Evaluation of Demonic Clan Talents: Bloodline and Demon Core

In the center of the hall sat a broad, heavy, and archaic long table. It was warm to the touch and exuded a faint spiritual aura.

Natural cloud patterns formed on its surface, with faint demon race totems looming within.

Gu Changyuan naturally walked to the head of the long table and sat down.

That seat had been vacant for a thousand years, yet it remained completely spotless. Now, it had finally welcomed its master.

Seeing this, the rest of the disciples needed no arrangement, each tacitly taking their seats on both sides of the long table.

Once everyone was seated, Gu Changyuan casually waved his right hand.

"Whoosh—"

Instantly, brilliant light flowed across the table, and spiritual energy overflowed!

Dozens of crystal-clear jade plates, jade pots, and jade cups appeared out of thin air, neatly arranged in front of every disciple.

The jade plates held variously shaped spiritual fruits, while the jade pots contained all kinds of spiritual juices and wines, laid out before each disciple.

Just as everyone sat down, Gu Xing'er, who was beside Bai Ling'er, rolled her eyes and, catching her off guard, suddenly darted up from her seat with a whoosh.

Barefoot, she pattered across the cool jade bricks and ran up to Gu Changyuan.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, Gu Xing'er ran to Gu Changyuan's side and reached out her little hand to gently tug at the hem of his clothes.

Gu Changyuan looked down, a smile in his eyes.

The little girl tilted her small face up and opened her short arms toward him.

Understanding her intention, Gu Changyuan bent over, reached out, and scooped her up, letting her sit securely and comfortably on his crossed left leg.

He smoothly adjusted her posture so she could lean against his chest, her little feet dangling in the air.

Having done all this, Gu Xing'er seemed to have accomplished something major, resting peacefully against Gu Changyuan's chest.

She rubbed her little face against him, then looked curiously at the glowing spiritual fruits on the table.

Silence.

For a moment, the entire hall fell dead silent.

Except for Bai Ling'er, who already knew and was used to it, all the other disciples—whether it was Ye Qingxue and Yue Lingxi who had traveled with them, or Tushan Youyao and those they had just met—froze instantly.

All eyes uniformly focused on the exquisitely carved little girl in Gu Changyuan's arms, who was acting incredibly intimate with him.

Shock! Confusion! The fire of gossip burned fiercely!

Who... is this child?! What is her relationship with their Master?!

Sitting on Master's lap? Master is holding her so naturally?

Is she Master's child? Do they have a Mistress now?

Although Ye Qingxue, Yue Lingxi, and Luo Qingchen had traveled together with them, Gu Xing'er had mostly been carried or led by Bai Ling'er before, rarely having such direct and intimate interaction with Gu Changyuan.

So they hadn't paid much attention, spending the whole journey catching up with their Master.

Lu Jiuyi and the others were the same.

Seeing this scene now, they suddenly realized that the relationship seemed far closer than they had imagined.

Feeling the probing and shocked gazes of his disciples, Gu Changyuan shook his head helplessly.

His left hand continued to securely wrap around Gu Xing'er, while his right hand raised to gently rub the top of the little girl's soft hair.

Then, he introduced Gu Xing'er's background to his disciples, answering their doubts.

And when the words "Chaos Star Spirit Body" settled, although a hint of surprise flashed in the disciples' eyes, they were not overly moved.

After all, among those who could enter Gu Changyuan's tutelage, who wasn't a person of outstanding talent?

The human disciples all possessed top-tier physiques, and the demon disciples were all uniquely gifted; they had long been accustomed to heaven-defying talents.

The evaluation of a demon's talent was completely different from that of humans, relying entirely on three things: bloodline tier, demon core tier, and innate divine abilities.

Both bloodlines and demon cores were divided into nine tiers. The lower three tiers were Mortal, Spirit, and Profound; the middle three tiers were King, Emperor, and Monarch; and the upper three tiers were Saint, Divine, and Chaos.

However, this Nine Heavens Realm seemed to have an invisible suppression on the demon race, or perhaps the rules of heaven and earth were difficult to bear, as the highest tier of bloodlines and demon cores that could be born was only the Saint tier.

The Divine and Chaos tiers had never appeared, unlike the human race, whose physiques could directly awaken Divine Bodies or Chaos Bodies.

Even so, a Saint-tier bloodline or a Saint-tier demon core was already as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns among the demons of the entire Nine Heavens Realm. If one could possess both, they would be a heaven-defying demon, one in ten thousand.

And the reason why these ten demon disciples under Gu Changyuan could all become Demon Ancestors was precisely because they possessed at least one attribute—either bloodline or demon core—that had reached the "Saint tier."

Many even possessed both a Saint core and Saint blood.

As for innate divine abilities, their strength was fundamentally linked to the tiers of the bloodline and demon core.

The awakening degree of divine abilities was further divided into Initial Awakening, Minor Completion, Major Completion, Perfection, and Paramount.

The higher the awakening degree, the more tyrannical the power of the divine ability. This was also the most fundamental aspect that needed to be polished on a demon's path of cultivation.

Therefore, regarding Gu Xing'er's "Chaos Star Spirit Body," the disciples quickly accepted it after their initial surprise.

With the misunderstanding about Gu Xing'er cleared up, the atmosphere in the hall became relaxed and harmonious once again.

Especially Tushan Youyao, Lan Caiyou, and the other three disciples who had stayed behind to guard the Heavenly Demon Pavilion; they were full of curiosity about their Master's specific experiences over the past thousand years.

Thus, Gu Changyuan once again recounted his encounters to them.

It wasn't until the night of the second day fell again, and a faint ink-like color appeared on the horizon, that he finished.

......

After catching up, Gu Changyuan then summoned all the elders of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, just as he had done at the Heavenly Human Holy Land.

He asked Ye Qingxue, Bai Ling'er, Yue Lingxi, and Gu Xing'er to stay in the top-floor residence to rest first.

He himself took the ten demon disciples and headed to the third floor of the Heavenly Demon Tower—the location of the council hall for the elders of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

As streaks of flowing light flew out from the Ten Great Pavilions or other levels of the Heavenly Demon Tower, converging towards the entrance of the third floor, the atmosphere of the entire Heavenly Demon Pavilion once again became solemn and dignified.

Powerful demon elders of various forms stepped into this hall, which was normally only used for major resolutions.

The council hall was extremely magnificent, its surrounding walls carved with ancient totems of ten thousand demons.

On both sides of the hall, arranged according to elder rank, were hundreds of jade seats exuding a faint pressure.

In the deepest part of the hall, on a high platform facing the entrance, sat a main seat with an archaic style and a pitch-black body.

For a thousand years, no demon had ever sat in this seat. Even when the ten Demon Ancestors held councils, they would mostly sit at the head seats on both sides below the high platform.

However, at this moment, the gazes of all the elders stepping into the hall were involuntarily and firmly drawn to that main seat at the very first instant.

They saw that on the throne which had been vacant for a thousand years, there now sat a young-looking man whose bearing was as profound as an abyss.

Although they had guessed it in their hearts, seeing this scene with their own eyes still set off considerable waves in the hearts of many elders.

The founding Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, who had been missing for a thousand years, had truly returned.