After watching his wife's back, Arslan waited for a moment before strolling through the castle.

While going over the plan, he had concerns about solving issues with his mother, bloodline, talent, Kaplan's form, and mysteries that involved all of them.

As powerful cultivators, they didn’t mind appearances, race, or whatever they had in their family. After all, when Kaplan became Immortal, he could learn ways to morph into other forms. The concerning part was that his lust was rising, and they didn’t want him to mate with someone whom he would regret, though it didn’t seem likely.

His bloodline seemed to despise non-worthy beings. Just like how Arslan in his younger days rejected his father’s suggestions on women who were suitable to be his fiancée and future wife, until Derin came into his life and he discovered she was special because he didn’t have the same instinctual rejection.

Most importantly, this form of his was too powerful. There was a hidden intent of Arslan when he made his move and spun Kaplan. He weighed his body and existence. The result was terrifying.

He weighed tons when he picked him up, and by the end of the spin, Kaplan’s weight had been lowered to abysmal values. This unconscious move was done because Arslan was Kaplan’s father and was not a threat.

When he was young, Arslan had always been predatory. He had instincts that wanted to dominate everyone, even his father. If the old man hadn’t been so strong, Arslan would have slaughtered the entire Empire. As long as he made his Domination, he could acquire unlimited strength. However, to catch up to the strength of a strong Immortal at that age and strength, he just couldn’t achieve it with that many battles.

Later on, he learned that he had lion-like characteristics. He had too much pride, but because of his Domination, those characteristics were easily suppressed. After he learned to control it, whole new abilities were unlocked.

Thus, his current looks.

Arslan and Derin underwent changes after Kaplan was born. They both acquired physical strength through muscle and bone transformation, to the point where their changes would surpass those of mortal children of Dao Cultivators.

Derin acquired Tiger characteristics, although not to the same extent as Kaplan. Her previous golden eyes had turned dark, with a tattoo on her left shoulder, usually hidden by her clothes. She also gained a second form, which Arslan eagerly looked forward to seeing more of.

This trip and the rewards waiting at the end of it would solve almost all of their current problems.

As he continued his musings, he arrived at an open garden and saw Natalie, the maid who had taken care of Kaplan since he was a few years old.

Just as he had chosen Derin back then, Kaplan had also chosen her. He still could not figure out why both women were so special, but he did not care. As long as their family was happy.

He approached the table and sat down in a chair. Then, he looked at the girl with golden hair and blue eyes and asked, "How were you, Natalie?"

As soon as he asked the question, the girl turned to him, bowed quickly upon seeing the Emperor, and replied, "Your Majesty, I was fine."

"Relax," he told her with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said and straightened her back. He then asked, "How was your cultivation?"

"I had already reached the 5th stage, Your Majesty."

"Good. Did you have any rejection towards your situation and future with Kaplan?"

Without hesitation, and with a hint of a smile and excitement, she answered, "No, Your Majesty."

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Looking at how the girl was behaving, Arslan was satisfied. He and his family were lucky to have met wonderful women in their lives. But then he remembered Erdem's situation and thought that they were not exactly perfect either. With that thought out of the way, he declared, "When I return from our trip, we will hold your engagement celebration then."

Right after he finished, he heard a cold, emotionless, and gender-neutral voice in his head that said, "Sir Damon and his team have arrived. All have the necessary access. With your permission, I will open the gates for them to arrive at your location."

"Okay," he replied.

With that, he heard protocols activating if there was anything wrong. Most of these protocols would scan their Seals so that they have individualistic permissions. Damon, for example, has access to pretty much everywhere in the castle, other than the personal chambers, treasures, and the Hall of Creations. The other members are more restricted. Those who tried to force their way in would find out why the royal family was not to be messed with.

While waiting, he thought about the red ball that his father left behind. Although he was not sure exactly, he guessed that it was something that only Damon could use. His physical constitution could take on a lot of things and was tougher than he looked.

After a few seconds, he heard footsteps and whispered discussions from the new arrivals. He smirked at how Dante was playing with Scarlet. That guy was funny and utterly shameless. As long as he kept his hands out of his family, he could do whatever he wanted with his not-so-secret love life.

Upon their arrival, they moved to the left and bowed with a slight arc in their back, awkwardly saying, "Your Majesty!" due to timing issues.

Arslan made them sit and looked at them in the face. He then asked a question while turning specifically toward Damon, "How were the kids?" However, before Damon could respond, Kante and Lyra quickly interjected, "We are not kids, big brother." Upon hearing this, Arslan raised an eyebrow and corrected them, "It's 'Your Majesty' for you two."

The two young lovers were feeling embarrassed. Dante, who was standing on the side, had a smirk on his face. However, his smirk disappeared when Arslan looked at him. Arslan could see what Dante was doing with Scarlet and he put a stop to it upon understanding this. He could try to behave for a few hours, but then he realized they would all be together in this expedition, and his mood soured a little.

Damon answered while looking at Arslan, “They have improved.”

“Is it enough?”

“Yes.”

With a knowing look, Arslan nodded. He, of course, knew their development. However, he needed to make the people in the room hear it to sever any dissatisfaction they might have. Damon’s statement of improvement was not something little, after all. This meant Kante and Lyra together could survive under Damon’s attacks for a while.

He was even more talented at cultivation than Arslan after all. His teaching was also top-notch, not inferior to some Immortals. However, talent alone is not enough to go against Arslan. Kante and Lyra would likely survive a few attacks before succumbing. Upon this thought, he decided to test it.

“Let’s go to a training ground to test it” With that he got up and others jumped to their feet upon hearing the training ground. They loved it there. Dying was nigh-impossible there at their strength. Still, they wouldn’t do killing blows. They could only live once, and reincarnation was not a guarantee. Some individuals choose to reincarnate if they were unable to achieve their goals in their previous life or had regrets and wanted a fresh start.

“Do we have the time?” Chris questioned even while getting up. He loved training. Most did, but he had a special preference for it. Especially if it involved safety during training.

“They arrived earlier than we expected because of Father’s interference. Oh, now that it’s mentioned, Damon, take this.” With that, he gave the red ball his father gave him to Damon. Damon, without questioning what it was, took it, and it disappeared. Only, his ring flashed for a moment, indicating it somehow went there.

Arslan, upon noticing how Kante and Lyra gazed upon the ring with a flash of desire, made a note to give each of them one before they left.

After a few minutes of walking through what seemed to be endless halls, they finally arrived at a hall with a huge double door at the end of it. The door had depictions of various weapons, elements, and many writings about war, with a line at the left, “Enchant thy spirit, let magic guide thy hand.”

This line was from the first Emperor of these lands, who was known for his research on magic, and for introducing it to the lands of Shattered Continent, which outsiders named it as Desert Continent.

Arslan gathered his mana through his right hand and initiated a spell that used bloodline as a verification then pressed it on the door. With a click, the door was unlocked, and with a push, it opened.

Kante and Lyra were seeing it for the first time and their reaction caught everyone's attention. Everyone other than Damon and Arslan wondered if they were too innocent-looking, even though they knew they were not. Damon pushed the two inside and said, "Let's see how you two fare against the Emperor."

Kante and Lyra lost their excitement with that. Arslan noticed the reaction of the two and said, "Don't worry, everyone will be training. It has been a few years since we trained all together."