Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1708 Genius of the City

”Arkalon?” Morgana furrowed her brows slightly, her expression tightening with a faint hint of caution. ”...You mean that specter king? The one in specter valley? Even I had rough time facing that guy, I needed to build an army first then go to do something about it...”

”Yeah itʼs him.” Robin nodded once, his tone carrying a casual confidence as if discussing something trivial. ”Heʼs a soul creature working under me now.” A proud, almost smug smile spread across his lips. ”Anyway, what do you think of what youʼve taken so far?”

”....Just these three tablets alone were enough to qualify you to be my master.” Morganaʼs gaze sharpened as she stared deeply into Robinʼs eyes for several long seconds, testing his reaction.

”Simply receiving techniques doesnʼt make you my disciple.” Robin shook his head slowly, dismissively. ”If that were true, then all my generals, my followers -no, my entire population-would be considered my disciples.” He leaned forward slightly, eyes serious. ”All it means is that youʼll have to work extremely hard to compensate me for what you received, just like they do.”

”.....” Morganaʼs eyelashes trembled subtly. She stared at Robinʼs face for several seconds after being compared to common citizens of the empire-a blow to her pride-then finally nodded. ”I will definitely return this investment without fail, Your Majesty.” Her voice held quiet conviction. Then she continued with a faint, confident smile, ”With this knowledge and these techniques, all I need is to gather enough essence soul units, and Iʼll make my next star. Just give me five years, and youʼll have a two-star Royal Soul Lady at your command.”

”Do you need a source of essence soul units? I can provide you with some emerald.” Robin offered without hesitation, but just as the words left his mouth, he paused. His expression shifted, and he smiled wryly-realizing this concern was laughably unnecessary.

”No need, Your Majesty. If you ever need any, Iʼll gladly provide them.” Morgana answered with unwavering confidence, a hint of playful pride curling at the edge of her lips.

Needing soul emerald? That was practically comedy. Morgana owned forty-nine planets that once served as specter farms. Seventeen of them are already cleaned after she abandoned them entirely, letting every living thing perish. Even if she lacked emerald at this exact moment, she could simply visit any one of those planets and scoop up emerald scattered across the ground like worthless gravel!

”Iʼll count on you then.” Robin nodded seriously, his tone firm. ”In the coming years, Iʼll be entering a long, uninterrupted seclusion. You may continue working here as a substitute instructor if you like, and you may keep selling soul borrowings to the academy-but I want a compensation... Fifty percent of your borrowings MUST be delivered to the Shadow Swords at first, then sixty, then ninety, until eventually you completely stop delivering borrowings to Althera. That girl needs to move and find a Royal Soul master of her own, not rely on shortcuts.”

Perhaps the True Beginning Empire doesnʼt truly require Royal Soul borrowings -their strength throughout the Young Belt is overwhelming and unquestioned. But the Cradle Empire and the Grave Empire absolutely do, and Robin simply doesnʼt have the time or patience to sit and craft hundreds of borrowings personally!

”Deliver them to the Shadow Swords?” Morgana tilted her head slightly, processing the request with visible curiosity.

”Mhmm.” Robin nodded. ”It wonʼt be difficult, really. Theyʼre everywhere throughout Mid Sector 99, watching closely.” He chuckled, amused by their persistent presence. Then he infused his soul sense into his sound ring and spoke loudly: ”If there is a Shadow Sword nearby, come to my private lecture hall immediately!”

The sound ring normally contained an emergency signal, used to broadcast distress to anyone in its vicinity.

Back when Robin was on Planet Zaron, the Shadow Swords attempted to use that trick to track him. When they finally reached Zaron, they tried contacting him through the ring-but he refused to pick up, intentionally ignoring them. Whoosh! After only a few seconds, a shadow slowly rose and materialized from beneath the door, as if it had always been there. Then a young man dressed entirely in black stepped forward and immediately dropped into a full kneel. ”I greet His Majesty, the Emperor.”

”...?!” Morganaʼs eyes widened to their absolute limit. Shock flashed across her face as she looked at Robin, then at the mysterious Shadow Sword. ”What is happening here? How did you enter the academy? Youʼre not a student-do you have a servantʼs authorization badge? A guard permit?!”

”.....” The Shadow Sword slowly lifted his head, only a fraction, glancing toward Robin from beneath the shadow of his hood, as though silently requesting permission to speak-his posture respectful, cautious, and disciplined.

”Itʼs fine, you may talk.” Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a wide, satisfied smile. ”In fact, Iʼm also rather curious myself about how the Shadow Swords managed to enter the academy. Security around spatial gates is notoriously strict, and no ship can breach a planetary atmosphere without someone noticing. The surveillance arrays should catch even the slightest fluctuation.”

”We have a special version of instant spatial portals, Your Majesty.” The Shadow Sword replied calmly. He produced a void ring from his sleeve and gently sent it toward Robin from a distance, as if handling a priceless treasure.

”.....” Robin examined the contents of the ring carefully for several seconds, his soul sense dancing within. ”Oho... they used the fifth stage of the Major Space Law in this version?! Thatʼs not simple at all.”

”...Instant spatial portals packed into a ring? And incorporating the fifth stage of the Major Space Law?!” Morganaʼs eyes flew open in shock, her mind racing. The fifth stage of the Spatial Laws... It was the very first fifth-stage law Robin fully deciphered after that exhausting month-long journey from the Young Belt to the Mid Belt. Centuries ago he entrusted it to Sky Opening City, allowing their scholars to study, and advance their knowledge further.

”Yes, Your Majesty,” the Shadow Sword nodded beneath the hood draping across his face, voice steady. ”With this new version, I can teleport directly between planets-provided the destination planet lies relatively close, within a maximum distance of roughly one light-day, and that we possess accurate spatial coordinates.” He continued with quiet confidence, ”To reach this place, we simply traveled to a nearby planet, then obtained the coordinates of a remote, isolated point on the target planet. And even this was effortless, thanks to a device invented by Sky Opening City. It can determine coordinates from a considerable range away without the need for direct contact.”

”...!!!” Morganaʼs heart pounded violently against her ribs, a chill running up her spine. What she was hearing was... horrifying.

What that Shadow Sword was describing wasnʼt just a technique. It was a system- an infiltration infrastructure that simply couldnʼt be blocked. One that allowed them to slip into any planet at will... and escape whenever they wished. No-worse still. If they learned the spatial coordinates inside vaults, sealed bunkers, and hidden chambers, they could materialize there directly, bypassing walls, guards, and alarms entirely-from the surface of an entirely different

planet.

And these Shadow Swords had already been moving throughout the academy for who knows how long... like termites hollowing out the core of a massive palm tree from within. And she -an elite Royal Soul Lady- hadnʼt sensed a

single thing?!

If Lady Althera discovered this...

”Ugh, that mischievous little brat.” Robin clicked his tongue, then burst into hearty laughter. ”She created something this magnificent and didnʼt bother

giving me even one?”

He was genuinely delighted, almost proud. A ”light-year” a seemingly short and simple term when it came to space... but in real, cosmic measurement, that distance is enormous, easily large enough to encompass most solar systems no matter how big they are!

Meaning... with this portable array and that coordinate-detection device, a Shadow Sword operative could slip into a solar system aboard a specialized vessel, locate the precise coordinates of a desirable location on any planet within that system, and teleport there instantly-ignoring conventional travel time, borders, and planetary defense grids entirely.

No wonder their organization was renowned as the most complex, clusive, and feared intelligence network known today. It was only a matter of time before they eclipsed that Syndicate in this specialty-assuming, of course, they hadnʼt already surpassed them quietly and without fanfare. Sky Opening City... truly doesnʼt play around.