*Plop!*
"Your Highness, this must be a misunderstanding!"
"My son is young and ignorant. He doesn't understand the dangers of this world. He must have been tricked by that Ye Chen!"
"Our Lei family will definitely, *definitely* find Ye Chen and hand him over to you ourselves!"
Lei Xingshan fell to his knees, his face pale and his voice trembling.
He was desperate to prove his loyalty.
Su Ming showed no emotion. He didn't even look at Lei Xingshan. His gaze landed directly on Lei Jie.
"Oh? So you're one of Ye Chen's followers?"
"I'm actually looking for him right now. Since you're his follower, you must know where he is, don't you?"
The Demon Emperor's Son asked in a calm and gentle tone.
"Lei Jie! His Highness is asking you something. Hurry up and answer!"
Lei Xingshan was getting anxious.
"I won't say anything!"
"I'm Brother Ye's loyal subordinate. I will never betray him."
Lei Jie's face was covered in blood, but he still held his head high with pride.
"Brother Ye values loyalty and righteousness. He's talented and worth following!"
"Father, just trust me this one time."
"You…!"
Lei Xingshan was so furious that he almost coughed up blood. He wished he could slap his son to death on the spot.
But this was his only child. In the end, he could only glare at him with red eyes, filled with anger.
"You've gone mad! Do you want to bring ruin to the entire Lei family just to protect him?!"
*Plop!*
Lei Xingshan dropped to his knees again, his face pale and his breathing heavy.
A powerful cultivator of the Pathwalking Realm was now bowing like a harmless lamb before Su Ming.
"Your Highness, please leave this to me. I promise to take care of it!"
He was ready to rip out his own heart to prove his loyalty.
But Lei Jie still stood firm, refusing to give in.
"Heh."
Su Ming chuckled lightly. "Interesting."
"Since this little brother is so loyal, I won't force you…"
"I'll deal with Ye Chen in another way."
He turned around and calmly walked out.
Lei Jie let out a breath of relief and felt a burst of joy.
See?
This so-called Demon Emperor's son isn't so scary after all.
I stood my ground and stayed loyal. Even he was moved by my actions.
"The next time I see Brother Ye, I must tell him what I did today! He'll be proud of me for sure!"
Lei Jie was excited, proud of protecting their bond.
But Lei Xingshan had a completely different reaction.
"Your Highness! Please, give me the chance to handle this...!"
His face turned gray. He banged his head on the floor again and again, voice trembling.
"I swear, there won't be any mistake!"
"Five days, no, three! Just give me three days, Your Highness!"
He was nearly crying.
But Su Ming didn't stop. He walked out of the Lei family manor.
Outside, the demonic qilin carriage soared into the sky.
With the roar of the qilin beast, it flew off into the clouds and disappeared.
Lei Xingshan watched helplessly as the carriage vanished into the distance.
His body trembled, and he collapsed on the ground, as if all strength had left him.
"Father, what are you doing…?"
"You're a Pathwalking Realm expert. Why are you acting like this? I told you, he couldn't do anything to me!"
Lei Jie was dissatisfied and scolded his father.
"I'm telling you, my Brother Ye is a man of true loyalty. He's kind and…"
Halfway through his words, he stopped.
Lei Jie stared at his father in horror. Lei Xingshan's eyes were bloodshot, full of despair.
In Lei Jie's memory, his father was always strong and confident, with a booming voice.
As a three-hundred-year-old Pathwalking Realm expert, with rare talent and power, he was one of the top figures even in the vast Great Three Thousand Worlds.
But now… Lei Xingshan looked like he had aged thousands of years in an instant.
His spirit flickered like a dying candle.
"Father, what's wrong?"
Lei Jie rushed to him in panic.
Lei Xingshan looked at his son with deep pain and lifelessness in his eyes.
"I spoiled you too much…"
"You're the same age as the Demon Emperor's Son, yet you're worlds apart."
"In the past, I never expected much from you. I thought I could carry the burden of the world for you."
"But now I understand... I wasn't protecting you. I was ruining you… and our entire clan!"
"…What?"
Lei Jie was still confused.
"We are a family of immortals, ruling over a great city, powerful in every way!"
"So what if Su Ming is the Demon Emperor's Son? He's not the Demon Emperor yet. Why should we fear him this much?"
There was still some defiance in Lei Jie's voice.
In his eyes, even if he was not equal to the Demon Emperor's Son, he wasn't that far behind.
Lei Xingshan gave a smile with tears uncontrollably dropping from his eyes as he looked at his son.
Just then, a scream came from outside.
"W-What's that?!"
"The sky… it's changing!"
At first, it was just a few shouts. But soon, they turned into a chaotic panic.
*Bang!*
The door slammed open.
"Patriarch! Our Lei family is under attack!"
An elder stumbled in, pale with fear.
He hadn't even finished speaking when the entire hall exploded.
The roof above was blown away. Everyone looked up.
The once-clear sky had turned dark and terrifying.
Heavy black clouds twisted and churned, pressing over the entire city.
It looked like the heavens were torn open, revealing a massive vortex.
A violent wind howled. Storms raged.
*Boom…*
*Zap*
Thunder cracked through the clouds.
"W-What is that…?"
Lei Jie looked up, terrified.
"Something is coming out?!"
*Zrrr!*
The clouds tore apart.
A massive black hand burst forth from the sky.
The heavens shook. The wind cried out in despair.
The enormous hand carried terrifying power, enough to destroy the world itself. It came crashing down.
The Lei family's protective barrier activated instantly.
*Boom!*Boom!*
But it only lasted for a moment before shattering.
Where the hand passed, nothing remained.
Lei Jie's body froze, paralyzed with fear.
Before he lost consciousness, he heard his father's heartbroken voice echo in his ears.
"My son… now do you understand what you've brought upon our Lei family…?"
"Heh… an immortal family?"
"In front of the Infinite Demon Palace, we're nothing but ants…"