The thousands of people around the base had already directed their cameras at Aldrian and his wives. Billions of people turned their attention toward them.

Wei Zhenhai, who stood among them, narrowed his gaze at Aldrian and his wives.

’So they are beings far stronger than anything on Earth?’

Even though they were only floating in the air, wearing casual clothes, and releasing no aura, he still could not ignore their presence. There was something about them that made it clear they were extraordinary, even without deliberately showing it.

Aldrian and his wives remained in the air for a few moments, ignoring all the attention. But then Sylphia showed a hint of surprise.

"I can sense several extremely powerful figures by this world’s standards over there, and one of them feel more like the cultivator of our world than the hunters here. This figure even has Grand Duke stage cultivation. How is that possible with this world’s heaven and earth energy?" she said.

Baek Jimin and Angelica were also surprised.

Earth could barely support cultivation at the Duke stage or SSSS-rank, so how could there be a Grand Duke stage cultivator?

"Well, we’ll find out soon. Let’s go greet them," Aldrian said as he began to descend, his wives following behind him.

They soon saw those figures come out of the large building, and the one leading them was a middle-aged man with short white hair. He was the one with Grand Duke stage cultivation. But the moment Aldrian and his wives saw the faces of the eleven heroes, they were surprised.

They already knew about the eleven heroes of humanity and what they looked like from the internet. Given their strength and their appearances, there was no doubt that they were indeed the eleven heroes.

As for the Grand Duke cultivator, they had never seen his face before. With that level of power, he should have been as famous as the heroes, yet strangely, there was not a single picture of him alongside the eleven heroes.

Aldrian finally landed in front of Master Gao and the others just as Master Gao stopped in his tracks. The moment Aldrian met his gaze, he could see it clearly. The gaze he had seen many times in this life.

A gaze filled with longing. A trembling gaze that carried relief at seeing him again. The same gaze he had always seen in this life from his followers who had met him in his past life as the Great Emperor.

He could even see that this man wanted to cry, yet he held it back.

He could also feel the man’s emotions. They were unmistakable. The same feelings he had sensed from his followers the moment they met him again.

There was no doubt. This man had once been his follower.

"Welcome to the Gate of Monsters World, your excellencies," Master Gao said in reverence. Yet his voice trembled slightly, as if he were holding back tears. It made even the eleven heroes and Ruan Jingxue glance at him.

Aldrian smiled warmly at him. "Thank you for greeting us."

Master Gao wanted to say more, but he could not. He looked as though he was using all his strength just to hold back his tears.

"I... I..." He still could not form the words, and his eyes began to redden.

"How about we speak somewhere more private? There are a few things I would like to discuss before entering the gate," Aldrian said to shift the focus before it grew more awkward. Some people had already begun to notice that something was off with Master Gao.

Master Gao was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"This way, please," he said before leading Aldrian and his wives toward the large building.

The people who witnessed their interaction felt that something was off, but they could only watch as they entered the building.

After a few moments, once they had entered the room where Master Gao and his disciples had gathered, he could no longer hold himself back.

Master Gao suddenly dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Aldrian. Ruan Jingxue and the eleven heroes were stunned, but they believed this was their master’s way of showing respect to their grandmaster, so they instinctively followed and kowtowed as well.

"We greet Grandmaster!" Even before Master Gao could say anything, all of his disciples shouted in unison, as if they had already agreed on how to greet him.

Aldrian and his wives were stunned by this sudden action, but Aldrian, already curious about Master Gao’s past, quickly placed all of his disciples under his hypnosis. They remained in their kowtowing positions, but their expressions turning blank.

Master Gao, sensing something strange from his disciples, lifted his head and looked toward them. He instantly realized that they were under some form of hypnosis, which made him kowtow to Aldrian once more.

"I greet the return of the Great Emperor of All Heavens." He finally spoke, and his tears could no longer be held back.

Sylphia, Baek Jimin, and Angelica were stunned, but they quickly understood that this man had once been Aldrian’s follower. After all this time, they already had some understanding of what kind of existence Aldrian had been in his past life as the Great Emperor, from the stories of the followers he had freed from the time-stopping formation.

They were not too surprised that someone would greet him in such a manner, but they wondered how one of his followers could be on Earth and still be a mortal.

Aldrian smiled warmly. "Rise."

Master Gao slowly stood up and wiped his tears several times. After Aldrian saw that he had calmed himself a little, he finally spoke again.

"I’m truly surprised that someone from the higher heavens could end up in this place. I’m sorry that I do not recognize you this time, so who are you in the higher heavens?"

Master Gao wiped his eyes one last time before answering.

"Please do not apologize, Your Majesty. Even if you do not remember me, that is fine. I am just a nobody, not worth mentioning—"

"Aish, don’t say that. I don’t want any of my followers to belittle their own worth in front of me. Although I have not fully recovered my memories, if I had known you before and regained those memories, I would never forget it. Do not underestimate how much attention I give to those I have met." Aldrian cut him off, which made Master Gao instantly slam his head to the floor.

"Forgive me for the blasphemy I have unknowingly committed. It was not my intent to doubt Your Majesty’s perfection or underestimate you. I just feel that I am too insignificant before you. Please punish me," he said, making Aldrian sigh.

The reaction of the man before him was quite extreme, even though he had only told him not to belittle himself.

"Stop. I am not going to punish you. I only want to remind you not to look down on your own worth. In my eyes, you are far more valuable than you think. I simply want you to understand that I value every connection I formed in the past and remember them." Aldrian said.

Master Gao lifted his head, only to slam it once more.

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

"Anyway, let’s talk about something else. There are a few things I want to ask you," Aldrian said as he walked toward a chair not far from him. He needed to redirect the conversation so this follower would not continue hurting himself or blaming himself.

Master Gao quickly stood up and followed Aldrian. He sat across from him, while Sylphia, Baek Jimin, and Angelica sat beside Aldrian.

Seeing that Angelica, Baek Jimin and Angelica were not affected by the way he addressed Aldrian, Master Gao assumed they already knew about his past.

He suddenly stood up again and bowed to them.

"My apologies for not greeting Your Majesties earlier. I was overwhelmed after so long without seeing His Majesty. If I have acted inappropriately and deserve punishment, please feel free to do so."

Sylphia and the others understood that this was directed at them, so Sylphia responded with a smile.

"No, it’s alright. We understand. We’re glad you could live to this day and see him again after so long."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generosity and understanding," Master Gao replied before sitting down again.

Sylphia and the others could only sigh inwardly at how loyal Aldrian’s followers were and how highly they regarded him. Even though the man before them had done nothing wrong, every action he thought inappropriate was met with an overreaction.

He always asked to be punished.

"So, before we talk further, why not introduce yourself first? I want to know if I already remember your identity," Aldrian said.

Master Gao nodded. "In this life, my name is Gao Zhan, and at this moment, I am the leader of the China Hunter Association. However, in Your Majesty’s era as the Great Emperor, my name was Bai Cangming. Many people at that time called me the Heaven-Shattering Fist Demon."