I died young at the start, but I'm reincarnated with unlimited skill points!

After Zhao Chengqian's death, the evil spirits needed a new dog to take over.

Blood Crossing's gaze quickly locked onto one person.

Zhao Chengqian's cousin, Prince Anping, Zhao Yansi.

This person is nearly forty years old, worldly-wise, and adept at reading people's expressions and demeanor.

Most importantly, he was obedient enough and afraid of death enough.

Three days later, Zhao Yansi kowtowed nine times to Xue Du in the stone hall of the Black Iron Spire and accepted the dragon robe stained with the blood of his predecessor.

He showed no signs of discomfort.

Because he knew very well that this dragon robe was not an honor, but a shackle.

The moment he put it on, he was no longer human.

Rather, they are puppets in the hands of evil spirits, the new watchdogs of this human ranch.

But Zhao Yansi didn't care.

As long as he lives and can enjoy the nominal wealth and honor of being an emperor, even if that wealth is earned on his knees, he will be content.

The coronation ceremony was extremely simple, and it ended hastily after a perfunctory process.

But just when Zhao Yansi thought everything was settled, Xue Du called out to him.

"Wait a moment."

Xue Du's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and his nostrils twitched gently twice, as if he were sniffing something.

Its gaze passed over Zhao Yansi and landed on the woman who had accompanied him into the palace outside the stone hall.

That was Zhao Yansi's principal wife, Princess Shen of Anping.

Ms. Shen came from a scholarly family and had a beautiful and gentle appearance.

At this moment, she was bowing her head, her hands clasped in front of her, looking extremely submissive.

But Xue Du's attention was not on her appearance at all.

It sensed an extremely peculiar aura.

An extremely Yin body!

This kind of physique is extremely rare among ordinary people, one in ten thousand.

Women with an extremely Yin constitution have a natural affinity for the cold Yin energy within their bodies and the demonic arts of evil spirits.

If it is refined and absorbed using special demonic techniques, it can not only greatly enhance one's cultivation level, but also help one break through bottlenecks.

For Xue Du, who had been stuck in the late Golden Core stage for hundreds of years, this woman was a divinely bestowed furnace.

"This woman, I want her."

Xue Du's tone was indifferent, as if he were saying something unimportant.

Zhao Yansi's body stiffened.

He slowly turned his head and glanced at Madam Shen outside the door.

Shen also raised her head. The moment their eyes met, a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes, followed by fear.

Zhao Yansi opened his mouth.

What does he want to say?

He wanted to say that she was his wife, the woman who had been with him through ten years of ups and downs, the woman who had given him a son and a daughter.

But he couldn't utter a single word of these words.

Because he saw Xue Du's eyes.

There was no room for negotiation in those vertical pupils.

That wasn't asking for his opinion; that was informing him.

"...Yes, sir."

Zhao Yansi lowered his head.

The voice was very soft, so soft it sounded like it was being squeezed out from between the teeth.

When Shen was taken away by the two evil spirits, she neither cried nor made a fuss.

She only paused for a moment as she passed by Zhao Yansi.

She looked at the man she had been married to for ten years, her eyes filled with no resentment, only a deathly stillness born from seeing through everything.

Then she turned and followed the two demons, step by step, into the depths of the Black Iron Spire.

She did not look back.

……

Seven days later.

A faint scream emanated from the deepest chamber of the Black Iron Spire, before falling completely silent.

When Blood Crossing emerged from the secret chamber, its aura was noticeably stronger than it had been seven days prior.

Golden Elixir Perfection!

The bottleneck that had plagued it for hundreds of years shattered with a roar after it refined the Shen family's extreme Yin body.

It even vaguely sensed that the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage was no longer so far away.

As for the woman who had been drained dry, only a withered, unrecognizable shell remained in the secret room.

Even the bones were grayish-white, as if all life and flesh had been drained away.

When the news reached the palace, Zhao Yansi was having lunch.

When the eunuch came to report, he deliberately lowered his voice and only said four words.

"The princess... has passed away."

Zhao Yansi paused slightly in his hand holding the chopsticks.

Then, he picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth.

"understood."

He chewed and swallowed, his expression unchanged.

It was as if the one who died was not his wife of ten years, with whom he had shared a life of mutual support, but a complete stranger with whom he had no connection.

After the eunuchs left, only Zhao Yansi remained in the large sleeping quarters.

He ate two more bites, then put down his chopsticks.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The tea is cold.

He didn't ask anyone to change the tea to hot tea; instead, he sat on the empty dragon throne, holding the cup of cold tea, and remained silent for a very long time.

No one knew what he was thinking, and no one cared.

Except for one person.

The Crown Prince's sleeping quarters in the East Garden of the Imperial Palace.

Sixteen-year-old Crown Prince Zhao Heng knelt on the floor of his room, pounding his fists hard on the floor tiles until his knuckles were all broken and bleeding profusely.

He didn't cry.

His eyes were dry, so dry they were burning, as if all the tears inside had been burned into fire.

My mother is dead.

It was drained dry by the evil spirits.

His father, the so-called Son of Heaven, the so-called supreme ruler, actually only uttered three words.

understood.

Zhao Heng gritted his teeth, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

But he didn't make a sound.

Because he knew that at this moment, the palace was filled with the eyes and ears of evil spirits.

He couldn't cry, couldn't get angry, and couldn't show any unusual behavior.

He had to be like his father, meek and submissive, like a lamb.

Zhao Heng slowly stood up and walked to the bronze mirror.

The boy in the mirror had delicate features, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. He looked gentle and refined, without a trace of hostility.

This face is a mask he learned to wear from a young age.

Born into royalty, he knew who he was from the day he was born.

It's a son of a demon.

The emperor is a dog, and he is a dog's offspring.

He was taught from a young age to be docile, obedient, and respectful to evil spirits.

He did as instructed.

He did better than anyone else.

Everyone thought that His Highness the Crown Prince was gentle and well-behaved.

But no one knows what kind of heart the prince hides beneath that docile mask.

Zhao Heng looked down at his blood-soaked fists and slowly closed his fingers.

He silently uttered a sentence in his heart.

"Mother, one day I will make them pay with their lives!"

……

From that day on, Zhao Heng changed.

To be precise, his disguise was even more flawless.

Before his father, he was more respectful and obedient than before.

Before the evil spirits, he was more humble and modest than ever before.

He even took the initiative to pledge his loyalty to Xue Du and requested to personally participate in the collection and allocation of blood tribute in order to "lighten the burden on his father."

Xue Du was quite satisfied with this young man.

In its view, Zhao Heng was far superior to his good-for-nothing father.

At a young age, he already knew how to take credit for others' work, and he was efficient and decisive in his actions.

Given time, it will become a very good dog.

Zhao Yansi was also pleased with this outcome.

He wished his son would take on more of his duties so that he could stay in the palace and enjoy himself in peace.

Thus, the sixteen-year-old Crown Prince Zhao Heng began to frequently visit various prefectures and counties of the Great Li Dynasty as a representative of the royal family.

Officially, he was there to supervise the collection of blood tribute.

Actually...

He was looking for people, looking for the resistance fighters.

Zhao Heng is not stupid.

He had thought it through very clearly from the day his mother was taken away.

Even if he harbored the greatest hatred, he, a mere mortal prince, could not possibly shake any evil spirit in the slightest.

But he possesses something that no one else in the world has.

that power.

Or more accurately, it's the freedom a dog is given to roam the yard by its owner.

He could freely enter and exit various prefectures and counties, mobilize the power of the garrison, and access the most crucial intelligence.

If used properly, these things can be an invisible knife.

Moreover, it is a knife that even evil spirits will never doubt.

Because, who would suspect a dog?