Inside the giant white tent where the eting was held, the situation could be described as rather strange, with almost all of the leaders of the major territories sitting at the sa table. The emperors of the Doria Empire, Vindas Empire, Atria Empire, and Ivory Empire were present, along with the king of the Forgeheart Kingdom and the pope of the Heavenly Direction Church.
Almost all of them were silently observing each other, which made the atmosphere not only awkward but also tense. Well, except for Pope Claudius, who didn’t seem to care about the tension at all as he calmly sipped his tea.
Beside them, the two grand dukes were also present, but with so many behemoths gathered in one place, their presence was overshadowed. The main characters of this entire event, Aldrey and Irene, were there as well, seated beside their fathers.
Their guards remained outside the tent, as they might have fainted from the overwhelming atmosphere if they were forced to endure such tension from within.
Aldrey and Irene looked at each other with anxious expressions, then glanced at the others around them.
How did it escalate to this point? Was this all because of their son’s influence?
For the first ti, they were experiencing how Aldrian’s very existence could influence even these powerful figures to gather in one place—though none of them truly understood why they were here.
As for the two grand dukes, their expressions were almost comical, as if they couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Why had it co to this? Grand Duke Flacrest and Grand Duke Rivas exchanged blank stares, equally lost about the sudden grand gathering of the continent’s major leaders.
At first, upon discovering that their descendants had already done the deed and even had a son, the two had been ready to fight. It made sense that the emperors from their own empires would try to intervene—but for almost all of the continent’s leaders to gather here? Was this also due to Aldrian’s influence? Just how far did his influence reach, for nearly every ruler to co to this place?
But what was their reason for coming here in the first place? To watch the chaos unfold? To see Aldrian’s parents for themselves? Why had they co here when the Seven Deadly Sins still roaming outside?
They remained silent. It has been more than an hour, yet no one spoke—until King Douwin of the Forgeheart Kingdom finally broke the silence.
"Are we really going to stay quiet until the end of the day? Why don’t you just start whatever it is you plan to do?"
"I agree with King Douwin," Emperor Raymond said. "Let the eting begin and hear what the two grand dukes want to do about this matter. Staying silent won’t lead to anything."
"I also agree, let’s hear what the two grand dukes have to say first." Emperor Ladwin added. "We hope this issue can be resolved without a fight."
Emperor Durand and Emperor Herman nodded at each other, then turned to the two grand dukes, who were trembling slightly under the collective gaze of all the leaders. The weight of those stares—stares that implied these people believed they had a say in this matter—was enough to drive the grand dukes nearly mad.
"This is a family matter! Why do all of you have to get involved?!"
But there was no helping it. They understood why these leaders had co. It was because of Aldrian himself. Everything he had achieved, and his connections with the major powers across the continent, was enough to draw all of them here simply at the news of sothing involving his family.
However, Aldrian’s influence over the Demon Territory and the Buddhist Sect still seed lacking, as neither of their leaders was present—or so the two grand dukes thought.
Suddenly, they heard a commotion and murmuring from outside. Monts later, a guard burst through the entrance of the tent and dropped to one knee.
"My apologies for disturbing Your Majesties, but the three sect masters of the great sects from the Demon Territories have arrived," the guard announced, causing all of the leaders to raise their eyebrows.
The two grand dukes were truly astonished—the Demon Territories too?
Not long after, three figures entered the tent, with Sect Master Ryu Hyukjae leading the entourage from the Demon Territory.
"Ah, has it already started? Don’t mind us. Just go on with what you’re doing—we’ll watch from the side," Ryu Hyukjae said casually, as he and the other two sect masters took empty seats.
No one responded to Sect Master Ryu, but many shared the sa thought: now that the demonic cultivators had arrived, the only one left was the abbot of the Buddhist sect.
"To think that the three sect masters of the great demon sects have also co," Emperor Durand said with an expressionless face. "What did you co here for?"
"Well, we ca here for the sa reason as so of the others," Sect Master Ryu replied without much concern. "A few of you who have no direct business with this eting still ca because it involves Young Master Aldrian, right? Sa for us—but we have even more reason to be involved. Aldrian is already one of us."
His words made Emperor Durand and several others narrow their eyes slightly.
Sect Master Ryu was known for being stubborn and unwilling to compromise. Emperor Durand knew how arrogant and rigid the man could be—and the sa could be said of the other sect masters as well. These demonic cultivators always had stranger temperants than the orthodox sects, but that was simply part of their nature. None of the rulers here considered them close allies.
And yet, despite all that, he had called Aldrian "Young Master"—a title that showed this stubborn man genuinely acknowledged Aldrian as soone worthy of his respect, perhaps even soone of higher standing.
But then, sothing else caught their attention.
"What do you an? Young Aldrian already beco one of you?" Emperor Herman asked.
Sect Master Ryu and the other two sect masters smiled before Sect Master Ryu responded.
"As you heard, he has already beco one of us. He has comprehended our most important scripture and is now a demonic cultivator. I dare say his status stands above even the sect masters of the three great sects."
The others widened their eyes in shock.
"Young Aldrian, a demonic cultivator? Impossible! You’re just claiming him for yourselves!" Emperor Durand said, releasing his aura at the peak of the Emperor Stage. He had recently made a breakthrough, and the sudden surge of power sent another wave of shock through the tent.
"You demonic cultivators are arrogant to claim him as your own. A demonic cultivator? I’ve never seen him use demonic energy even once. If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable," he added, focusing the full weight of his pressure on the three sect masters.
But Sect Master Ryu simply continued to smile before releasing his own aura—also at the peak of the Emperor Stage.
"I don’t care whether you believe or not. That is the truth. Young Master Aldrian is one of us—and he is a demonic cultivator," Sect Master Ryu said as his aura clashed directly with Emperor Durand’s.
The others were astonished. Sect Master Ryu had also broken through to the peak of the Emperor Stage! The overwhelming pressure that had been directed at the three sect masters vanished the mont Ryu’s aura countered it, but now the tent was filled with the oppressive force of two peak-level cultivators locked in confrontation.
Sensing that the situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control, Pope Claudius finally intervened. His holy aura—also at the peak of the Emperor Stage—washed over the tent and effortlessly neutralized the other two.
"What exactly are we here for?" he said calmly. "Are we going to let this eting dissolve into a clash of egos? Enough. We ca here to resolve a matter concerning Young Aldrian’s family. This matter concerns us all—and the entire continent. The eting hasn’t even begun, yet the two of you are already turning it into a battleground."
The two leaders slowly retracted their auras. Emperor Durand refused to look at Sect Master Ryu, while Ryu leaned back in his seat, still wearing that relaxed smile.
The two grand dukes, already drenched in cold sweat, sat stiffly. For a mont, they had truly thought they were going to die—these leaders looked more ready to fight than they were. They were grateful the pope had deescalated the situation, but his words also made them want to shout back at him.
"What do you an this concerns all of you and the entire continent? This is a family matter! It should be handled by us!"
Even if Aldrian had connections to many of the people in this tent, this was still sothing internal. Their descendants had a child—one they hadn’t even known about. That child was now their grandson. They had co to demand answers from the other family—and, admittedly, to settle things with fists if necessary.
And yet, sohow, this had turned into a continental issue, dragging in rulers from every major power into this tent.
"Anyway, where is young Aldrian? I assud this matter would definitely bring him here, but I don’t see him," Emperor Ladwin asked.
Truthfully, he felt sulky. These other emperors knew about Aldrian’s parents, while he—who was the first emperor to ever et Aldrian—had been left out. A small sense of "betrayal" stirred in his chest.
He wanted to see him again, to speak his grievances directly. That young man had left him out of sothing so important—even after he had entrusted his precious daughter to him, even after he had silently accepted Aldrian taking her as his woman.
The others didn’t answer. They had no idea where Aldrian was either. He tended to move on his own, never bothering to inform them of his whereabouts.
But then, a new commotion erupted outside—this one louder than before. Hearing the rising voices and shuffling outside the tent, they quickly understood why.
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