The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 534: His Oath

"Long Tingxuan, the first patriarch of the Silver Lightning Dragon clan... he might know about the Silver Lightning Dragon clan, right?" Aldrian thought.

"Mr. Tingxuan," Aldrian said, prompting the others to look at an old man who still appeared quite energetic and had few wrinkles. The man was stunned when Aldrian suddenly looked in his direction and called his name.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" he answered.

"Mr. Tingxuan, I want to ask what happened to the Silver Lightning Dragon clan. When I met Long Leiyun of the Silver Lightning Dragon clan, he asked for my help to avenge the Silver Dragon clan. Can you tell me the fate of your clan, if you know about it?"

Hearing Aldrian’s question, Long Tingxuan was silent for a moment before he parted his lips.

"The Silver Lightning Dragon clan is already extinct."

Aldrian was stunned. He couldn’t help but sigh. He had already guessed that something terrible had happened to the clan, and after knowing there had been a war, what he feared most had become reality. In war, the annihilation of a clan was not rare. Many bloodlines had been erased from the world, ending the history of long-standing families—something depressing, but not surprising.

The others also seemed to know what had happened to the clan, as they showed sad expressions.

"My apologies and condolences for bringing up a painful topic," Aldrian said. "I’ve already made a promise to avenge your clan. I’m not someone who takes my own promises and words lightly. I will keep that promise. If I can truly return to the peak, like in my past life, your clan will be avenged."

He spoke with a serious expression.

Long Tingxuan was stunned, but his eyes grew slightly teary before he kowtowed to Aldrian.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generosity—for your intent to avenge us. Even with the extinction of my clan, we never turned our backs on you, not even in death!" he shouted with a trembling voice.

Aldrian solemnly nodded and looked toward the others.

"And all of you here! You who have kept your loyalty and integrity, showing me that you never bent your will, even in unfavorable situations—even in death! Even after all this time, you still have faith in me. I am truly honored—once again, truly honored! You are the brave ones who still stand with your beliefs. Yours is the strength that endures—the strongest of all!"

"Maybe I am strong, but I might not be as strong as you in this regard. You have shown me that such belief can exist—a belief so strong it becomes unbreakable faith that follows even after death!"

"Hear me, O my followers who still remain faithful to me, the ones who have faced many enemies without fear!"

"I swear upon my name that I will avenge all of you! No matter who you are, your sacrifices have reached me, and I will not let them be in vain. For those who still live, I will come to you. For those who faced death bravely, rest in peace—I will see with my own eyes the end of those invaders!"

"This is my oath!" Aldrian shouted, and after that, he bowed his body slightly toward them.

"This is for the bravest warriors to whom I offer my respect."

All of their bodies flinched and trembled upon hearing Aldrian’s solemn oath—and seeing him bow. They had never seen their emperor like this before.

Though they no longer possessed beating hearts, something within them stirred, as if their non-existent hearts wanted to leap forward and stop him. But seeing the seriousness in Aldrian’s expression, and hearing him swear upon his own name, they understood—this was his true resolve.

To them, his name stood above all. Not even a vow sworn in the name of the heavens could compare. For him to use his own name—he was not playing. He was serious.

They did not want to sully that determination. What they saw before them was likely the result of Aldrian’s time living as a mortal, having experienced many different lives. He was more human than they remembered—able to express emotions in ways they had never seen during the time he stood all-powerful and aloof.

But they did not take long to respond. With teary eyes, all of them immediately prostrated themselves before Aldrian.

"May the Great Emperor of All Heavens succeed!"

After their shout, their bodies began to slowly dissipate into particles of light, starting from their lower halves. All of them immediately straightened their posture, and Valerin looked at Aldrian with a beautiful smile.

"Your Majesty, we offer a part of our power to you. We don’t know if it will be helpful, but we hope that with this, Your Majesty can gain some benefit. We hope Your Majesty can return to the peak soon," she said, as the particles of light had already consumed half of her body—and the same was happening to everyone else.

"Once again, please don’t blame yourself, Your Majesty. Even if you discover that we have already died in the real world, please do not blame yourself. We gladly supported every decision you made. If, at that time, your decision required leaving us behind, then we are not the ones who have the right to be angry with you—because you are the one who gave everything to us," Durgan said.

The light reached their necks, yet their expressions still showed Aldrian their smiles. Then, suddenly, they prostrated themselves one last time—despite no longer having full bodies—as the light reached even their lower faces.

"May the Great Emperor of All Heavens keep reign sovereign!" they shouted in unison one last time—a cry that reverberated across the entire grassland—before all of their forms dissolved into particles of light that drifted toward Aldrian.

Bathed in the glow, Aldrian closed his eyes. He felt a warm energy flow through his body—the same warmth he had felt when he met others in the obelisks. But this light felt more intense. Much stronger.

He could sense their deep comprehension, which was understandable given their long lives and high cultivation. Unfortunately, like the others in the obelisk, it did not affect his cultivation.

He could also feel their strong emotions toward him, which made his heart tremble. Once again, he felt the strength of their faith in him. He was their master, their parent, their savior, their leader, their hope—their everything.

And he was their god.

The god upon whom they placed their entire faith.

In the hall where Aldrian’s real body was, the stone tablet suddenly began to emit a blinding light. Those still inside the hall had to cover their eyes, as the light was truly painful to look at directly.

The others outside the hall, who were checking other places in the palace, sensed the disturbance inside and instantly returned, this included Patriarch Xin and Xin Haotian. They were stunned as the hall was already illuminated by a blinding light. It was like the time they stood before the obelisk when Aldrian triggered its reaction.

However, they felt a much stronger aura from this light, which gave them goosebumps. This was very different from the obelisk—this was a divine aura! Yet they could feel many different auras, as if the energy came from many people, all gathered into one.

Each aura alone made their souls want to prostrate—but if there were many of them? The rest of the group tried to hold themselves up, resisting the urge to fall to the ground and prostrate, but some could not; the aura was too strong.

The King-stage cultivators dropped to the ground first, not daring to lift their heads as the aura compelled them to remain bowed. Those at the Emperor stage fought the urge to prostrate but eventually could not resist and followed the King-stage cultivators. Cold sweat dripped from their faces, as they had never experienced such an intense divine aura before.

They felt as if they were in the presence of a god itself, forced to prostrate before the divine existence.

The blinding light continued for a few minutes before fading away. After it vanished, Xin Haotian and the others finally dared to lift their heads. They looked toward Aldrian and then at the stone tablet. They were stunned to see that the stone tablet was actually cracked. This was different from the obelisk, where after its triggered effect, nothing had changed in the object.

But this time, the stone tablet was cracked. When they looked at Aldrian, he still had his eyes closed. They did not know what had happened to him and waited silently. Even after a few minutes, he did not open his eyes. An hour passed—still no movement. A day, two days, three days—and finally, on the fourth day, Aldrian opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the cracked stone tablet.

He stared at it for a moment, reading the writing once again. He remembered each of their faces that had looked at him with faces showing no blame. They did not blame him for leaving them. They were only happy to see him, happy that he had finally returned.

After a few moments, he bowed his head toward the stone tablet.

"Your sacrifices, I will not waste."

"I will not disappoint your faith in me."

"You will have your justice and vengeance."

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