Although the ninth elder stood among the thirteen highest-ranking members of the house, before Gulistan, he still had to bend. In fact, while Hejin wielded considerable influence in the elder circles, Berken aside, only Gulistan could freely order members of the thirteen.
The reason was simple. Besides her own Demigod cultivation, Gulistan's prestige in the house was unrivaled, and it was no exaggeration to say that all they currently had stemmed from the planning of the father-daughter pair.
"Lady Gulistan, just like you expected, the culprit for Helbin's disappearance was your son, Konrad. Or rather, his forces. Konrad himself didn't appear. The experts he dispatched handled all the tasks, from the maiming of the khan, the slaying of the khanum, and the kidnapping of Helbin.
However, only when I arrived, did I realize that Helbin had never left the confines of the royal palace. From the start, the Jade Dynasty's experts hid within, waiting for our appearance to make their move.
Even without their monarch, their strength far exceeded my expectations. I'm guilty of underestimating the enemy and falling into a protracted battle. If not for Ashara's Seal and the Blood Burning, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to return...at all.
Afterward, I had to take time to recuperate before taking Helbin back. Never did I expect that the Zenith Ants would use that time to attack, it's not that I didn't want to assist, I didn't have the ability. Please punish me!"
The ninth elder exclaimed and dropped on his knees.
Hearing this, Hejin was startled.
"Even with your cultivation, you still had to rely on the seal to snatch victory?"
He asked in disbelief. With the ninth elder's cultivation, throughout the Ancient Crystal World, how many could force him to unleash the seal? The Ant Queens and the Celestial Church's God-Children were the sole candidates.
At first, Hejin believed that even if someone within the Jade Dynasty could accomplish this, that someone could only be Konrad. How did they grow so fast that more than one such expert existed?
"Indeed. The ten warriors I faced wore a strange, black armor that increased their battle-power by a phenomenal margin. Meanwhile, their own cultivation and foundation stood in a league of their own. Without the seal, there was no hope. And even with it, while I managed to kill three, I couldn't prevent the rest from taking their fallen comrade and escaping from the royal palace."
The words caused Gulistan to narrow her eyes, but she didn't probe further.
"Alright, we will soon hold a meeting to discuss the strategy to adopt regarding future battles. For now, you're dismissed."
She declared, and the ninth elder excused himself.
"As for you, Helbin, due to your talent, Hejin has decided to personally take you as his disciple. Your previous master has already been informed."
Gulistan pursued while shifting her attention back onto Helbin, who, upon hearing this, immediately bowed in thanks, and turned toward Hejin.
"Master, your disciple greets you!"
She exclaimed and dropped in a kowtow.
"When did I ever…"
Hejin wondered in puzzlement, but then, he understood his sister's good intentions, and his lips widened in a broad smile!
"Gulistan, I didn't raise you in vain!"
Hejin inwardly exclaimed before rushing toward Helbin.
"Haha, good child, no need for such formalities. Rise, rise. From now on, master will directly handle your training. As long as you're obedient, in one thousand years, you can surely become a Sage."
Hejin replied while helping Helbin up. Again, he glanced at Konrad, and this time, his indifference turned into disdain.
"A toad wanting to eat swan meat. Are you qualified to be the husband of Hejin's daughter? What a joke. Be grateful that we allowed you to serve as cauldron!"
He inwardly scoffed, unaware that Konrad could read his mind.
"Boy, with your silver bloodline, you are good enough to serve as a cauldron, but you shouldn't hope for better. Forget about that prince consort title. From now on, we'll help you re-cultivate until you can supplement Helbin with another boost.
Any objection?"
Hejin "inquired," clearly not expecting any. For golden-blooded Serkar scions, purple-blooded humans could be concubines while the silver-blooded could only serve as cauldrons. But not all cauldrons were treated equally. The favored ones could serve as dual cultivation partners, but the rest would one day see their cultivation harvested, and the process repeated until the exhaustion of their lifeforce.
Such a fate was common occurrence. As if struck by a mixture of fear and helplessness, Konrad trembled and with clattering teeth, nodded toward Hejin.
"N-no…no objection. It's m-my honor."
"Good. Since you serve a Core Zone resident, you can remain. Be grateful for the opportunity. Someone will lead you to your quarters. You're dismissed."
Hejin ordered, and the inwardly jubilating Konrad excused himself, leaving the self-satisfied father to cajole his daughter. Outside, a Serkar maid already awaited to lead Konrad to his assigned quarters, which stood within the mansion assigned to Helbin.
Once the maid departed, Konrad scoured the Serkar Domain to locate Diyana, who currently stood trapped in forced secluded cultivation.
"Girl, your master is here. Missed me?"
Konrad asked while a miniature version of him appeared within Diyana's mind. Her closed eyes opened wide, and her lips curved into a radiant smile.
"Master? How could I not? Although you appeared to bed me in my dreams every three days, that can never compare to reality."
Diyana replied with glee. Indeed, since she was forced to remain in seclusion for his sake, across the decade, Konrad took care to appear in her dreams every three days for ethereal shags. On top of that, he also imparted her with many wonderful arts, which she cultivated in silence. Of course, she took care not to showcase them.
"Missing the rod more than the man. The sorrow of being me."
Konrad lamented with a sigh of dejection. And hearing this, Diyana couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"What do you need me to do?"
She asked right afterward.
"Gulistan and I are going to play a game. You just have to trigger it. Tell my beloved mother the truth she wants to hear, and that I'm here to meet her. But she should act fast. The longer she takes, the more havoc I will wreck."
Konrad replied with impish glee before vanishing in a black fog to plow the fields of house Serkar.