The Shining Star Above The Heaven
Chapter 762 762: The Problem
"Tell me about it," Aldrian said.
"Your majesty, my apologies if I must ask something first. Is it true that the spirit ancestor of the beast continent is currently inside the empire? I mean, did she visit your majesty?" Vars asked.
"Yes, she has come under the protection of the dragon king and phoenix queen. Because of her special circumstances, the spirit ancestor came in disguise so that no one from outside could tell she was coming here," Aldrian answered.
Vars nodded. "The information I will tell your majesty is regarding the spirit ancestor. Yesterday, when I secretly contacted my informant in our main family branch to look for an update from the family, I received information from him that the location of the spirit ancestor reached them just yesterday. To be honest, your majesty, my family is one of the families that are wary of the spirit ancestor's ability, although we never really made a move personally."
"Still, this information that spread to our family through unknown means could also spread to other powers that truly want to harm the spirit ancestor. I'm afraid the empire will become a battleground for those powers that want to kill her."
Aldrian, who understood the problem with this information, slightly narrowed his eyes. The ones who knew about the movement of the spirit ancestor were only the group of the dragon king and the phoenix queen. The information leak could mean that someone had betrayed them, or that somehow someone from outside had detected the spirit ancestor's movement.
Someone with ill intent toward the spirit ancestor.
Just as Vars said, if those who wanted her dead moved, the Barisan continent would become the battleground. He thought that those powers might use a third party to carry out the killing, since they did not want him to find out which powers were targeting her.
The spirit ancestor was a peak pseudo-immortal stage existence under the protection of the dragon king and the phoenix queen. If someone wanted to kill her, then there must be quite a large force or assassins sent after her. Potentially, some of them could also be peak pseudo-immortal stage existences.
That meant his empire would turn into a battleground for cultivators of that level, which would truly be devastating, and many innocents could be caught in the crossfire.
That was something he needed to prevent, and he had already found the easiest way to do it.
"Alright, thank you for the information. This matter really has to be taken seriously, but I have already thought of a way to prevent any problems from arising. Good work," Aldrian said, which made Vars proud of himself.
"Thank you, your majesty," he answered.
The others knew that Aldrian and Vars had been communicating through voice transmission and waited for them to finish. They then continued to discuss their organizations and finally closed their meeting after more than two hours.
After the two groups left the palace, Aldrian spread his domain sense to sweep across the entire Barisan continent. A single second was enough for him to find what he was looking for, and he instantly disappeared from the throne hall as he teleported elsewhere.
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At one of the luxurious inns inside Caelestis City, a mixed group from the beast continent was staying. This place had already become their residence since the first time they came to this continent, because they had heard that this newly built city was the most important one near the central region where Aldrian's palace was located.
This inn, managed by the Golden Phoenix Pavilion, was also a place chosen by some outsiders to stay during their time on the continent. However, the presence of the dragon king and the phoenix queen still overshadowed those outsiders living there.
The people of the city had already begun to learn about the true status and strength of the dragon king and the phoenix queen outside the continent, which made them show even greater respect. Being among the most powerful beings under the heavens, they were truly worthy of respect wherever they went.
At that moment, Aldrian appeared in the sky above the city, directly over the inn. He had already activated his stealth technique so that no one would be shocked by his sudden arrival.
Inside the inn, he could sense that the dragon king and phoenix queen were in their own rooms, occupied with their respective matters. They seemed to be in discussion with their groups of dragons and phoenixes. As for the spirit ancestor, she was conversing with her retainer and guardian, accompanied by a glass of herbal tea.
Knowing it was better to inform them of the problem that might arise in the future regarding the spirit ancestor secretly, Aldrian sent a voice transmission to the three of them.
"My apologies for disturbing your time, spirit ancestor, dragon king, and phoenix queen, but please gather inside the spirit ancestor's room. I wish to discuss something with you all regarding her safety. I will come shortly after you have gathered."
The three of them were stunned by the sudden voice transmission, as none of them had detected Aldrian! Even their groups were confused by their sudden reactions, which left them wondering what had just happened.
However, the three of them knew that this was Aldrian's voice, and from his tone it seemed quite serious. Since it also concerned the spirit ancestor's safety, the dragon king and phoenix queen immediately stopped their discussion with their groups and went to gather in the spirit ancestor's room.
The spirit ancestor's retainer and guardian were confused as to why the spirit ancestor suddenly fell silent, and even more so when the dragon king and phoenix queen entered the room. But then they jolted in shock at Aldrian's sudden appearance near them. They truly had not expected him to appear like that.
Those who already knew of his visit looked at him and gave their respect.
"Your majesty," they said.
Aldrian nodded. "Once again, my apologies for the sudden interruption of your time, but this is something I must tell you, and something I must take care of before it becomes a bigger problem in the future."
Hearing that this matter was quite serious, the dragon king and phoenix queen narrowed their eyes.
"What happened, your majesty? You said it was regarding the spirit ancestor's safety. Is there any problem with her?" the dragon king asked.
The spirit ancestor's retainer and guardian looked at him, then at Aldrian, confused. But when they heard it was about her safety, they became serious. It concerned their spirit ancestor, so of course they wanted to know what it was about.
Aldrian nodded. "To put it simply, the spirit ancestor's location has already leaked to the outside world. At this moment, I expect that many powers outside already know of her presence here. You must understand the trouble that might arise next."
Hearing this, all of them widened their eyes in astonishment. Aldrian then explained the information he knew, which made them frown as they exchanged glances.
"Dragon king, phoenix queen, it is not that I want to doubt any of your people, but do you think there could be a traitor among your group, or anyone from your kind?" Aldrian asked.
The first to answer was the dragon king, who shook his head.
"No, I don't think there is anyone in my group who could betray me. The only ones who know about the spirit ancestor's visit to this continent are this small group of dragons who came with me, and all of them have been my trusted men for a long time. But the greatest reason I believe they would never betray me is because I could detect it through bloodline suppression," the dragon king said.
The phoenix queen also nodded. "It is the same with me. The only ones who know about the spirit ancestor are the group that came with me, and I don't believe they have betrayed us. My reason is the same as the dragon king's—it is because of bloodline suppression."
Aldrian nodded in understanding. In the beast world, bloodline suppression was truly a big matter. It did not only show the purity of a bloodline, but also determined the status of a spiritual beast in front of its kind. The purity of a bloodline referred to how close it was compared to that of their first ancestor.
For example, the dragon king was a special existence with a mixed bloodline. For him to be able to suppress the bloodlines of other dragons meant that, his new mixed bloodline had created a purer bloodline, one closer to that of the ancient dragon god, Long Shentian.
With his bloodline suppression, the other dragons would find it difficult to go against him. That was why even if someone from his group betrayed him, he would instantly know, as there was no way a traitor could remain calm in front of such suppression.
"Make sense. Then that means someone somehow learned of her presence in this continent and spread it to others," Aldrian said, which made the dragon scratch his head repeatedly.
"Those bastards… It looks like our journey here will be a bloody one. I can already imagine many of those people trying to take their chances, even inside this continent when your majesty has already warned about maintaining order. Even if we go back to the beast continent now, there might be an ambush along the way. Oh well, I welcome them anyway," he said.
Aldrian only nodded, but then he smiled.
"Well, I already have the easiest way to prevent that. After all, I don't want my people to be caught in the crossfire."
"Do you have a plan in mind, your majesty?" the dragon king asked.
Aldrian nodded before answering. "The spirit ancestor can stay at my palace. She will be safe there without any disturbance until the situation is resolved. You all can continue to stay in this continent as long as you wish, since I know you still want to be here."