Because I've found that I have a strong adaptability.

After gazing down for a long while, the Left Envoy finally spoke.

"I haven't been here for a while. I was searching for a breakthrough opportunity. Only with power do we have the right to speak—whether to you or the righteous path. Am I wrong?"

He wasn’t wrong. Power was everything.

"Then, did you achieve your breakthrough?"

"No," the Left Envoy declared without hesitation.

"Then why the hell are you talking?"

"Don’t get impatient yet. I’ve found a method."

At the very least, he had to offer something to placate them. The method existed, but it hadn’t been realized yet. Couldn’t they just consider him promising?

"Care to share?" The Right Envoy’s attitude instantly softened.

He, too, wanted to progress.

"Hmph, let me test it first. If it succeeds, I’ll naturally share it with you. If it fails, just pretend I never mentioned it. I don’t want to waste your time."

The Right Envoy sneered inwardly. Share? What a joke. If you don’t hoard it for yourself, I’ll eat my words.

But pressing further wouldn’t yield answers, so the Right Envoy changed the subject.

"So, what’s next? Are we just going to hole up here?"

"Good question. I already have a plan."

Su Luo laid out his scheme.

"Will this method work?" The North End Demon Lord voiced his skepticism.

"Of course. Trust me."

"But since you became the Demon Sovereign, there hasn’t been anything to earn my trust," the South End Demon Lord countered.

Now that he was the Demon Sovereign, the Left Envoy’s past achievements no longer counted. Status dictated expectations.

"You’ll see. This is my proof. Remember, I’ve only been the Demon Sovereign for a short time. You can afford to test me. Believe in me."

Bluffing was key. Su Luo didn’t care if they believed him—he just needed to intimidate them with grand claims.

At that moment, the East Extreme Demon Lord stepped forward and declared loudly, "I support you!"

"Good, you’ve got vision." The Left Envoy praised him appropriately.

The Right Envoy, however, wasn’t impressed. "How convenient of you to show up now. Never around when it’s unimportant, but here at the critical moment."

"Because showing up at the critical moment is what makes me indispensable."

The Right Envoy scoffed. Slacking off was one thing, but dressing it up so prettily? Ridiculous.

"What about the rest of you? Support or oppose?" The Left Envoy’s tone, though ostensibly seeking opinions, carried an undercurrent of authority.

He was the Demon Sovereign now—dominance was expected.

But such a shift took time.

In the end, the North End Demon Lord conceded, "I’ll support it."

There were no better alternatives at the moment.

The West Extreme Demon Lord closed his eyes and said, "Worth a try."

It was just an experiment. If it failed, the blame wouldn’t fall on him.

With four in favor, the plan was approved.

"Good. Then I’ll make the arrangements."

The Left Envoy left, followed by the East Extreme Demon Lord.

The other Demon Lords dispersed as well, but the Right Envoy sensed something amiss.

The distance between the Left Envoy and the East Extreme Demon Lord had narrowed.

Physically. Their shoulders were nearly touching.

This was absolutely abnormal.

The Left Envoy would never allow the East Extreme Demon Lord to walk beside him, especially after becoming the Demon Sovereign.

Even if the Right Envoy habitually walked alongside him, the Left Envoy would scoff and stride ahead.

The Right Envoy couldn’t fathom what had changed between them.

Meanwhile, Su Luo reverted to his original form, and Nangong Xiyun returned to being A-Yun.

This part of the plot didn’t revolve around the Left Envoy—he only needed to propose the plan.

The one executing it was Su Luo.

Nangong Xiyun smiled faintly, though her eyes held no warmth. "Su Luo, did you have fun with Little Yu?"

"Very."

"Aren’t you worried I might not be happy about that?" Her expression didn’t shift.

"How can I make you happy?" Su Luo asked bluntly. Sometimes, he truly couldn’t decipher Nangong Xiyun’s thoughts.

In response, Nangong Xiyun pulled him into an embrace, tilted his chin up, and kissed him fiercely.

"I forgive you."

She even licked her lips afterward.

"This is… hard for me to process."

Before, she’d blush and fluster after kissing him. Now, she was more assertive than he was.

"Because I’ve discovered my adaptability is quite impressive," Nangong Xiyun replied, grinning with pride.

Only the first time had been shy. After that, every kiss was pure, intoxicating sweetness.

Su Luo studied her, still struggling to reconcile this passionate version with the aloof Nangong Xiyun he’d first known.

Fascinating. She should’ve been ice-cold, yet once her heart melted, she burned so fiercely.

Under his gaze, Nangong Xiyun couldn’t resist kissing him again.

Please, keep looking at me like that.

……

Wait. They had work to do.

Su Luo nearly lost himself in her warmth again.

"Alright, alright. Let’s go."

Nangong Xiyun finally released him—for now.

Su Luo immediately set off, taking Nangong Xiyun and Little Yu out of the Night Forest.

It was time to advance the plot.

But first, he opened his diary.

[After over a month of leisure, it’s time to get busy again.]

[This arc’s plot involves a critical mission assigned by the Left Envoy himself. Now, I’m assigning it to myself. How ironic.]

[The Left Envoy’s grand plan? A demonic alliance.]

[Yes, he’s copying the righteous path’s playbook. The logic? If they can unite, why can’t we demonic cultivators?]

[What a lack of self-awareness. Does he even know what "demonic" means? Honor? Rules?]

[A demonic alliance? More like a gathering of backstabbing opportunists.]

[But if the Left Envoy didn’t propose this nonsense, how would Lin Xuan get his chance to shine?]

[Coincidentally, I’ve been in the spotlight lately, so this "prestigious" task falls to me.]

[Leading demonic factions is infinitely harder than leading the righteous ones. Without absolute strength, they’d never obey completely.]

[An alliance? More like a breeding ground for infighting.]

[Still, through sheer cunning, I managed to rally a group of demonic forces—half-success.]

[Then, leading this ragtag team against Lin Xuan, the other half of the plan collapsed.]

[Lin Xuan needed only a few words to sow discord, turning the so-called alliance into a laughingstock.]

[I was livid. After painstakingly assembling this force, Lin Xuan dismantled it effortlessly. Humiliated, I rallied everyone to swarm him.]

[But Lin Xuan wasn’t the same as before. A month apart, and his strength had grown again. What could I do? We were crushed.]

[And then, Jiang Ningshu launched a surprise attack on the demonic forces, focusing her fury on the Heavenly Demon Sect.]

[By now, Jiang Ningshu had regained her first-stage power. See, Ningshu? Don’t go too hard.]

[If you’re too brutal, the Heavenly Demon Sect might just rally behind you as their new Demon Sovereign.]

[With crisis upon crisis, where was the success in any of this?]

[Unsurprisingly, I failed. Again.]