Chapter 1230: Information Gathering 2
Aldrian nodded before asking again.
"So what is this temple thing? Is it a major force in this place?"
"The temple here refers to the Temple of Avergis’ followers, or Avergis’ Temple. Most people simply call it the temple. They are a major force that also helps all the major region lords manage the Second Heaven with their branches spread across it," the cook explained.
"It is said that through them, people could communicate with god Avergis from the Divine Realm. Well, although on the surface they looked like the ones helping all the lords in the Second Heaven, there are rumors that the temple actually holds a much higher position than the lords and acts as the true ultimate decision-maker."
"It could be said that they are a direct extension of god Avergis’ hand in the Second Heaven."
Aldrian thought for a moment.
"What is the opinion of the people in the Second Heaven regarding god Avergis or at least the temple? Are his followers many?"
"Well, most people have a good impression of god Avergis. At least, he is not like the extreme followers of god Tarius who would kill followers of other gods if given the chance. As long as someone does not have connections to or worship the Evil Gods, then they could live," the cook answered.
"In the Second Heaven, god Avergis is the most popular god, so his followers greatly outnumber those of the other gods. They are spread across the entire Second Heaven, so you could imagine just how many there are. There are countless of them."
"For the devout ones, they would enter the temple as members or at least visit regularly just to pray to him."
"However, from what I know, the number of those kinds of followers is still smaller than the number of people who feel indifferent toward god Avergis and merely consider him a god figure just like the other gods and nothing more. In fact, it applies to all of those gods, so you could say that most people simply do not bother putting their faith in them." Then the cook’s expression turned pissed off.
"Moreover, many temple people are an arrogant bunch who think they could do anything just because they carry the temple’s identity. Most people hate them because of that, but they could only express that hatred secretly."
"Many prefer not to cross paths with them as there is no telling what kind of trouble they could get into the moment they meet them," the cook sighed.
"Well, in conclusion, the people’s opinion of god Avergis is quite decent, but most have a negative opinion toward his followers. At least, that is the case in the territories I have visited."
Aldrian nodded in understanding before smiling.
"So what about you? Are you also followers of god Avergis, or do you follow another god, or do you simply not put your faith in any of them?"
The cook smiled and shook his head.
"No, I’m not a follower of god Avergis, and I do not follow any gods. I have had bad experiences with those gods’ followers, which made me dislike them quite a bit. I just live the way I do now, and that is enough for me."
The waiter nodded his head. "I’m the same as him, sir. Although I did not have any bad experiences with them, I’m just not interested in following any of those gods. I simply think that is not right, and I follow my own heart."
Aldrian maintained his smile and nodded.
"I see." From their answers, it looked like the entire Second Heaven was not as bad as he had thought. At least there were people like this cook and waiter.
"Anyway, thank you for the information. It’s really useful. Now, what I want from you is simple. Just forget everything about me. We never had this conversation, and you never met me," Aldrian said.
The cook and the waiter nodded their heads.
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
Aldrian then disappeared. The moment after he vanished, the cook and waiter’s eyes seemed to fall into a daze for a second before regaining clarity.
They blinked a few times and looked toward each other. They had just felt themselves fall into a daze for a moment, which they found strange.
However, they did not think much about it and continued with their conversation.
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When the sun was already touching the horizon, Aldrian ordered the twins to gather in one of the restaurants inside his domain. Aldrian had already reserved a private room for them to use, and after they gathered, they started discussing what they had learned.
"I gathered information regarding the situation in the Second Heaven, the power structure of the Zhu family in general, and the power structure within this city. I also got information regarding an important event that will take place in this city in the near future, which will be attended by many important people. I already have information regarding those people," Zervan said.
"I gathered the same information, but I also found some interesting information regarding the possible existence of a resistance group that I suspect to be believers of the god of this universe or believers of Your Majesty," Zarven said.
Aldrian nodded.
"I also gathered the same information along with some others. Let’s discuss them to piece together the information we have and verify its authenticity," Aldrian said.
After that, they shared the information they had gathered with each other. They tried to determine which information could be used as the basis of the truth.
The information they gathered needed to be filtered because not all of it was necessarily true. Most of it was based on what the people knew or believed, and not all of those beliefs reflected the truth.
They needed to analyze everything themselves to determine which information was likely true and which was merely the people’s assumptions or beliefs.
The only information that mostly turned out to be true was the information that came from trusted sources.
After interrogating the cook and the waiter, Aldrian himself continued searching for more information. He even approached the city lord’s manor. However, he did not infiltrate the manor and merely stayed outside while listening to the conversations within.
There were almost no conversations among the people in the manor that gained his interest. The city lord himself, a cultivator at the Low Immortal Saint Stage, also did not say much as he was merely carrying out his usual duties as the city lord. He rarely spoke, and today he did not receive any guests.
The only thing that caught Aldrian’s attention was the information the city lord received regarding Elder Xuan from the Zhu family and his group, who had disappeared while fighting Tarius’ followers.
From the report the city lord received, the Zhu family was unable to track the missing elder and his group, which Aldrian had already expected. However, he also discovered information regarding the resistance group that the officials referred to as the Blasphemous Rebels.
It looked like the Zhu family suspected that they were the ones responsible for the disappearance of their family members.
The twins also had information regarding the Blasphemous Rebels, but what Aldrian learned basically completed the information they had gathered. With that, they now knew that there were still resistance groups that continued placing their faith in Aldrian’s return.
"From what I heard, their activities are spread across the four major regions, but the most active area is the northern side of the Second Heaven. I think they have a secret base somewhere there, so if we want to make contact with them, we should make our way there and find a method to establish a connection with them," Zervan said.
Aldrian nodded.
"That is what I was thinking. Or we could make them realize that we are already here. I believe they have informants living among the people in secret. If we do something that attracts their attention, they will surely realize that a third party besides those invaders has appeared."
The twins looked at Aldrian.
"What do you have in mind, Your Majesty?"
Aldrian smiled.
"Well, we could widen the rift between Tarius and Avergis even further. For example, there is a major event that will be held in three days, right? Let’s use that as our stage."
Aldrian then explained what he had in mind, causing the twins to raise their eyebrows before nodding in understanding.
Aldrian’s plan would surely widen the rift between the two factions, and it might even spread beyond this realm.
The twins could not help but find it amusing that those two factions never realized they had been played by their Great Emperor for such a long time.
Those people were fighting each other while the real culprit sat here calmly planning another scheme that would make them fight even more.
However, there was one problem they found with Aldrian’s plan.
’Didn’t Your Majesty say that our main purpose here is to gather information? If we do what Your Majesty is planning, then we will not only attract the resistance group’s attention but also the attention of the powerhouses in the Second Heaven. Even those gods.’
But those thoughts remained only in their minds as their personal opinions.
"That is a good idea, Your Majesty," Zervan said.
"I agree," Zarven also said.
Aldrian merely smiled as he thought to himself that he really could not hold himself back from doing something that attracted attention.
He remembered how his wives already understood his character, and he could not help smiling when recalling their doubts about whether he could stay quiet without attracting attention.
"Anyway, tonight I have to save someone who is currently being detained in the high-security prison in the northern city," Aldrian said.
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