Becoming the Demon Lord: Taming the Demon Queen Begins

"Nice!"

Everyone watched as Vivian was slapped hard across the face, sending her sprawling to the ground, covered in dust and looking utterly humiliated.

For a moment, many of the disciples felt a strange sense of satisfaction welling up inside them.

But that feeling quickly turned to worry.

Because, along with the sound of footsteps, they all saw it clearly.

In the distance, Holy Emperor Luminis was walking toward them, step by step.

Though his body was as small as a young boy's, the oppressive aura of the Holy Emperor he exuded was undeniably real.

Even though Holy Emperor Luminis was considered one of the weaker ones among those at the Holy Emperor level, he was still far beyond anything they could ever hope to reach.

"Brother Timothy!"

Many of the disciples looked anxiously at Timothy, and some were already thinking about running to Sky Sanctuary to report this to Goddess Sylvia, hoping she would step in to protect Timothy.

But they quickly realized something.

After slapping this woman, who had claimed she might be the future wife of the Holy Emperor, Timothy didn't show the slightest hint of fear. In fact, he seemed quite pleased with himself, casually dusting off his hands.

"Not bad, not bad. She might be a bit ugly, but that slap sure sounded good."

Timothy stretched his arms and took a step forward, as if he was considering giving her another slap.

"Ugly? Did you just call me ugly?"

Vivian's face burned as if it had been scorched by fire, and hearing those words almost made her faint from rage.

While her looks couldn't compare to those of a world-class beauty, she was definitely far from ugly.

As long as she wasn't being compared to someone like Goddess Sylvia, whose beauty was practically otherworldly, there was no way anyone could reasonably call her ugly.

Yet here she was, being insulted to her face by Timothy.

Vivian, who had always been pampered and spoiled, was so furious that her whole body trembled. She wanted nothing more than to get up and fight Timothy right then and there.

But at that moment, she finally noticed the figure of Holy Emperor Luminis approaching.

Though his small frame barely reached her waist, the sight of him instantly reignited her hope.

"Just you wait! You'll pay for your disrespect!"

Vivian shot Timothy a venomous glare before stumbling to her feet, trying to run toward Holy Emperor Luminis.

"Holy Emperor, you—you have to avenge me!"

In front of Holy Emperor Luminis, she didn't dare use any overly familiar terms of address.

Instead, she put on her most pitiful expression, staggering dramatically as she made her way to his side.

"What happened to you?"

Seeing Vivian's disheveled state, Holy Emperor Luminis frowned.

He had originally intended for Vivian to go ahead and inform Goddess Sylvia of his arrival at Sky Sanctuary.

But he hadn't expected to find her in this condition.

Her face was swollen, clearly the result of a hard slap.

Over the years, even though he hadn't been able to fulfill the marriage agreement made long ago, and he wasn't particularly interested in Vivian, she had always been under his protection and had never been mistreated.

So how had things ended up like this?

"It was him! Not only did he insult me, but he also showed no respect for you or the Goddess!"

Vivian, as if she had found her savior, immediately pointed at Timothy.

Her eyes were wide with fury, filled with the desire for revenge.

"Oh? Someone dared to lay a hand on you? I'd like to see who would dare—"

Holy Emperor Luminis's voice was stern as he followed Vivian's finger, but halfway through his sentence, his tone suddenly changed.

"Ahem, well, if it isn't Timothy!"

Contrary to what Vivian had expected, Holy Emperor Luminis's voice wasn't filled with anger.

In fact, it almost sounded... a little ingratiating?

"Haha, it's been a while since we last met at the Sepulcher of the Sacred!"

"How is this possible?!"

Even Vivian was completely dumbfounded.

"Holy Emperor, this Timothy slapped me himself! He clearly doesn't respect you at all. You can't just let him off the hook!"

Worried that Holy Emperor Luminis might hesitate because of Goddess Sylvia, she quickly added, "Besides, the Goddess only pays a little attention to Timothy. She wrote The Uselessness of Spiritual Partners and banned disciples from falling in love. There's no way someone as cold and proud as her would have any feelings for a mere disciple like him!"

"That's nonsense!"

But Holy Emperor Luminis didn't believe a word of it.

When it came to Timothy, no one was more envious, jealous, and resentful than he was.

He had seen with his own eyes how close Timothy and the Goddess had been at the Sepulcher of the Sacred. The most outrageous part? Timothy had somehow learned his exclusive technique, Realm of a Thousand Blades, and didn't even need to remain celibate to use it!

These things alone were enough to make Luminis grind his teeth in jealousy.

But despite knowing some of these secrets, Holy Emperor Luminis didn't dare make a move!

Very few people knew the truth, but Luminis was well aware that the relationship between Timothy and Goddess Sylvia was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

Even though he didn't want to accept it, the memory of Holy Maiden Aeliana's subtle smile back at the Sepulcher of the Sacred still sent chills down his spine.

"Watch your words. Timothy and the Goddess don't have the simple, superficial relationship you think they do."

Feeling a cold sweat forming, Holy Emperor Luminis gritted his teeth and raised an eyebrow at Vivian.

"What? That's impossible! With how cold and aloof the Goddess is, there's no way she'd be interested in anyone. Especially not him—he's just a disciple who came from the Demonic Sect!"

Vivian couldn't believe what she was hearing. She refused to accept that she had been slapped by Timothy for nothing.

When had she ever been treated like this?

'Wait, if I can prove that Timothy doesn't have the Goddess backing him, maybe I can get the Holy Emperor to take revenge for me! After all, without the Goddess's protection, he's just an ordinary disciple!'

Just as she was sinking into despair, a thought suddenly sparked in Vivian's mind.

The idea filled her with excitement.

'Yes, all I need is proof.'

Vivian frantically glanced around.

At that moment, as the sun climbed higher into the sky, she noticed a figure gracefully walking out of Sky Sanctuary.

The figure, dressed in a pale blue phoenix-patterned gown, was instantly recognizable.

Goddess Sylvia was heading toward them.

'This is perfect! It's like the heavens are on my side!'

Seeing Sylvia's figure, Vivian's heart surged with excitement and anticipation. Experience new stories on empire

After all, by observing how the Goddess interacted with Timothy, she could easily expose the truth about their relationship!

Soon, she would be able to reveal Timothy's bluff and get her revenge!

However, as her heart raced with excitement, Vivian quickly noticed something strange.

At this moment, Goddess Sylvia seemed to be holding something in her hand, and her expression was slightly different from the usual cold and awe-inspiring demeanor that made people instinctively feel reverence...