“It’s been hundreds of years since there was any news of you. If I didn’t still remember the scent of your Magic Power, I wouldn’t have recognized you in this ugly form,” Dracula said.
“Hey, I’m not that ugly, am I?”
Qiaolin knit his brows and looked toward Gabriela, as if seeking her opinion.
“Um… you’re definitely not as handsome as before.”
Gabriela remembered the Qiaolin of the past—the Celestial Hero.
He had silver hair, azure eyes, a well-proportioned and slender build, and a cold, handsome face.
Even Dracula would have been stunned by his looks for a moment.
Magic could alter a person’s appearance and form.
Therefore, even though Gabriela saw that Qiaolin looked different than before, she hadn’t expressed much surprise once she identified his Magic Power.
However, since people relied on their eyes to appreciate things most of the time, Gabriela still preferred Qiaolin to show his original face.
Seeing the look of expectation in Gabriela’s eyes, the corners of Qiaolin’s mouth twitched into a bitter smile.
“We’re all old acquaintances, so stop pretending. Why don’t you let everyone see the majestic figure of the Celestial Hero? How about it?”
“Sure,” Qiaolin replied.
Seeing the mischief in Dracula’s eyes, he smiled and added, “If you beg me, I’ll agree. Right, Gabriela?”
“Mm-hmm!”
“Eh? Lina, why are you agreeing to that!”
Dracula suddenly grew frantic.
“No, no, no, it’s nothing like that.”
Qiaolin decided to stop teasing them.
“Currently, there are no Saint Rank powerhouses among the Demon Race. The strongest should be Gabriela, who is at the peak of the King Rank, and that ‘Tyrant of Rock,’ right?”
Qiaolin changed the subject, and the two women stopped their bickering.
“For all these years, Caesar has been expanding his own influence. His ambition to replace the Demon King and rule the entire Demon Race isn’t something that started just a day or two ago,” Dracula said crossly.
“Ever since my sister died, he led his subordinates to swear loyalty to me. Clearly, his strength at that time was already enough to make him the new Demon King,” Gabriela said.
“But he didn’t do it.”
After the Holy War ended, Gabriela’s strength was only at the initial stage of the King Rank.
She had just stepped over that threshold, and even some of the tribal leaders under the Demon Race’s rule were stronger than her.
In the Demon Race, where strength was revered, they would not allow a weak Demon King to lead them, regardless of how great her talent was.
As early as hundreds of years ago, as the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, Caesar—the Tyrant of Rock—was already at the peak of the King Rank.
Instead of immediately claiming the throne, he decided to support a member of the Demon Race whose bloodline was identical to the previous Demon King.
Everyone assumed he wanted to create a puppet ruler to prevent the forces of the Celestial Realm from making a comeback.
Caesar’s calculations were quite clever.
Gabriela never wanted to follow in Archimondetia’s footsteps; she had no desire to become the Demon King at all.
Instead, she was pushed onto the throne by the strongest faction of the Demon Race.
People could not see the new Demon King; they could only see the strongest man behind her, Caesar.
However, what Caesar didn’t expect was that the new Demon King would grow so quickly, and with almost no bottlenecks.
Now that Gabriela was also at the peak of the King Rank and had even reached the threshold of the Saint Rank, Caesar was becoming restless.
If he didn’t hurry and consolidate the other factions for his own use, he would lose what remained of his control over the Demon Race.
After Dracula’s explanation, Qiaolin roughly understood the situation and the purpose behind their discussion regarding his return.
“So, you want me to intimidate Caesar to buy time for Gabriela to break through to the Saint Rank?”
“Exactly. Now, you just need to release your Magic Power with everything you’ve got. Once that guy knows you’re here, he definitely won’t dare to make a move,” Dracula said with a smile.
“And then?”
“And then? Is an ‘and then’ even necessary? I remember back when you first reached the King Rank, you could take on all four of us Heavenly Kings by yourself.”
“…It wasn’t that exaggerated. It was just easier to deal with you,” Qiaolin rolled his eyes.
“You jerk!”
Caesar, the Tyrant of Rock, could be said to be Qiaolin’s most troublesome enemy at the time.
It wasn’t just his strength; his strategy was even more terrifying.
Several times, he had caused Qiaolin’s team to fall apart, and Qiaolin himself had been pushed to the brink of death by Caesar on multiple occasions.
As a former rival he once feared, Qiaolin knew it was impossible for Caesar not to have anticipated this situation.
He should have made a move long ago, especially while Gabriela was away looking for him.
Dracula also saw what Qiaolin was considering.
“Don’t worry. During the time Gabriela was away, rumors were spreading throughout the Demon Race that she was in secluded cultivation. He has no idea.”
“You did that?”
“Of course,” Dracula said proudly. Beside her, Gabriela gave a thumbs-up.
The vampire girl, receiving praise, puffed out her chest even more triumphantly.
“No, that doesn’t add up. That still doesn’t explain why Caesar wouldn’t dare to act. Moreover, after so many years, he hasn’t made a single breakthrough and has instead allowed Gabriela to grow. That’s even more suspicious.”
“So what? As long as you’re here, what can he do?”
Dracula grew a bit impatient.
“When did this man become so long-winded?”
If it were the Hero of the past, he would have already raised his Holy Sword and killed the opponent directly.
At that moment, Gabriela seemed to think of something, and an uneasy expression appeared on her face.
“What is it, Lina?”
“I just thought of something. Qiaolin…”
The girl looked at Qiaolin’s awkward smile and said, “He can pretty much only use healing magic now.”
“You said… what?”
Dracula’s neck turned stiffly toward Qiaolin.
“Heh, sorry about that. It might be because I learned too many healing spells, so I’ve completely forgotten those earth-shattering techniques from before.”
Qiaolin scratched his head sheepishly.
“I… Is there something wrong with you? You only know how to use healing spells? What are you going to do, restore the enemy’s wounds?”
Dracula was about to faint from anger.
She had finally brought back the Hero who once defeated Caesar and even the Demon King, only to find out this guy had crippled himself.
“What about your Frost Magic? Your Explosion Magic? And your Holy Judgment Magic? Are they all gone?”
“Qiaolin nodded.”
He raised his hand, and white Magic Power gathered in his palm.
Seeing this, Dracula reflexively blocked Gabriela.
“Was this starting stance the Ten-Thousand-Year Freezing Technique that had frozen her back then?”
“Clear Heart and Mind. Calm down.”
An ice-blue light flashed over Dracula.
Her original agitated mood felt as if it were soaked in ice water, and she suddenly felt incredibly refreshed.
“Phew, that feels so good… Like hell it does! Is that how you’re supposed to use ice magic?”
Qiaolin shrugged, indicating that he only knew spells of this type now.
“I suggest we observe for a while. My identity can’t be exposed so soon. Right now, the enemy is in the shadows while you are in the light. If I reveal my trump card this early and he realizes my magic isn’t what it used to be, I’ll be killed.”
“I’m sorry, Qiaolin. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I didn’t think it through,” Gabriela lowered her eyes and apologized to Qiaolin.
“It’s fine. At least for now, no one besides you two knows my status.”
Qiaolin patted the girl’s head comfortingly and smiled.
“This is a good time for me to see how you’ve been governing the Demon Race as well.”
“Okay.”
“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
Dracula stomped her feet in anger.
Originally, she was the one who proposed bringing the Hero back to intimidate Caesar and then driving Qiaolin away so she could spend happy times alone with Gabriela.
Now that Qiaolin was staying, her good days were essentially over.