CHAPTER 834: DESPERATE ACT

Looking at Munez’s shocked eyes, Aldrian smiled.

"What? Do you think we would just let you say all that without recording it? Your confession is the key to bringing Sir Ferix to the patriarch’s seat," Aldrian said with a smile.

"What I care about is your confession. Oh well, I thought I would have to torture you to make you confess, since I assumed you were the kind of psychopath who arrogantly shows no fear of death even in front of me. But I guess I was wrong. I’m glad you’re at least sensible enough not to make things more difficult."

The information crystal had already been placed much earlier, right after their group entered the hall. When he estimated the time it would take for the pill to take effect by calculating its composition, he determined that it should start working in this hall.

At that moment, Aldrian silently took out an information crystal, activated it, and teleported it to the side of the hall. The crystal had already been recording everything Munez had said earlier, without any of them knowing.

With this recording, the transition of the patriarch seat would be easier. Munez or anyone who supported him would have no way to defend themselves.

"I will have to slightly alter the recording so the Valroy family does not suffer too much backlash. With this recording alone, the Valroy family could collapse, and I do not want that now. I still need them for my plan to instil a crack between those invaders," Aldrian thought.

Seeing that his doom was certain with the recording, Munez finally made a decision. Initially, he wanted to buy time by cooperating and answering Aldrian’s questions while thinking how he could keep his life even after being exposed.

Maybe Aldrian would show leniency, giving him a chance to escape. He could hide indefinitely until Aldrian gave up looking for him.

However, the recording in Aldrian’s hand was a different matter. That recording was a certain death sentence for him, and everyone would be looking for him. Unless he went somewhere far away where no one knew him, he would most likely be caught by someone.

But he doubted that once the recording was released to the masses, he could even leave the planet. He would be spotted before he could even enter an interstellar vessel.

Munez’s mind then returned to the current situation. All of that would only matter IF he could escape from Aldrian first and the recording was released to the outside world. He doubted Aldrian would let him go, and he doubted even more that he could escape from him.

He could not run, and he could not hide.

*Sighed*

Aldrian saw Munez sigh before Munez looked at Sir Ferix.

"You win, brother. I guess I’m really done for," he said.

"I don’t have any chance or future anymore." His eyes seemed calm, as if he no longer cared. "Then you can die with me—"

Whack!

Aldrian suddenly punched Munez in the gut, forcing him to spit out saliva. His body still could not move because of the spatial lock, so he could not even express his pain. While still reeling from the sudden blow, he felt his strength fading as the flow of energy inside his body disappeared.

Aldrian sealed his cultivation after that punch.

"He tried to commit suicide by detonating his dantian. Truly firm," Aldrian said. "But unfortunately for you, I will not let you do that. If you want to die, then you can only die after I deem you useless. You might die alone, but don’t drag anyone else down with your pathetic life. Oh well, except for those who helped you, I suppose."

Sir Ferix widened his eyes in astonishment. If his brother had blown up his dantian, everyone inside this place would have died. In fact, every being within a radius of a hundred kilometres would have been obliterated by the explosion.

Suicide by detonating one’s dantian caused a far greater degree of destruction due to the massive explosion from the condensed energy within the dantian. For example, someone at the Emperor stage could destroy an area of twenty kilometres from the point of detonation. The explosion could even kill much stronger cultivators if they did not defend themselves in time.

This kind of suicide was common when someone was captured by the enemy or when they believed they no longer had any chance to fight back.

There were only two ways for cultivators to prevent another cultivator from committing suicide in this manner. The first was to seal their dantian, or in other words, their cultivation. Without being able to circulate their energy through the dantian, self-detonation became impossible.

That was why, whenever cultivators captured others, they would immediately seal the prisoner’s cultivation. Besides preventing escape, it was also to stop them from taking their own life.

The second method was to disrupt the flow of energy within a cultivator’s dantian so they could not detonate it. This could be done by keeping them constantly occupied, leaving them no time to focus on self-destruction. For example, by attacking them continuously without pause.

Battles between cultivators were not only about strength but also about speed, especially among high-ranking cultivators where every second mattered. They could not concentrate on suicide if they were forced to move and evade attacks every moment.

When the energy within the dantian was depleted, attempting to self-detonate would not cause as much destruction as usual. After all, the energy’s quantity served as the "explosive powder." If it was depleted, then the explosion would not have much power compared to when the dantian still contained energy.

After punching Munez, Aldrian finally released the spatial lock, and Munez’s body collapsed. The moment he hit the floor, he showed his pain, clutching his gut.

Aldrian looked at him calmly before taking one knee and flicking Munez’s forehead. That single flick was enough to send Munez flying from the platform and crashing into the hall’s wall. His body slammed heavily against it before collapsing, and he instantly passed out.

Seeing that Munez was already unconscious, Aldrian turned toward Sir Ferix.

"Sir Ferix, I think it’s a good time for us to plan our next move. We already have everything we need to make you patriarch and to show everyone Munez’s true colors."

Sir Ferix was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"I will follow Your Majesty’s arrangement. However, I think we should discuss this with Grand Elder Javier. Oh, he is—"

"I know who he is," Aldrian interrupted.

"Ah, yes, Your Majesty. We need to inform Grand Elder Javier first so he can spread the news to the others more effectively. At this moment, I don’t have much influence among the family members. Only those still loyal to me will listen," Sir Ferix said.

Aldrian nodded. "Well, that was something easy," he said before a figure suddenly appeared beside him.

The moment the figure emerged, Sir Ferix widened his eyes in shock, it was Grand Elder Javier!

Grand Elder Javier also seemed startled before his expression turned to astonishment as he realized he was in a different place, and then he noticed Sir Ferix.

"Ferix? Where am I? What the—" He stopped mid-sentence when he sensed someone standing beside him. His eyes widened again when his gaze fell upon the figure next to him.

He saw a handsome young man with long red hair, dressed in regal imperial attire. The moment he saw Aldrian’s face, he remembered that it belonged to someone who should be recognized as an important figure in the central star cluster.

Although he had never seen Aldrian in person, he already knew his face from the many images of him spread across the star cluster. The man who had become the hottest topic in recent months and was now regarded as a living legend.

Aldrian the Great.

"Aldrian the Great!" he unconsciously blurted out. He could not understand how or why Aldrian the Great was here, let alone with Ferix.

Aldrian smiled. "I know Grand Elder has many questions, so first, we will explain what happened here."

Grand Elder Javier did not respond, still speechless in shock, but Aldrian began recounting what had happened. Javier gradually started to pay attention. Although he still did not understand how he had arrived in this place, he listened closely to Aldrian’s words.

As time passed, his face showed a range of emotions as he heard the story from Aldrian and occasional input from Sir Ferix—shock, sadness, anger—all clearly visible in his expression.

Aldrian also showed him the recording stored in the information crystal, and once Grand Elder Javier saw its contents, his expression turned explosive.

"Where is that bastard? Where is that traitor!" Grand Elder Javier shouted angrily, his eyes sweeping across the hall. But then he froze when he noticed an unconscious man lying to the side of the hall, someone he instantly recognized as Munez.

He stood still for a moment before the urge to kill surged violently within him.

"Calm down, Grand Elder. He’s still useful for our plan. I brought you here to discuss this matter, about the future of the Barevisk family," Aldrian said.

Grand Elder Javier took a deep breath to calm himself before looking at Aldrian.

"So, what does Your Majesty have in mind?"

"To make Sir Ferix the new patriarch, of course," Aldrian replied, causing Grand Elder Javier’s eyes to widen.

"What?"