Darian took a deep breath, holding the now-empty pearl. With that, he had obtained the three Sacred Treasures known to everyone in the universe.
Alear smiled. "I didn't have ti to grab the Empire's Treasure, but I left everything ready, Papa."
Darian nodded. He turned around and first focused on the half-dead body of the Emperor, which Niara had kept for him.
Without hesitation, Darian took the Sacred Treasure that controlled ti. Using a soul as a focal point, he could easily read that person's past down to the smallest details.
After an hour, Darian stopped, having seen everything he needed. There were things only the Emperor knew, things even Alear was unaware of. When he finished, Darian gave a slight gesture, and Niara attacked, putting a definitive end to that figure.
After that, Darian turned his attention to Alaric, completely healing him of all injuries.
A few minutes later, he woke up in a state of shock.
"It's okay, she was defeated," Darian said calmly, without going into much detail. "I'm going to pay a visit to the Primordial Empire. Keep an eye on the people who left Golden Sky Mountain."
Without waiting for a response, Darian turned away, leaving Alaric frozen in place.
He regrouped with the others and headed in a specific direction on the island. In one corner, a teleportation inscription led to the island of the Primordial Empire.
Alear guided Darian and Niara through the place without rushing. Along the way, she explained that she had been lucky and landed exactly on that island when she arrived.
Even while weak, she managed to hide for two years in the great forest that existed there, until she fully recovered.
At one point, she ca across a group of cultivators fleeing through the forest in desperation. Then she saw soldiers of the Primordial Empire chasing them.
She realized that those being chased were very weak in power and covered in wounds.
Those Empire soldiers were laughing excitedly, as if it were a fun ga, a twisted hunt where the prey ran while being chased and slowly killed. Alear couldn't hold back and moved to help them, killing those soldiers.
That was how everything began. She discovered that those people were weak, but they were also the children of important rchants on the island. In gratitude, they took her to their hos in the imperial capital, providing her with all the information and everything she needed.
In the end, Alear agreed to work as security for those wealthy rchants. They were constantly targeted by arrogant Empire soldiers, and Alear had no fear at all of killing them.
As expected, a ridiculous ss broke out in the capital because of her, reaching even the second Supre General, the sa one Darian had t in the city.
He investigated everything and went to talk to Alear to demand "explanations." As a result...
...he was brutally beaten by her.
That caught the Emperor's attention. So he acted wisely, calming things down.
Alear looked very young, and since the forest where she had "appeared" was ho to many weak divine beasts, everyone assud she was a very rare human hybrid. A random abomination whose Bloodline had mutated, making her powerful even without cultivation.
Things like that existed in many history books of the Empire. Because of the power of the Nether and the Void, bizarre mutations in beasts happened far more often than normal. So, Alear was placed into that category.
Even without cultivation, she was already a monster. So imagine how strong she could beco if she actually started cultivating.
The Emperor quickly tested her loyalty. Alear, for her part, was smart and understood the opportunity that had appeared.
She acted perfectly, pretending to be exactly who the Emperor thought she was and showing absolute loyalty to him. Little by little, she gained everyone's trust.
"I heard Papa's story many tis, about how he went to Vadise to win over the Royal family and marry Mama. He started as a soldier and rose very quickly to the top. So I did the sa, just a bit more slowly," Alear finished the story, sounding excited.
Niara nodded with pride. By then, they were already approaching the city gates.
A large commotion broke out with their arrival. Within seconds, several people ca out through the gates.
Niara thought they would be hostile, but...
"Lady Alear, are you okay?" the soldiers asked, full of concern.
She gave a slight nod, then turned to Darian. "These are my soldiers. I recruited them myself."
Darian nodded. Their karma was still black, but it had already lightened, close to gray. Alear had always had a strong instinct for judging people, and she had only recruited those she trusted.
As they entered the city, Darian noticed sothing very, very strange.
There were no soldiers with furious looks, nor any signs of destruction.
In fact, the mont Alear arrived, all the residents ca out of buildings and houses to welco her.
Alear murmured with a laugh. "Hehe, when the Emperor left and took the best people with him, I knew Papa was making his move. So I took the chance with my soldiers to do a cleanup. The two Supre Generals were eliminated. And also… I heard Princess lva attacked you with help from that Murkum bastard. They were brought back to the city badly injured, so I took the opportunity to eliminate them along with the Royal family, wiping out all the cancer in this place. When I had already finished everything, that's when the Emperor sent the order to summon the Roc."
Darian nodded, satisfied. This young woman had truly done everything perfectly, cutting all the evil off at the root. She definitely knew all the actions of lva, Murkum, and the other mbers of the Royal family. If there had been any innocent among them, Darian was certain Alear would have spared them.
They moved calmly through the city. More and more people ca out and crowded the streets, opening a wide corridor for them to pass.
In their eyes, there was deep adoration for Alear.
Darian didn't even need to hear the full story to understand. His adopted daughter had spent several years in that city and, while rising in status, had clearly done a lot for the common people. Everyone knew her and liked her. But…
…it wasn't just gratitude.
Everyone in the universe had clearly seen and felt the events involving the Roc's corpse. To everyone in that universe, that dead primordial beast was like a God that continued to protect them even after death.
As for Alear… she destroyed everything and absorbed it completely. Right after that, people felt the awakening of the Divine Nether Beast and were terrified. Then, Darian appeared.
They connected the events and, because of the goodwill they had toward Alear, assud she was the one responsible for saving everyone, alongside another divine figure.
Darian's expression changed as he thought about many things along the way.
When they arrived at the royal castle, they saw several buildings in ruins and felt an extrely dense Yin of death. Everyone inside had been killed, without affecting the people of the city. Currently, the place was occupied only by Alear's army.
She led Darian into the throne room.
At the highest point, resting on a pedestal, was a small pearl.
That Sacred Treasure was completely exhausted after summoning the Roc. Darian calmly stepped forward and picked it up. Now, officially, he had obtained all four… no, actually five Sacred Treasures.
"Can we go ho now?" Alear asked lightly, but her tone didn't carry happiness. She felt a deep sense of loss, knowing she would likely never return to that place.
Darian fixed his gaze on Alear for a few seconds.
She was confused by that evaluating look, but didn't avert her eyes.
Beside her, Niara kept a faint smile on her face; that little girl now carried the aura of a true adult. She had lived her own adventure and conquered everything with her own hands. Now, she had beco a firm, intelligent woman who knew exactly what she wanted.
"Alear…" Darian murmured in a serious tone.
"Yes!" she replied without hesitation. She felt her adoptive father had plans for her, and even without knowing what they were, she would do anything perfectly to help him.
Darian sighed. That young woman now radiated confidence; she looked nothing like the Alear he had t the last ti.
"I think we're going to stay a bit longer in this universe. I have a plan, and I feel like you can pull it off. Do you want to be like your mother and take care of this universe forever?"
Darian spoke calmly, and Alear's eyes widened. She stared at him for a few seconds, then clenched her fists.
"If Papa says I can do it, then I'll do it!"
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