Chapter 370: The Negotiation Turns Cold

Lenox and Corlan frowned almost simultaneously, and for several moments, neither of them spoke.

Damian, on the other hand, remained completely relaxed, one arm resting against the wooden table as he watched them through his black dragon mask.

Eventually, Lenox decided there was no point dancing around the subject any longer and simply nodded. "Yes, it is."

He leaned forward slightly. "We came here because of the Twin Keys."

Corlan studied Damian carefully before asking, "Before we continue... how much do you actually know about the Twin Keys?"

Damian tilted his head. "Not much."

Both men paused.

Lenox frowned. "Not much? What exactly do you mean by that? Are you saying you know almost nothing?"

Damian casually nodded.

Corlan narrowed his eyes. "If that’s the case, then why did you publicly announce that the Twin Keys were under your protection when you barely know anything about them?"

Damian chuckled, making both men frown as he continued, "Hehe... what you said is actually a little backward, you know."

Corlan’s brow furrowed.

Damian continued casually, "Isn’t it the opposite? Because I didn’t know anything, I deliberately spread the rumor. And now, both of you came knocking on my door."

Corlan and Lenox immediately realized that they had both walked straight into Damian’s trap.

Lenox quickly regained his composure. "But even if you knew nothing, how could you be sure the name ’Twin Keys’ wasn’t meaningless?"

Damian laughed and slapped the table lightly. "Meaningless? Come on. Anything with the word ’key’ in its name is obviously tied to some mystery, inheritance, treasure, or sealed place."

He suddenly stood and planted both hands on the table. "More importantly, those sisters were watched their entire lives just because they were called the Twin Keys."

His gaze shifted between Lenox and Corlan. "If someone was willing to spend years doing that, then obviously those two are valuable as hell, don’t you think?"

Damian then sat back down and shrugged. "And now two powerful Nascent Soul cultivators personally showed up at my doorstep. So I’d say my guess was pretty damn accurate, wasn’t it?"

Corlan’s gaze sharpened as the possibility he had feared became more likely. "Sir... what should we call you?"

Damian casually leaned back in his chair and grinned. "You can just call me Black Dragon."

Lenox nodded once. "Sir Black Dragon, the matter surrounding the Twin Keys is indeed extremely important."

Damian leaned forward and laughed. "I already know that part, so let’s skip the bullshit and get straight to the point. What the hell do you two want?"

Lenox looked at Corlan, and Corlan looked back at him. Neither needed to say anything.

They had originally planned to reveal as little as possible, awaken the sisters, evaluate the true strength of the Forbidden Immortal Harem, and then take everything for themselves if the opportunity appeared.

However, the moment they arrived, one thing had already become clear: the Forbidden Immortal Harem was nowhere near as simple as they had expected.

Trying to manipulate such people while hiding most of the truth suddenly seemed far less intelligent. So in the end, the two of them could only move on to Plan B.

---

Lenox sighed and finally said, "Indeed. The Twin Keys are just as valuable as you suspected."

Damian said nothing and simply gestured for him to continue.

Lenox took a breath. "The two sisters are living keys connected to a certain ancient inheritance."

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Corlan continued, "We don’t know exactly how valuable that inheritance is. The records we found were heavily damaged, and much of the information had already been lost."

"But," Lenox added, "there is one thing we know for certain. The inheritance cannot be opened unless both Twin Keys fully awaken."

Damian rested his chin on one hand. "And how exactly do they awaken?"

Lenox hesitated for a moment before finally answering. "Powerful emotional stimulation."

Damian’s gaze sharpened.

Corlan explained, "Any sufficiently intense emotion can work, even negative ones. Fear, despair, hatred, grief... anything strong enough to awaken whatever is sleeping inside them."

Cassandra’s expression immediately darkened, and the air around her seemed to grow noticeably colder.

She stared at both men. "So you’re telling me someone needed to deliberately fuck up their lives just to wake them up?"

Neither man answered immediately, but their silence was already enough.

Damian leaned back and tapped one finger against the table.

Thanks to the Destiny Story, he already knew the answer before either of them had even arrived. Still, hearing them admit it in person felt different.

He spoke calmly, though his tone had clearly cooled. "Fine. I’ll admit negative emotions are probably easier to provoke. So tell me something."

Lenox and Corlan both looked toward him.

Damian’s eyes behind the mask turned cold. "How much of Serina and Miona’s lives did the two of you manipulate?"

The atmosphere instantly grew heavier.

Corlan’s expression stiffened, clearly reluctant to say anything, but Lenox remained silent for a moment before finally letting out a slow sigh.

His voice was low as he finally admitted, "Basically... almost everything from the beginning."

Lenox had already decided there was little point in hiding it anymore.

The Twin Keys were currently under Damian’s protection, and there was nothing they could easily do to change that.

More importantly, they still had no idea how powerful the Forbidden Immortal Harem truly was. Until they understood that, neither man wanted to take any unnecessary risks.

Cassandra’s crimson eyes immediately flashed.

Lenox continued before she could interrupt. "Decades ago, we discovered an ancient ruin containing two sealed infants and damaged records concerning the Twin Keys."

Corlan finally spoke as well. "Back then, we were both only Early Golden Core cultivators, and the sisters were still babies. They couldn’t awaken yet."

Damian narrowed his eyes. "So you basically manipulated their entire lives just to make it easier to awaken them later, right?"

Corlan nodded. "Yeah. We raised them for a short time, then deliberately leaked information that they were talented descendants of some fallen clan."

Lenox added, "Naturally, several people became interested in taking them in and raising them. So we simply allowed one of those groups to take the babies away."

Corlan continued, "But we never truly let them go. We kept watching them from the shadows, and once they grew old enough, we arranged an event meant to push them toward awakening."

Cassandra’s fingers slowly curled against the table. "An event...? You mean their parents’ deaths."

Lenox and Corlan could only nod.

Cassandra’s expression immediately darkened. Her own family had shattered her life, yet deep down, she had still longed for what a real family should have been.

Hearing that these bastards had deliberately taken that away from Serina and Miona made something cold settle in her eyes.

Damian, meanwhile, remained completely still, but unbeknownst to the two men, a faint smile slowly began to appear on his face.

And just as that smile formed, the door of the house behind him opened.

Serina and Miona stepped outside, their eyes immediately locking onto the two unexpected guests. Neither sister looked pleased in the slightest.