"How did you...?" Xing stammered again, his surprise mounting as Aaron effortlessly unraveled his secrets, the cultivator's composure cracking further under the relentless scrutiny.

"Seriously. Is 'how' the only word you can say? It's beginning to annoy me," Aaron snapped angrily, finally releasing his iron grip on Xing's neck, allowing the man to drop to the ground with a thud, gasping for air.

"Sigh. Should have just done it the old way in the first place. Being a gentleman doesn't pay at all," Aaron remarked matter-of-factly, his eyes shifting as they began to glow with a deep, ominous crimson hue that pulsed with hypnotic power.

"Who are you? And where are you from?" Aaron queried once more, this time infusing his words with a compelling force that brooked no resistance.

"Your tricks won't work on me. My heart and mind have constantly been purified by the white lotus. There's no way I'm going to say anything," Xing retorted with a defiant smile, his confidence in his cultivated mental fortitude shining through despite his ragged breaths.

"Well, I would love to inform you of the difference in class," Aaron replied coolly, the crimson glow in his eyes intensifying like embers fanned into flames, effortlessly piercing through Xing's fortified barriers as if they were mere illusions.

"I'm Xing from the white lotus clan," Xing blurted out involuntarily, horror contorting his features as his own tongue betrayed him against his iron will.

"Where are you from, and what's your purpose here?" Aaron delved deeper, his questions flowing like an inexorable tide, drawing out the truths hidden within.

"I'm from a different universe. I, as well as some of my fellow clan members, were sent to this universe of yours after the heavenly demon cult. We believe they have a hideous plan against the universe that we have to stop," Xing confessed unwillingly, his voice steady but laced with inner turmoil.

"And you guys have nothing to gain from this? I cease to believe you all are doing it from the goodness of your hearts. Why is your clan chasing the demonic cult all the way to another universe?" Aaron probed further, his skepticism evident in the arch of his brow and the unyielding set of his jaw.

"We are searching for a vessel, a young child with the heavenly yin furnace physique. A once-in-a-millennia talent," Xing revealed, the words spilling forth despite his desperate attempts to clamp them down.

"Heavenly yin furnace physique. What's special about it?"

"It's a physique every cultivator covets. Dual cultivating with someone of that physique will boost a cultivator's realm exponentially," Xing elaborated, his explanation hanging in the air like a forbidden secret unveiled.

"Let me guess. The bearer of the physique is Adalia?"

"Yes. We have been dispatched to this world to capture her and bring her back to our universe," Xing admitted fully, the confession sealing the depth of his mission's intrigue.

"Hmm. Guess I'm done with you then," Aaron concluded curtly, releasing the temporal lock with a subtle gesture, time resuming its flow as bodies thawed and the city's ambient sounds rushed back in a wave.

"One last question. How many cultivators crossed to this universe?" Aaron added swiftly, his curiosity not yet sated.

"I don't know. I have been commanded to work alone," Xing replied, the compulsion still lingering in his responses.

"Hmm. Should I kill you or not?"

"Spare me. Please. I just did as our Patriarch commanded. I haven't caused any harm," Xing pleaded earnestly, dropping to his knees in supplication, his robe pooling around him on the dusty floor.

"Very well then. Keep your mouth shut about every piece of information you have on me. Should you try to tell anyone about me, you will forfeit your life. All of you," Aaron warned gravely, his voice carrying the weight of an unbreakable oath that sent a chill through the assembled revolutionaries.

"We won't. I assure you of that. And thank you for sparing us all," Aegon expressed his gratitude humbly, his earlier bravado tempered by the display of Aaron's superior might, bowing his head slightly in respect.

Aaron nodded acknowledgely, a silent affirmation amid the settling calm.

From his own shadow, tendrils of darkness slithered forth unnoticed, weaving into the shadows of everyone present except Nexus, a subtle safeguard embedding itself like invisible threads in the fabric of their beings.

Aside from Aaron and his clone, no one registered the ethereal intrusion, the act blending seamlessly into the restored tranquility.

With the city returned to its subdued rhythm and the volatile tension fully diffused, Aegon led Aaron to the strategy room with newfound humility, his steps measured and cautious to avoid provoking the formidable visitor further.

---

"My lord," the captain who had clashed with Nexus knelt before Desirus, his armor dented and scorched from the battle, a picture of defeated loyalty in the grand throne room's opulent shadows.

After hastily tending to his grievous wounds with makeshift bandages that still seeped faintly, he had been summoned to deliver his grim account, the weight of failure pressing on his bowed shoulders.

"What happened?" Desirus inquired, his voice resonating with unbridled authority and a barely contained fury that simmered beneath his regal composure, his fingers drumming rhythmically on the throne's armrest.

"Forgive me, my lord. We suffered heavy losses against the enemy. I believe he is a member of the revolutionary knights, as he declared his opposition to your rule," the knight responded earnestly, his head lowered in shame, the words tasting bitter on his tongue.

"Those revolutionary knights are getting bolder by the minute, huh," Desirus muttered, tapping his armrest with increasing irritation, his chiseled features tightening into a mask of barely veiled annoyance.

"How formidable was the enemy that a captain lost so badly?" Desirus pressed, his eyes narrowing like a hawk sizing up prey, dissecting the captain's every word for weakness.

"Forgive my failure, my lord. But I fear we would have all been wiped out had they not retreated," the captain admitted, his voice steady despite the humiliation gnawing at him.

"Did they outnumber your knights? Or did you all lose pathetically to numbers lesser than you and bring shame to our lord?" a stern general interjected coldly from the sidelines, his face contorted in disgust, arms crossed over his ornate uniform.

"We shamed our lord deeply. We didn't lose against an army, my lord. We lost against two formidable foes. No, we lost against just one formidable foe. The other didn't make a move," the captain clarified, the memory of the one-sided thrashing replaying vividly in his mind's eye.

"How disappointing," Desirus voiced openly, his disappointment hanging like a dark cloud, his posture shifting slightly on the throne as if the news physically weighed on him.

"How did they fight? Did they use swords? Was there any difference in the essence they used?" a soothing female voice inquired gently, cutting through the heavy atmosphere with an almost melodic timbre.

She was the queen and wife of Desirus, a vision of ethereal beauty with long, raven-black hair that flowed like silk, porcelain-pale skin that glowed softly in the chamber's light, and a celestial aura that captivated all who beheld her, drawing gazes irresistibly as if woven with subtle enchantment.

"No, my lady. Although instead of a sword as the channel, he conjured elements from nothing. I believe they are not of our world or solar system," the captain elaborated, his description painting a picture of otherworldly power that lingered in the room's tense silence.

"That will be all. You have failed me and shamed my name. Kill every knight who encountered my foes and lost. Spare none of them," Desirus decreed mercilessly, rising from his throne with finality, his command echoing off the high ceilings like a death knell.

"If it pleases my lord, may I be granted custody of them to use as I please?" the queen requested playfully, a mischievous smile curving her lips, her eyes sparkling with hidden intent.

"Do as you please," Desirus dismissed with a casual wave, striding toward his private chambers, the matter already fading from his immediate concerns as the doors closed behind him with a resonant thud.

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