A golden speck of light shot out from the ring, but it took the shape of a tiny female dragon.

"What's your name?" Davis asked the Peak-Level Emperor Grade Protective Artifact.

"Name? I don't have a name... I am called the Earth Dragon's Hard Scale Ring." It perfunctorily replied.

Davis nodded, but he didn't opt to name her as he had no feelings for it. Instead, he asked.

"How would you protect me?"

"As long as I sense a life-threatening attack, I will instantly activate, or master can use your energy to invoke me~" The female spirit happily echoed as if it was glad to be used as a shield.

"I see..." Davis understood that it had the same working, but he was rather worried that someone might notice the ring's grade. This was a treasure that would make Ancestor Dian Alstreim's eyes turn green with envy and even capable of making him turn against him; so much less needs to be said about others.

Even if he did nothing, just possessing it would invite calamity.

He narrowed his eyes before asking, "Can you hide your undulations...?"

The female spirit shook its head, becoming dejected, "I can hide my undulations only for a short period of time while worn...."

Davis chuckled, "Don't worry. I'll hide you within my robes and only equip you when I need you."

With his soul force concealing it, he felt that it wouldn't be conspicuous.

The female spirit dragon looked taken aback, "No... By worn, I meant about the bond we possess. Only if master unbound me can I hide my undulations all the time without affecting my ability to protect..."

Davis became confused, but the female spirit continued.

"I maintain a constant veil of surveillance so that I can quickly know if master's life is in danger. That's why I cannot also protect master's life if I were to conceal my undulations as it would also inhibit my veil of surveillance."

"So you're saying that it's possible to conceal your undulations all the time, but you're incapable of automatically protecting me during that time?"

"Yes! I can also protect for a short period of time while concealed, but if it crossed that limit, I wouldn't be able to do both for another short period of time."

"Oh, good!" Davis felt that this was strange but fine, "If I need your protection, I will inform you. Until then, always conceal yourself."

"I understand!" The female dragon spirit returned to the ring, and the ring appeared as if it lost its luster, becoming dull as if it was nothing more than a mortal ornament.

Davis smiled and looked at Princess Isabella have her mouth agape.

"What?" He perplexedly asked.

"If you have it concealed all the time, what use is it?"

"Isabella," Davis chuckled, "It's not like an ancestor-level assassin is going to strike me down here..."

He showed her the ring, "This is already an overkill... I'll tell it to protect me when I need it."

"If you say so..." Princess Isabella contemplated and felt that he was right because, for the same reasons, she didn't wear it.

However, with Davis vaguely mentioning that they need to reach the fabled Immortal Stage at least, she was unable to lay down her worries and wanted him to have the Earth Dragon's Hard Scale Ring worn at all times.

The artifact was fully loaded with spirit energy, and she didn't use it either, so it would completely be able to block the power and the impact of a peak-level ninth stage powerhouse's attack a few times.

This was the only thing that could make her rest assured, yet it made her unable to feel assured with this matter of suddenly facing a powerful enemy. At this moment, she could only hope that such a character wouldn't abruptly show up in front of Davis.

"Wait a minute," Davis suddenly recalled, "Evelynn and Natalya would miss you too since you're leaving. I'll go call them, and while they're entertaining you, I'll pay a visit to grandfather or mother will become sad. Knowing her, she wouldn't say anything, but she would be thrilled to talk more about me to her father."

Princess Isabella kept her smile, "Alright... I'll wait for you to come back."

Davis nodded and stood up. He left the room and headed towards the seventeenth floor, leaving behind a lonely princess who kept looking at the door till Evelynn and Natalya entered.

======

Davis informed Evelynn and Natalya about Isabella's departure, and without having the need to tell them to go see her, they rushed off, leaving him hanging like a thread.

"Okay~~~" Davis's voice trailed off as he turned around and looked at the people in the distance, still having a smile plastered on their faces.

Before he came to the hall here, Evelynn and Natalya stuck out like a sore thumb, standing alone in a corner. Perhaps, after introducing themselves and conversing a bit, they were not willing to disturb their reunion.

So him informing them of Isabella's departure also served them to escape an awkward situation.

He looked around and saw that Elder Havle Alstreim was nowhere to be found, making him think that he left.

Looking at his mother happily exchanging words with her father, it seems like they had so many things to catch up on. He looked at Tia Alstreim and saw that she had opened up a little to his mother as she expressed herself in a low voice.

He knew that they were blood sisters, half-blood sisters to be exact, but they looked incredibly similar.

'Although their lips are different, their noses and eyes look almost the same...' He wondered as he measured their faces. Of course, once Tia Alstreim grew up, he knew that her facial features would change more.

"Davis, you're back..." Claire exclaimed like a little child as she noticed him, "Come, I was just singing praises of how you led us here to unite..."

Davis smiled a bit in embarrassment as he walked towards them.

Edgar Alstreim and Lia Alstreim proudly looked at him. However, the proudest one was Logan, of course. He held his head high and looked as if everyone should praise him for making Claire give birth to a prodigious son.

Tia Alstreim looked at this big nephew of hers with gleaming eyes. Indeed, Claire explained to them her son's achievements, and Tia Alstreim couldn't help but look up to him. Their ages were just ten years apart, yet he could make the most powerful existence in the Alstreim Family; Ancestor Dian Alstreim give respect to his words.

She became full of respect towards him and curious since he had something to do with her whispers. However, it didn't react now, and like a child, she didn't bother about it either.

Davis joined in on the fun, and while the whole family was reunited once again, a blurry figure stood outside the palace. It was as if it was there for a long time, just eerily staring.

However...

"Sigh," A few minutes later, suddenly a wise yet exhausted voice suddenly rang out from that blurry figure, "You're making the same mistake again and again. You vaguely realize that you walk the path of loneliness, yet you adamantly remain with your people."

"How many times are you going to inflict karma upon your loved ones? Just by being beside them, you are constantly changing their fates, and by telling them something that shouldn't even be mentioned, you are practically pushing them off a cliff, making them fall into an abyss of no return."

As if tracing something, the silhouette looked towards a particular direction.

"Your bold yet foolish whispers have now thrown the laws of fate into a bit of chaos, consequently disturbing the seclusion of a Soul Emperor..."

The silhouette looked back and swept a glance at the mingling people.

"Their fates have all changed, and even I became less capable of seeing through their future anymore... As for whether they will be able to face the tribulations which fate throws at them, that is something only fate..."

The silhouette's gaze fell on Davis, "... only you can amend."

"The Grimoire of Fate isn't something a person with your cultivation base can handle... and yet, its juvenile spirit seems to have chosen you..."

The silhouette kept staring for a while before it suddenly disappeared.

======

*Boom!~*

"AHH!~."

A painful voice rang out, causing the surrounding palace walls to tremble to the voice's intensity.

"How can this be? My recovery failed!?"

The same male voice rang out with a sense of disbelief. He looked at the fruit that seemed to have withered, his expression becoming ugly. It had somehow lost its essence, but more importantly, he lost the opportune moment to recover completely.

He was none other than the Soul Emperor secluded within the far south of the Tripartite Alliance Territory's Desolate Plains!

Last time, when the three Ancestors of the Alstreim Family, Towering Cloud Hall, and the Falling Snow Sect had come to talk to him about the Blood Soul Contract, he had forcefully recovered to the High-Level Emperor Soul Stage to intimidate them and possibly kill them, but everything changed with the sudden arrival of the Calamity Light, ruining his plans.

Since he forcefully recovered, it left him with hidden injuries that gave him a backlash, dropping his level to Mid-Level Emperor Soul Stage again after a few days had passed. He interchangeably meditated and absorbed medicinal essence from the fruits he possessed to recover, but now, it all ended up in failure!

He became enraged, and his anger almost flared up, but he promptly calmed down and took out the same fruit before starting to refine it.

After two full-days, the fruit in his hand ended up rotting, and he had recovered a bit, but what's done was done. He had missed the opportune moment to recover! He was unable to breakthrough!

His eyes shot wide open as it turned red, and he looked as if he wanted to vent! The image of a cold white-robed woman flashed past his eyes, and he stood up while his rod was also standing as strong as an elephant's trunk, wanting to have a taste of her!

At this moment, a long-drawn-out sigh could be heard.

The Soul Emperor froze as he blanked out. It was unknown how much time passed until he came back to his senses. Instantly feeling that something was wrong, he thought back to what had happened.

"Mhm?"

The Soul Emperor felt like he had heard something but didn't. It was as if inspiration descended on him, but it didn't, making him confused.

"What was I about to do?" The Soul Emperor mused and shook his head before he snorted, "Hmph! It's just a woman... Recovering to High-Level Emperor Soul Stage is more important!"

"Having Beauty Snow under my grasp is just a matter of time..."

He sat back on the cultivation cushion, and another particular fruit appeared in his palm again before he started refining it. It sent waves and waves of medicinal energy, making his powerful yet weakened soul recover.

The palace became silent again, but a voice resounded out.

"I have done something I shouldn't, and now I have inflicted karma upon myself... yet, I can only hope that it doesn't make the calamity that befell me worsen."

The blurry silhouette stared at the clueless Soul Emperor for a while before looking above, calmly gazing at the calamity light, their eyes possessing a gleam that was calm without any ripple.

"Is this truly my fate...?"

The voice echoed, but the next moment, the blurry figure disappeared, leaving behind a long-drawn exhalation of exhaustion.

"Sigh..."

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