The sky was as dark as ink before dawn.
In the ruins of the old mine valley, silence was overwhelming, as if all the sounds were swallowed up by the blooming of the "Blood Shadow Flower".
Su Yue stood quietly in the center of the collapse, her figure wrapped in the morning mist, like an unextinguished god of war.
The long sword fell, and the blood had not yet dried.
She looked down at her feet-
Esta's body lay quietly among the rubble, his face twisted, and his eyes retained the fear before death. His black wings were broken, the mark of the royal lineage was shattered, and even his soul was completely shattered at the moment when the "Blood Shadow Flower" bloomed.
"This is your echo."
Su Yue closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put the long sword back into the sheath. She didn't say much, nor did she burn the body.
"He doesn't deserve to be buried." Mia stood behind her at some point and spoke weakly.
"Let him be swallowed by time, just like the innocent people he swallowed."
Su Yue nodded gently, but did not speak.
On the east side of the valley, Ethan walked slowly with Mia in his arms. His left arm was broken, his breath was disordered, but his eyes were still calm: "Are the other two priests dead?"
"Setel escaped with serious injuries, and escaped into the gap of the spirit vein when the formation collapsed. He should not be dead yet." Mia responded.
"Levita...maybe he is dead, maybe not." Su Yue whispered.
"What do you mean?" Ethan asked vigilantly.
Su Yue looked to the southwest, frowning: "At that moment, he sacrificed part of his soul to a certain existence...I can feel that it is not the power of this continent."
"Is it...Yuanwai?" Mia's heart trembled.
Su Yue nodded: "If he really signed a contract with Yuanwai, he would not die so easily. That kind of curse...will come back one day."
A moment of silence.
Ethan suddenly asked, "Is your blood shadow flower the third seal?"
Su Yue shook her head gently, "No, it's a fragment of the old oath of the royal lineage. The blood in my body... doesn't seem to belong to the pure royal lineage."
Mia was shocked, "You are not a royal lineage?"
"Not entirely." Su Yue lowered her eyes, "I thought I was just an exile, but now, I want to know the truth."
"Who am I? What does the 'flower oath' left by my mother before she died mean?"
Ethan and Mia looked at each other, and they read the same emotion in each other's eyes-
This has just begun.
Three days later, in the suburbs of Yexi.
Su Yue and others secretly returned to Yexi, but found that the atmosphere was unusual.
The city walls were reinforced, the streets were under martial law, a large number of royal lineage spies were shuttling in the dark, and even the low-level apostles of the "Bell Cult" were active on the periphery.
"What happened during the days we were away?" Ethan frowned and whispered.
Mia learned from the news channel: "Four days ago, a 'aurora' bloomed from the east. It is said that it is a sign that some kind of 'royal remains' have been activated. The entire Dongling royal vein is moving."
"The throne council convened the five major blood branches, and it seems that they want to establish a new successor."
"Successor?" Su Yue stopped and muttered the word.
Ethan sneered: "It's time to restart the internal fight. The maggots in the tower can't wait to crown themselves as the 'blood oath orthodoxy'."
"Will they find out about us?" Mia asked in a low voice.
"Of course." Ethan said lightly, "The formation diagram was restarted with the blood of the royal vein. The light column reaches high into the sky. It is impossible to hide it."
"What should we do next?"
Su Yue was silent for a moment, and said: "We have to take the initiative."
She looked into the depths of Night Rest City. The "Blood Oath Tower" representing the "royal vein authority" was looming in the clouds, like an inaccessible temple.
"I want to go in - to see someone."
"Who?"
"Ares Seran, the third-generation priest of the cult." Her voice was very light, but it was like thunder.
Mia's face suddenly changed: "He? He is one of the third-level chairmen of the cult, how could you -"
"He knows about my mother." Su Yue's eyes were firm, "The blood oath mark she left for me before she died was built by him personally."
"Now, it's time to open it."
At night, under the Blood Oath Tower.
Ethan and Mia were responsible for attracting the attention of the patrol team on the periphery, while Su Yue, wrapped in the night, quietly climbed up the rock wall on the side of the tower and hid in the floating runes.
The central hall of the tower was empty, but a kind of low "heartbeat" echoed in the air.
She walked up the stairs and pushed open the stone door on the third floor.
A cold breath came to her face.
In the dim candlelight, a black-robed figure sat on a chair, facing her.
"You are finally here, the heir of the Blood Shadow Flower."
Su Yue paused, a chill ran down her spine.
"Did you know I would come?"
"Before your mother died, she told me that the day your Blood Shadow bloomed would be the day you would see me."
The man slowly raised his head-
It was a strange and old face.
But it had familiar eyes.
"I am not your father."
"But your mother loves me more than the blood of the throne."
Su Yue's fingers trembled slightly.
"She said that she was only willing to entrust the blood oath to one person."
The black-robed man slowly stood up and stretched out his hand to Su Yue.
"Now, it's time to fulfill the oath."
Boom--!
Her blood suddenly boiled, and the "Blood Shadow Flower" in her body quietly bloomed again-
A new mark appeared in her soul, which was the secret power of her mother's lineage in addition to the blood oath of the royal family.
"Flower oath·True name--"
She heard a certain voice calling in her soul.
"Come on, Su Yue. Your destiny has just begun."