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Chapter 241: Emperor Durand’s Problem?
The three others in the room widened their eyes in surprise. However, Hector quickly frowned, not understanding the sudden statement.
"Sir Aldrian, what are you saying?" Hector asked before turning to his father. He narrowed his eyes, studying his father’s reaction. Was his father unwell? Confused, he looked back at Aldrian.
"There’s no—"
"Truly, you have sharp senses, young Aldrian," Emperor Durand said with a sigh.
Hector’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at his father again.
"What are you saying, Father? Are you actually sick?!" he exclaimed.
Emperor Durand didn’t answer Hector’s question. Instead, he removed his disguised appearance. Hector’s shock deepened as he finally saw the true face revealed.
"Your Majes—" the steward tried to stop him, but Emperor Durand silenced him with a raised hand.
The middle-aged emperor’s visage transformed into that of a pale, frail old man. His face appeared sickly, with black spots marring parts of his skin—a stark contrast to the healthy appearance he had moments ago.
Aldrian frowned as he observed the emperor’s true face. He couldn’t understand how the emperor had ended up in such a condition. Cultivators at a high level, like the emperor stage, rarely fell ill unless under extraordinary circumstances. The diseases capable of afflicting an emperor-stage cultivator were extremely rare—and all of them were deadly.
Is Emperor Durand suffering from one of these deadly diseases? Or could it be something else entirely?
From Hector’s behavior and reaction, it was apparent he had no idea his own father was in such a condition.
"Father, what’s wrong with you?" Hector asked, his tone filled with shock.
Emperor Durand sighed as he looked at Aldrian. "To be honest, my body is deteriorating as we speak. It started over 16 years ago—the first sign that something was wrong with me. At that time, the energy in my dantian began to disperse little by little. I could still cultivate, but with each passing year, the rate of energy loss grew larger. Now, the energy I lose far exceeds what I can gather."
"The problem didn’t stop there. I began to feel difficulty circulating my energy throughout my body, as if something were blocking my meridians. Yet, even after thorough examinations by myself and my trusted physician, we found no blockages. It’s as though, at various points in my meridians, my energy becomes sluggish for no apparent reason. It’s a truly bizarre situation, and to this day, we still don’t understand how or why this is happening."
Emperor Durand gazed down at his tea.
"Because of all this, I haven’t been able to maintain my body in peak condition. After all these years, there’s been no improvement, and the situation has only worsened. Cultivating the surrounding heaven and earth energy has become increasingly difficult. With my inability to circulate energy effectively and the constant dispersal of energy from my dantian, my body can no longer sustain itself. It has started aging at an accelerated rate."
"It’s gotten so much worse in recent years that sometimes I feel extreme pain in my abdomen and at certain points in my meridians. My cultivation foundation has even been affected, growing weaker and weaker."
He sighed again.
"But as emperor, I can’t show any weakness to my subjects or even my family. I don’t want to spread panic or cause chaos among the commoners or the nobles. There are many variables that require me to remain strong, so I’ve tried to maintain appearances, at least showing an aura of stability and that there’s no problem with me. But I don’t think it will hold for much longer, and unfortunately, it will happen at the worst possible time, with so many issues surrounding the devils."
Emperor Durand took a sip of his tea, but as he spoke of his condition, Aldrian and Hector both realized the potential consequences if the news of Emperor Durand’s illness were to spread. There would be uncertainty among the commoners, panic would ensue, and some people, particularly nobles, would take advantage of the emperor’s moment of weakness.
If people learned that the emperor was in such a weakened condition, they would momentarily forget about the devil’s problem and instead focus on the issue of succession. Emperor Durand couldn’t afford that, so he needed to hold on as long as possible and expedite the appointment of the crown prince. Not long ago, he had announced that he would choose one of his sons as the crown prince, citing the uncertain times of the prophecy and the need for a backup plan.
Almost all the nobles had already taken their stances, except for those within the neutral faction. Though they had various reasons for remaining neutral, they shared one common attitude: wait and see. However, that could change if something were to happen in the future. Some of them might choose their successor.
"No wonder Father hastened his announcement about the succession race. This is a huge matter if it gets out right now. Then there are the problems we face with the devils, we still don’t know the extent of their influence within the empire. But with Sir Aldrian’s new information, I’m afraid the devils have already taken some important positions within the empire under their influence. The news of Father’s sickness is the last thing I want to spread in a situation like this," Hector thought.
"But to think father also hid his body’s condition from his own family, even his sons... He’s certainly a very careful person. Maybe the only one who knows he’s sick is Steward Edward."
Aldrian seem to ponder for a moment before speaking to Emperor Durand.
"Can I check your body’s condition? Maybe I can try to do something about it. To be honest, after hearing Your Majesty’s story, I’m intrigued and would like to examine your condition myself."
Emperor Durand only smiled at Aldrian.
"Are you perhaps a physician?"
"No, but if I can detect the problem within Your Majesty’s body, maybe I can use my abilities to help ease the issue."
Emperor Durand nodded. If Aldrian were also a physician, he would truly be someone unparalleled, a jack of all trades, someone who excels in multiple professions, making each one a success. Aldrian was already a great sword cultivator and alchemist, feats that were nearly impossible to achieve together. If he were also a physician, he could only be called the one and only, there would be no one else like him in the future.
Thinking there was no harm in trying, he smiled and placed his hand on the table.
"You can check it, but even if you can’t find anything, it’s okay, young Aldrian. I’ve already gotten used to it. I’ve consulted with some of the greatest physicians on the continent, and their answers have always been the same."
Aldrian nodded and then touched Emperor Durand’s pulse, using his senses to examine it. What he found inside the emperor’s body were damaged meridians and dantian. The condition was so severe that in some parts of the meridian, they had already dried up, as energy had not flowed through those pathways for a long time.
However, he also found something beyond the damaged meridians and dantian—something that should not normally be in those parts of the body.
"What is this?"
Although subtle, he could sense something intangible in those areas. It was so tiny and faint that Aldrian would have missed it if not for his sharp senses. Despite its size, once Aldrian focused his attention on it, he sensed something sinister. He was stunned, because he could also sense some laws within it!
"I can feel Karma laws, Darkness laws, oh, is this one that’s called a curse? Curse laws?" Aldrian thought. He remembered in one of his visions, there was more or less something like this.
Aldrian sensed many spots within the emperor’s body where the curse resided. They seemed to block the flow of energy, siphoning it to strengthen the curse. The curse had already begun corroding Emperor Durand physically, damaging his meridian and dantian. Even if Emperor Durand consumed healing pills, the curse prevented any attempt at healing, blocking all efforts to restore his condition.
Aldrian then categorized it as a deadly curse due to its strength and complexity. This curse not only blocked any attempt by Emperor Durand to heal himself but seemed to actively resist any effort to remove it. Moreover, it appeared hidden from all senses, even from the emperor himself. The fact that neither the emperor nor anyone else who examined him had been able to identify it as a curse only highlighted the skill and high level of the caster behind it.
Emperor Durand should have come to the Heavenly Direction Church instead of a physician. They are more appropriate for destroying curses and more keen to such forces because of their holy energy. They might have been able to detect this curse much earlier.
After confirming that this was indeed a curse, another idea came to Aldrian’s mind.
"This is also my chance to study the curse laws and comprehend them. A curse of this level is rare, so I can take advantage of it. I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Please bear with me for a moment as I examine this law."
