NOVPUB
Chapter 302: Aldrey’s Curiosity
Not far from Aldrian, a group of Flamecrest family guards stood. Their leader—an Earl-stage cultivator—watching Aldrian intently. Narrowing his eyes, he retrieved a piece of paper from his storage ring.
The paper bore a drawing of a person, and the figure depicted was identical to Aldrian. He glanced between Aldrian and the drawing several times before confirming that the person matched the image.
The leader then took out a long-distance communication artifact.
"This is Guard Patrol Number 17. We’ve confirmed the presence of the individual young master Aldrey instructed us to monitor."
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In the training ground of the Flamecrest family, Aldrey stood in the center of the battle platform. Opposite him, another member of the Flamecrest family prepared for combat. His opponent was a cultivator at the low Grand Duke stage. The two stood 100 meters apart, each holding an ordinary sword.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered around the battle arena, their anticipation palpable as they awaited the clash.
A few seconds later, both Aldrey and his opponent vanished from sight. The sharp sound of clashing metal suddenly reverberated across the training ground.
Ting!
The wind generated by their clash swept across the surroundings, even reaching the faces of the onlookers, who raised their hands to shield themselves. Following the initial strike, Aldrey and his opponent exchanged moves, each aiming to overpower the other.
However, every attack was expertly blocked, and their battle continued for about a minute. Suddenly, flames ignited beneath Aldrey’s feet. Using the burst of power, he closed the distance between himself and his opponent with incredible speed.
His opponent, momentarily stunned by Aldrey’s speed, attempted to block Aldrey’s next move by predicting the direction of his attack. Watching closely, he saw Aldrey swing his sword toward his upper torso and quickly moved to intercept it.
However, his eyes widened as Aldrey suddenly shifted the sword’s trajectory toward his neck with a fluid, elastic motion of his hand.
"A feint attack?"
The Grand Duke stage cultivator was finally forced to use his fire element technique to escape Aldrey’s attack. He attempted to repel Aldrey with flames erupting from his pores and spreading outward.
However, he was stunned when Aldrey’s sword, seemingly aimed at his neck, instead slashed through the fire, creating a gap in the fiery defense. Seizing the opportunity, Aldrey unleashed his own fire technique with his free hand, slamming it into his opponent’s body.
His opponent could only defend himself with his arms as he blocked Aldrey’s attack. With a powerful slam, he was thrown several meters away from the impact. The Grand Duke stage cultivator steadied himself, gasping at what had just transpired. He looked at Aldrey with admiration, then sheathed his sword and gave a slight bow.
"Truly magnificent, young master. Your ability to seamlessly combine technique and swordplay is far more efficient than I could have imagined. I believe I am no longer a match for you," he said.
Aldrey sheathed his sword as well and smiled warmly at his opponent.
"No, Commander Dilan, you are still a formidable opponent. There are areas where I am still lacking compared to you. I will continue to need your guidance in the future."
Commander Dilan smiled at Aldrey’s humility, he couldn’t help but marvel at the young master’s astounding growth. Aldrey was still at the High Duke stage, having only broken through three months ago. Yet, his combat proficiency far exceeded expectations, allowing him to push back a Low Grand Duke stage cultivator like himself.
It wasn’t just Aldrey’s combat skill—his mastery of the fire element had also advanced to a level capable of rivaling that of a Grand Duke stage cultivator.
"Truly, the genius of the family," Commander Dilan thought. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
The onlookers were also amazed by Aldrey’s performance, marveling at how skilled their young master was. Many felt as though no one on the continent at the same cultivation level could defeat him.
Their faith in Aldrey and the Flamecrest family grew stronger as they believed that, with Aldrey’s presence, their family would continue to thrive and prosper.
Although their family had recently faced the devils’ plot, hadn’t they ultimately overcome it? The plan had been thwarted, and their family managed to emerge with minimal losses. In fact, it was said that their family had even taken down the Boraz Fortress, according to those who claimed to have been rescued from the site.
This was later confirmed by their elders, who inspected the fortress location and found only a vast expanse of devastation left in its wake.
However, the elders didn’t actually know who was responsible for this. All of the captives simply stated that they had been saved by two individuals. They only mentioned that, if asked, the Flamecrest family was the one that had rescued them, which is why that information was conveyed.
The onlookers, being lower-ranking members of the family, believed that the family had a secret force capable of taking down the Boraz Fortress. If only they knew that all the higher-ups in the Flamecrest family were just as confused about this matter. At this moment, they were still investigating the identities of the individuals who had destroyed the fortress. They had a description and some clues, but they still didn’t know who the man and the elf in the description were.
Aldrey ignored the admiring looks from the onlookers as he stepped down from the platform. There was one thing that still lingered in his mind: the strange young man. Aldrey felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, yet he couldn’t place who he was. He couldn’t understand why he was drawn to that stranger, but the feeling was strong enough that he could never forget his face.
After the princess’s announcement, Aldrey didn’t see the young man again, even after searching for him around the city plaza. He thought that the strange feeling had finally ended. However, not long after the captives from the Boraz Fortress were freed, they provided a description of their savior.
From their description, it seemed to match the man he had seen at the plaza, though Aldrey wasn’t sure if it was him, as many people shared a similar appearance. But then, the captives mentioned something that became a crucial clue: he was accompanied by an elven woman.
When he saw the strange young man, he also noticed an elven woman standing beside him. Using the information crystal, he showed the captives an image of Aldrian, created from his memories. The moment they saw the image, they confirmed his guess: the young man was the one who had saved them. Finally, he could confirm that the person who had saved the captives was indeed the same individual he had suspected.
He still had many questions even after finding his answer. How could that young man have been at the Boraz Fortress when he was in Flamecrest City? Did he have some kind of teleportation artifact? And how was it connected to the fortress? The captives had said that the man possessed strange abilities, ones that could move them instantly from the fortress to the city plaza. Aldrey wasn’t sure what to make of it.
The captives also mentioned that only those two individuals had saved them and destroyed the entire fortress. Doesn’t that mean the young man or the elf must be at least at the high emperor stage? If so, who are these people? Cultivators at the high emperor stage or higher are usually well-known across the continent. Why are they in Flamecrest City? Why did they attack the Boraz Fortress, and so on.
All of his curiosity and attraction toward the young man led him to seek out any trace of him. He spread Aldrian’s image to the Flamecrest guards around the city, just in case they spotted him. The Grand Duke also asked about it, so Aldrey simply told his father that Aldrian was responsible for the Boraz Fortress’s downfall.
The only people who knew this information were him and his father because Aldrey did not want to spread it just yet. He wanted to understand the young man’s motives and origins first. The Grand Duke agreed with his son and decided to let Aldrey handle the matter.
After Aldrey stepped down from the battle platform, he saw one of the guards rush to his side. The guard handed him a small piece of paper, and as Aldrey opened it and read the contents, he raised his eyebrows and looked at the messenger.
"I’ll change my attire first. I’ll be there shortly," he said.
"Yes, young master." The messenger nodded before excusing himself.
Aldrey had just received news that the young man had been seen strolling around the city. Not wanting to miss the chance, he hurried to change out of his training attire and into something more casual. To avoid being recognized, he donned a robe to cover his body and face, ensuring that no one would spot him.
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In a part of the attraction district, Aldrian continued walking with his hands behind his back. For the past fifteen minutes, he had sensed a group of people following him, but they seemed to have no ill intentions. When he realized they were from the Flamecrest family, he didn’t mind and allowed them to follow.
From the looks of it, the Flamecrest family had already gotten wind of his connection to the Boraz Fortress’s downfall. However, he didn’t care if they knew. He understood that, sooner or later, it would become known to them.
Aldrian then entered a restaurant and ordered a feast along with a private room. He wanted to set the stage for anyone who wished to meet him, as he was certain someone from the higher-ups of the Flamecrest family would come.
His guess was confirmed 15 minutes later when he sensed someone in a robe approaching the restaurant after interacting with a group of guards. When Aldrian saw who it was, he raised his eyebrows.
"Father."
