Having the genes of a demon king, I never intended to be a kept man.

Ye Ge became alert, thinking that the royal family had once again sent someone to cause trouble.

However, he soon discovered that this was not the case, at least not on the surface.

Father Night Owl was having a casual conversation with the legendary priestess, and it seemed to be going quite well. At least both of them had the smiles common among nobles, and there was no tense atmosphere between them.

Upon seeing Ye Ge appear, Ji Lian turned her head and looked over, her beautiful and deep eyes, as starry as the night sky, carefully examining Ye Ge: "Is this your son, Ye Ge?"

“Yes,” the owl replied.

Ji Lian nodded slightly: "Being chosen by Lady Lan Mi of the War Academy is enough to prove that this child has extraordinary talent. Perhaps in ten years, the Empire will have a new legendary figure."

Night Owl gave a faint smile and said modestly, "Hehe, well, he'll have to learn to survive until then first. After all, this is a cruel era. No matter how talented you are, if you can't survive, it's all just empty talk, don't you think?"

"The gods will protect every devout child of light." Ji Lian's expression remained calm and undisturbed, like a still lake. "And about the Chu family's matter this time."

Upon hearing the name of the Chu family, Night Owl's eyes flickered slightly.

Ji Lian said, "Your Majesty has heard that Ye Ge discovered the Chu family's smuggling of soul crystals during the War Academy's dungeon assessment, which helped the Imperial Enforcement Officers finally uncover the source of a series of embezzled funds. This is considered meritorious, so Your Majesty sent me here to pay a visit and also ordered someone to deliver a reward." As she spoke, she waved her hand.

A group of eunuchs dressed in imperial black attire immediately carried several large boxes of treasures and placed them on the floor of the hall.

A hint of surprise flashed in Ye Ge's eyes; he truly hadn't expected such an outcome.

Night Owl seemed to feel the same way, but he didn't show it, still wearing a polite noble smile: "Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

“A top genius is the hope for the future of our human race, and the empire will certainly attach great importance to it,” Ji Lian said. “Of course, I also hope that the empire can produce a top powerhouse like the late emperor, who will be famous among all races.”

Night Owl paused for a moment, unsure of the royal family's intentions, and simply nodded slightly.

They chatted casually for a while, talking about some trivial matters.

This beautiful and holy priestess did not seem as rigid and aloof as one might imagine. She was adept at bringing up topics, and she always managed to keep the tone of each topic just right. Clearly, she had received an excellent aristocratic education and was very knowledgeable about etiquette and diplomacy among nobles.

As evening approached, Ji Lian prepared to leave. Ye Xiao, along with Zhou Yuqing and Ye Ge, saw the guest to the door.

Ji Lian stopped and looked at him with her holy eyes: "Viscount Night Owl, since the late emperor passed away, there may have been many misunderstandings between the empire and the Night family due to the instigation of treacherous officials. With the great enemy of all races at the border, and the dark races frequently harassing the Great Wall, the human race still faces many challenges. His Majesty the Second Emperor hopes to resolve these unnecessary misunderstandings."

Night Owl paused for a moment, then said, "I understand."

Before leaving, Ji Lian spoke a few more words to Ye Xiao, who looked surprised. Then Ji Lian said goodbye and got into the steel beast-drawn carriage towed by some kind of flying beast.

The beast roared to the sky, then spread its enormous wings. The black steel wheels inexplicably began to spin, causing the steel carriages to levitate and fly away, dragged along by the flying beast. Other imperial guards and eunuchs followed closely behind in various flying vehicles.

"It's like the sun has risen in the west."

Zhou Yuqing walked to Night Owl's side, watching the imperial convoy gradually disappear on the distant horizon, and murmured, "What exactly is the Empire up to?"

Night Owl glanced at Night Song, then placed his hand on his head: "Looks like you single-handedly changed the Empire's attitude towards us, that's impressive..."

Night Song: "..."

"Really?" Zhou Yuqing turned to look at him and asked, "By the way, what did that priestess say to you before she left?"

Night Owl paused for a moment: "She told me two things."

"What two things?"

"The first thing she did was invite me to join the Federation's Superhuman Association on behalf of His Majesty. The Empire gave me a position as a branch president, which means I can participate in various important meetings in the southern part of the Empire from now on."

Zhou Yuqing exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Did the sun really rise in the west?!"

The branch president of the Federation's Superhuman Association wields considerable power, can participate in many important empire council meetings, and receives a fixed share of the empire's profits.

Ye Ge never expected that she would change so much of the original storyline of the game this time.

Even a fool could see that the Empire was trying to appease and win over the Ye family, which is why they pulled this stunt.

Frankly speaking, after hundreds of years, this reassurance is indeed a bit late.

It's like when you've been with your girlfriend for a long time and you're on the verge of breaking up, the once gentle and loyal woman has turned dark and brooding, telling you that she'll "torture you" after the breakup, and only then does she finally come over to coax you...

However, the offer made this time was somewhat sincere.

Of course, this was only a superficial show of sincerity; no one knew what the Second Emperor was really thinking.

Night Owl pondered for a long time without reaching a conclusion, then looked at Night Spring and asked, "Dad, what do you think about this?"

Ye Quan yawned: "The power struggles and manipulations among nobles are old-fashioned... This old man is tired of it all and doesn't want to bother anymore. Now that you're the head of the family, you can handle things yourself." With that, he turned and left with his hands behind his back.

"..." Night Owl looked helpless.

Zhou Yuqing then pulled him aside and asked, "And the second thing?"

"The second thing..." Night Owl paused halfway through his sentence, then turned to look at Night Song with a look of great interest.

Night Song: "?"

......

On a flying beast-shaped vehicle that flies through the air.

Ji Lian sat in the beast-drawn carriage, meditating peacefully. Suddenly, she slowly opened her eyes, and the scene from the palace before her appeared in her mind.

......

"You mean, you suggest appeasing the Ye family instead of continuing to target them?"

Long Hai sat on the magnificent throne in the palace, his majestic eyes gazing down at Ji Lian.

Ji Lian bowed slightly and said softly, "Yes, this is my suggestion."

"Although the Ye family doesn't have many soldiers, they have a considerable number of elite troops and generals. Their number of extraordinary warriors is small but highly skilled, and their combat strength is almost comparable to that of the four dukes. If Your Majesty insists on continuing to eliminate the Ye family, it will inevitably cost the empire a great deal of resources and wealth."

"However, the Night Family's strength can also help the Empire establish a long-term foothold among all races. You should be well aware of the immense potential of the demonized mutant warriors; they are beings that even the dark races fear. Perhaps Your Majesty could change your thinking slightly and adopt a strategy of appeasement instead of eliminating them."