39

"There! Two flight permits, for the Xi bloodline. Come take them, nephew" Ang Xi said in a polite voice, but it was mostly an order.

The glove cursed and discarded the weak compulsion. Its user was now commander-in-chief, no matter the current qi rank. That would change soon, anyway.

This Ang Xi had lasted six weeks under Awakening, a pathetic result only good for lowest Soldiers. He was lucky the qi here was a bit denser.

But he did receive a mental skill, which at Emperor rank was sufficient to bend Sky ranks to his will. Made taming beasts easy and secured his place as a provincial Emperor.

"Let's meet halfway. It's your home, but I have the glove" Pef replied after a few seconds of consideration.

The Emperor's eyes flickered towards the glove, and his face changed for a moment before he recovered.

"Indeed, my brother Wixtal had carried that glove for the last thousand years. Now that he left it for you, there's no doubt you're his son" The Emperor proclaimed in a more approving voice, stepping off his stone throne and meeting Pef half-way.

Pef stored the seals directly, then produced a few copper items.

"Many thanks Uncle. Here a few gifts I collected on the way. This is metal, a form of melted stone. This is a mirror, a few cups, a few rings..." the visiting hero said, presenting his own wares.

The Emperor clinked his nails gently on the metal, listening to something with his qi.

"Precious indeed. Perhaps our nephew can teach a few smiths what stones to melt?"

"Yea sure thing, Uncle. But tomorrow. My wife and I are a bit weary after traveling 33 thousand kilometers. You have guests rooms, or shall I find an inn?" Pef replied with an easy tone.

The Emperor eyes narrowed a little, but he let it go and gestured with a hand, while storing the metal items in his ring.

He would examine the gifts later, but for now he could appear as a loving Uncle.

"Haha come on, nephew! You saw my house as you arrived. There're rooms here for a thousand people." Ang Xi said with a chuckle and pointed to the side.

On the inside of the courtyard, there were long balconies with hundreds of rooms, and the top floors lacked stairs. Obviously reserved for Sky ranks or higher.

Pef wondered how did the maids get up there, to clean up or pick up the nightsoil.

Xie came to lean on his side, and Pef hugged her waist as he flew down.

Soon they entered a free room and looked around, the amenities more modest than his Empire had already, like soap and mirrors, or metal stoves in rich houses.

But the wood or bone were all decorated and painted beautifully, so they tried.

The Emperor pointed at the large bed, enough to host ten people "My first Sky rank kill, a Blue Hide hippopotamus. There's no Sky beasts on Southern Tear I believe..."

"Not anymore, no. There was this Sky Queen spider of the Arachne cult, but I killed it and gained my own rank." Pef answered with a sweet smile.

"There was? Wixtal mentioned only Earth rank spiders...he must have missed their queen" Ang Xi wondered with a frown.

"Well, the Disciples had this huge fog formation above a deep open pit. They were mining gems there to make soul arrows. I kinda blew it apart during the fight with the spider queen"

Pef explained with a shrug, while taking out new clothes and laying them on the bed.

Xie began filling a wooden tub with conjured water and setting soap and towels on the side.

"Rest well then, both of you. We'll talk more tomorrow" their host said and flew away.

"Good night, Uncle" Pef said softly as he glanced toward his wife. He felt eyes looking at him through the walls.

'Something is not right here.' Pef mused while looking around.

'Surveillance'

Pef walked next to Xie and held a finger to her lips. After a second the silver eyes came up and glanced around.

"Nothing dangerous. They're wary for you, not of you" Xia explained after pulsing her qi a bit.

"Haha, whoever wants the glove would have a deadly surprise if they touch it" Pef said in an amused tone, and joined his wife in the tub.

The next morning, Pef was invited to the Emperor's table, along with a few officers.

They had the Legion maize, and some eggs or vegetables. Nothing fancy.

"What do you know of the General, nephew?" the Emperor asked after they ate, and sat for the tea.

"Oh. The Legion's goddess. Badass woman, Tier 8 at least"

"Be careful, nephew. The priests of the General want to collect and enshrine all her works. Like the Xi glove or the Neo-knife" Ang Xi said in a warning voice. His officers nodded too.

"And after they collect them?" Pef asked curious. He wanted to collect them too after all.

"Use them to spread the religion, convert the planet..." a Major seated next to him said with a frown.

"That's not a problem though. Our Goddess is cool and worthy of respect. The priests, they want to be in power. Speak in her name, order people around, even Emperors. Maybe make themselves Emperors..." Pef mused out loud. Happens everywhere, once priests become those who speaks for gods.

"Well, they claim the General speaks to them, and ordains tithes and donations. And now they started pushing their own offspring into the Guard." a sad officer explained while looking at the glove with hope.

'Is that possible, glove? Would the General need sacks of rice as a tax?'

'Contact with Legion high command is lost. Whatever these moron priests commune with, is not the General. You would know it. A Soldier would be sent at once. And there would be a dozen Voidarks in orbit, filled with uplift technologies'

'Because there tons of white auras, and even gold auras here'

'That too. Plenty soldiers to be recruited'

Pef set down his clay tea cup, and explained: "Well, I guess my glove needs to have a look at some priests, find out who messes with our people. It's likely some foolish tier 1, attempting to gain more energy somehow"

The Emperor waved his hand, qi swirling around the room. "So young and bold, nephew. There are 42 continents on this planet. Those tier 1s you dismiss so easy, they have millions of followers"

Pef nodded and warmed his palms. "So, you guys Practice sword around here? Let's have a few fights and test ourselves."

The Sky ranked Majors looked with pity between the young fool and their Emperor, who was now grinning in delight.

"Ah, I was going to propose a tournament, but you managed to surprise me. Sure, we'll have a hundred fights, and whoever wins gets to fight me!" The Emperor decreed with a wide smile.

"Don't worry Uncle, I'll use wooden swords. Old Deng would be pissed, if I killed you by accident" Pef said in a joking tone. The officers at the table coughed blood in their sleeves, amazing at the youngster's recklessness.

However, beside Pef, a pair of silver eyes opened in amusement.

Her husband was bold indeed. But his inner palace was ready now. He just needed to beat an Emperor, in straight combat.