Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1101 - 1100 - Cramped Quarters

While the Golden Vermillion Inn was the pinnacle of luxury and had massive suites for VIP guests, they were not endless in their space. The Kun City branch had to fit their facilities in a tight space so they had manipulated space extensively and could expand as needed due to that.

Song City, as it was called, had been built so long ago but well planned that there was no need for space manipulation.

Thus, things became a bit cramped with the orphans in Lind's suite. He did create a few areas in the open courtyard that inverted space slightly but he could not do much since there were formations preventing tearing through space in the first place!

While he could only train elixir masters, weaving, and Forging, the basics of all professions was fairly easy to cover. So, he did not skimp on lessons he had learned long ago himself and answered questions from the now eager faces around him.

It had been a few weeks but no one came calling as he expected. Gilgamesh had sent a message apologizing for the delays but issues had cropped up. It was through the Inn personnel he learned of some of the fallout.

The disappearance of the Minister of Finances did not bode well. Being able to slip away so quickly and kill Baron Valeri spoke volumes of his connections. It could not be in any way good.

Whether he would face the man in person or not was unknown but the capital had already dispatched yet more soldiers. The Marquis had also sent out a declaration that there would be no retaliation for the disturbances from the unknown Immortal beast since such vile crimes had been discovered.

Oddly, no one seemed to put together that Lind was that beast since he had dealt with Baron Valeri as well. Were they just being courteous or did they really not know? He did not push his luck but then got a kind of confirmation yesterday.

It was an invitation to meet the delegates from the capital and a formal apology from the Marquis Song on the delay to greet him on his arrival.

The wording left no doubt the man had no idea the beast and Lind were the same person! Still, he would go alone as there were too many people in his suite at the moment. What they were going to do when they left was a serious issue but not more than junior Mills herself.

She had recovered her vigor remarkably as she saw the orphans benefiting from Immortal guidance. They improved by leaps and bounds but Lind taught all equally. He did not withhold a single lesson from the less talented.

If anything, he encouraged them! He told them no cultivator started out an expert and none could be considered talented at everything. He even told them how he was considered useless when he first condensed his Soul Cores!

He did not explain why but the truth was there in his stories. How he struggled to advance a single tier in the Soul Realm but never gave up. He also admitted luck in Ruins and friends helping him but it was important to always strive to move ahead.

His stories were more important than gold to the children who felt like they would never amount to anything due to being orphans.

Lind learned there were 2 more orphanages that supplied labor to the soldiers and administrative services respectively. If any children are discovered with a Talent or skill, they are suggested to the appropriate shop but it is up to them.

Since they are all well fed and not abused from what he could tell, he could not complain about the system. It did prompt him to ask why there was such a steady stream of orphans.

The system had been in place since long before the Corruption and bloodline array darkened the world.

He learned that beast tides on the floating land masses were quite vicious but it was impossible to wipe out the beasts due to the Crystal Tier Immortals protecting them. They had their own territories and cared little what happened outside of them.

It reminded him of the attitude of the dragons he had met back in Crescent City.

Apparently the humans could only expand slowly or risk total annihilation on the floating lands previously. Beast tides occurred at a much higher rate as battles for space became frantic as well. The stronger beasts drove out competition until the population exploded outward.

Those that could fly might just leave for other land masses but that sounded rare. The distances between them back then were massive so even a dragon would need to take a break somewhere. It would only invite battle if they did so anywhere on the ground.

The Corruption brought them to the ground but the land beyond the borders was far worse now than in the past. The beast tides had actually gotten worse for a time!

"No wonder they dismissed me as the beast." There had never been a level of cooperation like there had been in the lower worlds. He wondered how that would affect future ascenders but that was a future worry not worth his current time.

Lind was examining the conditions of his suite and confirmed it could not continue like this. The boys and girls were separated fine but the suite was never meant to support so many people at once for long.

There were servants' quarters for larger parties but he had already indulged on the Golden Vermillion Inn enough. Besides, he did not want to give incorrect ideas to anyone. He would not be taking the kids away from Song City.

Still, that left one pressing issue to resolve. Mills. She could not stay as the protector even if she wanted to. The kingdom would rationally desire to awaken her and then have her support through whatever method her physique used.

He was reluctant to simply let it go after what she had been through. He could not kidnap her as he would be no better than those previous noble fools. It also was true that someone was helping the now missing Minister of Finance and they are powerful enough for him to be comfortable killing a noble no matter how minor.

He came to the quarters Mills shared with Jur and Nana. He smiled as he saw the girl holding a happily giggling Katerina. She was a natural if he ever saw one. It was possible it was a side effect of her physique but frankly she had the experience of raising kids of all ages at that point.

"Papa!" Jur's fluffy ears perked up as she ran to hug him. He smiled warmly as he patted her back and Nana bowed low. Mills now had vibrant red hair and looked much healthier than before. Her dark eyes were full of fear but he waved it off as he pointed to the baby.

"How is she? I have not been able to check up on her lately." Not entirely a lie but he could examine her from across the room without issue. Mills, however, lit up as she talked about how amazing Katerina was and how healthy.

Lind nodded until he felt a pinch at his side.

"Papa knows she is healthy because he dotes on her more than me!" Lind was confused until he saw Nana have to hide her face as her dark tail swished in amusement. Shock crossed Mills face before she had her lips twitch in amusement.

"Still like the opinion of other experts. It is not bad to ask!" He was trying to justify himself but Mills became as bright as a tomato after he said that. Jur then looked up at him slyly and he felt defeated.

When did Jur get so mature?

"Nana, please take Katerina and Jur out for the moment. The children will be starting their lessons shortly." The pair bowed and Katerina actually reached for Mills but was happy with Nana too. She was getting bigger fast and Lind hoped she would grow as healthy as possible.

Once they were alone, Lind offered her a seat in the limited space of the room. He summoned a tea set but waved her off as he made it himself.

"I will not dance around the subject. I cannot keep you all with me. I am not going to kidnap citizens of Song City nor incur the rightful wrath of Rubyfire Kingdom to do so. Do you understand the issue holding me back?" He looked up at her and saw tears form but she nodded.

He sighed as he let her collect herself before proceeding.

"I do not need the details of what you have suffered but I need you to understand that your life as a protector of 1 orphanage is over. The kingdom may indulge you if you can awaken to administer the whole system in some way, but they will not let you stay here." He was as gentle as he could be but reality was not going to let her continue as she had been.

She began to weep but he was not able to protect her. Her physique could start wars.

It was not the first time he had dealt with such a situation but he had no power to protect her. An entire layer of Immortals would literally come for her unless she was in a deal with a power that could protect her.

"Why did the Heavens do this to me? I never wanted it." Lind smiled gently at her.

"The Heavens are fair. Some think that to equate to kindness but that is mistaken. It simply means we all have equal chances for things to happen to us at birth. Life and death are but one of a myriad opportunities. Bloodlines could coalesce or disperse, Talents manifest, and so forth. What you choose to do with it is up to you but you need the strength to gain freedom. Believe me, I know that last part better than most." A flash of all the times he desperately battled with much stronger beings to survive and move forward passed over his eyes.

"Couldn't you protect me from them?" She asked and he gave credit that it was a desperate plea even to her. She did not try to offer herself or pledge to use her physique. She just wanted to keep raising the children as she had.

"Crystal Tiers are not gods. We can protect ourselves and perhaps with enough support from many others but my support is very limited. I know enough about your physique that even the Heavenly Maiden Sect would come for you despite being solely composed of women." It was true. They would see it as their duty to keep her from the world but whether they would kill her or allow her to grow strong was up for debate.

Physiques could enable a cultivator to learn a profession with half the effort or needing a massive amount of resources to overcome obstacles.

She wept but slowly nodded.

"There is one thing I can do if you are willing. I have dealt with a demonic physique called the Akashic Bloodline Physique. It was damned problematic but we learned a lot. For instance, brute force is not always the answer. It is up to you, but you would have a better negotiation power if you knew how your body worked. Let me know if you–" He got up to leave but she ran into his body and clung to him.

"PLEASE! Please give me any power I can get!" He felt her tremble and patted her head.

"All right. We will begin tomorrow. Spend time with the kids and prepare." He did not need to know what was already attempted as a simple examination had told him a lot of it but there was a mystery. She was at the peak of the Iron Tier with no sign of a bottleneck yet she did not break through.

It may be a lead or a massive roadblock to her physique. Only time would tell.