I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Dean raised his hand and rubbed his shoulder, which was stiff from being frozen for too long, and his joints made a series of slight clicking sounds.

"I saw it when I was dragged through the door. At that time, I was swallowed by darkness, and my consciousness was in a state between dreaming and waking. Suddenly, I saw a scene—"

He paused, his gaze falling on the grass in the distance, glistening in the afternoon sun, as he recalled what he had seen on that not-so-distant night.

"I saw Evan standing in a grayish-white void, with surging dark purple lightning beneath his feet. The giant tree behind him was fully formed, its branches and leaves obscuring the entire sky. The earth, the sky, the goblins, the people in the towns... nothing was left."

Mia listened attentively, and after a long while, she asked:

How can you be sure it's real?

"Because the scene I saw after entering this world was exactly the same as the one in that illusion. The appearance of the fairies and the layout of the town were exactly the same as what I saw."

He looked down at his hands, which were slightly pale from being frozen for so long.

"My assassination attempt failed, but it actually accelerated Evan's research on the World Tree."

After listening to Dean's words, Ji Tianjing pondered for a moment before replying, "But you did change the objective fact that Evan destroyed the world."

Dean looked up, slightly puzzled.

"Because I have become the one who destroyed the world."

"ah?!"

"Just kidding. If you hadn't assassinated him, Evan wouldn't have been in such a hurry to enter the core of the World Tree. He would have slowly perfected his research, while we would most likely have tried to leave this world after confirming the safety of the three of you."

Dean remained silent for a long time, finally letting out a soft sigh: "...So my assassination wasn't entirely useless?"

"At least it accelerated the process and resolved the problem within a controllable range."

Dean didn't ask any more questions. After thanking Ji Tian and the others for their rescue, he began to check his injuries.

The damage caused to his body by the ice was not serious; the few frostbite wounds were concentrated on his fingertips and ankles, which was nothing to an S-rank adventurer who specialized in healing.

Light magic gathered around Dean, and a pillar of holy light, similar to that that appears during a Grand Mass at the Church of the Triune God, enveloped him.

As the light faded, Dean stretched his joints to make sure there were no lasting effects, then looked up at Ji Tian:

"Do you have a way to leave? Do you need my help?"

"Yes, I'll leave after I've handled everything properly."

Back at the hotel, from afar they saw Lilith, who should have been resting in her room, sitting on the steps talking to Ophelia. When she saw Ji Tian return, Pata ran over.

"Let's go see the kingdom's new queen! I heard she was also a wandering princess."

What the heck?

Ji Tian was taken aback by Lilith's nonsensical words.

"I heard this from the innkeeper! The old king has passed away, and the kingdom will soon welcome a queen. I even had Sister Ophelia do a divination."

Ji Tian also became interested, "Tell me in detail."

After Lilith learned memory sharing, she became even dumber, and her spiritual power didn't recover. She couldn't explain anything coherent even after talking for a long time.

Ophelia, who came next, recounted the events of the divination:

The old king is dead, Ian is dead, and the direct forces of the second and third princes were wiped out one by one by Ian while he was still alive. Now the royal direct line is almost broken, and the remaining collateral branches are either not strong enough or are waiting and seeing.

The throne ultimately fell into the hands of an unexpected person.

The old king's eldest daughter, a princess who had been in exile for many years, was invited back from her refuge by several ministers after the situation stabilized. She was enthroned three days ago and officially crowned as queen.

Lilith nodded repeatedly and said:

"Yes, that's it! I'm curious what she's like! To survive outside and ascend to the throne so peacefully, she must be incredibly capable, right?"

Ji Tian stared at her bright purple eyes for a while, and finally sighed:

"...Let's go."

After reaching the Nascent Soul stage, Ji Tian could teleport anywhere without spatial restrictions. After reaching the Divine Transformation stage, he could go wherever he wanted. It was not difficult for him to bring Lilith and the others to the palace to admire the new king's appearance up close.

The new queen sat behind a long table, somewhat awkwardly reviewing official documents, with a steaming cup of wine beside her...

liqueur?

She heard footsteps and looked up.

Then he saw Ji Tian and froze.

Ji Tian also saw her.

Eyes facing each other.

That face did look somewhat familiar; it was the bard who had been drinking by the ruins in the village outside the World Tree.

The other person showed no panic in the face of the sudden arrival, and rubbed their eyes:

"Huh? Am I drunk again? I'm having another dream. Oh well, it's better to finally run into someone I've met before than to be reviewing this damn official document."

After saying that, she threw the pen and seal on the table, picked up her glass, and continued drinking.

It seems the kingdom's future is bleak.

Lilith peeked half her head out from behind Ji Tian, ​​curiously examining the new queen.

"Are you really a princess? How did you end up as a bard in that village?"

The Queen scratched her head and muttered:

"I don't really know how I ascended the throne. I was playing the zither in the village just a moment ago, and when I woke up, I was told that my father had died and I had succeeded to the throne. They even prepared a crown for me."

Well, he's most likely a moderate who was pushed up by the ministers.

Lilith looked at her: "So, do you like being queen?"

The princess thought for a moment and said seriously, "It's alright, at least I don't have to worry about where I'll stay tonight."

Lilith listened and nodded thoughtfully, "Then we're quite alike."

Having confirmed that the bard was of a kind heart, and that the ministers selected by the old king before his departure were dutiful, Ji Tian didn't interfere too much.

In other words, he officially upgraded his Human Emperor Banner into a privately run Underworld, planted it on the sacred mountain, and put the system of cause and effect, reincarnation, and inevitable retribution into trial operation in this world.

However, there was still one thing he hadn't done.

I promised that little girl I would teach her how to fight, and I can't go back on my word.

……

The little girl was squatting on the sand under the shade of a tree, holding a sharpened stick in her hand, drawing on the ground.

Hearing deliberate footsteps, she looked up, paused for a moment, then dropped the stick, stood up, ran towards him, and shouted with her head tilted back:

"Knight brother!"

Ji Tian crouched down to be at her eye level: "Do you remember what I promised you before?"

The little girl nodded vigorously: "Teach me fighting spirit!"

"Let's start today."

During the day, Ji Tian teaches the little girl fighting spirit and his own magic. At night, he has his own things to do. Mia is very interested in Ji Tian's magic and chooses to listen in with Ji Tian's permission. Dean, on the other hand, begins to practice medicine in nearby villages and collect information on the diseases of this "other world".

Several months passed quickly.

The little girl had a good character. Before leaving, Ji Tian took out a palm-sized token from his sleeve.

"Keep this token safe; it will guide your cultivation."

The little girl took the token with both hands, carefully cradling it in her palms, then looked up and asked, "Can I come find you later?"

"When you've trained to the point where you can leave this world on your own, you'll naturally see me."