Sarah had no time to react, while the Duke felt a fear he hadn’t experienced in years, being subdued like a child by an adult. When they saw Kayden, they were both stunned and silent out of fear of Azir.
"Duke Britten, I would like to ask for Azir’s blessing to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage and the unification of the Heart and Britten houses," Kayden said directly. He remembered that the last time he met the handsome and strong duke, it was as an inferior being. But now he was on top, with a crown in his lap.
"Of course, Pinnacle Kayden. You have my blessing, and the unification of the houses will be a good step forward for both families," the Duke accepted after a few seconds. He was in no position to refuse anything, and he felt it.
If Kayden wanted to, he could have his head rolling right that second. At least that’s what Azir’s aura communicated to him. Ultimately, he understood that this would be good in a way, elevating his family to a level above the other big ten, practically becoming the only family under the guardianship of a human with six rays.
"Kayden Pinnacle, I only ask that you keep my family’s name in consideration," the Duke made a request, even under Azir’s aura. This proved he was not a grand duke and a fourth-realm wizard by chance. The term "pinnacle" was an expression for someone who represented the absolute pinnacle of the human race in one regard.
For example, a blacksmith would receive this title if he managed to make a weapon that surpassed all others on the face of the earth. Until someone surpassed him, he would be the human pinnacle in brass art.
"I can keep it in all our descendants and the official house name, but only as a second surname. I hope this satisfies your request," the Duke nodded, even under the pressure of Azir’s aura.
"I also ask that you marry my daughter within two months at the latest...", this time, he couldn’t say anything else, because if he opened his mouth, he would be killed. His request took Kayden by surprise, and he had to think a little.
"Of course, Duke. I’ll leave it up to you to organize everything as you wish. If you need to, use my name", Kayden agreed, mainly due to the man’s courage in seeking the best for his daughter, even when facing a lion. He played his role as a father.
"Contact the royal family so we can help with expenses and anything necessary," Azir said for the first time and then remained quiet. The old king was going to invite the two to celebrate and call some more people, but Kayden’s word stopped them.
"Now, I apologize to my fiancée and my father-in-law, but I need to discuss some more matters with Azir," was a polite way of sending them both away. In the end, the Duke left with his head down and, at the same time, happy, while Sarah was feeling like she was in a dream. His fame would reach a stratospheric level after that day.
"What business do we still have, Kayden?", asked Azir as soon as the two left.
"None. I just want to try the wine and then I will return to my normal duties, my king. I still need to stabilize and know my strength for the following days", Kayden didn’t even express any happiness about the situation.
Fame, money, women, any of these things couldn’t even get an expression out of the boy. Azir saw in front of him a monster powered only by power, but it was not a power to be used.
"Kayden, why do you seek power? As a young man, I needed it to face the tumultuous times of humanity. Back then, the third realm was divine beings to us, and I fought for that position. But I was always driven by my greed. But you don’t have that greed. What moves you? What makes you get up every time you fall?"
After the two grabbed a glass of wine, Azir asked a question that made Kayden stop drinking while he thought of an answer. This took a few seconds while he put several things in his head. In the beginning, it was just because it was interesting. Afterward, he wanted strength for superfluous reasons, like everyone else. He still had discipline and obsession to a different degree, and even those things weren’t something that drove him as a main cause.
"Power motivates me to continue, but it is not power for an end. Power is the motive, the search, and the objective. Just that", his sentence caught Azir by surprise. He felt the sincerity in Kayden’s speech.
In front of him was a person who could not be moved by anything other than his own will, and fortunately his principles were extensive and strong. Kayden didn’t even flinch at the other demigods’ ridiculous offers.
"It will probably just be me, you, and Apollo in the future. So I recommend that you slowly abandon your friends. They won’t make it past the fourth realm and will only live for a thousand years at most," Azir commented as if losing his friends to time was something he passed and it was probably true.
"Don’t worry about it. When do we get the technique?", Kayden changed the subject.
"It should take a whole year. Normally, they don’t expect more than one to appear per decade, and they don’t produce anything higher than that." After that, the two talked about some more topics.
Azir agreed to zero out House Heart’s tax and provide whatever financial and logistical support they needed. Kayden decided to keep Yan in the lead on this project, even with more qualified people available, as Yan was with him from the beginning and never betrayed the trust Kayden had in him.
When the cup was finally gone, Kayden had to admit that it was the best thing he had ever tasted in his life. The two left in time to hear the final announcement that the battles in the coming days would be in pairs.
Even though Kayden refused all the world leaders, several ridiculously expensive gifts arrived in his room as soon as he returned to the Sun Kingdom mansion. Calling the gifts expensive was the wrong word, as there was no market value for them.
"A gift of recognition from your wall-walking companion," Kayden instantly remembered the old man from a few years ago, and dozens of questions arose in his mind upon seeing the ring wrapped in a silk cloth.
" Holy shit," Kayden cursed out loud, not believing what he was playing. A space ring measuring nearly 30 square meters was in his hands. This was completely ridiculous; his old one was barely two meters. Inside it, there were several hundred books about...
"Basic knowledge of physics," Kayden read one of the covers and understood that they were all books that would be seen in schools back in the day. Accompanying the books was a small piece of paper written:
"Heavenly treasures that could destroy all existence are finite, knowledge is the only eternal thing," a powerful phrase that conveyed priceless wisdom.
This made Kayden wonder where that old man came from and whether her encounter with him earlier was an accident or not. Leaving aside these unanswered questions, he began to see the others present.
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
"This," Kayden felt the mana density of the World Seed he received, which was at least a hundred times greater than that of the fourth realm. It was something completely bizarre and could easily raise him a few levels into the second realm.
There were at least three dozen treasures, from unique spells to weapons. He received a katana that was at the peak of the fourth realm and could adjust its weight and shape to the user’s level. This meant that he wouldn’t need to change weapons for quite some time.
Furthermore, he received armor that fitted his body and had the design of a common ancient Eastern outfit, making him look identical to a classical cultivator from Chinese novels from his past life.
Other treasures, such as fruits for improving the body or learning concepts, stood on a small pedestal in his new ring. Kayden could be considered at that moment one of the 20 richest people in the world.
He only had time to read the various congratulatory letters and remember to thank each of these people appropriately. Like it or not, they were valuable gifts and came from tremendously powerful people. He decided to leave them to use at another date.
He received two insanely ridiculous spells in his possession. One of them was called "Void Step" and was a neutral mana spell capable of making the user jump long distances with just a single step.
Unfortunately, it was necessary to be in the fourth realm as the body would not withstand the amount of mana condensed around it. Furthermore, he needed to have a deep understanding of the concepts of nullification and distance, two difficult and time-consuming concepts to learn.