Chapter 268: Chapter 267: Morning Glow Falls, the Blade’s Edge Nears

「The next day.」

The first rays of the morning sun cast a golden glow.

In the outer hall, Su Ye and Genvieve were sharing breakfast.

Tender and succulent Earth Dragon steaks seasoned with black pepper were served, much to the satisfaction of Su Ye, who had toiled all night. He ate with great relish.

As he enjoyed the delicious steak, Su Ye considered various matters and gave Genvieve his instructions.

"I hope Aino City can have its order restored as soon as possible..."

"You’ll need to put some effort into this. Work closely with Marina. You can also use the royal reserves to stabilize the soaring prices in the city."

Genvieve paused, then chose her words carefully. "Your Holiness, the supply lines outside the city have been cut off by the Tewa Kan... If we open the storehouses, we won’t be able to last for long."

Su Ye picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth.

Then, he spoke slowly.

"The threat from Tewa Kan will not last long."

Upon hearing this, realization dawned on Genvieve, and she couldn’t help but laugh at herself. "I was overthinking it. With Your Holiness’s great power, the insignificant people of Tewa Kan can be annihilated with a flick of a finger!"

But besides opening the storehouses, there was one more thing Su Ye planned to implement.

"Announce a ban on mortal blood sacrifices and a ban on cannibalism!"

Mortal blood sacrifices and cannibalism were time-honored cultural traditions in the Far South Continent.

Even by Su Ye’s moral standards, these practices were difficult to accept.

The blood and living souls required by the Ghostly Flood Dragon were taken from targets Su Ye had chosen—demonic beasts and rogue cultivators... never mortals!

As for cannibalism... that was something absolutely forbidden in the Yaoguang Islands!

Therefore, Su Ye decided to spread some culture and ban these bloody traditions!

"You wish to abolish blood sacrifices?"

A flicker of emotion crossed Genvieve’s eyes.

However, she said nothing, tacitly agreeing.

After all, the Goddess of Fertility and the divine abominations had all fallen!

Blood sacrifices...

Who would the offerings from these blood sacrifices even be for?

To host a barbecue?

If that was the case, it was better to just abolish them!

Besides, given the current situation, she had no room to resist.

"Understood. Your will shall be strictly carried out."

She bowed her head.

And just then, Su Ye’s expression shifted slightly. As he finished speaking about the ban on blood sacrifices, he felt it.

His World Rejection Level had decreased by 0.1%!

’This is...’

’Does this world also detest blood sacrifices?’

Su Ye mused thoughtfully.

...

After settling matters, Su Ye finished his breakfast.

"Alright, you don’t have to see me out."

"Go and attend to your duties. I am preparing to go cultivate at the Spiritual Spring."

As he spoke, Su Ye donned his black robes and stepped out of the bedchamber.

Genvieve bowed deeply to see him off, holding the bow for a long time before finally straightening up.

She was just about to leave when she suddenly looked toward the shade of the trees outside the bedchamber.

A valiant and agile female figure with shoulder-length hair rose from the shadows.

It was An Jie.

Her face was pale, as if she had been standing in the cold wind all night.

"An Jie?"

Genvieve’s smile stiffened.

"What are you doing here?"

She forced a smile, walked over to An Jie, and reached out to brush the dewdrops from her shoulder.

SWAT.

An Jie’s face was grim. She gripped Genvieve’s wrist, stopping her, and demanded,

"Mother."

"What did you do last night?"

At her words, Genvieve’s body trembled, and her smile slowly faded.

"That is not something you should be asking..."

"Go back to your cultivation."

"Not something I should be asking?!" An Jie was so furious she laughed.

"Father and brother are barely cold in their graves... and you couldn’t wait to submit to that demon, Mother?!"

"Silence!"

SLAP.

Genvieve raised her hand and slapped An Jie across the face.

She paused for a breath before speaking coldly.

"Remember, you are to address him as His Holiness, or Master!"

"Mother!" An Jie clutched her cheek, her expression full of disbelief.

"What are you saying?!"

"He is our sworn enemy, the one responsible for our blood feud!"

"I know!"

Genvieve’s face was ashen.

"That... is why we must endure!"

Her breathing was ragged and her chest heaved as she spoke in a low voice.

"Do you think I don’t hate him?"

"But in the face of such an absolute gap in power, what good is hatred? We can’t even handle his minions!"

"All we can do is endure!"

"Remember this. No matter how humiliating it is, you will bear it!"

"It’s the only way to survive!"

Genvieve said coldly, "Only by enduring and surviving will we ever have a chance for revenge!"

"The dead... can’t do anything!"

...

「Underground Spiritual Spring.」

’Mm, that’s right.’

’Take your time enduring. Don’t be in a rush.’

’Endure for another few thousand years, and I’ll have left this world by then.’

’—I’ll have ascended!’

"Heh..."

Su Ye chuckled and withdrew his Divine Sense.

His eyes lowered.

He began circulating the Taiqing Cold Jade Skill, absorbing the incredibly pure Holy Spring Spirit Liquid from the Spiritual Spring.

HUM!

The Spirit Liquid seethed and surged into his body!

Every Magical Power Circulation brought his cultivation one step closer to the Mid-stage Crystal realm!

’Soon!’

Feeling his cultivation advance at a rapid pace, a smile touched Su Ye’s lips.

...

「Meanwhile, on a distant wasteland.」

A cruel blood sacrifice was underway.

Prisoners of war and slaves—thousands of living sacrifices—were herded before a stone altar.

The area around the altar was covered with skulls.

"Present the offerings."

SHHNK.

Sharp Obsidian daggers slit the sacrifices’ throats, and blood sprayed out like blossoming flowers.

THUD.

The sacrifices collapsed to the ground, their tightly bound limbs twitching and spasming.

A tenacious will to survive made them struggle like suffocating fish, unwilling to die.

However, this was precisely the effect the ritualists desired!

"Great Eternal Hunting God, your child offers you this blood tribute."

At the center of the altar, Prince Tewa Kan, wearing a golden crown and with features as sharp as if carved by a knife, knelt on one knee in devout prayer.

DRIP. DRIP.

The blood flowing from the sacrifices formed pools on the ground.

And now, as the Prince prayed, the blood seemed to come ’alive,’ slithering like venomous snakes across the ground and converging at the center of the altar.

HUM.

The stone altar began to glow with a divine, golden-red light.

A greedy and cruel presence descended upon the scene, absorbing the blood and souls of the sacrifices!

But unlike before, the Eternal Hunting God only partook of a symbolic portion of these offerings.

The vast majority of the sacrifices’ souls were extracted and condensed into a single golden-red seed.

"Hm?"

Prince Tewa Kan’s eyes widened in surprise.

’Is this...’

’A reward from the sacrifice?’

’How long has it been since the Ancestor God bestowed a reward?’

The voice of the Eternal Hunting God rang out.

"My blood-descendant."

"I have confirmed... that the outsider who does not belong to the divine continent, who blasphemed against the glory of the gods..."

"...is now in Aino City!"

"Take the power I bestow upon you... Kill him, tear him to shreds, and offer him as a sacrifice to me!"

The Eternal Hunting God whispered grimly. In Its voice, one could almost sense a hint of urgency.