The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 989: Open Recruitment

Aldrian and Baek Jimin stayed at the Thorny Flower Garden Sect for the next two days. As for his parents, they returned to the palace a day earlier than him.

While he and his harem stayed at the Thorny Flower Garden Sect, there was not much they did besides staying inside the sect or taking a stroll in some places across the demon territory.

When it was time for Aldrian to go back, Sect Master Baek sent them off.

"Take care of my daughter, Aldrian," she said.

"I will, Mother-in-law. You do not have to worry about her well-being. I will make sure to keep taking care of her," Aldrian replied.

Sect Master Baek nodded with a smile. "I did not doubt that you would do that." She then looked at Baek Jimin.

"Jimin, do not give Aldrian trouble. He is already busy, and instead you must always support him and help him."

"I will, Mother," Baek Jimin replied.

Sect Master Baek also said goodbye to Sylphia and Angelica before Aldrian teleported all of them back to the palace. After they arrived, Sylphia and Angelica instantly dragged Baek Jimin away from Aldrian, and Aldrian could only smile at their behaviors.

He then met with Ao Tianhai, who stayed at the palace throughout the wedding ceremony. If this guy attended the ceremony, he would undoubtedly attract a lot of attention. The spiritual beasts would likely be affected the most by his presence, especially the dragons.

The dragons would be affected by the presence of a dragon who had already reached the divine realm, even though Ao Tianhai was in a sealed state. His divine presence could not be hidden the moment he met with those dragons.

However, Aldrian wondered, between Ao Tianhai and the Dragon King, which one had the purer bloodline that was closer to Long Shentian if they were at the same cultivation level.

Ao Tianhai, the Storm Dragon, or the Dragon King, a dragon known as the Firestorm Dragon.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, for the wedding. May Your Majesty and Empress Baek live a fulfilling life forever," Ao Tianhai said the moment he saw Aldrian.

Aldrian nodded with a smile. "Thank you for the congratulations."

"Your Majesty, I truly did not expect you to declare such extreme vows, and I was even more shocked when the heavens showed their reaction. Did the heavens change after all this time, to the point that they consider you just like any other being?" Ao Tianhai asked.

"Well, not really. I simply asked them not to give me any privilege at that time. I just wanted to show that I am not joking regarding my vow," Aldrian replied.

"I see," Ao Tianhai said, truly admiring both Aldrian and Baek Jimin for daring to declare such an extreme vow.

Even for him as a divine being, he would not recklessly declare vows that carried the name of the heavens.

As a divine being, the heavens would surely send harsh or even far more powerful punishment, one that could bring the entire universe’s power down upon him if he somehow broke his vow. That would be catastrophic for any god.

Whatever the case, challenging the heavens would have consequences for any being.

After a few days of enjoying his time with his harem, Aldrian then continued with his own business.

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Time kept passing, and a month had already passed since Aldrian’s wedding. At this time, there was another matter that caused the entire continent to fall into an uproar and made many people journey to the region of the Eternal Sanctuary Forest.

A few days ago, Aldrian openly announced that he was opening recruitment for those who wanted to become his troops, or more specifically, his newly created knight order.

The moment he made the announcement, it caused an uproar, and many people instantly began their journey to the Eternal Sanctuary Forest to register.

The registration only opened in the cities inside the forest’s region after all.

The requirements for the recruitment were quite simple. Everyone above the earl stage was eligible to join, and they had to be indigenous to the Aster Empire. They also must not have any affiliation with other parties.

Even if they were from noble families, they would have to sever their connections to their families entirely before they could attempt to register.

Millions of people instantly flocked to register themselves, which made the city officials quite overwhelmed. Moreover, Aldrian only gave three days for registration, which caused many to rush and nearly turned the situation into chaos.

Aldrian had to issue a stern warning toward anyone who caused chaos, which brought the situation under control.

Even so, the cities were still truly crowded with people who wanted to register.

On the last day of registration, the atmosphere became even more festive and crowded. At this moment, Aldrian was in his throne hall, receiving reports from an elder of the Xin family.

"As of now, the number of those who have registered is 3,546,212 people, with average cultivation at duke stage. Most of them were cultivators without any affiliation even before registering, while the rest have already severed their connections with their former parties. They come from noble families and some organizations outside of those families."

Aldrian nodded. "Alright, you may go back to your post."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Xin family’s elder replied before he left the throne hall.

Watching the elder leave, Aldrian then thought about tomorrow, when he would test those who had registered. He decided to establish his first knight order at this moment so they would have time to develop before he truly needed them in the near future.

He did not expect them to fight alongside him against an army like the one led by the Vampire King, as that would still be too much for them, and the time was far too short. According to his estimation, the Vampire King and his army would arrive within the next six to eight months.

The matter of the Vampire King and his army was his responsibility to handle, and he had already prepared something for that so-called one of the four overlords of the Central Region of Heaven.

His private troops would be used after he finally made the entire First Heaven his domain. He knew that with how vast the First Heaven was, he would need some time to clear it entirely of the invaders’ influence. If he did it himself, it would take far longer.

Even with Ao Tianhai’s presence, it was still not enough.

That was why he still needed his own troops that he could order anywhere across the heavens. With his troops taking care of one place while he handled the others, the work would be much faster.

With his cultivation-made techniques and all the resources he possessed, he would make sure that everyone who joined the knight order would grow stronger faster and become more powerful than others.

As he kept thinking about tomorrow’s selection, he then saw Xin Haotian entering the hall. He was wearing knight armor bearing the symbol of the newly created knight order. The symbol showed a dragon and a phoenix intertwined, circling a sun that illuminated everything at the center.

With this kind of armor, he gave off a completely different vibe compared to his usual calm and elegant presence in robe.

Now he looked dashing, and there was an aura about him that made him truly powerful, causing others to think twice before looking for trouble with him.

Aldrian smiled at him. "How is the armor?"

It was a low divine grade armor, one of the treasures left behind by his followers. He had slightly modified it by adding the symbol of the new knight order. The armor suited Xin Haotian well, and it also accepted him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Good. This armor is truly light yet incredibly strong. There is nothing lacking in it. As expected of a divine grade artifact," Xin Haotian replied.

Aldrian nodded. "I’m glad you like it."

"Regarding the recruitment, how many will you accept as your troops this time? I expect it will not be much," Xin Haotian suddenly asked.

Aldrian nodded. "You are correct. I will only accept two hundred people for this recruitment. This is for the best of the best, after all. They will enter your knight order, and you will lead them. After they officially enter the knight order, I will leave the rest to you to train them until they are ready. Could you do it?"

Xin Haotian slightly lowered his head. "I can, Your Majesty. Leave it to me."

"Good. I hope that in the next two or three years, I can see much stronger troops. I might need them at that time," Aldrian said, which made Xin Haotian raise his eyebrows.

"That is quite a short time to prepare. Are you planning to do something that requires the troops?"

"Yes. I will need them if everything goes according to my plan," Aldrian said, then looked upward.

"That will depend on the situation at that time. I might need them sooner or much later."