Chapter 802: Never Forgive

Mei Gongzi glanced at him, then at her mother, whose eyes were misted with tears, feeling a bit hesitant.

"What's wrong, Little Mei?" Su Qin asked, noticing her expression. For some reason, she suddenly felt nervous.

Mei Gongzi said, "Mom, I... I met the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor."

Su Qin's expression changed instantly. "What does he want? You... you know about...?"

Tang San nodded. "After Little Mei's evaluation, I told her everything. She had to know. Actually, the fact that she was able to pass is due to Lin Ximo. Not only did he support Little Mei himself, but he also persuaded the Undying Demon Emperor. Little Mei was able to pass the second round smoothly because they officially approved it."

Su Qin remained silent, not saying a word.

Tang San continued, "Later, while Little Mei was staying at the Ancestral Court for further studies, Lin Ximo and the Undying Demon Emperor came to find her together."

Su Qin was taken aback.

"From the way he acted, I could tell that he cares a great deal about Little Mei and wants to make amends. As I expected, he proposed that she should awaken her phoenix bloodline. Your father was also present at the time, and he imposed a condition—that when Little Mei undergoes the evaluation to become an Emperor in the future, even if she still possesses human bloodline, they must unconditionally support her. And they actually agreed.

"So with that, they decided to help Little Mei awaken her phoenix bloodline on the spot. This decision was purely beneficial for her, so we just went with it. But it wasn't the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor's bloodline that awakened; it was the Undying Demon Emperor himself who infused the Immortal Flame Phoenix blood essence into Little Mei. She now has the Immortal Flame Phoenix bloodline, which comes with the innate ability of Nirvana Rebirth. This will greatly ensure her safety in the future."

Su Qin seemed a bit dazed and remained silent.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I..." Mei Gongzi said anxiously.

Su Qin shook her head and said, "This is a good thing for you. No matter how much I hate him, as long as it's good for you, I won't refuse. You did nothing wrong. He is, after all, your biological father. Whatever wrong he did, it was to me. He did not know about you at the time, and you don't need to hate him."

"Mom, you, you..." Mei Gongzi wanted to ask something but couldn't bring herself to say it.

Tang San did it for her. "It's clear that Lin Ximo deeply regrets what happened back then. Are you sure you won't give him a second chance?"

He wasn't defending the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor; he was just sharing his genuine feelings. After all, the man was Mei Gongzi's biological father in this life, and just as Su Qin had admitted, he hadn't been aware of Mei Gongzi's existence. Otherwise, things might have played out completely differently.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Su Qin shook her head. "The matters between him and me are none of your concern. I will handle it. Little Mei, he is still your biological father. If you want to acknowledge him, I won't object. I believe he will be good to you. Having one more person love you will only make me happy. But please understand my feelings—I will never be able to forgive him. As far as I am concerned, we are strangers to each other. With you here, I can even let go of my hatred toward him, but anything beyond that is impossible."

Her tone was calm, but within that calmness lay a resolute determination.

She had endured far too many hardships. In her most painful moments, she could only face them alone. If not for meeting the Peacock Great Demon King, she would have perished with her unborn child. How could she not hate Lin Ximo for abandoning her back then? For Lin Ximo, becoming an Emperor for the sake of his clan was not wrong. But abandoning her and forcing her to secretly flee while pregnant to avoid being discovered by her own father, leading to a near-tragic outcome, was something she could never forget.

Mei Gongzi gently hugged her mother without saying anything. She had no emotional attachment to Lin Ximo. As long as her mother was not sad, she was content.

Su Qin touched her daughter's pretty face and said softly, "You can't take risks like this anymore. I am a Saintess of the Redemption Society, and of course, I hope you can truly help redeem humanity. But I am also a mother, and as a mother, I only wish for my child's safety and happiness. The same goes for you, Little Tang."

"Thank you, Aunt Su." Tang San nodded slightly and said, "Don't worry, I will protect Little Mei. From now on, I will always be here for her; even if I'm away every now and then, I will always be there to protect her when she needs it."

"Are you planning to make your relationship public?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Gongzi's face flushed red. "What... What relationship are we making public?"

Tang San shook his head and said, "She has just officially become the city lord. It's not the right moment to make our relationship public. Besides, Asura is dead; the Ancestral Court doesn't know I'm still around, and they must not find out. For now, I am just Little Mei's personal guard, and that's enough. As for making things public... We'll talk about that when she becomes an Emperor."

Su Qin nodded. "It's up to you to decide. Now that you're back, you'll surely be busy again."

Tang San said, "Whenever you're ready to see His Majesty the White Tiger, just let me know, and I'll transport you there."

Su Qin took a deep breath and said, "I'll stay with Little Mei for three days, then I'll go. I don't want him to wait any longer. When you have time, come and visit us."

"Alright."

***

The news of Mei Gongzi's return to Kali City was immediately released by the Peacock Demon clan. She had successfully completed her report and officially took on the role of Kali City Lord and leader of the Peacock Demon clan. As the ruler of a main city and the leader of a first-tier clan, she had truly become a prominent figure on the Daemon Continent.

At the same time, for the Ancestral Court, another significant event was unfolding recently. The battle for a main city was no longer centered on Kali City. It was now focused on the most important main city and the closest one to the Ancestral Court—Crystal City!

It was technically under the control of the Crystal Demon Emperor. Though she had no business managing the city, and neither did she have any descendants to do it for her, she was the Dragon Lord of her generation, and nobody dared to say anything about it. Thus, Crystal City had always been managed by the entire dragon race.

Now that the Crystal Demon Emperor had fallen, the only remaining Emperor among dragons was the Tenebrous Demon Emperor. However, he ranked relatively low among the Demon Emperors and had his own main city to manage, so it was impossible for him to take charge of Crystal City. Therefore, the ownership of this incredibly wealthy and strategically important main city had become the focal issue within the Ancestral Court.

More importantly, it was not just the Empyrean Dominion that was in turmoil; even the Solstice Empire was looking to get involved. After all, with the fall of the Crystal Demon Emperor, the power gap between the two major powers has significantly narrowed.

The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor was busy repairing the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain, and according to his wishes, the official decision was put on hold for the time being. However, the covert struggle had already begun.

Such a crucial city could not be without an Emperor. And there were two Emperors without a main city: the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor and the Sword Saint Demon Emperor. Unfortunately, neither of them was strong enough or commanded sufficient authority to be put in charge of Crystal City.

Nymphs aside, the strongest Emperor was the Undying Demon Emperor. But although the dragon and phoenix races maintained a relatively good relationship and even often intermarried, when it came to matters of race supremacy, they were ultimately rivals. And although the dragon race only had one Emperor left, their strength below that level remained intact. The Tenebrous Demon Emperor was prepared to take on the role of Dragon Lord, and the dragon race was determined to defend Crystal City to the death.

That much was obvious—why would they be willing to relinquish it? The Crystal Demon Emperor had ruled practically the entire continent for millennia, and the dragon race had always prided itself as the foremost race of the Empyrean Dominion, boasting numerous powerful Great Demon Kings and producing Emperor after Emperor. Even if the Ancestral Court wished to reclaim control over Crystal City, it first had to consider the dragon race's stance. And the problem was compounded by the fact that the city was technically part of the Empyrean Dominion, which naturally wanted to ensure that the Solstice Empire did not gain a foothold there.

As a result, the situation turned into a deadlock, with no concrete resolution in sight.