After bathing and changing, Su Zhaoyu was still wearing a white nightgown. Its collar hung open over her proud chest. She sat on the soft bed, lightly swinging her two little feet, still dotted with water droplets.

The two pointed ears atop her head were exposed. Behind her, nine fluffy tails spread out like a blooming flower.

A maid timidly brought over a cup of tea and gently set it on the table.

“You’ve worked hard. Go rest early.”

Su Zhaoyu lazily leaned back against the pillow and lay down. At the same time, she reached out and picked up the teacup. The petal at the bottom of the cup gave off a faint glow.

“...Yes...” The maid was a little overwhelmed by the favor. She hurriedly lowered her head and withdrew from the room.

The Sevenfold Snow Lotus had brought immense medicinal effects. Su Zhaoyu’s strength had been advancing by leaps and bounds. By now, she had already reached the middle stage of the Ninth Tier.

The Tenth Tier was the highest level of combat power in the world today. It was also the limit for everyone.

The jar of Sevenfold Snow Lotus Su Zhaoyu had brought back before was almost used up from brewing tea. But the Tenth Tier, that ultimate boundary, was still far away.

Without the snow lotus, advancing by her own efforts would be vastly more difficult.

Last time, Su Zhaoyu had gone to Lu Feng’s clinic. She traded an Eighth Realm demon-binding collar for a small box of Truth Incense. With it, she cleaned out the demon clan on White Peach Mountain and finally put an end to the unrest that had been stirring.

The doctor at that clinic seemed very casual. If he wanted to give something away, he would just take it out without even blinking. Back then, the box of incense Lu Feng brought out was also something Su Zhaoyu badly needed. After weighing it again and again, she accepted the incense and felt too embarrassed to bring up the Sevenfold Snow Lotus again.

After that conversation with Lu Feng, Su Zhaoyu had also begun reflecting on her past actions. If she kept establishing authority through punishment like before, then it truly wasn’t a long-term solution.

Anyway, now that she had Truth Incense, relaxing her tone with her subordinates once in a while wasn’t a bad thing.

She used the Truth Incense to root out the spies and the traitorous demons, then had them all publicly executed. After that, she soothed the other members of the demon clan. At the same time, she restrained her own tone and behavior, no longer resorting to punishment at every turn like before.

Because of that, the demons on White Peach Mountain truly did both respect and fear her. The God of Medicine’s foresight really had been correct.

Su Zhaoyu finished the tea. A petal rested in her mouth as she frowned slightly, thinking things over.

There wasn’t much Sevenfold Snow Lotus left. In a few days, she had to go exchange for some more.

And then there was the next problem.

How was she supposed to lure him over?

Lu Feng seemed to need some rare items to decorate his storefront. That was Su Zhaoyu’s guess. Bringing over some beautiful treasures wouldn’t be hard. The hard part was what came after.

While Su Zhaoyu was racking her brains, a strange sensation suddenly rose in her heart. Her narrow eyes opened a sliver.

With the Sevenfold Snow Lotus greatly boosting her strength, Su Zhaoyu’s perception had also risen to another level.

She had already ordered the maids not to disturb her while she was resting, so by all logic, no one should have come here. And if it were an assassin, they normally wouldn’t escape the notice of the four demonic dragons carved into the stone pillars of the great hall.

But the assassin had gotten in.

That left only one possibility.

This assassin’s strength had to be at least at the Ninth Tier.

The moment she sensed something wrong, Su Zhaoyu instantly hurled the teacup away. In that same instant, a streak of scarlet flame flashed past. A sword split through the door and struck the teacup.

Broken fragments fell to the floor. The door burst apart in all directions. A masked girl thrust her sword straight at Su Zhaoyu, who was still reclining lazily on the bed. The golden ponytail behind her head flew high with the speed of her movement.

The blade of a rapier glowed red and gold, as if burning. She wore light mithril armor and silver bracers, looking sharp and valiant.

Using the teacup to delay her for just a moment, Su Zhaoyu had already prepared her counterattack. She pointed a slender finger at the blonde assassin. A biting wind surged out. The rapier stalled for a beat, then the blonde girl was blasted backward and slammed into the wall.

“I was still wondering which people in the Hero Association had the ability to come assassinate me. I didn’t expect it to be a yellow-haired little girl like you.” Su Zhaoyu spoke unhurriedly, hands clasped behind her back, walking barefoot toward the blonde girl on the ground.

The one who had come was the Hero Association’s most watched S-rank hero of the present day, Situ Qingxue.

Situ Qingxue rolled up from the ground, then immediately retreated a short distance. She took several deep breaths and forced down the surging blood and qi caused by that last hit.

What was going on?

Su Zhaoyu was supposed to still be recovering from her injuries. Though she was still said to be above the Ninth Tier, according to the Hero Association’s investigation, her vitality had been badly damaged. Her strength supposedly couldn’t even remain at the Ninth Tier anymore. But this exchange had been completely different from the intel.

Situ Qingxue was deeply shocked.

The intel wasn’t wrong. Su Zhaoyu really had suffered from an incurable hidden affliction. That was why Situ Qingxue had taken on this assassination mission with absolute confidence. But why was Su Zhaoyu at this stage so strong? She was actually already pressing Situ Qingxue down by a full step.

That could only mean one thing.

In this short span of time, Su Zhaoyu had not only healed her injuries, but had also greatly increased her strength.

At that moment, Su Zhaoyu gave Situ Qingxue no time to think. A fierce chill rose around her again, and an icicle shot straight at Situ Qingxue’s forehead.

Situ Qingxue hurriedly ignited flames along her blade. She slashed through the air, sending out fire to cut the icicle apart. Then, in the next instant, she lunged forward again and chopped at Su Zhaoyu.

“You have no chance.” Su Zhaoyu’s gaze sharpened. She looked at the descending blade without the slightest fear.

What a blunder. She hadn’t expected Su Zhaoyu to heal so quickly. But after finally sneaking in here once, leaving empty-handed would be too much of a waste.

Even if Su Zhaoyu seemed faintly stronger than her, it wasn’t as if Situ Qingxue had no chance at all.

The sword in Situ Qingxue’s hand was a treasure specially made for her. Combined with the ability she had learned, it could unleash tremendous power.

Situ Qingxue’s ability was known only to herself.

It was called “Replication.”

Any ability, once demonstrated before her eyes, could be copied through meditation afterward.

And one of the fire abilities Situ Qingxue had just learned was called “Endless Karmic Flame.” During the last great war between demons and humans, it had been the secret weapon that let humanity wound Demon Emperor Su Zhaoyu and then claim a great victory.

That’s right.

This was the protagonist’s cheat. The backup trump card. The classic hidden ace for playing weak and turning the tables. A must-have for slapping faces at home and on the go.

“How utterly stupid.” Su Zhaoyu directly raised her pale fingers and actually grabbed the blade Situ Qingxue had swung at her with her bare hand.

“Burn.”

In that instant, Situ Qingxue switched the flames wrapped around the blade into Endless Karmic Flame. Golden fire, blazing as hot as the sun, burst into joyous life.

Now, Su Zhaoyu was about to become the little boss sacrificed to the classic act of playing weak before turning the tables!