The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 949: Malicious Intent Amongst the Crowd
Aldrian and Sect Master Huang then flew back to the sect, while several elders stayed behind to take care of the aftermath of the spar. Because the effect of the spar was quite large, they could not simply leave without giving an explanation to the many people who had gathered. They did not want any misunderstandings to spread among the crowd.
After Aldrian, Sect Master Huang, and a few others arrived back at the sect, the sect master turned to Aldrian with a smile.
"Your Majesty, once again, thank you for entertaining this old man and for giving me a path to reach a higher realm. Please take some rest for now, Your Majesty. We have already prepared a special pavilion for you." He then looked at the Sword Maiden.
"My disciple here will bring Your Majesty to your pavilion. Or, if Your Majesty wishes to take a walk to any part of the sect, or perhaps take a stroll outside the sect, please feel free to do so. Meilan will guide you anywhere you wish to go."
"As for me, I am afraid that I must enter seclusion, as I have gained an insight from our spar just now. Please forgive me in advance, as I will be unable to accompany Your Majesty for some time."
Aldrian smiled and nodded. "Please make yourself comfortable, Sect Master. You do not need to feel burdened by my presence here. Miss Meilan will be more than enough as my guide."
The sect master smiled and glanced at his disciple for a moment before excusing himself to enter seclusion.
Meilan then guided Aldrian to his accommodation, which was located in one of the most beautiful areas of the sect. As they walked toward his pavilion, Aldrian began to chat with her, and Meilan gladly answered his questions.
As they continued to converse, Aldrian suddenly brought out a golden token from his storage ring, engraved with a Celestial Lotus Sect's symbol. This was the same token that Meilan had given to Aldrian before, when she challenged him to a spar in the past.
"Miss Meilan, you lent me this token as compensation for challenging me to a spar back then. At that time, I thought I might need it, so I accepted it. However, I do not think I will need this token in the future, so I would like to return it to you." He brought the token closer to Meilan.
Meilan looked at the token for a moment, and she could not help but slightly flush as she remembered how she had challenged Aldrian to a duel.
She suddenly felt foolish for making that challenge and felt truly embarrassed. Still, she did not regret it, as she had been able to experience a battle with a powerful figure like Aldrian.
She pushed aside her embarrassment and took a deep breath before taking the token. Aldrian simply smiled as they continued to walk.
After a few moments, she finally gathered her courage and opened her lips.
"Your Majesty, if you do not mind, while you stay at the sect, would you please spar with me again? I apologize beforehand, as I do not think I have anything worthy enough to give you as compensation for taking up your time."
Aldrian glanced at Meilan and saw that she was holding back her embarrassment. He could not help but find it amusing.
Still, he answered her.
"Of course, Miss Meilan. Just come to me, and I will become your sparring partner. In fact, I do not mind even if you wish to spar with me after we arrive at my pavilion. Do not think about compensation, but if you still feel bad, then think of it as a reward for you joining the war in the Northern Star Cluster."
Hearing that, Meilan released a sigh of relief and smiled.
A moment later, a woman approached them. Aldrian knew that she was Meilan's friend, Rei, who had always been with her throughout Meilan's journeys.
They accompanied him until he reached his pavilion, which was located on the slope of one of the mountains, with beautiful scenery and landscape.
The pavilion was in a secluded place and had a high concentration of energy, making it truly good place for cultivation. From this location, Aldrian could see a large part of the sect and its seven peaks.
Aldrian liked the scenery and the landscape here, but before he could enjoy it further, Meilan stepped forward toward him.
"Your Majesty, may we spar at this time?"
Rei, who heard her best friend say that, widened her eyes in shock. To her, Meilan truly dared to ask something like that of Aldrian.
In the past, when she learned about the matter between Meilan and Aldrian, she had not thought much of it, as they truly did not know Aldrian's identity at that time.
But now it was different. He was someone far beyond their reach, and he had just arrived at this place, even sparring with their sect master. She thought it was inappropriate and wanted to berate Meilan. However, she then noticed that Aldrian was actually smiling.
"Just like I said, I will not refuse. Of course, you may," he replied. Then, in a short time, he created a secret realm, which truly astonished Rei. This was the first time she had seen someone create a secret realm, and to do it so quickly at that.
They then entered the secret realm, where he and Meilan could spar freely, just like in the past.
Meilan looked at Aldrian and saw that he was already taking out a different sword from the one he had used to face her master. The sword was of low divine grade, the same as her own sword.
Her fighting spirit burned fiercely as she unsheathed her sword and prepared to fight. After witnessing the battle between her master and Aldrian, she knew that she still had a long way to go before she could reach even a fraction of her master's level.
However, watching their spar had given her a new push and renewed determination to work harder. She wanted to become stronger, to one day stand at the same level as her master or even Aldrian.
Rei watched Aldrian and Meilan from the side, curious to see their spar.
"Come," Aldrian said.
Meilan did not hesitate to attack.
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While Aldrian and Meilan were inside the secret realm and sparring, news of what had happened in the desert region began to spread. Some people near the Celestial Lotus Sect already knew about Aldrian the Great visiting the sect, but they did not know that Sect Master Huang and Aldrian had actually sparred.
Many people who visited the desert region were stunned when they saw that a large part of the region had completely changed, with the sands having disappeared.
The area had transformed into a land filled with traces of powerful sword will, which could greatly benefit sword cultivators but was also dangerous. If they were not careful, they could be injured by the lingering remnants of that sword will.
Because of this, even more people finally learned that Aldrian the Great was in their world and was staying at the Celestial Lotus Sect. As a result, many people wanted to visit the sect and meet him, at least to pay their respects.
Due to this, the area outside the sect grounds became boisterous, with many people wanting to enter the sect.
Even if they could not enter, they stayed not far from the front gate, hoping that they might catch a glimpse of Aldrian. They wanted to see for themselves the legend who had been a topic of discussion for so long in the Central Star Cluster.
In the midst of the crowd that wanted to see Aldrian, there were two figures who seemed to belong to the same group. One of them was a thin man, while the other was a burly man. They looked toward the sect's entrance from a distance, where they could see many people still trying their luck to enter the sect, only to be blocked by the guards.
"It seems it will be difficult to even enter the sect. I doubt that we even have a chance to get inside at this moment," the skinny man sent to the burly man through voice transmission.
"It cannot be helped. It looks like we need to use our assets within the sect to do the work. Contact them after this," the burly man replied, which caused the skinny man to frown.
"But would that increase Aldrian the Great's chance of discovering us? What if our asset gets caught instead? That monster's abilities are too mysterious. I would not even doubt that he somehow already knows about us coming and our intent to kill him," the skinny man replied.
The burly man did not answer, as he also did not know the correct answer. The information they had heard about Aldrian was terrifying.
He did not know the limits of Aldrian's power or capabilities, which left him and his colleagues confused about how to plan Aldrian's assassination.
However, they still had to try, as that monster had finally visited this world. Because of that, many from their group had started their journey toward the Celestial Lotus Sect with a single purpose: to assassinate their greatest threat, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives.
Since Aldrian's rise, they could only hide and refrain from doing anything drastic. Now, they finally had a chance.
"Even if we have to lose our pawn in the Celestial Lotus Sect, it does not matter, as long as Aldrian the Great is dead," the burly man said solemnly.
"For our god."
