Chapter 1 An Old Empire's Secret

The ancient millennial empire, the undying Dragon Soul Emperor, the baby girl brought from the lava pit… Every matter was shrouded in a veil of mystery. Even in this world of Lahe'rien, riddled with enigmas, these events combined aroused Hao Ren's full curiosity.

This historically rich empire truly concealed countless secrets.

But Hao Ren only felt curious; he didn't intend to delve into these secrets for the time being. He was here to search for the traces of the Mad Lord's contamination in the previous universal cycle and the reason this world had survived—in other words, to find the Mad Lord's "vaccine." The royal secrets of a mortal kingdom didn't seem so important compared to this goal, unless it was related to the "vaccine," it wasn't worth wasting time on.

Of course, now it was just casual conversation to learn some information. Hao Ren didn't mind continuing on this topic: "This Princess Constance seems to be deeply trusted by the emperor. That Broken Sword Knights团 (Tuan, regiment) shouldn't be something anyone can command."

"So it's no wonder some people suspect Princess Constance is Emperor Berrentin's illegitimate daughter. The Dragon Soul Emperor is willing to entrust the most combat-capable unit in the empire to this adopted daughter, which says a lot," Charlemagne said. "Of course, Her Highness the Princess is indeed exceptionally talented. Perhaps she truly possesses the Dragon Soul as well. It's said that she surpassed all the court tutors in her childhood, and after taking command of the Broken Sword Knights团, she made the legion even stronger than before."

"Alright, I understand that. But we seem to be getting off-topic," Hao Ren rubbed his chin, suddenly remembering that the three of them hadn't been discussing the issue of a royal illegitimate daughter, "We were talking about the Black Sword Knights团—are you looking for me because of those knights?"

Charlemagne pondered for a moment, then said directly: "We suspect those knights are coming for us."

Hao Ren raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

"Although the Black Sword Knights团 are scattered throughout the kingdom, they don't wander around the countryside villages like the patrol. They're usually stationed in the garrisons of major cities or important military fortresses, and this town... It's only one level above an ordinary village in the empire. Under normal circumstances, a Black Sword Knight wouldn't personally come here, let alone a five-man squad."

Avelna added: "In a place like this, even a Black Sword Knight's侍从 (Shicong, attendant) would be a great honor to the local officials."

"I see," Hao Ren suddenly understood. "So, for these knight lords, who usually don't descend to the mortal realm, to run around so hastily, there must be a significant issue. And you two... Just happen to be a significant issue."

Avelna nodded, unable to hide the worry on her face.

"We really need to be vigilant," Hao Ren frowned. "If these knights are coming for you, does that prove that the previous pirate attack indeed involved the higher-ups of the Draggon Empire—or even the emperor himself? After all, you just said those Black Sword Knights团 directly obey the emperor himself."

"We really don't want to think that way," Avelna bit her lip. "Although the White City Federation and the Draggon Empire occasionally have some border friction, the two sides have never had any deep hatred. The Isubel Kingdom of the White City Federation itself maintains long-term diplomatic relations with the Draggon Empire. This secret visit of ours... Emperor Berrentin even once held me and my brother..."

She didn't say what the secret mission was in the end.

"Don't be swayed by these personal feelings," Charlemagne frowned. "Avelna, I don't want to think this way either, but we just set foot in this town, and the Black Sword Knights团 followed right after. This isn't a good sign..."

Hao Ren was about to speak when he suddenly heard Vivian's voice from the door: "But you yourselves can't be sure, right?"

The Charlemagne siblings became exceptionally nervous upon hearing the voice. After confirming it was Vivian, they breathed a sigh of relief. Then Avelna looked somewhat embarrassed and fearful: "Can the conversation inside be heard clearly from outside?"

"No, my ears are special. I can hear many sounds that ordinary people can't hear," Vivian closed the door and waved her hand. "That guy next door should have heard it too. Her ears are even more sensitive than mine. If someone bites into a biscuit three streets away, she can drool all over her feet in the room."

Just as she finished speaking, Lily's loud voice came from next door: "Bat, don't think I can't hear you!"

The Charlemagne siblings were both surprised and suspicious. Were all the people from the World Tree Shrine mutants!?

"It's still the same thing, you definitely can't be sure," Vivian came to the siblings and looked into their eyes. "Otherwise, you would have packed your things and run away as soon as possible. How could you still be here chatting so much nonsense with Hao Ren?"

"Indeed, we haven't exposed our whereabouts along the way, and can even be said to have 'descended' near here. Those Black Sword Knights团 aren't specialized trackers, so it's unlikely they discovered our tracks," Charlemagne choked for a moment, but still said with a normal expression. "Perhaps they aren't just searching in this town, but are conducting a large-scale search in a fairly wide area. At this time, acting rashly might lead to being discovered."

"Understood, then we will also be careful when we move around," Hao Ren understood the meaning of this suspicious and cautious prince. "Just try to avoid those Black Sword Knights团, right?"

"That would be best," Avelna got up from the chair and gracefully performed a curtsey. "My brother and I came mainly to talk about this."

Hao Ren laughed drily: So it accidentally became a local customs and culture popularization site again, huh?

After the siblings left, Hao Ren sighed softly and rubbed his forehead: "Sure enough, even the smallest places can hide dragons and crouching tigers. I didn't expect that even a Draggon Empire on this small planet of Lahe'rien would have so many secrets."

"Didn't you say that? Inspectors observe all worlds, and in your eyes, civilizations have no distinction between large and small," Vivian smiled and came over to pinch Hao Ren's shoulders. "If it weren't for important matters, it would be nice to stay in such an interesting place for a while."

"Your way of thinking is converging with mine. I feel like you're going to become an inspector too," Hao Ren smiled and looked up at Vivian. "But to be honest, it's not impossible to pay more attention to the details of this country. After all, none of us know what kind of traces the Mad Lord left in this world. Maybe they really are hidden in these messy royal secrets."

"It's hard not to be influenced when I'm with you all day," Vivian smiled helplessly. "By the way, has Nolan discovered anything inside the planet?"

Hao Ren's group acting together with the Charlemagne siblings didn't mean they had entered sightseeing mode. In fact, through mental connection, Hao Ren had been conducting in-depth scans and searches of this planet. Hundreds of precision probes had been released into the "World Rift" that divided the planet in two, and in the past twenty-four hours, they had been constantly sketching the internal structure of this planet.

Since the planet was divided in half, even the original core was directly exposed, making the probe's scanning work much easier. Soon, a massive amount of information was gathered in front of Hao Ren's eyes, but unfortunately there was nothing of value in it.

"Nothing has been discovered," Hao Ren shook his head. "The physical structure of this planet is clear at a glance—although its current state violates physical common sense, other than this abnormality, I haven't found any clues related to the Mad Lord at all. The planet's material structure has been reshaped, the humans and human history on the planet's surface have also been reshaped, and even single-celled organisms and the original atmosphere were gradually restored in Leah's dream... I really doubt if any clues can still be found here. Oh right, speaking of Leah, what is your mother doing now?"

"Why does it sound even stranger when you say it like that?" Vivian rolled her eyes at Hao Ren. "Leah is resting in the room—actually, she's transferring most of her energy to her main body to do homework. She said she's not very proficient with mass projection yet, and maintaining dual-processing for a long time is still difficult."

Since she was using mass projection in the "Dark Domain" attached to the Dream Plane, rather than entering the surface world, Leah's activation time for the bracelet was no longer limited to six hours. However, mass projection itself still required a lot of energy. Leah was just a beginner, and she also had heavy study tasks, so when there was no action on Hao Ren's side, she would naturally withdraw most of her energy back to her main body.

Leaving behind a clone that only knows how to eat on time is only slightly better than a disabled child... Speaking of which, why does a mass projection still have the function of eating?

Hao Ren shook his head and put aside this question that was destined to have no answer. He relaxed his shoulders and began to enjoy Vivian's massage in peace.

Gentle finger techniques combined with perfectly timed weak electrical stimulation... Quite comfortable.

……

Charlemagne and Avelna spent the rest of the day in high alert.

Although they didn't think their whereabouts had been exposed, and they weren't completely sure that the Black Sword Knights团 were coming for them, they still had concerns in this regard. Years of education and training made them dare not relax their vigilance in this environment.

They had to be ready at any time for those knights to suddenly come to their door. If the previous pirate attack was really related to the Dragon Soul Emperor, then the Black Sword Knights团 would be a group of deadly assassins to these siblings.

However, everything seemed to be a false alarm.

The guards investigated the situation in the town and soon confirmed that the Black Sword Knights团 weren't there to search for anything. They went straight to the town hall, but hardly stayed long in front of the local officials. As night fell, they left through the front gate of the town.

It felt like they were just messengers coming and going in a hurry.

Everything was calm and tranquil the rest of the night.

But even though no one came to bother their group, Hao Ren's party quickly sensed a change in the atmosphere in the town.