A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 544 Loving you means protecting you even more.
Xiao Jin, Lu Xiao, Shen Li, Xue Yinzhou and the others were also awakened by the sudden commotion in the temple. When they arrived, they saw the change and their faces showed shock.

Lu Xiao sighed deeply, "The High Priest truly loved his son dearly, willing to pass on his power to Jia Lan, but in doing so, his life came to an end."

Shen Li looked at Jia Lan not far away and could see the deep sorrow on his face. It was as if he himself was experiencing that emotion, and he fell silent, which was rare for him.

Xue Yinzhou was never one for many words, so he didn't seem to have much to say and remained silent.

Xiao Jin, who wasn't very cultured, scratched his neck and clicked his tongue, "What a pity. But in that case, will Jialan have to stay in the temple? Can he still come back with us?"

That's a good question.

The beastmen were more concerned about this matter.

Looks like I'll have one less rival in love.

Garuda looked at Jialan's current state, his expression somewhat dazed, unsure whether it was relief or something else. In the end, he stepped forward and offered his congratulations.

From that moment on, she understood that Jialan had truly grown into a capable male.

No longer the child who would whine and beg for affection in her arms.

The handover between the old and new priests had been completed smoothly. As the old man was about to leave, holding the mermaid egg in his arms, Garuda walked over and stopped him, looking at the unhatched mermaid egg in his arms and the golden scale on it.

The old man understood her meaning, picked up the scale, and respectfully handed it to Garuda. "Your Majesty wants this scale, doesn't you?"

Garuda nodded and solemnly accepted the scale.

In this life, Lunas vanished like the wind, and this heart scale is the last trace he left in this world.

She looked down at the mermaid egg in the old man's arms, pursed her lips, and finally asked, "Where do you plan to send this child?"

The old man respectfully replied, "'It' has lost its purification ability, so it is no longer the next high priest and will have no further connection with the temple. Naturally, it will not continue to live in the temple."

“It will grow up freely like an ordinary child, and from then on, the temple will be a distant and unreal legend to it.”

"The old servant will entrust this child to a trustworthy ordinary family so that they can raise him as their own."

Garuda hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Give this child to me, I can raise him."

"This..." The old man was clearly hesitant, as this was different from their original plan.

Garuda said, "You also hope that this child can receive the best care and grow up safely and healthily. There is no better place in the world than the palace. I happen to have a prince who is about the same age as him, so he can have a playmate in the future."

After much persuasion, the old man finally agreed to Garuda's request and entrusted the child to her care.

At the same time, public opinion within the palace also underwent a significant change.

Princess Jialan suddenly disappeared, as if she had vanished into thin air, but Emperor Jialouluo, who had been missing for many days, returned safely and revoked the previous decree of succession.

The planned succession ceremony was naturally cancelled.

Garuda continued to wield power as the Sea God.

The fact that her crystal core had shattered and her strength had greatly diminished hadn't completely spread, allowing her to maintain her position for the time being. However, secrets can't be kept forever. As time went on, everyone would surely find out about her decline, and then all the various factions within the sea race would likely be eager to make their move and try every means to overthrow her.

Garuda, having sat on the throne of the Sea Emperor for so many years, has prepared a way out to consolidate her power, and she will also choose a new successor as soon as possible.

Although Garuda was most satisfied with Jialan, Jialan's current condition clearly made her unsuitable to be the next Sea Emperor's successor.

However, she has hundreds of children, and the princes are all quite talented. Finding a suitable successor to complete the handover of power is not a difficult task.

During the time Ryuya held power over the sea creatures, she also cultivated a faction of people who were the first to oppose Garuda's decisions. But soon, Garuda revealed the truth about her kidnapping and exposed Ryuya's secret.

Of course, she wasn't referring to the second personality; otherwise, this would expose the secrets of the priest clan, making many sea beastmen uneasy and giving some malicious individuals an opportunity to cause trouble.

She only said that Jialan was controlled by evil magic by someone with ulterior motives, which is why she did these unforgivable things.

In addition, there were already many rumors circulating in the palace.

Many people say that His Majesty Shen Tang and Princess Jia Lan's relationship has broken down, and many people have even heard Princess Shen Tang say that Princess Jia Lan is no longer the Princess Jia Lan she knew.

Something complicated seems to have happened between the two.

Some people also feel that Princess Jialan is different now than before.

This time, it was confirmed by His Majesty Garuda. Even though some people privately doubted the authenticity of the matter, more people truly believed that Garan had indeed run into trouble, which was why he fled to avoid punishment. More and more people accepted this fact.

After public opinion had taken hold, Garuda then brought out the agents of those illegal laboratories, pinning all the blame on them, and mobilized the power of the palace and the people to arrest the criminals.

—If anyone discovers the whereabouts of Ryūya, the experimental base, and this group of agents, and reports it to the Imperial Palace, they will receive a generous reward.

As a result, a wave of arrests and searches for Prince "Jialan" swept across the entire Sea Kingdom. In addition, the orcs of the temple and the palace were also doing their best to track him down. No matter how capable Liu Ye was, he could not escape the inescapable net.

As long as he is still alive in this world, he will definitely slip up!

Unfortunately, ever since that great battle, this guy has vanished without a trace, as if he evaporated into thin air.

The temple and the palace will continue to track down the escaped Liu Ye, but Shen Tang and the others have been in the sea for a long time. The matter here has been resolved, and it is time for them to leave.

Jialan officially took over the position of High Priest of the Sea Clan and had to stay to guard the sea area, so she could no longer leave with Shen Tang.

On his last night before leaving, Jialan hoped that Shen Tang would stay with him one more night, because they might not see each other for long in the future.

The beaded curtain hung down, and all around was silent.

When the man returned from outside, he took off his magnificent and sacred heavy divine robes and wore only a loose white-gold silk robe. His figure was tall and slender, and his holy and aloof face was even more otherworldly. In particular, his beautiful and cold blue eyes had a golden halo, as if they could purify people's souls.

Having experienced so much, the young man in my memory has shed his former naivety and arrogance, becoming increasingly mature and composed, detached from worldly affairs, seemingly devoid of emotions and desires, and possessing somewhat of the air of a high priest...

Shen Tang was momentarily dazed, and just as she hesitated, unsure of what to say, Jia Lan stepped forward and hugged her, holding her close. Her clear voice carried a hint of amusement, "Don't you recognize me?"

Now that he has become the new High Priest, he has indeed become more mature and composed in public. He has to put on an act, but in private, he finally seems to take off his thick mask and become vibrant again.

Hearing this familiar reply, Shen Tang slowly reached out and hugged his waist, buried her face in his chest, and hummed softly, saying with a hint of reproach, "I just feel that you will have to take on the responsibility of the High Priest in the future, and you definitely won't be as free as before, and you won't be able to stay by my side like before."

"Perhaps we will drift further and further apart in the future."

The young man tightened his grip on her arm, then slowly replied, "Tangtang, I will always be me, and I will never change."

"But before loving you, I want to protect you even more."

Jialan didn't actually want to leave her either.

He never cared about the throne, much less the position of priest. In the past, he even wanted to give up everything just to stay by Shen Tang's side and be with her forever.

But now Jialan understands that without sufficient strength, even being by her side becomes a luxury, and would instead pose a potential threat to her.

Therefore, he must deal with Ryuya and take back his body!
The next chapter will be updated tonight, possibly three chapters together with tomorrow's update. Goodnight, my darlings, don't wait up!