The Shining Star Above The Heaven

Aldrian smiled when Zander deeply bowed to him. Zander at this moment was truly different from the time Aldrian picked him up from the Heavenly Path Academy. Right now, he was shining and no longer covered in the mud of being unrecognized, for there was no one who doubted his true worth. Everyone spoke of him with admiration instead of contempt.

From the moment Zander defeated his inner demon, Aldrian knew that this disciple of his had become far more confident and gained greater resolve. He was truly satisfied with Zander's development and how he had erased his pessimistic mind. Now Zander's character was much more worthy of someone who possessed a special physique.

Aldrian touched Zander's shoulder while he was still bowing.

"Good job, Zander. I'm very proud of you. This is what the possessor of the Solar Sword Body Physique is supposed to be. Your resolve and confidence are what saved you from your own inner demon. I'm glad that you succeeded in defeating your negativity. My belief in you did not end up being wrong," he said.

Hearing that, Zander couldn't help but be stunned, and his eyes turned red. He was truly touched, for what his master said was one of the reasons he had succeeded—his master's trust in him.

"Thank you for your guidance and your belief in me, Master. I will not disappoint you, and I will keep working hard," Zander answered as he held back his tears.

Aldrian kept his smile as he tapped Zander's shoulder twice.

"I will be waiting for the time when you step up as the winner," he said, then instantly disappeared.

Zander remained bowing, but his expression turned serious.

"I will bring back the winner's title, Master," he said before straightening his body. He took a deep breath and continued on his way to his family's VIP room, which was already near him. Only after entering his family's VIP room did he remove his mask and spend time with his family.

As for Aldrian, he was already inside the private room connected to the balcony. The private room could be used as a gathering place for his family while waiting for the next phase, or even for staying overnight, as the room itself was quite luxurious, complete with a large bed.

At this moment, Aldrian and his family were sitting around the table, enjoying tea. They also discussed the tournament, especially about Zander. His performance this time was truly shocking. This made Zander the center of attention, the complete opposite of what he had been in the past.

"I truly thought he would fail. If I were you, I would have already stopped him, Aldrian. How could you have so much faith in him to succeed on his own? What if he had turned into a fiend instead? I really couldn't gamble with his life. Fortunately, he managed to defeat his inner demon," Irene said to Aldrian.

Aldrian smiled. "Well, I just believed he could do it, and he did as expected. Even if he failed, I could still help him regain himself."

"This event truly attracted many outsiders to watch. They seem very interested in gauging the potential of this continent," Aldrey commented. "But don't you worry it may not be good if you reveal too much of Zander's ability in front of those outsiders? What if they grow greedy or try to do something to him? At this moment, his identity is unknown, and no one knows he is your disciple."

"Well, that would be true if I couldn't ensure Zander's safety or if my reputation weren't already spread widely enough. I have both strength and reputation, so anyone who dares to move against Zander will have to consider me first," Aldrian answered.

"At this moment, those people will think that the emperor, having seen such a talent, will not let him go. They will assume I will protect him as one of the great talents of the continent."

Sylphia smiled upon hearing his answer. "As expected of our emperor, confidence to the fullest."

While Aldrian and his family enjoyed their time, elsewhere inside one of the VIP rooms, four people were gathered, three men and one woman. They wore plain white robes without any insignia to show where they had come from.

The woman had a young, beautiful face and long black hair. She was the strongest among the group, her cultivation at the peak of the pseudo-immortal establishment stage. At this moment, she was gazing at the arena through the glass, lost in thought, when suddenly the door to their room opened.

Another woman entered. The moment she stepped inside, the black-haired woman turned her head toward the newcomer.

"How?" she asked.

The newcomer, a woman with short blue hair, shook her head.

"I did not sense Elder Vars or his subordinates. It seems they did not come to watch this tournament," the blue-haired woman answered.

Her words made the black-haired woman frown as she turned her gaze back to the arena.

"Ma'am, don't you think there is something strange about the situation regarding Elder Vars? Ever since he could no longer be contacted, I've felt that something was amiss with him and his entire group," the blue-haired woman said.

"Even more so after we landed on this continent and learned more about Aldrian the Great. Not just recently, but even back when Elder Vars was still sending his weekly reports, I always felt that something was wrong with them and the entire situation," she added.

The black-haired woman did not answer, lost in thought. She and her group were envoys from the Barevisk family, sent here with the purpose of learning about this continent and establishing a connection with the man who had fought an immortal, the man they had finally come to know as the emperor himself.

However, their intent to build a connection with him leaned toward ill intent. What they sought was not a genuine good relationship, but rather to learn everything they could about him in order to exploit it. This was different from others who wished to build a good relationship with Aldrian for mutual benefit.

They had yet to meet Aldrian, choosing first to observe what kind of person this emperor was and the true extent of his power. Yet the more they learned, the more they realized he was nothing but bad news for anyone who stood against him. His strength and abilities were absurd, leaving him with no weaknesses to exploit.

Her family, which clearly did not hold good intentions toward him, would surely face its doom if they ever went against him directly. That was the only conclusion she reached after learning more about him.

She had actually wanted to meet with one of their elder's groups that had infiltrated this continent much earlier, but since she and her own group landed here, they had been unable to contact them.

She did not know if something had gone wrong, but after learning in detail about Aldrian's strength and abilities from the people of this continent, the strange silence of Elder Vars's group gave her a bad feeling. It was as if they had already been drawn into a situation unknown to the Barevisk family, and that thought truly unsettled her.

What made her doubt even more was a simple question: how could Elder Vars have sent those reports back to the main family when Aldrian supposedly possessed abilities that covered the entire continent?

The populace of this land spoke with certainty, Aldrian's senses could stretch across the continent. They said he could detect any outsiders who attempted to infiltrate, which was why he had been able to slaughter every last one of those fools who had tried to sneak in before.

If that was true, then how had Elder Vars escaped Aldrian the Great's senses? How had he managed to send reports week after week?

The only guesses she could think of were two. First, Aldrian had somehow failed to detect Elder Vars's infiltration. Or second, this was the possibility she disliked, and if it were true, it meant the worst.

That was, Aldrian had already known about Elder Vars's group and had deliberately let them in. All of the information they had been sending back to the family was already within Aldrian's grasp, and he had simply allowed it.

If that was the case, then Aldrian not only knew of the Barevisk family's hidden intent toward him, he might have already considered them an enemy, knowing full well that the spread of information originated from them.

And with the current situation, where Elder Vars and his group could no longer be contacted, there were only two possibilities left.

First, they had already been killed by Aldrian.

Second—

'They betrayed us.'

This was the worst outcome. If they had betrayed the family, then they had been clever enough to cut contact completely and switch sides to Aldrian. They must have believed they would be safe here, and that the Barevisk family would not pursue them on this continent.

Arriving at this conclusion, she gritted her teeth and looked toward her group.

"It looks like our visit here may truly be dangerous for us. If my guess is correct, we might lose our lives once we meet Aldrian the Great."

She then explained her reasoning to her group, and once she finished, their expressions turned solemn. What their leader said made sense, and they could not help but think that it was the most likely conclusion.

One of the men looked at the black-haired woman.

"So what will we do from now?" he asked.

"For now, I will report everything to my father, the current situation and my analysis. Our faction must know of this grim possibility before it's too late."