The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 381: I Change My Mind

Old man York frowned.

"What do you—"

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but I must disturb you," a young man’s voice cut off the old man’s voice transmission.

"I am Alexi Xadian, the young master of the Xadian family, one of the great noble families of the Atria Empire." As he introduced himself, he glanced slightly at Sylphia.

When he heard that a group of people was looking for a traitor, most likely from the church, he wasted no time and brought his knights to greet them. He had his own role in this matter and did not think too much about it. However, upon hearing that an elf was among the group, he became spirited.

The Atria Empire is located on the western side of the continent. Due to its distance, elves rarely visit. If they do, it is usually as envoys from certain noble families who require something from this region.

For Alexi, his encounters with elves could be counted on one hand. He also rarely traveled to the eastern side of the continent, so it was reasonable that he seldom met them.

Now, with the appearance of a beautiful elf in this place, he would not waste the opportunity. Although he was already a Duke-stage cultivator, as a man and a noble, he also had desires. As a noble, he lacked nothing, and whatever he desired, he always obtained. But one thing he had longed for yet could never attain was an elf as his woman.

He never lacked women, and he had a preference for exotic ones. An elf had been his most desired dream for a long time. Seeing an elf alone among an unfamiliar group—one that was most likely sent by the main church—only fueled his desire. He did not believe this group was directly affiliated with the church. Instead, he suspected the church had used a third party, such as the Adventurers’ Guild, to search for the traitor in this empire.

The church could not recklessly enter this territory in the current situation, after all. Why did he think the church was using the third party? Because of the elf’s presence. Her appearance made him doubt that this group was directly under the main church. Elves did not directly worship the heavens, after all—or so he believed.

"If something happens to them, the backlash will be minimal, right?" he thought. After all, they were within his territory.

However, seeing that the elf seemed indifferent and showed no sign of being impressed, he felt slightly annoyed. Even so, he maintained a smile.

"I, as the one responsible for the security of this area, have received many reports about suspicious activities from your group. I must ensure that you are not a threat to the city’s safety, so please follow me for verification before we can allow you to proceed," he said. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Aldrian smiled at his words.

"Is that so? But to think you went to such lengths just to greet us—don’t you think that’s a bit excessive? Seven Duke-stage cultivators, five Grand Duke-stage cultivators, and another five Grand Duke-stage assassins lurking in the shadows."

Hearing Aldrian’s words, Alexi’s group was stunned—everything he said was correct! They had indeed brought an assassin squad in case things went south.

Alexi frowned. Those assassins were their best, and even he doubted that anyone in this city could detect them. So how?

The old man was also shocked, but then he narrowed his eyes at Alexi.

"Young master, they are my customers for today, and they have just arrived here. I hope for your understanding," he said while exuding the aura of a peak Grand Duke cultivator.

Old man York was actually a Grand Duke cultivator, which did not surprise Aldrian. He had recognized it instantly when he first laid eyes on the old man. Although York tried to conceal his cultivation by suppressing his aura and energy, it was impossible to hide from Aldrian’s Eyes of the Heaven.

Alexi frowned at old man York.

"Don’t think we let you keep your restaurant open and left you alone because we fear you, old man. We left you alone because dealing with you would be troublesome, not because we see you as a threat."

The old man gritted his teeth, releasing even more of his aura and pressure. However, the knights behind Alexi responded in kind, unleashing their own auras to counter him.

Alexi merely snorted and turned his gaze back to Aldrian.

"I don’t care if you know about my hidden assassins, but you still have to obey our rules here. This city is under martial law by order of His Majesty, and you’d better choose your actions wisely. We don’t have to harm anyone here," he said. However, behind his back, he signaled his knights to prepare for a surprise attack on Aldrian’s group. At the same time, he gave a silent command to the assassins to be ready to strike.

Even though he didn’t know how Aldrian had sensed the assassins, he still dismissed him as insignificant. Aldrian was only at the low Duke stage, and the strongest in his group seemed to be the man wearing a conical hat, who had remained silent until now, displaying peak Duke-stage cultivation. It was natural for Alexi to think this way since Xin Haotian had concealed his true power and was only revealing the aura of a high Duke-stage cultivator.

"I see, but I think you’ve misunderstood something," Aldrian said as he stood up.

"Now!"

Suddenly, the knights leaped toward Aldrian, but before they could reach him with their swords, they abruptly stopped in place. They sheathed their weapons and stood motionless as if frozen.

On the ceiling, the five assassins also remained in their positions, but they all shared one eerie similarity—their eyes were blank, as if they were under the influence of an illusion.

Seeing this, Alexi was stunned. He immediately shouted at his knights.

"What are you doing?! Attack him! Hey!"

However, they remained motionless. As Alexi watched Aldrian slowly walk toward him, he instinctively took a step back.

It was only then that he realized something was terribly wrong with his men.

Aldrian must have done something to them!

His survival instincts kicked in, and he decided to escape and call for reinforcements.

However, before he could step out of the restaurant, he collided with an invisible wall and slipped to the ground. Though pain shot through him from the impact, he still turned his head to look at Aldrian, who continued walking toward him with a steady, unhurried pace.

For the first time, fear gripped him. He stared into Aldrian’s expressionless blue eyes—eyes that seemed to pull him into a deep abyss. A suffocating terror crept into his heart, making it hard to breathe. In that moment, he forgot that he was a Duke-stage cultivator, someone considered strong on the continent.

"S-Stop," he stammered, trembling. But Aldrian did not stop. He walked past the motionless knights, who stood frozen like statues.

"Don’t come any closer!" Alexi cried out.

Aldrian kept walking, his gaze never leaving Alexi.

Alexi tried to crawl backward, but his back collided with the invisible wall which was actually a spatial barrier Aldrian had created to prevent his escape.

The moment Aldrian stood before him, Alexi’s body suddenly rose against his will. Panic surged through him as he struggled to resist, but it was futile. Aldrian was forcing him to stand using spatial manipulation.

Alexi felt his mental fortitude crumbling. The realization that he was completely powerless sent waves of despair through him. Worse yet, he was unable to avert his gaze, forced to lock eyes with Aldrian.

"You think you’re something great here, huh? A little king?" Aldrian’s voice echoed in his ears, calm yet chilling.

"You know, at first, I thought I could play along for a bit. Maybe we wouldn’t have to do anything... painful."

Aldrian then leaned in, his piercing blue eyes drawing even closer.

"However, I change my mind."

"I don’t care if you are the young master of a noble family. Even if you were a prince, I still wouldn’t care. How dare you look at my woman with such a lustful gaze?" Aldrian said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion, sending a wave of dread through Alexi. At that moment, he had never felt regret as deeply as he did now.

"I... I’m sorry."

"Too late."

Alexi’s eyes suddenly turned blank before his body stiffened, standing motionless like his underlings. Aldrian, his face still expressionless, stared at Alexi that now fully trapped in his illusion. He let out a quiet sigh before turning to Sylphia and the others with a small smile.

"Can you guys wait here for a bit? I’ll be back after I take care of this."

The others knew that he was about to do something best left unseen. That was why he wanted to act alone right now. They could even sense that his mood was not good.

"Go ahead, do your thing. I’ll guard this place," Xin Haotian said, waving his hand. He knew this wasn’t the time for jokes.

Aldrian nodded before turning to old man York. "I’ll be back before the food gets cold."

The old man, still in shock from what had just happened, was momentarily stunned by Aldrian’s words.

"Ah... alright," he answered unconsciously. He had thought today would be the day he’d have to close his restaurant forever, but it seemed he was wrong. This young man was unbelievably strong—so strong that even he couldn’t fathom his true power. Was he hiding his real cultivation?

Aldrian gave a small nod and smiled before shifting his gaze back to Alexi.

"Bring me to your main base."