The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 1074: Who Dared to Do Something Like That?

Six months later, Ancient Blue Gate World.

The world continued to operate normally without much problem. Despite the devils no longer existing in this world, the lives of many people, with all their challenges, still continued.

The life of the cultivation world, where the strong take everything and the weak are devoured, still existed in many parts of the world. The rich ate the poor, the strong trampled the weak, and similar situations continued to happen.

All of that was not surprising and was even considered common. Many understood that this kind of reality was natural, and such a life was simply part of existence.

The only thing that could prevent that kind of cruel reality was the highest authority or the strongest cultivator upholding laws and justice, establishing fair laws for all.

However, even those cultivators still had limitations and could not always prevent such common practices. The situation was not always simple enough for them to rely on brute strength alone to make everything right.

Unless someone possessed absolute power and character like Aldrian, that kind of life would continue to remain common.

That was why the only place where such things could be minimized was the Aster Empire. Since Aldrian united the entire Barisan Continent and took the imperial throne, great changes had occurred across the continent.

Almost no one, even nobles from orthodox or unorthodox cultivator factions, dared to do whatever they wanted.

If someone still tried to act without restraint and committed wrongdoing against morality and law, once it became known to him, the citizens of the empire understood that those who broke the laws would never meet a happy ending.

Many had already experienced it. Those who tested Aldrian’s patience, whether individuals or entire families, faced consequences ranging from compensation and public humiliation to the harshest punishment of all: death.

Heavenly lightning sometimes descended upon wrongdoers, granting them instant death. Many knew it was the doing of their emperor, for everyone already knew that Aldrian controlled the Heavenly Lightning.

His eyes and ears seemed to be everywhere, to the point that many people regarded him as all-knowing and all-hearing.

He was like a god. He could know everything happening within the empire.

Thanks to that, the nobles and outlaws who once enjoyed causing trouble or abusing their authority no longer dared to act as they had in the past. They learned to restrain themselves so as not to offend the emperor.

In the end, because of all of that, the Aster Empire became the best place for cultivators to develop themselves without many obstacles. They could compete fairly there and did not have to fear offending powerful figures simply because others possessed greater strength.

They could live comfortably without fearing that someone would trample them due to superior power.

The Aster Empire’s development truly rapid after it opened itself to the world, as many strong cultivators and those with great potential moved toward it.

The empire’s overall strength rose from being the weakest to becoming one of the strongest. Even without Aldrian’s presence, if something were to happen to the empire, it could stand on its own.

For the past six months, the empire had continued to grow, and everything remained in order. Nothing extraordinary had happened.

Well, at least until today.

At this moment, in one of the noble houses of the Ivory Kingdom, the Valerin household was in panic.

That was because the duke’s daughter and granddaughter, Vera Valerin and Evin Vicanton, had gone missing.

They had been kidnapped by someone.

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Inside his mansion, Duke Valerin’s expression was filled with fury as he gritted his teeth and squeezed the paper in his hand. The report he held stated that no traces of his daughter and granddaughter had been found in any of the searched locations.

Beside him stood his right-hand man, Valtas, wearing a frowning expression.

"Damnit! How could they disappear without leaving any trace when the abductors killed their guardians so openly?" Duke Valerin said fiercely.

"The perpetrator must be an assassin, one assigned to a kidnapping mission rather than an assassination. That means the abductors may contact you later, my lord. At that time, we might obtain clues about their identity and purpose," Valtas said.

Duke Valerin maintained his fierce expression and nodded.

"I think so too. Their operation was extremely clean. I have a gut feeling that the perpetrator is most likely in the Immortal Transition Realm. Even with the royal family involved in the search, we still have found nothing until this moment."

He suddenly rubbed his face harshly. "Damnit. I have failed as a father once again. I could not protect my daughter or my granddaughter."

"Please do not blame yourself too much, my lord. If an Immortal Transition Realm cultivator is truly involved, then there was nothing we could have done. Moreover, none of us expected something like this to happen within our own territory, and the perpetrator clearly does not fear His Majesty Aldrian the Great’s reputation," Valtas said, trying to comfort him.

Duke Valerin covered his face and sighed.

"His Majesty must have already heard about this. To think that I promised him I would take care of them, yet something like this still happened. I am truly ashamed."

Valtas remained silent. If Aldrian had already learned of this, then there was no doubt the situation would escalate. He knew that Aldrian already regarded Evin as his own little sister.

He did not know what Aldrian would do, but he imagined it might bring hell to the mortal world.

Such an event had never happened before, and now it had happened to someone close to him.

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In Aldrian’s palace, Sylphia was cultivating beside the Tree of Life, with Sylvia accompanying her. The tree’s spirit did not disturb her and only played quietly with the surrounding flowers without making much sound.

At this moment, Sylphia was already close to breaking through to middle Grand Duke stage, which was an incredible speed of cultivation, as she had reached this level before even turning two hundred years old.

However, her cultivation was slightly disturbed when Baek Jimin approached in a hurry. Her face showed worry, yet she did not immediately interrupt Sylphia after arriving. She waited patiently until Sylphia finished her cultivation.

After waiting for a minute, Sylphia finally stopped circulating her energy and took a deep breath before opening her eyes.

At first, she smiled and turned her head toward Baek Jimin, but the moment she saw Baek Jimin’s expression, her smile faded. She frowned and stood up. She knew something was wrong.

"What happened, sister?"

"I’m sorry to disturb your cultivation, but I just received news from the Ivory Kingdom. Something happened there. Do you remember Miss Vera and her daughter Evin?" Baek Jimin asked.

Sylphia nodded. "Of course I do. What happened to them?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Well, your father reported that they were kidnapped. Their current location is still unknown, and the search is ongoing with the help of the Evergreen royal family," Baek Jimin replied, which left Sylphia truly shocked.

"What?! Who dared to do something like that?"

Baek Jimin shook her head. "Whoever did this must be someone who does not understand who Aldrian is," she answered.

Sylphia frowned more deeply before speaking. "Let’s tell Aldrian. He must know about this. If it concerns Evin, then we cannot keep him in the dark."

They then entered the palace and walked toward one of the rooms inside. The room was quite spacious, filled with various luxurious pieces of furniture.

At the far end of the room, Aldrian, or more precisely his avatar, was reading a book with a calm expression.

This had become one of Aldrian’s hobbies since he received the library that was the legacy of Hanlie and Xuanji. With the countless books they left behind, he enjoyed reading in peace.

He read extremely quickly, flipping a page every second. Once he finished one book, he teleported it back to the library before picking up another.

With every piece of knowledge he gained, his real body would later receive it as well.

Aldrian stopped reading as he sensed Sylphia and Baek Jimin entering the room and greeted them with a smile.

However, he immediately realized something was wrong the moment he saw their expressions. They looked worried, and their steps were hurried.

"What happened, ladies? It seems something serious has occurred for you to wear such expressions," he said.

Sylphia released a breath.

"Something happened in the Ivory Kingdom. Vera and Evin were kidnapped."

Aldrian finally showed a frown. "What?"

Baek Jimin then handed a scroll to Aldrian, one she had received from King Ladwin. The king had already returned to the Ivory Kingdom to handle the situation personally, so he could not remain here for long.

Aldrian read the contents of the scroll for a moment before rolling it back up.

He pondered briefly before sending a voice transmission to another avatar who was currently meeting guests from other worlds in the throne hall. The moment the avatar in the throne hall received the message, he immediately concluded the meeting and came to the room.

Sylphia and Baek Jimin did not say anything as the avatar picked up the scroll from the table and read its contents for a moment before placing it back.

He also pondered briefly before looking at his fellow avatar.

"Let’s check the place where they were kidnapped first. There is no better place to search for clues than the location where they disappeared," he said.