The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

The arrival of the Demon Emperor's divided soul not only startled Chu Xiu, but also made the demons watching outside the Heavenly Demon Tower feel the overwhelming pressure.

"That's...His Majesty?!"

Exclamations of surprise rose and fell, and every transformed demon present was filled with shock.

"How is that possible? Tuolong is nothing but a useless member of the lineage, how could he possibly attract His Majesty's personal attention?"

Questions lingered over everyone's heads, even Chu Xiu, who was facing his strongest enemy in life.

Chu Xiu held his breath, raising his vigilance to the extreme, fearing that the Lord of the Yuling Sect, who had once fought a great battle with the former master of Huaguo Mountain and eventually seized his home, would suddenly attack him.

"Crocodile?"

"Now that you have seen me, why don't you bow?"

The hazy-faced demon emperor's divided soul slowly spoke, uttering a voice whose gender was difficult to discern.

Chu Xiu's heart tightened, and he immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and shouted, "This humble servant, Tuolong, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"You child, it's been so many years. Although your cultivation has improved significantly, you've become increasingly ill-mannered..."

The Demon Emperor's divided soul swayed and floated towards Chu Xiu.

Chu Xiu lowered his head slightly, gazing intently at the tall figure clad in a magnificent dragon and phoenix robe. Only when the figure was a few meters away did Chu Xiu truly see the Demon Emperor's face—

This powerful and domineering emperor, who could suppress all demons, was actually a female emperor with dragon eyes and a phoenix neck, wearing a bright red brocade robe with gold dragon and phoenix designs!

Even though the alligator dragon demon general had received the emperor's favor, he had never seen this demon emperor in person!

Because it is not qualified!

Chu Xiu's eyes narrowed, and his expression became even more shocked.

He could actually sense the auras of Yinglong, Fire Phoenix, Ice Phoenix and Ancient God bloodline all at the same time on this empress!

Just who is this demon emperor?

"Get up..."

"I never expected that with the incomplete bloodline in your body, you could pass through this level in such a short time. I really misjudged you."

The Demon Emperor parted his lips, his divided soul hovering beside Chu Xiu. He glanced sideways at the only offspring left by his most capable subordinate, and couldn't help but recall the past, letting out a soft sigh.

"I originally thought that you would never have the chance to restore the glory of your Tuolong lineage at its peak in this lifetime, but I never expected that you, with your extremely incomplete bloodline, would actually... awaken a trace of the true dragon's will!"

The true dragon's will?

Chu Xiu was taken aback, but then he realized what was happening.

He himself possessed the bloodline of the demon race, which originated from the blood of an ancient god. Since he was able to gain the recognition of the remnant soul of the Yinglong, it was enough to prove that the blood of the ancient god definitely contained elements of dragon blood.

He had no idea that this was actually a top-tier dragon bloodline containing the essence of a true dragon!

Seeing Chu Xiu deep in thought and silent, the Demon Emperor, feeling quite surprised, tilted his head slightly and cast a curious glance.

Any demon whose bloodline was originally incomplete would be overjoyed upon hearing that its bloodline was extraordinary.

But the alligator dragon merely frowned and its eyes flickered slightly, seemingly doubting this momentous news.

"What? You don't trust my judgment?"

"I ask the Demon Emperor," the Demon Emperor asked in confusion.

Chu Xiu quickly shook his head: "That's not it, Your Majesty. It's just that this humble servant... has been burdened with the remnants of blood for a long time, and has suffered countless insults and doubts. I dare not... believe it!"

"Is that so..." The Demon Emperor pondered. "Indeed, even if you contain a trace of the true dragon's intent within you, if the bloodline of the true dragon approaches you and resonates with that trace of true dragon intent, it will remain unknown until your bloodline is fully replenished and completely awakened."

"If it weren't for your actions today, which led you to storm seven levels of the Heavenly Demon Tower and alert the spirit of this tower to the situation here, I wouldn't have been able to see you in person for so long, and no one would have known that you had been buried in obscurity until now..."

A surge of anger rose in the Demon Emperor's heart.

Within the Spirit Control Sect, there are quite a few demon generals with true dragon bloodlines; the crocodile dragon's superior, the jackal dragon demon general, is one of them.

But over the years, Jackal Dragon has failed to notice that his weakest demon general possesses a trace of true dragon intent. Was this due to his negligence or was it intentional?

"I will stand up for you in this matter and reclaim the rights and treatment you rightfully deserve!" The Empress looked at Chu Xiu. "I will never forget the kindness your ancestor showed me!"

Chu Xiu immediately clasped his hands and bowed his head in thanks: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The Demon Emperor nodded slightly, raised his left hand, and gently traced the tip of his thumb across the pad of his middle finger, causing a drop of golden blood containing boundless power to spill out.

With a flick of her finger, the drop of the Demon Emperor's blood floated before Chu Xiu and hovered in front of him.

Feeling a powerful force rushing towards him, Chu Xiu looked up and saw the drop of the Demon Emperor's blood.

"Your Majesty...this..."

The Demon Emperor's face paled slightly. Essence blood is the foundation of a demon, and even if she were to expend just a drop, it would come at a great cost, with the damage to her physical body and bloodline power being only one aspect of it.

Even so, the Demon Emperor said softly, "This drop of essence blood is my compensation to you."

Chu Xiu was shocked upon hearing this.

This drop of the Demon Emperor's blood was no ordinary blood; it was the Demon Emperor's essence blood!

"I observe that the demonic power within your body has been fully transformed into spiritual essence, almost overflowing, yet you are trapped by the shackles of your realm caused by the incompleteness of your bloodline. This drop of essence blood is enough to completely fill the gap in your bloodline within the Ascension Blood Pool... If you are lucky, there is even a possibility that you may awaken my bloodline!"

"Your Majesty's bloodline...originates from what being?" Chu Xiu asked.

The Demon Emperor's red lips curved slightly as he raised his eyes to look at the sky, seemingly recalling something. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "If you truly have such a fortuitous encounter, you will know it in time. Telling you now will only harm your Dao heart and do you no good."

Chu Xiu frowned. How could a mere piece of information damage the Dao heart of someone who knew it?

It seems my level of understanding is still too low, and I am unable to venture into such a realm that is beyond the comprehension of the weak.

"Put away your essence blood. Remember, resist its temptation. Only refine it when you enter the Blood Pool of Ascension. Otherwise, you will only suffer losses!"

The Demon Emperor left behind an instruction, glanced at Chu Xiu's appearance one last time, then turned and vanished.

"Yes!"

Chu Xiu hurriedly clasped his hands in respect to see him off. Only after the Demon Emperor's divided soul had completely departed did he quickly stand up and grasp the Demon Emperor's essence blood that was floating in front of him in his palm.

Upon touching Chu Xiu's palm, the essence blood was quickly absorbed into his body, flowing along his meridians to his middle dantian, where it was surrounded by the imperial energy stored there.

It is both protection and vigilance.

Even though the Demon Emperor never questioned his identity as a crocodile dragon, Chu Xiu felt it was best to be cautious. The thoughts of a Great Emperor whose cultivation level was unknown were beyond his comprehension.

However, this drop of essence blood was an unexpected gain.

Chu Xiu thought he would be stuck at this level, after all, defeating the Demon Emperor's divided soul was a condition for passing the level that he was not capable of doing at his current level.

Just then, a system notification popped up in front of him.

[The Demon Emperor's divided soul has retreated; the trial is passed!]

[The Demon Emperor has instructed that the original reward for this level be changed to: the Imperial Treasure "Yinglong Nuo Mask". Do you wish to claim the reward immediately?]

"An imperial treasure! The Yinglong Nuo Mask?" Chu Xiu's eyes lit up with joy, and he quickly said, "Claim the reward."

As he finished speaking, the message box disappeared, and a mask with the head of an Yinglong appeared before him, radiating the power of a true dragon.

This true dragon's might was almost exactly the same as the pressure Chu Xiu had felt when facing that huge Yinglong remains, and even more so!