Chapter 542: She Is the Little Demon Queen?

Firelight suddenly flared up in the grand hall. A massive three-legged Golden Crow emerged from a streak of flame across the air. Its wings spread wide, letting out a piercing cry that seemed to tear through space. The three-legged firebird then flew straight down from the flames, leaving a long crimson curtain of fire in its wake. The curtain descended from the hall's ceiling all the way to the front of the imperial throne. The three-legged firebird vanished the moment it touched the ground, and a blurry figure then shimmered into view on the imperial throne, behind the fiery curtain.

Everyone in the hall simultaneously rose from their seats. Yun Che was also pulled up by Yun Qinghong, and they all knelt on the ground, proclaiming, "Welcome, Little Demon Empress!!"

Only the strongest of the strong were qualified to be invited to the Demon Imperial Hall. The combined welcoming cries of these tens of thousands of people were so immense that they made the ears of those with weaker profound energy ring and their internal organs churn. If this had been an ordinary hall, it likely would have collapsed from the vibrations.

"Rise, everyone," a majestic voice rang out from behind the fiery curtain.

Everyone stood up and returned to their seats. Yun Che settled back into his, a puzzled expression on his face. "That voice... why does it sound familiar?" he wondered. "I've never met the Little Demon Empress before, have I?"

With the Little Demon Empress's arrival, the entire hall became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. A solemn atmosphere permeated every corner of the vast hall. At this moment, two tall female figures slowly appeared in front of the fiery curtain. Both women were beautiful and solemn; one was human, the other a demon, and both exuded the powerful aura of the Tyrant Profound Realm. They simultaneously reached out and, taking hold of the fiery crimson curtain, slowly pulled it apart to reveal the Little Demon Empress's figure.

Yun Che had always been deeply curious about who this Little Demon Empress truly was. As the fiery curtain parted, he fixed his gaze on the figure on the imperial throne. This figure, just as Xiao Yun had described, was dressed entirely in gray, lacking any of the magnificent imperial attire a ruler should possess. Moreover, the figure was unexpectedly petite, appearing at first glance like the body of a young girl. And when he saw her true face...

Yun Che's eyes instantly widened, and his body jerked back like lightning, quickly concealing half of himself behind Yun Qinghong.

"Uh, Big Brother, what's wrong?" Xiao Yun quickly asked, startled by Yun Che's sudden reaction.

"Sh-she... she... she... she's the Little Demon Empress!?" Yun Che's tongue got tied, and his teeth chattered slightly.

"That's right," Xiao Yun nodded naturally. "Big Brother, you look really strange... Have you met the Little Demon Empress before?"

"But... didn't you tell me the Little Demon Empress looked terrifying, with a fierce, malevolent face?! This Little Demon Empress looks nothing like you described!" If this hadn't been the grand ceremony, Yun Che would have truly wanted to yell a mouthful of spit in Xiao Yun's face.

The Little Demon Empress was dressed in gray. Beneath her loose gray robes was a slender and exquisite body. Her eyes were as dark as night and as cold as a sharp blade. Yet, her face was as delicately pure and beautiful as if carved from ice and snow...

This was clearly the little girl in gray he had seen outside Demon Imperial City in the middle of the night three days ago, the one who had almost killed him!

That little girl... was actually the Little Demon Empress!!

Even if she was the Little Demon Empress, that would be one thing... The crucial part was that, that night, he had completely seen her naked body without her knowledge... and had stared for a full fifteen minutes...

The most crucial thing was that she had eventually discovered him and even memorized his face!

Is fate playing tricks on me?!

Xiao Yun looked innocent. "I did say the Little Demon Empress was terrifying, and... I think I also said I didn't dare to look her directly in the face," he explained. "But what I meant was that her aura, gaze, and expression were extremely frightening. Every time I face her, my heart pounds, and a chill runs down my spine. However, I never said her appearance itself was frightening. The Little Demon Empress is widely acknowledged as the most beautiful woman in the Illusory Demon Realm."

Yun Che was speechless, now having an urge to strangle Xiao Yun. "That last part... such crucial information, why didn't you mention it that day?!"

Xiao Yun shrank his neck, his expression even more innocent. "You... you didn't ask what the Little Demon Empress looked like," he said. "And... I didn't think that was particularly important information."

Yun Che slapped his forehead, utterly speechless.

Reflecting carefully, what Xiao Yun had described as "terrifying" and "frightening" about the Little Demon Empress that day referred to the feeling one got when seeing her, not explicitly her appearance being scary. However, his descriptions easily led one to directly imagine a sinister, malevolent face that no one would dare to look at. Furthermore, the Little Demon Empress was older than his father, Yun Qinghong, so she should at least be a middle-aged woman...

With all of Xiao Yun's descriptions, he simply could not connect the Little Demon Empress with a girl who looked fourteen or fifteen!

Although she also wore gray, that didn't mean anything, as it was perfectly normal for those who admired the Little Demon Empress to emulate her by wearing gray. Although she also used Golden Crow Flames, everyone in the Illusory Demon Imperial Family could use them.

Yun Che was now completely tangled in a mess of anxiety... This turn of events was truly too much.

Before, he had calmly been thinking about how to work with his father to resolve the great crisis the Little Demon Empress might encounter at this ceremony. Now... he himself was facing the greatest danger!

Whether he could walk out of here alive today was an unknown.

To have completely seen the body of the dignified Little Demon Empress... he estimated that such a crime would not be atoned for even if he were executed ten thousand times. After all, she was the Little Demon Empress, formally wed by the Little Demon Emperor with the world as witness, the ruler of the entire Illusory Demon Realm!

Yun Qinghong glanced at Yun Che, a look of confusion on his face. Just as he was about to ask, the Little Demon Empress slowly stood up from the imperial throne.

"Since I inherited the position of my late husband, a hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye," the Little Demon Empress began. "In these hundred years, though I have not achieved great deeds benefiting the populace, neither have I committed major transgressions harming them. I can thus barely say I have lived up to the trust of my Imperial Father and late husband."

"The Centenary Grand Ceremony is meant for celebration, but this time it is different from previous ones. I have reigned for a hundred years, and my Imperial Father and late husband have also been gone for a hundred years. Although a century has passed, the blood feud of my Imperial Father and late husband remains unavenged! With such hatred and grievance, what joy can there be? What is there to celebrate?"

"At this ceremony, there shall be no singing, dancing, or music; no praises or eulogies; and no tributes or gifts," she continued. "We shall only discuss the affairs of the realm during my hundred years of reign, and the future blueprint for the realm in the next century!"

If one were to look directly at the Little Demon Empress's face, they would discover she was a girl of breathtaking beauty, enough to eclipse the sun and moon. However, accompanying this stunning beauty was a heavy oppressive aura, like the heavens themselves had collapsed. Even for an emperor, this oppressive aura was simply too heavy, so heavy that it could make a profound realm expert struggle to breathe when facing her.

This terrifying and heart-pounding oppressive aura was enough to completely overshadow the stunning beauty of her face.

Standing before the imperial throne, she coldly surveyed the tens of thousands of magnates of the Illusory Demon Realm. She spoke slowly, each word resonating like thunder, stirring souls. These powerhouses, some wielding immense might or controlling significant authority in the Illusory Demon Realm, all bowed their heads and listened quietly. Not a single person dared to meet her gaze or show the slightest disrespect.

A young girl who appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen... and was also widely acknowledged as the most beautiful woman in the Illusory Demon Realm... yet she was the emperor of the Illusory Demon Realm's hundreds of billions of citizens!

For Yun Che, who was "meeting" the Little Demon Empress for the first time, the spiritual and visual impact of this scene was undoubtedly immense.

The Little Demon Empress raised her right arm, her wide gray sleeve falling back to reveal her fair, tender palm and a small section of her arm, like white jade. The maidservant to her right stepped forward, bowing her head and presenting a crimson wine cup.

The Little Demon Empress slowly picked up the wine cup. Below, everyone also hastily picked up the wine cups already prepared at their seats, cupping their hands and turning to face her.

"Today's ceremony shall commence with this wine!" the Little Demon Empress declared, raising her arm high. On her seemingly youthful, girlish face was an undeniable majesty.

"With this wine, I first toast the heavens and earth of my Illusory Demon Realm!"

"Second, I toast the ancestors of my Demon Imperial lineage!"

"Third, I toast all of you present! You are either the foundation of my Illusory Demon Realm, its pillars, or its bulwark. Throughout these hundred years, I have relied entirely on your full assistance... I shall drink this first in respect!"

As soon as the Little Demon Empress finished speaking, she tilted her head back and drained her cup.

"Thank you, Little Demon Empress!"

Everyone below was utterly flustered, hastily drinking the wine in their cups, not daring to leave even a single drop. Some even trembled with excitement. At Centenary Grand Ceremonies, it had always been customary to first toast the Demon Emperor; however, the Little Demon Empress had toasted them first, which naturally filled them with trepidation.

The Little Demon Empress put down her wine cup and gazed at the crowd. Her already lifeless eyes suddenly released a bone-chilling cold. She spoke indifferently, "Who arranged the seating for today?"

Everyone in the hall instantly held their breath. Some who didn't understand the situation looked at each other, while the faces of those from Demon Imperial City changed abruptly. The seating arrangement of the Twelve Families had been fixed for ten thousand years, and no one doubted that the Little Demon Empress could immediately discern any issues with the seating for this grand ceremony. But no one had anticipated that one moment she would be toasting the realm's heroes and influential ministers, and the next moment, in front of everyone at the grand ceremony, she would suddenly question the seating arrangement.

The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard.