Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

The people complained no more after seeing Alex's abilities. Hearing about his feats made them even more certain that he was the right for the job.

So, after chanting his name and calling him his Majesty, the people were sent away from the palace.

Only a few were left behind, all of whom were from big families and sects. They were necessary to be kept there so they could talk about the future of the continent going forward.

Graham walked up to Alex who was getting down from the stage and couldn't help but simply stare at him with awe on his face.

"You are a King now?" Graham asked with a stunned voice.

"It seems so," Alex said, not knowing how to respond at all.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Graham asked.

"No, I only just found out, like the rest," he said. "Scarlet had planned for it since yesterday it seems, but she didn't bother to tell me."

"Are you… okay with it?" Graham asked awkwardly.

"I'm… fine. It will take a few days for the reality to settle in, but I think I can handle it," Alex said. "You don't have to be worried about me."

"I'm not worried about you at all. I know I have nothing to worry for," Graham said. "I'm just wondering… since you are a King now… does that make me royalty?"

Alex couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm sure it does, father. Come, let us go in," he said.

The group walked back into the palace hall where the seats were laid for the ceremony. Since there was no time to switch it back to how it normally was, everyone found a random place to sit.

Graham sat towards the back since he didn't have much to do in this assembly. The other family and sect leaders sat towards the middle, and 10 elders sat at the front.

Alex was wondering for a moment where exactly he was supposed to be sitting, but the question was answered when Scarlet asked the elders to put another seat right next to her.

He went up and sat down next to her.

Everyone stood up at once and bowed toward the two of them before sitting back down.

"So, do you have any topics to discuss? I am curious what my first decree will be about after coming back to the throne after 5 thousand years," Scarlet said.

The group looked at each other. "Is there anything you would like to change about how the continent is lead right now?" one of the elders asked.

"Not really," Scarlet said. "The gears seem to have fallen in place nicely and the continent seems to be running quite fine even without an overall ruler. I'm sure there is stuff here and there we can improve, but it's not something I can just decide on a single day."

"Yes, your Majesty," the people said.

"Then how about dealing with the Wasteland? The people there need to know who their true ruler is as well," another one said.

"That won't be necessary for now. We haven't helped them in 5 thousand years. Suddenly going there to say that they are under someone else simply doesn't feel right with me. We will help them, but I think it's better to just give them the freedom they already have," Scarlet said.

"We will have to improve foreign relations. We had to lessen our contact with the Eastern or Northern continent for a very long time so they didn't know you were absent, your Majesty. Now that you are back, we should go ahead and start improving it again," another person said.

"No," Scarlet said. "I do not wish to contact any foreign power until I've grown stronger. I can't let them know that I haven't reached a high enough cultivation base."

"We can have his Majesty meet the foreign in your stead, your Majesty," someone else mentioned.

"Hmm," Scarlet gave the idea some thought and looked at Alex. After looking at him, however, she quickly shook her head. "He only just became a King. While he is royalty, he doesn't have the attitude or the arrogance of one. Until he learns to present himself as royalty, I can't have him leave for diplomacy missions."

"Besides, it's not like we can just go to the other continents, right? The Teleportation formations don't work like they used to," Scarlet said.

"We can still go from here to the other continent, your Majesty," one of the elders said. "It just costs a lot."

"How much would you estimate it costs?" Scarlet asked.

"We've tried it once to go to the Eastern continent, and… it cost nearly half of a normal-sized Saint spirit vein to teleport about 20 people to the other continent," the elder said.

"That's a lot, isn't it? We don't have that sort of resources to simply waste on a diplomacy mission," Scarlet said. "We don't have ships that can travel the ocean to the Eastern Continent, do we?"

"There are, but they are quite dangerous to use. Their concealment capabilities are nearly nowhere as good as the ones from the Eastern Continent," the elder said.

"Then this topic ends here. I will try to reach the Immortal realm as soon as I can," Scarlet said. "Once I do, we should have about 3 boats we can make use of. Okay, what else?"

The group gave some more thought, but no one could really think of any pressing matters that needed the Ruler's urgent care.

"How about… closing the barrier in the north?" Alex asked. "The spirit veins there were stolen from the Western continent and are being used to stop the tribal folks from entering."

"Since both of those actions don't reflect well on the continent, we should close the barrier and return the spirit veins to the Western continent," Alex said.

"Hmm, you're right," Scarlet said. "We can't return it just yet, but we do have to stop using the barrier."

"We should," Alex said.

"Fine, let this be my first decree then," Scarlet said. "Dismantle the barrier to the north and gather all Spirit vein there that do not belong to us."

"Yes, your Majesty," the 10 elders bowed.

Scarlet nodded. "As for the rest of what we should be talking about, I don't see any of you have any more problems that need my attention, so we will end this meeting today. Try to list out all the things that are wrong that I will have to look over in the future. I will see to it when I'm free."

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Leave now. I wish to speak with Alex alone," Scarlet said.

"Yes, your Majesty," the elders and the other leaders said as they all bowed toward Scarlet and then toward Alex before leaving.

Alex nodded slightly and watched them all leave. Graham gave a small nod and left the room as well.

Scarlet waited for everyone to leave before opening her mouth. "That was wrong," she said.

"Sorry?" Alex asked.

"The topic you brought up," Scarlet said. "That was wrong."

Alex frowned slightly. "Are you saying I shouldn't have brought up the topic?" he asked.

"No," Scarlet said. "You bringing up the topic makes you look like you care more about the Western Continent than the Southern."

She turned to look towards Alex. "It might not have sunk into you yet, but this is the fact now. You are a human King of the Southern Continent. Everything you do, everything you say, it should all be from the perspective of the King, not of the person behind the title."

"You saying that we should get rid of the barrier is good, but saying that we should do it so we can return it to the Western continent makes it sound like you care more about the Western continent than your own."

Alex dropped his head in thought. "You're right," he said. "I should have worded it better."

"Yes," Scarlet said. She placed her wings on him and patted him a bit.

"Don't worry, you weren't so obvious either. I don't think many caught on at all. Just be careful next time. As a King, every word that comes out of your mouth should be one that you have carefully thought of it beforehand."

"After all, each and every single word of yours now has the power to change the fate and destiny of others. A single word can make a begger the richest man in the city, or it can turn a rich merchant into a beggar," Scarlet said.

"Don't worry too much for now. I'm sure the 10 will find some texts to help you soon. I will remain outside for a while, so you won't have to bother with being a good ruler just yet."

"However, very soon, I will enter closed cultivation so I can fix my rushed cultivation base. At that time, you will have to remain outside and become the ruler this continent needs."

"I hope that you will be ready by then."

Alex straightened himself. "Don't worry, I will be ready. I will give you my word on this."

Scarlet smiled. "Don't be so stiff. You're the second most important person in the continent now, you can enjoy everything you want," she said.

Alex smiled. "I will try to," he said.

"Oh, speaking of which, have you ever seen spirit veins in person?" Scarlet asked.

"In part," Alex said. "Not the whole thing, no."

"You wanna see?" she asked.

"You mean…"

Scarlet nodded. "I will send you with the others tomorrow. There, you can get rid of the barrier and take away all the spirit veins yourself."