The Immortal's Wine Store

Theia stepped inside the second floor of the store and saw seven individuals standing in front of a painting. Their faces were filled with bewilderment and wonder as if they trying to discern something from the painting. Seeing their expressions, Theia smirked contemptuously and walked towards them.

Step. Step. Step.

"Hmm?" Emperor Elyk and the others turned their gazes towards Theia and their faces immediately became mild. They knew that she was one of the top experts under Jiu Shen, so they didn't dare behave arrogantly in her presence.

"Young Miss Theia, what brings you here? Young Miss Hestia already went down to get out orders, and we don't have any more orders yet." Defender Duanmu smiled respectfully as he spoke.

Theia took a momentary glance at him, but she ignored Defender Duanmu and didn't reply to him. Instead, she turned her gaze to the emperor and said with an indifferent look. "My master found a place to settle those kids in, but it was a beast fighting arena owned by a noble family. Since it was an illegal establishment, I told them to scram and killed some of their people..." Her voice was calm and unhurried as if she was merely telling a minor issue, but those who heard her immediately furrowed their eyebrows.

Emperor Elyk already knew about the existence of the beast fighting arena in Beltran City, but he ignored its presence since it didn't do anything too outrageous on the surface. Furthermore, he also found out that the place was protected by the Xue Family, and with the precarious state of their Silver Wing Empire, he didn't want to entangle himself with the Xue Family at the moment. However, this matter became more complicated with the involvement of Jiu Shen, and as the emperor, he could not act like he knew nothing or he would surely incur Jiu Shen's displeasure.

"It seems like Young Miss Theia had seen the atrocious behavior of the people from the beast fighting arena. Don't worry, I will handle everything about it and make sure that the noble family protecting this establishment will be punished accordingly." Emperor Elyk's expression was dignified as he said those words.

Although he wanted to stay neutral in this situation, the other party involved was Jiu Shen, and he didn't want to destroy his good relationship with him for a mere beast fighting arena of the Xue Family. He might encounter some retaliation from the Xue Family, but Emperor Elyk didn't care. Their Silveria Imperial Family still had a huge secret that no one else other than himself knew. That secret was enough to protect their Silver Wing Empire from catastrophe, but he didn't want to expose it too soon. He didn't even bring it out when a dragon came at their doorstep. However, for the sake of maintaining his amiable relationship with Jiu Shen, he didn't mind revealing it early on...

Theia looked at the emperor and realized that the latter might have already known the existence of the beast fighting arena. She felt even more disdainful in her heart when she learned of this, but her countenance remained calm and cold. "Since the emperor already knows of their shady actions, I hope you won't sit idly by and do nothing. I don't want my master to be used as a borrowed knife to kill your enemies. My master might not care about it, but I'm not the same." Her voice was freezingly cold and the eyes she used to look at the emperor flashed with violent killing intent, scaring everyone within the second floor. Even the Supreme Elder Qi Hongtian who had a 9th-rank Saint spiritual power was stunned at the palpitating killing intent released by Theia. As for the others, they gulped in fear as they stared at her peerlessly beautiful visage that was wearing an aloof expression. She looked like an ice goddess that looked down upon the mortal world!

Emperor Elyk was scared stiff when he felt her fluctuating killing intent, but the dignified look on his face didn't waver. He had faced off with death countless of times in his life, but he was still here standing with great willpower. He forced out a smile and gestured for Theia to calm down with both his hands. "Young Miss Theia, calm your anger. I will immediately take action after I leave the store, and I will not allow anyone to bully Wine Master Jiu. They will have to go through me first before they can do that!" His regal and valiant imperial aura unconsciously gushed out of his body when he spoke those words which greatly lessened the pressure on everyone from Theia's killing intent.

Theia stared deeply at Emperor Elyk as if she was trying to see through his soul. The look in her eyes made the emperor feel a trace of terror in his heart, but he outwardly remained composed. Seeing this, Theia praised him inwardly. 'Such great disposition for an emperor in a mortal world! If he was born in the Primordial God Realm, he might even become a renowned expert...'

"I'll remember your words. Don't disappoint my master..." She muttered coldly before she left the second floor, leaving behind the seven people standing there with buckets of sweat streaming down their faces.

Phew.

Emperor Elyk heaved a huge sigh of relief after Theia left. Even with his strong willpower, he almost collapsed when faced with her terrifying gaze. He then shook his head and said with a wry smile. "Young Miss Theia is too strong indeed. I feel that she could kill me in just one blow. I wonder how Wine Master Jiu managed to subdue her..."

Defender Duanmu and the three guardians had a look of fear in their eyes, and they could hardly move their legs that were shivering slightly.

Supreme Elder Qi Hongtian and Master Fengzi were similarly dumbstruck at Theia's power, but knowing that Jiu Shen might be even stronger than her, the two of them didn't feel surprised that she was willing to follow Jiu Shen.

In the end, Supreme Elder Qi Hongtian still warned the emperor out of goodwill. "Elyk, Young Miss Theia is already a 9th-rank Saint realm expert, and Wine Master Jiu is someone even stronger than her. Don't do something that will destroy the relationship between you two. It won't be good for your Silver Wing Empire to have him as your enemy."

Emperor Elyk furrowed his eyebrows when he heard those words, but he was not that surprised since he had seen for himself the power of Jiu Shen. In fact, he already planned to mobilize the Silveria Imperial Family's forces to intimidate the Xue Family the moment Theia had spoken about the beast fighting arena.

Emperor Elyk cupped his fists at Supreme Elder Qi Hongtian and replied in a calm voice. "I understand, Supreme Elder Qi Hongtian." He then turned to look at Defender Duanmu and the other three guardians and ordered with an imposing look. "The four of you, go back to the imperial palace and gather some of our men to intimidate the Xue Family, but don't do anything too serious to damage the Xue Family. We don't want a civil war at a time like this."

Defender Duanmu and the other three solemnly bowed at the emperor. "We obey, Your Majesty."

They hastily left the second floor after that.

"I hope this matter won't escalate further. The Blue Fang Empire and the Violet Thunder Empire are looking at our lands with hungry eyes all these years. If a civil war breaks out within my Silver Wing Empire, those two would surely take action. Not to mention the sects and other powers that held similar intentions... Sigh." Emperor Elyk sighed and shook his head.

Supreme Elder Qi Hongtian and Master Fengzi glanced at the emperor with a hint of pity in their eyes. Being an emperor was truly not easy, and even a talented person like Emperor Elyk might not be able to handle the situation if his empire was faced with the combined attacks in every direction.

"If you can somehow manage to gain Wine Master Jiu's help, then your Silver Wing Empire might be able to tide through anything that may happen." Supreme Elder Qi Hongtian said as he patted the emperor's back encouragingly.

Emperor Elyk's eyes burned with determination as he muttered fiercely in his heart. 'I will make sure that my Silver Wing Empire will not fall from this war!'