Douluo Dalu 5: Rebirth Of Tang San

Tang San, on the other hand, was completely calm. "I greet Your Majesty."

He turned around with Mei Gongzi, bowing respectfully to the White Tiger Demon Emperor, who was now seated on the sofa.

Mei Gongzi quickly followed suit, bowing as well, but her heart was filled with shock. Although she knew that Tang San had brought her here to meet both the White Tiger Demon Emperor and the Sword Saint Demon Emperor, she hadn’t expected Tang San to use this method. She had originally thought that he would take her to climb the Sacred Mountain.

But there was no doubt that meeting the White Tiger Demon Emperor this way was much safer and more private than climbing the Sacred Mountain. She now understood that the White Tiger Demon Emperor must have left a trace of divine consciousness here, which would alert him the moment anyone entered.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor sat on the sofa, not looking at Mei Gongzi but instead fixing his intense gaze on Tang San, a strange expression in his eyes. He frowned slightly. "You have a mutated bloodline?"

Tang San nodded slightly, not denying it.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor then turned his gaze to Mei Gongzi, "Show me your face. This look doesn’t do justice to your mother’s beauty."

"Mm." Mei Gongzi nodded, her beautiful face shimmering with a silver light as she reverted to her true, stunning appearance.

Seeing her face, which resembled her mother’s so closely, the White Tiger Demon Emperor couldn’t help but feel a moment of distraction. He raised his hand and gestured to the sofa opposite him.

Only then did Tang San guide Mei Gongzi to sit down.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor asked calmly, "Wang Qing is dead?"

Mei Gongzi nodded slightly.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor continued, "For the Peacock Demon clan to make Lin Ximo give up on taking Kali City, Wang Qing must have had some skill. How did he manage that?"

Mei Gongzi was stunned and instinctively turned to look at Tang San, who gave no response. She then shook her head and said, "I don't know either. That day, when the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor arrived..." She proceeded to recount what she knew.

After hearing her account, the White Tiger Demon Emperor frowned slightly, clearly still puzzled by the situation.

Naturally, Tang San knew the truth, but he had no intention of revealing it.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor said, "Now that you are the leader of the Peacock Demon Clan and the City Lord of Kali City, are you here to seek my support for your position as City Lord?"

Mei Gongzi nodded slightly.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor said coldly, "But do you understand the principle that possessing a treasure invites trouble? Even though you've reached godhood and you have impressive talent, there’s a vast chasm between the tenth order and the twelfth. How do you intend to cross that gap and ultimately become an Emperor?"

"I will become an Emperor. And I will do everything in my power to protect Kali City," replied Mei Gongzi with surprising firmness.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor waved his hand dismissively. "You and your mother are both too entangled with humanity. Seeing yourselves as human only brings harm and no benefits. In reality, you only have a quarter of human blood. Why insist on seeing yourself as human?"

Mei Gongzi hesitated for a moment, but then her expression became resolute once more. "I am human, I have always been human. And so is my mother."

The White Tiger Demon Emperor snorted. "Oh? If you consider yourselves human and I am part of the demon race, why come to me?"

Mei Gongzi found herself at a loss for words. The White Tiger Demon Emperor’s tone made it clear that he was keeping her at a distance, and had no intention of offering her his favor.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor continued, "Do you know that in our world, the number of top-level powerhouses is limited? If that number exceeds a certain threshold, it will disrupt the balance of the entire plane, leading to unforeseen disasters. This information has been confirmed by the Peacock Demon Emperor and more than one Celestial Fox Demon Emperor, and it’s recognized by the Ancestral Court as well. Therefore, the number of Emperors is kept within a strict limit.

"Throughout history, there have been many with the potential to reach the twelfth order. Do you know how many have truly done so? Let me tell you: less than one tenth! Moreover, your talent is commendable, but your path to becoming an Emperor is far more challenging than it is for others, and it’s because of your human bloodline. Those who are not of our race cannot become Emperors. This is an ancient tenet of the Ancestral Court that neither I nor any other Emperor can change. So your request for acknowledgement is doomed to fail. Do you understand?"

Mei Gongzi's expression changed. She had been well aware that she would face immense challenges, but she hadn’t expected it to be told that the fundamental rules made it outright impossible.

Instinctively, she turned to look at Tang San again, her face showing signs of anxiety.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor frowned and snapped. "Why do you keep looking at him? Who is the Lord of Kali City—you or him?"

"I…" Mei Gongzi hesitated, feeling overwhelmed by the White Tiger Demon Emperor's powerful aura, which left her at a loss for words.

Neither Mei Gongzi nor Tang San had known about the rule that those not of the demon or nymph races were not allowed to become Emperors. But at this moment, they both understood that what the White Tiger Demon Emperor said was true. He had no reason to lie.

The Peacock Great Demon King had never told Mei Gongzi about this, and it was likely that he didn’t know it himself. This was likely something only Emperors were aware of. The previous Peacock Demon Emperor certainly wouldn’t have anticipated that her descendants would have the bloodline of another race and still have the potential to become Emperors.

Tang San looked at the White Tiger Demon Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, we were indeed unaware of this rule. But now that Little Mei has inherited the position of city lord and is the leader of the Peacock Demon clan, what path should she take? Do you have any suggestions?"

The White Tiger Demon Emperor replied indifferently, "My suggestion is to extract the human bloodline from her, so she can truly become a demon. Only then will there be a chance to preserve everything. Don’t think that the Ancestral Court is unaware of what you’re doing in Kali City. The Ancestral Court’s intelligence network is more extensive than you can imagine. Establishing a human settlement in Kali City has already violated one of the Ancestral Court’s greatest taboos. Do you realize that?"

Tang San felt a chill in his heart. The fact that the White Tiger Demon Emperor had spoken these words showed just how much the demons feared this issue.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor looked at Mei Gongzi and said, "What’s most severe is that every single member of the Ancestral Court knows about this, but not one of them has mentioned it, and it hasn’t been brought up in any of the Ancestral Court's meetings. Do you know what that means? It means that this matter is so unanimously agreed upon that it doesn’t even warrant discussion. And yet, with what you’re doing now, you hope to just report your status and be accepted? That’s nothing but a fool’s dream."

Even Tang San's expression changed slightly. Although he knew that the Ancestral Court was hostile toward humans, he hadn’t expected that even a slight guiding hand for the humans would provoke such a strong reaction. The White Tiger Demon Emperor was only so forthright because of his blood relation to Mei Gongzi, which showed how serious the situation was.

The White Tiger Demon Emperor declared decisively, "Abandon any rash hopes and motives. If you want to secure your position as city lord, then first, the status of humans in Kali City must return to what it was originally. Second, you will voluntarily propose to the Ancestral Court that your human bloodline be extracted, and fully embrace the bloodline of the Peacock Demon clan and mine. If you do this, I can support you, and I’m confident I can persuade some of the Emperors to back you. In the future, it’s not impossible for you to become an Emperor, especially since a few of the current Emperors are getting on in years."

"That will not happen."

As she said this, Mei Gongzi didn’t look at Tang San. Her pretty face was filled with determination as she looked the White Tiger Demon Emperor in the eye.