Three years had passed since he last checked on Ling Xiao’s condition. At this moment, he could finally see him again, and Ling Xiao seemed to be in the middle of meditation. He sat near the top of the highest mountain in the Gardum Kingdom.

His sword rested in front of him, and his eyes remained closed. His breath was steady, and his aura stable at the peak of pseudo immortal stage. Despite Ling Xiao being able to open some of the seals on his cultivation and reach Immortal Saint stage due to the changes in the heavenly laws of the First Heaven, he still chose to keep his cultivation at its current level.

There was no problem that Aldrian could sense from Ling Xiao. When he checked the nearby worlds within the same star cluster, he could only sense a minimal number of devils, and all of them seemed to be doing their best to hide.

There were no large troops of devils in those worlds. The populace of those worlds also seemed to be carrying on with their activities as usual.

Aldrian knew what that meant. The forces of those worlds had managed to defeat the devils, forcing any surviving devils to choose to hide.

That meant that in these three years, they had managed to bring the war to defend their worlds to an end.

He thought that Ling Xiao must have been a great help to these people. To end the war against the devils in under three years without someone like Ling Xiao would have been almost impossible.

Considering how strong the devils were, they would have needed at least a few more years to achieve total victory. After all, they had to liberate more than ten planets in their star cluster the from devils’ occupation.

But with Ling Xiao there, three years was more than enough. With his presence, victory was inevitable as long as their opponents were only those devils at the same level.

Even immortals in their sealed state would be no match for him, nor even after they unsealed themselves. Aldrian believed that even if Ling Xiao had to fight them within the same immortal realm, he would still come out victorious.

After checking his condition, he decided to look at Arsun Village, the place where he had stayed for a while.

When his gaze fell upon the village, he was surprised by the changes that had taken place. The condition of the village had improved greatly, with every house now built from bricks instead of wood.

The number of houses had also increased significantly, showing that many people had migrated there.

The village looked much cleaner and more beautiful, with all the roads already paved, allowing horses and carriages to move much more easily in any weather.

There were also several new buildings standing, branches of organizations such as the Treasures Pavilion, the Physician Association, the Alchemist Tower, and a few others.

The activity within the village had become much busier, with many unfamiliar people visiting or passing through on horses and carriages. The atmosphere had completely changed.

It no longer felt like a village.

It was more like a small, developing town.

He then saw the village head managing his own business. It seemed that he had opened a family inn, and the business looked to be flourishing as he stayed busy alongside his wife.

He then observed Valuk. He had opened his own clinic beside his house, helping others with his expertise. Ella assisted him as much as she could, sometimes bringing herbs from storage to hand over to Valuk.

The other original villagers had also found success in their own businesses, and most of them had already become cultivators.

Aldrian smiled, glad that all of his acquaintances in the village were doing well and even improving themselves. They had taken advantage of the wealth he left for them effectively.

He then checked on King Darius and his family. The king himself seemed busy with the kingdom’s matters as he met with one of his advisors. Prince Martis was training with his knights, and he was much stronger than when Aldrian left Revitas.

He then saw Princess Xena, who at this moment was focused on cultivating. Her beautiful face looked serene, without any disturbance.

After knowing the condition of all the people he wanted to see, he decided to teleport to Revitas. His body appeared in front of Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao, who suddenly sensed someone appearing before him, instantly stopped his cultivation and opened his eyes. The moment his gaze landed on Aldrian’s figure, his eyes widened before he prostrated himself.

"Your Majesty," he greeted.

Aldrian smiled and nodded. "How are you, Ling Xiao? It looks like you were enjoying yourself in this place."

"I’m good, Your Majesty. Everything is good. King Darius gave me this place to use for seclusion. Although I cannot cultivate here because of my cultivation, I can still meditate to gain inner peace," Ling Xiao replied as he lifted his head.

"I’m glad to hear that. It looks like you are already done helping the people of this star cluster defeat those devils," Aldrian said.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I have made sure those bastards have lost all of their main forces in this star cluster. However, I do not know if there are more followers of God Tarius here. Some of them might still be hiding, and it would be quite difficult to find them if they truly chose to hide themselves," Ling Xiao said in a regretful tone, as if what he had done was still not satisfying for himself.

Aldrian still smiled. "You don’t have to worry about that. I have already taken care of them. There are no more devils in this star cluster. Also, with your cultivation still sealed, there is no way you could find them if they chose to hide themselves. So do not blame yourself for it."

Ling Xiao lowered his body.

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

Aldrian nodded. "I’m here to pick you up. You will move to my palace and meet my family."

Ling Xiao’s eyes glimmered. He would finally visit the Great Emperor’s palace and meet his family in this life.

He was curious about the life of the Great Emperor in this life. He had only heard about what kind of person he was when he still the great emperor that ruler over vast universe from his master and from the talks of many elders.

Now it seemed that he could stay close to the Great Emperor. He could not help but feel truly honored by it.

But then he asked Aldrian,

"Your Majesty, I suppose that your matters in the central region of heaven have already been taken care of?"

Aldrian nodded with a smile. "Everything is settled. Soon, there will be no more followers of those invaders in the First Heaven."

Ling Xiao’s eyes glistened as he took a deep breath before releasing it. To think that the time had come when he could hear with certainty that those invaders and their followers would be no more.

He still remembered how fierce the fight against those invaders had been. It had seemed endless. Their own power was much stronger, but the invaders were far more numerous. They were constantly pushed back until they lost the Highest Heaven and the Eighth Heaven.

The situation did not improve at that time before he was frozen inside the crystal. Worse, even after he came out, he heard from Aldrian that the First Heaven was the only one left that had not yet been conquered by those invaders.

Now that Aldrian said with confidence that those invaders would be no more in the First Heaven, that meant the time for them to strike back was not far away! 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Aldrian then briefly explained about his family and how Ling Xiao should act in front of them. After Ling Xiao understood, Aldrian teleported both of them to the royal palace. They appeared in front of the main gate, where the guards were shocked by their sudden arrival.

"Quick, tell His Majesty that Lord Aldrian and Lord Ling are here," one of the guards said to his companion, who immediately obeyed. He ran inside while the other guard guided Aldrian and Ling Xiao to the guest room within the palace.

Aldrian’s presence drew attention, as his face was already known to countless people in this world, especially within this kingdom.

They instantly bowed in respect the moment they saw him as he made his way to the guest room.

It did not take long before King Darius arrived in a hurried manner. It was clear that he had left his meeting the moment he heard about Aldrian’s visit.

"Your Majesty, it is truly a surprise that you would visit at this moment," King Darius said as he offered his hand.

Aldrian smiled and accepted the handshake.

"I apologize if I disturbed you, Your Majesty, by coming without prior notice. I only came to visit because I will be taking Ling Xiao back with me to the Ancient Blue Gate World, and I wanted you to know about it."

King Darius raised his eyebrows before nodding.

"I see," he said, then let out a sigh. "Your Majesty, Lord Ling has been a great help to us. Because of him, we were able to defeat those devils across the entire star cluster in no more than three years. He is truly powerful. I cannot help but envy Your Majesty for having someone like him by your side."

"Well, I am indeed fortunate to have him as my subordinate," Aldrian replied as he smiled toward Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao felt embarrassed by Aldrian’s praise, yet at the same time, he felt proud and honored.

"By the way, Your Majesty, now that you have returned, I suppose your matters in the central region of heaven have already been resolved?" King Darius asked.

Aldrian nodded. "Yes, I have achieved what I intended there."

King Darius sighed in relief, mixed with amazement. To think that Aldrian had truly succeeded in his plan in the central region of heaven.

It was truly a blessing for the First Heaven to have someone like him.

Their attention was suddenly drawn to a woman who appeared at the doorway, breathing heavily. It was clear that she had rushed all the way here.

Aldrian smiled upon seeing her.

"Your Highness, it is good to see you again," he said.

The woman was, without a doubt, Princess Xena.