This realization caused the elders of the Clan to grow ecstatic. Wasn't this exactly what they were looking for? An avenue to grow their clan's strength to new, greater heights?
At the same time, while the Mathilde Clan needed things from Nightmare Palace, Nightmare Palace needed things from the elves as well.
Everyone was aware that while devil qi provided great power, it had great drawbacks as well. These drawbacks included a weakening of one's connection to the heavens, making it more difficult to comprehend wills. In fact, this was a large part of the reason devil cultivators were looked down upon.
The only way to fix this problem was to have a soul strength that overwhelmed this heavenly block – which is why Dyon doesn't have this issue – but one can see just how difficult such a task would be, especially without the proper techniques.
As such, a trade was made. The Nightmare Palace gave the Mathilde Clan their treasures devil qi cultivation techniques and in return, the Mathilde Clan gave them the soul cultivation techniques of the Elvin Kingdom!
This union was akin to giving wings to a tiger. The Devil Quadrants soared in power, as did the Palace Master. This was why the bond between the Dark Elves and the Nightmare Palace was so much stronger than the bond between others. It was for this reason the other leaders didn't even blink an eye when the old patriarch was called over…
Now, with this alliance, the Devil Quadrants no longer had to duck and hide wherever they went. In the outer quadrants, at least, they commanded respect.
As long as they remained within certain limits, their freedoms weren't in jeopardy. Of course, attempting to influence the tower quadrants was outside these limits which was why they had to do so in stealth.
After a long sigh of reminiscence, the Palace Master turned away from Bialaer. "This weight… The one you feel has fallen from your shoulders… It will likely lead to the end of our alliance… No?..."
Bialaer sighed. "The Palace Master's intuition is very sharp. The truth is that I do not know the answer to your question. What I do know is that our Elvin Queen has been born to another Clan and it's my duty to repent for the actions of my ancestors."
"Do you… believe that what your ancestors did was shameful?..."
"I do." The old patriarch nodded. "They were fully aware that the Acacia Family's journey would be rife with turmoil. How could it not be? If they had only taken elites like we had, it would have been no issue. But, they took the young, the weak and the old. My ancestors were fully aware that this would heavily cripple them in the end.
"Then there was the Florence Family. Our actions against them were even more disgusting and unforgivable. It's a sin that I can never atone for because it's unlikely that any of their descendants have even survived to this day."
"I see…" The Palace Master looked off into the distance. "But… I disagree…"
Bialaer's brow furrowed, but he remained silent to listen to the rest.
"… What would have happened to your Mathilde family had you not done what you did?... Were the other Clans not fully prepared to sacrifice the other two for the sake of their own survival?... This is the martial world… Because your family was more skilled, they survived and thrived… It's as simple as this… There's nothing shameful about it…"
Bialaer sighed. How could he not understand this? But, it was a simple difference of perspective.
Could the Acacia family really be on a high horse? Hadn't they "graciously" accepted the Mathilde family "good will". If they were truly all good, shouldn't they have all stayed back to fight and leave who survived up to fate?
"Palace Master, I hope that we can be allies for as long as this world allows. However, I know that with your disposition, you will never accept a second ruler under your purview… And, I also do not know if my Queen will be accepting of those of the Devil Path. I can only say that these matters are for the future."
The odd shift in relationship between the Palace Master and the Dark Elvin Clan would cause unforeseen ripple effects in the future. It was unknown exactly how those matters would unfold, but what was certain was that the Palace Master wasn't a man who liked to suffer losses. Even to an Elvin Queen.
**
Within the Golden Flame Mystical World, Dyon sat cross legged, gritting his teeth as he turned various shades of purple and green. By forcefully suppressing his white flames and taking high doses of toxic poison, he was slowly tempering his inner organs. Although he still had a long way to go, he was definitely much stronger than he was yesterday.
"Is he a masochist or a sadist?" Lilianna stared at Dyon like she was looking at a fool. She couldn't coincide the Dyon who loved to torture his victims and the one who liked to torture himself.
Speaking of which, she had felt quite tortured for the past few days. Unlike Little Rain the Sprite, she needed to be fed a constant stream of soul energy to survive, this was especially so because she was just a partial soul.
The problem was that Dyon refused to allow her into his mind, so she was forced to Madeleine's. Of course, this wasn't a bad thing on the surface. In fact, it made her quite happy. Where the issue lied was that after bouts of training, the husband and wife pair would often enter the cushioned beddings of the Demon Sage Tower to "bond".
If she was in Dyon's mind, this wouldn't be an issue because he could use The Seal to block her view. Also, Dyon just had overall better control of his soul. However, Madeleine had no such abilities. Although she could accomplish this task when she was lucid, when she was under the ravages of pleasure, she hardly cared about what Lilianna could or couldn't see.
In the end, Lilianna fell into another cycle of torture. It wasn't that she didn't like watching the two of them go at it, but she had to uphold her image as a Holy Princess. The dichotomy of what she wanted to do versus what she had to project to the outside world was weighing on her mind.
Maybe Dyon was right about her title being too narcissistic.
