Moments later, Song Zining said with a wry smile, “Out of consideration for me… can you…”

“Do you think it’s possible? Did they push you out here out of consideration or were they throwing you to the wolves?”

“I came on my own.”

“Why?”

“If I don’t come, no one else will.”

Qianye nodded. “Very well, let’s hear it first.”

“Qianye, you don’t trust me anymore, do you?”

Qianye laughed. “You’re the one who doesn’t trust me anymore.”

Song Zining was stunned. “Indeed, I have become concerned with gains and losses as well.”

“How can you be so hesitant if you’re going to take up my adoptive father’s position?”

“Because I’m never completely indifferent when it comes to you.”

Qianye nodded. “Speak, I know my limits.”

Song Zining said, “Nighteye is in the Queen of the Night’s hands.”

“It’s her?” Qianye gazed blankly into space. “It makes no difference whether she’s in Lilith’s hands or Kane’s, I’ll still have to fight them. But…”

Qianye paused momentarily. “I’m curious as to how she was caught.”

“The Imperial divination experts and the Evernight prophets worked together to find her. She also slipped up, thinking you were the one calling out to her. The moment she compromised her whereabouts, the scryers locked onto her.”

Qianye wasn’t furious. “How did the two sides achieve this cooperation?”

“It was actually quite simple, our divination experts can do things their prophets cannot. The Empire’s divination methods narrowed down Nighteye’s approximate location, which is a fairly wide area in and of itself. The second phase of the plan became viable after her location had been narrowed down to one-third of a continent.”

“What is that?”

“Using your aura to simulate a signal and let the Evernight prophets take over the area.”

“So, she thought I was calling her.”

“The deceit lasted but a mere moment. Nighteye only needed to listen to it attentively and she would be found. If she could keep calm, there wouldn’t have been any problem even if there was a supreme around. I heard later on that she lost her composure despite knowing it was a lie.”

“What kind of call did you transmit?”

“... A mournful cry, as though you were on the verge of death,” Song Zining replied.

Qianye was stunned. “And she took the bait?”

“I don’t think she was fooled, but…” Song Zining smiled wryly.

Qianye remained silent for a while. He then glanced at Song Zining, saying, “Whose idea was it? Were you involved?”

Song Zining sighed. “I didn’t like her at first, and I had always hoped she would leave your side. But you should know that I wouldn’t harm her like that.”

“Really?”

Song Zining started to sweat a bit. “Well… that thing in the Great Maelstrom doesn’t count.”

“Very well.”

Song Zining said, “That’s all.”

Qianye said eventually, “I really don’t understand. What exactly did she do, for the Empire to hunt her down so relentlessly? Do those people think I will never know? Do they think I won’t kill them even if I do? All for the bigger picture?”

Song Zining smiled bitterly. “If you really want to know, it’s fine to tell you. I don’t know the entire story, just a part of it. I’ll tell you more after you finish listening to the first part.”

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“Go on, I’m all ears.” Qianye was currently quite calm.

“Even the Evernight Council doesn’t know full well who Nighteye had awakened to. The Empire was never affected by the Lost Season, so we actually have most of their data from before the wave of forgetfulness set in. The Empire compared the various powers Nighteye had displayed against the documents we have to confirm her true identity.”

“A great dark monarch?” Qianye ventured a guess.

“No, a supreme.”

Qianye was stunned for a moment. He was quite clear about what this meant.

To become a supreme was to break through the natural restrictions of Evernight and reach an unprecedented level in a certain aspect. This was a force that shouldn’t be in this world, a power that could topple mountains and seas. Even Qianye’s dark golden blood energy was barely at the edges of this realm.

Of course, Qianye’s chaos origin power made it so that he wouldn’t need to become an Evernight supreme.

At this point in the conversation, Qianye understood the reason without Song Zining needing to say anything.

Nighteye was a supreme in her previous life, so her chances of becoming one in this life were much higher. Even if it was just a possibility, the human race would take every opportunity to destroy her.

The Empire was fine with Evernight producing a couple more great dark monarchs, but they couldn’t let them have another supreme.

Qianye sighed. “She never saw the Empire as an enemy.”

“Who will guarantee this? A supreme can live thousands of years, and Nighteye is still so young. How long can you live?”

Qianye was stunned—now, that was a tough question.

After all, Qianye had a human bloodline in him that accelerated his cultivation speed at the expense of his lifespan. Even now, he didn’t quite dare to say that he could live a thousand years. To be even more pessimistic, it was doubtful whether or not he could live half a millennium. This difference was too great compared to Nighteye’s longevity.

Even if the Empire did trust Qianye—even if they did trust that Nighteye wouldn’t attack the Empire while he was alive—what about later?

Additionally, no one was willing to live under someone else’s shadow, let alone for ten thousand years.

Qianye sighed. “You guys never talked to me about this.”

If Song Zining had told him earlier, Qianye might’ve done certain things differently. He might’ve taken Nighteye far away to a hidden place until she had regained her powers. Or perhaps they would’ve lived in seclusion until the end of their lives.

“I only found out just now, that’s why I came to see you. Why wouldn’t I tell you if I had known earlier?”

Qianye was a bit suspicious of Song Zining. His expression returned to indifference after a while, saying, “Since you’ve told me this, you probably know who I’m going to attack. The ones who schemed against her are the Imperial divination experts, right? What’s that organization called again? The Divination Pavilion. Whatever it’s called, time for me to take a walk there.”

“What are you going to do?”

Qianye said calmly, “Even with all the troubles going on, the Empire never forgot to attack me and my wife. It’s time to refresh people’s memories. I can’t be bothered to find out who’s behind all this, so tell them to pick one out of three members at random and kill them. I’ll leave once enough has died.”

“You’re mad!”

“Not really. If the Empire is not willing, I don’t mind testing my hand against Prince Greensun and the Radiant Emperor, even that formation at the Imperial Capital.”