Emperor Mark Ruth called out, his expression laden with worry.
How could he not be worried?
His precious daughter was finally about to enter the Immortal Inheritance to undergo the Immortal Grade Trial! In their Ruth Empire’s history, there was no one who was able to come this far, and at the same time, no one had even stepped into the Emperor Grade Trial, which had been recently cleared by Crown Prince Davis Loret and his daughter, Princess Isabella Ruth.
Although he entirely approved of his daughter’s courage and strength, which was greater than his by a large margin, as a father, he felt that this was already enough. He didn’t want to lose her, and he didn’t stop thinking, not even a day, about her safety when she was on the other side of the Grand Sea Continent.
Princess Isabella turned back to look, a smile appearing on her face, "Don’t worry, Imperial Father. Although I don’t know how the Immortal Grade Trial would go, I can confidently say that I met the Earth Dragon Immortal’s expectations."
"I won’t fail..."
Emperor Mark Ruth appeared hesitant, but he still took a deep breath and nodded his head, "Alright, you better come back in one piece even if it isn’t possible to clear the trial. Otherwise, how can I have the face to meet my son-in-law?"
Princess Isabella’s cheeks began to turn red as she shyly voiced out, "Imperial Father, stop teasing me..."
"Hahaha!" Emperor Mark Ruth heartily laughed as he stroked his goatee, "I have always thought you two would come together, and as expected, you haven’t failed me, little lass."
Princess Isabella glared at her father before she turned around and entered the tunnel.
Emperor Mark Ruth continued to laugh. He felt extremely heartened to know that Isabella chose Davis Loret, and the other party had also cast away his reservations to accept her.
He did indeed ask Davis to take care of Isabella on the other side, hoping for her safety to be not jeopardized. In a way, he also had wanted them to understand each other if possible, and just as he had imagined, they became one, making him feel incredibly thankful to the heavens.
"Sigh, now I just hope that I can see my grandson or a granddaughter..."
"But..." Emperor Mark Ruth took out a vial from his spatial ring, "To think that son-in-law has already gifted me with a heaven-defying resource... I guess my cultivation path still hasn’t come to a stop yet."
======
Princess Isabella traversed the tunnel and arrived in front of a lake. The image of a savage yellowish-golden dragon’s head suddenly descended, hovering above the lake in an overbearing manner.
"Child, you have returned!" The Earth Dragon Immortal exclaimed.
Princess Isabella simply placed her two knees on the cave’s surface and chanted as if she had memorized it many times, "Ruth Empire’s Descendant, Isabella Ruth greets noble benefactor."
She slightly bowed.
"Enough with the formalities, child. Raise your head."
Princess Isabella straightened her back and raised her head, her black eyes peering at the Earth Dragon Immortal’s remnant soul.
"Mhm?" The Earth Dragon Immortal’s voice suddenly sounded off.
"You... How did you become a Mid-Level Martial Sage Cultivator in this short period of time?" Its voice contained a bit of surprise as well as excitement.
However, it then became a bit anxious, "Don’t tell me you have discarded building your foundation in exchange to increase your cultivation by a large margin?"
Princess Isabella simply released her undulations, her yellowish-golden martial energy making incredible waves over the lake!
"Good! Good! Good! The Earth Dragon Immortal became excited, "Not only are you a Mid-Level Martial Sage Cultivator, but you have also maintained an Unblemished Foundation. It makes me feel rewarded just by knowing this fact."
"I’m honored..." Princess Isabella let out a smile.
"Honestly, the chances of you returning from the Fifty-Two Territories is itself abysmal. The Ninth Stage Powerhouses there would definitely not allow you to grow, so it could be said that this is a tempering experience in itself. If you could survive their onslaught, that in itself is a matter to celebrate." The Earth Dragon Immortal emotionally spoke.
Princess Isabella recalled how Arashi Family’s Head found out her peculiarity and prowess. If it were not for Davis, perhaps, she might’ve invited a calamity if she had let him live for too long or might’ve let him escape after she failed to finish him off.
Conversely, the news of her peculiarity would have spread even if she had finished him off.
With Davis’s concealment, she was able to fend off all these paths.
From another point of view, she would’ve attracted a lot of threats to herself without him.
If she were alone, she would’ve had to risk her life, face uncertainties, and fall into numerous perils. However, Davis, with his act of making her appear that she was from a mysterious background as a protector, managed to throw off ninety-nine percent of cultivators who would’ve doubted and tried to probe her reaction.
If it were not for Davis, only death awaited her once she was discovered to be a phony. All she could do was run and try to turn the situation around with her meager strength at that time. However, in reality, she lived the life of a princess even in the Fifty-Two Territories.
It was a far cry from how the Earth Dragon Immortal imagined it to be.
Princess Isabella couldn’t help but realize how Davis’s presence in her life had made it easier for her to traverse. She realized it only after listening to the Earth Dragon Immortal’s thoughts, which made her heart flutter once again.
’So I was helped and protected without even knowing I was helped and protected...’
Princess Isabella couldn’t help but wryly and silently giggle at this moment.
"Child, there is one thing I haven’t told you about, but I can mention it to you as it is set in stone that you would become my inheritance’s successor." The Earth Dragon Immortal spoke, its voice filled with contentment.
"What is it, Noble Benefactor?" Princess Isabella became curious.
As for being told that she was the successor by the Earth Dragon Immortal, she wasn’t astonished by it as it was already set in stone in her heart.
"Once you manage to clear the Immortal Grade Trial, you will successfully gain the inheritance, but until you reach the Ninth Stage, you cannot take all the treasures present in this inheritance away. However, since you are already near the Mid-Level of the Eighth Stage, I muse that once I bestow one of the three final rewards upon you, you would find yourself in the Ninth Stage or have the prowess of the Ninth Stage with you at the peak of the Eighth Stage."
Princess Isabella’s eyes lit up at the mention of the Ninth Stage. So once she cleared the trial, digested the rewards, and came out of seclusion, she would be at least be near the Ninth Stage?
"I understand, noble benefactor..." She couldn’t help but tremble a bit with excitement.
Princess Isabella couldn’t wait to clear this trial and return to him to showcase her strength! Perhaps, he would praise her...?
Her mind wandered off.
"Nevertheless, once you break through to the Immortal Stage and ascend, you will have a chance to become one of the Candidates in the Immortal Layer."
"Candidates... Immortal Layer?" Princess Isabella’s brows squinted as she heard the two new terms.
"You will know about it after you have truly become my successor in every sense."
"I see..." Princess Isabella nodded her head, a bit disappointed.
However, she understood that the Earth Dragon Immortal might have its own troubles.
"All I can say is that if you manage to become a Candidate and manage to make it out of this sealed world, you can marry into my Earth Dragon Clan in the outer world to gain further support. I am assured that everyone there will help-"
"I refuse!"
Princess Isabella interrupted coldly, her expression tinged with a bit of hostility. Her expression was a bit volatile as she didn’t expect this from the respected Earth Dragon Immortal at all.
The Earth Dragon Immortal seemed to visibly blink, "Do you not want to marry into my noble Earth Dragon Clan? My clan is overwhelmingly powerful, and I am nothing more than a Young Master-like candidate sent to this sealed world to find a suitable successor."
"There are humans in my clan, without a doubt. Conversely, you can marry a magical beast as well or even the mix of both, a fey. If you don’t know what a fey is, I must inform you that an offspring between a magical beast and a human is called a Fey."
Princess Isabella appeared to be extremely angered. However, she was also taken aback by this new information.
"Humans, Magical Beasts, and Fey... As long they have the blood of the Earth Dragon within them, they are accepted in my Earth Dragon Clan."
Princess Isabella’s body increasingly trembled, but she was able to calm down as she knew that the Earth Dragon Immortal was simply viewing this from its point of view, for its clan’s benefit.
She took a deep breath and spoke, "I already have a beloved and have pledged my life and loyalty to him."
The Earth Dragon Immortal went silent for a moment before his big mouth moved, "I see, then I was rude."
"If noble benefactor still wants me to marry into your Earth Dragon Clan, then forgive me, for I will have to abandon participating in the final trial." Princess Isabella stood up, appearing to be ready to leave.
At this moment, she understood that this inheritance definitely wasn’t a free meal. There seemed to be numerous bindings beneath the strength and status it granted! If it was like this, then she was more than satisfied with stepping out now as she had already enjoyed numerous benefits!
"Wait!" A heavy voice echoed, causing her to stop in her tracks!