Chapter: Chapter 494
Had it been a fair and square duel, Su would have no doubt lost to Huang, despite having the advantage in raw power. Huang’s terrifying combat experience alone was enough to compensate for the disparity in strength.
However, with Leticia secretly aiding Su from behind the scenes, the situation was entirely different.
Whenever Huang attempted a fierce attack on Su, Leticia would interfere, preventing her from unleashing the full force of her strike. Attacks that posed no significant threat, however, were ignored. Children needed to experience some pain to grow, after all.
With Huang serving as the aggressor, Leticia was happy to relax.
Thus, through underhanded tactics, Su managed to defeat Huang’s consciousness after much effort.
The giant Huang bird shattered into countless flecks of golden light, gradually merging into Su’s body, causing an immediate surge in Su’s aura.
Feeling the enhanced power within her, Su let out an excited cry. Though the battle had been arduous, the rewards were incredibly sweet, significantly alleviating her pain.
Leticia flew to Su’s head and gently stroked her neck. The large bird affectionately nuzzled Leticia’s head, eliciting a soft laugh from the Demon King.
“Her mental strength has increased considerably. It seems that for Su, devouring fragments of Huang’s consciousness is the way to improve her mental strength?” Leticia mused as she healed the injuries Su sustained during the battle.
Her multicolored mist was akin to experience books for Su, allowing her to quickly reach her level cap. However, it was useless for breaking through that cap.
If Su’s previous level cap was twenty, after devouring this wisp of Huang’s consciousness, it had risen to twenty-five. This was a genuine increase in her maximum potential.
Leticia decided that she might need to find a way for Su to “harm” more of Huang’s consciousness in the future. The stronger Su’s mental fortitude became, the greater her contribution to future battles would be.
She was raising Su precisely to gain an advantage in the upcoming battles against Huang.
“You’re almost healed. It’s time to wake up from your dream,” Leticia said softly, patting Su’s large head.
Under her control, the dream realm rapidly collapsed. As she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the real world.
Only she and Su remained in the temple. After her impressive display, the Dove clan chief dared not make any further trouble. Coupled with Linglong and the others helping to cover things up from the outside, there should be no issues.
Su, who had been sleeping on Leticia’s lap, rubbed her eyes and sat up groggily. Her large red eyes seemed to hold a new spark of intelligence. “Sister…”
Her voice was also clearer than before. Could devouring Huang’s consciousness have such benefits? Leticia wondered.
“How do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?”
Su shook her head and communicated to Leticia through her thoughts that she felt much better.
“I don’t remember what happened after I fell asleep, but the feeling of my body about to burn up is completely gone, and I think I’ve gotten a bit stronger.”
“That’s good. It seems that devouring these things is very beneficial for you. I’ll find a way for you to devour more later.”
“But it doesn’t taste good,” Su replied glumly.
“Good medicine tastes bitter but helps the illness,” Leticia said sternly, tapping Su’s forehead. “How can a child be picky?”
The Demon King seemed to have forgotten that she was quite picky as a child herself… In fact, she was still quite picky now.
But that was how one educated children: it didn’t matter if she was picky, but the child absolutely couldn’t be.
“Oh.” Su lowered her small head, her mood visibly dampened.
Sighing helplessly at the little one, Leticia pulled a colorful lollipop from her pocket. “Don’t be discouraged. Have a candy and cheer up.”
Peeling back the wrapper, Leticia placed the specially made lollipop into Su’s mouth.
Su didn’t have a sense of taste yet, but Leticia’s lollipop still allowed her to perceive sweetness. After all, the primary ingredient of this lollipop was mental energy.
Holding the lollipop, Su’s dejected mood vanished like snow in the sun, and she quickly became happy again.
“I’m going back now. Su, you need to perform well,” Leticia said, having appeased Su. She then tore open a spatial rift and returned to the divine artifact’s space.
The moment she landed, she was met with a chain attack from Infino.
caught off guard by the sudden assault, Leticia was struck squarely on the head by Infino.
“Is that something you can just eat casually!” Infino exclaimed, hands on her hips, pointing accusingly at Leticia. “Do you even know that casually devouring something like that could turn you into a lunatic!”
How fragile was Su’s mind? Infino couldn’t believe Leticia didn’t know. Letting Su devour a wisp of Huang’s consciousness was sheer recklessness!
Leticia felt quite wronged. She just wanted to try it out. “I’m very confident in my ability to handle mental matters. It’s not a big problem.” Besides, wasn’t Su raised specifically to deal with Huang? Did the ancestor really need to be this angry?
“In your eyes, she’s just a tool. But in her eyes, you are the closest sister!” Infino’s anger flared upon seeing Leticia’s aggrieved expression. “You’ve only recently gained divine power, yet your personality is becoming more and more like those detestable individuals.”
Devoid of emotion, showing no sympathy for the weak, and only concerned with their own schemes and benefits – Infino had seen enough of such gods. She, herself, had once been like that, making others nauseous.
“I…” Leticia, holding her head, was confused as to why she was being scolded. I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? Isn’t this why I raised this little one? And my safety measures were adequate; why couldn’t she try it? Besides, didn’t it succeed? If Su could devour more of Huang’s consciousness, she would undoubtedly be more useful later on.
“Ancestor, please stop scolding her for now and let her calm down,” Bai Ling quickly intervened, embracing Leticia and pulling her towards the bedroom. “I’ll educate her properly when we get back!”
Carried back to the bedroom by Bai Ling, Leticia sat on the bed, somewhat bewildered, and asked Bai Ling, “What did I do wrong?”
Bai Ling nodded, then shook her head. “What you did was right, and what you did wasn’t entirely right.”
“When did you start speaking in riddles? I don’t think I did anything wrong. I raised Su to deal with Huang, so is there a problem with finding a way for her to be more effective?”
“That’s why I said what you did was right,” Bai Ling said, sitting beside Leticia and placing an arm around the Demon King’s shoulders. “The ancestor isn’t angry about this particular matter.”
Then what was she angry about!
“But in your eyes, Leticia, what is Su?”
What is Su? Isn’t she just a secret weapon to deal with Huang? Leticia instinctively wanted to answer that. However, seeing Bai Ling’s unusually bright eyes, she began to question if her own thoughts were flawed. Su was a wisp of consciousness she had casually picked up from that large egg, and Leticia had kept it specifically to use against Huang. Was there anything wrong with that?
“A secret weapon,” she replied.
“Then, how do you think Bai Ling and the ancestor view Su?” Bai Ling continued.
How did Bai Ling and Infino view Su? How else could they view her? They couldn’t possibly be raising her as their own daughter, could they?
“I don’t know. I think you’re rather indifferent towards her, while the ancestor seems quite concerned.”
“Ah, do I seem indifferent? I thought I was being quite friendly,” Bai Ling said, scratching her face awkwardly. She truly believed she had behaved perfectly fine. It was just that normally, Su’s matters were handled by Leticia and Infino, so she didn’t have much of a chance to get involved. If she really were to, she could have!
Sensing that the topic was drifting, Bai Ling quickly coughed, steering the conversation back to the main point. “In the eyes of the ancestor and me, Su is a ‘person.'”
“A person? But she’s just a wisp of consciousness, and the body she’s currently using was created by me.”
“But she has her own thoughts and consciousness. You can’t say that all her actions are meticulously controlled by you, can you? In what way is she different from any other child?” Bai Ling’s voice became a little more serious. “Leticia, do you truly believe Su is just a secret weapon, merely a tool?”
Leticia nodded. She knew that responding this way might anger Bai Ling, but in the current situation, she couldn’t hide her true thoughts. Leticia understood very well that only through honest communication could the current conflict be resolved.
It seemed her thoughts and those of Bai Ling and Infino were at odds. She wanted to treat Su as a secret weapon to be nurtured, while Bai Ling and Infino had developed feelings for Su, believing the little one to be a person. What was going on? How could they develop such feelings when they knew her true nature?
“Isn’t it?”
“It could be, or it could not be. But neither the ancestor nor I want you to become the former,” Bai Ling said, conveying Infino’s thoughts. It was quite simple: Leticia’s current behavior was no different from that of countless gods in ages past. In their eyes, all life was merely a plaything or a chess piece. They only took interest in other gods like themselves, remaining indifferent to all other life forms. A single divine war could shatter continents, and the fate of the lives inhabiting those continents was self-evident. However, the gods simply didn’t care; they were only concerned with flaunting their power and defeating those who refused to bow before them. As they continued to fight, the era of gods suddenly ended, as if the world itself could no longer tolerate these wicked deities, abruptly cutting short their reign.
“The ancestor doesn’t want you to become like that, which is why she was so angry and wanted to discipline you,” Bai Ling said softly, stroking Leticia’s hair. “As for me, I prefer you to be more humane.”
“Compared to me, you’re the one who’s less humane, aren’t you?” Leticia’s thoughts were quite jumbled. She wasn’t sure if she had changed, but reflecting on her actions since gaining divine power, she realized something was amiss. After acquiring this immense power, she seemed to have become somewhat arrogant. This feeling intensified after obtaining the power of the Dragon God, and although it was only manifesting in Su’s case, it was still a cause for concern. Infino had noticed this burgeoning tendency, hence her urgent desire to nip it in the bud. She was an elder who had witnessed that era and knew how terrible such personalities were. She didn’t want her descendants to become like that.
“Hey, I thought I was quite humane,” Bai Ling said playfully, poking Leticia’s slightly puffed-out cheek. “It’s just that all my humanity is reserved for you.” Furthermore, when it comes to taking care of people, I’m actually quite good. If you don’t believe me, let me take care of Su tomorrow.”
Leticia also needed some time to sort out her thoughts. Hearing Bai Ling’s offer, she readily agreed. “Alright, I’ll leave Su in your care tomorrow. I’ll make a few lollipops for you later. If she’s unhappy, just use the lollipops to pacify her.”
“Also, remember to tell her not to run around carelessly. Her clothes are difficult to clean if they get dirty. And don’t let her eat random things; it’s not good for her image if it gets ruined.”
“And also, also…”
“Pfft…” Bai Ling suddenly covered her mouth and laughed.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing, I just feel like the ancestor said something wrong.”
“Huh? What did she say?”
“You keep saying you see Su as a secret weapon and a tool, but in reality, you still care about her quite a bit.” Bai Ling pushed Leticia onto the bed, a hint of amusement on her face. “So, is this tsundere?”
Tsundere?! What is that!
“Are you sick? If I want her to be my loyal subordinate, I need her to be completely devoted to me. What I ask her to do is life-threatening. If I don’t boost her favorability, how can I make her risk her life for me?”
“But if you truly gained Su’s complete trust, would you really be able to bear sending her to her death to delay Huang’s attacks?”
“Of course I… can!”
