76: Chapter 76 Demon Emperor

The Great Zhou Empire.

The Imperial Capital, the Imperial Palace.

Sunlight spilled onto the vermilion palace walls, causing them to gleam brilliantly.

The glazed tiles shimmered with dazzling light under the sun.

The magnificent, gold-adorned palaces were arranged in an orderly fashion, their brackets and upturned eaves exquisite and ornate, showcasing the majesty and nobility of the royal family.

Within the palace gardens, flowers bloomed in profusion, trees provided shade, and pavilions and towers were scattered throughout, resembling a gorgeous painting.

And in that exquisite and elegant pavilion sat a beautiful woman.

She was dressed in a long gown that was magnificent yet elegant, her waterfall-like black hair gently pinned up, with a few strands swaying softly in the breeze.

Her skin, white as snow, seemed to emit a soft glow under the reflection of the sunlight.

The beautiful woman held an ancient, ink-scented scroll in her hands, reading it with focus. A touch of intoxication was revealed in her slightly lowered eyes, and her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

Her slender fingers gently turned the pages, her movements soft and graceful.

Suddenly, a colorful butterfly fluttered over and landed on her shoulder.

Subsequently, the beautiful woman's slender, white fingers, like mutton-fat jade, moved slightly.

Immediately after, her red lips, as delicate and dripping with dew as flower petals, parted slightly, and a voice like heavenly music slowly emanated from her mouth.

"Let him in."

Having spoken.

The colorful butterfly quickly flapped its light wings, flying outward with an urgent posture, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Not long after.

A middle-aged man clad in silver armor stepped into the pavilion with a grave expression.

Seeing him walk quickly toward the beautiful woman, he then slowly knelt on one knee and said in a panic.

"Empress Butterfly, something terrible has happened!"

The beautiful woman remained focused on the scroll in her hands, not even lifting an eyelid.

"When Emperor Yan went missing, I never saw you this anxious."

A look of embarrassment flashed across the middle-aged man's face.

"Your Highness Empress Butterfly, Emperor Yan possesses heaven-defying strength and surely won't meet with disaster, but... but this time is different."

The beautiful woman's delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"Speak, what great matter could make Duke Cao so afraid?"

Duke Cao pursed his lips and whispered, "Empress Butterfly, Yang City has disappeared."

The beautiful woman cast a cold and glamorous gaze at the middle-aged man. "Disappeared?"

"Yes, completely and thoroughly disappeared. Along with it, there were millions of Great Zhou citizens."

Empress Butterfly's breathing suddenly hitched, and she seemed as if she had been frozen in place.

The scroll she had been tightly gripping in her hand slipped silently from her grasp without her noticing, finally falling gently beside her feet.

The slight sound of the scroll hitting the ground seemed exceptionally clear and abrupt in the silent atmosphere.

"Do you know who did it?"

Duke Cao hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

"Only a gigantic palm print was left at the scene."

Upon hearing this, Empress Butterfly's pupils constricted sharply.

"A... a palm print?"

Her originally beautiful and moving face now appeared exceptionally grave.

"When did this happen?"

Feeling the oppressive aura of Empress Butterfly, Duke Cao's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said.

"Just two days ago."

Hearing this.

Empress Butterfly's face was filled with anger, and she said coldly, "Why are you only informing me now?"

Duke Cao hurriedly explained, "Your Highness Empress Butterfly, I only just received the news. Almost no one survived the incident that day."

Empress Butterfly took a deep breath, and a glimmer seemed to swirl in her beautiful eyes.

"It seems a tough character has come to the Great Zhou. Do you have any suspects?"

Duke Cao held his breath and said uncertainly.

"The top of the Extreme Evil List—the Demon Emperor."

Empress Butterfly's expression was grave as she repeated in a murmur, "Demon Emperor...?"

"Why suspect him?"

Upon hearing this, Duke Cao hurriedly took a stack of papers from his bosom and respectfully handed them to Empress Butterfly.

"This is intelligence my men obtained from an Awakened in Yang City. Please, you must take a look."

Empress Butterfly extended her delicate hand, as white as mutton-fat jade, and elegantly took the stack of papers.

"Yang City's Emperor Qin? Four Kings Pavilion?"

Empress Butterfly browsed through all the intelligence one by one at an extremely fast speed.

Subsequently, it was as if flames were about to erupt from her beautiful eyes.

She gritted her silver teeth tightly, her gums seemingly turning slightly white from the force.

"Good, very good indeed."

Seeing this scene.

Duke Cao, who was standing to the side, looked hesitant.

Empress Butterfly keenly noticed this.

"What? Do you have something to say?"

Duke Cao lowered his head, a trace of fear on his face. "Your Highness Empress Butterfly, that... that Demon Emperor, I fear he has already surpassed the Emperor-level."

Upon hearing this, Empress Butterfly curled her red, petite lips slightly.

Subsequently, she sneered, "Surpassed the Emperor-level? This so-called Demon Emperor probably isn't even Emperor-level. At most, he has Imperial-level strength."

Duke Cao showed a look of confusion and hurriedly asked.

"Your Highness Empress Butterfly, can Imperial-level strength achieve destroying a city with one palm?"

"Of course not, but if one makes use of some top-tier Awakened Objects, the act of destroying a city is not difficult."

"In our Great Zhou, there are as many as three Awakened Objects capable of destroying a city in a single strike."

"This Demon Emperor, hmph, is merely relying on Awakened Objects to act violently."

After listening to Empress Butterfly's words, the worry in Duke Cao's heart did not decrease; instead, it increased.

This Demon Emperor was by no means as incompetent as Empress Butterfly described.

Those Awakened Objects were each harder to subdue than the last. Could an Imperial-level individual subdue such terrifying Awakened Objects?

In any case, he, Duke Cao, did not believe it.

It seemed he had to prepare for two possibilities.

Empress Butterfly looked at Duke Cao, who was lost in thought, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, and then she spoke in an icy tone.

"Duke Cao, what are you thinking about?"

Empress Butterfly's words were like the biting cold wind of March, icy and sharp.

It made Duke Cao, caught off guard, suddenly shiver violently.

Seeing Duke Cao return to his senses, he said in a deep voice, "Replying to Your Highness, I was just wondering why you are so certain that the Demon Emperor is not a powerhouse above the Emperor-level?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Butterfly chuckled.

Immediately after, she looked up at the treacherous, cloudy sky and said slowly.

"Because the Awakening quota is full, and the Global Awakening has not reached the third stage, it is impossible for any more Emperor-level powerhouses to appear."

When she said this, she rolled her eyes significantly at Duke Cao.

"I told you to go study, but you insisted on raising pigs. Weren't these things discussed at the Imperial Conference?"

Watching this charming eye-roll, Duke Cao hurriedly chanted Amitabha in his heart.

Sin, sin. I only like married women, I only like married women.