A wasted trip?

In actual fact, Arith and Clarissa had met each other for the first time in their life when they were young. At that point of time, they were still young children who were in the Body Tempering realm, only to grow up without meeting each other until fifteen years down the road.

Yet in that one meeting, Arith just felt a strong desire to protect her for the rest of her life. It was a vague feeling and he didn't pay much heed to it in the past. But by the time he grew up and learned about the ways of the world, he was too late.

At that point of time, Clarissa had already taken over her father's position as guild leader of the alchemist guild. She was an elegant young woman renowned for her beauty and capability as the youngest fourth grade alchemist in the Glutton city.

Arith on the other hand had just picked up forging, but in just three years time, he became one of the third grade blacksmiths of the Glutton city and due to his young age and potential, the old guild leader had passed down his position to Arith.

It was during that time that they met again.

Reunited after fifteen years, they should have long forgotten each other's appearance. Yet when their eyes met, they knew they had found each other in the end.

They had so much to converse with each other about, but their current status had prevented them from doing so.

Even after they entered the sect, they had to keep it a secret as much as possible lest Clarissa's father know about his existence.

But now...everything was too late.

That serene night, he proposed to her and made an eternal vow to take care of her for the rest of her life. They decided to settle down after Ace manages to stabilize the sect's current status in the cultivation world, yet was their decision the wrong choice,

"I can keep him alive temporarily."

As memories of their past resurfaced, Clarissa could feel a blade sinking itself deep into her heart. It hurts. It just hurts.

"What...did you...just say?" Clarissa asked through her muffled voice, but Jay who had just returned to the battlefield understood what Arith just did.

If it was someone else from the Divine realm, even they might be helpless against this situation. But to someone like him who once anticipated yet feared colours, he could pull Arith from that dreamy world.

"I can only keep him alive for a year, the rest would be dependent on the sect master and his will to live."

*Travelent Kingdom, Lim family*

"Is this the kingdom you live in?" Ace asked in amazement, especially when the spirit energy here was more than triple the amount back in his sect, the spirit energy was also purer.

"Yep. My father is the current family head of the Lim family, Jasper Lim. I'm his only daughter and besides me, my two older brothers are dead. My father thought that they were killed on the battlefield, but over the years, I've been gathering information and realised that all this was a conspiracy by my second uncle."

"Young lady."

"Serena. My name's Serena." She introduced herself upon realising the awkwardness with a bitter smile. To think that the uncle I have looked up to over the years before realising the conspiracy has already extended his reach to my father.

"My name's Ace. While we are on our way to the Lim family, why don't you tell me more about the current situation of your family?" Ace started the conversation as they made their way to the Lim family which was located in the Valent City.

The Valent City was only one of the hundred and eight cities in the Divine realm. As for the forest that Ace was in, it was only one of the low danger tier training grounds used to groom the younger generation.

Along the way, Ace understood the current situation the Lim family was in and the current situation of the one hundred and eight cities.

The one hundred and eight cities were managed by twelve kingdoms, but these twelve kingdoms were all serving the Astral Court.

The Astral Court was being managed by the Blizzard Queen. The first person to have stepped into the Unison realm with the stars and seeked her own path of glaciers through the stars. The stars made her cold, but gave her strength in return.

Despite being a Great Saint that was young, her strength and reputation already rose higher than those generations above her. Only those that were once the peak of their generation had the qualifications to be treated with respect by her.

Even the average Great Saints were treated as an equal to her and in just the time of another few years, even the Great Saints would be nothing but ants in her eyes.

As for the Lim family, they were the strongest family in the Valent city and even in the neighbouring cities, they were well respected due to their strength and contributions to the Astral Court which was recognised.

In terms of strength, they were comparable to the kingdoms. In terms of contributions, they only paled in comparison to the kingdoms. The Lim family was expected to rise above the kingdoms when both the young masters were talented geniuses recognised by the Astral Court.

But when both of Serena's brothers died, her father's cultivation went stagnant due to the sorrow in his heart. It was a heart demon which prevented him from advancing further in the realms of a Great Saint that would make him unmatched in the one hundred and eight cities.

Serena's uncle wasn't working alone, he was working with those from the Judgment Court that had been at loggerheads with the Astral Court since the Blizzard Queen showed her dominance in the Divine realm.

Soon, Ace and Serena arrived at the Lim family.

The servants who were busy with their daily tasks revealed a shocked expression, only a few showed pity on their faces. Yet, none of them showed concern that a young lady should deserve considering her status in the family.

"Serena, it seems that this family of yours is already corrupted. If you do manage to help your father recover and secure his position in the family, you should know what the best course of action would be." Ace whispered into her ears, his eyes glancing at a corner of the front yard.

Soon, hurried footsteps came from the corner Ace was glancing at. The person was an old servant that looked to be around his fifties, his cultivation was in the Transcendent realm, but in the Divine realm, his cultivation wasn't worth mentioning in the slightest.

That's right, a Transcendent realm cultivator would only suffice to be a lowly servant in the Divine realm.

"Young lady, did you manage to secure the demon core of that crocodile demon beast I mentioned to you?" The old servant asked in concern, even his face was full of worry and anxiousness.

If Ace wasn't observant enough to realise that this servant had been waiting for a long time, he would already have fallen into his trap.

"I didn't manage to secure the demon core." Serena answered honestly.

The servant sighed and said, "I guess that our family head has aged, maybe it's better for him to take a rest now."

"If that's the case, then maybe it would be better for the Lim family to serve the Judgement Court!"

The next moment, a gust of wind gathered in the palm of the weak servant whose cultivation aura has skyrocketed suddenly.

Ace wanted to make a move, but against this terrifying aura, all he could do was watch. His body was immobilized to the ground, yet the attack was already nearing him.

The same applied to Serena as well, she attempted to gather her spirit energy, but they were in complete disorder and out of her control.

Am I really going to die here? That was the last thought that flashed past her mind, only for a majestic figure to protect her from that blow.

"The Judgement Court has already extended their reach to major families serving the Astral Court? Maybe you guys should take back that decision of yours!"

The next moment, the man from the Judgement Court was incinerated by deep cold flames that corroded his body, his presence on this cultivation universe was completely eliminated. Not even a trace of spirit energy was left.

"Young man, thank you for bringing Serena back." The man gave Ace his thanks before turning towards his daughter.

"Sorry for the pain you've been through in the past few years, but due to my sensitive identity, I had to feign weakness in order to bait your uncle out and expose his conspiracies. Now, the Astral Court should have captured and by now."

"Family head Lim, are you saying that I've made a wasted trip here?" Ace asked unpleasantly, but to someone of a family head status, the man couldn't help but be amazed by the demeanor this youth had.

He had confidence, but yet he backs it with reasoning. He may still be young, but he would definitely be someone I can work with in the future.

Just like this, the two of them had found someone to be their ally in the future. But different from what the man had expected, it wasn't a collaboration between two people of equal status, but that of a loyal ally serving someone qualified to become his master...