Without knowing how, without realising when, the Duke which Kairos had spent the better part of last year believing to be the ultimate mastermind behind his enemies had turned into his new godfather.

“Huh? What happened…?” He scratched his head momentarily and looked at the two older gentlemen that are openly showing their delight.

His father, Vouno, was, of course, elated that the Duke’s power, protection, and fortune would be used on his son.

On the other hand, Lord Yue had almost everything anyone could wish for in the empire and felt that splurging on his new godson was a God-given right. However, for someone who lacked the simplest familial bond, he craved it immensely.

Vouno invited Lord Yue to a drink in celebration while Kairos excused himself, though the duke wanted to commemorate this day with his new godson.

“Let him be. Kids will be shy.”

“Well… I guess you’re right.”

“You know, for all your frightening reputation, you’re quite a nice fellow!”

“Oh, is that what you think?” Lord Yue said with a deathly cold whisper.

While his entourage shivered, Vouno only nodded with a wide grin on his face and patted the Duke on the back, “Of course! I never mistake a person’s true nature, you know?”

“Is that so? MWAHAHAHAHAH! It’s a coincident then, for I also thought you as quite a hearty fellow. Perhaps this drink will be more interesting than I first believed. Where do you recommend?”

“Have you tried Laksa’s brew before?”

“Never. Though, I’ve long heard of his fame. Let us go! Men, stay here and help them.”

After agreeing to the drink, the Chang Ming Duke generously sent his men to help fix up the ruined Gilded Snow, and the two left to find the master chef and his famous brew. On the way, Lord Yue asked, “Say… since that boy is now my godson, are you…?”

Vouno wasn’t slow in the uptake either, and he immediately declared with a laugh, “Of course, you’ll be my new god-brother from today. Shall we drink a toast to that as well?”

“I want to be the older brother,” the Chang Ming Duke said.

At this time, Kairos was hurrying on his way to the staff lounge. Despite the celebration in the air, he was in no mood.

Even during the meeting, his heart was pounding furiously in his chest. At the back of his mind, a voice was yelling in fear and worry. What if something happened to Relestia while he left her side?

They could’ve sent another assassin, or her condition worsens, and the devil broke the seals and devoured her soul.

Though his father was there, and surely could help strengthen the seals with an infusion of energy, but what if he left her side at the wrong time and didn’t notice?

There were all kinds of unreasonable yet overbearing thoughts that ran across his mind like a herd of hippos that were charging down the mountain peak.

Now that he could see her safe with his own eyes, how could he wait?

His steps sped up towards one of the only rooms left intact in the building. At first, he walked, but halfway through, he broke into an almost panicking run.

The moment he opened the door to where Relestia is, all the shadows that threatened to overwhelm him, fled.

“She’s alright…,” he knew that of course since his Soul Perception had never left her. But to see her with his own eyes, and knowing she’s close, truly set his heart at ease. His Soul Perception had failed before, and he needed to be near enough to protect her because what he feared most is not helplessness, but not being there when he could.

As his heart settled down, he noticed a soft nuzzling at his feet. Aisa had bounced over to him from the princess’ side where she was guarding her. Kairos had left the holy dragon in this place as a safeguard and had little to worry about, but he knew there are restrictions placed upon Aisa.

He bent over and picked up the white dragon that snuggled into his arms. As the two walked over towards the sleeping princess, the dragon sent him a mental message.

Kairos~ I already recharge the seal twice… The wicked one is struggling more violently than Aisa’s estimations

“That fast?”

He had only been away for a couple of short hours. No wonder the celestials needed to use divine artefacts to seal devils.

“Aisa, can we use Heavenly Energies to power the seal?”

Yepp! But… Aisa thinks that little Gaia wouldn’t have enough power right now

“How much is needed?”

Ten times what little Gaia has at least, and more when the wicked one regains its strength

The devil race is known as the most powerful soul parasites because not only could they consume soul energy, they also feed on most other kinds of energy sources, albeit much slower, and that includes even seals. To be able to contain one forever is literally impossible.

Kairos nodded and kept Aisa into his robe pocket then scooped up the sleeping princess. He turned and without a word, ran out at top speed.

Those who saw him immediately noticed the princess in his arms and his disciples instantly rushed to his side.

“Teacher! We will escort you,” the leader of Kairos’ fifteen disciples, Ah Pui, whispered as he approached. Behind him, his younger brother, Ah Gui, and the second-in-command, Selena, were close by.

Kairos took a peek at their cultivations and were secretly satisfied that the three had trained diligently.

Amongst the fifteen, ten were Entry A rank, three reached Mid-grade, and only two were at Peak grade.

Selena and Ah Gui were the two strongest, while Ah Pui was a step behind at Mid A. Kairos who had customised the Origin Cultivation Method for them individually knew how much talent they have and could see the hard work they put in to achieve their current strength.

“Ah Pui, Ah Gui, Selena, follow me. The rest of you, please return, the shop is lacking manpower as they bring in the homeless from the city.”

“Yes, teacher!”

The twelve others replied immediately, and like mists, they faded away.

The group quickly became five, with Kairos carrying Relestia in an embrace at the middle and the three trying to cover the princess from sight.

They used their body to shield the princess from any surprise attacks, and at the same time activated a sight and sound concealment technique. Grey smoke started covering them from the crowd, although Kairos and the group could see through the curling wisps without hindrance.

It was a taxing sealing technique that they had to maintain between the three of them, but it was reliable.

They charged at full speed the entire way following Kairos’ lead until they came to the Saint Academy’s compound. At that place, Kairos’ student badge shone briefly, enabling his party to pass the school’s barrier.

“The Academy’s staffs will find us suspicious if they found us. Follow me closely!”

The A rankers nearly lost sight of their teacher when he suddenly accelerated. In the place where he was at a moment ago, only flickers of electric sparks were left, if not for his verbal warnings they wouldn’t be able to follow him. They overloaded their bodies with Origin energy rising their speed to maximum, and only then did they barely caught up.

In a flash, they reached Kairos’ dorm room without being spotted. Standing by the cupboard, they stared at a strangely pretty crystal ball, then Kairos wordlessly activated it and pulled everyone in.

“Whoa! This place… the Heavenly Energies are so thick it’s like we’re submerged in water,” Ah Gui exclaimed.

His older brother immediately raised his hand gesturing for silence, and the three of them watched quietly as Kairos brought the princess towards a giant crystal in the middle.

Behind the gem, they noticed a familiar silhouette. The person whose back was facing them did not notice he had company and continued focusing on his cultivation until Kairos stood right beside, then his eyelashes finally fluttered and opened.

“Kairos, and Relestia too?” Tommy exclaimed, “What happened, why is she unconscious?”

“Tommy, she needs the formation heart. I’m sorry… can she have this place until she recovers?”

“What are you talking about? You don’t even have to ask!” the boy who was trying to catch up with his friends, jumped to his feet and gave up the central part of the Crystal Valve where Heavenly Energies were the thickest, then moving to the side he asked, “What can I do to help?”

Kairos did not reply, seemingly distracted. He held Relestia with one arm and took out an oversized paintbrush with the other.

Despite it seems cumbersome, no one attempted to take the princess from him. At the moment, it looked as though he would fight anyone who dares to touch Relestia.

Silently, Kairos altered the formation core. Those spectating could see the strain on his face as he concentrated on the task.

Moments later, a new runic system overlaid the Crystal Valve’s formation core causing the spiritual energy around to erupt in abundance, and Kairos gently placed her down in the middle. The strands of Heavenly Energies that was so thick they could see it visibly, seemed to come alive the moment she touched the ground and they dove into her Ki Centre.

The process automatic for Relestia, unlike how others had to draw in energy from the surroundings by themselves. Because she was unconscious, Kairos had to create a new runic system to assist her instead of how cultivators draw the ambient energies into themselves. At this time, he did not know that to resolve this issue he had invented something even godlings would study and would one day become the future of cultivation circles.

The others looked in amazement as the princess was wrapped in a cocoon of prismatic lights while Kairos confirmed with satisfaction the effect on the seal’s integrity.

Relieved that she is safe for now, he took out a mountain of spirit stones and placed around the large crystal core.

The devil within her body will slowly whittle away its prison while devouring the seal’s energy and regaining strength. Over time, the amount of power needed to cage it will increase until the day it becomes too strong for its binds. The spirit stones would supplement the Heavenly Energies and give them a little while longer as they search for a solution.

“Aisa, with this setup, how long do we have?”

Don’t worry Kai~ the little one will be fine for a couple of years!

“Do you have an estimate?”

Hmmm hmmm…. At least five years, unless it evolves into a deviling

The devil race had ranks of their own, and the one that possesses Relestia is only a Lesser Devil, a class up from Minor Devils. If it grows into a stronger version, it will be able to break the seal they had on it much faster.

“We had such problems, and even the celestials had to use divine artefacts… It makes me wonder how they could imprison these devils in pills.”

Hehe… That’s easy! They just let it out of the seal and weaken it now and then!

“Oh…,” said Kairos. He over-analysed and didn’t expect such an easy but logical answer. Of course, it’s impossible to separate the soul parasite from its host after it was attached, so this solution can only work on a Devil Turning Pill.

Afterwards, he was bombarded by questions from Tommy, and he quickly got the latter up to date. The news shook the stout boy badly, causing his face to be pale. Staying in the Crystal Valve had isolated him from the outside world. It was only half a day, and these many things had happened.

They stepped out of the place and searched for the rest of the team. With the help of the dragonlings of Kairos’ three disciples, it didn’t take long before the rest of Snowdrifts was located.

The chaos that fallen upon Saint City had caused many to become homeless, and grieving was everywhere in the streets. The Snowdrifts mobilised immediately, providing aid in wherever they could.

Alan – the sub-leader of the clan, opened the coffers and brought about swift restoration to the city. Coming from the humblest of backgrounds, their team flies into action when disaster strikes, knowing full well how important it is to be fast during a crisis. A few seconds of delay could cost some people their lives, and they dared not tarry.

Even now, the whole team are still trudging through fallen buildings and ashen debris looking for people or handing out medical kits, pills, food and water to victims.

Thanks to this, nobles and commoners alike had heartfelt gratitude towards the guild. If anyone badmouths their group now, the masses will tear the person apart.

It was a fortunate thing amidst the terrible situation for them. Together with their previous military contribution thanks to the Starfire formation and Star rune weapons, and now having a familial bond with the Dark Gods family, they managed to deter the Devilheart family rooting them out.

The plans of Kairos, Left Minister Zuo, and Lord Yue, had been perfectly set into motion. Now, there is only one last concern they have in mind. The Orc army that lingers in the horizon is a calamity that no one yet has a solution to.