At the rise of the sun, I wake up and look around me, controlling my breath due to my mishap of realizing that I slept on Hui Ying's thighs without keeping any sort of guard.
I put my hand on my face, contemplating how stressful it was, but I'm almost freaked out seeing a figure appearing out of nowhere in front of me.
"Acantha, don't just appear out of nowhere," I say and turn my gaze towards Bing Xuemei.
"I know it's the first time since my lord has come out and has gotten the chance to experience the natural landscape, but that doesn't mean you can leave behind your security. From now on, I will be working directly as your shadow. You know what they say about how the Nanny, The head maid are supposed to be the extensions of their respective lords?" Acantha responds back to me.
I ignore her and move towards the bathroom to brush my teeth and take a bath.
She halts my action, and I look at her in annoyance, still keeping my composed face.
"What happened?" I ask her in a sweet, appreciative tone.
"I've already given you a bath and brushed your teeth while you were sleeping," she replies.
"I'm not going to the bathroom for that... Leave me alone."
"As you wish Milord."
Understanding my command, she gracefully steps aside, allowing me to make my way to the bathroom and I walk to the bathroom and take a glance at my reflection in the mirror.
I take a deep breath and continue to do so for a substantial amount of time. Afterward, I tense all the muscles in my body, starting from my feet and moving up to my calves, thighs, hips, stomach, arms, neck, back of my head, and face, and after finally blowing the steam, I imagine myself killing my old man who I've grown up respecting repeatedly.
I take my time, and after feeling relaxed, I cast a cold gaze at my mirror self in the mirror.
"Hui Ying didn't even know I was present here, but still given the intense amount of emotion directed toward me it is evident she was thinking of me... Even now, she is still thinking about me... Why are both of my fiancées so strong and smart? I may need to do better. Do you get it?"
I address my mirror self in the mirror world, but before he can react or reply, I turn away and walk off, leaving the unanswered question hanging in the air and I come back to my room.
I take a look at Acantha, who is standing still, and Bing Xuemei, who is kneeling down, but I try not to think much about them, and walking past them, I sit down.
'Don't think, don't think, don't think,' I continuously repeat to myself in my mind so I can at least try to suppress my irritation at Acantha for washing me without my consent and at Bing Xuemei for failing to protect me.
"Pardon me My lord but may I voice my opinion".
I indicate her to go on.
"Today is the ceremony and mourning for the Terror incident of Abyss... Your presence is absolutely necessary," she informs me.
"Terror incident of Abyss? You mean about that blood fog?"
"Yes, My lord."
"Hmm, that's such a tragedy because every life is precious, though some may need to be punished. But it's still not our place to judge," I say in a solemn tone and go on to ponder the situation further, a nagging question arises: how was my Hui Ying able to sense Augustine's involvement when it remained undetected by Acantha?..... I shouldn't question her or talk about this; otherwise, it will only increase the problem, which I don't plan to bear as of currently.
'Aug's realm eradication may also not be possible, given how effortlessly she could have killed me and evaded Bing … It's really puzzling to understand whether they are trying to hide Augustine's involvement, or they just don't know about her involvement... Hmm. Wait a second. What if the reason Hui Ying got to know about Aug's involvement is because of the blood ritual they had together on me to bind me to their love but if it is not then Hui Ying is a more dangerous girl.' I contemplate silently.
"Xuemei, do you recall anything from last night?" I ask her, ignoring my useless pondering.
She waits for a moment and says in a Robotic tone but angelic voice "Yes Milord I was with Madam Acantha tr..."
"It's alright, Xuemei, I understand," I interrupt her and then start making my way to the auditorium where the ceremony is supposed to be held after wasting my time eating my breakfast that Acantha persistently pushed into my throat by giving the reasoning that I'm still growing, but for Adi-Buddha's sake I'm true Acquired realm expert now.
I still really wondered if I could just leave without punishing them, but I feel it'd be better to learn to remain calm like before. Ego is like... it's a part of me already, and I need to conquer it again and again.
I've conquered my ego many times, but unfortunately, the more I progress, the more my ego piles up.
'Ego is something which results in the downfall of a man.' I contemplate.
3
2
1
…
On the way to the Stage where the ceremony is taking place, I see emptiness on the street.
I look behind me and find myself unable to sense Acantha's presence, unlike the case with shadow guards.
Soon I reach the Stage where the ceremony is being held making my way to it by flying at super speed.
I navigate, but upon seeing the Acantha's warning of my beauty being able to incite masses, I cover myself in veils and clothing that make me seem like an unapproachable reverend saint.
I glance around and suddenly realize that I'm invisible to everyone. Looking behind me, I see that it's Acantha who has made me invisible. Before I can say anything to her, she telepathically transfers all the necessary details to me regarding the event.
As I calm down and take my seat in the empty chair, the air hums with an undercurrent of tranquility.
'It seems I won't see Hui Ying at the event, but the presence of the sect leader of the Hatti sect, the esteemed King Carl Leo Stein IV, and his three eldest sons indicates that they take it seriously.'
'All three eldest sons look dignified, but their looks are quite ugly and I am certainly sure that they'll be old, ugly fucks in some time. But the worth of a person is not determined by their looks, but instead by the character and genius of the mind.'
Hmmm... Let's see. They are formidable enough, I believe, given that one of them has a cultivation rank of Middle True Acquired realm warrior and the other two seem to be Sky Acquired realm warriors.
3
2
1
…
The silence erupts, and the referee, whom I once called the "bitch," starts welcoming the honorable chief guests to make their speeches. I just doze off because, ultimately, all the chief guests present here except me are boring ass people who can just erase everyone's memory rather than convincing them of their mishap to be able to protect them, but interestingly, they won't use it because of some unwritten rules, like the strong should protect the weak, strength determines seniority, and of course, only people in the same realm should fight, i.e., the strong should not bully the weak because there needs to be kept some "honor." But then again, it doesn't matter because no rules are broken, nor is honor lost if there is no one to see you breaking the rule.
.... After seemingly waking up, I find the king completing his speech. I simply smile, but then the referee says something unnecessary: "Great! Next up, everyone, let's welcome the Divine Child!"
"Divine child? He is here?"
"Where is he? I can't see him."
"Uuuu…I want him to look at me."
'Bitch please I wasn't told about it' I think and look around me to look for Acantha but she is nowhere to be found, I sigh and....
"Yes Milord!"
"You've grown bolder compared to before. It seems you want me to regret my decision to make you my head Maid."
"I'm at your mercy, Milord. I was not aware of this."
"Yes, you didn't. Understandably, it's quite understandable that such protocols were not communicated to you. No need to take a mere humorous statement seriously. I cherish you and value your service dearly."
'These royals and sects don't have the chest to dare do this to me.'
"I might as well win the hearts of all the billions of people present here," I say to Acantha. She makes me visible to everyone, and everyone, except the sect leader of the Hatti sect, almost jumps out of their seats, completely shocked by my presence.
Well, King Carl Leo Stien IV also didn't jump out of his seat, but that's because he was standing and then there were others too.
3
2
1
...
Following the advice, I walk to the stage and see the billions of masses just looking at me in awe, wanting to take a glimpse of me once again. But with my realm considerably higher now, it's not possible for them to resist my beauty though.
I walk to the main stage to give some words to console them and there comes the 125-pound punk, The one who is hosting the event. He had been tirelessly organizing the proceedings, and in the past, served as a referee during trials. Despite his professionalism, I don't feel regret calling him bitch beforehand and it doesn't count because he misunderstood what I called him and took it as a compliment.
He bows a bit and perhaps prays for admittance to the forgiveness, but I come near to him and tell this 125-pound punk that I cannot.
He thinks it over and then tells me to proceed, but instead, I approach him now even more closely, telepathically transmitting the message to his ears while, for a moment, employing a barrier to prevent anyone from intercepting it. The message I transmit to him is: "Go fuck yourself... you think you're smart and can make excuses by saying 'Someone asked me to'. You're a trash whose mother was a whore, and I know how your father raped his mother and the inbred incestual product was a treacherous bastard loser like you... who would have thought that later he would grow up to be so daring to try to play games with me? Stop taking my limelight and get down the stage you, fucking bigoted Bastard whose dad only treated you like a cock sleeve and now you take out your insecure anger on other children, I wonder how you will be treated after I expose all the kidnapping you did."
I walk past him, ignoring his expression, and notice him quietly leaving and getting down from the stage. Though I want to communicate with Acantha to have the Shadow Guards immediately investigate who asked him to unexpectedly make me give a speech, possibly in a failed effort to embarrass me, I know that the telepathic message has a chance to get intercepted by experts, especially with many beggar sects and the Hua clan present. So, it's perhaps better I investigate after giving the speech.
I finally enter the center of the stage and feel the gaze of everyone present waiting for me to complete my speech and I take a deep breath given I don't know what to say currently.
After I push away the pressure I felt from their gaze, I visualize giving them a speech and assign images in order so I can make a speech A-Z without forgetting anything important.
"It's such a shame my photographic memory won't be much help in this situation," I think to myself and start to speak.
"My dear family,..." I say and stop for a moment.
"AAAAH Did you hear his sweet voice."
"I love my late husband, but I won't mind giving him...You know."
"He called me his family, does that mean he wants to bed me."
"I am a man and I only love women, but his voice is sweet, and I think I can see his hand, I want to lick it."
"Record it, record it, damn it!"
"No, no, no, I want to, I want to...."
'What do you all want to do to me you whores? I can hear you all and did you all forget we are here to mourn the death of your family member,' I think and control my anger and try my best to not feel uncomfortable, calming my disgust, and continue.
"Our kingdom stands as a beacon of governance and enlightenment, earning accolades as one of the foremost kingdoms in the world, not only in material wealth but also in the cultivation of the mind.
Today, in the wake of a profound tragedy, our small yet resilient kingdom mourns. I offer my deepest condolences to every member of the kingdom, to all septillion of our members within our borders and beyond, who gather here today to honor their loved ones, to express their love for their country, on this solemn day of loss.
My dear family members, the resilient struggle against the abyss by my Hui Ying, The respected sect leader of the Hatti sect, the esteemed King Carl Leo Stien IV and Prince Carl V, and needless for me to remind the sacrifice of countless heroes. There would hardly be a person yesterday who did not contribute to protect you all in the wake of blood fog that emerged from Abyss.
Today, I humbly extend my deepest respects to all those who have dedicated themselves, made sacrifices, and endured hardships. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of you for persevering in this tumultuous world.
To my esteemed family members, we find ourselves amidst a time of great turmoil, as malevolent disasters have wrought unimaginable suffering upon many parts of our land.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to all the families affected by this crisis. Rest assured, the combined efforts of our esteemed sects and kingdoms are swiftly working to alleviate the hardships you face. Together, we will move forward with renewed determination and resilience.
It is through peace and cooperation that we will ultimately find solutions to our challenges. The great sects and kingdoms are united in their efforts to prevent such crises from arising again, and they continue to demonstrate self-sacrifice for our safety.
Let us take a moment to applaud the soldiers and martial artists who are aiding us. Their selfless sacrifices inspire us all because everyone would agree that sacrifice of oneself for others is greater than any other deeds and even more so when it's done for righteousness and as the divine child, I am deeply moved by their dedication.
My dear family members, as we reflect on history, we encounter moments that etch themselves into the fabric of time. Their impact reverberates across centuries, shaping the course of events in ways both profound and unforeseen. Sometimes, what begins as a seemingly insignificant occurrence blossoms into the root of countless challenges. These moments are imprinted on our hearts, if not always at the forefront of our minds. Despite the adversity we faced, we persevered and continued to progress.....
After Several Hours!
May peace and prosperity reign forever in our beloved kingdom.
Amitabha!"
I complete my long speech.
"Nice speech, divine child. I really want to believe these are your honest opinions. It won't be wrong to believe that right?"
I hear a deep voice from behind me, and immediately my heart races, inundated with various thoughts because I hadn't noticed the system notification popping up.