Chapter 864

Chapter 864: 864

When Ethan opened his eyes again, he found himself standing inside a magical white space that seemed to exist in another separate place.

There were no visible walls or ceiling.

Everything around him was white and empty, yet the space felt extremely stable.

Ethan’s senses immediately spread outward.

Several familiar auras appeared in his perception.Among them were the auras of the four Emperors.

They had already taken their positions with groups of nobles gathered around them.

Ethan wasn’t familiar with most of the others, so he simply made his way toward the Emperors.

Emperor Alderic noticed him first.

A hearty smile appeared on his face.

"Ethan... No, Duke Ethan. It has been such a long time. It’s good to see you again!"

Ethan stopped before him and gave a respectful bow.

"Your Majesty."

He then turned toward the other Emperors.

"Greetings, Emperor Caleus. Emperor Aldren. Your Majesty, Empress Ophelia."

Caleus immediately smiled and stepped forward.

"There’s no need to be so formal, Duke Ethan. It is good to see you again."

Aldren simply gave him a soft nod.

"Duke Ethan."

Ophelia looked at him with a faint mischievous smile.

"Duke Ethan, it has indeed been a long time."

Ethan calmly nodded.

"It is good to see all of you again."

The interaction immediately attracted the attention of the nobles around them.

Many of them looked at Ethan with curiosity.

Who was this man?

During the war, only Duke and Marquise-level figures had truly understood the horror of Ethan’s strength. There were also several smaller nobles and families who had never directly witnessed what he was capable of.

But now, they saw all four Emperors greeting a single figure so courteously.

Their attitude immediately changed.

One noble stepped forward with a polite smile.

"Greetings, Duke Ethan. I have heard quite a lot about you."

Another noble quickly followed.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Your Excellency."

"Your Excellency, I am the head of the Valen Family. It is an honor."

"Duke Ethan, I hope we can have the opportunity to work together in the future."

"Your Excellency, please accept my greetings."

One after another, people began approaching him.

Ethan was soon surrounded by nobles.

He maintained a polite expression and responded to each greeting, but inwardly, he felt slightly uncomfortable.

There were simply too many people.He had barely finished greeting one person before another appeared.

The situation continued for some time until Empress Ophelia finally stepped forward.

"Everyone, can you please give us a moment? I have an urgent thing to talk about with a courtier whom I haven’t seen for a long time."

The nobles immediately understood what she meant.

They couldn’t do anything but step back respectfully.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"Please take your time."

"We will wait for another opportunity to speak with Duke Ethan."

The crowd slowly dispersed.

Ethan finally found some space to breathe.

He looked toward Ophelia and was about to step forward when her voice suddenly entered his mind.

"Ethan, we can’t act intimate here. There is a figure watching us."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.His steps stopped.

He immediately ceased his thoughts and looked around calmly.

So someone was watching them.

And judging from Ophelia’s warning, that person wasn’t someone they could afford to ignore.

Ethan coughed and assumed a serious stance before asking, "Your Majesty, I hope you have been well."

Ophelia waved her hand casually.

"Never felt any better."

She wasn’t lying when she said this. Having someone in her heart to talk about things that couldn’t be addressed and being able to act a little spoiled really added some freshness to her daily monotonous life.

Being an Empress was an arduous task. Every day, she had to look around at things carefully and deal with countless matters. No wonder the other Emperors had huge harems filled to the core to spend time with, while she had been just a lonely soul.

Thankfully, Ethan’s presence had brought some colour to her dull life.

"How are the kids?"

"They are quite enthusiastic, waiting to show off," Ethan muttered while shaking his head.

"Young kids are hot-blooded. Everyone thinks that they are the best. It’s good to believe in yourself and fight to be the best."

As she said this, Ophelia couldn’t help but lament a little.Through the past years, despite trying, she hadn’t been able to become pregnant.

She too wanted to be a mother.

A faint sigh escaped her lips.

Ethan noticed the change in Ophelia’s expression. In fact, he had been thinking about this a lot as well.

As one became stronger, the chances of bearing children became quite low. However, Ethan had found that with the System, his chances of making a woman pregnant were quite high.

There hadn’t been any woman who had been unable to become pregnant from his seed after they had been intimate.

He wondered if there was some problem with Ophelia, so they had consulted doctors and healers. However, all of them had said that she was perfectly healthy.

This had put Ethan on guard.

He couldn’t help but wonder if there was something they couldn’t see or if something was amiss in the background.

Just as the two fell into deep thought, they suddenly sensed an extraordinary presence.

Everyone gasped and turned around.

A portal had appeared in the white space.

A woman slowly walked out from it.

She was tall and carried a cold and chilling expression. Her long hair fell behind her shoulders, and her eyes were calm and distant. She didn’t release any terrifying aura, yet the moment she appeared, the entire space seemed to become quiet.

There was a natural dignity around her that made people instinctively lower their heads.

Her steps were slow and steady.

Every movement seemed simple, yet no one dared to underestimate her.

The nobles around immediately bowed.

Even the Emperors, who normally carried themselves with majestic authority, lowered their heads and greeted her respectfully.

"Greetings, Senior."

"Greetings, Lord Karina."

"Greetings, Lady Zephyr."

The woman didn’t say anything immediately.She simply looked across the gathering with her cold eyes.

Ethan’s expression also became serious.

There was no need to ask who she was.

He had already heard about her.

The founder of Zenith Academy.

An independent Ascension Realm expert.

The woman who had personally selected his five children.

It was her.

Karina Bella Zephyr.