BTTH: Demon Emperor Xiao Yan

"You!" Seeing that Xiao Yan had no intention of letting her go, Ye Xiaolian was clearly stunned. She couldn't help but ask, "You've already gotten what you wanted. What more do you want?"

"Did you misunderstand something? That map of yours—you don't even know what place it leads to. It wasn't my goal. It's just my payment for helping you deal with those Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate lackeys. We still haven't settled the real debt between us," Xiao Yan said with a smile as he played with the map-dagger he'd just seized.

"What else do you want?" Ye Xiaolian quickly pulled her clothes tighter, slowly backing toward the tent's entrance. She was only a few steps away from escaping when a streak of purple-black flame suddenly ignited at the tent's entrance, cutting off her retreat.

Xiao Yan casually put away the dagger and said calmly, "I want to make a deal with you."

"I have nothing worth trading with you." Ye Xiaolian rejected him outright. She knew full well that working with someone like Xiao Yan was no different from dancing with a tiger. Even if she achieved her goal, the price would be far too great.

"You're a member of the Chu Yun Empire's royal family, aren't you?" Xiao Yan smiled. "And a pretty high-ranking one, I'd say. If I'm not mistaken, you should be a princess, right?"

"So what if I am?" Ye Xiaolian snorted coldly. During the earlier interrogation, Xiao Yan had already asked about her background. Now he was pretending he had guessed it? Shameless.

"If I remember correctly, your royal family hasn't had it easy lately, has it?" Xiao Yan grinned. "Especially your father. Though he's the so-called ruler of a nation, he still has to obey the commands of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate. He might wear the crown, but he's nothing more than a puppet. Must be frustrating to be emperor like that..."

Ye Xiaolian's expression darkened. As harsh as Xiao Yan's words were, they were true. Everyone in the Chu Yun Empire knew their so-called royal family was just a name. Even the succession of emperors was controlled by the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate. Everything else was no exception.

"You can change that?" Ye Xiaolian took a deep breath. "You can get rid of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate?"

"Getting rid of them isn't hard for me," Xiao Yan said lightly. "But that would be too boring. And even if I did, it'd just be treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Your royal family still wouldn't have the power to protect itself. Another sect would just step in and become the next Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate."

"Then what are you saying...?"

"Why not become the next Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate yourselves?" Xiao Yan looked directly into Ye Xiaolian's eyes, finally revealing his true bait.

She knew she shouldn't be moved by his sweet words, but when Ye Xiaolian heard his offer, her heart couldn't help but skip a beat. If the royal family truly gained the power the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate once held, they wouldn't have to live in fear anymore. No one in the empire would dare to challenge their authority again!

"You can make us like the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate?" Ye Xiaolian couldn't help asking.

"For a high-ranking alchemist, nurturing a new power is far easier than destroying one," Xiao Yan said, flicking his finger. A strand of purple-black flame flickered into being at his fingertip.

Seeing the flame, Ye Xiaolian was visibly shaken. Though her strength was low, she could still feel it—this fire was much stronger than the flames used by the royal family's own alchemists. That meant this man's alchemy level was likely far above theirs.

And she was right. With Xiao Yan's current alchemy skills, he could easily dominate the entire Chu Yun Empire. After all, the empire was still dominated by poison masters. Alchemists, while prestigious, were extremely rare. High-ranking alchemists were rarer still. The empire's best was barely at the fifth tier, far weaker than Jia Ma Empire's standards.

For Xiao Yan, crafting fifth-tier pills was now effortless. If he got his hands on a better cauldron, he could even attempt sixth-tier pills. With that kind of ability, being called the top alchemist of the Chu Yun Empire was no exaggeration. If he were to fully support a faction, its rise would be inevitable.

Of course, he would never do so without planting his own checks.

"So what exactly is this deal of yours? What do you want from us?" Ye Xiaolian, after her initial excitement, quickly calmed down. She knew Xiao Yan wouldn't help for free. His price was bound to be steep.

"It's very simple," Xiao Yan said with a smile. "I'll help your royal family rise again, and in return, you must follow my orders without question."

"Then how are you any different from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate?" Ye Xiaolian sneered. So this guy had finally shown his true colors. He just wanted to control the royal family like they did.

"There's a big difference. I don't care about your royal authority." Xiao Yan shook his head. "You'll retain your full sovereign power. I'll only call on you when I need something done. I won't interfere in anything else."

"...Are you telling the truth?" Ye Xiaolian hesitated, but she couldn't deny that the benefits Xiao Yan offered were unmatched. If he really kept his word, letting the royal family take orders occasionally was a small price to pay.

"My greatest virtue is that I never lie," said the notorious flame tyrant, wearing a sincerely innocent expression. "If I'm lying, I'll reverse my name from Xiao Yan to Yan Xiao. How about that?"

Despite having seen his brutality firsthand—despite being personally threatened by him—Ye Xiaolian still found herself believing this man who wore such a harmless expression.

"I agree. But I have one condition." She gritted her teeth and said seriously.

"Oh?" Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow. "What condition?"

"I want to become the Empress of the Chu Yun Empire," Ye Xiaolian said, meeting his gaze. "If you can help me achieve that, the royal family will follow your command."

"Interesting. I didn't expect a little girl like you to have such ambition. I guess appearances really are deceiving." Xiao Yan chuckled. "Alright, you want to be Empress? Then Empress you'll be. It's all the same to me."

(End of Chapter)

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