I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

Xu Nanyi bit the tip of her chopsticks, tilted her little head, and scanned her parents and younger brother's faces with her round eyes.

How could she possibly understand the "bird language" of those two dirty kids?

Seeing that her parents were picking out fish bones, they obviously hadn't heard a word. Should she tell them the whole story of how these two kids wanted to trick them into going to find the Demon Emperor?

Before she could come to a conclusion, a crisp sound of a gavel striking the wooden table in the center of the lobby rang out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, put aside your wine and meat, and listen to this old man tell you a truly astonishing tale!"

The storyteller, Tang Shu, was dressed in a long robe, his mustache sticking up high, and he unfolded a paper fan, striking a pose.

The once noisy restaurant lobby immediately fell silent as diners craned their necks to look over.

Tang Shu shook his head and said, "Recently, the Four Realms have been in an uproar. I wonder if anyone here has noticed the commotion in the surrounding demon realms and our own demon realm?"

A commotion broke out all around.

"The Demon Realm Forest has been quite turbulent lately. My second great-uncle went to gather herbs a couple of days ago and said that the outer perimeter has been completely sealed off by demon soldiers, and not even a fly can get in."

"That's right, the borders of the Demon Realm are very strict, with three times more checks than usual!"

Tang Shu snapped his paper fan shut and tapped it against his palm: "This is the key point! Do you all know that the reason the Demon Realm is sealed off is because... that high and mighty Demon Emperor has a successor!"

The room erupted in uproar.

"Pshaw, what's so earth-shattering gossip about that?"

Downstairs, a burly man was gnawing on a chicken leg, his face full of disdain. "What's so strange about the Demon Emperor finding a male concubine to have a child?"

Tang Shu wasn't annoyed, and slowly stroked his beard: "That's quite amateurish! Everyone, why don't you guess who this young lord's biological father really is?"

Whispers immediately broke out in the lobby.

"Could it be Kong Lan, the most favored minister in the Demon Emperor's palace?"

"It's probably him! I heard that Kong Lan is more beautiful than a woman, and his peacock-spreading illusion technique is superb. The Demon Emperor takes him with him wherever he goes to serve him personally."

A window seat on the third floor.

"Click."

The sandalwood chopsticks in Shen Jiuyuan's hand snapped into four pieces, and wood chips fell onto the table.

He turned his face slowly, his gaze almost able to pierce a hole in Xu Yuan's body.

Kong Lan?

That showy green-feathered chicken? With its pathetic cultivation level, it was drained of its life force by the little phoenix and couldn't even hatch a single egg.

"The Demon Emperor's taste is truly beyond words."

Shen Jiuyuan curled his lips into a forced smile, "The palace is full of miscellaneous, worthless junk."

Xu Yuan placed a piece of soft, sweet and sour pork ribs into Xu Nanyi's bowl without even lifting her eyelids.

"Isn't it because we still have someone like you here to keep things in check?"

Shen Jiuyuan felt a breath stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down. He let out a soft hum and turned his head away, but a barely perceptible blush crept up his ears.

Xu Nanyi glanced at her father, who looked resentful, and then at her mother, who seemed calm and collected. She then forked a piece of melon from the plate.

"Mother, eat meat."

She stuffed the ribs into her mouth and then offered the melon to Shen Jiuyuan's lips.

"Dad, have some watermelon! It's so sweet."

Shen Jiuyuan felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart, and all his resentment vanished. He reached out and pulled Xu Nanyi onto his lap, then lowered his head to take a bite of the melon.

"My little phoenix is ​​the most considerate. From now on, I must keep my eyes open and never learn from some birds whose judgment is so appallingly poor."

Xu Yuan laughed in exasperation and simply ignored this childish brat.

The gossip downstairs continues.

Tang Shu listened to everyone's guesses and shook his head repeatedly, tapping his paper fan on the table with a loud thud.

"Wrong! Utterly wrong! You've underestimated the Demon Emperor! How could the future Demon Emperor's father be an ordinary demon?"

He deliberately dragged out his words, keeping everyone in suspense: "Moreover, think about it carefully. The Demon Emperor had a child, yet his strength was not diminished. On the contrary, he broke through his bottleneck in one fell swoop and directly entered the realm of a half-immortal!"

"hiss--"

Gasps of shock rose and fell.

A cultivator dressed in blue slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Could it be... that having children can improve one's cultivation level?"

Tang Shu snapped his fan shut and pointed it directly at the cultivator: "That shows how narrow-minded you are! Who told you that the young lord of the demon race was born of the demon emperor himself?"

The entire room fell silent; everyone held their breath for a moment.

Two seconds later.

"What?!"

"You mean the child was born to the man?!"

A female cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage was somewhat excited.

"Speak quickly! Which demon race possesses such heaven-defying talent and supernatural abilities?"

Tang Shu was forced to take half a step back, waving his hands repeatedly: "I already said they're not ordinary people. How dare we casually discuss such beings..."

"Enough with the nonsense! If you don't give me a name today, I'll smash your storytelling stage!"

The crowd below was furious, banging on the table and shouting insults, as if they would make sure he didn't leave the restaurant without saying a word.

Seeing the situation was turning bad, Tang Shu shrank back and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Fine, fine, I'll talk! I'll talk, okay?!"

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The man who gave birth to the young lord of the demon race is none other than the Supreme Demon Lord—Shen Jiuyuan!"

"puff--"

On the third floor, in a private room, Shen Jiuyuan sprayed the hot tea he had just taken a sip of all over the opposite wall panel.

He froze in his seat, his eyes twitching uncontrollably.

He had originally intended to watch his arch-rival make a fool of himself, sitting upstairs listening to these ants make up their wishes, but little did he know that the fire would burn him directly.

Xu Yuan's hand, holding the teacup, hovered in mid-air. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and then the corners of her lips turned up uncontrollably.

The lobby was initially deathly silent.

Immediately afterwards, a scream erupted, as if the roof had been blown off.

"The Demon Lord has a child?!"

"The Demon Lord has such power? How come there wasn't a single word about it back then?"

"Could it be... that this heaven-defying ability to give birth is a unique bloodline talent of the Demon Lord's lineage?"

The Nascent Soul stage female cultivator looked heartbroken.

"What a pity! What a pity! The Demon Lord's lineage is long extinct, leaving only Shen Jiuyuan as the sole survivor. Who would dare to mess with him!"

"That's right, I've heard the Demon Lord is capricious and ruthless, who would dare let him have a child..."

"Now that you mention it, the Demon Emperor is truly formidable..."

Shen Jiuyuan: ……

He shoved Xu Nanyi onto a chair, and a black-gold token engraved with mysterious magical patterns flew out of his hand.

With a loud "boom".

The token, like a black lightning bolt, struck straight into the lobby on the first floor and nailed itself firmly to the wooden floor at Tang Shu's feet.

The violent demonic energy instantly swept across the entire area, making it difficult for everyone to breathe.

The restaurant fell into a deathly silence.

"Anyone who dares to spread rumors about the Demon Lord's private affairs again, this token will be a death warrant for your entire family!"

A chilling, bone-piercing sound crashed down from the third floor, carrying undisguised murderous intent.

The people below were terrified and looked up at the third-floor window.

"Who...who are you? We were talking about the Demon Lord, not you! What's wrong with you?!"

Shen Jiuyuan stood behind the window, his face so dark it could drip water.

He absolutely could not admit his identity; it was an utter disgrace.

He looked down at the people below and spat out a name through gritted teeth.

"I am Shen Jing, the leader of the four great demon generals of the demon race."