"We don't even know if it's completely true, Lily. I won't let anything happen to us," Marvin said with a determined gaze as Lily nodded with a soft smile.
"Is this why our respected Anton said that we should never get comfortable here since this continent was not supposed to be a permanent place to settle down?" Elor asked as he pulled his brows together.
"Maybe when Anton's last wisp of soul summoned you, he did tell you to one day go out to the outside world, right?" Irene asked to reaffirm.
Reva immediately spoke, "But he told us that the outside world was a place of hell. We shouldn't go unless we are fully prepared."
Yuria nodded, "Reva is right. If only our people go out to explore, we might end up dead based on what Damien and Reva saw. It's better if we could get at least a majority of the experts in this continent to go together. Maybe this is what Anton wanted us to do…Venturing out by uniting with others."
Leon, who had been hearing their discussion, quietly shifted his gaze towards Damien and asked, "Damien, what do you think?" Leon, for some reason, felt that this miracle boy would be the one to have an answer for this.
Leon was an experienced master himself, but this thing was just way beyond his scope.
All the eyes suddenly landed on Damien since they considered Damien's words the most important despite him being a young cultivator.
"It is indeed true that we can't live in the Rising Sun Continent forever. There will be a time when our cultivation growth will begin to stagnate or worse. But even if all this is supposed to happen after a long time, we can't tell if it can happen suddenly as well since we don't have people who can predict how the ethereal energy in our atmosphere would change. Still, we shouldn't let Ruthren open that gate since what he would be letting inside will make this place a hell as well," Damien said with a serious face.
Everyone nodded, feeling that what Damien said was right. If Ruthren was going to do something, they knew he was up to no good and not with noble intentions of saving this continent.
"So what should we do? Other than Olivia, the other two emperors still support the opening of the gates, right?" Lily asked with wrinkled brows.
"That is because they don't know the truth," Elor stated.
"No, we don't have to think about Daugmir anymore. He is not the Gale Emperor from here on. And I am sure Damien can convince Kale to not go with whatever Ruthren says," Irene said.
"So we only have to focus on the Lancaster Empire, right?" Marvin asked.
"Let me and my father set a meeting with the Lancaster Emperor. Damien, you should come with me as well, of course. I am sure you can convince the emperor. He is not dumb or corrupt like Daugmir, and I am sure he will get the message. Maximus might help him understand as well," Yuria said to Damien.
"But he is still an emperor. As an emperor, he would be most worried about losing his empire's heritage and people. So if he already believes Ruthren for some reason, it might be hard to change his mind. My father always knew how to manipulate people into doing his bidding. The reason he doesn't even seem to bother about Olivia means he probably doesn't need her," Reva said with a look of contemplation.
"Olivia must have one of the keys to open the gate, right? So if Damien has her under control, then Ruthren shouldn't be able to open the gate. So is there really a need to convince the Lancaster Emperor?" Lily asked.
Marvin suddenly shook his head with a heavy look, "Sigh…I can confirm what our miss Reva said. Olivia never had the key. I obviously wouldn't trust something that important to her. But...Ruthren was one step ahead, and he blackmailed me into handing over the key to him."
Lily placed her hand on her chest as she asked worriedly, "Blackmailed you? What do you mean, grandpa? What did he do?" Lily felt that someone as powerful as her ancestor, who possesses a strong will as well, wouldn't bend his back to Ruthren. And that only made her feel even more worried.
"Right after your father died and I refused to hand over the key to Olivia, Ruthren immediately came to see me. He told me that my empire would just weaken even more from here on and that the only way to save this empire was by handing you over to him by marriage. He even offered many riches and other benefits that could have helped our Rong Empire. Still, I refused him, but then that monster said that he would raze the Rong Empire to the ground and take you away anyway," Marvin said with a pained expression.
"Grandpa…" Lily's chin trembled as her eyes began to get misty while feeling even more resentful at Ruthren to see how he didn't even have a shred of humanity in his heart.
"So…you ended up giving the key to protect Lily. But I don't understand. Ruthren never made a move on Lily for the past two years. He isn't really the kind to honor promises to get what he wants," Damien mused.
Marvin scoffed as he said, "You are right, and I knew it as well, especially after hearing him mention destroying an entire empire without batting an eye. So the only choice I had was to make sure he doesn't come anywhere near Lily until she matures and I get enough time to hide her away. That is why I asked for a tournament when she turns 20. I made him sign an ethereal contract that would prevent him from breaking his word. But in return, I had to give up the key to him. Haa….I wish there was a better way to do things."
"We don't even know if it's completely true, Lily. I won't let anything happen to us," Marvin said with a determined gaze as Lily nodded with a soft smile.
"Is this why our respected Anton said that we should never get comfortable here since this continent was not supposed to be a permanent place to settle down?" Elor asked as he pulled his brows together.
"Maybe when Anton's last wisp of soul summoned you, he did tell you to one day go out to the outside world, right?" Irene asked to reaffirm.
Reva immediately spoke, "But he told us that the outside world was a place of hell. We shouldn't go unless we are fully prepared."
Yuria nodded, "Reva is right. If only our people go out to explore, we might end up dead based on what Damien and Reva saw. It's better if we could get at least a majority of the experts in this continent to go together. Maybe this is what Anton wanted us to do…Venturing out by uniting with others."
Leon, who had been hearing their discussion, quietly shifted his gaze towards Damien and asked, "Damien, what do you think?" Leon, for some reason, felt that this miracle boy would be the one to have an answer for this.
Leon was an experienced master himself, but this thing was just way beyond his scope.
All the eyes suddenly landed on Damien since they considered Damien's words the most important despite him being a young cultivator.
"It is indeed true that we can't live in the Rising Sun Continent forever. There will be a time when our cultivation growth will begin to stagnate or worse. But even if all this is supposed to happen after a long time, we can't tell if it can happen suddenly as well since we don't have people who can predict how the ethereal energy in our atmosphere would change. Still, we shouldn't let Ruthren open that gate since what he would be letting inside will make this place a hell as well," Damien said with a serious face.
Everyone nodded, feeling that what Damien said was right. If Ruthren was going to do something, they knew he was up to no good and not with noble intentions of saving this continent.
"So what should we do? Other than Olivia, the other two emperors still support the opening of the gates, right?" Lily asked with wrinkled brows.
"That is because they don't know the truth," Elor stated.
"No, we don't have to think about Daugmir anymore. He is not the Gale Emperor from here on. And I am sure Damien can convince Kale to not go with whatever Ruthren says," Irene said.
"So we only have to focus on the Lancaster Empire, right?" Marvin asked.
"Let me and my father set a meeting with the Lancaster Emperor. Damien, you should come with me as well, of course. I am sure you can convince the emperor. He is not dumb or corrupt like Daugmir, and I am sure he will get the message. Maximus might help him understand as well," Yuria said to Damien.
"But he is still an emperor. As an emperor, he would be most worried about losing his empire's heritage and people. So if he already believes Ruthren for some reason, it might be hard to change his mind. My father always knew how to manipulate people into doing his bidding. The reason he doesn't even seem to bother about Olivia means he probably doesn't need her," Reva said with a look of contemplation.
"Olivia must have one of the keys to open the gate, right? So if Damien has her under control, then Ruthren shouldn't be able to open the gate. So is there really a need to convince the Lancaster Emperor?" Lily asked.
Marvin suddenly shook his head with a heavy look, "Sigh…I can confirm what our miss Reva said. Olivia never had the key. I obviously wouldn't trust something that important to her. But...Ruthren was one step ahead, and he blackmailed me into handing over the key to him."
Lily placed her hand on her chest as she asked worriedly, "Blackmailed you? What do you mean, grandpa? What did he do?" Lily felt that someone as powerful as her ancestor, who possesses a strong will as well, wouldn't bend his back to Ruthren. And that only made her feel even more worried.
"Right after your father died and I refused to hand over the key to Olivia, Ruthren immediately came to see me. He told me that my empire would just weaken even more from here on and that the only way to save this empire was by handing you over to him by marriage. He even offered many riches and other benefits that could have helped our Rong Empire. Still, I refused him, but then that monster said that he would raze the Rong Empire to the ground and take you away anyway," Marvin said with a pained expression.
"Grandpa…" Lily's chin trembled as her eyes began to get misty while feeling even more resentful at Ruthren to see how he didn't even have a shred of humanity in his heart.
"So…you ended up giving the key to protect Lily. But I don't understand. Ruthren never made a move on Lily for the past two years. He isn't really the kind to honor promises to get what he wants," Damien mused.
Marvin scoffed as he said, "You are right, and I knew it as well, especially after hearing him mention destroying an entire empire without batting an eye. So the only choice I had was to make sure he doesn't come anywhere near Lily until she matures and I get enough time to hide her away. That is why I asked for a tournament when she turns 20. I made him sign an ethereal contract that would prevent him from breaking his word. But in return, I had to give up the key to him. Haa….I wish there was a better way to do things."
