Chapter 801 Nine years
Lex was not even remotely tempted by Bacterius' offer. As if the man himself was not suspicious enough, he was refusing to properly explain what the invitation was or who it was from. He also did not explain its purpose properly, and seemed more focused on teasing Lex.
Perhaps inviting Lex was just an excuse, and in reality he hoped that Lex would not attend. Something like this could be a shady way of ensuring the success of someone who would consider Lex a threat.
Of course, this was just a random guess Lex had, and was one of endless possibilities.
"I don't need to test my pride, nor validate my worth. Thank you for the invitation, but if that is all, I am not interested."
Maybe if Bacterius had gone about it a different way Lex would at least be curious about the tournament. After all, Bacterius himself had proved himself to be quite powerful, and yet he was only incharge of extending invitations. Clearly this matter was far from simple.
Moreover, if the tournament really encompassed everyone across the Origin realm, then Lex could make a few guesses of his own over who the tournament was being held by. But in his current mood, he was not the least bit interested.
Bacterius, who had been grinning in confidence earlier, froze upon hearing Lex's refusal. He had been sure that would work. He even watched a few marketing videos that said he had to bait his clients into developing curiosity before he could get them. He planned this out thoroughly, but it was not going well.
His smile faded a bit as he quickly thought of his next plan of action. Among all his peers, he had the lowest number of accepted invitations. If that did not charge, he would be humiliated.
"If you are not interested, that's fine," Bacterius said, feigning disinterest. He remembered the marketing video said he had to appear as if he did not need the clients business, but rather that his business was bringing benefits to the client.
"However, it won't hurt to know a little about the tournament either way. Afterwards, if you still remain uninterested, that is up to you. No one is forced to attend."
Bacterius felt that his shift in strategy was extremely flawless, and that Lex would not notice at all. But Lex, who spent countless hours dealing with guests and talking with people of all ilk, immediately picked up when Bacterius changed his body language and actual language as well.
He immediately made a judgment that Bacterius was someone with an incredibly high level of cultivation who had lived for a very long time, and thus was not used to speaking to people. He was more used to others sucking up to him and hanging on his every word, so that he never needed to make any effort at all.
"Some things you are genuinely not qualified to know, and are even better off remaining unaware of. But no doubt, you have heard of a few things. Have you ever heard of the war with the Fuegan? You've surely heard of the Henali Conventions. You probably feel like these things are too far away from you, and while that may be the case now, as long your cultivation keeps rising that won't always be the case.
"Well, this tournament is an opportunity to get a head start on these things, and secure the future of your cultivation by getting in contact with the peak of the Origin realm. The purpose of the tournament is to uncover the best of the best, and provide them with the support they need to properly flourish.
"You probably know how difficult it is to cultivate. For now, you can get by on the resources you accumulate on your own. But as your level grows, the resources you need will grow ever scarce. To accumulate them you will need the power of an entire organization or sect. When you enter the immortal realm, growing will be even harder. Entire galaxies are unable to give birth to a single Heavenly immortal all too often. That's not because those galaxies lack the necessary resources, but that they are too scattered and well hidden. It is almost impossible to regularly come across all your required resources on your own, let alone get your hands on incredible techniques and special items that can help you maintain the overwhelming strength you have in your current realm. After all, although you can surpass your realm now, there is no guarantee that in higher realms you won't become average.
"But through this tournament, if you can prove yourself, you will be given the best opportunities across the entire realm, let alone galaxy. Maybe someone of your skill has already been invited to Ventura. That is one path cultivators can take, but it is not the only path. Moreover, joining Ventura comes with its own restrictions, and is not suitable for everyone.
"This tournament, however, is an opportunity that comes with no strings attached. Of course, if you get selected, and become eligible for the next stages, then you can choose whether you want to continue or not. After all, at that point there will be a few conditions. But that comes later. Here, I'm leaving the entry toke with you. The tournament will begin in nine years. You can decide what to do by then."
Without waiting for Lex to reject again, Becterius disappeared, leaving behind what looked like a convention coupon. Lex… did not know how to respond. It seemed teleporting away to end a conversation was not just a habit he had.
He looked at the coupon and scanned it with his spirit sense, but discovered nothing extraordinary about it except that it had his name on it.
After considering it briefly, he decided to put it in his spatial bangle. He would leave it at the Inn for now. Nine years was a long time, who knew what the situation would be then.
He closed his eyes and began meditating. He had to wait for the confirmation from Hix, and for this planet to connect to the Inn.
He decided not to leave his room until everything was done, and he could leave this planet. There was already so much trouble, he did not want to attract more.
Slowly the day turned to night, and nothing worth mentioning happened - to Lex at least. On the border of the town, a pale elf was running as if his life depended on it. A few miles behind him, cloaked figures seemed to be searching for his tracks.
Chapter 802 Boring when nothing happens
Lex spent the next few hours peacefully cultivating in his room, but discovered that it was much harder for him to lose his sense of time like before. Previously, Lex would get lost in the feeling of cultivating, especially since he could feel himself grow stronger.
But now that he had tasted how it felt to cultivate atop a dragon, normal cultivation no longer enticed him as much. This was especially because his gains were measurably greater whilst atop the dragon.
Eventually, his thoughts could not help but veer towards his family. His parents were a lot more formidable than he assumed. They did not just have the backing of a powerful family like the Williams family, but also had tremendous individual strength. If that was the case, he really could not imagine what reason there could be for them to keep him out of the loop.
He sighed, then stopped thinking about such matters. To be entirely honest, he no longer even cared what their reasons were. He had completely moved on from it.
There was, however, a single thought that occurred to him, one that he did not contemplate for long since there was no way of verifying it. On the entire planet Earth, it seemed that he was one of the most unique beings, if one did not count Bastet or Falak. His connection to the Origin realm and the cultivation world was much more complicated than even he ever realized. Given that, and the fact that there were about 8 billion humans, and countless billion other animals, the chances that *he* specifically would get the system by accident were too low. It was almost as if it were by design. After all, unless his family continued to ignore him until he died, it was destined that his life would be extremely eventful.
Whatever the case, whether it was concerning the system or his family, he put it aside. These were matters he would consider in greater detail when he was stronger. As for his family…
So he had family problems, what was the big deal? As a millennial, that came standard for him. He let his thoughts wander on other things for a while.
Lex could easily deduce that the tournament he had been invited to was some watered down, basic version of the upcoming Champions tourney. As the Innkeeper he already had an invitation, but knowing that he as Lex had one as well felt nice.
He suddenly had the urge to compete between his two identities. As the Innkeeper he had many advantages, but as Lex he had very few connections or affiliations. He was more or less developing his Innkeeper identity regardless of whether he wanted to or not, but his own identity was really lagging behind.
Originally he didn't care about it, for he did not have a complex about his identities. Whether he was called the Innkeeper, Leo or Lex, all of them were him. Sure he behaved differently when exhibiting each identity, but even that different behavior was a part of him. But the idea of competing seemed… interesting.
If that was the case, how should he compete? As far as fame went, both Lex and the Innkeeper identities had various levels of fame across the Origin realm. Then it came to connections and influence. As the Innkeeper, he had all of the Midnight Inn at his disposal, and had connections to various Dao Lords.
As Lex, he had that connection to a mysterious man who was much stronger than anyone he had ever met, but that was not a connection he could really leverage. In that case, the best of his connections were a few Earth Immortals down in the Crystal realm.
The main difference was that as the Innkeeper he would not need to do anything, and everyone would come and find him. As Lex, if he wanted to develop his connections and influence, he would need to be more proactive.
Was this really something he should waste his time on? It wasn't as if he had only a few things on his plate.
After considering it for a moment, he decided that he would not go out of his way to do anything, as he had his priorities set, but since he had the time and energy, he might as well make the most of it right now.
He stood up, no longer content to cultivate without his 'Dragon Cultivation Mat'. It seemed he had been in the wrong for blaming his fate for always getting him into trouble. Now that no trouble had come his way, he was a little bored.
He stepped out of his room and began to stroll the streets with his hands in his pockets. Although there were no streetlights, many of the plants around him gave off a gentle, bluish-green light that not only illuminated his path but gave the entire town an entirely different vibe from during the day.
The streets were not empty, and seemed just as busy as they were during the day. The only difference was that everyone made sure not to make too much noise, staying as hushed as possible.
Feeling like he had entered a storybook, Lex walked the streets and took in inspiration from all that he saw around him. At night, the Inn was usually illuminated by the sea of floating lanterns in the sky, but it wasn't a bad idea to incorporate bioluminescent plants here and there. Of course he could not add them randomly, as he used to do back in his early days in the Inn.
Instead, he would find suitable locations where the lanterns don't shine. That way, at night, different areas of the Inn would take on different shades.
Lex smiled as he walked among the crowds. It seemed that he was most comfortable when he was around large crowds of people. Getting a system focused around having lots of guests really suited him.
His casual, simple stroll slowly led him to the heart of the town, and then through it towards the outer boundary of the town on the other side. This entire time, he had been following the path outlined by his instincts. Something interesting was waiting for him this way.
A few minutes later, once Lex had left the proper path and ventured into the grassy wilderness, he discovered an elf laying flat on the ground, panting and heaving as if he had run the longest marathon of his life.
The moment the elf saw Lex, surprise and fear flashed in his eyes and he froze. He seemed to have given up on life, and was waiting for an inevitable horror to descend onto him.
"I guess I shouldn't be asking if you're alright," said Lex as he squatted down and summoned a bottle of recovery pills from his spatial bangle. The pills not only sped up the recovery of spiritual energy within the body, they also helped eliminate some physical fatigue. They were very generic pills, although he had them in the best possible quality available, and were some of the many items he took with him on his excursions now.
He had come a long way from only carrying a few gold coins and a couple of weapons whenever he visited a new planet.
"These will help you regain some of your stamina," Lex said as he held out the bottle. "I'm not sure who you're hiding from, but I assure you, I have nothing to do with them."
"Wait you… you don't recognize me?" asked the elf, his voice filled with equal amounts of incredulity and a sense of being offended.
"Should I recognize you? If you're someone famous on this planet, I only arrived a short while ago so I haven't really had the time to get acquainted with the local culture."
As Lex spoke, he looked out towards the horizon for any sign of the elfs pursuers, but there was no indication of them for now.
"Is someone trying to harm you? I was under the impression that this was a very safe planet," he commented. Powell had told him that there was a formation covering the entire planet and that the Tilaiyans took security very strongly.
"Harm me? That's the understatement of the century!" said the elf despondently as he swallowed one of the pills and handed Lex the bottle back. "That old geezer is trying to get me married! A single interplanetary incident with the princess of Astoria, and now I have to 'take responsibility'. What 'take responsibility'? All I did was flirt with her a little bit and use her authority to enter the Field of Sacred Grains."
The elf was grumbling, but then suddenly realized that all his energy was entirely recovered! A moment ago he had been completely spent, yet now he was as fit as a fiddle.
"What kind of pills did you give me? Even I've never had something like that."
"So you're someone famous on this planet, and you're getting married," Lex mused, ignoring his question. He had too many of such pills he had taken from the emporium so he never really considered them too valuable.
"Based on my luck, I'm guessing… you must be the heir of this place, right?"
Chapter 803 Tragic life of an heir
"Yes, yes, how did you know?" asked the pale elf?
He stood up and took a good look at Lex, but with his entire body covered, there naturally wasn't much to see. To hide his current situation, he had his entire body covered from head to toe.
"Oh, you're from one of those races! My apologies, I didn't mean to stare," the elf quickly said as he looked away from Lex.
"One of what races? I think you may be misunderstanding something. As for how I could tell you were the heir, it was simple enough. There's no need to consider you talking about princesses or anything else. Just based on my luck, I wouldn't encounter an ordinary situation."𝓵𝙞𝓫𝒓𝙚𝓪𝓭.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"You're quite confident in your luck," the elf replied, not realizing what Lex had meant.
"Quite. Speaking of my luck, do you want to leave this area? If you're being pursued, then your pursuers might stumble right onto us if we don't leave."
"Yes, yes, that's a great idea. And I know just where to go!" the elf said before beginning to hastily march towards town. "Will you be coming as well? I'd like to repay you for the pill."
"Why not?" Lex said as he joined the elf. "I'd like to hear the story of the heir being forced into a marriage. So far, I've only encountered happy couples, so this will be somewhat of a change. By the way, how did you get out of the princess situation? I thought Tilaiya was supposed to be a neutral entity."
"It is!" the elf said with a look of regret on his face. "The old geezer incharge directly told the princesses' family that he would accept any punishment I receive without any interference since I started the situation to begin with. He likes looking high and mighty, but I know he was just getting back at me. The old geezer has kept me on neutral territory my whole life, so he wasn't exactly pleased that I left to begin with."
"What was your punishment? Is that princess your bride to be?"
"No, nothing like that. I had to give up all my gains from the Field of Sacred Harvest, and pay a little more on top. It's quite sad, I have to say. The field is, predictably, filled with the absolute best harvest in the galaxy. A single crop or fruit from there just… tastes absolutely divine! I mean, yes it's good for you and packed with all kinds of medical benefits, but let's be real here. It's the absolute divine taste that has everyone hooked."
Lex did not comment, and simply silently wondered if the prince was someone 'special'. Was that why he had been locked on his own territory his whole life?
"But once I got back, the geezer decided I was too wild and irresponsible. In his words, I was not taking my role as heir seriously at all, and that I needed a wife to 'tame' me."
The heir scoffed at that, and looked absolutely disgusted.
"It seems to me that you're not quite happy with your position as heir, so why don't you give it up? That way you'll be able to do whatever you want."
Lex was only speaking randomly, but little did he expect that the heir resonated with his words tremendously!
"Exactly! I think so too! Since I've been young I've tried to get out of it. Sure it brings with it a lot of power and authority, but neither of those things are edible. They also come with a lot of baggage. Frankly, I'm not interested."
Although their conversation seemed casual, the two of them were moving quite quickly now that the heir had recovered somewhat. Instead of continuing deeper into the wilderness, where no one may notice him, they actually went directly into town. A few passerbyers already noticed the heir, and were struck with confusion since they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Lex did not comment on the situation, and just followed the heir, as he seemed to know exactly where he was going.
"But the way we do things here is a little different. Are you familiar with Darmin?" he asked.
Darmin was the name of the neutral organization which ran Tilaiya.
"Besides the fact that they run Tilaiya, not at all. I only came to this planet because I was interested in the potential for trade it presented."
"I guessed as much. It's quite simple. Darmin owns 4 star systems, and we have about 21 habitable planets within that space. The territory is quite small, but we are able to maintain our neutral stance even so. In fact, we even accept dealing with pirates and all kinds of outlaws, and do so quite openly.
"Such actions not only begin retaliation from the forces in which those outlaws are wanted, but often we are targeted by those very same outlaws as well. All in all, there's a lot of pressure. We would not be able to cope with it, and maintain our situation if we were weak. But at the same time, being strong also presents a conundrum, for why would the strong limit their own expansion? After all, everyone knows that the stronger one is, the more resources they require."
Now, thoroughly within the center of the town, the heir led Lex to a very inconspicuous little restaurant. There were only four, small tables and a counter where guests could sit, and at this hour the entire place was deserted. The restaurant remained open nonetheless, and their heir sat down on the counter, ignoring the state of the place.
"Three bowls of the Spicy bowl please!" the heir yelled in the back, prompting the sound of dishes falling down somewhere in the kitchen. Clearly his yell had startled someone, but the heir simply continued his story.
"The reason why we are strong, yet choose to remain neutral and not expand, is because we already have everything we need to grow incredibly strong, and more!"
Chapter 804 Old Geezer
The heir sighed, as if lamenting the abundant availability of endless resources, practically paving the cultivation path for himself. What a burden it must be to be rich!
"You'll excuse me if I don't go into the details," the heir said casually, as if it was already understood. "But the point is that, ultimately, what Darmin values is a specific kind of talent. Unfortunately, I have talent pouring out of my every pore, so from the day I was born, I was destined to be heir. Did you know, I'm not even related to any of the previous rulers?
"My parents ran a small clinic in the capital. When I was born, and my talents detected, the royal family adopted me outright. My parents received 13 billion supreme spirit stones, as well as noble titles, property, as well as the ownership of one of Tilaiya's 13 moons. Suffice to say, after that, my parents became extremely busy trying to give me as many siblings as possible. Unfortunately, none of them have even a spec of talent compared to mine."
The heir sounded both proud and mad at that statement.
"So who are you supposed to be marrying then, if not the princess? My name is Lex, by the way."
Since he was building connections, there was no point in hiding his identity, though he seriously doubted anyone would connect him in his current state to Lex William, dragon tamer!
"Oh, yes, introductions. Nice to meet you Lex, my name is Kenta Haru. Sorry, I'm not used to introducing myself, I forgot it was something one has to do. As for my fiancée, I am not sure of her identity yet. She has been selected for me. No doubt, she will also be tremendously talented, though not as much as me, or she would be the heir. Moreover, she will no doubt have a steady and stable personality, to keep me in check in the future."
Kenta sounded absolutely disgusted at his own words.
From behind the counter, the kitchen door opened and another elf walked out, holding a tray carrying three steaming bowls. Lex was already mentally prepared to face some extremely unusual alien food, but was genuinely surprised to find that he had been served ramen! It seemed that it was not so unusual that the elves also cooked ramen. After all, in their long lives, they had probably experimented with various kinds of foods!
The elf tapped the wooden counter twice, and three pairs of chopsticks grew right out of the wood!
Treating it as completely normal, the heir grabbed the chopsticks and began eating.
"So what's your plan? Do you think you can actually run away from the wedding?"
"Oh absolutely not," Kenta replied casually. "The entirety of Tilaiya is being monitored, not to mention the fact that all teleportation formations have been disabled to prevent me from escaping. No, I'll probably be ignored until I'm needed. But you know, as a man, I must at least show some form of protest! How can I just accept without expressing my dissatisfaction? I need to run away at least a couple more times during the wedding itself!"
"If… if you don't expect to actually escape, why did you run till you actually collapsed?" Lex asked, looking at their heir strangely.
"Well, even though the royal family knows I cannot actually escape, they also have to go through the motions and try and prevent me. To get away, I actually had to erase a formation that had been conjured right on my very skin! I had to actually excrete all the spiritual energy within my body to cause the formation to fail. I bet they never saw that one coming."
"So this is all just a game? How anticlimactic. And here I thought that I was going to help you escape from a wedding."
"Hahaha, no, to actually do that is impossible! This guy won't let me."
Kenta pointed at the empty seat beside him, and Lex looked there but saw no one. The seat was empty. He was just about to say so when he noticed that the third bowl, which had been placed in front of the seat, was empty!
His pupils constricted and he looked back at the seat, and this time saw a rather aged looking elf who winked at Lex. The elf had long, braided gray hair that reached the floor, and a short but well groomed gray beard.
"Please, go ahead. I'm quite curious to see how you can help my adopted son here escape his wedding."
The man had no aura at all whatsoever, and appeared entirely forgettable, despite the fact that it wasn't common for elves to have beards.
"Were you with us the entire time?" Lex asked, having quickly recovered from the surprise earlier. At this point, he was all too used to very strong cultivators acting mysteriously. He was even looking forward to the day he could do the same.
"Not really, but there's no place on this planet, or even this entire star system where my spirit sense cannot reach."
"Lex, meet my adopted father, or as I like to call him old geezer. Don't mention his age. Don't ask his age. When I was young and did something bad, he would punish me by making me count all the way to his age without skipping a single number. I've spent a few good years doing nothing except counting if you add up all the time I've spent, so I don't like to think about it."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Lex as he began to eat his ramen as well. Both Kenta and his father were surprised by how quickly Lex adapted to the situation, but did not comment on it.
"By the way, you shouldn't challenge me. I really can help him escape his wedding, even if you watch the entire process with your spirit sense."
At this point, both Kenta and his father looked at Lex with curiosity.
"Are you sure Lex? Don't let the geezer fool you, he's a genuine Celestial Immortal."
Chapter 805 A bet
Lex took in Kenta's words easily, as by now he was all too used to bumping into extremely strong cultivators. But while he was not surprised to hear the knowledge, encountering powerful cultivators outside the Inn was very dangerous. Not only did he have to maintain proper decorum to ensure he did not offend the other in any way, but he had to utilize this opportunity to the best of his abilities, and expand his network!
The greatest advantage he had in the current situation was that as someone from a neutral organization, the chances of being killed or harmed were extremely low. The categorization of a neutral organization was extremely difficult to attain, as this was one given through the Henali portal and not assumed by oneself. As long as Lex did not break any laws, he did not have to fear randomly being targeted.
But at the same time, he had to act as if his meeting with Hix had been exposed. Theoretically, there was no reason for a Celestial Immortal to be spying on him at that time. That was most likely even true. However, there was no guarantee that he could not detect clues on or around Lex.
Essentially, besides the system, Lex had to assume that all of his secrets were laid bare in front of the immortal. After all, the gap between them was too big. Lex could not even begin to imagine the power the elf in front of him wielded.
Fortunately, the reason Powell had sent him here to begin with was that even if Lex were to be discovered contacting Hix, there should be no issue. After all, as a planet of a true neutral organization, Tilaiya was often the ground for such clandestine meetings.
"My apologies for not acknowledging you sooner, senior," Lex said, though it was clear from his voice that he lacked the usual reverence and fear that was associated with meeting a powerful cultivator.
"Not at all. In fact, I would be surprised if you had acknowledged me earlier. I admit, I am curious, however, about how you can help this brat escape from under my nose."
"It is not difficult, because it's not my power that I would be using to do it," Lex said, before slowly lowering his mask. He had removed half of it to reveal his mouth so that he could eat, but that had revealed the gruesome state of his body. Now that he was done eating, he naturally would not continue to put himself on display, especially with a Celestial Immortal nearby.
"But, even though I can do it, that does not mean I actually will. Interfering in local political matters is no doubt illegal, and I still have work here that needs to be done. I don't want to be arrested. Besides, what would you even do if you managed to escape? Do you even know how to live life without the status of an heir?"
"Pft, if it were some noble pursuit I would at least be impressed. But no, what this no good son of mine wants to do is open up a small restaurant somewhere and create new cuisines. Truly a waste."
"What do you know about noble pursuits? I am a common elf with humble roots. Doing mundane tasks is in my blood! Creating delicious food is my divine duty, and even the status of heir will not prevent me from following this path. I-"
"Alright, alright," said Kenta's father, muting him with a wave of his finger. It seemed like he had heard this speech too many times. This elf… truly did not exude the usual dignity and arrogance of a peak cultivator. Or perhaps, because of his strength, he did not need to pretend to be anything other than himself.
"You're quite interesting, Lex. I sense quite a few auras on you. Let's see, there's that human, Jotun."
The elf said his name with derision, as if he did not like Jotun at all. But while there was derision, Lex could not sense disdain of him being weak. That either meant that Jotun was not exactly weak, or that Lex was reading too much into the situation.
"There's also some inscriptions in your body. Hmm, that's interesting, the inscriptions are using your body as talisman paper. Quite ingenious, but not good for you in the long run. Let's see, there's also… senior Zuri Adisa!"
Instinctively, the elf straightened his back as he said the name, as if even mentioning her required the appropriate decorum.
"You also have the aura of a dragon on you, the aura of a primordial seed, the aura of… my goodness, look at me. I could not control myself at all! I did not mean to pry, I was just wondering whose strength you could possibly use to take the brat away. But even with everything I've seen, I cannot find an answer. Now, I truly am curious.
"I'll leave you with an invitation to the brats wedding. There will be a lot of ceremonies, but in essence, the main wedding ceremony will be in five days. If you can take this brat away before that happens, not only will I not charge you with any crime, but I will help you remove one of the inscriptions in your body. Whoever placed them there was very skilled, but clearly they did not account for your cultivation technique. It's interfering with your growth. You should really find a way to get rid of them all before you become an immortal."
Kenta, who had been muted this entire time, was extremely surprised when he heard his old man speak. He tried to comment in the middle, but his words wouldn't come out.
Lex was also surprised, not by anything else, but from the fact that the immortal offered to help him voluntarily. That was not something he expected from someone who was supposed to be neutral. If he had to guess, it may be a way of him apologizing for investigating Lex.
Whatever the case, if he could get rid of the inscriptions, it was truly worth it.
"Are you sure it won't cause any problems? Isn't the heir important to you?"
"Ho ho, look at that confidence. You are quite certain that you'll be able to take him away from me. In that case, do not worry. Even if he is gone, Darmin will not suffer."
"In that case, I'll see you in five days."
The immortal smiled, before he and the heir disappeared from their seats, slowly fading away.
"Old geezer, that's not like you," said Kenta, who reappeared with his father inside a large mansion.
"I made a mistake. I thought he was a junior, but how was I supposed to know that he would have such a deep background? Since I saw that which I should not have seen, I need to repay him lest I become infected by his karma. Giving him this opportunity is my repayment."
"What did you see?" Kenta asked curiously.
The heirs' father did not answer, but an image flashed in his mind. The last aura he sensed, before he awoke from his stupor and stopped, was the aura of the accursed Cthulhu clan. He had flashbacks of the damned war they fought, and how devastating their powers were. He thought that clan had perished, so why was there someone who wore their aura still around?
He did not know, nor did he want to find out. The Origin realm was really not peaceful these days, it was best to stay away from trouble.
"You should prepare. Your first public appearance is in a few hours."
Kenta grumbled, but walked away anyway. There was no point in arguing. He did not really expect to be rescued by Lex, so he needed to maintain the best possible relationship with the old geeze. Moreover, even if he really escaped, could he really stay away indefinitely?
He turned back and looked at his adopted father. No, it was absolutely impossible. When he had to choose between freedom, and possibly becoming a Celestial immortal, he would choose the latter every time.
Back at the restaurant, Lex looked at the angry waiter with confusion.𝓁𝑖𝒷𝑟𝘦𝒶𝑑.𝒸𝘰𝘮
"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"What do you mean what's wrong? This is a restaurant, not a charity. If you eat, you have to pay. Three spicy bowls, so that's three Tilaiyan credits! If you can't pay, I'm reporting you to the police!"
Did the… did the heir as well as the literal immortal just… dine and dash? Damn, they could at least have warned him so he could have dashed as well.
On second thought, he could not break any of the laws here, apparently the whole planet was being monitored.
"No, it's just a misunderstanding. I'll pay right away," said Lex weakly as he transferred the credits. Now that he had stirred up a little trouble, his heart was finally at peace and he could rest. Maybe he'd even go back and take a nap - he couldn't remember the last time he did that.
Chapter 806 Another cultivation session
Lex thought that he would barely nap for half an hour, or that if he entered deep sleep he'd be out for a couple of hours at most. He couldn't be blamed for thinking as such because lately he would sleep very less unless he was injured and using his recovery techniques.
Even though, right now, he was technically injured, he did not plan on using any recovery techniques, so he planned on only passing a few hours at most. Unfortunately, due to the fact that none of his pain receptors were working, and his incredible physique allowed him to function normally, he underestimated how injured he really was.
That was not to mention that any time he was injured, his spirit was injured as well, which really affected his decision making skills. It was the most significant flaw of his cultivation technique. Though to be fair, Regal Embrace was on the path to ensure that he never got hurt in the first place. Now though, the end result would be up to his own efforts.
He fell asleep the moment he hit the bed, and entered a deep dreamless sleep. He did not move or flinch, or even let out a single sound besides his soft breathing, until he was roused from sleep by the sound of a system notification.
Lex woke up a little disoriented, wondering who he was and what was going on. A couple of moments later he remembered everything, and realized that he may have overslept.
"Mary, how long was I sleeping?" he asked as he stifled a yawn, and pushed himself up. The bones in his back gave out a satisfying crack as he stretched.
"A little over thirty hours," she said, sounding distracted.
"Thirty hours?" he repeated, startled.
He checked to see what notification he had received and saw that the planet had already been connected to the Inn, and he could head back at any time that he wanted.
But, fortunately, not too much time had passed and the notification had come very timely. If he missed the wedding ceremony, he would not suffer any harm but he would lose an opportunity that was not easy to come by. So far, only Celestial immortals had been able to sense the inscriptions in his body, and it was not easy to meet them, let alone get their help.
Speaking of which, he had guessed earlier that Jotun was also a Celestial Immortal, and that fact had more or less been confirmed by the heir's father. Jotun having such a cultivation was something Lex could understand and accept, since he was the Emperor of a massive empire and worked for the Henali directly.
But this small neutral organization, Darmin, which barely had a few star systems, was also led by a Celestial immortal? Did that mean that, in essence, Darmin was just as powerful as the empire? At least in terms of the power of their upper echelon. But one spanned galaxies, and the other did not even cover 1% of a single galaxy. How was that possible?
Ultimately he could not come up with an answer, and chalked it up to the personal preference of the Celestial immortals. But whatever opportunity that Kenta had been talking about that required his special talent must be extraordinary if it was enough to keep a Celestial satisfied.
The outline of a plan formed in Lex's mind as he checked the card that the Hix assassin had left him. A small, gray circle had formed on it, indicating that the task had been accepted by Hix. Fortunately he did not oversleep, or he would miss the deadline to pay the assassin organization.
He channeled his spirit energy inside and received the details of the required payment. Since Barley's cultivation level was low, the task was originally not expensive. However, since his location was unknown, to the extent that not even the star system could be determined, the price shot up drastically.
It was sufficient to say that the price of this commission was completely not worth it for an ordinary person. However Lex was not ordinary, and the price meant nothing to him. Not only was his museum of wealth filled with countless treasures, and spirit stones, but soon he would receive the first payment from those refugees from Earth who had leased out a Minor realm. Their payments would be in terms of resources mined and collected from that realm instead of MP, so at this point it could even be said that the cost to hunt down someone through an entire galaxy… cost but a paltry sum for him.
He channeled more spirit energy into the card, causing it to turn to ash once again and form the 'Reality Filter' once again painting a portion of his room black and white. He placed a small spatial ring filled with 1 billion spirit stones, 130 vials of spirit liquid and 10 tons of a version of gold called Red vein Gold.
All of these came from his loot from the dragon hoard, and didn't even cover 1% of what he looted, let alone what was in the hoard itself.
At that thought, Lex could not help but lick his lips. Robbing dragons was a very lucrative business.
"Hey Pel, you don't happen to remember any old or dying dragons, do you?" he asked.
"I know many old dragons, but none who are dying," the wooden ring answered dutifully.
Lex shook his head. He hadn't asked the question seriously. He was not crazy enough to go face a living dragon right now. Maybe when he reached the peak of the Nascent realm he could consider it.
The filter vanished, alongside the payment, and the card reformed. Satisfied, Lex put the card in his spatial bangle and disappeared back to the Inn.
He spent a couple of hours handling various tasks at the Inn. Recently, the population of the aquatic beasts inside the Inn was booming and he needed to expand his rivers and lakes to ensure there was enough space for them. In fact, he decided to make a super massive lake far away from the main attractions where they could live for now.
Once all urgent tasks were taken care of, Lex grabbed a device connected to the Henali portal, and teleported back to his restroom. By now, unfortunately, Lex had learned to tolerate the unique cultivation conditions absorbing items with laws required. He planned on using his next 'cultivation session' to do some research on Kenta's wedding and come up with a proper plan.
Even though all it would take was to hand him a key to the Inn and crush it, Lex did not know how easy or hard the Celestial was going to make it for him. He planned on treating it like an infiltration mission, allowing him to once again act like a spy.
Not delaying the matter further, Lex bit the blade of grass given to him by Zuri, and began his cultivation session. A couple of hours later, once Lex had gotten used to it, he began perusing the Henali portal.
He looked up royal weddings in Tilaiya, and what customs they usually entailed. He looked into what Kenta's wedding would entail, and discovered something unusual. No one knew who the bride was yet! There was endless speculation on why the identity of the bride was hidden, but the most popular conspiracy seemed to be that she had a troublesome identity, which matched the habits of the similarly frivolous heir.
Lex did not believe it, nor did he care so much about it. What truly caught his attention was that there was no real mention or detailed explanation of the inner workings of Darmin, just a brief mention that each star system was controlled by a different family. At the same time, it was mentioned that Kenta was only the heir to Tilaiya, not Darmin. Moreover, his adopted father was only in charge of the star system with Tilaiya in it.
How was it possible that a Celestial was not in charge of the entire organization, but just a single star system? The only way that made sense was if there were more Celestials in other star systems. But, how was that even possible? Celestials did not grow on trees, they were not so easy to come across.
Lex raised his guard somewhat as the ambiguity of the situation concerned him somewhat. It also strengthened his motivation to build a connection with Kenta, and be in Darmins good books. He did not expect any significant help from a neutral organization, but sometimes having a relationship was help enough.𝓁𝒾𝒷𝘳ℯ𝘢𝑑.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Twelve hours later, a weak Lex crawled out of the bathroom. He began to seriously doubt the prophecy he had received. Maybe what Leslie had foreseen was not regret that could only be avoided using a blade. Maybe what she saw was him regretting the decision to use it.
When he remembered that he had 90% more of the blade still left, Lex lost the strength in his arms to hold himself up and collapsed.
Chapter 807 Infiltration
A few days later, Lex found himself sitting in the fastest, non-teleportation public transport on Tilaiya. For all intents and purposes, it could be considered a train, except for the fact that it did not require a track and could travel at supersonic speeds.
As the train hurtled forward, its soft vibrations providing a steady backdrop, Lex sat by the window, fixated on the approaching city skyline. Tall towers pierced the sky, glinting in the sunlight, each building a testament to wealth and glory of the capital city of Tilaiya.
The past few days had been spent in painful preparation for today, as he thoroughly investigated not only the layout of the city, the itinerary of the weddings, the necessary proceedings, but also thought out several plans with the help of Pel.
He needed some insight into what to expect from a Celestial, and what Pel told him pretty much solidified his ideas. Basically, he had no hope of hiding anything from the Celestial. Even as he sat in this train, in his stealth suit, he could be assured that the heirs father already knew he was coming, and saw each and everyone one on his moves.
The only possible way for Lex to succeed in his mission is if the Celestial never interfered. If he did anything, even so much as creating an indirect obstruction, then Lex could not hope to win.
But since the 'bet' was not anything too significant, Lex could assume that the Celestial would watch, but not interfere. Of course, this was on the premise that Kenta was not too valuable to Darmin, or that his father was confident that even after escaping he would come back. All in all, there was no point in raising the bet to begin with if he intended to interfere, or at least that is the approach Lex planned on taking with his current objective.
With each heartbeat, a surge of confidence coursed through him, reassured by the thought that he was prepared well enough. After all, under the guidance of his wooden ring, Lex finally got to checking out the dragons library in the last few days.
Most of the books were beyond him, and required some prerequisite knowledge that he lacked, making it so that he could not understand them despite being able to understand the individual words. Of course, there were a few books that even he could gain from.𝑙𝑖𝘣𝓇𝑒𝒶𝘥.𝑐ℴ𝑚
But none of that mattered. What was truly important was that Pel had guided him to a single book that he could not only comprehend, but contained knowledge that he could put to practical use, right from this very mission. All he needed to do was master the written technique.
If his system was a little different, and showed him the amount of progress he made in cultivating his techniques to proficiency, then currently it would clearly show that he had, with his newfound analytic skills and powerful mind, comprehended?0.1% of the technique!
While that percentage may sound abysmal and pathetic, it was only so if there was no context. The technique he was learning was not a spiritual, soul or body technique. Instead, it was one specifically to be used by Dragons Might! As his Domination grew stronger by absorbing Dragons Might, it could also use the same technique!
But even though he could only understand such a small amount, that was already enough at his level. He could subtly influence Domination, and change the effect it had on people. It no longer necessarily had to suppress or pressure them, but could instead make them feel various different emotions or sensations.
Of course Lex had not mastered that yet, he barely understood enough to reduce his sense of presence further. This made it so that even if people saw him, they would subconsciously ignore him.
The effect was very weak right now, but when augmenting his stealth suit, the overall result was commendable.
He planned on further augmenting his stealth capabilities by bringing Fenrir, but discovered that the pup had fallen into a deep sleep upon its return from Frigra. Why did this pup sleep so much?
He had only asked the question rhetorically, but Pel had provided him with a sincere answer. Lex had used a very potent and powerful binding talisman on Fenrir to bind the two together, keeping himself as the master always. He had procured the talisman from the Emporium, and other than binding the pet with the master, it had the effect of linking their cultivations.
If one of them was stronger than the other, through their bond, they would influence the other as well, raising the speed at which they cultivated.
If Lex had a greater cultivation level, that was great for Fenrir. But if the pup tried to gain a higher level, and thereby support Lex's cultivation, it would hit a roadblock. This was due to the fact that Lex's cultivation techniques had historically been as far outside of normal as possible. It was like tying the pup to a mountain and asking it to drag the mountain along.
It just wasn't possible.
So, when it encountered a situation where its cultivation was rising, the bond forcibly stopped that rise. If there was a single redeeming factor in all of this, it was the fact that all the extra energy in his body would only strengthen him further within his existing realm, and not harm him. So ultimately, Lex was helping him in the long run.
As the train steadily closed the gap between him and the city, Lex's anticipation grew. The distant buildings were now distinct shapes, each one signifying a step closer to the moment of action. Unlike the town where he originally arrived, the capital felt more manufactured and less a part of nature, but that was only comparatively.
Lex gathered up his thoughts, no longer musing randomly, and prepared to disembark. Planning and preparing was all good, but ultimately it was his performance that would determine everything.
As soon as the train stopped, Lex got off and seemingly vanished into the crowds. The city was jam packed, as countless beings from a multitude of races had all gathered to take part in the festivities. It was a way for them to enjoy Darmin's generosity, as well as strengthen their connections with this neutral organization.
A stronger bond would not mean they expected any help with their own matters, but that they could enjoy more benefits within Darmins territories.
All in all, between the tourists, locals, security personnel and foreign dignitaries, the city was jam packed. Even for cultivators and races that could fly there was immense traffic in the air. Anticipating this situation was one of the reasons why Lex arrived in the city hours before the ceremony happened.
Silently, and without attracting any attention, Lex slowly approached the center of the city, where a grand palace stood out even when surrounded by so many majestic buildings. Getting inside the function was not difficult for Lex since he had an invitation, just time consuming. Reaching Kenta once he was inside, however, would be the true obstacle.
All guests would have designated spots where they could freely watch the ceremony, or even roam around. But the area where the ceremony was taking place could only be accessed by a select few who were important guests, relatives or played some role in the ceremony.
The ideal situation was to reach Kenta inside the palace right before he was brought to the main ceremonial altar.
Slowly and steadily, as if he was not in any rush at all, Lex approached the palace without attracting any attention. He also kept his senses peeled, listening in for any latest news regarding the wedding. Even rumors might end up being useful, so he did not dismiss anything.
Yet even with his slow speed, in a couple of hours, Lex had navigated his way through the massive city and approached the palace. Six white bridges connected the city and the palace, which was built on a floating island that had been chained to the ground.
Although Lex could have slipped by easily, he got in line and passed through the queue normally. When he reached the gates, he intentionally coughed loudly to attract the nearby guards attention, before showing him his invitation.
Upon gaining entry he silently followed the guests who walked across the bridge, taking in all its majestic glory. Although Lex did not originally plan on sightseeing, he made an exception because he felt there was something usual about the bridges and the castle. His instincts seemed to have picked up on something, but it was too vague to give him a clear feeling.
Nonetheless, once he reached the end, and finally approached the palace doors, Lex finally veered away from the other guests. He had no interest in going to his specified space, he only needed to find out where Kenta was.
His infiltration mission was finally beginning.