"It looks like we’ll have to be apart again for a while." Aldrian said to his parents.
Aldrey and Irene could only sigh at the separation, but they understood that Aldrian had his own matters to attend to, and with ti ticking, there was no ti to waste.
"Take care, son. Don’t get hurt anywhere," Irene said as she hugged Aldrian.
"I will, Mother," he answered, returning her hug before looking at his father, who was smiling at him.
"Take care, and be careful inside the Everlasting Silent Forest. Even though there’s nothing there that can harm you, don’t underestimate anything," Aldrey said, hugging Aldrian as well. Aldrian nodded in understanding.
After they parted, Aldrian looked at Baek Jimin, who seed to have finished speaking with her mother as they stepped out of their tent. Sylphia also erged from another tent with Emperor Ladwin, but Aldrian raised his eyebrows when he saw that the emperor looked happy, as if he had just hit a jackpot.
His body language could not be hidden, which made Sylphia seem embarrassed. They looked in his direction and approached him.
"Young Aldrian, thank you for taking care of my daughter all this ti," he said as he placed a hand on Aldrian’s shoulder.
"I hope you’ll keep looking after her from now on, and never grow tired of doing so. She might be a little spoiled sotis, but she truly—"
"Father!" Sylphia called out, her face showing clear embarrassnt.
"Alright, alright," Emperor Ladwin said, stopping himself and turning to Aldrey and Irene with a smile.
"Young Master Aldrey, Young Miss Irene—you’re truly fortunate to have a son like Aldrian. He is truly a dragon among n," he said.
"Ah, thank you, Your Majesty. Well... I’m also lucky to have a son like Aldrian," Aldrey said, sounding slightly clumsy in front of the emperor. After all, his son had already taken the emperor’s daughter’s innocence, so he felt a bit tense.
It was only natural—Emperor Ladwin was the ruler of the elven race, and for Aldrian to have laid hands on his daughter was no small matter.
Aldrian had already expressed his intent to marry Sylphia. If everything went smoothly, their families would beco in-laws in the future.
"Anyway, I have to head back. There’s much to be done," Emperor Ladwin said as he walked over to Aldrian.
"Good luck, Alliance Leader," he said to him with a smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Aldrian replied. But before Emperor Ladwin turned to leave, he leaned in and whispered into Aldrian’s ear.
"Son-in-law."
Then he walked away, leaving Aldrian montarily stunned. But a smile soon ford on Aldrian’s face as he shook his head. He looked over at the Venerable Karma Seeker, who stood not far from them, silent and still, like a statue.
Baek Jimin and Sect Master Baek approached them after the emperor left. Sect Master Baek then spoke with him and his parents for a mont before also departing. After thinking there was nothing more to do, Aldrian prepared to teleport, but then he noticed Eleine standing not far from him, near his mother.
Aldrian sighed as he looked at Eleine with slightly sad eyes.
"Are you sure, Eleine?"
Eleine nodded before giving a deep bow to Aldrian.
"Thank you for taking care of all this ti, young master. My experience with you and everything you have done for —I will never forget it," she said.
Aldrian sighed again. He had already talked to his parents earlier about this and called Eleine inside the tent for the discussion. His mother had told Eleine she didn’t care whether Eleine wanted to go back to her or not, she could still stay with Aldrian if she wished.
However, Eleine seed adamant, feeling her role to Aldrian was complete and that it was ti to return to her primary duty.
Seeing Eleine’s determination, he and his mother respected her decision and did not try to persuade her otherwise.
Aldrian walked over and stood in front of her. Sensing him there, she straightened her posture, but was stunned when Aldrian suddenly hugged her. Her eyes widened slightly, caught off guard and without ti to react.
"Thank you for everything you’ve done for , for taking care of , for always being with . I’m so grateful to have had you in the Secret Realm, on this journey," he said.
Her eyes turned red as tears threatened to fall, but she held them back. She simply nodded against his shoulder and returned Aldrian’s hug. The others watched quietly, not wanting to disturb the sentintal mont.
After a few monts, Aldrian and Eleine finally separated. He smiled at her.
"Then take care, Eleine."
He then turned his gaze to his parents.
"Mother, Father," he added.
They responded with a nod, and after that, Aldrian, Sylphia, Baek Jimin, and the Venerable Karma Seeker disappeared. Eleine, Aldrey, and Irene remained, still looking at the spot where Aldrian had stood, and sighed.
Irene then looked at Eleine and smiled at her warmly.
"Let’s go back. I want to hear so many stories from you—you must have many things to tell ," she said, which made Eleine nod.
"Hmm."
After that, all of them departed from the place, and finally, the episode of the eting that many people had their eyes on ca to an end.
--------------------------------
The next day, news of the eting between the Flacrest family and the Rivas family had already spread across the continent. As expected, many were stunned by how quickly and smoothly the eting concluded. Most had assud there would be chaos at the gathering, but there was none.
The two families even agreed to marry their successors to each other, marking an unprecedented event between them.
However, many understood that this outco was only possible because of Aldrian. As the son of Aldrey and Irene, his presence had forced the patriarchs of both families to compromise and finally resolve their long-standing conflict.
Also, the major territories across the continent all seed to be preparing for sothing significant. The leaders of major territories had hinted at an upcoming announcent that would be broadcast continent-wide.
Ruling families in each territory had also begun summoning the noble houses within their lands. This kind of coordinated movent raised concern and curiosity.
What was going on? Why were they acting like this? For now, people could only wait for the announcent to see whether it was connected to the noble gatherings.
anwhile, Aldrian was in Dongtian City, staying at the inn where Sylphia and the others were lodging. He and his group didn’t seem too concerned about the aftermath of the Flacrest-Rivas eting.
He now wanted to return to the core area of the Everlasting Silent Forest. After satisfying Sylphia last night with his technique, it was ti for him to continue exploring the rest of the core area—especially the floating land.
But just as he was about to leave, Venerable Karma Seeker suddenly visited him, which made him curious.
"Teacher," he said after eting him outside the inn.
Venerable Karma Seeker nodded with a smile.
"Benefactor Aldrian, can you accompany sowhere? There is a place I want to show you right now," he said, causing Aldrian to raise his eyebrows.
Take him sowhere? His interest was piqued as he wondered where Venerable Karma Seeker intended to bring him.
"Of course, Teacher. I would like to know where you wish to take ."
After that, he inford the Fifth Finger, and then he and Venerable Karma Seeker headed to the city’s teleportation station. When he heard their destination, Aldrian realized that they would be visiting the main city of the Buddhist Sect’s territory—Blooming Lotus City, where the main sect was located.
Aldrian didn’t ask anything about it and simply followed Venerable Karma Seeker. There were topics he wanted to discuss with him, but he felt it wasn’t the right ti or place, so he quietly followed without speaking.
After their number was called and they entered the portal, they instantly arrived in the capital of the Buddhist Sect’s territory—Blooming Lotus City.
As Aldrian stepped out of the teleportation portal, he was greeted by the grandeur of the city. He also noticed that the population of monks here was much larger, which did not surprise him, given that this was the heart of the Buddhist Sect.
They walked through the streets toward the hill in the distance, which seed to lie outside the city and was covered with tall trees. As they walked, Aldrian glanced at Venerable Karma Seeker’s back.
From his observation, he couldn’t explain why, but it seed as though Venerable Karma Seeker was completely unnoticed by others. Or more specifically, he was ignored by everyone around them.
It was like he was invisible. Aldrian wondered how Venerable Karma Seeker managed such a thing, but chose not to ask about it for now.
They continued walking, and just as Aldrian had guessed, they left the city and made their way toward the hill. It wasn’t far from the city, and a wide pathway led uphill between the tall trees.
Only after walking for another hour did Aldrian finally see another structure — a long wall with a single gate.
Seeing that they were almost there, Venerable Karma Seeker looked back at Aldrian with a smile.
"Benefactor Aldrian, welco to the main sect of the Buddhist sect."
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