"Indeed." Lucifer Sairig nodded. "Killing you would be too easy; I wouldn't even need to lift a finger."

"Sword Demon?"

"Mm."

"Perhaps I could survive under the Sword Demon as well."

"You are too self-assured. A Demon should be arrogant, but not foolishly so. Your actions concerning Astis will cause you significant trouble this time," Lucifer Sairig stated blandly. "However, it is not entirely impossible to appease the Sword Demon's wrath."

"A top-tier fine sword?"

"And the persuasion of His Highness the Crown Prince." Lucifer Sairig looked at Qian Jin with confidence. "You should know that I am not the fool the rumors suggest."

"No intelligent Demon would believe you are a fool."

"That is good then." Lucifer Sairig rose, dusted off his backside, walked over to Qian Jin, and casually sat down beside him once more.

Mune Zhence sat atop a roof of a building outside the courtyard, frowning repeatedly as he watched Sairig's movements. This Demon Crown Prince was far more troublesome than anticipated. While the action appeared casual, his inherent status lent it a sense of intimacy and distance-closing.

[A true sovereign never needs to suppress others with so-called imperial majesty! Your personal charisma is the key to becoming a sovereign!]

[Of course, if you lack that charisma, then rule as an emperor through imperial majesty and balancing tactics. Regardless, the three ultimate bloodlines are not entirely harmonious with one another; they require a central point for balance. Since none of them can tolerate the others becoming emperor... descendants of the Zhence lineage, as long as you aren't fools, you will not be overthrown.]

Mune Zhence recalled the two pronouncements Emperor Fulong Zhence left before his death. This Lucifer Sairig before him was seemingly unintentionally, yet diligently, employing methods to radiate personal charisma.

"Have you heard of the Heart of Lucifer?"

"Of course." Qian Jin turned his head to look at the beaming, sun-bright smile on Lucifer Sairig's face. "Otherwise, why would I have let you remain here alone?"

"As expected..." Lucifer Sairig supported himself with his hands behind him, leaning back and smiling faintly. "I knew it. How could I possibly possess enough charm to warrant you discussing matters with me privately."

"It's the same for me. If I didn't have the value of inscriptions," Qian Jin laughed dismissively, "I might be dead right now."

"Not 'might be'," Lucifer Sairig corrected seriously. "You definitely would be dead. Do you really think I am so useless that I couldn't even defeat you?"

Qian Jin smiled and shrugged. From the moment he met the Crown Prince, he had sensed a potent aura about him, like the formidable demonic beasts dwelling in the Western Mountains of the Endless Worlds.

"Actually, I'm quite curious, just how strong are you?" Qian Jin gazed at Lucifer Sairig. "Box Po said the three of them combined couldn't defeat an Elf King bloodline warrior named Qian Wushuang. What about you?"

"Me? You only know after fighting," Sairig's face was filled with confidence. "But I know that I, myself, could defeat Box Po and his two companions, just as Qian Wushuang defeated them."

Qian Jin nodded slowly. Though this was an indirect answer, it conveyed a confidence equal to Qian Wushuang's.

"You wish to see the Heart of Lucifer?" Sairig shifted the topic.

Qian Jin smiled. "You don't want me to see it?"

Lucifer Sairig gazed at Qian Jin and slowly nodded. "Interesting. If you were a female Demon, no matter how ugly, I would marry you as my Empress in the future."

Qian Jin froze; this was an utterly unexpected statement.

"There are too many beautiful female Demons," Lucifer Sairig gestured toward the sky. "Perhaps the stars in the sky aren't as numerous as beautiful female Demons! But intelligent female Demons are too rare. Beautiful female Demons can be obtained anytime, as many as one wishes."

"I apologize, I am male."

"A slight pity," Lucifer Sairig shrugged. "Po and the others should have told you that I require a ritual."

Qian Jin did not reply. This was merely the prelude to what the Crown Prince intended to elaborate on; there was no need to waste breath on either side.

"Alright, that's the situation."

Sairig picked up a wooden stick and began drawing strange figures on the ground—symbols that only those who understood inscriptions and Demons could decipher what the Demon Crown Prince was doing.

Vast, intricate arrays of inscription magic overlapped one after another. Any ordinary inscription master seeing this much layering would have their mind completely shattered.

Qian Jin, however, continued to watch the inscriptions with keen interest, showing no sign of mental strain.

Sairig secretly nodded at Qian Jin's expression. Even some high-level inscription masters he had tested previously would ask him to slow down so they could process and continue. This young Blood Demon showed no sign of needing a pause.

This was excellent! Sairig had feared Qian Jin would call for a stop sooner. The earlier the call, the lower the inscription master's value; the later, the higher.

Ten minutes... half an hour... an hour... three hours...

Sairig was now having to pause after drawing a section to contemplate the next magical inscription array to overlay, yet Qian Jin watched on without expression.

Sairig even began to suspect that the 'Jiliu Feijing' wasn't watching at all; how else could he remain motionless for so long without any reaction?

This was another crucial juncture! Sairig had to stop and concentrate again. Suddenly, he noticed Qian Jin, who had been still beside him, stand up. He was holding an iron poker used for stoking flames and rapidly drew an inscription array where Sairig had stopped.

"This..." Sairig looked up at Qian Jin in astonishment. "Have you seen the inscription schematics for linking the Heart of Lucifer?"

"No," Qian Jin dropped the poker and looked at the overlapping inscription arrays on the ground. "But having seen what came before, one could easily guess that the fool who designed this would resort to another stupid method like this."

To see everything beforehand, without knowing what was being linked, what material, or what magical inscriptions were involved, and yet still know how to proceed—and to call the designer a fool using a stupid method?

Lucifer Sairig felt profoundly insulted. Ever since he learned of the Heart of Lucifer at a young age, he had striven to study inscriptions, visited numerous Demons renowned for their inscription mastery, and eventually gathered a team of experts in this field.

Though His Majesty the Great Demon King had repeated many times, "Stop pursuing this futile endeavor. None of the past Great Demon Kings were stupider than you; I have done everything you are attempting, and it is useless, impossible to achieve."

Lucifer Sairig had never given up. Instead, spurred by his father's words, he became even more determined to extract the essence of the Heart of Lucifer, proving to his father that the Lucifer lineage, under his stewardship, would reach unprecedented heights!

He would accomplish what all previous Great Demon Kings had desired in their youth but failed to achieve. He possessed the ability to surpass them all!

Over the years, Lucifer Sairig had gradually built immense confidence. He believed that once this inscription magic device design was perfected just a bit further, extraction would surely succeed. Finding Jiliu Feijing now merely shaved a little time off the process, yet he was being called stupid and foolish?

"Why isn't it foolish yet?" Qian Jin squatted down and slightly altered the second inscription array from the beginning with his finger. He looked back at the Crown Prince, whose face had shifted from initial anger at being insulted to sheer shock.

"Your diagram..." Qian Jin stood up and kicked it hard. "It's not worth a single copper coin! I believe if your father had ever done anything in this area, he would have a diagram very similar to this one. If you don't believe me, you can go ask him."

Worthless!

Years of painstaking effort, feigning stupidity and idiocy in the outside world while intensely studying inscription mastery undisturbed, earning praise from many inscription masters as immensely talented and a future master—all of it, dismissed in moments by a Demon who just glanced at it, deemed entirely worthless.

Lucifer Sairig’s heavy mood lasted less than a second before it was replaced by a scornful sneer. As the Crown Prince, he had encountered many Demons seeking to boost their standing and gain attention with arrogant pronouncements. This was merely a tactic to inflate their perceived worth.

This Demon before him... Lucifer Sairig believed he possessed some skill in inscriptions, otherwise he couldn't have continued drawing the diagrams, but he doubted his design was truly worthless.

"Young Blood Demon, this Crown Prince knows you wish to display your authority and ability, but..." Sairig gently wagged his right index finger. "You shouldn't speak so carelessly. While it might draw my attention, if you cannot deliver on your claims afterward, I will only look down upon you."

Sairig smiled confidently at Qian Jin. "Now, this Crown Prince offers you a chance to reassert yourself. Tell me your true thoughts on this inscription diagram—it's fine! Don't worry that praising it will prevent me from employing you. Being able to recognize its merits is proof of your capability."

"An object worth not even a single copper coin will never be worth more than a single copper coin," Qian Jin's pupils were filled with arrogance and confidence. "It does not become sacred just because it belongs to you. Its existence only proves that you are exactly as rumored: incapable of anything besides chasing female Demons."