CHAPTER 198: CHAPTER 194 A MAN’S PROMISE, CHU YI’S COMMITMENT

"A mere servant... What? Father, you agreed?"

Lias’s beautiful eyes widened, her bat wings trembling slightly. She glanced at Kane in surprise. This is happening too fast, isn’t it?

"You two, I’ve watched you grow up since childhood."

Kane shook his head, aware he didn’t have much time left. His handsome, yet somewhat weathered face, turned to his beloved daughter, his voice full of indulgence. "Lias, in your heart, am I just an old-fashioned father? That would truly sadden me."

"N-no, not at all! Father, you’ve always been the one I admire most!"

Lias averted her gaze. She was still in her Blood Race form, her small, white, pointed fangs nibbling her cherry-pink lips. Chu Yi noticed this and thought to himself, Those fangs look sharp.

"Chu Yi."

Kane turned his head.

The young man in a Profound Robe stood up, straightened his back, and suppressed his irreverent thoughts, his expression serious. "Uncle Kane, please, go ahead."

Kane looked at the young man with satisfaction, and also at the six-tailed fox behind him, which blazed like a torrent of fire, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

In just a few days, he had transformed from an ordinary person into a Beast-Controlling Demon. Unbeknownst to everyone, this foster son had grown into a formidable presence in his own right.

He put aside his doubts and said, "I’m wanted by the Duke of Rein, so I need to go into hiding for a while. As a man, promise me you’ll protect Lias, no matter what."

"Yes, Uncle Kane."

Chu Yi nodded, his eyes shining brightly as he said with utmost sincerity, "If any enemy dares to harm Lias in the slightest, they’ll have to step over my dead body first."

Kane was silent, his blue eyes meeting Chu Yi’s for a few seconds.

This was a promise between men.

"Father, you’re not coming with us?" Lias tilted her head, puzzled.

Kane concealed his unusual expression, stroked Lias’s hair, and shook his head. "I’ve already violated the Blood Pact. If I were to go with you, I’d only bring you trouble."

"But don’t worry. I prepared an escape route for myself long ago. And in the Beast Taming World, the Blood Race can’t interfere, so you’ll be quite safe."

"Alright, time is precious. Chu Yi, come with me. I have some things to discuss with you."

With that, Kane swiftly turned, spread his bat wings, and flew towards the nearby ruins. As he moved, his figure began to blur.

Lias was stunned. She exchanged a glance with Chu Yi, her sharp mind noticing something. "Chu Yi," she said, a hint of suspicion in her voice, "isn’t it a bit strange that Father agreed so quickly?"

Chu Yi leaned in and kissed her cheek. The golden-haired girl’s face flushed a delicate pink, and she glared at him.

"Since Uncle Kane agreed, my noble Miss Lias, you can just look forward to the day you marry me."

"...You! How dare you steal a kiss from me! AWOO, I’ll bite you!"

"AWOO, I’ll bite you too!"

Under John’s knowing smirk, the two playfully scuffled for a moment. Once Chu Yi confirmed Kane was out of earshot, he released her, wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth where she’d bitten him, and then went to follow Kane.

"That idiot..."

Lias squatted down, covering her burning face as the maids nearby all suddenly found the sky intensely interesting. She felt so embarrassed.

By the time Chu Yi caught up, a sharp pain shot through his eyes. Maintaining the Retrospect at such an overload had pushed his spirit to its limits, leaving it feeling fragmented.

As his Clock Eye evolved, his connection to time had deepened, allowing him to glimpse its profound mysteries. Chu Yi understood that the past, once subjected to Retrospect, was inherently incompatible with the present.

Moreover, Kane was a Count nearing the strength of a Marquis, possessing quasi-Morning Star Combat Power. This made the Retrospect far more difficult than the one involving Jiang Qiuyun. What might have been a two-hour window for the Retrospect was, in this instance, reduced to mere minutes.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

All he saw was a pile of scattered armor fragments mixed with a shapeless mass of flesh, completely devoid of any life signs.

Uncle Kane... fallen.

Chu Yi rubbed his temples; his mind reeled, and he nearly stumbled.

Once he composed himself, he slowly knelt, lowered his body, and touched his forehead to the ground in three solemn kowtows.

The Retrospect was an illusion. In the true timeline, Kane had died at the hands of the Marquis; before his death, even a final glimpse of Lias had been an unattainable wish.

Even if he were to use Retrospect again, it would only replay the events from start to finish.

The crucial point was reviving Kane—creating life from nothing. But Chu Yi, with his insight into causality, realized this would consume an enormous amount of Divine Power and lead to an unpredictable, dire consequence: the Divine War was approaching! The gods were already watching this sacrificial feast of a war presented by the various Alien Races. Any major move on his part could attract their unwanted scrutiny.

The Blood Race may possess the Undying Attribute, but starting from high nobles like a Marquis, they can suppress those of lower rank, holding power of life and death over lesser nobles.

Within the Blood Race, or perhaps the Federation, there should be treasures capable of resurrection.

Of course, if I advance further in my mastery of the time domain, I might be able to return to the past, save Kane preemptively, and change the future.

Chu Yi gathered the armor fragments and remains, taking them to what he used as a kitchen. He then placed them into an ice coffin sculpted from white bone, which emanated a sinister aura. This coffin was specially used to store... ingredients.

"Huh? What’s this?"

Chu Yi picked up a pendant. Inside, it held a photograph of a woman in an elegant long dress, strolling through a rose garden. She was plucking a rose, offering a gentle, shy smile to the camera.

Observing closely, he noticed this seemingly innocent and vivacious woman bore a striking resemblance to the younger Lias.

Could this be Lias’s mother? The Countess...?

A heavy feeling settled in Chu Yi’s mind, yet his memory was a complete blank; he couldn’t recall the slightest impression of the Countess.

A slightly damaged luxury car drove down a narrow lane.

In the shadows, countless vile and corrupted entities stirred, lurking in dark corners, their gazes—greedy, curious, and malicious—fixed upon this strange "creature."

The Dark World had no shortage of wild monsters.

Inside the car, the two of them and their pet were engaged in intimate conversation.

"Chu Yi, has Father really left? What did he say to you? Why didn’t he tell me?" Lias leaned back in her seat, her fair, slender thighs resting in the handsome young man’s lap as he gently massaged one of her black silk-clad jade feet.

"He said a lot. Oh, right, Uncle Kane asked me to give this to you before he left."

Chu Yi handed over the pendant.

Lias was surprised. This pendant was a treasure Kane never went anywhere without; it was also a memento left by her mother.

"Mother..."

Her gaze fixed on the graceful figure among the rose bushes. It was as if the image possessed some magic, captivating Lias so completely that she momentarily lost herself, not even noticing that the tip of her silk-clad foot had become damp.

In her childhood memories, her mother had always been a delicate figure, frail and often ill, passing away after only a short time.

Her father had been devastated by the loss, shutting himself away in his room alone.

Back then, when young Lias and Chu Yi played nearby, they would hear terrible sounds from his room: furious shouts, the crash of things being broken and thrown, roars of anger, bitter reproaches, and cries of pain and anguish.