The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

The royal family owned a large area of land on planet Gaia and had built thousands of palaces to house the concubines and offsprings of the late emperor.

Emperor Sisrelis was always a generous man when it came to spending the state's money on frivolities.

As a result, these side palaces were magnificent works of architecture that included imposing columns, expensive pieces of artwork and flowering gardens.

Each palace was maintained by an army of state-of -the-art robotic caretakers.

But now there was trouble in this perfect paradise. The death of the emperor had left a vacuum in the political sphere and there were many princes and princesses eager to fill the void.

Not to mention the uncountable number of noble factions seeking to rise above their stations by supporting the next successor.

The problem was'¦ there were too many options.

Emperor Sisrelis to put it mildly was quite the romantic soul and had fathered hundreds of offsprings.

This presented quite a conundrum to the nobles looking to throw their support behind a singular candidate.

The wiser aristocrats were waiting patiently for the day of the selection ceremony to see which candidates stood out among the crowd.

The selection ceremony was both simple and straightforward. A tournament would be held among the princes and princesses competing for the throne.

These battles often ended in the deaths of many participants.

It was a practice that could be considered barbaric but in this brutal universe'¦ strength was truly all that mattered.

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(Imperial Complex- Side Palace 205)

A fair slender hand reached for a cup of tea that was still steaming. Long golden locks swayed gently from side to side as Princess Marie stared out the window in a daze.

She was over five hundred years old and yet her looks were identical to a woman in her early twenties.

As a cultivator in the void stage, it was a simple matter to modify her physical appearance and manipulate her genetic code.

"So, you came all this way to my palace to tell me not to participate in the ceremony," Princess Marie suddenly spoke.

She turned around and stared at the handsome youth standing in the middle of living room.

His face was similar to the late emperor's but there was something deeply unsettling about his appearance.

He possessed a lean muscular physique that was similar to an Adonis, and it was undeniable that he should be considered incredibly handsome.

He wore an expensive navy-blue shirt that was adorned with white jewels that glistened and gleamed under the sunlight.

And yet'¦ he was almost too handsome.

There was something fake about his facial features almost as though he was wearing a mask.

His movements were smooth and graceful, but one could not shake the feeling that it was like a puppet dancing on a string.

"Sister'¦ please take this as a token of my appreciation," the mysterious man whispered seductively.

He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a simple wooden box that was locked with a metalloid latch.

The man placed the box on the table in front of Princess Marie and then took a few steps back in order to give her some space.

Princess Marie slowly finished sipping her cup of tea and then eyed the box on the table with a wary gaze.

She had lived long enough to know that the blood ties between the member of the royal family would not stop them from killing each other.

Still, she could not resist hesitantly breaking the metalloid latch and opening the wooden box to see what was inside.

"This'¦" Princess Marie hissed in shock. Her pupils dilated and a trace of greed appeared on her elegant features.

The man wore a gentle smile as he watched his sister pick up the small ruby-like gem from inside the box.

"I wasn't expecting this level of generosity. Where did you even get a Kry'en crystal?" Princess Marie exclaimed in glee.

"I have my methods'¦ this is but a small sample of the crystals in my possession," the man replied smugly.

Princess Marie finally calmed down after a few minutes and placed the crystal in her storage ring for safekeeping.

"And all you want me to do is not participate in the selection ceremony?" Princess Marie could not help but ask again.

"Yes, my dear sister. I will also provide another crystal after the enthronement of the new emperor as thanks for your service," the man explained.

His handsome features caught the princess' attention and even she could not stop her heart from skipping a beat.

"Which faction are you representing? The crown prince? The princess from the Whiten family?" Princess Marie questioned seriously.

"I'm sorry sister but I am not at the liberty to say at the moment," the man replied peacefully.

A strange expression briefly flashed across his face that made princess feel vaguely threatened.

No'¦ perhaps she was mistaken. How could a void stage cultivator feel threatened by a man in the qi spirit stage?

Princess Marie hummed softly and allowed the man to wait as she carefully gave the matter some more thought.

The selection ceremony'¦ there was no guarantee that she would win. In fact, there was no guarantee that she would survive.

The throne was indeed an attractive prospect, but one needed to be alive to enjoy it and Princess Marie knew that her cultivation level was not the highest in the royal family.

It was better to take this offer and get some benefits than to risk her life for a throne that she would be unable to obtain.

Still, it would not be good to give off the impression that she was eager to accept the deal.

Maybe she could get an even more generous offer from this sibling that she had never seen before today.

"Give me some time to consider the matter and I will have my reply by the end of the week," Princess Marie spoke quietly.

The mysterious man nodded politely and then proceeded to walk out of her palace with slow purposeful steps.

Princess Marie waited until he had left the room and then pulled the crystal out of her storage ring to inspect it more closely.

She had never seen a Kry'en crystal of this size before. The way the reddish gem sparkled in her hand was utterly mesmerizing.

"Ouch!" Princess Marie cried as she felt a burning sensation. The crystal in her palm suddenly melted and was completely absorbed by her skin.

The princess froze in place as her eyes briefly turned completely white before returning back to normal.

Princess Marie shook her head from side to side as she desperately tried to remember what had just happened.

There was blank space in her memories as though someone had edited out the last thirty minutes.

This should have been incredibly alarming to a cultivator in the void stage, but Princess Marie oddly felt relaxed as though this gap in her memories was natural and expected.