls.

At once, Miss Yumo's crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and a trace of icy murderous intent emerged within those ruby-like pupils. The girl's cold gaze slowly shifted toward the strange weapon in his hand, which resembled both a magic staff and a spear—the Demonic Spear—Puls.

"You... drained Xiao's life force again..."

Miss Yumo had never been particularly friendly toward anything that hurt her children.

Upon sensing Miss Yumo's icy gaze, the eye formed from the Demonic Spear's blue gemstone abruptly contracted. The wild, unrestrained aura it had displayed during the battle against Xue Tianao vanished without a trace, replaced by overwhelming terror.

?!!!

'No... no... I didn't do it on purpose!!'

In an instant, this Divine Artifact, which had followed countless powerful masters, survived innumerable battles, and feared virtually nothing, began trembling all over. Its entire spear body twisted wildly in terror. For a moment, the steel-hard Demonic Spear writhed like a snake in Miss Yumo's hand, desperately trying to escape from the black-haired girl's grasp.

The reason the Demonic Spear—Puls feared virtually nothing was mainly because no enemy could destroy it. Even if its master died in battle, Puls itself would remain unharmed and merely be taken away and treasured, since it was, after all, one of the world's exceedingly rare Divine Artifacts.

However, the black-haired girl currently gripping its shaft was different. She did not care in the slightest about its status as a Divine Artifact and even seemed faintly disgusted by it. More importantly, Puls was certain that if the girl before it exerted just a little more strength, it could go to the underworld and meet all of its previous masters...

Even though the girl's power had not been released, the pressure she exerted on Puls was already several times greater than what it had felt when facing the 'Sword Demon' and 'Flame Prison'...

Faced with the murderous intent suddenly spilling from the black-haired girl, the legendary Demonic Spear practically felt like crying.

Ancestor!

I didn't do it on purpose! That's just how my weapon ability works! I have to exchange life force for power! There's nothing I can do about that!

Besides, that's part of the contract!

I really didn't do it on purpose!

I don't even dare drain too much of his life force!

More importantly, Xiao was clearly the one who told me to drain it! He said it would let him pretend to be injured and make it look like the Child of Destiny was difficult to fight!

I'm innocent!

...

For a moment, driven by its overwhelming desire to survive, the deeply aggrieved Demonic Spear could not help screaming frantically inside its mind. It desperately wanted to explain itself, but because of the contract, the only person capable of communicating with it was Xiao. Thus, no matter how much it screamed or protested its innocence, Miss Yumo could not understand what it meant.

Instead, its incessant writhing only made Miss Yumo increasingly displeased.

A dangerous red glow gradually spilled from her incomparably beautiful gemstone-like eyes, terrifying the Demonic Spear—Puls out of its wits and making its entire body turn deathly pale.

And just then,

Xiao, standing nearby, let out a 'helpless' sigh.

"Lady Yumo, don't blame this fellow. It only absorbed that life force to protect me. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't have been able to fight the Child of Destiny after he released three layers of his divine power restraints. I have to admit, that guy was quite formidable."

"Is... that so... Sigh."

After hearing Xiao say this, the murderous aura in Miss Yumo's eyes gradually dissipated, and the hand tightly gripping the Demonic Spear's shaft finally loosened. Seizing the opportunity, the Demonic Spear immediately broke free from Yumo's grasp and, half-dead from fright, flew behind Xiao.

Seeing this, Miss Yumo said nothing more and instead gave him a concerned warning.

"Since you say so, I won't settle accounts with this lousy spear. But no matter what, this thing is still pretty sinister. Xiao, you should try to use it as little as possible."

Upon hearing those words,

the terror-filled eye of the Demonic Spear—Puls, which was hiding behind Xiao, twitched slightly.

Xiao, meanwhile, obediently nodded.

"Understood, Lady Yumo. Unless I encounter another extremely 'dangerous' situation like this one, I won't use it."

As he spoke,

Xiao glanced from the corner of his eye at the trembling Demonic Spear behind him, which was furious yet utterly unable to voice its anger, and a meaningful look appeared in his eyes.

'Looks like the effect was pretty good.'

Xiao thought to himself.

Because its wild nature was far too strong, this Demonic Spear often refused to behave. Even Xiao, despite being its master, sometimes found the thing difficult to control. Therefore, every once in a while, Xiao would bring the Demonic Spear to see Yumo and borrow Lady Yumo's hand to knock some of the arrogance out of it.

Although he did not want to trouble Lady Yumo, who else could he turn to when Lady Yumo was the only person in the world capable of destroying the Demonic Spear—Puls?

Since this disobedient Demonic Spear had already been taught a little lesson, there was no need to continue dwelling on the subject.

After putting the frightened and uneasy Demonic Spear, which was terrified of being dismantled, back into his spatial ring, Xiao curiously glanced toward the open space behind Miss Yumo.

"Lady Yumo, is that Miss Yuan'er?"

"Hm?"

The moment Xiao mentioned Yuan'er, Yumo thought of how adorable her new daughter was, and the displeasure on her face immediately vanished without a trace. A smug expression unconsciously appeared on the girl's face. Slowly turning around, she looked toward the little girl who was currently riding on Limo's back and happily playing to her heart's content.

Seeing Yuan'er's lively smile immediately put Miss Yumo in a cheerful mood.

"That's right. Isn't that child adorable~?"

Faced with Yumo's expression that practically screamed, 'Look how adorable my child is,' Xiao smiled faintly before nodding in complete agreement.

"Indeed. She's an adorable child. Pure, lively, and filled with a sunny disposition. That cute little face of hers looks like it would feel quite nice to pinch."

"Right~?"

"Mm."

As he softly voiced his agreement, Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly and gazed meaningfully at the exquisitely adorable little girl.

This feeling...

Early Eighth-Tier Demon King-class?

Although she was only at the Early Eighth Tier, combined with the ferocity of the Shadow of Silence Power, even an ordinary Mid Eighth-Tier powerhouse probably wouldn't be her match. In addition, this child possessed a Holy Light Body that had mutated under the influence of the Shadow of Silence Power, so her potential remained enormous...

More importantly...

Watching the little girl happily play while cheerfully waving at Lady Yumo, Xiao felt extremely satisfied. An almost imperceptibly meaningful glint appeared in his pitch-black eyes.

Mm.

Although he had no idea why this child was so fond of Lady Yumo despite having met her only a few times, her liking Lady Yumo was undoubtedly a good thing.

That way,

he could secretly communicate with her in private when Lady Yumo wasn't paying attention...

'It's just...'

As though something had suddenly occurred to him, Xiao frowned slightly.

After all, those little ancestors who obtained Lady Yumo's Shadow of Silence Power and became Demon King-class existences were unquestionably powerful, but when it came to intelligence, they tended to fall into two completely opposite extremes...

He wondered which type Miss Yuan'er belonged to.

Was she the same type as Limo and Piere?

Or was she more like Karina, Liyu, and Shuoyue?

Enmmm, perhaps he would have to find an opportunity to test her first.