Starry light cascaded upon the ancient artisan-carved dome, intermingling with the brilliance of the timeless crystal chandelier.

The orange radiance emanating from the gradually emptying golden cabinet in the Regent's Hall instantly silenced the entire chamber.

Even the expression of the Fallen Q卿, Kaliyera, who had unsealed the painting from the dwindling contents of the golden cabinet, froze slightly.

[Painting: The Night the Stars Fell]

[Type: Artwork]

[Grade: Epic]

[Rank: 1]

[Any living being who appreciates this painting will expend a small amount of stamina and spirit, feel reverence for the princess in the painting, and has a chance to gain a slight artistic insight, only once.]

The enthusiasm of the Demon noblemen was extinguished like flames doused by a colossal wave.

Silence, intertwined with a dazzling and supreme orange magical luster, permeated the hall.

The painting skillfully captured a unique and mysterious moment in the Demon Realm during an eclipse dawn—

The sky was shrouded in an odd, dim light, neither the darkness of night nor the brightness of dawn, but a hazy glow between the two.

Contradictory yet harmonious light and shadow effects rendered the square and steps in front of the royal palace in meticulous detail, the steps winding and extending, guiding the viewer's gaze deep into the painting.

This was exactly how the princess looked a week ago, when she made her grand public appearance in the Demon Realm.

But she seemed forever trapped in this eclipse, lost in an eternal night. A sense of oppression and suffocation washed over them, compelling the Demons to avert their gazes instinctively, yet they found it difficult to tear themselves away from the painting, as if their souls were about to fall into it.

Clearly, such an artistic conception could only come from Marquis Ulysses, the Tenth Progenitor of the Blood Clan.

"Epic grade?"

The Demons swallowed hard, their gazes shifting toward the Blood Clan's faction seated at the end of the Regent's Hall.

The Tenth Progenitor simply rested his hands on his knees, smiling faintly, seemingly indifferent to the Demons' gazes.

He glanced slightly at the princess, as if asking, *Is Your Highness satisfied with this painting?*

Despite the oppressive feeling of the painting that might make the princess uncomfortable.

But according to the pre-arranged rules, its epic grade meant that the princess could not openly choose the lesser sacred grade.

The Fallen Kaliyera's expression remained unchanged, the veins on the back of her hand began to tremble slightly.

The reason she hadn't used her own will to reverse the princess's choice was, on the one hand, to avoid conflict. Even if they chose the simplest martial arts battle, the Blood Clan might still win. On the other hand, it was to give face to an old friend. This was the last dignity of the royal family. And the last reason was to believe in destiny; the Demons wanting to fight against the stronger Blood Clan was inherently a matter of gambling with the fate of the nation.

In the end, the princess had chosen the painting as if guided by fate.

And the Blood Clan just happened to have a Tenth Progenitor Marquis.

An epic-grade painting was far beyond anything any artist in the Demon Realm could currently compare to.

Whether it was completion, painting speed, or skill, it completely crushed the Misty Q卿 and True Night Q卿 that Kaliyera believed could win.

His painting had reached another realm that didn't belong to this era, worthy of the name of the strongest painter of the present age.

Sure enough, even fate stood on the side of the Blood Clan.

A sense of powerlessness inexplicably filled her heart.

In this scene, Kaliyera felt that in this Blood Moon generation favored by the gods, the Demons defeating the powerful Blood Clan was like a mirage, out of reach.

"Why is it so quiet? Is this a library?"

The Blood Clan viscount accompanying the Blood Clan delegation couldn't help but shudder slightly.

"Don't you have any thoughts on Lord Ulysses's painting?"

He surveyed the hall, as if mocking the Demons' previous arrogance, exhausting themselves to praise the mere sacred-grade paintings, not understanding that they had already lost completely.

"..."

Many Demon dignitaries glared furiously at the Blood Clan's area in the center of the fan-shaped seating, but couldn't say a word.

Over the years, the Demons had long learned to be humble and patient with the Blood Clan.

This was the price of peace.

"Are there none of you Demons who dare to evaluate Marquis Ulysses's work? Or is it that you simply lack the ability to appreciate a painting of this level?"

Duke Eduardo, the long-silent Fourth Progenitor, finally spoke beneath his gray robes.

His voice was as low and hoarse as an ancient stone mill.

He needed the Demons to show respect to the Blood Clan.

The Demons must never forget their position.

"You old..."

Misty Q卿 Orion couldn't bear this humiliation. Even though the other party was a ninth-order Blood Clan Duke, he stood up, wanting to scold him to restrain himself a little, but True Night Q卿 Esmod grabbed his hand.

Those blue eyes seemed to dim slightly, as if they had lost confidence, but were still rational.

Rushing into anger at this time would only make the Demons lose more face.

Misty Q卿 Orion thought for a moment, his anger seemingly extinguished by True Night Q卿, and finally sat down.

The Regent's Hall fell silent for a long time.

The Fourth Progenitor, Eduardo, slowly turned his turbid blood-red eyes to the princess on the throne opposite, raised his cane, and pointed it at her.

Meaning, if no Demon answered, then please have Your Highness comment on Ulysses's painting.

Such aggressive coercion finally made many Demons feel frightened.

Kaliyera didn't speak, and they dared not say anything.

Without the protection of the Fallen Q卿 Kaliyera, they would be as fragile as ants in front of the Fourth Progenitor Eduardo, and they had no life to risk offending this ninth-order Blood Clan.

Once the princess answered, whether praising or belittling the painting, it would make the Demons appear completely defeated—

Praise represented submission, belittlement represented loss of composure, and not answering represented ignorance.

"..."

Thunderlord Qing lowered his head and clenched his fists, making his bones crack.

He had long known that this group of Blood Clan had come to the Demon Realm with an arrogant attitude.

From the moment they signed the *North-South Pact*, the Demons had never truly raised their heads in front of the Blood Clan. Now, even a Blood Clan viscount dared to mock them.

"Its name is [The Night the Stars Fell]. The Demon Realm's sky is shrouded in a strange, dim light, as if the night has not completely faded, yet it reveals a dawn that cannot come. In this mysterious and contradictory light and shadow, the square in front of the royal palace, the steps extend, and a peerless princess slowly walks down, her silver hair falling naturally, softly covering her light blue dress. There are no stars in the night sky. The true star is her."

The sudden clear voice echoed in the silent Regent's Hall. Thunderlord Qing was stunned and followed the source of the voice, looking at the calm and composed Radiance Demon beside him.

Only to see McCarthy had spoken.

"She has a peerless face that I cannot forget after seeing it once. Her eyes are clear and proud, the most beautiful amber in the world. Whether sorrow or joy, with a hint of happiness or regret, will affect the viewer's heart. Perhaps it is a summer serenade, perhaps it is an autumn mountain breeze, perhaps it is a constantly changing starry sky. With just one glance, only her figure will remain in one's mind."

Ranch looked at this epic painting, narrating like reciting a poem.

Hearing this, the Fourth Progenitor Eduardo temporarily withdrew his cane.

He took another look at Ranch.

He had the tolerance of a victor.

It seemed that the second plan wouldn't need to be used today.

He could take away the last princess of the Demons and turn her into a pitiful plaything of the Blood Clan.

Ranch's impromptu evaluation relieved all the Demons present.

"Worthy of being called Mr. McCarthy."

"His words are full of sincere praise, but all the praise is directed at the princess."

"Speaking of which, isn't he praising her a little too much...?"

Subtle whispers resurfaced, and the expressions of many Demon dignitaries also eased slightly.

Only Hyperion, hearing Ranch's words, completely couldn't hold back.

"I'm not as beautiful as you say..."

Hyperion clutched her dress, muttering in a voice that was barely audible, her heart constantly racing.

She took a deep breath, knowing that she couldn't panic in front of Ranch at this time, and returned to a calm state with her skilled spy skills.

At this time, the Fallen Q卿 Kaliyera beside the throne had been quiet for a long time.

Ever since the hall suddenly fell silent, she seemed to have finally grown tired.

What good would it do to avoid the humiliation of defeat? What could not be changed was the ending of defeat.

Today, in order to continue to wait for the opportunity, their Demons lost the princess according to the rules. What would they lose next time?

"The Fallen Q卿 still has a painting."

Hyperion's order rang in Kaliyera's ears.

"Your Highness..."

Kaliyera turned her eyes and only saw that the princess at this moment was even more indifferent than her.

Only at this moment did the princess's attitude seem to believe that the Demons had not lost.

The princess was very brave, braver than she had imagined. At this time, she was the most steadfast Demon.

Originally, Kaliyera thought this was a useless princess. Now she began to feel that she had misjudged her. This demoness had the aura of a big boss worthy of the position of Demon Princess.

"Okay, I will accompany you to the end."

The Fallen Q卿 Kaliyera nodded in response.

As the host, she naturally had the obligation to complete the process.

Even if there was only the last sealed painting lying in the golden cabinet at this time, the probability of their Demons losing the princess was not zero.

"Is there still a need to humiliate yourself, Kaliyera?"

The Fourth Progenitor Duke Eduardo looked at the Fallen Q卿 who had started acting again in front of the throne and asked, leaning on his cane.

This painting, as a work placed at the very bottom of the golden cabinet, was submitted even earlier than the Tenth Progenitor Ulysses's painting, and was likely a perfunctory work similar to that of Thunderlord Qing.

"The ancient legendary artisans of the Demon Realm have already lost, and it is impossible to find a greater Demon in the current Demon Realm who is stronger than True Night Q卿 in artistic attainment. If it is said that the Demons still have one in ten thousand chances to struggle, it would be too optimistic."

The accompanying Blood Clan viscount couldn't help shaking his head and said.

The light interwoven with magic gradually converged, leaving only the bright and unique orange radiance of the Tenth Progenitor's [The Night the Stars Fell], like a solitary star singing alone.

The sounds from the Demon dignitaries' seats were quietly taken away as if by an invisible hand, plunging the entire Regent's Hall into a nearly solemn silence.

Those once subtle whispers had now completely disappeared, and even the air between the originally proud Misty Q卿 and True Night Q卿 was nearly frozen.

Many Demons were unwilling to look at the golden cabinet again, waiting for the Blood Clan's laughter, which represented the end of everything, to come.

Kaliyera used magic to pull up this painting, which had been placed in the golden cabinet even earlier than the Blood Clan's Tenth Progenitor Ulysses.

In this instant, the Fallen Q卿 seemed to sense something, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and hope seemed to be rekindled in her eyes.

A blazing orange light suddenly surged out of the golden cabinet!!

Points of light scattered and flowed, forming golden totems in the air. The mist of light suddenly spread around like a blessing, instantly covering the entire hall and awakening the Demons' dim eyes that had been covered by dark clouds.

Only to see in the painting—

From afar, you could see ripples rippling on the winding canal water, reflecting the reflection of the setting sun.

The sunset in the sky became the background color.

The girl in the painting, her face, lit up the world.

Her cheeks and behind her were a sky interwoven with pink and orange. Her eyes were like autumn water, radiant and charming. Without light, one could still find her shining brightly. In her golden hour, time seemed to stop for her.

[Painting: Her Golden Hour]

[Type: Artwork]

[Grade: Epic]

[Rank: 1]

[Any living being who appreciates this painting will recover a small amount of spirit and stamina, and the level of trust in the girl in the painting will increase. There is a chance to permanently increase a small amount of magic power attribute limit, only once.]

At this moment, without any evaluation, the Demons went from being dumbfounded to standing up and cheering in just one second!

Even Kaliyera showed a relieved smile.

"Who painted this?"

The Demons stood up excitedly, looking around the Regent's Hall, searching for the figure of the creator.

However.

When they followed the princess's gaze.

All the answers were revealed—

That mysterious merchant.

And the princess.

Looking at each other from afar.

The surrounding world seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of them.

Immersed in this beautiful and eternal moment.

(End of this chapter)