A few moments earlier, before Randolf arrived at the throne hall, Aldrian was spying on him using his domain sense and the system. After scanning Randolf's entire group, Aldrian couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the information he read from Randolf.

---------------------------------

Randolf Valroy

Age: 15,294 years

Race: Human

Cultivation: Low Pseudo Immortal Establishment Stage

Cultivation technique: Heavenly Emperor's Destiny of White Sky

Attack techniques: [Open to see the List]

Defense technique: [Open to see the List]

Movement technique: Spatial Technique Teleportation, Spatial Movement Void Breaker, Void Steps, Steps of Illusion.

Supporting technique: [Open to see the List]

---------------------------------

The information shown to him reminded him of Zhang Haoran, the apostle of Tarius. Because they had too many techniques obtained from the system's rewards, the information screen had to use [Open to see the list] so it would not completely fill his system screen.

This made him wonder if this young man, the young master of the Valroy family, was the same as Zhang Haoran. But if that were the case, then several questions arose in his mind.

Why is there another apostle in the first heaven?

From the memories he saw from Zhang Haoran, there was nothing that indicated the presence of another apostle besides him in the first heaven. From his understanding, even the invaders' alliance had already agreed on the division of territories within this universe.

The nine heavens were already divided among those gods, and they seemed to have reached an agreement not to interfere with each other unless certain circumstances arose.

Now, if there truly was another apostle in the first heaven, why did Zhang Haoran not know about it? And why had Tarius done nothing regarding this matter? Was he allowing it to happen? If that were the case, then Zhang Haoran should have at least communicated with Randolf at some point.

Yet nothing of the sort appeared in Zhang Haoran's memories. It was as if Zhang Haoran himself had no knowledge of Randolf's existence. Tarius also seemed not to have warned him about Randolf, leaving Aldrian with more questions than answers.

What was the real situation? Had Tarius knowingly allowed Randolf to exist in the first heaven, or not?

Aldrian then considered another possibility—that Tarius himself was unaware of Randolf's existence in the first heaven. If that were the case, it could only mean one thing.

'Those invaders are not as united as they seem. At least one of them must be moving behind Tarius's back,' he thought.

After reaching this conclusion, he couldn't help but smile. Although it was good news for him, he first needed to confirm whether his assumption was correct or not. The most important thing now was to find out if Randolf was truly an apostle. If he was, then he would be using a system, right?

After waiting for a few more minutes, the group from the Valroy family finally arrived at the throne hall. When Aldrian saw them entering and laid eyes on them directly, he inwardly frowned, though his expression outwardly remained calm. That was because he felt the same irritation he always experienced when standing before devil cultivators.

However, these people were not devil cultivators, and because of this, he finally understood the true cause. His irritation might came from anything connected to the invaders who had come from beyond this universe.

From this sign, it became clear that they had some connection to the invaders, which further strengthened his belief that Randolf was indeed an apostle.

Randolf, who also finally saw Aldrian directly, observed him for a moment as he continued approaching the throne. He did not recklessly try to inspect Aldrian with his system, because if Aldrian truly was an apostle, he would notice the system screen appearing. That could provoke Aldrian into taking immediate action against him.

'But doesn't he seem too focused on me?' Randolf thought, noticing how Aldrian's gaze lingered on him.

'Does he realize something? No, impossible. We have never met, and everything I've done until now has always been through other hands.' He then pushed the thought aside.

As they drew closer, the elder from the Xin family bowed respectfully before Aldrian.

"Your Majesty, I have brought the envoy from the Valroy family of Akares Star."

Aldrian gave a small nod. "Alright, thank you. You may return," he said, dismissing the elder. After the man left the throne hall, Aldrian showed a faint smile.

"We greet the great emperor of the Aster Empire, Aldrian the Great. I, Randolf Valroy, young master of the Valroy family, am humbly thankful to Your Majesty for sparing some of his time to meet us," Randolf said as he and his group bowed deeply before Aldrian.

"I have already heard of the renowned Valroy family of Akares Star, the strongest family of that world. Many even claim that your family are its true sovereign. Young master, I also heard of your fame among the central star cluster's most notable figures. It is truly my pleasure to receive a visit from someone such as yourself," Aldrian replied as Randolf and his group straightened their posture.

Randolf maintained his polite smile, slightly lowering his head in acknowledgment.

"I do not deserve such high praise from Your Majesty, who has already achieved far more than I could ever hope to. All of my so called achievements and fame are nothing compared to Your Majesty, the one many hail as the strongest cultivator in the central star cluster, and even under the heavens."

The two of them continued to praise each other excessively, yet to an outsider, nothing seemed unusual.

Still smiling, Aldrian rose from his throne and walked toward Randolf.

"Would all of you mind accompanying me for a walk? I suddenly feel like stepping outside," he said as he came to stand before Randolf.

Randolf was slightly stunned, but quickly composed himself, smiling as he lowered his head again.

"It is our honor to accompany Your Majesty."

The others felt a faint strangeness at the emperor's sudden request, but none voiced it. From what they had learned, the emperor occasionally invited guests to converse in the palace gardens while enjoying the scenery, so they assumed this might be one of those moments.

Aldrian walked ahead, leading them out of the hall toward the palace gardens. The group remained silent, and Aldrian himself said nothing. At last, Randolf secretly activated his system, his gaze fixed on Aldrian's back. He thought he would at least uncover some of Aldrian's secrets, but then his eyes widened in astonishment.

He kept walking as if nothing had happened, but his attention remained locked on the system's screen, which displayed—nothing

-------------------------

??? = ???////???

&*()???#########

??? = ???////???

??? = ???////???

()???#########

??? = ???////???

??? = ???////???

-------------------------

The system showed only garbled symbols, a clear sign that it could not read anything about Aldrian.

"System error. System error. Cannot read the target's information. System error."

The mechanical voice echoed in Randolf's mind, audible only to him, or so he believed.

The system, which usually displayed a person's information without fail, even when he had faced other apostles in his past life, now show nothing but errors.

This was truly shocking to him. For the first time, he was unable to read someone's information.

If the system, a gift given directly by his god as a divine blessing, could not function against Aldrian, then that could only mean Aldrian possessed something capable of preventing the god's power itself.

However, because this was the first time he had experienced such a thing, he could not be certain whether it was even possible.

'Maybe he really is an apostle, and his god gave him something that hides his information from others. Yes… that would make sense,' he thought positively. That was the only possibility he could imagine, for there was no way Aldrian could block the system's probing without the aid of another god's power.

He tried to calm his mind. Although he could not see Aldrian's information, he had nearly confirmed that Aldrian truly was an apostle.

Up ahead, Aldrian continued walking, but unbeknown to Randolf, he was smiling. He had been focusing his senses on Randolf the entire time, carefully reading his thoughts and every subtle movement. The moment Randolf activated his system, Aldrian knew it instantly. Now he was certain, Randolf was indeed an apostle.

Randolf's system had failed against him, just as Zhang Haoran's had when he had tried to check his information.

Now that he had confirmed it, Aldrian could begin planning what to do with Randolf. If his assumptions were correct, then this situation could be turned to his advantage. He might even be able to exploit it to create cracks within the invaders' alliance.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the palace gardens, where Aldrian at last spoke.

"I truly like this place. Its beautiful scenery always gives me peace of mind. Don't you agree, young master?"

Randolf, who had already closed his system's screen, nodded.

"I agree, Your Majesty. To be honest, from the very first moment I set foot on this floating land, I was instantly amazed and deeply admired the palace's grandeur. Its beauty is unmatched by anything I have ever seen. It is no wonder that the rumors say this place was built by divine beings in the past."

Aldrian maintained his smile as Randolf deliberately touched on the subject of divine beings. He could not help but find Randolf's attempt to appear innocent, and his effort to gauge Aldrian's reaction to the mention of divine beings, rather amusing.

Still, Aldrian gave him an answer.

"Well, that is not a mere rumor. When I first entered this place, there were many traces left behind by divine beings. I felt truly fortunate that I was the one who could enter it. You could even call it my fortune."

Randolf inwardly snorted, unwilling to believe Aldrian's words.

"Anyway," Aldrian continued, "speaking of divine beings, I suddenly remembered someone from this continent who was truly devoted to one. Would you like to hear his story?"

As he spoke, Aldrian's gaze fixed directly on Randolf's eyes.