Death... and me

Roan then talked to Rean through their soul connection. 'We are near the core already. We moved slowly to prevent any unforeseen situations. However, there doesn't seem to be any protection at the moment.'

Rean asked back. 'Do you need me to go there as well?'

Roan nodded. 'That would be for the best... or so I wanted to say. However, it would be better if you stayed far away. Kentucky and I should be enough. If anything happens, it would be good to have someone in a relatively safer place. We can use the system to escape as well if necessary.'

'Alright,' Rean nodded.

After that, Rean talked to Hamarlia and Turen. "Mom, Dad, I'm going to leave for a while. Tell Juri I will take everyone once I'm back."

"Where are you going?" Turen couldn't help but ask.

"Dalamu Sect. There are a few people I wish to see," Rean replied.

A moment later, Rean's body disappeared without a trace. Hamarlia and Turen went back to the house to prepare their things. Meanwhile, Juri explained to everyone what they were going to do. Still, if someone didn't want to leave, he wasn't going to force them. He would instead point a new leader for the Tribe and leave them on their own.

As many things happened in the Varen Tribe, the Sasamil Empire passed by an even bigger ruckus. That's because Jakiro, the Sasamil Empire Ancestor that few even knew to exist, suddenly reappeared. Not only that, he ordered his subordinates to gather every one of importance for a meeting.

Soon, the meeting hall was packed with a few hundred cultivators of the Sasamil Imperial Family and high-ranked subordinates. The majority, having never heard about Jakiro, were at a loss whether the content of the meeting was true or not.

As everyone talked, no one noticed an old man walking through the crowd. Only the top brass of the Sasamil Empire knew about Jakiro, but those ones were at their own private seats further from the crowd, so they didn't notice Jakiro in there either. Jakiro was just enjoying being able to see all his descendants alive again. Many of them weren't his direct descendants but from his brothers and sisters who have long since died. Still, he was happy nonetheless.

Suddenly, Jakiro stopped right in the middle of the room, much to the confusion of a few high-ranked members of the Imperial Family who were waiting there. One of them just so happened to be the fifth prince, Salael Sasamil. "Hey, old gramps. Only the members of the imperial family can stay here. The area for those not related to the imperial bloodline is right there on the back."

Old Worm looked at the young man, who carried an arrogant tone and sighed. "What's your name, child? I feel like I've seen you before somewhere.

The Third Princess, Alanora Sasamil, not too far away from there, couldn't help but laugh. "Salael, your name is worth so little that not even an old man working direct to the imperial house knows it. Hahaha!"

Back then, before the planet exploded, the fight for the Imperial Throne was brewing inside the Imperial Palace. In that fight, you had several factions. The fifth prince was one of those, and obviously, the third princess was another.

Not too far from there, the first prince and a few others also noticed. Yet, while the others found enjoyment in that dispute, the first prince narrowed his eyes. 'Someone who isn't part of the Imperial Household should have never got so close to the central room. Those without imperial bloodlines must always stay close to the walls at the back of the meeting hall. If they tried to get closer to the center or the front, the guards would absolutely stop them... Still, this old man is right there.'

The meeting hall had a formation that prevented Spiritual Senses from being used since important topics were discussed there. Otherwise, everyone would have noticed already that they couldn't see Old Worm's cultivation.

Suddenly, one of the main elders at the front opened his eyes wide. He just so happened to be talking to a friend when his eyes noticed Jakiro's presence in the middle of the room. Not only that, he saw how the fifth prince and the third princess treated Old Worm and felt a chill on his back. Yes, he was one of the very few people who had met Old Worm in the past and knew about his existence.

He quickly rose from his chair and was just about to intervene when a Divine Sense message reached him. 'Don't say anything. Let them continue.' That elder cultivation was quite high, so Old Worm didn't need to be afraid of hurting the guy with his Divine Sense.

Without another choice, the elder bitterly smiled and slowly sat down once again. 'Fifth prince, third princess, you brought it upon yourselves...' he thought and sighed. When his friend asked what was the problem, he simply shook his head and pretended he had made a mistake. Since Jakiro didn't want to be known, he definitely wouldn't be the one to open his mouth.

The first prince was the only prince who noticed that elder's sudden weird behavior, which increased his wariness of Old Worm. He wasn't considered to be the main competitor for the Imperial Throne just because he was the first in the line.

The fifth prince, unaware of the big mistake he was committing, obviously felt humiliated. "Shut up, Alanora! This geezer is simply senile."

Alanora shrugged her shoulders. "I think even a senile old man like him would recognize his prince, alas..." Alanora didn't waste time and threw salt on the injury.

Salael gritted his teeth and turned his attention back to Old Worm. Finally, he lost his patience and grabbed Old Worm by the collar while shouting to the guards. "Who the hell allowed this old geezer to get here? Guards, are you blind? I'm going to kill whoever let him come to this area!"

By now, the elder who noticed Jakiro had already warned a few others who also knew about Old Worm's existence, so none of them intervened. Nonetheless, their bodies were already like rivers of cold sweat as they watched the event.

Old Worm wasn't the type to talk much to start with, so he just watched until now. However, now things had gone a little too far for his liking. He then looked at the third princess, who was all smiles with the third prince's embarrassment before asking her. "I don't really remember you that well either. Do you have the same opinion as him?"

Alanora was taken aback, thinking Old Worm to be an idiot. Who would buy a fight with two direct descendants of the Imperial Bloodline? "Seems like you are beyond salvation already. Guards, just throw him out and strip him of any rank he possesses to be able to attend this meeting."

"Y-Yes, princess!" Without a choice, the guards could only step forward and capture Old Worm.

Suddenly, the guards at the entrance announced. "The Emperor has arrived!"

Everyone immediately stopped as Yulian Sasamil entered the room. As he flew to his seat, he immediately noticed the fifth prince holding Old Worm and felt speechless. "This..."

Old Worm just faintly smiled at him. "Little Yulian, you should teach your children better than this, you know?"

Everyone who didn't know Old Worm felt their feet giving up on them. Who would be crazy enough to call the Emperor of Sasamil like that? Salael now believed Old Worm did indeed go senile.

Yulian felt like crying already. Without another choice, he came down and landed on Old Worm and Salael's side. He then looked at Salael and asked. "Ahem... Salael, you truly shouldn't treat our Sasamil Empire's Ancestor like that, you know?"

Salael body froze in place as he looked at Old Worm. Those words were so ridiculous that his mind failed to process the situation as he thought, 'Oh! So that's why Little Yulian...'