The Sacred Land

"So, what will it be?"

"A contract... very well, I am yours from this day onward."

"Good." Aerion attached a Contracted Profound Seal to the Ice Dragon and it did not reject, therefore becoming his. A mark appeared on the back of his hand as proof of this, however, Aerion found it quite unfitting. There was a far better place to store it.

Izanagi.

The Contracted Profound Seal joined his Sky Poison Pearl, where the Ice Dragon would now be able to reside. Aerion placed the Ice Dragon inside alongside Rhaegal and Daemon.

Rotias, don't you find it strange that this Mist End Valley has so kindly adjusted to my needs? The previous Mist End Valley would have been a breeze but... this new Mist End Valley provided me with a decent challenge, making me stronger than I would have been.

"Heh, you should thank the one true God for this blessing."

He is capable of such a thing... and he has helped me once before, it doesn't seem impossible.

"You should remember one thing; He doesn't pick any sides. Although it may seem that he favours you, he is truly balancing things out in the background. You see... some of my power has slowly returned to me, which also means that the other Ancestral Gods have probably been granted a similar blessing. Even if they all once followed Aerios... they do not follow you. Remember that as well."

But do you follow me, Rotias... would you stand by my side against them?

"I would, to the very end."

... How come?

"They despise me, much like I despise them. That's reason enough, no? In the end... I only had one true friend and he was the person who I wanted to kill most. I truly am a selfish and ambitious God who could care less about anyone else after all that I've done. However, you... you make me feel a deep sense of regret for my most treasonous action... and this results in an even greater sense of duty. What is done... is already done, but the future is yet to be written. And so, wrongs can be set straight. Don't you think so?"

Aerion nodded.

I do.

~

Another two months passed, as Aerion continued his intense training in the Mist End Valley. He broke through to the Seventh Stage of the Divine Soul Realm through normal means... however, a revelation struck him one day as he also broke through in the Great Way of the Buddha. He reached the Fifth Stage which resulted in another breakthrough in terms of cultivation level, pushing him to the Eighth Stage of the Divine Soul Realm!

Aerion left the Mist End Valley and teleported over to the Blue Pole Star. Naturally, the first place he went to was the Noble Rogue Sect. The Sect was doing better than ever and so was Oldtown which laid beneath it. A new statue was built, thousands of times greater than before... this was the statue of his Imperial Majesty, the Celestial Dragon Emperor, Aerion Targaryen. The Emperor of the World to a genius who won the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament... these two things were simply worlds apart.

It's quite absurd when one considers the fact that Oldtown lay right next to the Wasteland of Death, a place people dare not go to... yet it was able to grow to this degree. Aerion looked at his current appearance through a mirror and was slightly embarrassed. He looked like some savage who had lived in a cave all of his life... naturally, he considered this unacceptable and put some effort into looking refined again. Even his last set of Ice Phoenix Snow Robes was tattered and ripped all over the place. He decided to change into some robes worthy of an Emperor while also putting his wild hair into place.

After a few minutes, he looked normal again. That was when he landed down onto the Noble Rogue Sect. He didn't want to appear in front of the entire sect since that would have been quite troublesome, instead, he used the Moon Splitting Cascade to walk around like a ghost. A Divine King would struggle to discover him, let alone a few mortals who hadn't even reached the Divine Origin Realm.

He went over to the Library, where the Grandmaster resided. It would seem that he was busy with some matter since there was no one else in the Library. He didn't want any pesky disciples disturbing him, after all. Aerion silently watched until he was done.

The peak of the Tyrant Profound Realm... father-in-law is truly worthy of being called a genius!

Aerion felt a deep sense of reverence towards the Grandmaster. He stopped concealing himself and appeared before him.

*Cough*

"Father-in-law, it's been a while!" Aerion warmly stated.

Tai Wentian almost jumped from his seat as he embraced Aerion. They separated after a few seconds. "How was the God Realm?"

"It's alright, a bit vast... with many strong cultivators. It almost felt like starting from the Elementary Profound Realm but I managed to surpass every other disciple in my Sect during this time."

"Good, that is excellent news."

"Furthermore, I became the direct disciple of the Sect Master... she's quite strict but it's nothing that I can't handle." Aerion changed the subject. "I see that the Noble Rogue Sect has grown since I left for the God Realm... has anything major happened?"

"Yes, Heavenly Demon has created a new 'Sacred Land' in the very middle of the continent... in your name, of course."

"Interesting... how is this Sacred Land doing?"

"It is prospering greatly under the Heavenly Demon. Geniuses and experts from all three continents are flocking over to swear their eternal loyalty to the Emperor, the greatest man of them all."

Aerion chuckled. "He's right here, you know."

"It is still hard to believe... I knew you were special from the very start, but I never thought that you would one day rule the World. My greatest blessing was receiving you as a disciple of my Noble Rogue Sect."

"Speaking of the Noble Rogue Sect, could you get someone to make me a uniform. Preferably, black... it will be a disguise of sorts."

"That should be easy enough. For every need, there is a reason, however... could it be that you intend to do something in the God Realm?"

"Yes, precisely."

Tai Wentian nodded. "I understand, then you must first remember to stay safe, wherever you go."

"I will try my best."

What I plan to do isn't exactly safe... but death is unlikely.

Aerion flew over to the Dragon's Palace which was left protected by a few Tyrant Profound Realm guards. Other than that, there was no one else. It was likely that everyone had moved to the Sacred Land.

How bothersome... but the Heavenly Demon has done something I was reluctant to do; leave my roots behind. This place isn't the best for an Emperor like myself as the Blue Wind King owns these lands and it's right next to a place called the Wasteland of Death. Perhaps, I should thank him.

Aerion proceeded to the Sacred Land of the Celestial Dragon Emperor. The Sacred Land wasn't very hard to find since it was at the very centre of the Profound Sky Continent. With his late Divine Soul Realm speed, it took no longer than a few minutes.

So this is it, huh.

The land was vast, perhaps as large as the Blue Wind Kingdom. It could very well be a Kingdom of its own. At its very centre laid the Dragon Imperial City which contained the Dragon's Heavenly Palace. Aerion was impressed, to say the least. The Dragon's Heavenly Palace overlooked the land on top of an extremely tall hill. There seemed to be multiple layers of the city, which was quite intriguing.

Aerion didn't waste much time admiring the view, instead, he entered the Dragon's Heavenly Palace. The main gates suddenly opening did alert the guards yet they couldn't see who did it. Aerion found this rather amusing.

"Who the hell was it?"

"A ghost?"

"Ghosts don't exist, idiot."

"FOOLS, I'VE COME FOR YOUR SOULS, MUAHAHAHAHA." Aerion made himself less invisible so that he may look some-what ghastly. His aura was shrouded by darkness and killing intent.

The guards ran away as swiftly as they could. Once they were away, Aerion laughed loudly as he concealed himself fully once more.

Hmm, I could make a great actor.

Aerion looked around the infinitely vast Palace. Soon enough, he found the Royal Chambers. He finally found who he was looking for in one of the rooms. Aurion was playing around with a sword... he was one month away from being six years old and the boy was playing with swords! It was a real sword, too, once which could kill any ordinary man.

Aerion slapped the back of his head. "Who let you touch a sword?"

"Ow!"

"Answer my question, Aurion."

Aurion turned around and saw his father. "Father... it's you, you came back!"

He embraced Aerion, which did warm his heart. "Of course... I would never leave you. Anyway, care to explain the sword? Did your mother allow it, or did you take it yourself?"

"Well... mother doesn't know."

"Hmph, alright. Then can you wield it, at the very least?"

"No, that is why I'm practising..."

...

"Have you cut yourself?"

Aurion admittedly nodded. "A few times. But... it healed every time. Is father going to punish me?"

"No, I won't. It is a good thing that you wish to improve yourself... however, you are still too young to use a sword."

"When will I be old enough?"

"The time will come, Aurion. When that time comes, I'll teach you myself. Forget about it until then."

"Alright, I will."

"Good, there are other things you should be focusing on for now. I'm sure you know that." Aerion took out a dragon egg. It was one of three, one went to Daenerys and the other to Viserys while this one remained in Aerion's hands.

"It is a custom to place a dragon egg in the cradle of a newborn child... but I thought that wasn't a great idea so I decided to wait until you were older."

"Am I... getting one now?"

"Yes, you are my son, after all. Consider this an early name day present." Aerion took it out and gave the dragon egg to Aurion.

Aerion then appeared before the Heavenly Fire Demon, who seemed quite busy in his study.

"Your Imperial Majesty, it would seem that you picked up a new trick."

"That, I did. From what I've seen, you've done a great service for me... even when you did not need to."

"Although I quite liked Oldtown, it simply was not worthy of the Celestial Dragon Emperor or the Dragonsguard. The Dragonsguard have expanded to a million members in total, across all three continents."

"A million? I suppose they're no longer just a household guard."

"Indeed, I have made it into an army... something that will ensure that peace is maintained while you are away."

"That is good." Aerion nodded.

~

Aerion spent a month in Blue Pole Star and Westeros, the time was almost evenly split. Seeing his children grow before his eyes was a great delight, however, he wondered how things will be in the future. Both of his sons are being raised in Blue Pole Star while both of his daughters are being raised in King's Landing... who was going to succeed his Iron Throne and who was going to succeed as the Celestial Dragon Emperor? Being a cultivator, there was no rush to either of those. He could rule both for thousands of years if he truly wanted to.

After he was done, it was time to return to the Snow Song Realm. The matter concerning the Flame God Realm came to him and it would have been a great pity if he were to miss it. He didn't want to bring in too many people so he settled with just Izanami and Robb.

Snow Song Realm, Thirty-sixth Ice Phoenix Palace.

They appeared in Aerion's previous room.

"You two stay here, for now, I'll speak with my Master first."

One month... I spent five months. Well, she did say I could stay for as long as I want, right?

Aerion sighed.

He flew over to the Sacred Hall, where his Master usually resided.

"So, you have returned, Aerion Targaryen."