My Beautiful Duchess Wife

"Huh? This isn't a necromancer's technique?" Lei's lips twitched slightly, as if he didn't know Lei.

"Of course not, this is a new method I've developed. Hehe, let's go! Today's harvest is pretty good!" Lin Peng grinned and laughed as he headed back towards the capital.

Lei was speechless.

Why did they call me out just for such a pathetic method? It seems more like necromancer magic! Shaking his head, he followed Lin Peng as they ran back towards the capital…

The capital city has been abuzz with talk of evil deeds these past few days: the necromancer's rampage. Rumor has it he massacred an entire village. And after turning the villagers into zombies, he even extracted their soul flames for his own use. It's been a long time since we've seen a necromancer commit such a heinous act.

Lin Peng simply laughed it off upon hearing the news. There was no need to delve into it; it must have been that Serabil had negotiated with the Dark Lords after escaping back.

Sitting in the carriage leading into the palace, Lin Peng was actually a little nervous. After all, it was his first time entering the palace. Moreover, he was facing the current Dark Emperor, Caron, who was also Eileen's father.

The carriage encountered no obstacles even after entering the palace. It only stopped at the entrance of an extremely large palace.

Eileen smiled slightly, revealing her charm: "Respected Chief of Staff, you may go in!" As she spoke, she even gave a slight bow.

Lin Peng smiled somewhat awkwardly and stepped down from the carriage. The sheer size of this palace alone spoke volumes about the Dark Empire's power. However, it seemed rather dilapidated. Just like the Dark Empire itself, it had fallen to the weakest of the three empires.

Even the Shadow Empire is far more powerful than the Dark Empire.

After many twists and turns within the palace, Eileen finally led them to a room that resembled a study. The ceiling was very high and adorned with numerous bas-relief carvings.

It seemed to be depicting a battle scene. Rows of enormous bookshelves, some over five meters tall, stood astounding. Behind the desks sat a man with a serious expression.

From the back, he wasn't very tall or strong. Surprisingly, he even had a scholarly air about him. Lin Peng was taken aback; he really hadn't expected the current Dark Emperor to be like this.

However, the aura that was inadvertently revealed surprised Lin Peng.

Powerful, absolutely powerful. However, compared to the Demon Slayer, she seems somewhat inferior. Back then, although they clashed in terms of sheer power, Medusa ultimately prevailed.

Now, the aura that was casually revealed made him feel as if he were facing a true emperor. It was completely different from the murderous aura of the Demon Slayer.

Of course, Lin Peng wouldn't be swayed by such an imposing aura and immediately kneel down. Even Jerry, who had been trying to subdue Lin Peng, hadn't succeeded. And at that time, Lin Peng was only a Demon King-level being.

At this moment, Eileen seemed to sense Lin Peng's impatience with this kind of aura. She took a step forward in a very ingratiating manner and grabbed the middle-aged man's arm: "Father, Lin Peng is his good friend, can't you treat him like this?"

That coquettish, languid air made Lin Peng pause for a moment.

In his mind, he even started to imagine what it would be like if Shia became like this and clung to him. The middle-aged man, Caron, was dressed in a black imperial robe, and his azure eyes were like a deep pool of still water, drawing people in.

He patted Eileen's head with a smile, then stared at Lin Peng.

The two actually stared at each other, neither willing to give way. One pair of eyes were black, filled with deep meaning. The other pair were like a deep blue pool, yet possessed a somewhat amiable quality.

"Hahaha……"

After staring at each other for a long time, they both burst into laughter.

Eileen was a little dumbfounded. She looked at Lin Peng one moment and then back at Caron the next, and was suddenly confused about the issues between men.

"Not bad, Lin Peng, right! Hehe, this time, we really need to get rid of you, otherwise, we won't be able to get this Dark Sword!" Only after speaking did one realize how hearty and straightforward Kalon's voice was. And Lin Peng liked hearty and straightforward people. The more straightforward a person was, the more comfortable he felt talking to them.

"I wouldn't dare, haha, but I'm here today mainly for something else!" Lin Peng laughed, then became serious.

"I believe Emperor Kalon is already aware of the incident involving zombies and necromancers in that valley!" As soon as Lin Peng finished speaking, Kalon immediately nodded. Moreover, he frowned, seemingly quite worried.

"Actually, what happened in that valley was entirely orchestrated by my servant." Lin Peng's words startled even Eileen.

The servants didn't seem to have seen any strangers with Lin Peng. Could it be that he'd been hiding in the shadows all along? Because she hadn't participated in the Crimson Demon Territory's affairs, Eileen didn't actually know many things. Moreover, even Shia didn't know Lin Peng's true strength.

Angelina, on the other hand, is very clear about everything.

Caron looked at Lin Peng with some confusion, seemingly waiting for an explanation. Eileen also looked at Lin Peng with expressive eyes, as if to say, "Wait until we get back, you'll be sorry."

Lin Peng ignored Eileen's expressive eyes and said, "Actually, that valley is a stronghold of the Shadow Empire within the Dark Empire. They are from the Blade family. Tell me, should I just destroy it?"

Instantly, Kalon's eyes turned into crystals filled with murderous intent. After nodding heavily, he asked, "How many such strongholds are there in the Dark Empire?"

It seemed they immediately understood the other layer of meaning in Lin Peng's words. Within this Dark Empire, there were currently numerous intelligence networks belonging to other countries.

Lin Peng chuckled and then told Caron everything that Garen had told him yesterday, including the location, directions, and the strength of the people inside.

Suddenly, Caron's eyes seemed perpetually frozen in winter. So cold, so piercing. It was as if a blizzard might strike at any moment.

When Lin Peng left the palace, even his vest was soaked with sweat. Only now could he realize that the refined emperor was actually quite difficult to get along with.

If it weren't for his own side, Lin Peng didn't even dare to imagine what might have happened!

"You seem very tired!" Eileen asked, sitting on the other side of the carriage, somewhat puzzled. Lin Peng nodded, took a deep breath, and smiled, "The house you helped me find should be settled by now, right?"

Eileen immediately started showing off: "These little things were taken care of a long time ago. But why don't you live in the palace? Why did you find a place to live on your own? And why am I unaware of so many things?"

At this point, Eileen seemed quite angry. She frowned, giving him a look that said, "If you don't tell me, I'm not finished." Lin Peng narrowed his eyes, looking at the scenery outside the car: "There are some things you're better off not knowing. Hehe, anyway, I'm your friend, and that's enough. As long as you don't let me down, I certainly won't let you down either!"

Upon hearing this, Eileen seemed to suddenly realize something, and her face turned bright red, as if she had encountered something embarrassing. Lin Peng was taken aback, and remembering what he had just said, he also felt a little embarrassed.

He coughed awkwardly, "Well, don't get the wrong idea! Hehe...hehe..."

"Go to hell, you bastard!" Instantly, Eileen pounced into Lin Peng's arms like a furious tiger, and a soft body pressed against Lin Peng's chest.

Both of them were taken aback. Lin Peng, feeling a little embarrassed, tried to get up and nudged Eileen. However, due to his sudden nervousness, he accidentally pushed her chest instead.

"It feels great!" Lin Peng said habitually. Then, he even gave it a couple of squeezes, just as he always did. Of course, it was all an instinctive reaction.

However, at this moment, Eileen suddenly went into a daze. Seemingly disoriented, she softly leaned against Lin Peng's body.

Lin Peng was stunned again. After pushing Eileen away, he took a deep breath and began to absorb fire elements to practice his skills.

Eileen was annoyed. She pouted, snorted, and then completely ignored Lin Peng!

Chapter Nineteen Elimination Rounds

The weapon refiner competition is just around the corner; the real competition will begin in two days. Of course, due to the large number of participants, an elimination round will likely begin two days in advance.

Lin Peng felt completely unfazed by this elimination round. The dozens of demons behind him were clearly just ordinary master-level cultivators. Yet, they acted with an air of superiority, as if everyone knew they were weapon refiners. The young demons in front, filled with nervousness, were even more of a novice.

Such elimination rounds should still be held. Otherwise, if so many mediocre players participate and become a laughing stock, it will only embarrass the Refiner Guild.

Lin Peng was standing in a position relatively centrally, surrounded by a platform, a furnace, and some materials and tools. The materials themselves weren't of very high quality.

However, its advantage lies in its quantity. Moreover, only with such materials can the true skill of a weapon-refining master be demonstrated.

At this moment, the branch president, Greenb, looked at the contestants with a solemn and reverent expression. When he saw Lin Peng, who was in the middle, he nodded and smiled slightly.

Lin Peng was taken aback. He really hadn't expected that this old guy would be so attentive to him.

After surveying the entire arena, Greenb coughed heavily: "Today is just the knockout stage. But it's also a competition to prove your strength. Only after passing this knockout stage can you begin the real competition!"

It was a very simple sentence, yet it instantly aroused the weapon refiners. However, there were a few others, like Lin Peng, who remained completely still, simply watching quietly.

It was as if the demons above were putting on a show, while the demons below were watching intently. Lin Peng took note of this dynamic.

At the very least, only a top-tier master would possess such composure.

However, judging from their appearance and demeanor, they shouldn't be old men; they're probably around thirty years old. One is over thirty, while the other is under thirty.

In other words, these two people may be his biggest rivals in the future.

After the rules of the competition were explained in detail, the knockout stage finally began. Except for Lin Peng and two others, everyone started playing seriously.

The three of them, as if in perfect unison, all looked up and exchanged a glance. Then, they looked at those who were still busy with their work with disdain.

Of course, this kind of elimination tournament was quite hilarious. For example, a seemingly extremely young horned demon, for some reason, threw his hammer into the furnace while placing materials inside. On the other side, an old demon with a full head of white hair, for some reason, picked up his hammer and only struck it twice before spitting out blood. He kept muttering, "Why is this hammer so heavy?"

On the other hand, what frustrated Lin Peng even more was that a demon who seemed to have real skills stood there dumbfounded after fiddling with the tools for a while.

It seemed as if he had forgotten everything all at once.

These scenes made Greenbu want to curse. How did those weapon refiners even become experts? Some of them were complete novices, yet they dared to participate in the competition.

Do you really think this kind of competition is just for fun?

The crimson moon shone brightly, radiating youthful energy like a true sun. Beads of sweat dripped from the foreheads of the weapon refiners.

Every now and then, a few grandmaster-level experts would patrol the entire area.

At that very moment, Lin Peng and the other two demons suddenly began to move their hands. All three of them moved with incredible speed.

It's clear at a glance when to put those materials in and when to actually calcine them with fire.

Clearly, in this subject alone, the other contestants were no match. Meanwhile, as he added the materials, Lin Peng suddenly placed his hand on the furnace. Instantly, a burst of flame shot into the sky, startling the nearby weapon refiners who nearly turned and fled.

Of course, with Lin Peng's fire control skills, how could he possibly eject it? He simply increased the temperature of the flame by more than double.

This is just because he doesn't want to be too high-profile; otherwise, raising the temperature by ten or more times would still be easy and pleasant.

Smelting, unmolding, and final processing. With each step of the process completed, Lin Peng now held something in his hand that looked like a mirror.

With so little material, this was all they could make, a small item like this. However, though small, its power was considerable. The entire mirror surface seemed to shimmer with flames, as if those flames might explode at any moment.

Although it was only the size of a palm, as Lin Peng shot out flames from his fingertips and slowly inscribed the magic circle, bursts of heat emanated from it.

Such astonishing heat, if used by a master specializing in fire elements, could definitely double its power.

After less than fifteen minutes, Lin Peng let out a long sigh of relief, and then the other two demons seemed to stop attacking as well.

The three of them looked at each other again and then burst into laughter.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and the competition was over. The works were slowly collected and reviewed. Each master examined the works with incredible speed.

In particular, some works were never even finished. It was an absolute waste of materials. And when Greenb personally examined a mirror-like object in detail, even the grandmasters and experts nearby gathered around.

"A magical weapon, and a magical weapon that can be used as magic! As long as there is enough fire element inside, it can continuously fire large fireballs! Such a creation is truly rare! Hahaha..."

Greenb smiled, and the masters around him echoed his sentiments, their brows furrowing slightly. Such works were essentially masterpieces by top-tier masters.

I believe that for a master like this, advancing to the grandmaster level is only a matter of time. Unexpectedly, this year's competition is quite interesting; perhaps it will even become a battle for advancement.

While reviewing those works, two other extremely impressive pieces were also brought out. One was an item with an invisibility effect, and the other was an item with an ice-freezing effect.

Suddenly, three works by top-tier masters appeared, leaving even the grandmasters and elders speechless. Then, they were overjoyed.

The Refiners' Guild might see a significant increase in strength this year. Such talent is definitely a sign of a peak-level grandmaster being born.

Immediately, each of them wore a very peculiar smile. In particular, one of the demons almost began to announce something with great enthusiasm.

Because that piece with the frozen effect was his apprentice's work!

……

Night fell, and the sky was devoid of stars, save for the pale moon. Such was the nature of the Demon Realm, lacking much light. But the presence of that powerful red moon was a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune!

In a hotel, Lin Peng ate while listening to a report from Guy Raine beside him. Originally, he was tasked with monitoring Serabil.