At this moment, Chu Tian, as the Demon King, gazed at the breathtakingly beautiful girl before him.
He observed her aloof and composed demeanor, yet deep within those sky-blue eyes, there was an undeniable turmoil and anticipation that she couldn’t hide.
He stepped forward, moving to stand in front of Su Nian.
He reached out, his arm muscles tensed with an irresistible force, and pulled her roughly into his embrace.
“Mmph!”
Caught off guard, Su Nian let out a short gasp.
The world spun around her as she collided solidly into that solid chest she had longed for day and night—warm, aggressive, and possessive.
The next second.
The man before her lowered his head.
Shadows enveloped her world.
A domineering, wild, and possessive kiss pressed down fiercely, sealing off all the words about to leave her lips and devouring every breath she had.
Mmph…
Kissed by the Demon Lord, right in front of the entire world.
She ought to feel utterly humiliated.
But thinking about so many people watching, she felt an indescribable thrill.
With so many witnesses seeing her kissed by her Master, it was a bit embarrassing, yet it felt… blissful.
“Ding! Ultimate Quest: The Demon King’s Bride (Activated)!”
“Ding! Host has officially become the Demon King’s possession. Under the gaze of the whole world, accept this humiliation!”
“Ding! Corruption Status -3%, Current Corruption Status: 2%.”
It was as if all sound had been drained from the world.
Su Nian’s body went limp, and she could barely stand, supported only by the man’s steel-like arms.
The kiss ended.
Her lips were swollen, and a misty layer of moisture clung to her sky-blue eyes as she gazed dazedly at the face so close to hers.
But now, that face no longer bore the gentleness and innocence of “Chu Tian.”
Instead, it was the absolute dominance and possession of the Demon King.
“Ding! Humiliation Value: 1,000,000!”
“Ding! Humiliation Value: 1,200,000!”
The system’s prompts flooded her mind like a frenzy.
Chu Tian released her, but his arm remained firmly around her waist.
He turned to face the million-strong demon army behind him, facing the empire he had just conquered.
Raising their clasped hands high, he declared in a voice that rolled like thunder across the heavens, as if announcing it to the whole world.
“From this day forward, she—Star-Moon Saintess Su Nian—is my queen!”
“Roar—!”
The pitch-black demon army erupted in earth-shaking roars.
The sound wave, formed by a million warriors, nearly tore the sky apart.
Countless demon soldiers banged their weapons against their shields in wild frenzy, the clash of metal ringing with fervor.
Their gazes toward Su Nian were no longer merely those toward a trophy of war.
It was reverence—the awe for their queen, for the most brilliant treasure their mighty Demon King had conquered.
On the other side, the human front was dead silent.
All those who witnessed this scene through the magic crystals fell into silence.
The Holy Lady… had become the Demon King’s queen.
For them, though it brought peace, it was also a resounding slap across the face of the entire human race.
Chu Tian paid no more attention to the humans’ reactions.
He scooped Su Nian up in a perfect princess carry.
Su Nian gasped again, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck for fear of falling.
This position made her so embarrassed that her toes curled.
She buried her burning cheeks deep into her Master’s chest, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.
Carrying her, Chu Tian turned and, amidst the cheers and acclamations of the million-strong demon army, strode step by step into the massive, ferocious demon city known as the Iron Armor Fortress.
The colossal steel city gates closed slowly behind them, sealing off two worlds.
The aura of the Demon Realm was utterly different from the human world.
The air carried a faint scent of sulfur and the coldness of metal.
The sky was a perpetual, magnificent dark violet, with a huge, blood-red full moon hanging high above.
The architecture was rough and majestic—towers and palaces built from black boulders that soared beyond sight, exuding a beauty of power and oppression.
Along both sides of the roads stood demons of all shapes and sizes.
They knelt before Chu Tian, bowing their heads in reverence, yet stealing curious and awed glances at the legendary human Saintess in his arms.
The one who had just become their queen—a goddess of unparalleled beauty.
Chu Tian’s steps were steady.
He passed through layer upon layer of palace complexes and finally stopped before the most magnificent Demon King’s Palace, which seemed carved from a single piece of obsidian.
He ignored the demon generals and attendants kneeling all around him, carrying Su Nian straight into his private chamber.
“Bang.”
He kicked the heavy door shut with his heel, the sound echoing loudly.
Inside the chamber, in stark contrast to the rough exterior, everything was incredibly luxurious.
The floor was covered with a black carpet made from the fur of some unknown magical beast, so soft that one’s feet would sink into it.
On the huge bed lay smooth, cloud-like dark gold silk sheets.
A peculiar incense burned in the air, soothing the mind.
Chu Tian gently laid Su Nian down on the soft bed.
She tried to sit up, but the man leaned over her, his tall figure casting a shadow down.
He easily caught her hands and pinned them above her head against the soft pillows.
Su Nian’s body sank into the silk and cushions.
A fluster suddenly struck her as her hands were restrained, and she instantly slipped into a familiar state.
The state of being about to be conquered by her Master…
Her heart trembled.
The deep-seated heat that had been suppressed for so long surged uncontrollably, flushing her cheeks crimson in an instant.
Chu Tian looked down at the breathtaking face beneath him, at her sky-blue eyes clouded with nervousness and shyness.
A teasing curve formed at the corner of his lips.
His voice was low, with a magnetic quality, like the plucking of a cello string, resonating in the silent chamber.
Every syllable struck Su Nian’s taut nerves.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“Back when you had me locked up, that ‘Real Illusion Realm,’ that so-called ‘Rule Game’… that was your doing, wasn’t it?”
He paused deliberately, savoring the sudden rigidity of the girl beneath him.
“You purposely put your Master into an illusion, then intentionally lost, huh?”
Chu Tian lowered the last syllable, close to her earlobe, letting warm breath mixed with sulfur and aggression seep into her ear canal.
-Boom!
Su Nian’s mind went blank.
‘He knows!’
All her composure and pretense shattered in an instant.
This realization struck like a thunderbolt deep in her soul.
Her eyes flew wide open.
She guiltily averted her gaze, not daring to meet his.
‘How does he know?!’
Her voice trembled, a quiver she herself didn’t notice.
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
The more she spoke, the softer and less confident her voice became, until her words were nearly inaudible, drowned out by her own frantic heartbeat.
Meanwhile, back in the illusion… being restricted by the rule game, all her struggles had been futile.
A ridiculous urge to confess everything surged within her.
It was as if no secret could be hidden from this man.
“Still pretending?”
Chu Tian let out a low laugh.
The laugh rumbled from deep within his chest, vibrating through their pressed bodies and transmitting clearly to every inch of Su Nian’s skin, making her heart tingle.
He leaned down, his scorching breath brushing over her sensitive earlobe, sending a cascade of fine, uncontrollable shivers.
“You really know how to play.”
“Forced balance of strength, the loser accepts any punishment…”
His voice dropped even lower, dripping with fatal innuendo.
That suggestive pause was more humiliating than any straightforward words.
Su Nian’s cheeks were so red they could drip blood.
That burning heat spread from her face downward, singeing her snow-white neck, dyeing her delicate collarbone, and finally converging in her heart, stirring up a massive wave.
“I did not!”
Her rebuttal was weak, the fragmented syllables squeezing out of her throat sounding more like a coquettish protest.
Chu Tian laughed again, “Is that so?”
With his free hand, his fingers lightly traced her scorching cheek.
The slightly cool fingertips meeting her burning skin sparked a strange numbness.
Finally, his fingers pinched her delicate chin, forcing her, with irresistible pressure, to turn her head and meet his eyes.
“And this time?”
His gaze was deep, like the never-dawning dark sky of the Demon Realm, as if he could see through all her pretenses straight to the depths of her soul.
“Agreeing to offer yourself in exchange for three hundred years of peace for the human race… that’s also because you actually can’t leave me anymore, right?”
His voice was not loud, but every word pierced her heart.
“You fell for me, so you found a grandiose excuse and came knocking on my door.”
These words mercilessly tore down all of Su Nian’s psychological defenses.
Her breath caught.
All her shame, humiliation, and panic at having her secret exposed in public burst through the dam in an instant, drowning her in a surging tide.
“I… I… You’re so annoying!”
She wanted to retort, but didn’t know where to start, so she turned her head away in feigned anger.
However, her heaving chest, her heartbeat that felt like it would leap out of her chest, and her eyes that couldn’t hide the turmoil and affection—all betrayed her completely.
On the other side.
Chu Tian looked at her adorable, stubborn yet soft-hearted appearance.
The teasing in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by an unprecedented tenderness and seriousness.
He no longer looked at her with the eyes of a predator sizing up prey.
His gaze became focused.
In that deep, abyss-like darkness, something was melting.
He released her wrists but then he caught her fingers.
A warm palm covered hers—not the forceful pinning from before, but a gentle, unquestionable embrace.
His fingers slid between hers, one by one, until they were tightly interlocked.
This gesture unsettled her more than any kiss.
Chu Tian sat up, and with a slight tug from his arm, a gentle yet irresistible force pulled her up as well.
She sat facing him.
Her body sank into the soft bed, her holy white dress spreading over the black silk carpet like the only lily blooming in the eternal night—fragile, yet breathtakingly stunning.
“Su Nian.” He spoke.
His voice was no longer the Demon King’s tyranny, nor the earlier teasing.
It was a gentleness and depth unique to “Chu Tian.”
“A long time ago, I already knew the demon race’s invasion was inevitable.”
His gaze was fixed on her, something burning fiercely in those deep eyes.
“With the human race’s strength at that time, they couldn’t possibly resist.”
Su Nian’s breath stopped.
She didn’t understand why he was suddenly saying this.
“I needed power.”
His voice was steady, every word striking clearly against her heart.
“Power enough to change all of this. And you, coincidentally, were the one who could make me strong the fastest.”
“Those burning eyes seemed to pierce through her soul.”
“Every time I bullied you, every time I made you feel humiliated, I gained a massive amount of Annoyance Value.”
Su Nian’s mind buzzed.
“Those Annoyance Values could be exchanged for items powerful enough to turn the tide of battle. They gave me the confidence to stand against the entire demon race.”
His voice continued, calmly stating a shocking truth.
“That’s why I kept doing such excessive things to you, over and over.”
“But that was the only way I could see at the time. I knew you hated me, and I knew I was a jerk for doing it.”
She was stunned.
To… save the world?
This reason was so absurd it made her want to laugh, yet so real she couldn’t breathe.
The buried memories surged uncontrollably.
The plague and necromancer in Bai Shui Town—Chu Tian had taken the initiative to investigate.
The floating fortress, the demon tide attack—at the critical moment, he appeared beside her, fighting shoulder to shoulder, using absolute power to forcibly block the tide that could have destroyed everything.
‘So… that was it. The master had been protecting this world in his own way all along.’
And she…
This “victim” he kept “bullying”… had actually become the most indispensable part of his plan to save the world.
The heavy stone called “hatred” that had weighed on her heart for so long now cracked in countless places.
It began to loosen.
Then, with a violent tremor deep in her soul, the rubble crumbled, turning into an indescribable wave of bitterness and emotion, a hot flood washing through her limbs and bones.
Her eyes uncontrollably grew hot.
She looked at him, her voice trembling with a violent quiver she hadn’t noticed.
“So… now that you’ve scared everyone and brought me here… is that also part of the plan?”
“No.” Chu Tian shook his head.
He said that single word with absolute certainty.
He tightened his grip on her hand, the force almost crushing her bones, yet strangely it didn’t hurt—only felt like an unshakable brand.
His gaze became intensely hot.
The emotion hidden beneath the tyranny and possession could no longer be concealed, erupting like a volcano, scorching.
“That was my selfish possessiveness.”
His voice lowered, a hint of hoarseness creeping in, every word dripping with undisguised aggression.
“That was me announcing to the world that you, Su Nian, are my woman, Chu Tian’s.”
“No one else can even touch you.”
Su Nian was completely stunned, her mind blank, only able to stare at him dumbly.
He suddenly let go of her hand.
“Su Nian…”
As her mind wavered in that momentary emptiness, he made a move she never could have imagined.
Before her, he slowly knelt on one knee.
This lofty Demon King knelt on the black carpet.
He lifted his head, looking up at her with a gaze almost like worship.
Time froze at that moment.
In the chamber, only the calming incense burned silently.
His voice lost the majesty of the Demon King, replaced by a pure, heart-stopping sincerity.
“Before, I was a jerk. Now, the crisis of calamity has been temporarily resolved.”
“I don’t want to treat you that way anymore.”
Under Su Nian’s completely petrified gaze, he produced something from his chest like a magician.
An exquisite box made of black velvet.
His fingers opened the lid.
A dazzling diamond ring lay quietly nestled in the velvet, reflecting the dim magical light of the chamber and radiating a mesmerizing brilliance.
It was that ring.
The one from that interrupted proposal ceremony she had personally broken.
“Su Nian, will you… marry me?”
His voice carried a hint of barely noticeable nervousness, yet it was utterly firm.
“Become my true, only queen.”
The chamber was dead silent.
Only the kylin incense burner in the corner silently emitted calming green smoke, curling and spiraling in the dim light.
Su Nian looked at the man kneeling before her.
All sounds were drained from her world, leaving only her own thundering heartbeat—one beat, then another, pounding against her eardrums.
This big jerk, in the most vile and domineering way, had gradually led her, the lofty Saintess, into corruption, shaping her into his image.
She had grown accustomed to the helpless trembling, to the indescribable heat deep inside her at every humiliating moment.
She had grown used to being conquered by his strength, to sinking before him…
But now, her Master was kneeling before her, proposing, wanting to become her husband.
What should she do?
Even though marrying Chu Tian would be wonderful, she seemed to want him to continue being her Master even more…