Even though Helian Kuang had sought forgiveness, he had made his ‘sin’ sound extremely trivial. The words from his mouth muddled it to become something that was done for the sake of Illusory Demon Realm. Yun Che gave a cold, silent laugh but he did not speak. Chiyang Bailie, Jiufang Kui, Bai Yi, Nangong Yan, Xiao Xifeng and Lin Guiyan all followed suit and strode forward to seek forgiveness. The words that they shouted out were exactly the same as the words uttered by Helian Kuang.
When the seven Patriarchs had risen to their feet, their faces were so black that it looked like they had climbed out of the bottom of a pot. They shot glances at Yun Che through the corners of their eyes, as they all wished to tear him apart with their bare teeth.
Even though it was clear that the ‘admittance of guilt’ on the part of the seven Patriarchs lacked conviction, because they had bowed their heads towards the body of Yun Canghai for all to see despite their status as the Patriarchs of the Guardian Families, no one could utter any further condemnation against them. Yun Che silently looked at Yun Canghai’s peaceful corpse as a sour feeling invaded his calm heart… Grandfather, the rehabilitation of the Yun Family cannot be accredited to me. If not for the fact that you stubbornly defended the Demon Emperor’s Seal to your dying breath for a hundred years… if not for your loyalty and righteousness that is reflected by the sun and the moon, even though I have immense ability, I would still not be able to cause the Yun Family to gain the hearts of the people. It was Grandfather who used his own life to allow me to see the light of day again… yet what I can do for Grandfather is only this much… It is not even a fraction of the affection that Grandfather had showed to me.
“Haha, the seven Patriarchs have personally gone down on their knees to acknowledge their sin against the Demon King. Even though it was something that had to be done, it has clearly demonstrated the broadness of the hearts of these seven Patriarchs, as well as their noble bearing!” Duke Huai said as he stood up with a serene expression. He calmly praised the seven people who had clearly committed a grave mistake and who were blatantly despised by all those who were present here and his demeanor was like that of a person who was completely uninvolved in the current messy state of affairs. He looked towards Yun Che and said in a steady voice, “Yun Che, the seven Patriarchs have disregarded their own dignity and have gone down on their knees to acknowledge their sins against the Demon King. This has been in complete compliance of your wishes! So now, it is time for you to return the Demon Emperor’s Seal to the Little Demon Empress.”
“It looks like Duke Huai’s memory is not that good!” Yun Che blandly said as he slanted his eyes, “I had said it before very clearly. If you want me to return the Demon Emperor’s Seal, these seven people must first kneel in repentance in front of my grandfather, and after they have done so, they still need to swear loyalty to the Little Demon Empress once more! I certainly did not see any of them swearing loyalty towards the Little Demon Empress!”
Duke Huai’s brows were pinched together as he declared in a low voice, “Yun Che, on the account that you are not only our junior but also the descendant of the Demon King, this duke and the seven Patriarchs have tried to be patient and accommodating with you in every possible way, so do not presume, lest you be too overbearing…”
Duke Huai and the seven Patriarchs were definitely being patient, accommodating and willing to compromise, but as long as one was not blind, you could tell that they were doing so under duress. It was only after Yun Che’s methodical coercion that they had no choice but to be accommodating and willing to compromise. In the eyes of everyone else, it was a small matter indeed to make the seven Patriarchs swear allegiance to the Little Demon Empress for all to see… Because as members of the Guardian Families, being loyal to the Little Demon Empress was their duty in the first place.
But Duke Huai was extremely aware of Yun Che’s true motive!