320: That lady...

The vague guess in his heart instantly became clear and magnified, even carrying a hint of absurdity that he found hard to believe.

But he quickly suppressed the stormy waves in his heart, took a deep breath, and regained his usual composure, though a trace of unprecedented seriousness and inquiry lingered deep in his eyes.

He nodded slightly, his voice much calmer than before: "If Your Majesty is willing to share a story, I, Li... would be more than happy to listen."

Long Qingcheng seemed to have expected his agreement. Her gaze returned to the distant night scene where brilliance and darkness intertwined. Her voice, as if traveling through long stretches of time with a distant charm, slowly rang out:

"That was... a long time ago. So long ago that I was not yet the Dragon Emperor, and... it was uncertain if I could even grow up."

This single sentence filled Li Shengyuan's heart with curiosity.

Even the current Dragon Emperor, as strong as the First Grade, said she couldn't grow up back then?

She paused, her tone calm yet containing the hardships of the past: "I was born into the Dragon Clan royalty. Born with a pure Bloodline, my talent was considered rare in a thousand years."

"However, while my parents gave me extraordinary talent, the Heavenly Dao also gave me a cruel shackle... an Innate Dao-damage disease originating from deep within my Bloodline."

"It eroded my vitality every moment. Forget about Cultivating, even maintaining a young Dragon form and growing up healthily required the Dragon Clan to consume vast amounts of Heaven And Earth Treasures and the Yao power of experts to sustain my life. The Dragon Emperor at that time, namely my father and mother, exhausted their efforts for this."

"Just as the Dragon Clan was almost at its wits' end and my flame of life was growing weaker by the day..." For the first time, a clear, warm light entered Long Qingcheng's voice, "She appeared."

"A... gentle, beautiful Human Race woman who seemed as if she didn't belong to the mortal world."

Long Qingcheng's voice carried the trance of memory, "She claimed to be traveling through and sensed something unusual. No one knew her specific origin, only that she was unimaginably powerful."

"She went straight to the Dragon Clan's Holy Land. At that time, all the Dragon Clan experts came out, including my First Grade father, attempting to block or question her, but they were all... effortlessly suppressed by her."

Li Shengyuan held his breath, as if he could see that shocking scene from back then:

A woman drifting like a Fairy, treating the Dragon Clan experts as nothing with a flip of her hand.

"She didn't harm any of the Dragon Clan; she simply told my father calmly that she could save me, but she needed the purest essence blood of a Dragon sovereign as a catalyst, combined with her secret technique."

"The price was... the Lifespan of the one who offered the essence blood would be significantly shortened, and their cultivation might stagnate or even fall in Realm..."

Long Qingcheng's tone lowered, carrying deep guilt and gratitude: "My father and mother, however, agreed without hesitation."

"They gave up most of their Life Essence Blood... and because of this, my father's cultivation, which had the potential to go further, stagnated. Over a hundred years ago, due to old injuries and exhaustion, he finally... returned to the sea of stars."

"And she, that sister, was as good as her word." Long Qingcheng's tone brightened again, even carrying a hint of girlish excitement.

"Using supreme Divine Ability combined with my father's essence blood, she not only eradicated my Dao-damage disease but also stimulated my hidden Bloodline Power."

"From then on, not only was I able to grow up healthily, but my Cultivation also progressed with half the effort, breaking many records for young Dragon growth."

"For a long time after that, she stayed in the Demon Domain and kept me by her side." Long Qingcheng's gaze became distant, as if seeing the scenes of those years.

"She taught me to Cultivate and guided me to comprehend the principles of the world, yet she never considered herself my Revered Master. She took me to travel everywhere—the auroras of the North Pole Ice Plains, the mysteries of the Hundred Thousand Mountains in the Southern Border, the magnificence of the deep Eastern Sea, the wilderness of the Demon Domain..."

"And the customs of the Human Race world; she showed me the vastness and complexity of this world."

"During that journey, I saw the Great Gan at its peak, full of vitality. I also met the Chancellor of the Directorate of Astronomy in Great Gan, whom my father feared greatly. He was... extremely respectful to her."

Long Qingcheng's voice carried a hint of curiosity and memory, "At that time, I relied on her, admired her, and saw her as my closest person."

"I once wanted to call her 'Mother,' but she smiled and shook her head... I wanted to call her 'Master,' but she wouldn't allow that either... Finally, she winked mischievously and said to me, 'Just call me sister'."

Speaking to this point, an extremely rare look of girlish innocence and a warm smile from her youth appeared on Long Qingcheng's majestic face, but the smile soon turned into deep loss and loneliness.

"But, just as my cultivation made a Breakthrough to the Third Grade, and I was full of joy wanting to share it with her, feeling I could finally keep up with her footsteps... she left."

Long Qingcheng's voice lowered, "Without any warning, without leaving a single word, she just quietly left, as if she had never appeared."

"I searched everywhere like crazy, visiting all the places I had traveled with her, asking every being who might know her whereabouts... but I found nothing. She was like a true wisp of cloud and mist, dissipating into this world without a trace."

Li Shengyuan could feel the loss and hesitation in her words, still clear after several hundred years.

"I returned to the Demon Domain, despondent." Long Qingcheng's tone became firm again, carrying the decisiveness of a ruler.

"At that time, my father and mother's health had begun to decline due to their earlier exhaustion, and undercurrents were surging within the Dragon Clan because of my 'special' status as an imperial daughter and my father's condition."

"I knew I had to stay, I had to become strong—not just for myself, but for the sacrifice my father and mother made for me, and to... not waste the life she saved back then, nor the vast world she once showed me."

"I composed myself, put all my effort into Cultivation, reorganized the Dragon Clan, and suppressed all dissenting voices with thunderous methods. My cultivation grew day by day, and my prestige was gradually established."

At this moment, she became the majestic and solemn Dragon Emperor once more.

"Later, I took over my father's position. I wasn't satisfied with just leading the Dragon Clan. Having seen a wider world, I knew the drawbacks of the Yao Race's isolation. I wanted to unify the Demon Domain, just as Great Gan unified most of the Human Race territories. Only then could the Yao Race truly prosper."

"I spent many years fighting, appeasing, forming Alliances, and reforming... until finally, the vast majority of the Yao Race submitted to the Dragon Clan, forming the relatively unified structure of the Demon Domain today."

Her gaze swept over the bustling Holy Dragon City below and the faint settlements of various tribes further away: "Because of those years following sister, I know that the Yao Race and the Human Race are not naturally opposed."

"I do not exclude the Human Race from activities in the Demon Domain; I even encourage trade and exchange, learning from the strengths of Human Race civilization. My ideal is to establish a Yao kingdom that is as orderly, prosperous, and open as the Human Race's golden age, yet still retains the characteristics and vitality of the Yao Race..."

"It's just that this path is much harder than I imagined. Internal conservatives, external suspicion, competition for resources, the shackles of Bloodline... Even today, it is still far from my ideal."

Long Qingcheng gently sighed, but then light flared in her eyes again: "But I never gave up looking for her. Even while ruling the Demon Domain and being buried in work, I always kept an eye out for any clues related to sister."

"Perhaps to make up for that regret, I have also adopted and taught some Human Race children, giving them protection and guidance."

"That girl Long Yun is one of them. To the outside world, she is my adopted daughter and a princess of the Dragon Clan. Privately, I also let her call me 'sister'."

Saying this, a very faint, almost mischievous smile appeared at the corner of Long Qingcheng's mouth.

That majesty belonging to a supreme ruler strangely blended with a hidden girlish Heart-Nature at this moment, causing Li Shengyuan's heart to stir slightly.

After growing up, she ultimately chose to emulate her as she was then... Long Qingcheng turned her head, her gaze burning as she looked at Li Shengyuan, filled with hundreds of years of longing and the excitement of finally getting her wish:

"Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao did not fail me. Just over a decade ago, she finally appeared again! She came looking for me proactively!"

"Though it was only a brief meeting, her face hadn't changed; she was still as gentle and beautiful as ever. I told her all my longing from the past hundreds of years, told her I had become the Dragon Emperor and unified the Demon Domain, that I had been working hard..."

"I was like a child desperate for praise, showing her my 'achievements.' And she, just like back then, gently affirmed me, saying I had done well and hadn't disappointed her."

Long Qingcheng's voice trembled slightly; it was emotion suppressed for too long: "It was during that brief meeting that she told me she had taken two Disciples during that time, both of whom were exceptionally brilliant... and then, she left again."

"But this time, I didn't go looking blindly." Long Qingcheng straightened her body, and an unprecedented firmness and dominance rose from her, competing with the bright moon in the sky.

"I know that sister's Realm has long transcended the ordinary levels of this world. Blindly pursuing her is futile."

"What I must do is become stronger! Strong enough to break the shackles of this world, strong enough to be qualified to follow in her footsteps and stand by her side! Instead of only being able to passively wait for her to remember me one day and come to see me again!"

Her gaze was sharp as a sword, piercing straight into the sky. That ambition and obsession were shocking.

Li Shengyuan listened quietly, his mood having shifted from initial shock to an indescribable surge of complex emotions.

Master Fairy Yunmiao... it turned out that hundreds of years ago, she had such an encounter, saving and deeply influencing a future Yao Race ruler.

No wonder Long Qingcheng's attitude toward the Human Race was so unique, no wonder she knew the Daoist title "Fairy Yunmiao," and no wonder she seemed to have known about him and his Senior Sister long ago... all the clues clicked into place at this moment.

He was silent for a long time before slowly raising his head, looking at the tall Long Qingcheng before him with a complex gaze—majesty and vulnerability coexisting, obsession deep yet ideals noble. His voice was somewhat dry as he spoke:

"The one Your Majesty spoke of... the gentle, beautiful, and powerful woman who saved your life, took you traveling, and had you call her 'sister'..."

He paused, asking almost word for word:

"Is it my Master... Fairy Yunmiao?"

After asking, he stared at Long Qingcheng. He already had the answer in his heart, yet he still wanted to hear the final confirmation.

Then, a very strange expression appeared on his face—a mixture of realization, absurdity, warmth, and helplessness. He asked tentatively in a soft voice:

"If that's truly the case... then should I call you 'Senior Martial Uncle,' or... 'Senior Sister'?"