While the guard went to inform the emperor, Alex and Helen struck up a conversation with Shurin.
Shurin spoke more than the two combined, clearly curious about what both of them had been doing this entire time. She didn't know Helen like she did Alex, but even so, she had met Helen back when she had stayed in the palace for a couple of days.
Shurin could not believe it at all when Alex told her that he was in not one, not two, but rather 3 different continents in just the past 30 years. That sort of information wasn't something that could be digested so easily at all, especially by someone who hadn't left the capital city their entire life.
Shurin asked a few more questions to find out more, but before Alex could answer, the guard returned. And with him was another familiar face.
Alex turned towards the woman that had appeared and smiled. "Princess Xumei, I see you're doing quite well," he said as he looked at the woman who couldn't hide her shock at all.
Wei Xumei hadn't changed much in the past 30 years. She had already been a young adult when Alex had met her, and in the last 3 decades, she seemed to have gotten older by just a couple of years. That was nowhere near enough to make her look different from what she did usually.
"Alchemist Yu, you really did return," she said, still very shocked to see his in front of her. "I had not believed the news when I had heard it."
"It's good to see you, Princess Xumei," Alex said.
Helen greeted her as well and was greeted back.
"Please come with me," the princess said and quickly walked away. Alex and Helen followed her, with Shurin quickly leaving them and going her own way.
Alex looked around the palace and noticed that nothing much had changed here at all, and yet the fancy stuff that looked so expensive back then no longer seemed fancy at all.
While the palace hadn't changed at all, Alex had. He now lived in a palace as well, and one that looked far more extravagant than this one. As a result, nothing looked amazing to him anymore.
They arrived outside the throne room and stood in front of the shut-down door. Xumei knocked on the door and the door suddenly opened up.
Xumei walked into the throne room with Alex and his mother right behind her. It wasn't just the Emperor that was in the room. Along with him, there were many ministers and court officials in the room as well, all of whom seemed to be curious to see Alex.
They all stared at him, not sparing a single glance at Helen who was behind him or even Scarlet who was on his shoulder.
"Your majesty," the princess bowed a bit toward her father and moved to the side so he could see Alex fully.
"Greetings," Alex spoke first.
The emperor watched in absolute shock that someone who had disappeared in the Demon realm so long ago had returned alive. The court officials were quite surprised too, however, something else caught their attention.
"Hey! Bow in front of the Emperor," one of them said. As soon as that one spoke, the rest followed along, saying the same thing as well.
Helen naturally started bowing, but Alex stopped her before she completed her full bow. Just half a bow would suffice in her case. In his case, he wouldn't even bow.
The ministers and court officials got even rowdier seeing that Alex was completely ignoring the lot of them and was simply smiling toward the front at the emperor, who couldn't think of what to do.
In the end, Alex sighed. "I'm assuming the guard that was supposed to be bringing you the message of my arrival didn't give you the one that I wanted to pass along, did he?" he asked the emperor.
"What… what was the message?" the emperor asked.
"It doesn't matter, your majesty," one of the officials spoke. "No message can stop someone from respecting you as you deserve."
Alex ignored the cries of the ones around him and simply stared at the emperor who sat on his throne.
"I am Alex, King of the Southern Continent," he said simply.
The sound from around the room vanished completely for a few seconds before laughter burst into the scene from every direction. None of the people could believe at all that Alex was the king.
The princess couldn't understand what was happening at all. She didn't laugh as the ministers did, but just the same as them, she didn't believe his words either.
King of the Southern Continent? How was she to believe such a thing? There was no way to go to the Southern Continent in the first place.
The Emperor was in a similar situation as the princess, except, he knew a thing or two more than everyone else, and that made him want to believe what Alex was saying.
Alex turned to look at the people that were clearly laughing at him while mocking what he was saying. He smiled back at them and suddenly his cultivation aura burst forth throughout the room.
The people around him were tossed out of their seats and sent crashing into the wall. Only the princess and emperor were exempt from his attack. His aura kept the officials stuck to the wall, while he simply looked at the Emperor in front of him.
"Do you trust that I am the King of the Southern Continent?" he asked the emperor. The emperor didn't even have to look around to nod. He felt slightly terrified at the aura that was around the room.
The strength hidden behind the cultivation base that Alex had just shown was not something he could hope to compete against.
"King of the Southern Continent," the emperor called out. "Would you be kind enough to let go of my subjects?"
"Sure," Alex said and loosened his cultivation aura. As they fell, however, he grabbed onto each one of them and tossed them out of the room.
Once everyone was out of the room, he closed the door and looked at the emperor. "Finally, we can talk in private," he said.
The emperor didn't know what to say. "Congratulations, your majesty," he said.
"Thank you," Alex said. "Although, I'm surprised you believed me so easily. Are you not doubtful?"
"I wouldn't dare be," the man said. "Anyone who is so close to that person can't be lying about something important like this."
"That person?" Alex got a little curious. "Who are you talking about?"
"The one you came with you all those years ago," the emperor said. "The one that stole my daughter's healing crystal."
"Ah, brother Shen," Alex thought before his eyes narrowed. "You know what he is?"
The emperor nodded.
"How long have you known it for?" Alex asked.
"Ever since he revealed himself to me all those years ago when we first met," the emperor said. "He showed me exactly who he was, and it was then I remembered the words my father left behind back then that we are not the true rulers of this land."
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