80-89

Chapter 80 - Mother And Son (1)

The Duke's group arrived outside the palace gates and dismounted their vehicles.

"Halt! Who dares to trespass at this hour?" A drowsy palace guard barked.

"Has this Duke's prestige fallen so low that he cannot even be recognized by a mere palace guard?" Ignis asked with a frown.

"Stop it, Ignis." Amelia was not interested in wasting time by the front gates.

"There's no problem with letting us pass, yes?"

"Y-Y-Your Grace… Y-Yes, there is no problem. Please enter at your own pace." The guard stuttered, before making way. He was half awake and failed to recognize them immediately.

Guarding the gate was a menial task. The palace was not frequented by guests like it once was and it is especially not the case during the wee hours. The palace guard wiped his sweats after the Duke's group entered.

"Nobles are so eccentric. Who visits at such ungodly hour? Fortunately, I didn't offend them."

…

The courtyard was once decorated with beautiful verdure gardens and filled with fragrant floras. Nobles and commoners alike, often visit to enjoy the scenery, and fill it with life.

As the group pass through the courtyard, the verdure garden was long gone. In its place, was a cold and lifeless metallic texture, as far as the eye can see; the ground, the walls and the palace itself. There was nothing that wasn't metal.

"How is this a palace anymore? It looks more like an iron fortress." Ignis remarked in passing.

At the other end of the courtyard lied a flight of stairs, leading to the great hall. They group made their way over quickly and found a palace maid standing at the top of the stairs, as if awaiting their arrival.

"The Queen is waiting for you inside, Your Grace." The Palace informed her with a curtsy to show her respect to the Queen's sworn sister.

"The Queen is waiting for me?" Amelia asked doubtfully. How did Elizabeth know they were coming?

"Yes."

"I see, thank you."

Two palace guards holding spears in hand at the entrance, stepped away, while they opened the doors to the great hall.

Amelia took the lead to enter the great hall first. Duke Ignis and the rest were ready to follow her when the two palace guards crossed their spears and blocked them from entering.

"What's the meaning of this?" Duke Ignis was immediately displeased.

"The Queen will only be seeing the Duchess Amelia. I have orders under the Queen to lead you to your living quarters." The palace maid said respectfully.

Amelia looked back at her husband, who wore a gloomy face and was ready to make a scene.

"Go, I will look for you later."

Hearing his wife's words, he swallowed the words at the tips of his tongue.

"Hmph! Lead the way!" Duke Ignis waved his hand and grumbled.

"Yes, right this way."

…

Deep inside the great hall, a big golden throne could be seen with two other seats by its side. Queen Elizabeth did not seat herself on the golden throne, but the left seat by its side.

The throne belonged to her husband and was not her place to sit. Even as the acting ruler of the kingdom, she would not sit on the throne. This was to show her respect and devotion to her husband, who still laid in vegetative state.

"Sister, how did you know I was coming?" Amelia came up and hugged Elizabeth's arm in an intimate way, showcasing their close sisterly relationship.

"I was informed ahead of time." Elizabeth showed off a rare smile, albeit a light one.

Some life had returned to her eyes and her appearance was no longer haggard and disheveled. But one cannot be fooled by her renewed beautiful countenance and believe that their gentle Queen had returned. The cold icy aura emanating from her was enough to freeze their hearts.

"Oh? It wasn't a crazy but powerful old man shrouded in black by any chance, was it?" Amelia asked hopefully. If Elizabeth didn't know who that was, then things could be bad for Leon.

"Crazy old man eh? You must referring to Kasif. No, it was not him, who informed me."

Amelia heart froze at Elizabeth's answer. It wasn't!? Her thoughts were about to run amok with possibilities when Elizabeth continued.

"He sent his subordinate to inform me."

Amelia sigh in relief. It seems the Old man serves Elizabeth. "Don't leave me in suspense like that…"

"Since when did we have such a powerful master in the kingdom? How come I haven't heard of him before?"

"That's not why you came to see me, right? What news do you have for me?" Elizabeth didn't answer Amelia's question. Instead, she threw back a question of her own.

"Ahh… right! I have good news! Your son is alive! I've found him."

Amelia broke the news to Elizabeth with a big smile. Whether it was something Leon agreed to or not, Amelia still had to inform her sworn sister. She cannot keep her in the dark and continue living miserably.

"What!?"

Elizabeth immediately shot up from her seat in agitation. "Is that true!?" Where is he? Where is my son? Why isn't he with you? Are you lying to me?"

Amelia was barraged with questions.

"No, I'm not! He would've been right here if that old bastard didn't knock him unconscious and took him away!" Amelia rebutted strongly.

"He did what!?" Elizabeth was angered. Knowing that her son was alive and well, she could not wait another second! She missed her son dearly! "How dare he treat her son that way and delay their meeting!"

"Shadow Guards!"

"What orders do you have, Your Majesty?" Several shadows dropped down from above and appeared before her.

"Where is your leader!?"

"W-We… Forgive us, Your Majesty! We don't know where the leader is." The shadow guards broke into sweat.

Where their leader goes and do, he did not need to report to them. As such, they were helpless and could not provide a satisfactory answer.

"So, no one knows where or why he took my son?" Elizabeth said coldly. She found it hard to control her emotions as her ability started spiraling out of control.

Their weapons started shaking and rattling out of their sheaths.

"Mercy, Your Majesty!" The shadow guards were shocked. They thought the queen was about to slaughter them in anger.

"Sister, that Old man said he wanted to make Leon his disciple." Amelia interrupted.

"Is that so? That Old Goat has always been anxious to find a successor to take on his position, but I will not allow it." Elizabeth sneered, "What can he teach my son?"

How can Kasif's high-grade training method be comparable to their Crawford's transcendent-grade training method? Elizabeth did not voice it, but that was her exact thoughts.

"Go. Find that Old Goat and tell him to bring my son back to me in one piece, immediately." Elizabeth commanded. The worry in her heart was expelled. Kasif would not harm Leon, if he was looking for a disciple.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The shadow guards answered and scurried away very quickly with relief worn on their faces. They couldn't wait to get far away from the Queen. Elizabeth's pressure was unbearable. They would rather face their leader's scolding. They didn't forget to flash Amelia a thankful look before they disappear in blind search of their leader.

Elizabeth sank back in her seat and let out a long sigh as if she was trying to expel all the negativity bottled up inside her. She did not want her son to meet an ice queen, but a warm mother. She slowly reverted to her old demeanor and reigned in her coldness.

Amelia observed her change with doubt.

"Come, let's have a sisterly talk."

"Alright." Amelia agreed happily. She had questions regarding Kasif but decided to leave it for another time.

Elizabeth dragged Amelia to her private courtyard, where they could sit comfortably and catch up over tea.

"How is does my son look? Does he look like me?" How do I look? Will he accept me? You said his relationship with his foster parents are quite good."

Elizabeth fire one question after another with an anxious and sad undertone. She was the who gave birth to Leon, but she was not the one to raise him. Now, her biggest concern was whether he would accept her. However, the fact that her son was still alive and well, have brought color back to her world that was like black and white.

"He is a handsome young man. He has your eyes. There's no problem with your appearance. He should be able to accept you."

From what she had seen, Leon appeared to be a person who values familial ties and relationships.

Amelia smiled as she answered her sister's string of question patiently. However, a trace of pity could be seen in her eyes. She was also a mother can understand her sorrow and concern.

The main topic of their discussion revolved around Leon as they continued for hours until the break of dawn arrived.

Her throat was a bit hoarse from chatting up all night with Elizabeth. Amelia took a sip of the tea before placing the cup down with a sigh.

"What's wrong? Is the tea not to your liking? How can that be?" Elizabeth asked with uncertainty. They were drinking royal-grade Earl Grey tea.

"Isn't it because of your good son? Ever since I had a taste his herbal tea, all other tea don't taste the same anymore."

Once you have something better, you can never go back.

"Herbal tea? How could herbal tea be better than authentic tea?"

Elizabeth wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, but their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of her palace maid.

"What is it, Celia?"

"Sir Kasif has arrived and is waiting in the great hall with a boy, your Majesty." Celia reported.

"That's great. We can go see…"

Amelia didn't finish her words before she realized Elizabeth had already disappeared.

…

In the great hall, Leon had always wondered how his meeting with his birth mother would be like.

Would he retain his calmness, or he would be emotional? Would he be able to accept her like his foster-parents or would they view each other like strangers?

Birth mother was a foreign concept to him. In his past life, he had not known who his mother was. He was entirely raised up by his father and he was unable to obtain any information from his father.

The doors of the great hall creaked open and Leon turn to look.

Elizabeth and Leon; mother and son met as their eyes glued on each other and each with their own thoughts.

Chapter 81 - Mother And Son (2)

Time seems to have slowed as Elizabeth stared at Leon emotionally as tears threaten to spill. She had rushed over so quickly that she had not prepare what sort of words she would say upon their first meeting. Without needing a word of confirmation, she was able to conclude that Leon was her son. It did not matter if she had not seen him for 17 years. She was the one that gave birth him. She would not fail to recognize her own son.

Her body blinked over 20-odd meters with a speed greater than what Leon could fathom. Before he knew it, Leon was already in his mother's warm embrace. There was a weak blood resonance between blood-related kin that allow them to instinctively recognize each other. With all her blood-related kin dead, it can only be her son in front of her.

"My son… My good son… Thank you for being alive." Elizabeth started weeping tearfully with him in her arms. It was like her past 17 years of suffering finally found release as it was poured out all her feelings.

A part of her failed to believe Amelia words prior. It was an instinctive reaction to protect herself from suffering greater sorrow from the disappointment, should everything turn out to be a sham. She had lost him during a time of chaos, and they were separated for 17 years. It would take more than words to convince her. She didn't dare believe it, but after seeing her own flesh and blood in front of her, she had to believe it.

Leon was surprised at Elizabeth's inhumane speed, but he did not have time to ponder it deeper as he felt his own face become wet. He subconsciously brought his hand up to wipe and realized it was his own tears.

"Huh…? This is weird… Why am I crying?"

He didn't know why, but seeing how the Queen weep, a sudden ocean tide-like wave of sadness washed over him. His tears wouldn't stop flowing. Is this what it's like to have a real mother? When the mother is sad, the child would also feel the sadness. This familial feeling was vastly different to what he felt for his foster parents. This was his blood-related mother… the person who toiled for 9 months before bringing him into the world.

A section of Leon's memory when he was a newborn baby surfaced in his mind with great clarity as he recalled the moment he was reborn into the world and see the joy in his mother's eyes as she hold him carefully in her arms like she was holding the world.

"M-Mother… your child is back…"

"Good child…" Hearing Leon's words, even more tears started to pour down from her face. She caressed his head affectionately with the love and care she could not for 17 years.

She was unable to watch him grow up, but he is here now and that is all that matters. He would always be her child, no matter how big he grows.

Kasif was put in an awkward spot as he was forced to watch through this pair of mother and son heartfelt reunion.

"AHEM." Kasif faked a cough, loud enough to be heard. He wanted them to acknowledge his presence.

"Hmm? You are still here? Can't you see that we are having our reunion? Hmph! Leave!" Elizabeth said coldly.

"Y-You! Hmph! I may listen to your orders, but I am still a senior from your father's generation. You ought to treat me with the respect I deserve." Kasif said but was already impatient to leave. The father he mentions was not Elizabeth's blood related father, but her father-in-law, the Old king.

Elizabeth had time to refocus her attention on Leon but noticed that his clothes were in tatters and dirtied.

"Wait!"

"What do you want now, Your Majesty!?" Kasif turned back and asked with some frustration. Do you want me to leave or what? He should have slipped away when he had the chance.

"What happened to my son?! Where did you take him before?" Elizabeth's eyes narrowed in on him.

Facing her cold gaze, even he felt a bit of pressure. They both belong to the ranks of 9th step awakeners but even among 9th step, there was a great disparity.

The distance between awakeners and Transcendent was like a big chasm. It would be too naive if one were to think that they can increase their strength tenfold by reaching transcendence. No, an awakener's strength never stops improving once they reach the 9th step. 9th step awakeners are ranked 0-9 stars in terms of how many folds of strength they possess compared to a normal 9th step awakener.

1-star would mean twofold the strength of normal 9th step awakeners and 9-stars would mean having tenfold the strength. In other words, 9-star awakeners possess the equivalent strength of a Transcendent and could be considered semi-transcendent. They are just lacking the lifeforce to be a True Transcendent.

Kasif was at 5-stars, but Elizabeth was already at 7-stars. She was not far off from transcendence.

"Err… That is… I took him to my testing ground… but things went beyond my expectations." Kasif said with a stiff smile.

He wanted to test Leon's potential, but did not go the way he had expected. As the saying went; Man proposes, God disposes.

"Well? What happened? I'm listening!"

Faced with insistent questioning of the Queen, Kasif had no choice but to recount what happened.

Half an hour earlier…

Kasif was so shocked at the turn of events when Leon triggered such a big explosion and was blasted away with his life and death unknown. He originally wanted to test Leon ability to adapt to the darkness and its dangers. The giant spiders were called Deadeye Spider because they were blind. They only react to vibration and heat. The Deadeye Spider nest was the perfect training ground to hone one's abilities as a shadow guard.

If Leon had relied on his sharp senses and profound movement technique, there was no problem for him to move around silently and unhindered. Only spiders within a small distance would be able to sense the heat emanating from his body.

However, Kasif had miscalculated and forgot that Leon was a fire-user and would naturally create light when thrown into a dark abyss. A tragedy was ensured, but through Leon's battle with Deadeye spiders, Kasif able to discover other admirable traits that was present in Leon; his persistence, or rather tenacity. If Leon knew his thoughts, he would have cursed, " Fuck you! If I didn't do my best to survive, I would have died!"

There was an even bigger that greatly astonished Kasif; Leon's ability control. Leon's ability control was so great, it had already reached the apex. The bottleneck that stop 9-star awakeners from reaching transcendence wouldn't exist for him.

After the swarm of Deadeye Spiders finally receded from the cave, Kasif, who was hidden in the earth, finally went to check on Leon, whose body turned ice cold with his eyes closed. Kasif was so shocked and immediately went to check if the boy still had any breath in him.

When Leon entered to check his soul core region, he automatically shut off his senses to the outside world. Thus, when he suddenly opens his eyes, the two was so shocked they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Good lad, you have given me a huge fright!"

"What do you want from me, Old bastard?" Leon said coldly. It was all this person's fault that landed him in his current predicament.

"I want to make you my disciple. How about it? Not many get the chance to become disciple." Kasif did not mind Leon's curse as he was in a jovial mood at the prospect of being the master of a future Transcendent. He did not realize Leon's silence was one of being overwhelmed with anger, instead he thought the lad was overwhelmed by the honor.

"Fuck you! Who the fuck wants to be your disciple?!" Leon roared with anger. He was kidnapped for such a reason!?

"Y-You… look here, I am very powerful-"

Rumble* their commotion caused the sensitive Deadeye Spiders to swarm back.

"We will talk later."

Kasif grabbed at the immobile Leon and used his earth ability to launch themselves up quickly at the cave ceiling with a rising rock pillar from underneath his feet.

"Crazy old bastard, let me go! If you want to die, then go die alone!" Leon was so shocked. At the speed they were going, they would smash into the ceiling and be crushed to death!

However, Leon's worries were unfounded as the ceiling parted ways under Kasif's control and they shoot straight through the parted earth and returned quickly to the surface. Kasif toss a Leon to a soft patch of grass after his feet had landed on ground floor.

"Goddammit! Do you know who I am, Old bastard!?" Leon was ready to spill the beans. Although he looked down on characters who relied on their backgrounds, this was not the time to act tough! He must be flexible and use whatever he has, when the odds are against him!

"Look here, brat. There's a limit to my patience, alright? To be my disciple is to one day take over my position and be a powerful figure in the kingdom." Kasif said with some impatience. Even if he had a heart of Buddha, he would still get annoyed if someone repeatedly call him a bastard.

Leon looked at him with contempt. "Position? I don't even know what you do. Powerful figure? No one even knows you, but can it be higher than a crown prince?"

Swoosh** Several shadows guard appeared them with fiendish red eyes from straining their eyes to search the entire night.

"Leader, the Queen is requesting your presence, along with her son and in one piece!"

"What son-"

Kasif paused his words as he suddenly has a bad feeling.

While secretly surprised by the shadow guards, Leon gave the Old man a smirk.

Chapter 82 - Bullying The Old!

Back in the great hall, at present time, Kasif sweated buckets like the Old man had toiled for a whole day as finishes recounting without skimping out on any details. Leon had eyed him with a playful smile whenever he reached a crucial point.

"And that is pretty much everything…"

Kasif mumbled towards the end with his head lowered, afraid to face the Elizabeth directly. Elizabeth wore a placid smile throughout his recount that made it hard to guess her thoughts even if he did look directly.

"Kasif, when was the last time we sparred?" Elizabeth said, while maintaining her placid smile.

"Hmm? I believe it was 20 years ago… why do you…?" Her expression was unreadable. Kasif couldn't understand her question… wait! Kasif's eyes widen in horror at a sudden terrible premonition.

"I suddenly feel like sparring again!" Elizabeth said with gritted teeth, while stretching her limbs. Her fist was clenched and shook uncontrollably. She was clearly very furious! But she had restrained herself due to Leon's presence.

"No wait! Your Majesty! The ignorant is not guilty! Had I known he was the prince; I would not take him to the underground for testing!" Kasif paled, he turned and made a mad dash for the great hall entrance.

The thick iron doors of the great hall shut tightly and did not budge even under his pounding. Inside the iron fortress, escape was futile.

"Just not that? So, you still hoped to make him your disciple!? If you think you are not guilty then why did you try to run!? Come back and accept your beat- spar!" In the end, her calm facade was unmasked with fury.

Kasif almost fainted under Elizabeth's words. Spar?? Who would believe that? You were about to say beating just now, right!?

"Your Majesty! These old bones won't be able to endure your blows!" Kasif made a last-ditch effort to plead for mercy.

The entire great hall was composed of metal! There was no earth for him to draw strength from. He wouldn't be the Queen's opponent even if he was at the same level as her, not to mention she was 2 stars above him!

What kind of concept was 2 stars? It was twofold increase in overall abilities. Putting aside elemental abilities, just raw physical strength alone, equates to 1800-jin force.

To further add onto his worries, her majesty is a metal-user! Metal-users specializes in strengthening and sharpness and such abilities could be applied to their own body, granting them both great offensive and defensive capabilities.

Kasif's body would not be able to withstand a blow!

"Not only have your bones grown old, you have also gone senile from old age, right!? Do you even know how to respect the wills of others? How dare you ignore his opinion and snatched him like you were picking wild herbs from the mountains! Hmph! Come over here! You Old Goat!"

There was a reason, Elizabeth always called him an Old Goat. His grey pointy beard and curly split fringe gave him great resemblance to a curly-horned goat from ancient times, thus how he earned his nickname.

Kasif didn't mind Elizabeth's provocation. So, what if he minds? He wouldn't be able to do anything about it even if he did! He can only grit his teeth, clench his rear and take the beating!

The inside of the great hall was sounded especially tragic. Whatever grievance Leon felt inside was abated as he even started to feel pity for the Old man while he was getting beaten black and blue.

"Ahhh! Aaahhh! Baahhhh!"

Outside the great hall, the palace guards could hear the gut-wrenching cries and wails from the Old man that was akin to pigs and lambs being slaughtered.

Amelia finally arrived outside and glanced at the two palace guards guarding the entrance dutifully.

"What's going on inside?"

"Umm…"

The palace guards were also at a lost. Recent gossips and rumors among palace guards and maids have been flying all over the palace of the crown prince's return. But considering the usual coldness of the Queen, they don't know exactly how the reunion would turn out.

"Maybe the Queen is slaughtering a beast to celebrate her happy reunion…?"

One palace guard made a wild assumption.

The Queen was known for her ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness from killing the nobles. The return of the crown prince was a joyous occasion, worthy of kingdom-wide celebration. They wouldn't be surprised if the Queen was doing another killing, albeit for another reason.

"Are we going to be having mutton beast meat?"

The other guard's eyes lit up at the thought of beast mutton, which was considering one of the finer delicacies in the palace. It didn't come as a surprise to the guards as the royal family having been keeping the beasts in captivity and rearing them as livestock.

"Why would the Queen slaughter beasts in the great hall of all places…? Never mind. Open the door. I will go in and see" Amelia didn't entertain their funny notions and ordered them to open the iron doors. Her answers can be found directly behind.

"Ah? Y-Yes, your Grace."

The two palace guards pulled on the door handles but the iron doors until their faces were red like tomatoes, but the door refused to open. Why was it suddenly so hard to open?

…

Back inside the great hall, Kasif was sprawling on the ground, while he continued his painful wails; with each new one sounding more terrible than the last. Kasif had only suffered light fleshly wounds and nothing serious that wouldn't heal over a 2-day period. He was faking his pain to make Elizabeth lighten her blow and end the beating sooner. In fact, he was so caught in his act, he didn't realized Elizabeth had long stopped beating him.

Although she was furious, she did not lose her reasoning. Star-ranked awakeners were the real foundation of their race. She wouldn't do anything that would undermine it. Just a light beating was enough to exercise her muscles back into shape.

"My son, see that wretched thing? Don't take that thing as your master. Mother will is a better teacher."

Elizabeth gave her first motherly lecture. The Old goat was so shameless. She didn't want such a person to corrupt her son. She also wants to make up for all the missed years of spending time with her son.

Leon glanced at the wailing Old man, whose face had become blacker than a pigsty from all the facial pounding and twitched his lips.

"I won't."

Leon was once a Divine-state practitioner. Such level of cultivation was akin to be a deity in the Crawford Kingdom. It was practically unheard of. As such, Leon didn't think the Old man qualified to be his master. It should be the other way around.

"Good." Elizabeth nodded with a smile, before frowning, "How long are you going to continue acting for!?"

She sent out a kick and sent the Old man flying towards the entrance.

"Ah?" Kasif was startled out of his act before he realized he was caught red-handed. "Ahem… has your anger subsided, Your Majesty?"

Kasif scurried back on his feet and asked in an ingratiating manner, while rubbing his hands together.

"Kasif, you are hereby temporarily relieved of your position and duties. Do not return until you interacted 1000 people normally without causing them harm. Your vice-leader will take over until you are back. Scram!" Elizabeth said strongly with a tone of annoyance. The iron doors flung open with a wave of her hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Kasif answered happily as he finally able to get away from this dastardly place. He shot straight out the entrance as soon as the door opened. The faster he got away, the better. His appearance was horrifying from all the bruising, but no real damage was done, thus his movements were not affected. It will heal in no time.

…

The doors to the great hall was suddenly flung open and a black-faced thing suddenly shot out straight at Amelia. She was so startled and horrified, she swatted it to the side instinctively.

Kasif was caught unprepared and was slapped flying into the distance. Who would that someone would standing in front of the door as soon as it was opened? How unlucky! Screw it, he will just treat it as part of his punishment for offending royalty. He didn't want to linger in the palace anymore as he followed the Queen's instruction and headed towards the Upper District. He suffered enough abuse, while he was here. Sigh, young people these days have no respect for the elderly.

Elizabeth and Leon were right behind and naturally saw what happened. Leon similarly thought what a pair of sisters, his mother and mother-in-law was. Both had no respect for the elderly. He forgot he was the cause for the Old man's abuse.

"Is he going to be alright?" Leon asked incredulously. He felt like they might have went a bit overboard in abusing the Old man. Would he have a grudge against them?

"Don't worry, he is tougher than he looks." Elizabeth saw what her son was concerned about and continued, "He might have a lot of bad traits, but if there's one thing that is good about him, it is his loyalty."

"I see."

Amelia was originally stunned from offending such a master but listening to her sister's words, she sighed in relief. She looked at her hand and savored the feeling of the slap. Discovering that she was able slap such a rude person, the bottled-up frustration she felt previously was abated.

"Sister, you ran very quickly eh?" Amelia said.

"Come, my good sister, we still have a lot to discuss."

Elizabeth's eyes were bright as colors have returned to her eyes after finding who she had been missing. She pulled both Amelia and Leon by the hand as they returned to her personal courtyard. She was a tea connoisseur. Their previous discussion on tea was not over yet.

Amelia wanted to discuss the matters of the capital, but perhaps, there was nothing to worry about… The foundation of the royal family was immeasurably deep and there was many things she have yet to learn.

Chapter 83 - The Mansion Was Raided

Outer palace, guest courtyard.

Pacing back and forward, Duke Ignis had a tint of impatience in his eyes. There were urgent matters to be discussed with the Queen, but they had not been summoned to meet the Queen and his wife had not returned since last night.

"You need to calm down, Ignis. How about you sit and enjoy some tea with me instead of pacing back and forward?" Robert said as he sat by the stone table and enjoyed a cup of freshly brewed tea. His expression was calm like still water without any ripples.

"Calm? How can I be calm? You have seen it for yourself. The 4 great families have rebelled. Just one Weld family, already have a peak level expert. Who knows if the other 3 families have their own as well? We need to devise a plan to quell this rebellion quickly before it gets out of hand. How can you be so calm in such a serious situation?"

Ignis can't help but blame his friend for his lack of care or awareness when the capital is practically a mess and the people are suffering.

"Well… I must admit that the 4 families are planning to rebel, but to say that they have already rebelled is incorrect. After all, they only attacked us and not the royal family. At most, it can be considered a conflict between noble families. Also, don't you still have a very powerful force back at your steam tower? Anyway… if you can leave this place, then be my guest."

Robert shrugged his shoulders lackadaisically.

"Ugh… right…"

Ignis became dejected at the reminding of their current predicament and threw in the towel. He sat down on an empty stone seat and pour himself some tea in low spirits.

Last night, they had already attempted to leave the courtyard, but they were stopped by the palace guards. They were further forced to undergo a blood test and was forbidden to leave the courtyard until the results came out.

The reason wasn't made clear to them, which caused the Duke to easily lose his temper and resort to forceful means. However, he had a rude awakening that he was no match for the palace guards in both strength and numbers. Without the strength to resist, they could only comply and stay inside the guest courtyard obediently.

The security of the palace was unexpectedly tight and packed with powerful awakeners. Since when were 9th step experts common like cabbages?

Ignis couldn't understand what the Queen was thinking. With such a mighty force, why does she continue to let the corrupted nobles run rampant outside? Does she not care about her people? And if they had such a force guarding the palace in the past then how would the tragedy of the royal family ever come to pass?

He had forgotten that the Queen had shut herself and the palace from the outside. If it weren't for Amelia's close relationship with the Queen, then they would even be able to step foot in the palace. It's been many years since he last saw his sworn brother.

Duke Ignis mulled over his thoughts as he poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. his eyes widened and shot them at Robert.

"Isn't this my wife's herbal tea!?"

"Ah yes… I kind of borrowed it from the car before we left…"

"Borrowed? Are you going to spit it back out after you're done?" Ignis glared at him, but secretly commended Robert's dexterity for being able to sneak the teapot out unnoticed.

"Hahaha…" Robert's calmness broke with an awkward laugh.

"Never mention this matter to Amelia." Ignis whispered with a serious look after shifting his eyes left and right with caution.

Since the deed was done, he must enjoy as much as he can. His wife would blame him either way.

"Naturally." Robert nodded. It goes without saying. He wasn't interested in looking for trouble. The 2 came to a mutual understanding and enjoyed their tea quietly.

…

"The results are all green. You all are free to roam the outer palace. However, unless the Queen has ordered, you still cannot enter the inner palace." A palace guard came and reported to them.

"Why are these procedures needed, sir?" Duke Ignis spoke with a respectful tone. He no longer felt any superiority. His strength and status were a joke to these palace guards. The repeated setbacks had humbled him.

Seeing how respectful Ignis was, the palace guard found it hard to ignore his question.

"It is to guard against the enemy. That's all I can say."

The palace guard went to resume his duties after leaving behind those brief words. Ignis and Robert were puzzled.

Enemy? What kind of enemy require sampling their blood? Could they camouflage or disguise themselves as humans?

The palace seems to be hiding a big secret from the public.

…

"My Lord! I've come bearing bad news!" Sebastian suddenly barged into the courtyard urgently.

"Speak."

"We have discovered that the mansion had been raided, my Lord."

"Any casualties?" Ignis raised an eyebrow at the news.

"None, my Lord. The enemy must've raided when we were out." Sebastian speculated.

"Oh, we good then. What is the problem?" Ignis said nonchalantly.

"The training manual in the secret room was taken, my Lord…"

Sebastian was taken aback by the lack of concern in his Lord's tone.

"That's even better! It's good that they took it! Hahaha!" Duke Ignis laughed wildly.

"M-My Lord! How can that be good!? That is your family's secret training manual!" Sebastian stressed with wide eyes. He had an urge to rip his hair out due to frustration. How can the Lord not care about such an important matter? Has the world gone mad or has he gone mad!?

"Hahaha… You don't need to worry about this matter. Nothing important was lost." Ignis chuckled mysteriously.

His low spirits were lifted immediately. The secret room did have a training manual placed there, but it was not his family's training method; the [Lancaster's Great Fiery Breathing Technique]. The manual taken away was a byproduct of his attempt to revise and improve the [Lancaster's Profound Fiery Breathing Technique]. Although he had failed to improve the technique, it was still a masterpiece in its own right. The effects would be devastating, should the person attempt to learn his self-created technique.

"As you wish, my Lord." Sebastian complied in blind faith. If his Lord said there was nothing to worry about, then there is nothing to worry about.

…

In a dark and secluded location of the Upper North District, two figures were having their secret meeting.

"The task was completed with ease, my Lord." Alf reported as he handed over the manual, he had successfully taken from the Lancaster mansion.

Lord Weld took the manual and briefly glanced over its name and introduction with his dark eyes. Since the time he was forced to escape from Kasif, his aura has grown even more sinister and deathly. His existence started to seem less human and more demonic.

"Good. You have done well. With this [Ignis's Dominating Inner Obliteration Technique], we can train a whole army of powerful fire-users." Lord Weld said with a raspy voice. Although, the name of the technique was strange, Lord Weld did not pay it too much attention. The name was trivial and could be changed. What was important was that the manual was a breathing technique.

Breathing techniques allowed awakeners to speed up the natural process of refining elements into essence to increase their cultivation. Each noble family had their own unique breathing technique, but it was evidently trash compared to the Duke's and Royalty's breathing technique.

"Where are Lord Gregory and the others, my Lord?"

The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped at the mention of Gregory. Lord Weld wore a frosty countenance as silent rage burned inside him. The night prior, Lord Weld did not escape far when he realized that no one chased him. As such, he hid nearby and waited for his reinforcements to arrive, but even after waiting until the dawn of day, reinforcements never came.

"They're all dead! Let's go. We will pay the 3 family a visit. Hmph!" Lord Weld said coldly as he stowed away the manual in his clothes.

Lord Weld did not know the extent of Kasif's full strength. He still mistakenly believed that they stood a chance, had the forces of the three other families arrived in time.

If they could not give him a good reason for not showing up, he sees no need to remain in the alliance now that he has the [Ignis's Dominating Inner Obliteration Technique]. Hmm… there was really something off about the name of the technique, but he could not put a finger on it…

…

Upper West District, Grey mansion courtyard.

"Sure enough, you all are still here. Care you explain why none of you showed up?" Lord Weld said with repressed anger.

The other three Lords sat on their stone thrones with deep gloomy thoughts… There were several heads piled together into a small mountain by their feet.

Chapter 84 - What Lies Underneath The Palace

"This is why."

Lord Esmond kicked one of the heads by his feet towards Lord Weld. The head rolled and smeared his shoes with its half-dried bloody texture.

Being a water-user, Lord Weld was the epitome of hygiene. He washed the smudge off his shoe at first notice with a frown. But no matter how much he washes himself; he would never be able to wash the smell of blood off his hands.

"And what is this?" Lord Weld asked with a low voice. He was displeased with Lord Esmond's action. Not only could he not garner any information out of the decapitated head of some unknown figure, his shoe was also soiled. Although he washed it off, the smell may stick and add to what he already has.

"The plan was compromised. These sneaky rats are obviously well trained in nimble and stealth arts and were not weak. It was by chance that we were able to catch them spying on us. We can only assume that they belong to the either Duke's forces or the Royal faction itself. Either way, it could only mean that our plan had been compromised and to proceed with it was. You should have received the retreat message long ago."

Lord Esmond explained.

"Retreat message? Hmph! I've received no such things!! Don't you all think it's too late to retreat without losses once the battle had started!? It is too late to turn back now! We are now in open conflict with the Royal faction and will soon be labelled as rebels! We must act soon and succeed

Lord Weld roared furiously. Just thinking about his tremendous loss filled him with great fury. Fortunately, he still has a grandson to continue the family lineage. Otherwise, he would have really gone crazy and attack them.

"You didn't get the message? Those fallen nobles are so fucking useless! They had one job and they couldn't even do it right. But it explains why you have only arrived now." Lord Grey commented coldly.

"Hmph! These fallen nobles are just a bunch of boneless chickens! They talk about their loyalty to the alliance, but when the time comes to show it, they all cower and run away at the most crucial moments. The way I see it, they were always part of the Royal faction and were trying to worm their way back into the Queen's good graces." Lord Esmond added.

"Enough talking about those flip-floppers!"

Lady Harriet, who had been staying quietly all this time, finally spoke coldly. She could not hide the disdain she held for men.

"A bunch of old geezers talking about useless crap. We should be focusing on how to deal with the Royal faction! Now that the Duke's side have entered the palace, they are untouchable. Unless we want to push forward our plans and decide everything in one frontal assault on the palace, I suggest we find an alternative solution to deal with them."

"Hmph! Old hag, you're not good either! Isn't the solution painfully obviously? If we can't fight them inside the palace, can't we just force them out to fight?" Lord Esmond scorned.

"Who are you calling an Old hag!? If you're so great, why don't you go ahead and tell us how we can force them out?" Lady Harriet rebuked. She was a lady. She might be aged but being called old hag was unacceptable.

Her words were immediately met with contemptuous looks from both Lord Esmond and Lord Grey. Only Lord Weld frowned in thought, while listening to the three of them talk. It was apparent that they did not try to sabotage him, but the fallen nobles. He was no longer angry at the three families as his anger was redirected.

"The answer is obvious. If we just start killing people openly, razing buildings to the ground and setting fire to the whole capital, they would have no choice but to come out to stop us. The Queen without her iron fortress would be much easier to cope with. Unfortunate, she still has the Duke and Duchess by her side, making the upcoming battle a tough one." Lord Grey took the chance to explained before Lord Esmond could.

Listening to this point, Lord Weld's frown deepened.

"No, we don't stand a chance unless we find more helpers. They still have another unknown 9th step expert among their ranks. I was forced to flee due to his appearance." Lord Weld recalled.

"Is that true? We weren't the only one hiding ourselves? The Royal faction had hid themselves well… but where can we find capable helpers to aid our cause? We don't have much time left…"

The four great families have yet to realize the immensity of the earth and the measure of their opponent's strength. They were just frogs at the bottom of a well, looking up at a narrow sky. Their plots and schemes were nothing but a joke to the eyes of those who are truly strong like Queen Elizabeth.

Their ambitions were doomed to never succeed. But due to their ignorance, the addition of another expert did not sway their determination by much.

There was only shock and desperation caused by the bomb-like news, Lord Weld dropped on them. They have yet to give up, for giving up means accepting their deaths. Their lifespans were reaching the limits of how much their secret method could extend it by.

Where in Crawford Kingdom, could they find another 9th step expert to help them? General marquis Hendrick was guarding the west and had no interest in the matters of the capital. Otherwise, they would have been able to convince him to join their alliance long ago.

"There is one person that comes to mind." Lord Weld suddenly mentioned.

"Are you talking about Sir Zagan of the Valaran Kingdom?"

Their eyes lit up as the same person all came to mind.

To them, Sir Zagan was a person of immeasurable depth and worthy of utmost respect. Not only was he a powerful awakener, he was also greatly knowledgeable in human history and ancient ruins.

They had once entered an ancient ruin belonging to the Valaran Kingdom together and made great gains. During their breaks, they would converse with Sir Zagan and learnt deeper history and secrets regarding their own kingdom.

The greatest treasure to ever by uncovered from an ancient ruin was none other the transcendent-grade technique, the Hero King left behind for his descendants.

Aldrich Crawford was no genius, but he had a great fortuitous encounter to uncover the technique from an ancient ruin and allowed himself to stand out among all early awakeners to rise to power.

From the ancient ruins, it was clear that history of awakeners existed for a far longer period than the start of the great cataclysm that changed the world.

As for the location of that ancient ruin, it was precisely underneath the capital, but the only entry point was located within the palace.

Should people attempt to dig into underground ancient ruin from any other point, they would find themselves in a large insect nest and be attacked endlessly.

The 4 great family naturally lust for the royal family's transcendent-grade breathing technique. But if they could not get it, exploring the large underground ruin to find a suitable transcendent-grade technique was their next best hope to breakthrough and greatly extend their lifespan.

"Yes. Luckily for us, Sir Zagan had been staying in the nearby Rainwallow city for the last couple of years and is only a few hours' drive away."

"That's great! We will organize our forces, while you make haste to Rainwallow city and ask for his help." Lord Esmond immediately designated Lord Weld to the job.

His expression darkened immediately. He understood the hidden meaning behind Lord Esmond's words, which were like a jab in his sore spot. His people were all dead, so they chose him to go.

"Hmph! Let's go, Alf!" Lord Weld stomped his foot and walked away.

Alf, who stood behind him quietly the whole time, followed obediently.

Some distance away from the Grey's mansion in a secluded alley, Lord Weld stopped.

"I'm entrusting you with this technique. Go find a fresh batch of loyal servants for the Weld family and start training them immediately, while I make the trip to Rainwallow city alone.

"Yes, my Lord." Alf accepted the task without hesitation, but some thoughts swirled in his mind. "M-My lord, is it okay if I abolish my cultivation to also train in the technique?"

Steward Alf was already at the 6th step, but he had no hopes of advancing further. Without the resources invested, it would be too difficult. He had hopes for the Lancaster's technique even if he must start over.

"Are you certain?" Lord Weld looked at him deeply.

It was unknown whether Alf could reawaken as a fire-user, but it was a chance he was willing to take.

"Y-Yes." Alf answered with gritted teeth. He was prepared to stake it all on the chance to become a future powerhouse.

"Good. Since you have made your choice, then I will not stop you. Do not regret it. Go now and carry out your task." Lord Weld ordered.

"Yes, my Lord!"

Chapter 85 - Training A Bogus Technique

Rainwallow city was also known as the city of lumber and was situated on the borders of Extreme Misty Forest, 120 miles north of the Capital. It was a small city with a population of 10,000 but it was full of hustle and bustles with lumberjacks working their magic to fell forest trees, and maybe one day open a route to the sea in the far north. The difference between the state of the city and the Capital's Lower Districts were like night and day. It was so vast, it was like heaven and earth.

At the outskirts of Rainwallow city, Lord Weld arrived at the doorstep of a small cottage.

"Come in. The door is not locked."

A young voice spoke to him from behind the doors. Seeing that the other part had sensed his arrival before he could even knock on the door, Lord Weld was instilled with a deeper sense of respect towards the other person's ability.

"Sir Zagan." Lord Weld entered the cottage and greeted.

Behind the door was a room filled with opened books and papers scattered throughout the entire cottage. Sir Zagan did not raise his head to greet him but continued to read through his research papers instead. His appearance had not aged over the years and still retained his youthful look.

"Why have you come?" Sir Zagan asked after a short moment. He had skip the pleasantries and cut straight to the chase.

"I wonder if Sir Zagan is interested joining forces to overthrow the Crawford royalty to explore the underground ruins?" Lord Weld asked straightforwardly with a smile plastered on his face. Although Sir Zagan failed to greet him, Lord Weld did not seem to mind. In fact, he did not dare show any form of discontent when he has come to ask for a favor.

Sir Zagan appeared to be gentle and scholarly but he was far from what he made himself out to be. This was a person who could be smiling in one moment and kill people in the next. His outer appearance was a facade to hide his devious and wicked nature. His strength wasn't something Lord Weld could trifle with and the secrets of his youth wasn't something he dare look into. Lord Weld felt an invisible pressure on his mind and had the illusion that the other person could interfere with his thoughts to some degree.

Lord Weld was aware that coming to this person for help was the same as looking for help from the devil. However, nothing was more important than his waning life, even if it meant selling his soul to the devil. He was long aware that Sir Zagan had ulterior motives to sow seeds of chaos in the kingdom, when he taught them the origin of Aldrich Crawford's transcendent-grade breathing technique. He knew but didn't care, as the information was useful and he was more than willing to spearhead the chaos to achieve his goals.

"Oh? You have finally come to ask for my help." Sir Zagan said with keen interesting. "Tell me everything that had happened."

"Yes." Lord Weld answered obediently as if he was compelled to.

…

In the courtyard of the Weld's family, a batch of freshly recruited and untrained servants stood before steward Alf. The recruitment and filtering went quickly and smoothly. The commoners were like an open book; easy to read. It did not matter if the Weld family was the source of their problem or the root of all evil, it would not stop the desperate ones from becoming servants of the Weld family to better their life when their carrot is offered. Depraved or not, when faced with choices of life and death, the common choice would always be life. Their morals mean nothing to them if they could eat their fill.

Alf had no doubt that they would listen to his orders obediently. Since time did not wait for them, Alf did not teach them discipline and jump straight to teaching them [Ignis's Dominating Inner Obliteration Technique]. He had read through the breathing technique multiple times and already memorized the content. The manual was on him, but he did not need to refer to it when teaching.

"Alf, who are these people and where is my father?" Cayden arrived home and noticed the new faces immediately due to their malnourished body and terrible stench. Although Alf had them fed and washed beforehand, it wasn't something easily changed in one session.

"Young master, you are home." Alf ordered the new servants to practice the technique on their own before greeting his young master and answering his question.

"Master is dead along with the rest of the servants. These are the new servants I have recruited under the Old Master's instructions."

"Father is what?"

Cayden was rooted on the spot at the breaking news. Cayden had no doubt in the authenticity of the news. Alf would not joke about his master's death. Cayden took a moment to grieve for his father, before his eyes turned sharp like drawn daggers. Evidently, he was good at controlling his emotions, otherwise he would not have been able to pull the wool over Edric's eyes.

"Who killed him?" Cayden questioned coldly. He did not grieve for long. It was more important to find out his father's killer for revenge.

"It was the Duke's side." Alf answered. He didn't personally witness it and only received the news from Lord Weld. They naturally assume Kasif was on the Duke's side since he intervened in their favor.

"Makes sense. What are they practicing? Doesn't seem like the normal breathing technique we have for servants." Cayden naturally noticed something different about their breathing technique. At the center of the courtyard was an intense campfire billowing towards the skies, while the servants surrounded it in meditative posture. He would not miss such an obvious sight.

"They are practicing the technique we have stolen from the Duke's home. This is the technique, Young Master." Alf handed over the breathing technique, before resuming watch over the new servants.

Seeing the new servants making progress and being able to start drawing the flames into their bodies, Alf became impatient. He had to start from ground zero if he wanted to practice the technique and would naturally be at the same starting point as the servants. Being the steward of the family, he did not want to fall behind the servants in cultivation.

"Young Master, please excuse this servant as he joins the new servants in practice. The Old Master has already given the approval."

Alf impatiently sat cross-legged by the fire and severed his connection to the earth seed with his will like severing off a limb. Steward Alf paled from the pain as the earth essence started to dissipate from his body, leaving behind a hollow seed.

An awakener's elemental seed was like their limb. They could control it however way they want, including but not limited to self-destructing and cutting their connection to their elemental law. Normally, no sane person would ever do such a thing, but for a brighter future, steward Alf had done exactly that.

After the dissipation process ended, he commenced practice in the breathing technique without delay. While this was happening, Cayden had taken a quick read through the physical copy of the technique in his hands with a frown. Why is the name so strange? Cayden had his doubts.

Without the intimacy of the fire laws to grant its users heighten resistance, Alf and the servants had to endure the searing flames they drew into their body, through their pores, their meridians and towards their mind to be refined in fire essence. Alf was amazed that the servants were able to endure the searing pain for so long. The path to natural awakening was naturally not as easy as taking an awakening pill is what Alf thought.

"Huu…Huu…Huuu!"

"Eeek-aak-eek!"

A chain of ancient gorilla-like and monkey-like noises interrupted his thoughts. Alf opened his eyes to see what was going on, only to see total chaos among the group of servants. The new servants were no longer practicing the breathing technique and were practicing being monkeys and gorillas instead. They pranced around, beating and scratching their chest, while making all sorts of screech, chatter and gibber noises.

"W-What is going on? What the hell are you all doing!?" Alf and Cayden both widened their eyes in shock to the chaotic scene taking place.

"Huu… Huu… HUUU!"

"Stop it! Are you a f*cking idiot!?" Alf grabbed at one of the servants, but they reacted strongly to his grab as they pranced up and down violently in resistance.

"Huu… Huu… HUUU!!"

Boom… It was like Cayden had just receive divine enlightenment as he closed the manual and reread the name on the cover.

"Igris's… Dominating… Inner… Obliteration…Technique…?"

"I…D…I…O…T!? IDIOT!?? F*CK!" Cayden cursed out. "Motherf*cker, this is a bogus technique!"

"Alf, you've all been training to become idiots!"

"W-W-W-What did you say, Young Master?" Alf stuttered hard as he looked back at his young master. Did the bogus technique already affect him this much? He already destroyed his cultivation… there was no way he could regain it… Color drained from his face and the light in his eyes started to dim.

"You don't understand what I said?"

Cayden was ticked when he thought Alf couldn't understand his words.

"You've been frying your brains into idiocy, understand!? These servants are all brain-dead!" Cayden roared as he pointed the monkey-like servants.

"Huu…huu… huuu!?"

His finger pointing seem to signal one of them over as they tried to pounce on him.

"F*ck off!"

A vein popped out on his forehead as Cayden kicked the thing flying… He wondered how he was going to salvage the situation.

Chapter 86 - Visiting Father

Lord Weld was weary from the long day. When he walked in on the chaos of his courtyard, he felt his head hurt and had the urge to walk away.

"Grandfather." Cayden greeted.

"What happened?" Lord Weld suppressed his frustrations and asked.

The servants had gone beyond the point the monkey crazy stage and moved onto the self-mutilating stage as they scratched themselves like rabid dogs. It was as if they were being roasted from the inside.

A servant on the verge of collapse, issued a painful roar as flames shot out from his 7 orifices, before dropping dead.

"Not good. He is already toasted." Lord Weld commented with a flash of disappointment. He had high hopes in cultivating an army of super soldiers, but that hope was crushed before the first step could even be made.

"This must a trap prepared by the Duke…"

At the same time, somewhere in the outer palace, Duke Ignis suddenly received a sudden jolt to his mind and said, "Sigh… sometimes I fear my own creation" as he looked up towards the sky.

Without any surprises, the rest of the servants will also be dead sooner or later, if nothing was to be done. Since they were useless alive and better off dead, Lord Weld had other plans for their body.

"Go inside, I will deal this."

Lord Weld sent his grandson and the listless Alf into mansion, before redirecting his focus.

Some time later, Lord Weld was found underneath the Weld's mansion in his secret chamber with mountains of bones filling half the area, while a horrendous and nauseous stench permeated the air.

The pack of servants were brought into the underground chamber and dismembered. Screams and wails echoed throughout the chamber, but it fell on deaf's ear.

Lord Weld wore a sinister look as he drained every ounce of their blood into an empty blood pond, before he, himself entered the blood pond with a disgusted look.

No matter how many times the process has been repeated, bathing in the blood of others was filthy. However, it was a necessary step to extend his life through his secret technique; the [Undying Blood Technique]. The blood essence containing the residual life force of the servants were gathered, before coagulating into a blood pill.

Lord Weld swallowed the blood pill and absorbed all the life force to prolong his life by an addition year.

A moment later, Lord Weld exited the blood pond with disappointment. The name was grand, but the effect was not worth mentioning. The effect diminishes with each session.

…

Inner Palace, King's bedchamber.

The king of Crawford Kingdom continues to lay in vegetative state as he was hooked up to a set of advanced medical equipment far beyond what the people of Crawford Kingdom could produce or even remotely understand. All the advanced medical equipment what salvaged from an ancient ruin below the palace.

There were many ancient texts alongside it, but since it was in an ancient language, none could understand its meaning or the usage of the medical equipments. Only through countless attempts of trial and error, were they able to fine its general usage.

The medical equipment measured the king's heartbeat and brain activity, while also providing nutrients to sustain the body.

Thanks to the existence of such technology, the king was able to survive all these years while in comatose.

Leon stood outside the bedchamber with a pale but calm face. On his body was a fresh set of silken white-gold royal clothing with coiling dragon markings wrapping the Royal Crawford emblem. It was the most expensive set of clothing he had ever worn in his 17 years on Gaia.

Originally, he should be recuperating, but he felt like the matter of king should not be delayed, thus he requested to see the king right after he finished washing up and changed into his new set of clothes. If he could help awaken the king, he should. The kingdom need their ruler.

It was clear that his mother was not one with the heart to rule, but it was even more so for him, who have set his mind to pursuing the peak of cultivation to avenge his late father.

He might not show it, but the desire for revenge is constantly raging fiercely deep inside his inner self. It was only brought under control after his dual personality achieved harmony and gave his mental state equilibrium between calmness and rage.

But it was not foolproof. Like any human, outside factors can affect his emotions and when he becomes anger, the scale is tipped as rage is leaked causing him to become even angrier than he should be like adding oil to fire.

Leon breathed out some turbid air and adjusted his mentality. The person behind the door was his father of this world.

"Are you ready to see your father?" Elizabeth asked, noticing his hesitation at the door.

"Yes, mother." Leon answered calmly. His emotions shouldn't be affected anymore than his meeting with his mother… is what he thought.

The moment he opened the door and laid eyes on the king, his heart fiercely shook. The king shared the exact splitting image as his father from the Divine Realm!

"Father!" Leon blurted out and rush over to his bedside. "Father, it's me, your child is still alive!"

Tears inadvertently started flowing on their own as he tried to shake the king's body awake. Elizabeth was surprised by her son's intense reaction.

"Your father will not be able to hear you." Elizabeth said with sadness in her eyes. She had been by her husband's side each day for 17 years, watching his sleeping face with hopes that one day, he would suddenly wake up.

"You're right, mother."

Leon wiped his tears and stood up as he studied the king's facial features. He had lost himself just now. He had forgotten that his father, the Divine Medicine King's soul had dissipated into [True Death] and was gone for good… but how can there be two exact people!?

That is not possible! It was impossible for two different people to share the exact same look unless they were blood related twins or used special disguising technique to alter their look.

Thinking along such reasons, Leon's hands move into action right away as he pulled and stretch the king's sleeping face.

"If your father could be woken up like that, he would have woken up long ago…"

Elizabeth misunderstood his actions for pulling the king's face, but it saved him from an explanations.

"Err… Your child was just checking…"

There was no disguise mask. The king's face could not be anymore real… but that brings him to another question; in what universe could there be two people with the same natural look? Or better yet, where was he?

Leon really wanted to breaking through the world's atmosphere and start searching the stars to know where he was, but without reaching the Divine state, it was a pipe dream. He has yet to be able to fly, let alone survive the void in outer space. He can only suck it up and double his efforts in divine cultivation.

Leon put his thoughts aside and reached for the king's wrist to feel his pulse. The fancy medical equipment was ignored as he did not understand it was.

"My child… what are you doing?" Elizabeth was puzzled by her son's strange action. It's not that she had never seen such set of action on another person before, but her son is only 17 years. How skilled could his medical expertise be?

"I'm feeling father's pulse."

Hearing son's words confirmed her suspicion, but she adapted a wait and see as she wanted see how good her child's medical expertise was. She already learnt about Leon's strength and feats from Amelia. She found it hard to believe that he was also proficient in medicine.

While it wasn't an amazing feat for royalty to reach the 5th step at such young age, it was incredible outside the palace.

Especially for Leon, who reached such level without backing and resources in such a lawless place like the Lower District. Indeed, lions were the king of the jungle even if it was a cub. Her child was destined to rise above the commoners without the help of others. She wondered if it was a blessing to have named him Leon.

A moment later, Leon retracted his senses with a frown.

"Can your father be treated?"

"I haven't thought of a way to awaken father just yet."

His father's body was in perfect condition, but his soul was damaged. A pill that could heal the soul is required.

"Oh? There's hope?" Elizabeth was surprised that the answer wasn't a definite no.

"Yes. I have to go back and think about it."

Leon answered.

He hadn't recovered his memories for long but he already encountered two illness he couldn't treated with his own skills. He felt useless as an ancient doctor hailing from the Divine Realm.

But with the Book of Life in hand, any illness that can be treated with medicine is no illness at all… It was time for him to study the medical knowledge stored in the Book of Life.

Chapter 87 - Soul Mending Pill

Leon bid farewell and headed to the private room arranged for him as his mother stayed to accompany his father.

The room was simple and had a hint of both nostalgia and foreignness. One glance was enough to know that the room had not been in use for years, but it was regularly cared for.

The room had all the essentials items; tables and chairs, cups, teapot, candles, wardrobe, couch, but most importantly a… where's the bed?

Leon eyes glued blankly on the cot upon opening the door.

"Your highness? Is the room not to your liking?-" The young palace maid accompanying Leon stared inside and gawked at the cot. "I-I'm sorry, your highness, I will arrange a different room for you."

"There's no need. I like this room."

Leon waved her off.

"Y-Yes… then please enjoy your rest, your highness."

The palace maid bowed and retreated awkwardly.

Leon entered the room and locked the doors after him. he understood why the room felt both foreign and nostalgic. The room belonged to him. However, it was destroyed in the rebellion, before it was rebuilt in the same arrangement.

He didn't mind not having a proper bed since he would not be sleeping anyway. Sleeping was a luxury he couldn't afford and was a waste of time.

Leon sat on the flat wooden couch to in meditative posture and closed his eyes. He opened the Book of Life and sank his divine sense inside.

The Book of Life brought his consciousness into an empty world with bright stellar skies. His feet landed on a flat white and pristine ground that seemed to stretch for eternity. The white world was inestimably larger than the world space, but the knowledge he sought was nowhere to be found.

"The Book of Life was said to have recorded all the medical knowledge the Universe has to offer… but there's nothing too be found here…"

Just as Leon thought there was nothing, thousands of bookshelves suddenly rose from the original flat white ground all around him and shot towards the skies like skyscrapers. Each bookshelf was densely packed with books and the number of books could easily reach into the tens of millions of hundreds of millions. Seriously, there was too many to count.

"I stand corrected." Leon's mouth twitched at the sight.

"If these bookshelves were outside, any casual wind would enough to blow it over and rain books all over the capital…" Leon casually mused. He swore he never seen such towering bookshelves in his life.

How is he supposed to browse the books near the top? Is he expected to climb the bookshelf? Why can't the bookshelves be of standard height?

The thousands of skyscraper bookshelves suddenly dropped back down until it became 2-meter bookshelves the moment the thought entered in his head.

"Wow… that's very convenient. One thought to move the world. Interesting! I get it. The Book of Life is binded to my soul, making them one entity. This allows my thoughts to be easily sensed by the Book of Life and issued as commands to the world. That is to say… my will is like the mandate of heaven in here."

Leon felt his ego inflated at the discovery and feeling of omnipotence. The bookshelves continue to rise and fall as he played with the ability for a bit, before realizing its usage was limited and like an integrated search system. It's not like he could summon the winds and rains at his whims.

"Cough* I can't let it get to my head… Let's see what good pill recipes there are."

Leon coughed awkwardly. He made a casual grab at of the books in the bookshelf and gave it a quick scan.

[18 Ways to Refine the Divine Star Opening Pill]?

Leon shook his head and placed the book back. Even in his heyday, he had only reached the Divine Origin realm, the lowest of the Divine state, and an entire realm below the Divine Star Opening.

In order to reach the Divine state, he must subsequently break through the 5 Mortal realms; Body Tempering, Energy Condensation, Revolving Core, Heaven Ascension and Void realm before reaching Divine state.

For now, the Divine state was too far away from him. He needs to find a pill that could repair the king's soul and awaken him quickly, so he could focus on his own cultivation.

Thinking along the lines of soul-related pills, all the bookshelves disappeared into the ground before new ones rose again. The number of new bookshelves were significantly less than before, but they still numbered in the hundreds.

Leon mentally added; below tier 2 spirit pill and healing-related soul pills only.

The number of bookshelves disappeared into the ground once more before a single new one rose. However, a single bookshelf still holds hundreds of books.

"To think there would still be this many books related to tier-1 soul-healing pills…"

Leon sighed at the vastness and profundity of alchemy knowledge. There were still so many books remaining after narrowing down his search. There was no end to learning.

The pill recipes in the remaining books all produced the same effect. It just had a variation of core spirit herbs, supplementary herbs and methods of refining.

Leon carefully picked out one of the thinner books; [9 Ways to Refine Tier-1 Soul Mending Pill].

Leon was unable to estimate the time it would take to read all the books in the white world. 10,000 years might still be too short to read everything in the Book of Life. Just herbs and pill recipe books only were enough to drown him, and they only covered two topics. There were many topics related to the art of healing such as; how to discern illnesses, how to treat illnesses and techniques for treating illnesses were just one of the many other topics recorded in the Book of Life.

Even Leon himself does not dare to claim he had mastered all the basics after seeing the vast amount of knowledge stored. There wasn't enough lifespan in a human to read everything.

How can he comprehend the knowledge faster?

Poof… the [9 Ways to Refine Tier-1 Soul Mending Pill] book suddenly broke down into particles of light and disappeared into his head like a stream of information.

It took only a single moment for Leon to digest all the information, before his eyes lit up with an excited glint. All the information in the book was able to be transmitted to his brain directly. He could recall the information with picture-clear clarity. The heavenly treasure reacts to his thoughts so swiftly it almost seemed sentient.

"How convenient! Maybe I should move the rest of the books while I'm at it."

Just as Leon was about to follow through with what he said, he suddenly stopped and started sweating profusely.

"That was a very dangerous thought… There's a limit to how much information the brain could take in at once… wouldn't I stuff myself to death if I try move everything at once?"

"Luckily, I realized in time, otherwise I would have died a dog's death."

Leon shook his head. Like the old adage goes; don't bite off more than you can chew.

"Aish… It's like borrowing books from the library…"

Leon picked out a few more soul-related books until he felt his mind was loaded, before leaving to check on the world space.

"Good. The life energy is slowly but surely returning. I can soon plant more herbs."

Leon examined the state of the world space. It was recovering at a very slow rate. The spirit energy in the world was just too thin for the heavenly treasure to convert enough life energy, but Leon remained optimistic. At least his [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] did not require spirit energy to practice.

Leon wager he was even able to practice the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] due to the thinness of spirit energy in the world. But even with such little spirit energy present, he still nearly failed. Although spirit energy was malleable, it didn't belong to any of 5 element and most likely interfered with the fusion of 5 elements by breaking its balance.

Otherwise, he really couldn't explain why he was the only one able to practice it. He had nothing special about him compared to the geniuses of the Divine Realm.

…

Leon proceeded to check on his herbs. The Tier-1 Soul Mending Pill required Tier-1 spirit herbs for both supplementary and main ingredients. He happened to have all the supplementary herbs needed, but the most important ingredient; the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus was missing.

Supplementary herbs could be substituted, but the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus could not and was irreplaceable. Without it, it was impossible to refine the Soul Mending Pill. It was the only herb with soul-healing properties. All other supplementary herbs are there to complement and enhance the soul-healing property.

The 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus was a special mutated plant that only grows in cold and misty areas dense in yin energy. With such special conditions, Leon doubt the world space would be able to cultivate one on its own.

Hopefully the royal treasury will have everything he needed.

Chapter 88 - Insect World

Leon felt that he had been at 5th layer tempered body for too long and it was time to push for the next level.

The incident with the Deadeye spiders had forced him to use every ounce of his strength and allowed him to stabilize his level. It was apparent that doing battle was the fastest way to stabilizing one's cultivation.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

When Leon's consciousness exited the world space and his senses returned to the outside, he was startled by the furious banging on his doors. His mother's emotional voice could be heard from outside.

"My son open up! Why aren't you answering? Do you not want your mother anymore?"

Leon quickly scurried to his feet to open the locked doors.

"Mother, why are you banging the door so furiously?"

"I knocked several times, but you didn't answer… so I thought you didn't want this mother anymore…*sniff*…" Elizabeth said as she wiped her teary eyes.

Leon was dumbfounded. It didn't have to be that exaggerated, does it? Didn't his mother say she was going to accompany his father?

For the past 17 years, the queen would spend most of her days watching her husband's sleeping face silently and absentmindedly.

How long has it been since he left? half an hour? An hour? It wasn't that long at all.

"How could that be? I was in a state of deep cultivation and was unable to hear your knocking… but weren't you planning to watch over father , mother?" Leon asked with confusion.

"Hahaha… I've been staying with your old man for 17 years, but he never bothered to wake up to see me. Mother would rather spend more time with you." Elizabeth said.

If the king heard his wife's words, he would have felt so wronged and protested with "You think I want this!?" If he could wake up, he would.

But even if the king were to awaken, his wife would still choose to spend her time with their son. Their son was more important than him!

This was the tragedy of becoming a father. Their position of importance in the hearts of their wives are replaced by their child as they are pushed to second place. All their love and care are poured into their child.

"Right, Mother, I wish to visit the royal treasury. Is it possible?" Leon suddenly asked.

"Of course, it is! Come, mother will take you there! You can take anything you fancy. Later, mother will also teach you cultivation, how does that sound?"

Elizabeth said excitedly. She was more than happy to fulfill his wishes.

Leon had no doubt that if he wanted the whole treasury, his mother might really give him everything.

She neither asked him why he wanted to visit the treasury nor how he cultivated, despite probably having a mountain of questions to ask. Perhaps she would not take the initiative to ask as she did not want to impose on his secrets. She was being very considerate.

There were things he couldn't explain truthfully, but he wasn't planning to conceal his knowledge and talents. His mother will learn about his alchemy skills eventually.

Leon studied his mother's face that did not conceal her love and care. He noticed a trace of guilt in her eyes wondered why.

It suddenly hit him that she must be ridden with self-blame for taking so long to find him.

When Duke Agni rebelled and his flames engulfed the palace, many buildings were reduced to ashes.

Elizabeth thought she had lost him to the fire, thus she never bothered to searching for him and shut herself inside the palace after removing all dissidents.

He, who was still alive, grew up in a deteriorating environment under her negligence.

However, it wasn't all that bad. He had his foster parents, but who did his mother have? He was missing from her side, who she thought died in the fire and his father was in coma. She was grieving for a whole 17 years.

He thought the feels from the emotional reunion was over, but he was overwhelmed with emotion once more.

"It's been hard on you, mother." Leon sighed.

Elizabeth found herself tearing up again.

"No, not at all." Elizabeth wiped her budding tears and put on a brilliant smile. "All is well now that you are here."

While following his mother to the treasury, there was some doubts he finally decided to voice.

"Mother, there's something I don't understand. Why do we keep our powers hidden and not teach the people about awakener cultivation?"

Leon thought the people should at least know how to awakener without pills.

"That is something your Ancestor decided to enforce on his descendants. With the limit of resources, it was better to cultivate a small group of powerful awakeners than to have a whole flock of weak ones."

Elizabeth answered patiently and allowed Leon time to muse over her words.

"But even if we have a group of powerful awakeners, what good is for humanity if they hole up in the palace and not contribute to the frontier?"

Leon found the Ancestor's reason to be ridiculous. Wasn't beast meat also a type of resource beneficial to awakeners? There were so many beasts beyond the walls, it was enough to support their entire race many times over. They could be reclaiming back the lands they lost.

"Do you know why the palace was built here of all places and what lies underneath it?"

Elizabeth chuckled at her son's question and gave him a question of her own. He had the mentality of a hero, but the problem was much bigger than he thinks.

"I don't. Please enlighten me, mother." Leon was surprised by her question.

"Beneath the palace is an ancient ruin, full of hidden treasures and lost technology still waiting to be uncovered and studied." Elizabeth explained before continuing with a serious expression, "However, it is also part of an underground world of swarming with insects. These creatures are weak, but their numbers are more terrifying than the beasts. If they ever escape to the surface, the consequences would be too dire to be imagined. The palace was built on top of the ancient ruin to seal off the entrance of underground world. The efforts to clearing out these vermins had never ceased, but their numbers never show sign of dwindling."

Leon was dumfounded by the information his mother dumped on him. So, they have been battling on two fronts, but what about the demons? Were there no demons? The devouring parasites were also a type of insect. Could his guesses be wrong and that there were actually no demons rearing them?

Elizabeth did not explain too much to her son and just the general summary.

The underground world was immense and the deeper they venture, the stronger the insects found. The ancestors of the Crawford family have all ventured even deeper to explore the world, but they have never returned.

They could just bury the entrance, but it would mean giving up all the treasures and rare resources found inside. The levitation stones in airships and medical equipment in hospitals were just some of the items they have gained from the ancient ruins. There were also sun stones that are used to power the medical equipment.

"Don't think too much. These aren't things you need to worry about. Just let mother handle it." Elizabeth said.

"Yes, mother."

Humanity has too many problems they needed to face, and her son's strength wasn't strong enough to be involved. She would not allow any harm to befall him. He was her precious.

After listening to his mother, Leon understood why it was wise to withhold this type of information from the people. It would only induce mass panic among the normal commoners and cause them to flee the capital, while an ill-intentioned earth-user could create a disaster by opening a new entrance to the underground world elsewhere.

After some time, they arrived in front of a tall building guarded by two palace guards.

"Your Majesty." They greeted with fist-palm salute and stepped aside.

Elizabeth nodded to them coolly before producing a special key and inserted it into the keyhole on the thick iron door.

*Click* Complex noises of machinery were produced before the thick iron door to the royal treasury building unlocked and opened automatically.

The royal treasury had no windows and inside was total darkness. Leon was prepared to snap his fingers and produce some light, but his mother stopped him.

"You don't need to do that. Here, we have these, my son." Elizabeth picked a round stone and gave it a rub before continuing, "This is called a sun stone. It can absorb the solar energy from the sun to produce light. They are also the main power source for relics from the ancient ruins."

The royal treasury building had three floors and different type of items could be found on each floor. On the first floor, the sun stone shone brightly in Elizabeth's hand and illuminated brightly and allowed Leon to feast his eyes on all the items contained within.

"Anything you like, my son?"

Chapter 89 - Weapon Choice

Elizabeth wore a proud look and was brimming with energy as she started introducing the various types of metals to him. The room was littered with a range of both processed metals and raw ores. It was strange that there were no forged products like weapons and armor among these minerals. Leon wore a wry smile as he did not share her enthusiasm for metal. Herbs were the reason he came to the treasury.

"Mother, is there any herbs in the treasury?"

"Yes, all the herbs are stored on the second floor, but you should really listen to what your mother is saying. It's important to learn about these alloys as it will be useful for your metal-manipulation." Elizabeth educated her son. "With that said, look at this block of magisteel. Magisteel is a type of steel that has been fully tempered by essence energy and become energized. This greatly enhances its properties and have greater conductivity for our abilities."

Elizabeth continue to introduce other types of special metal such as black iron, pure silver, purple tungsten, gold essence, star meteorites and so on. Leon was forced to listen through his mother's enthusiastic introduction as she did not give him the opportunity to speak up.

It was no surprise that Elizabeth was able to awaken as a metal-user, despite hailing from a family of fire-user. She had such great passion for metal, and it was quite easy to judge as such, based on her appearance alone.

Elizabeth's body was decked out in metallic accessories of various colors . From top to bottom, she wore a crown, a pendant, pair of earrings, armlets, bracelets, rings, leglets and numerous ankle bracelets. She was further equipped with light armor pieces such as arm guards and shin guards. She was basically glittering in

Leon didn't doubt that these accessories worn by his mother served more purposes than just mere decoration from how she was describing the usage of metals.

"Yes, yes mother, I understand… then I will take some of these black irons and magisteel… but they still needed be crafted to become useful, no?" Leon wore a helpless expression. Although he wasn't interested, he still listened to his mother's words seriously.

He was rather surprised that his mother mentioned metal-manipulation. Although he believes he can achieve it in the future, but his mother shouldn't know about it. Perhaps, his mother knew something else he didn't that made her certain he could achieve metal-manipulation.

"Mm, what kind of weapons do you like? Mother will have someone forge it for you." Elizabeth nodded said excitedly.

His mother's fervor was like that of a salesperson about to make a successful sale, except everything was free. But he knew better than to take more than what was needed. If he did not need it, there was no reason to take it.

His status was no longer the same as before. He was now the prince of Crawford Kingdom. It would be no different to robbing his own house, if he were to take everything just for the sake of their high value.

"Your child would like a set of 36 traditional acupuncture needles and… a heavy spear." Leon decided on his weapon after much consideration.

He did not specialized in any particular weapon. This could be seen from his past battles, where he fought with swords, but would eventually condense it into something else with his ability. However, there was one thing in common from the times he had reshaped his weapon and that is they were longer weapons. Thus, he had deemed that a spear-type weapon would best choice for him.

Indeed, a doctor would need acupuncture needles for treatment but…

"You don't want to use a sword like your mother? Swords are the kings of weapons. Mother would also be able to teach you the way of the sword." Elizabeth tried to change his choice of weapon.

"The sword does not suit me, mother. I wish to find one that does, and I feel that the spear is the one." Leon shook his head. He had decided firmly on the spear.

He had used swords as his main weapon back in his past life, but it never did felt like the right weapon for him. Rather than forcing himself to use a weapon that didn't suit him, it was time to find one that did.

"That's fine. Swords are the king of weapons, but spears are the emperor of weapons. Since you have decided, mother will not continue to dissuade you. But with this type of weapon, mother will not be able to teach you anything. You will have to master the way of the spear on your own" Elizabeth said sternly, but there was no disappointment in her eyes.

She could see the budding warrior spirit in her son's eyes and a firm conviction to become strong. People with these traits will likely succeed if they remain unwavering and no mishaps befall them.

Elizabeth summoned her maid, Celia and instructed her to bring the materials to the best blacksmith in the kingdom and have him forge the needles and heavy spear for Leon. As the matters on the first floor concluded, Leon heaved a sigh of relief.

"Can we head up to the second floor now, mother?" He asked.

"Hahaha… my son is so impatient. Alright, let's head up." Elizabeth smiled. She was also curious to see what her son will do with all the herbs.

Leon would naturally be impatient. There was no way he could keep still after seeing the king's face. Although he knew it was impossible for his late father to have transmigrated with him, he still held onto this faint glimmer of hope that his father from both past and present life were one and the same. Thus, he wished to awaken the king as soon as possible to find his answer.

…

Before the cataclysm struck and brought forward an era of awakeners, there was no cultivation and people relied on honing skills with their weapon to become powerful. The most commonly use weapon was the sword, which they worshipped as the king of weapons due to its versatility. Even to the present era that allowed for awakening cultivation, awakeners continue to hone their sword by incorporating their abilities into their sword arts.

The world became increasing sophisticated in sword arts and techniques, but as for the development of awakening cultivation, not so much. This was like putting the cart before the horse, but it is what it is.

To begin with, awakening cultivation techniques weren't something easy to develop when awakening was something still new to the people and with all the awakeners keeping their techniques secret, it slows it will take thousands of years before the era of awakeners experience a boom.

…

Leon was surprised when he entered the second floor. With how messy the first floor was, he assumed the second floor would be no better. Contrary to his expectations, the second floor was very neat and organized. The herbs were all stored in drawers and cabinets, while the rarer and most precious ones were sealed in special rosewood and jade boxes.

The entire floor was filled with a heavy herbal fragrance that induces temporary dizziness in those unfamiliar with the smell of herbs and medicine. Elizabeth with her high cultivation and heighten senses, was particularly sensitivity to the smell when she first entered this floor in the past. Even now, the heavy herbal fragrance made her feel uncomfortable as her brows creased unnaturally. Glancing at her son, she was surprised that he was able to retain his composure, while he was examining the place.

Even though his senses weren't as sharp as her, it should still cause him some discomfort, right? Elizabeth thought but Leon gave her a greater sense of surprise in the next moment. Not only was Leon not fazed by the fragrance, he even took a big whiff of it!

Leon's eyes were closed as he took in the different herbal fragrances intermixed with each other in the air. A capable doctor or alchemist could easily rely on their sense of smell alone to discern the herbs, so much so that people began to refer to it as god's nose back in the Divine Realm. But of course, there are also others that call it dog's nose.

Leon's eyes snapped open with pleasant surprise after discerning all the herbal fragrance flooding the place. He didn't expect for there to be spirit herbs present. Normally, if a harvested spirit herb wasn't preserved well, their spirit energy would dissipate, losing all their magical properties and be reduced to ordinary herbs.

Unexpectedly, the royal family knew how to preserve spirit herbs well. He should stop looking down on the mortal world just because he hailed from the Divine Realm.

These spirit herbs were filled with spirit energy and would naturally boost a divine practitioner's cultivation if it were absorbed, but unfortunately he was no longer practicing the [Fiery God Manual] that require spirit energy but the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] that required energy of the 5 elements instead.

"How come you aren't bothered by the herbal fragrance, my son?" Elizabeth asked curiously. She was puzzled by his lack of discomfort towards the heavy smell.

Even if he was a self-proclaimed doctor, he shouldn't have had the opportunity to be in contact with so many herbs before, right?

"I'm also an alchemist, mother. I am no stranger to the plethora of herbs."

Leon answered, but his answer only made Elizabeth even more puzzled.