I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

The main hall of the royal palace in the capital city.

The blood test is already underway.

The dome was soaring and magnificent, with the capital's dignitaries and representatives of various families lined up on both sides, their eyes fixed on the upright figure in the center of the hall.

Ian stood in front of the blood-testing table, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his broadsword temporarily removed and handed over to a palace attendant for safekeeping.

The chief blood tester was an elderly man with a thin face and a white beard. He gently touched the tip of his finger with a silver blood-testing needle and sent the blood sample into a crystal column suspended in mid-air.

The light inside the prism gradually deepened, flowing through gold, silver, and white before finally settling on a deep gold.

The chief blood examiner stared at the light for several breaths, confirming the result was correct, before turning to face the high platform and bowing to the slightly hunched old king on the throne.

"Your Majesty, the bloodline is pure, indeed of royal blood. The bone age matches the time of disappearance, and all characteristics have been verified and are correct."

The old king grasped the armrests of the throne, rose, and walked towards him. A moist tear welled in his eyes, and he said in a trembling voice:

"My child, it's good that you're back."

Ian rushed to greet the old king and hugged his father for a long time before letting go.

Then the old king patted him on the shoulder, raised his hand, and announced to the crowd:

"You are the eldest son and rightfully the heir to the kingdom. From this day forward, you will reclaim your place at the head of the line of succession."

The hall was silent for a moment, then erupted into unrestrained applause and cheers.

Only the second and third princes stood silently, their faces ashen, watching their father hand over the inheritance to their "brother" who had been gone for twenty years.

Ian seemed to see their expressions, and after politely declining three times, he continued to refuse:

"Father, how can I be worthy of such a heavy responsibility? Besides, this is unfair to my two younger brothers!"

Ian actually remembered having six younger brothers before he left, but he didn't see any of them in this situation, so they must be dead.

The old king patted him on the shoulder again, "My mind is made up, and your two younger brothers will not have any objections."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to his other two sons.

Both of them gave forced smiles and said:

"Haha, I have no objection. Big Brother is the most suitable candidate."

"Me too, I've admired my older brother since I was a child."

Ian, an S-rank adventurer from the Adventurers' Guild, a [Spellsword], and also the Crown Prince, said with brotherly respect:

"Really? That's great! I thought you'd have objections."

The two sworn enemies, who have been fighting each other for twenty years, are now in a rare state of agreement:

"You wiped out the Duke's army, who supported me, and now you're pretending to ask for our opinion?"

Utterly hypocritical!

Of course, this cannot be shown; the opportunity to object has already passed, and we can only wait and see if there will be another chance in the future.

……

As night deepened, the noise in the banquet hall gradually subsided.

Ian walked alone through the narrow corridors deep within the palace, pushed open a wooden door half-wrapped in iron chains, and descended the stone steps into the hidden, deep basement.

This is the secret chamber I specially opened before I was teleported for unknown reasons, so that I could have private talks with my retainers.

After he was accidentally teleported away, his retainers were implicated and executed. It was probably only his father who knew of this place's existence, so it was a good hiding place.

The secret chamber was built from a single piece of black stone, and the walls were covered with runes to prevent prying eyes. Only the flame in the fireplace flickered slightly, and the light source depended entirely on that fire.

[Alchemist] Evan was busy at the table, holding a pair of slender silver tweezers in his hand, carefully peeling away the gap between the scales and flesh of a fairy to reveal the underlying muscle structure.

Fairies are born with the ability to transform into magic elements, but this transformation cannot be performed if their consciousness is controlled first.

Of course, you also have to be careful not to accidentally kill them, otherwise they will only be a small piece of remnant resembling a magic crystal, which will make it impossible to conduct further research.

Hearing Ian's footsteps, the Alchemist adjusted his glasses with his blood-stained hands and smiled congratulating him:

"Congratulations. Perhaps I should address you as Your Highness now. When I first saw you wielding your sword at the association, I felt that your style of martial arts was different from all the systems in this world, and I was right."

Ian ignored the compliments, sat down in the chair across the table, and cut straight to the point:

Has the location of the World Tree remains been confirmed?

Evan then put down the silver tweezers, wiped his hands with his robe, turned around and took a roll of yellowed parchment from the bookshelf behind him and unfolded it.

"Based on the royal archives I infiltrated and the surreptitious accounts of several hypnotized old priests, the remains are indeed located deep in the western border of the kingdom."

I truly never imagined that a World Tree would exist here—a World Tree that represents all miracles and all possibilities!

He adjusted his glasses, his tone returning to normal slightly:

"We need a pretext that is both legal and allows us to mobilize enough manpower."

"So I am now the Crown Prince, and that title is sufficient."

"That's enough, but when are you going to explain to those people that we're going to the remains of the World Tree?"

"No explanation needed." Ian leaned back in his chair. "Just mobilize your forces under the guise of 'exploring border veins' or 'patrolling the territory,' and I'll handle whatever happens on the road."

Evan nodded in agreement, then continued, "Is Dean still hesitating?"

Ian sighed, somewhat troubled by the situation:

"He needs time."

Do you think he'll eventually join?

"He will. He just needs a reason to convince himself more than we do."

Evan picked up the silver tweezers again and turned them in the firelight:

"Then why didn't you bring Amy along? She's practically my student. I remember I deliberately depleted her magic power when I activated the magic circle. Logically, she shouldn't have been able to escape."

Ian, the Demon Swordsman, had a complicated look in his eyes.

"...She is not suitable for this plan."

"Unsuitable?"

"She's too naive. Her first reaction after you were swallowed by that door was to save you, so I pushed her away."

[Alchemist] Evan continued studying the fairy on the table, and after a moment he said:

"What a pity. I wish that golden dragon had been teleported over as well. I've never dissected a metal dragon before."

……

"Achoo—!"

Jinlong suddenly sneezed loudly, exhaling a stream of air carrying sparks, and his body swayed slightly in the night.

Mia immediately pressed down on the dragon's neck and asked in a low voice:

"Xiaohua, what's wrong? Are you tired?"

"How could I be tired? It's just... I always feel like someone is talking about me."

Mia was a little confused. "Who else in this world would be thinking about you? You must be tired."

Jinlong flicked his tail, also pondering this question.

Ji Tian glanced at Lilith, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, drooling and emitting bursts of Tang-style laughter, then looked at the earth under the night sky:

"Let's find a place to rest first."

Mia nodded and gently patted the golden dragon's neck: "Little Flower, let's find a flat place to land first."

The golden dragon lowered its left wing and glided down a gentle slope illuminated by the moonlight.