Jude Song bowed his head, clenched his fists, and forced himself to hold his breath, focusing every ounce of strength he had. Ever since he was little, he'd been crippled—no tail. His mother, Wendy Cao, had always warned him: Never use your spiritual focus blindly, or you'll die.
Back then, he saw Wendy Cao’s tears, looked at his own crippled legs, and just nodded and agreed. He didn’t want to see that broken tail either. It was like rubbing salt straight into his wounds.
But now, he was going all out, using every bit of strength just to wake up that tail that had never responded before.
Sweat started pouring down his forehead, his whole body shaking. Finally, right in front of his eyes, a tiny segment of a broken tail appeared—so short, but clear enough to see. It was just a silver-gray tail, the color he despised most.
No------
Jude Song bit down hard on his lower lip, pain squeezing the air from his chest. No, this can’t be real. He’s supposed to have a golden tail—he’s the son of Emperor Song Jing and Wendy Cao, their real flesh and blood.
This pathetic, low-class tail isn’t his. Not his—never!
His fingers dug viciously into that stubby tail, squeezing hard, desperate to snap it off. This thing shouldn’t be his—it just shouldn’t…
*****
Meanwhile, inside the Soaring Phoenix Realm’s capital, the fighting still raged. Even though Connor Tong had spread the news, these palace guards only listened to Jude Song. Anyone else’s words meant nothing to them.
Not far behind her, Pinkie lay in a pool of blood. His lips still curled in a peaceful little smile, but his eyes—those bright eyes—were closed forever.
Yvonne Li's tears slid down, one drop after another, but her feet kept moving forward. Every step was heavy, every step carried the hopes of those who’d fallen. She just kept walking, one determined step at a time.
"Kill them! Kill them—kill them all—!" Up ahead, a woman's voice roared through the chaos. Yvonne snapped out of her daze and looked over. It was Nina Xu, fighting like a wildcat.
Nina Xu’s hair was a mess, her clothes shredded and fluttering in the wind. Corpses were scattered everywhere behind her, and in front stood four or five fresh guards, all looking way too energetic. Nina’s legs were shaking, she was clearly exhausted, but she refused to drop—she just kept swinging that sword like nothing could stop her.
Yvonne saw how bad things were—those guards looked ready for round two—so she didn’t hesitate. She leapt forward to help.
"Nina!" Yvonne shouted her name, voice cracking with urgency.
Nina turned, saw Yvonne, and—despite everything—managed a grin. "Sister Yin!" she yelled, like it was the best news all night.
"Come on, let’s smash these guys together!" Yvonne called out, dropping her grief and rallying Nina with a big, bold shout.
"Yeah!" Nina instantly perked up. She’d thought she was done for, but now with Sister Yin here, how could she give up?
The two sisters gripped their swords, hearts pounding, and dove straight into another round of synchronized, deadly fighting.
The night dragged on—cold, endless. But not a single one of Ivy’s crew backed down, not a soul fell. They only had one belief: help Ivy Shen, and take out as many enemies as possible!
************
"Ah... Mistress... Mistress, what are you—?" Luna’s eyes went wide with horror. She had zero clue why Wendy Cao was suddenly clamped onto her neck, sucking blood like a vampire.
In a flash, Luna felt like she was floating—light as a feather, her whole body going fuzzy and weird.
Wendy Cao was basically a vampire, glued to Luna’s neck, drinking deep like she’d done it a thousand times before—like she was savoring the taste of something deliciously human.
She moved with terrifying confidence, like she’d rehearsed this scene over and over.
Ivy Shen’s brows shot up as she watched Wendy Cao go full monster mode. What the hell was she doing—drinking blood? Human blood? Ivy’s mind just blanked out.
Ugh... Ivy had never seen anyone drink blood before. Just watching it made her stomach churn.
Behind the trees, Jude Song was biting down on his finger, terrified he’d make a sound. He stared in horror at the scene: Wendy Cao had killed his real mother, and now she was drinking blood right in front of him...
She’s not human. She’s a demon. Yeah, a demon...
Unable to take it anymore, Jude turned away and quietly wheeled himself off. He didn’t want to see any more—everything he’d ever hoped for, every bit of effort he’d put in, just crumbled to dust inside his heart.
What was he even fighting for? What was the point of all that effort? In the end, he was just the child of a 'lowly' woman.
That throne—it was never really his. Never his...
Ivy Shen and Wendy Cao were way too absorbed in their showdown to notice Jude coming or going.
A moment later, Wendy Cao just tossed Luna aside like trash. She grinned coldly. "Bet you’re wondering why I drank your blood, huh? Here’s the deal: you’re Blood Clan, your mom was Blood Clan, and drinking Blood Clan blood—plus Silver Consort’s fire power—means I get to level up my demonic skills. Once I’m done, not even Scarlet Blood can touch me!" Wendy was practically glowing with evil satisfaction.
There’s only room for one boss in the Serpent Realm. One mountain can’t handle two tigers!
Luna’s eyes went huge. She was still bleeding, still totally stunned, and suddenly—her mind flashed back to a shadowy figure from her childhood.
"Careful!" A gentle voice called out when Luna tripped as a kid, and a hand reached out to steady her.
"Thanks!" Little Luna smiled up at her rescuer, but the woman was wrapped up head-to-toe—Luna couldn’t see her face, just heard her soft, girlish voice.
"Luna..." Someone called her name sweetly from far away.
"Miss..." Little Luna perked up and nodded, then ran off toward the voice.
"Where’d you go?" Young Wendy Cao shot her a glare—how’d Luna slip away so fast?
"Miss, I went to pick flowers for you," Luna replied, glancing back at the spot where the mysterious woman had stood.
"What are you looking at?" Wendy Cao asked, eyes sharp.
"Miss, is there a woman in the manor who’s always wrapped up really tight?" Luna asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Huh?" Wendy Cao’s guard went up. "Did you see her?"
"Yeah, I just fell and she helped me up."
"Luna, that woman’s no good—she’s Blood Clan, only survives by drinking blood. You’d better not talk to her again, or she might suck you dry!" Wendy Cao warned, trying to scare Luna off.
Luna nodded, "Okay, I get it."
After that, every time Luna saw that wrapped-up woman, she’d dodge away—afraid she’d get her blood sucked. But that woman never hurt her; instead, she always sent little gifts, embroidery thread, sewing needles. Eventually Luna stopped being afraid, ready to accept her Blood Clan aunt for real... but then, just like that, the woman vanished.
As Luna grew up, she gradually forgot all about it.
Now, seeing Luna’s pupils go wide, Wendy Cao knew she was about to die. So, with one last bit of drama, she declared, "That weird woman you met as a kid? That was your mother, the Blood Clan princess!"
Luna tried to say something, but her throat just filled up with blood—she couldn’t get a word out.
"I raised you for years, I’ve done you plenty of favors. Now you can finally pay me back. And you liked Gavin Wang, right? Well, he’s already in hell—go keep him company." Wendy Cao’s lips curled into a bloody smile.