...
{3rd Pov}
A few weeks had already passed since Astreo revealed to Lisa that he was, in fact, the Star Emperor.
And naturally, revealing such a truth did not come without consequences. In fact, the consequences arrived much faster than he had expected.
Astreo slowly opened his eyes after finishing his virtual training session, expecting to find himself alone as usual.
Instead, he immediately realized that something was different.
He found himself wrapped in the arms of Lisa, comfortably held against her chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Yes, one might normally expect that after Lisa learned that he was the true Star Emperor, she would treat him like a god—maintaining distance, kneeling constantly, or behaving with extreme reverence and fear.
But reality turned out to be very different.
After all, what happens when the "god" you worship is not an unreachable existence sitting high above the heavens, but someone who is physically within your reach, right beside you every day?
And more importantly, what if that god also happens to be a cute, small, young child?
The result was obvious.
Lisa's maternal instincts completely overflowed.
Her sense of reverence didn't disappear, but it mixed strangely with affection, concern, and protectiveness.
Instead of treating him like an untouchable deity, she ended up treating him like a precious child that needed to be cared for, protected, and spoiled.
And just like that, Astreo realized a terrifying truth.
He had successfully gained himself a Mommy.
Great!
That incident was now officially added to Astreo's growing list of embarrassing moments, sitting just below the ritual with Xyra in sheer awkwardness.
He let out a quiet sigh in his mind.
'I guess this is how women treat shotas,' he thought helplessly, though he firmly decided that any truly bad woman trying to prey on his innocence would be punished without mercy.
Astreo was a shota who valued his self-respect, and he was absolutely against Epstein-like bastards in every sense of the word.
That principle applied equally in reverse as well — he despised the idea of shotas being placed into such situations too, because to him, every gender was equal when it came to dignity and boundaries.
"Lisa, get up," he said calmly as he nudged her slightly, trying to free himself. Unfortunately, the result was the opposite of what he wanted.
Lisa only tightened her grip around him, pulling him closer and snuggling against him even more comfortably.
"Lord… just two more minutes," she murmured sleepily in her half-awake state, her voice soft and completely lacking any sense of urgency.
Astreo sighed deeply, realizing that reasoning with her in this condition was pointless.
Without making a big deal out of it, he activated his Spatial Magic, instantly teleporting himself out of her grasp and reappearing neatly at the side of the bed.
The moment Lisa felt her arms close around nothing, she jolted awake.
Her eyes snapped open as she looked down, then quickly around the room, before spotting Astreo standing beside the bed.
She puffed out her cheeks in a clear pout, looking oddly displeased.
"Does Lord not like being near me?" she asked softly, her tone tinged with a hint of hurt.
Astreo's face remained perfectly neutral on the outside, but inside his mind, his expression was twitching furiously.
Veins might as well have been popping in his thoughts.
'Woman! You should be scared of me!' he screamed internally for what felt like the umpteenth time.
'I am the STAR EMPEROR!'
Yet no matter how much he ranted inside his head, the reality was undeniable.
All the fear factor, dignity, and awe he had carefully cultivated as the Star Emperor had completely vanished the moment maternal instincts entered the picture.
All of this was happening simply because Lisa had realized that her master was not some old, grown-up man with a stern and intimidating presence, but instead a cute shota.
Because of that realization, she no longer feared him at all. Rather than treating him with distant reverence, she became overprotective and clingy, behaving as if she were taking care of him like he was her own child.
The irony of the situation was almost painful.
This was the same woman who had received her mental support from him, her power and cultivation from him, and her entire rise in status because of him.
And now, despite all of that, she was acting like his mother, fussing over him and refusing to let him go easily.
Astreo honestly could not hope to understand women, no matter how intelligent or experienced he was.
Some things, he concluded, were simply beyond logic.
So instead of arguing, correcting her behavior, or trying to restore his lost dignity as the Star Emperor, he chose a far more practical option — he changed the topic entirely.
"I want to ask, have you gathered the information I wanted?" Astreo asked calmly.
The moment those words left his mouth, Lisa's expression changed instantly.
The playful, pouty look disappeared from her face, replaced by a serious and focused demeanor, as if a switch had been flipped inside her mind.
"Yes, Lord Emperor," Lisa replied respectfully.
"The National Tournament has already ended, and the World Tournament is about to begin. I have already pulled out the list of all the contestants, and just as you suspected, there is indeed a woman named Qin Yu'er listed among them."
As she finished speaking, she absentmindedly scratched her cheek, her posture slightly relaxed now that she was reporting rather than being pampering.
"However," she added a moment later, sounding a bit helpless, "since I have just woken up, I will need some time to properly take out and organize all those files."
Astreo nodded calmly at her explanation.
"That's fine. First, let's brush our teeth," he said seriously.
Indeed, for Astreo, brushing his teeth twice a day was an extremely important task and not something that could ever be skipped, no matter how urgent other matters might seem.
"Ah! I see," Lisa nodded immediately in agreement.
As she did so, she couldn't help but cast a few adoring glances in Astreo's direction.
It wasn't that she no longer feared Astreo as the Star Emperor; rather, she had begun to notice that he behaved very much like a normal child of his age in many daily habits.
Because of that realization, she had naturally changed her approach toward her Lord, treating him with a mix of reverence and maternal care.
Even though Astreo had already told her that he was the reincarnation of a terrifying big shot whose true status was beyond her comprehension, she still couldn't help herself.
No matter how powerful or mysterious he truly was, the fact remained the same in her eyes—
Her Lord was simply too cute.
So after brushing her teeth and watching her adorable Lord carefully brush his own teeth under her attentive gaze, the two of them quickly went to have breakfast together.
The food had already been prepared in advance by the servants at the mansion, laid out neatly on the dining table.
Astreo happily and enthusiastically ate the delicious dishes, clearly enjoying the taste, while Lisa sat nearby watching him with an unmistakable look of affection and warmth in her eyes.
The servants in the mansion had already noticed the situation long ago.
They all knew that their Master was completely smitten with her adopted son, or rather, that she was overflowing with maternal love toward him.
Her daily life now revolved around only two things — handling her professional work and taking care of Astreo in every possible way, making sure he was comfortable, healthy, and properly looked after.
That said, their Young Master Astreo himself preferred to remain alone most of the time.
He wasn't particularly fond of constant attention and valued his personal space greatly.
Thus, after finishing his breakfast, he went together with Lisa to her office.
Once inside, Lisa handed him all the documents and information she had gathered regarding the World Tournament members.
Unfortunately, the materials mostly consisted of basic information that was already available to the public.
However, Astreo didn't mind this at all.
In this era, even gathering public information required considerable effort, organization, and influence.
Moreover, Lisa's position, while respectable, wasn't high enough for her to freely access restricted or classified information related to the tournament.
Considering all of that, Astreo was still satisfied with what she had managed to obtain.
However, Astreo now faced another problem that required his attention.
He needed to find out where Qin Yu'er would be visiting next, so that he could personally meet her and begin the first steps of his plan to bring her to his side.
Fortunately, this wasn't a particularly difficult issue for him.
With his system, he could easily perform a world scan and allow it to function like a massive, living map, pinpointing her location whenever he wished.
Still, knowing her location wasn't enough.
'I will still need to go there myself,' Astreo thought quietly, his expression serious as he finalized his decision.
He had already made up his mind — he was going to meet Qin Yu'er in person, no matter what.
"Lisa," Astreo said firmly, his voice taking on a commanding tone as he stared directly at her.
"I will need to leave for some work. In the meantime, you can start with the establishment of the clan."
Yes, Astreo planned to establish his own clan in Bo City.
Now that World Tournament was involved, the timing was perfect.
Since Lisa was considered a foreigner by most people — despite technically being Chinese — mainly due to her name and the lack of publicly available information about her background, many would naturally assume that a foreign clan was attempting to gain a foothold in the city through her.
This misunderstanding would actually work in their favor.
And no one would realistically try to investigate their background by mobilizing all of their resources.
People who were actually capable of doing something like that simply wouldn't waste their time focusing on the affairs of a small city like Bo City, since they had far more important matters to deal with on a much larger scale.
From their perspective, whatever was happening in Bo City would be insignificant and not worth serious attention compared to the World Tournament.
Not to mention, the Black Church was not yet as notorious as it would become years later due to Salang's actions.
At this point in time, they were still relatively obscure, which meant they would naturally remain outside the scope of suspicion.
This worked perfectly in Astreo's favor, allowing him to operate quietly without drawing unnecessary attention.
In fact, Astreo had genuinely considered approaching Salang himself.
He knew that she would soon be visiting Bo City in order to get married to Mo Fan's father, before eventually leaving her daughter Xinxia behind with them.
From a strategic standpoint, it would have been a convenient opportunity to interfere or establish a connection.
However, after careful consideration, Astreo ultimately decided against it.
The biggest reason was Wen Tai.
There was always the possibility that Wen Tai was secretly observing Salang from the shadows, and Wen Tai was not an existence Astreo could afford to provoke right now.
No matter how confident or prepared he was, Wen Tai was far beyond his current ability to handle.
No matter how strong Astreo had become, he understood one crucial truth very clearly — in the grand scheme of this world's power scaling, he was still nothing more than an ant.
Perhaps a powerful ant, an unusually dangerous ant, but still an ant nonetheless.
Confidence was important, and believing in one's own strength was necessary for growth.
But Astreo knew the difference well.
Confidence was good, but overconfidence was nothing more than arrogance, and arrogance was often the fastest way to die.
All Cultivation World's Young Masters can vouch for that!
Ahem
"I see. You can leave all the work to me, Lord Emperor!" Lisa replied confidently, her tone firm and obedient.
By this point, she had already been provided with all the essential resources required to begin establishing the clan, such as awakening stones and other foundational materials needed for long-term development.
She had also officially registered the clan with Bo City's governance, and the registration process had already been successfully approved.
Of course, this hadn't come cheap — she had spent several million yuan to ensure that everything was handled smoothly, legally, and without unnecessary complications.
Now, only the physical work remained.
Fortunately, that was the easiest part.
Lisa had already purchased multiple buildings a long time ago and had been investing heavily in Bo City's infrastructure well in advance.
Because of this foresight, there was going to be absolutely no problem setting things up properly or expanding when needed.
With everything settled and responsibilities clearly divided, Astreo finally left the mansion, ready to proceed with his own plans.
…
Astreo teleported himself to the outskirts of the city, choosing a location that was extremely isolated and far away from any human presence.
As he stood there and looked around, he couldn't help but feel slightly amused.
Technically speaking, this was still the first time he had ever stepped outside the city proper since arriving in this world, and the difference in atmosphere was immediately noticeable.
Without wasting time, he activated his Psychic Magic, spreading his senses outward in every direction like an invisible net.
Information flooded into his mind as he calmly observed what was happening in the surrounding area.
Before long, he detected the presence of several monsters roaming nearby, all of them at the Servant Stage.
They were weak by his standards, barely worth attention, but they served as a good test environment.
With a simple thought, Astreo issued a command to his system and proceeded to equip the magic armor he had painstakingly created after countless rounds of fusing, refining, and optimization.
The moment the equipment activated, an overwhelming presence settled around his body.
[Peak Emperor Grade Chaos Armor Set]
Provides immunity to all magical and physical attacks below High Emperor Grade.
Chaos Helmet: Grants full breathing capability even underwater or in hostile environments.
Chaos Chest Plate: Grants physical strength equal to the user's cultivation level in terms of a monster, perfectly matching the user's power output.
Chaos Leggings: Grants superhuman speed far beyond normal limits.
Chaos Boots: Provides immense jumping and movement capability, allowing instant terrain traversal.
Additional Set Effect: Generates a Chaos Magic Domain around the user, significantly increasing the user's power in Chaos Magic. Grants an aura befitting an Emperor, capable of suppressing weaker beings. Additionally, it can provide complete concealment effects when required.
Has many other additional effects (Expand).
As the armor fully materialized around him, the chaotic energy stabilized and merged seamlessly with his body, making it feel as natural as his own skin.
Astreo calmly flexed his fingers, testing the flow of power, his senses sharp and focused.
Yes, Astreo wasn't stupid enough to go into the outside world unequipped, especially when there was always the risk of encountering Forbidden Tier Mages or other unpredictable threats.
Since he possessed unlimited resources and had access to the system's advanced functions, he could easily obtain higher-tier versions of armor by mixing and refining existing ones.
Because of that, he had simply ordered the system to create the best possible armor he could use while still at Super Tier.
And honestly, he wasn't going to lie to himself about the process.
It had taken the system several months of continuous work to finally reach this result, going through countless rounds of trial and error.
The process was far from simple.
After all, the system could only create and fuse items using the resources currently available in the world.
There were definitely not enough naturally existing high-tier armors that could be casually forged into Emperor Grade equipment through simple tweaking.
Trying to do so from weaker armours had drastically increase the error margin, making the process exponentially more unstable and inefficient.
Thankfully, Astreo had long since developed the habit of constantly using the system's fusion function in advance.
He never allowed it to remain idle for even short periods, always ensuring that it was working in the background to refine, fuse, and prepare materials.
Because of this habit, he always had access to higher-grade resources ahead of time, long before he actually needed them.
That foresight was precisely what allowed him to eventually obtain equipment of such absurd quality without being caught unprepared at a critical moment.
Now, the next step for Astreo was to summon Xyra from the Summoning Plane.
Since his intention was to summon her at full power, without any form of restriction or suppression, he knew that ordinary methods would never be sufficient.
He would need to rely on extremely powerful catalysts to support such a summoning considering he was just at Super Tier in Summoning Element.
First, Astreo calmly waved his hand and directly summoned a ready-made magic circle into existence.
The circle was massive and complex, layered with countless runes and sigils that overlapped each other in precise patterns.
Every line within the circle carried profound meaning, specifically designed to withstand the pressure of an Emperor-level existence manifesting in the Main Plane from Summoning World.
Next, Astreo summoned dozens upon dozens of extremely high-quality mana crystals, each one radiating dense and pure magical energy.
These crystals were carefully placed around the magic circle, forming a stable energy network that would act as the primary power source for the summoning.
The mana density in the area skyrocketed almost instantly, making the surrounding space tremble slightly under the sheer concentration of energy.
After that, Astreo took things a step further.
He produced the blood of an Emperor-level being and used it to completely fill the magic circle, ensuring that every rune and symbol was soaked in that terrifyingly potent essence.
The blood glowed faintly as it spread across the circle, dramatically increasing its stability and compatibility with an Emperor-tier summon.
Once all preparations were complete, Astreo did not hesitate any longer.
He immediately began activating his Summoning Magic, carefully aligning each of his summoning stars one by one.
His focus was absolute as he synchronized his magical structure with the magic circle, establishing a direct and stable connection to the Summoning Plane.
With his stars perfectly aligned and the magic circle fully energized, the summoning process officially began, and the space within the circle started reacting violently, signaling that Xyra's descent was about to commence.
Instantly, the magic circle flared to life.
Dense streams of mana were rapidly drained from the high-quality mana crystals as they began to dim one by one, while the Emperor-grade blood reacted violently with the runes.
The reaction was immediate and intense, stirring a massive mana storm around Astreo.
Unfortunately, this was not something he could hide or suppress, because summoning Xyra at full power required her to manifest directly in the real world rather than through any concealed or weakened projection.
Thankfully, Astreo had chosen a truly isolated location.
With no people nearby and no active mage presence in the surroundings, it would still take some time before anyone noticed the abnormal fluctuations and came to investigate.
That brief window was more than enough for him.
As Astreo continued channeling his Summoning Magic, the space above the magic circle twisted violently.
A summoning gate opened almost instantly, swallowing up all of the Emperor blood in a single moment while the magic circle itself began to burn away, its purpose fulfilled.
The runes cracked, shattered, and vanished into ash as the gate stabilized.
In the very next instant, Astreo saw her.
His Dragon Wife, Xyra, appeared directly in front of him, her presence overwhelming as she fully manifested.
"Husband!" Xyra exclaimed joyfully the moment she laid eyes on him.
Her expression lit up with unmistakable happiness as she immediately noticed the armor he was wearing.
The Chaos Armor altered his overall presence so drastically that his height and build now appeared comparable to that of an adult, rather than a child.
Not only that, but Xyra could clearly feel a sense of threat radiating from his Aura.
Even though his power was still far from matching hers directly, the pressure and authority embedded within his presence were undeniable.
It was not overwhelmingly strong, but it was sharp, dangerous, and real—enough to make even an Emperor take notice.
"Xyra, it's me — Astreo. And as I warned you earlier, I have summoned you at your full strength to help me," he said clearly.
Xyra immediately nodded, a confident and bright smile appearing on her face.
"Leave everything to your wife!" she replied without hesitation, her tone full of assurance and pride.
Astreo quickly moved to her side and grabbed her by the waist to prepare for immediate movement.
Xyra visibly blushed at the sudden contact, while Astreo rolled his eyes in mild annoyance.
'C'mon, woman, you're a thousand-year-old granny,' he thought sarcastically in his mind.
Still, he didn't voice those thoughts out loud.
Without wasting any more time, he activated his Spatial Magic and teleported away together with her, leaving the area completely empty.
Nearly an hour later, after Astreo had already left long ago, a group of soldiers finally arrived at the location where the summoning had taken place.
They carefully inspected the surroundings, remaining on high alert.
However, despite their caution, they found nothing unusual.
There were no traces of battle, no lingering magic formations, and no signs of any intruder.
The only strange thing they could sense was that the mana in the area felt slightly denser than normal, as if something powerful had briefly existed there before disappearing without a trace.
"Commander! This is definitely the place where our mana readings suddenly surged!" a female officer reported, her tone serious as she pointed toward the center of the area.
The Commander, who was a High-Tier Mage, slowly looked around, carefully examining the surroundings.
He could clearly sense that the mana here was slightly denser compared to the nearby regions.
After a brief moment of observation, he spoke in a calm and measured voice, "Perhaps a treasure was born here. It might still be hidden somewhere nearby, or an expert may have already snatched it away. The mana residue isn't that thick anymore, which is usually a sign that the original source of the mana has already been removed or has disappeared."
The others were surprised upon hearing his conclusion.
Several soldiers exchanged glances, unsure of what to think.
However, considering that they lacked extensive research equipment and didn't possess particularly deep knowledge about rare magical phenomena, none of them could confidently infer whether the Commander's guess was truly correct or not.
"Thankfully, it doesn't seem like a powerful monster appeared here," one of the soldiers said with clear relief after carefully observing the surroundings and finding no hostile presence.
Hearing his words, the others silently nodded in agreement.
When they had first sensed the sudden mana surge, many of them had feared the worst and were already debating internally whether they should immediately send out an emergency alarm to Bo City.
Thankfully, it turned out to be a false alarm, and no immediate danger was present, allowing them to finally relax a little.
In fact, when they first sensed the surge in mana, they had genuinely feared that it might be a Commander-level monster, or possibly something even worse.
To be honest, they simply didn't possess the equipment necessary to accurately record mana surges stronger than those produced by Commander-level monsters.
Because of this limitation, they had absolutely no way of knowing that an Emperor-level mana surge had actually occurred in that location.
Furthermore, considering how short the duration of the surge had been, no Forbidden Tier Mage was alerted by it.
Most beings at that level lived extremely far away from this region, and such a brief spike in mana wasn't enough to draw their attention from across vast distances.
Because of all these factors combined, Astreo's summoning of Xyra was destined to go completely unnoticed, leaving behind nothing more than a faint and harmless trace of dense mana.
To be continued...
(A/N: I had JEE exams... So I was unable to upload another two days.
It almost seems I have problems everyday to stop me from writing, whether having no food or messed up sleep schedule.
*Sigh*
If you want to join Patreon please return to older chaps and use the link, same for discord.
Just know Loyal Membership is sold out, so you might only get Respected Membership or Trial Membership at best, and you are lucky as just one guy cancelled his Royal Membership.
As for higher membership? They are brought withing 1 hr of availability, sometimes 2mins if I have people informed in discord.
I am unable to upload many images here because of size limitations and other factors, you can see it for free on my discord.
Btw, Xyra has two human forms.
I will try to upload an image here [XYRA]
Let's hope website works)