By now, development had taken a huge leap forward once again. During the first three years, Meiying had spent much of her time planning for the opening of Celestial Corner. But, now that that goal had been accomplished, she spent much more time organizing Soul Rend Universe itself.
In the end, Dyon and Meiying decided that it was best if they kept the same six planets for now with plans to increase this total to about twenty within fifty years. It was simply much easier to rely on already created infrastructure, especially since Dyon's budget was lacking. Unfortunately, Dyon knew that this might lead to some conflicts.
There was good news, however. The Clans under Dyon's control were relatively small, with core members not totaling more than a few thousand. They were nothing like the juggernaut clans like the Goldeen or Crow families that had millions of individuals with their bloodlines. As a result, they needed far less space.
Still, there would always be intensive competition between Clans. This competition was fiercest when it came to earning Sect disciple positions. From Dyon's cursory glance, he even noticed that some families were trying to monopolize the resources of the Academies so they could control that path of entrance to the six Peaks.
Of course, Dyon had already expected this to happen. It was for this reason that he employed the Teacher Grading system, allowing students to send anonymous reviews of their mentors. But, it seemed that this measure wasn't enough – maybe he was too naïve.
Firstly, the up and coming families – the Novrel, Mogy, Acor, and Coudry Clans – had grown substantially and had banded together to suppress the Donari's Caedes family.
One might wonder how this happened considering Donari was the key wielder, but the truth was that the moment those of Dyon's home universe moved over, he no longer had the right to keep his title. He lost it to Stella just days after the Belmont family established themselves. This caused a major blow to the morale of the Caedes family and emboldened the up and coming families to suppress them.
According to what Dyon could see, the key had become a hot potato. Switching between Stella and Aoife what seemed like every other day. Apparently, the two had an agreement that they wouldn't be allowed to take their trials and become the official key wielder until one of them won three times in a row. Not only had that delayed their trial, but it caused a minor headache for those who had to clean up after their battles.
Still, Dyon didn't care much about this. Although he didn't believe the two Princesses should neglect their trials, they were actually training in their own way by placing pressure on each other. Instead, what gave Dyon a headache were the countless other squabbles between Clans.
What remained of the Aumens, Gebs and Horus's was essentially being treated like a slave class. The Niveus Sect had risen up again in the form of a Guild/Faction despite the fact Dyon made it clear that they would only have Six Sects for now. The Patia-Neva Clan was relatively stable, mostly due to Delia's backing, but this caused dissatisfaction among many. At the same time, the Pakal Clan had become far too isolated, they were practically forming an eco-system of their own.
Countless problems piled together to form Dyon's second headache of the past day. But who knew that the moment he stepped into Soul Palace for a breather, planning to figure out a course of action the next day, he would be hit with news that made his world flip upside down?
"What did you say?" Dyon stood, staring at Delia's beautiful crying features while holding a small baby that couldn't have been more than 9 months old in his arms.
He had been so happy just moments ago. All his worries had vanished when he saw his best friend's child waddling about. But, when he saw Delia's devastated appearance, a woman he saw as his own little sister, he felt that the world had come crashing down.
Dyon stood frozen. Had he not had a baby in his arms, he knew very well that this wouldn't be his reaction. It was taking his everything not to destroy the very palace he stood in now. The concentration took so much out of him that his tensed muscles experienced thousands of micro tears under their own power.
Dyon's Presence involuntarily leaked. The others who were in the throne room suddenly felt that they were facing an insurmountable mountain.
After his Titan Emperor's Will perfectly synced with his body cultivation, the titan air of his body increased to an entirely new level. Everything from Dyon's innate lust to his bestial tendencies were many grades higher than they once were. It was even more difficult for him to control his own emotions now than it had ever been.
Still, even with his attempts, a spider web of cracks ravaged Soul Palace, shattering the ground beneath Dyon's feet. Now that his Presence had perfectly fused with his body, even his words could affect the world around him, let alone his rage.
Dyon closed his eyes. He was well aware that no one here could get close to him in this state, so he needed to calm down. If not for their sake, at least for the sake of the child in his arms.
Minutes later, Dyon finally tempered his mental state to an acceptable level. In reality, he knew that this would happen at some point, but the idea that those bastards took advantage of the momentum of Eli's child's birth in order to track him down pissed Dyon off more than he had the words to describe.
"I'm sorry little guy." Although Dyon had tried to control himself, the one who likely took the brunt of his Presence was a baby not even a year old. He felt ashamed.
However, he was surprised to find the bright-eyed little boy with the same sandy-blond hair his father and aunt had looking up at him from his arms as though nothing had happened. He even patted Dyon's face with his small, chubby hands as though to console him.
Dyon smiled lightly. "I won't let you grow up without a dad, I promise."
