The Shining Star Above The Heaven

"Young master, a report has come," a butler's voice resounded from outside.

Randolf replied without turning his head, "Come in."

A moment later, his butler came in and stood behind him.

"Young master, our observer in the Fallen Star Cluster has not reported their observation for this morning," the butler said, which made Randolf slightly smile.

"Good. That means those devils are already making their move," he said. "Now what's left is for us to watch the show, let them fight each other." He swirled the wine in his glass as he looked at his own reflection on the glass's surface.

"Young master, if I may ask, what if all of those devils are still not enough to even weaken that person? What if the devils instead suffer a huge loss? Wouldn't that only make the reputation of Aldrian soar even more? Many are already wary of him because of his reputation for fighting an immortal. If he somehow wins against an entire invasion force, that would only strengthen his position in this star cluster," the butler asked.

"Well, that's true. But whoever wins in this case, we still gain benefits. If the devils somehow win this battle, then we have taken care of a truly troublesome opponent using someone else's hand. If Aldrian wins, then the devils' influence in this part of heaven will be greatly reduced. If Aldrian gains more fame, then so be it. Let him enjoy his fame, and we can slowly take advantage of it while spreading our influence in the void left by the devils."

"In the end, our god will gain the most from it." Randolf's reflection in the glass showed his slight smile.

"Then what about the Avilandis imperial family, young master? We truly did not expect them to keep ignoring us until today. Their actions seem too strange and too extreme. What they have done all this time is already outside of the norms they should normally follow."

Randolf slightly lowered his glass.

"Just let them be. Although I am also surprised, it does not disturb the bigger picture in my mind. We can still move forward without their connection."

The butler nodded his head, but he still felt that something could be wrong. He couldn't help but say,

"Young master, if I have to guess, the Avilandis imperial family must think they no longer need us because of Aldrian's existence. His presence has truly changed their stance and the way they act toward us. But I can't help thinking about that man, young master."

"What if somehow Aldrian knows that we are the ones trying to mess with him behind the scenes all this time? I believe he would not let us go, and I doubt we could stop him directly if he decided to come for us."

Randolf turned silent, though he still wore a small smile. He walked to the nearest sofa and sat down.

"If that happens, then let him come. He will be surprised to find that he will face his own doom here."

Hearing his young master's confidence, the butler said no more and only nodded. He believed in his young master's plans and intuition. To the Valroy family, this young man was their son of miracles—a youth full of talent, cleverness, and tricks, skilled in intrigue. From rising from almost nothing to where he stood now, he had already brought great pride to the family.

It was no wonder the patriarch made him the successor of the family without hesitation, pushing his older brother aside.

"Anyway, for now just keep doing everything as usual. We don't want to make anything seem suspicious until those devils arrive. The people in the Ancient Blue Gate World—no, the entire central star cluster, will be surprised when they suddenly receive uninvited guests they were not prepared for," Randolf said with a smile.

"They will think that the loss of communication from the Fallen Star Cluster was caused by some kind of space disturbance that normally occurs. By the time they realize what it truly is, it will already be too late, and those devils will be standing at their front door." He then sipped his wine and placed the glass on the table in front of him before standing up.

"Whatever happens, we are the winners. And when we reach a certain number of followers, our god will be able to descend in the future," he said before walking away.

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After Aldrian finished giving Sylphia her reward, he then met with Baek Jimin who, as expected, was surprised that he had already returned. She had thought he would be gone for a long time, so of course she was truly happy. Not long after, Aldrian also gave her his burning passion. She did not refuse his advances and could only surrender to his mercy, her erotic moans echoing in the training room for hours.

Today was different from a normal day, as Aldrian chose a place he did not normally use to make love with his women.

After satisfying Baek Jimin with his mighty little brother, night had already fallen. But because he had something in mind, he decided to seclude himself in his own training room. Having satisfied his two women, he was free tonight to do what he had wanted to try for quite some time.

He closed his eyes and spread his domain's sense across the Barisan Continent. In an instant, he picked up many figures who were different from others, or more specifically, whose karma threads with him stood apart. These people carried strong karma threads that revealed their total devotion to him, regarding him as their god.

These were the people who had built their own religion based on his existence. The Religion that gaining popularity ever since his identity became known after the battle with Cardinal Carsius. This group, who chose to regard him as a god, came from various professions, yet all of them shared one thing in common, they came from humble backgrounds.

Some of them were mere mortals without cultivation, while some were low-level cultivators who saw him as their savior to the extreme. Among them were also people marginalized by society because of their weakness, and many others with pitiful fates.

In conclusion, they were truly pathetic beings in the cultivation world, most of them at the very bottom of the pyramid.

Aldrian could understand it. With their backgrounds, his actions must have seemed like the deeds of a god bringing judgment to the mortal world. To them, Aldrian's very existence was the manifestation of a divine being who had arrived at the right time. Moreover, after he saved the entire continent from an immortal, that image became even more deeply embedded in him.

Now this group of people truly acted as if they belonged to a real religion with the god they worshiped, showing their devotion in various ways. For example, some preached to others to join this religion, while others worked together to build shrines or temples with Aldrian's statue as the place of worship. They prayed and sang praises to his divinity, seeking his blessing so their lives could prosper.

These people with strong karma connections to him were the ones who gave him the strongest faith energy. Despite being full of weakness, they were the ones who provided him with the greatest boost, their faith energy far stronger than those who did not regard him as a god.

These insignificant people, worthless in the eyes of most, were the very ones helping him grow stronger.

Aldrian, seeing their devotion and loyalty, naturally felt touched, although he also thought some of them were far too exaggerated, which left him feeling genuinely embarrassed as he watched how they acted.

When he observed his believers, many of them behaved as if every single thing they did required his blessing, down to the smallest details. They always carried a small statue of him that could fit into their pockets, bringing it wherever they went.

Before they took a shower, they asked for his blessing. Before they gambled, they asked for his blessing. Before deciding what to buy, they asked for his blessing. He even discovered that some of them prayed for his blessing before having sex.

He wanted to facepalm at all of this, but in the end he simply let them be. However, for some time now, he felt that he needed to reward at least some of these people for their devotion. Although he had never asked to be considered a god, since they had voluntarily chosen to worship him, he felt it would be wrong not to respond to their sincerity.

First, he focused his sense on the nearest presence of this group, which was in the near core region. Many of them had also migrated close to his palace for obvious reasons, and many were trying to help with the development of the cities.

In one city still under construction, there stood a fairly large shrine in one part of the district. Although it too was unfinished, a great statue of Aldrian had already been erected within it.

At this moment, several figures could be seen praying before the statue. It was sculpted in a standing posture, yet even so, it exuded a heroic aura.

As Aldrian focused his sense upon them, he could hear each of their prayers.