The sleeping little girl naturally had no idea that she now had a name.

No one knew how famous this name would become in the future.

Ai Cao was carrying a little girl in one arm and a little fox in the other, with two sword sheaths she'd taken from Yang Lingyao on her back. Yang Lingyao, thinking about how she was about to explain Ai Cao's whereabouts to a large group of people, had many complaints she wanted to tell Ai Cao.

But seeing the two cubs hanging on the mugwort, Yang Lingyao swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

She simply said, "Have a safe journey."

Ai Cao nodded. She tucked the little fox into Lei Tang's arms, then freed her hand to draw the broadsword from its sheath and place it on the ground. Stepping on the broadsword, she said, "See you at your sect later."

The broadsword beneath Ai Cao's feet emitted a deep hum. It slowly and gently constructed a spiritual energy barrier around Ai Cao's body, lifting her upwards.

Yang Lingyao then smiled and called out, "See you later!"

The mugwort rose into the air, and the broadsword changed direction in mid-air, disappearing swiftly like a streak of light.

Yang Lingyao watched Ai Cao depart on her sword. She took a deep breath and turned to ask the proprietress, "When are you planning to settle down under my sect?"

On the other side, Ai Cao, who was standing on the broadsword, finally managed to carry Lei Tang and the little fox. The broadsword seemed to know her thoughts and automatically widened a bit. Ai Cao then put them down and stretched her arms.

The tip of the broadsword cut through the wind with a whooshing sound.

The system whispered, "You want to slaughter the demon race?"

Ai Cao blinked and asked, "Why should I go to slaughter the demon race?"

The system thought for a moment and asked, "Because they stand on the opposite side of mortals?"

Ai Cao sneered, "The opposite side, huh... but not all the men in this world are dead yet." She spoke lightly and quickly, "If I were killing people based on whether they were opposing sides, then there probably wouldn't be many survivors in that city."

The system dared not speak.

Ai Cao poked it and asked, "Do you have any information about the demon race? Give me some."

The system responded. After a short while, Ai Cao received some information about the Demon Continent. Because there weren't many records of the Demon Continent in the original timeline, this information contained some inconsistencies.

After reviewing the intelligence, Ai Cao confirmed with the system and said, "The demon race's family consists of one male and many females, and the cubs are registered under the male's name?"

The system said, "Yes."

Ai Cao asked again: "Are the hunters mostly females, and do they also bear the majority of the responsibility for raising the young?"

The system asked, bewildered, "Yes, what's wrong?"

Ai Cao said, "I killed the Demon King, so I might get a beating from them."

The system hesitated for a moment, then its voice betrayed an undisguised schadenfreude: "Weren't you already planning to go and fight?"

Ai Cao smiled and said, "Have you ever seen me kill any woman?"

The system asked, "But if you don't kill them, how can you help Lei Tang? Or do you think you can kill their children and then negotiate with them?"

Ai Cao smiled but didn't say anything.

Three days later, Ai Cao, carrying two cubs, arrived above the residence of the Demon King's First Wife amidst the system's screams.

The Demon King had an unknown number of wives, but the most famous of them all, and the one whose offspring was the most powerful, was this one.

When Ai Cao landed with the broadsword, the First Lady was lazily dozing on a low tree. Hearing the sound of Ai Cao, she only half-opened one eye, her golden eyes hidden beneath thick eyelashes coldly staring at Ai Cao.

Ai Cao picked up the broadsword and sheathed it, then looked up at the tree following the guidance of the system's screaming voice.

The woman, draped in a lion-skin blanket, lazily propped herself up, leaning against a slanting branch as she watched her. Her golden eyes darted around, her gaze settling on the person and beast nestled in Ai Cao's arms.

To the demon race, the sound of the mugwort falling to the ground was still too loud. Before the mugwort could say anything, she heard heavy footsteps echoing around the courtyard.

Ai Cao frowned and reached for the longsword.

The woman lazily raised her eyelids and said, "Step back."

Her deep, authoritative voice emanated from the tree, spreading outwards. The heavy footsteps stopped abruptly, then gradually faded into the distance.

He withdrew the mugwort.

The woman said slowly, "The child in your arms seems to have my spouse's blood on it." She yawned and said, "What brings you here?"

Ai Cao lifted Lei Tuo up a bit to show the woman, saying, "Let this child become the next demon king."

The woman gave a cold laugh. She slowly stood up, gracefully descended from the tree, and stood before the mugwort. With a flick of her head, she revealed her beastly form—she was a liger, with short, light gray fur covering her head.

The woman squinted at the mugwort, her golden eyes scrutinizing and observing it carefully.

The woman said, "The current demon king has only been in office for a few years."

Artemisia nodded and said, "But he died very quickly."

The woman smiled, shook her head, and retracted the beast elephant.

The lion-skin blanket she was wearing slipped down a bit, but she was too lazy to pull it up, so she just tossed it on the ground. The woman, wearing only a dark red undergarment, asked Ai Cao, "Did you kill him?"

The mugwort shook its head.

The woman smiled, her eyes narrowed, and said, "That's good, he really deserves to die."

She looked at Lei Tang again and asked, "Does this child have half-human blood?" She hummed lazily, "The former demon king didn't even know how to take a piss and look at himself."

Ai Cao nodded and said, "It was that human woman who killed him."

The woman nodded slightly. She said slowly, "Since the Demon King is dead, a new Demon King must be chosen." She asked, "I don't see yourself as human, so why are you pretending to be? Have you considered participating in the Demon King election?"

The mugwort blinked and said demurely, "I am human."

The woman chuckled and continued, "My eldest son is a strong contender for the next Demon King—many years ago, he received a gift from a little fox, which emboldened him to eat my other children."

The woman's gaze fell on the little fox for the first time.

She chuckled softly and said, "Looks like you still want my eldest son dead."

Artemisia nodded and said, "He owes this little fox."

The woman nodded: "I owe you a life, and I must repay it. But you must leave behind some of the former demon king's genes, otherwise my sisters and I will have no one to use."

The mugwort said, "I won't kill them all."

The woman laughed and beckoned to her to come closer.

As the mugwort drew near, the woman gently touched the mugwort between her eyebrows, then lazily waved her hand and said, "If you're not in a hurry, wait here for a quarter of an hour. I'll call my eldest son back, so you won't have to make another trip."

The mugwort nodded.

The system finally found its voice and asked in alarm, "You've already reached an agreement?"

Ai Cao found it amusing and asked, "Otherwise what?"

The system asked curtly, "Are you going to kill her son?"

Ai Cao retorted, "Can a good-for-nothing son be of greater benefit than the future Demon King?"

The system fell silent.

Artemisia said slowly, "To me, even an obedient system..."

The system quickly chimed in: "I'll give you the male supporting role position right now!"