Alex met up with his elders in the Snowpass city, which was nearly at the edge of the Eastern Continent. Just a few minutes of flight from here was the ocean toward the north. Toward the east, a couple of hours of flight would lead them to their Beast's Paradise.
Both Liang Shufen and Yao Ning breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Alex and couldn't help but speak out about their concerns. It hadn't even been half an hour since he had been taken away, and they were devastated at his kidnap.
"It's alright," Alex said. "I was never in any real danger. Besides, the Emperor saved me minutes after I was taken to the other location."
"But it could have been dangerous," Liang Shufen said. "We failed in saving you."
"It's alright," Alex said. "I'm fine and that's all that matters. Besides, I wasn't really ever in danger. I could've run away anytime I wanted to. I stuck around because the man had stolen my ring and I wanted it back."
While that was partially true, it wasn't an understatement to say that Alex had been afraid. When his arm had been cut off, he knew that he was in enough danger that he could lose his entire body.
After that, seeing the people using Immortal Qi as if it were nothing made him even more scared for his life. A single stray attack could have killed him back then.
While he didn't think getting out of the Oathbreakers' stronghold was particularly hard with his Dao of Space and Teleportation, running far enough away would still be problematic as he wasn't as proficient in running away.
Especially considering his captors were much stronger and faster than him.
However, he didn't let this fact be known to the elders. They would never forgive themselves if it ever came to that.
"If the Emperor saved you," Yao Ning spoke. "Then where is he?"
* * * * * *
The entirety of the Gold Kingdom and many from the other kingdoms were surprised to hear the dethroning of King Tan Qiu from the Gold Kingdom's throne.
After multiple millennia, he was no longer going to be the King, and someone else was going to take over him.
For the first time since the previous kings and queens were executed for treason and attempted coup, someone else was taking over as the Gold King.
The man to replace the Gold King was someone named Qian Yanglin, an alumnus of the True Gold sect, one of the biggest sects in the Gold Kingdom.
He was a tall man with a handsome look, whose past feats were spread around the continent like wildfire. 2-time winner of the Endless Shadow Abyss, 3rd in the Continental Tournament, a powerful fighter in the Transcendent Martial ground, and the Harmonious Balance Haven.
He was also a young man, barely 2 thousand years of age, and had a lot of talent running his sect before he left it a few decades ago. Now, he was going to be made the King of the Gold Kingdom.
It was 3 months later that the coronation officially happened. Many great individuals from all around the continent made their way to the Goldheart kingdom to watch the ascent of the new king.
All kings, great military figures, and many more were present there. Alex too had returned there after his 3 months of travel across the Gold Kingdom. The atmosphere was no less festive than 4 months ago when the Golden Auction was right around the corner.
The city was golden bright with lanterns floating all around. There were golden flags hung from every home, and people cheered the name of the new king.
They celebrated the arrival of the new King Qian Yanglin as the Emperor himself crowned the man. Everyone congratulated his ascent. Alex did so with a pill bottle full of pills.
The new king was more than happy to have received such a treasure and thanked Alex profusely.
Alex stepped to the side and let the others congratulate the man. The Emperor arrived at Alex's side and asked, "Well, congratulations. You successfully diverted my attention to some other thing. My time outside closed cultivation wasn't really a waste."
Alex smiled. "I'm happy to be of help," he said.
"Still, are you sure you do not wish to trade the second thing you planned on?" the man asked.
"Do you have something ready to trade for whatever I give you?" Alex asked.
"I'll have to see how important it is," the Emperor said. "I cannot prepare something of value without knowing what the value of the item I'm trading for is."
Alex nodded. That made some sense alright. "I'll let you know what it is when the time comes," he said. "2 and a half years later, or maybe 3 years later."
"Any specific date?" the Emperor asked. "I wish to enter closed cultivation for as long as is needed."
Alex thought for a bit and answered. "I hear the Cave of Frost opens up in about 3 more years," he said.
"I am not sure on the timeline, but that sounds about right," the Emperor said. "Although, I'm not sure if you'll get to enter this time around."
Alex nodded. There was a giant barrier around most of the Ivory kingdom after all. He wouldn't know if it would ever open up or not.
"If it doesn't open up, when do you propose we trade?" Alex asked.
"If it doesn't open up, trading with you would be the least of my worries," the Emperor said. "I will have to find a way to deal with the barrier somehow without making trouble for whoever created it."
"Do you have an idea of who it was?" Alex asked.
"Some immortal, surely," the Emperor said. "I'm just not sure why they were here yet."
For a moment, Alex wondered if whoever had come down was someone from the Azure Dragon's family. However, no such person would create a barrier and stay hidden. Not to mention, someone had left already.
"Well, whoever it is, as long as they let me enter the Cave of Frost, I'll be fine," Alex said.
"Why? Do you wish to enter it so bad?" the Emperor asked with a curious look.
"I do," Alex said. "I want to learn a bit about some Yin Dao if I can."
"You have a Yin spiritual root?" the Emperor asked.
Alex nodded. "I do," he said. "Hasn't been of much help though, aside from a few techniques, but it does come in handy when making pills."
"Then I suppose it is not a bad idea to enter the cave," the man said. "So, when do you plan to trade next if it opens up?"
"Right before the cave opens up," Alex said. "That sounds good."
"Let's do it after," the Emperor said. "It is never clear when the Cave opens up and it is only a rough knowledge for us. Your time inside won't be longer than a month at best, so it is better to do the trade afterward."
Alex shrugged. "Sounds fine to me," he said.
The Emperor nodded. "Then we will meet and trade after you come out of the Cave of Frost," he said. "I'll look forward to it."
Alex smiled. "I will too," he said. "I'll tell you now that while what I will be trading won't be as good as what I traded last time, and may not be of much help to you when it comes to improving the end result of a pill, it will improve the overall results on all pills."
The Emperor looked curiously. "Can you not tell what it is?" he asked. "Some sort of technique or knowledge?"
"No need to hurry," Alex said. "You'll find out in due time."
The Emperor sighed. "Sure," he said. "I'll leave for now then. I've stayed out for too long."
"Farewell," Alex said.
"Before I leave," the Emperor turned around. "Is there a chance I can persuade you to not call yourself a King? Emperor sounds better, doesn't it?"
"It does, but King is what my title is, given to me by her Highness the Phoenix," Alex said. "I cannot change it without her approval." He was confused as to why the Emperor even cared, but he didn't let it show on his face.
"Is that so?" the Emperor said. "I hope you change it soon then. Otherwise… anyway, farewell."
The Emperor flew away from the kingdom, immediately reaching a speed that left behind after images for everyone to see. Even Alex with his Demon Eyes could barely follow the blur that was the Emperor.
"Damn, he is so fast," Alex thought, looking at the sky where the Emperor had flown away from. He remembered the battle 3 months ago as well. "And he's strong."
Alex frowned as he remembered that the Dragon Emperor was most likely his and Pearl's enemy. "I can't dally around," he thought. "I'll have to get strong as soon as I can."
He was getting close to breaking through as well. Just a few more weeks and he would once again get close to breaking through to the Saint Soul realm.
"Ughh… but the Realm of Trials is opening soon," he thought. There was only a month or two at best remaining before the trial opened up. If he somehow failed during this breakthrough, then it was unlikely he would be ready to enter the trial.
Then, he would have to wait for another 10 years before it opened again.
"I suppose I'll have to delay it slightly enough that it takes place after the Realm of Trials is over."
