Soul Land V: Rebirth of Tang San

The Great Monster Emperor Lin Ximo's face was filled with bitterness; at this moment, he was truly overwhelmed with mixed emotions, an indescribable complexity swirling within him. Yet, he managed to say, "You won."

The Peacock Demon King laughed, his smile resplendent, "As long as you know, that's good, that's good... I won, I won... Haha, hahaha..."

His body had started to stiffen. He slowly turned and cast his gaze upon the princess, upon his wife, and said with some difficulty, "I won, did you hear...? I won on behalf of our... Peacock Demon Clan... against the Crystal Phoenix. What your father didn't... achieve... I did… I didn't... let you down... Your choice... was right... your choice of... my... intelligence. I used my... mind to win for our Peacock... Demon Clan... I love..."

"Ding!" A melodious, crisp sound echoed as a fragment of the golden crown broke suddenly on the Peacock Demon King's forehead, shattering into countless pieces that scattered in all directions. His voice halted abruptly as the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed.

"No—," the princess screamed, clutching at his body, tightly grasping the hand she had just pushed away, "No, no, no, you can't die, you can't die. I... I love you, I really love you. Come back to life, come back to life, please!"

In a flash of light, the Great Monster Emperor Lin Ximo nearly teleported to their side. As the princess was about to act, she felt a powerful divine consciousness suppress her own. Then, Lin Ximo's finger touched the Peacock Demon King's forehead, sealing a piece of the golden crown fragment that was about to scatter.

The eyes of the Peacock Demon King regained a hint of their luster, looking somewhat puzzled at the Great Monster Emperor Lin Ximo.

"Speak, say what you want to say. No matter what, no matter our grievances, it was you who saved my wife and daughter." Lin Ximo's body stopped trembling, but tears rolled in his eyes.

A sense of relief passed through the Peacock Demon King's gaze, but he didn't look back at Lin Ximo; instead, he turned to the princess, his lips trembling as he spoke, "Promise me... to live... well... I won't get to see... our Peacock... heritage's... glory... but you... watch it... for me... Support Little Beauty... well. Although... she doesn't... share my... blood... in truth, I have... long since... considered her... as my own... daughter. Compared with Lin... Ximo... I am... a good... father..."

With those final words, this formidable patriarch of the Peacock Demon Clan, the most outstanding City Lord in the history of Jiali City, passed away. As life ebbed, the last trace of reluctance in his eyes was reserved for his wife before him. Just as he had said, in his life, he truly loved only her.

The princess's body shook as she tightly embraced his form, feeling his warmth slowly fading, feeling his divine consciousness gradually slipping away. Her throat seemed choked, rendered speechless.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Su Qin, floating nearby, was covered in tears. No matter what, this was the being who had cared for her and her daughter for over a decade. As the Peacock Demon King had said, he had a purpose, he wasn't their real father, but he was a good father. It was he who raised Pretty Girl into adulthood.

The Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor Lin Ximo slowly withdrew his hand but did not look at Su Qin, for at that moment, he truly did not know how to face the woman who had given everything for him and had even almost died.

Did he hate the Peacock Demon King for stripping away the Crystal Phoenix bloodline from Pretty Girl and implanting the Peacock bloodline? Undoubtedly, at that time, the Peacock Demon King had been utterly selfish, and even not so benevolent. But now, he couldn't feel any hatred at all, because if it weren't for the Peacock Demon King, Su Qin and Pretty Girl, who were bleeding profusely at that time, would have likely died long ago, leaving no chance for today's resentment.

Aside from the absence of the Crystal Phoenix Monster Clan's bloodline, at least his lover was still alive, and to his amazement, he even had a daughter—an outstanding daughter at that. Even though she did not possess the Crystal Phoenix Monster Clan's bloodline, she already had the Emperor's Posture, and after all, she was his daughter with his own bloodline!

Gathering his courage, the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor Lin Ximo turned his head to look at Su Qin, "Qin, I dare not ask for your forgiveness. I truly do not know, really do not know, how much suffering you have endured for me. It's all my fault, I really know that now, but I also know that it's too late for any words, the time has passed. But fortunately, we have a daughter, and I am already an Emperor. You just watch my future actions. I only have Little Beauty as my daughter, besides that, I am alone. My Phoenix Clan also doesn't have just one Emperor, but I swear here today, in this life, I will live only for you and our daughter."

After uttering these words, he slowly backed away, bowed to Su Qin in the air, and with an extremely complex heart, he suddenly transformed into a beam of crystal light and sped off into the distance. A piercing cry echoed through heaven and earth, "We're leaving!"

At this moment, he could only choose to leave, because he knew very well that Su Qin would definitely not leave with him at this time, and his daughter was about to inherit the title of patriarch of the Peacock Demon Clan. That's right, the Peacock Great Demon King had won, but had he truly lost?

In just this brief moment, Lin Ximo had come to understand many things and grasped the Peacock Great Demon King's profound meaning. What difference was there between having Jiali City in his own control and in the hands of his daughter? What more could he be dissatisfied with? After all, the woman he deeply loved had never betrayed him, and she had even borne him a daughter. For Lin Ximo, this was more happiness than taking over a main city could ever bring.

He finally understood why the Peacock Great Demon King had always been so confident. This guy was truly impressive! Everything was waiting here for him. It had exhausted itself for the Peacock Demon Race and had also found a different path to achieve its goals. Undoubtedly, he would protect his daughter until she became an Emperor, and by that time, with the bonds between his daughter and the Peacock Demon Race, Jiali City would always belong to the Peacock Demon Race.

The Peacock Great Demon King's move was multi-faceted, even perfect in execution. The only loss was the decades of affection it had shared with the princess. Therefore, when it came to unraveling the mysteries today, it had been constantly apologizing to its wife, expressing its innermost feelings. Perhaps, it had also been holding back those emotions for a very long, long time, but had never managed to fully disclose them.

So, it was a battle with no victor, the end result being one that both sides could be satisfied with, and the Peacock Great Demon King had also sacrificed its life to resolve the hatred between the Crystal Phoenix Heritage and the Peacock Demon Clan.

Who could have expected that the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor, who had always been so hostile to the Peacock Demon Clan, would become a supportive force for Pretty Girl's reporting in the Ancestral Court in the near future? This was the Peacock Great Demon King's biggest trump card, and it was also why Tang San couldn't tell Pretty Girl just yet, after all, it would be too much of a burden on her heart and mind.

With each cry of the phoenix, the Phoenix Clan departed, leaving the Jiali City nobles and the strong members of the Peacock Demon Race in awe. The Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor, who had clearly had the upper hand and seemed poised to crush everything, had simply left. The clash, which was supposed to be one of annihilation, ended just like that.