Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1922 The white flower

Robin raised his hand and pressed it firmly against his chest... that feeling!

That oppressive sensation of tightness in his chest -sharp yet strangely familiar- had been growing steadily ever since he gave the orders to establish the academy and deploy the arrays of the Fifth Cultivation Path. Along with it came relentless nightmares, vivid and cruel, ones that made him dread the very act of falling asleep.

Yet he had endured. More than that, he had adapted, forcing himself to coexist with the pain and fear, even exploiting them. Through those sensations, through those haunting dreams, he had managed to deepen his understanding of the Master Law of Causality. At times, fleeting and almost imperceptible, he could see the threads of cause and effect themselves-thin, translucent strands that appeared for mere instants before dissolving into nothingness. Because of this feeling, because of those nightmares, the First Rank no longer felt like an unreachable horizon. It was close-dangerously close.

And so a long time had passed since he had last felt that sudden, stabbing pain. And the source of that pain now...

Robin lifted his head once more, his gaze settling on Leosar, who stood there with a solemn expression as the nails were carefully removed from his body. Leosarʼs skin was pale like fresh milk and smooth like flowing silk. Crimson veins traced across his body in illusory, almost artistic patterns, giving him an appearance that was both mesmerizing and strangely beautiful to behold. Yet anyone who dared to raise their gaze just a little higher, who noticed that single eye and the lone sharp horn protruding above it, could not help but feel startled-and unsettled by a creeping sense of fear.

It reminded Robin of the white horned soul flower-breathtaking in its beauty and terrifying in its nature, both beneficial and harmful at the same time. From it, powerful medicine could be refined, yet from the same source, intoxicating wine and deadly poisons could also be produced.

Hmm... where had he heard that comparison before?

”We are finished, Your Majesty,” the guard announced, stepping back to stand behind Leosar once more.

”Hoooh!” Leosar exhaled deeply, stretching his muscles as if shaking off lingering stiffness. He bounced lightly in place, cracked his neck with a series of sharp sounds, then bent forward in a respectful bow. ”Thank you, Savior lord.”

”...En,” Robin replied with a slow nod, his brows tightly furrowed. There was a vague unease gnawing at him, the persistent feeling that something important was slipping through his grasp.

He turned his attention to the Shadow Swords. ”Take him to the Sacred Covenant Academy to meet Morgana. There is no need to explain anything in detail-simply tell her to check her messages in the Soul Society.”

”Yes, your majesty.” The Shadow Swords responded in unison. One of them gestured toward Leosar with clear respect. ”This way, please.”

Since His Majesty had entrusted him with a major task, it was only proper to show him due respect. Even the imperial guards placed their hands behind their backs and noticeably relaxed their vigilance.

”I will not disappoint you, Savior lord,” Leosar said solemnly. He locked eyes with Robin for a brief moment, as if engraving that promise into his soul, before turning and walking toward the door, surrounded by a half-circle of Shadow Swords and imperial guards.

”Wait!”

”Your Majesty?” Everyone froze in place and turned back at once.

”...,” Robin fell silent, uncertain why he had called out in the first place. After a short pause, he spoke again, ”...just wait for a moment.” Then he activated the Eye of Truth once more, and brilliant radiance flooded the hall, bathing everything in piercing light.

He raised his left hand-whoosh- and Seraphim quill pen instantly ceased its work. It shot down the stairs at incredible speed and floated obediently before Robin.

After several more seconds of heavy silence, Robin finally issued his command:

”Seraphim, use pure soul force and draw a living, fully detailed replica of Leosarʼs soul domain-down to the smallest, most insignificant detail, no need to care for the soul force usage.”

Whoosh-Seraphim did not hesitate in the slightest. It immediately began its task, drawing upon the analytical power of Robinʼs piercing eyes. A three-dimensional copy of the soul domain took shape in the air, revealing even the faintest patterns and substructures-details so subtle that even Robin himself might have overlooked them had they not been laid bare with such terrifying precision.

”Am I truly this special, Savior lord?” Leosar watched the seraphim quill pen at work for several moments, his gaze following every line and curve it traced in the air. After that brief observation, he turned back toward Robin, carefully noting the fatigue that had begun to accumulate on his face, faint yet undeniable.

”You are not merely special-you are unique, Robin replied, allowing a calm, confident smile to appear. ”If I remain satisfied with you, and if you live long enough to grow into your potential, you will undoubtedly achieve great things -things far beyond what you imagine now” He then shifted his attention. toward the quill pen as it completed its task. ”Alright. You may proceed now.” ”...” Leosar bowed together with the others in silence, then turned and departed along with his escorts.

The artificial smile on Robinʼs face vanished the instant Leosar and those accompanying him left the hall. With a simple, almost casual wave of his hand, he compressed the drawing Seraphim had produced into a dense sphere within his grasp. He examined it closely for several seconds, his expression turning serious, then opened a small soul portal and tossed the sphere inside. Placing his hands behind his back, he spoke calmly toward the portal, ”Consciousness Number Seven, cease whatever you are currently doing and focus entirely on examining this domain.” With that, he closed the portal.

”C-- Consciousness Number Seven?!”

A familiar voice came from behind Robin-the Shadow Sword Harper. ”Your Majesty possesses seven royal stars?!”

Robin cast a brief glance over his shoulder. For a moment, he had forgotten that he was not alone. ”...Indeed. I completed the compression of the seventh

recently.”

Compressing the seventh star had been among the most brutal challenges he had ever faced, both physically and mentally. That qualitative leap forward had come at the cost of sacrificing millions of soul units to succeed-and the sacrifice was absolute. Those units, those precious emeralds, had vanished completely, consumed in order to complete the compression itself.

That was precisely why it was relatively easy to find a Guardian, or even a Monarch, capable of leading a millennial empire or an academy, yet extraordinarily difficult to find seventh-star royal soul lords capable of leading such entities alone. Such individuals were not merely rare-they were almost

nonexistent.

Most royal soul lords of seven stars or higher resided within the Behemoth galaxies, having been supported by immense quantities of resources and emeralds to reach that level. The cost, if calculated accurately, would amount to tens of billions... and even highly accomplished royal soul lords could never create enough borrowings to sell at figures anywhere near that scale!

That was why someone like the Second President of Dawn light Stellar Academy, the one who authored the Atlas of the Soul, was regarded as a true genius and an exceedingly rare existence-because he had supported himself entirely on his own, without backing, all the way to that stage.

Robin had endured this physical, psychological, and financial ordeal while compressing the seventh star with a soul domain structure purity of 100%. So what about those with a lower purity percentage? And more importantly, what trials awaited him when it came time to form the eighth star?

He had already begun preparations for the eighth star some time ago, laying foundations little by little, but it would undoubtedly require time-long,

arduous time.

Every single day, Robin saw firsthand the reasons behind the scarcity of royal

soul lords. Every day, he personally experienced the crushing challenges that stood in their way... and every day, he found ways to overcome them alongside Arkalon-without whom he would have remained trapped at the sixth star to

this very day.

”This is incredible, Your Majesty-absolutely incredible!!” Shadow Sword Harper fell to his knees, overcome with emotion. ”The True Beginning Empire now possesses someone at the Law Domination Level of power. We will never be underestimated again!!”

Robin smiled faintly as he saw the tears welling in Harperʼs eyes. ”There is still much we must accomplish before we can move beyond this cautious phase, Harper. The seventh star can barely contend with a low-level Guardian-and if that Guardian possesses strong soul borrowings, the battle will be extraordinarily difficult.”

”But you are not an ordinary seven-star royal soul lord, Your Majesty. You have

never been ordinary in anything you have done, your battle records testify to this!” Harper forgot his usual restraint and spoke with burning passion. ”Please, come to the Grave Empire, claim your rightful throne, and put an end to Guardian Sylas once and for all!!”