“Beruses!” Qin Lun’s expression was complicated as he gazed at the Cunning Demon’s fiery red eyes.
After joining the Order Front, he thought this Elder of External Affairs from the Demon Clan would not come to him again. He did not expect Beruses to contact him today.
“You still joined the Order Front!” Beruses sighed, a trace of regret showing on his ugly demon face. “I told them long ago, with your personality, you would never willingly submit to the Chaos Team’s coercion. It is a pity some high-level demons always think they are right.”
Qin Lun remained silent. The fact that the Chaos Team found his villa meant the Demon Clan leaked his information. Initially, because of the Inferno Hound, he owed the Demon Clan a favor. However, since the Demon Clan disclosed his address, that favor no longer existed regardless.
“Given the relationship between the Demon Clan and the Chaos Team, this action is understandable. I won’t blame you, Beruses!” Qin Lun smiled faintly. “Now I don’t owe the Demon Clan anything. Still, I will always remember the help you gave me.”
Qin Lun thought for a moment, then took out the last bottle of Void Beast Serum from his pocket. “This Void Beast Serum is useless to me now. I give it to you. But you must be careful; the chance of becoming an Apostle using this serum is very low. It should only be a last resort in a life-or-death situation!”
“Void Beast Serum? A good item!” Beruses’s eyes lit up, but then he shook his head and smiled. “Qin Lun, I did not come to ask for something. Even though you joined the Order Front, you can still trade with the Demon Clan. It just won’t involve complicated factors anymore!”
“Oh? Hehe, I truly underestimated the magnanimity of your Demon Clan!” Qin Lun said with a smile. “Alright then, why did you come to me this time?”
Beruses grinned but did not answer immediately. He looked at Qin Lun strangely, feeling quite unsettled inside.
The relationship between the Sapient Races of the Shattered Starry Sky and the Apostles was very complex. Apostles needed various services from the Sapient Races, while the living environment of the Sapient Races, in a way, also required the power and help of the Apostles.
For the Apostles, not harming the Sapient Races randomly was an unspoken rule. For the Sapient Races, years of lessons taught them they could not live without the Apostles, yet also could not rely on them completely. The best way was to follow the principle of equivalent exchange.
From this perspective, no matter which Apostle Alliance Qin Lun joined, it did not matter much to the Demon Clan. However, when that Apostle Alliance and the Demon Clan existed in the same Apostle City, this relationship changed.
For example, the Moonlit Elves in Devil’s Horn were once rejected by the other four ruling races and nearly pushed out of the ruling council. This happened because during their ruling term, they caused Devil’s Horn to lose a lot of City Points, which angered the Apostles.
For the Demon Clan, Qin Lun was an Apostle with great potential. Within half a year, he was already close to Second Order level. Perhaps in one or two years, he would become a High-Rank Apostle.
Every High-Rank Apostle, during their growth, would definitely wield significant influence. Whether by forming their own team or joining other large teams, high-level powerhouses always had many followers.
Winning over Qin Lun meant winning over a mature Apostle team, and it might even influence several other Apostle teams. Whether for war missions or voting rights in city management, these were life-and-death matters for the ruling races of an Apostle City.
Qin Lun joining the Order Front seemed like a personal matter for an Apostle. But in the same Apostle City, it meant choosing a side.
If the Demon Clan and the Elven Race had a dispute, no matter how close Qin Lun’s relationship with the Demon Clan was, he and the team he represented could only support the Order races. This was the alliance’s stance, not affected by personal will, unless Qin Lun left the Order Front and Devil’s Horn.
Actually, when the Chaos Team approached the Demon Clan and requested Qin Lun’s information, the Demon Clan could have refused. Such a refusal would not harm their relationship, as Sapient Races revealing other Apostles’ information was a major taboo.
However, after deliberation, the Demon Clan decided to agree to the Chaos Team’s request and sold Qin Lun’s address. This was not because the Demon Clan did not value Qin Lun, but because they misjudged him.
They thought Qin Lun, being sly and cunning, would do anything to achieve his goals. Even if he did not want to join Chaos, he would only join the neutral alliance—Apostle Monument. They did not expect the young man to react so fiercely, directly turning around and joining the Order Front, which opposed the Chaos Alliance.
Beruses was not lying about one thing; as the demon who knew Qin Lun best, he did try to persuade the other demon elders, but he was in the minority and failed to achieve the desired outcome.
By the time it was done, the Demon Clan could not reverse it. They had no choice but to admit that their previous investment in Qin Lun was wasted.
Countless thoughts flashed through the Cunning Demon’s mind. Beruses collected himself and smiled wryly. “Those guys sent me to clean up the mess. But for you, it is good news.”
“Good news?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow, quietly waiting for the Cunning Demon to continue.
“Of course! I remember you said before that you also wanted a Demon Bloodline, right?” Beruses pushed aside his distracting thoughts and looked at Qin Lun with a grin.
“You aren’t still willing to give me the Demon Bloodline, are you?” Qin Lun was genuinely surprised this time. He did not expect the Demon Clan to act so shamelessly after the big conflict they had.
Hearing Qin Lun’s question, Beruses gave a bitter smile. Actually, this was not the Demon Clan having no principles, but rather the survival wisdom of the Star Void races regarding Apostles. They could avoid relying on Apostles, but they should not deliberately offend them.
Qin Lun had not been in the Shattered Starry Sky for very long, and he had not yet reached High Rank. But thinking back, the Demon Clan selling his address was not a small matter. Even if they had a previous relationship, if the young man held a grudge and sought revenge after reaching High Rank or even Legendary level, the Demon Clan would suffer.
“Yes, to make up for this mistake, we are willing to sell you a Demon Bloodline,” Beruses said seriously. “Of course, since you joined the Order Front, we will not mix in other factors. This time it is a pure transaction; you need to pay the corresponding price.”
Qin Lun frowned slightly. He was very short on Shattered Crystal now. The Shattered Crystal from selling the Gold card was almost all spent. He felt quite troubled. But he could not refuse the Demon Clan’s proposal.
To advance to a low-level Demon Hunter, two conditions were needed. The first was to complete 100% of the Legendary hunting progress. However, this task did not need to be done alone. After the Toril World, the progress was already fast.
The second condition was Demon’s Blood, which was the biggest challenge for the promotion. Archdemons and High-Rank demons were hard to find, while low and mid-rank demons could cause problems for future bloodline purification.
Qin Lun could not always hope for a deity to help purify his bloodline or to activate a bloodline inheritance in some Quest World.
“Beruses, to be honest, the bloodline item I need is Demon’s Blood, and the quality must be at least High Rank!” Qin Lun sighed, saying this without much hope.
Previously, when his relationship with the Demon Clan was closest, he had asked Beruses about ways to obtain a Demon Bloodline. Actually, there were many ways to get a Demon Bloodline, most of which were less strict than obtaining an Elf Bloodline.
Normally, it involved letting the Apostle enter the Demon Clan’s blood pool and using a transformation ritual to give the Apostle a Demon Bloodline. Directly fusing with Demon’s Blood had a lower success rate. The Demon Clan was, after all, a superior race; their essence blood was not easily absorbed by other creatures.
“You mean you can directly absorb Demon’s Blood without needing a bloodline transformation ritual?” Beruses, on the other end of the projection, looked strange.
“No, right now I certainly cannot directly absorb Demon’s Blood. If I tried, my Elf Bloodline would reject it,” Qin Lun said indifferently, shaking his head. “I don’t yet know how to do it. Before absorbing the demon blood, I must meet another advancement condition. Then, after using the Demon’s Blood, the Star Void would complete the bloodline fusion for me.”
“You are advancing again?” Beruses was startled, but then he hid his surprise and congratulated Qin Lun with a smile. “Then congratulations in advance. If you don’t need the Demon Clan to perform the bloodline transformation ritual for you, then the price would be much lower.”
“Beruses, let me make it clear: I need High-Rank demon blood!” Qin Lun said, pausing between each word. “Given the amount I need, it might very well cause a High-Rank demon to die. Is your Demon Clan willing to pay that price?”
“Hehe, that is not a problem!” Beruses could not help but laugh, shaking his head. “Qin Lun, I am the Elder of External Affairs of the Balin Demon Clan. I have helped many Apostles convert to a Demon Bloodline. Perhaps you misunderstood. High-Rank demon essence blood has never been a problem for us. The real huge cost is the magical materials needed for the bloodline transformation ritual.”
“Balin Demon Clan?!” Qin Lun thought for a moment, recalling what Beruses had told him before. A light suddenly flashed in his eyes; he understood. “The demon essence blood you provide me does not belong to the Demon Clan of Devil’s Horn?”
Devil’s Horn was a sky city. Below it was the Suspended Continent where the Demon Clan lived—the Scorching Plain. The main demons living on this plain were the Balin demons, along with some higher demons like Beruses, Cunning Demons, Flame Demons, and lower demons like Succubi and Imps.
However, like the Moonlit Elves, the Balin demons of the Scorching Plain did not represent all the demon clans in the Shattered Starry Sky. The Moonlit Elves in Devil’s Horn had the Night Elves as their mortal enemies. Similarly, the Balin demons also had their own hostile clans.
Actually, in the racial wars of the Shattered Starry Sky, wars between the same race were more common than wars between different races. The reason was simple. Taking the Moonlit Elves as an example, they were indeed in opposition to the Demon Clan. But unless the Demon Clan weakened to the point of being defenseless, the two races would not break into open conflict.
This was not only because of their connection to Devil’s Horn but also because their living environments were very different. The Scorching Plain, full of volcanoes and the smell of sulfur, was a paradise for the Demon Clan. But for the Moonlit Elves, it was hell, and vice versa.
Instead of invading the Scorching Plain, the Moonlit Elves would rather attack the Night Elves’ Suspended Continent. The forest resources there were the living environment they needed. Moreover, due to the unique nature of the Shattered Starry Sky, the Moonlit Elves had zero psychological burden about attacking the Night Elves.
This was because they were the same race but different species. Perhaps in ancient times, these two major races, absorbed as a whole by the Shattered Starry Sky, originally came from two different alternate worlds.
“It seems you understand now!” Beruses narrowed his fiery red eyes and said with an awkward smile. “Our clan has fought many wars with other demons. We have many High-Rank demon prisoners in our prisons. If you have time, come to our headquarters to take a look. However, I must remind you: High-Rank demon essence blood is, after all, a scarce resource. Just paying with Shattered Crystal is not enough.”
“I understand!” Qin Lun’s heart stirred. No matter what, he did not plan to miss this opportunity. He thought for a moment, then took out the Undead Sacred Artifact staff from his Storage Space and showed it to Beruses. “I think the value of this thing should be enough to exchange for one High-Rank demon prisoner!”
