The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1571: Arriving at the Dukeʼs Palace

Increasing his age wasnʼt as straightforward as he initially thought.

All Rosa and her people could do was mask Rexʼs youth by increasing the amount of spent energy in each part of his body, hoping that no one would see close enough that he was very young. It was a known method by some people, and the Dukeʼs people certainly knew about it.

But with Princess Davinaʼs talent, they wouldnʼt check thoroughly.

Finding someone who was at the Master Immortal Spirit rank at ten years old is basically impossible.

No chance the people there inspected Rex that thoroughly.

Like most rituals, the process was quite painful, which worries Rosa.

She knew Rex was an Emperor, and to her knowledge, those who can become an emperor donʼt have that kind of rough life where they become accustomed to pain. But she stood corrected. Rex didnʼt only take the pain, but he seemed unbothered by it.

One trait that tells Rosa that heʼs no ordinary emperor.

Increasing Rexʼs age required sacrifices.

But Rosa has no qualms with this as she prepared ten death convicts to be the sacrifice.

A full ten minutes passed, and the ritual was complete.

Rexʼs lashes trembled before he eventually opened his eyes, seeing that the ten death convicts around him were dead, drained of their vitality. He took a look at his hand—there was no visible difference, but life energy-wise, he could feel the change.

His life energy flow was now smoother as it matured further.

And even the size of his vessels expanded, allowing a faster energy flow than before.

Of course, this was only a fragment of how strong he would be if he were actually older.

It doesnʼt compare to the real thing.

Due to the Forsaken Tower, this body of his was ten years old, and now, he seemed a lot older.

Even his muscles swelled a little, creating a façade of age.

Rex stood up and turned to Rosa.

”How old am I?

”We made you three hundred years old, a bit older than the princess.”

”Three hundred years old, okay. Shall we?”

Now that the preparation was complete, it was time to depart.

From Rontera to the Dukeʼs mainland bubble was around three hundred miles, a distance that could be easily threaded with the kind of strength they possessed, but became ten times harder since the journey went against the Black Riftʼs wind direction.

Had it not been for the Sky King, a massive bird with steel-like wings, this wouldʼve been impossible.

But fortunately, Rex made a deal with the Marquessʼ house.

Any lower, a Baron, for instance, then there will be no Sky King, and he would miss the tournament.

Rex looked out of the window.

Inside the carriage with him was only Rosa.

She was reading a few scrolls she carried with her, issues that couldnʼt wait.

But she placed her glasses down when she remembered something.

”I heard about what happened at the Forsaken Tower, about your problem with the Divine Saintess.”

”Hmm,”

Considering the amount of influence the Divine Saintess possessed on the empire, Rosa frowned when she saw no hint of worry on Rexʼs face. Or perhaps, he was hiding his worry well, or better, he already has a solution.

”How are you going to deal with her?”

”Is that any of your concern?”

Rosa nodded without hesitation.

”Yes, you have a close tie with me, with my house, so we can be implicated.”

”…”

Rex paused for a second, contemplating his answer, before he finally sighed.

”Something bad happened to her, so you donʼt have to worry.”

”Something bad?”

Rosa laughed incredulously, finding even the notion of the Divine Saintess being in trouble funny.

Nobody would be able to do that, not even the Spirit Emperor.

”Sheʼs the Divine Saintess, nobody could do anything bad to her.”

”Regardless, sheʼs in trouble. I wouldnʼt worry about her. Who you should be worried about is Viora.”

”I heard. You fought with her.”

Hearing this, Rex turned towards her with one brow raised.

”You knew?”

”No, I only guessed. She would be here with us instead of in the other carriage if she were fine.”

Rex turned away again, watching the blur of black wind outside.

”She blamed me for what happened to the Divine Saintess. Do me a favor, will you? Keep an eye on her.”

”Iʼll keep that in mind.”

Shifting his sitting position, Rex turned towards Rosa and clasped his hands together.

”Now, Duke Lorcan… Tell me everything you know about him.”

…

Soon enough, Rexʼs convoy arrived at their destination.

Considering that the name of the tournament was the Nameless Dragon Arena, Rex was expecting it to be held in some sort of colosseum, but it was held at the House of Castillon, the Dukeʼs abode, which was quite surprising.

Then again, the schedule was moved, so that might be one of the reasons why it was held here.

Also, itʼs easier to hide who Princess Davina chose if it were held here.

Rex climbed down the carriage and saw that the carriage had stopped in front of the fence of the mountain-top palace, where the clouds parted, revealing the breathtaking sprawl ahead. Before him stood not merely a home, but a secluded realm.

It was vast, sacred, and untouchable.

Even from the outside, the sheer scale was overwhelming.

Just the front yard alone dwarfed his entire castle back in the mortal realm, a space so grand it could host any army, without towering temples piercing the heavens like ancient statues. Along the stone path leading to the entrance, a soft green light pulsed from the winged-star sigils etched into the marble.

Naturally, this was the crest of the House of Castillon.

Rex had seen this crest before when he saw the princess for the first time.

Turning to the side, his eyes narrowed.

He wasnʼt the only group.

Clusters of people along with their carriages had gathered at the entrance, their presence impossible to ignore. Noble blood radiated from every gesture and glance, and if their demeanor wasnʼt proof enough, the Sky King strapped to their carriages showed clearly that they were all high-ranking nobles.

Each family arrived in full, the challenging heir, the house head, and their guards.

All draped in cloaks of prestige and power.

Compared to Rex, who was only wearing a tight-fitting black combat armor with the Aurelius Noble Houseʼ crest on his chest, and a black cape with golden linings, they all looked divine. But then again, Rex simply didnʼt care.

At least with this, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Most of them seemed to know one another, exchanging subtle nods and clipped words.

Politics spanning centuries.

And when they noticed Rex, all of them had the same reaction.

A condescending raised brow, as if wondering what trash like him was doing there.

Rex glanced at Rosa with a wry smile.

”I thought it was open to anyone, whoever they are.”

”Yes, itʼs open for anyone, even peasants, but do you think peasants would dare participate?”

”Fair enough.”

Scanning his contenders with the System, he realized that all of them are stronger.

Even the weakest was at the Eternal Spirit 1 rank.

It seemed the advice of needing to reach the Eternal Spirit rank first before participating in the Nameless Dragon Arena was spot on, as most of the contenders were at that rank. One of them was even above that, at the Master Eternal Spirit rank.

Rex scanned all, and this man, who looked dignified with long white hair, made his mind throb.

From that, he could he certain that the man was above the Eternal Spirit rank.

Here, Rex was at the bottom of the bottom.

No wonder all of their auras are so refined. All of them are stronger than me.

Just then, a middle-aged man approached.

He strode towards them, his dark ash-colored hair trailing behind him, slanted eyes, and sharp cheekbones. One look is enough to tell that this middle-aged man brought nothing but trouble, especially the smile he was wearing that didnʼt quite reach his eyes.

Even the way Rosa forced out a smile and tensed up showed that this middle-aged man was trouble.

”I hope I donʼt need to warn you not to instigate anything.” She whispered.

Rex nodded nonchalantly and crossed his arms, ”No need, I can handle my tongue.”

Once he was near, the middle-aged man smiled wider.

”Great Elder Rosa, Iʼm surprised that you came.”

”I wouldnʼt miss such an opportunity now, would I?”

A chuckle escaped the middle-aged manʼs lips.

He didnʼt even try to hide the condescension behind that chuckle, clearly underestimated Rosa.

”Itʼs not an opportunity if thereʼs no chance, now, is it? Itʼll only be a wasted journey!”

”Oh, itʼs up to the princess. Besides, coming here to see her already made this trip worth it.”

”I see, I see…”

He laughed humorously.

Then, he glanced at Rex—a flicker of curiosity and pity flashed behind his gaze.

One glance and he knew that Rex was incomparable to anyone here.

Instead of engaging in the middle-aged manʼs theatrics, Rosa gestured towards Rex.

”Lord Rex, this is Great Elder Domarion. Heʼs from the House of Velmire.”

”A new face, which family do you come from, Lord Rex?”

As opposed to answering, Rex nudged his chin towards the entrance and walked past him.

”I think itʼs time we entered. Letʼs go, Great Elder.”

”Ah, then excuse us.”

Seeing that Rex completely ignored him made Domarion grit his teeth in embarrassment, as a few people saw him being ignored. He swallowed harshly and tried to act composed, returning to his convoy but not forgetting to cast an unfriendly look at Rex.

Rosa and Rex went back to their carriages as the palace entrance was opened.

All of them entered, convoy by convoy, and parked on the right side of the front yard.

It was still a long way to the entrance, so they needed to go by carriage, as using powers here wouldnʼt be polite to the Duka. Once they got down again, they gathered in front of the grand hall where a man in armor, a royal knight captain, was already waiting for them.

Rex didnʼt need to scan the man to know that he was extremely powerful.

Might be the strongest person under the House of Castillon.

Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, the man nodded firmly.

”Since all of you have gathered, weʼre going to start. Other than the contender and their patron, please follow the guard to my right. Heʼs going to lead you to the waiting area until the tournament is finished, and the princess has made her pick.”

Upon hearing this, Viora and Amanir, and a bunch of others followed the guard.

Kraken was inside Amanir in case Voidal Monsters arenʼt allowed here.

All that was left were twelve pairs of people.

Rex remained steadfast, recalling what Rosa said to him earlier about Duke Lorcan in the past.

He was lucky this time.

Based on what Rosa said about Dudke Lorcan, he was similar to Rex in demeanor.

Only a fierce and stoic warrior could achieve the Duke position.

Rex didnʼt need to pretend.

He only needed to be himself, which was something he was surprisingly relieved about.

”For todayʼs Nameless Dragon Arena tournament, thereʼll only be two stages instead of the usual five.”

Such news caused an uproar among the contenders.

Other than Rex, the others were surprised that the stages were reduced this much.

Rex instinctively turned to Rosa, realizing that Rosa did not say anything about stages, but it seemed she knew that this was going to happen. This tournament would not be the same as the normal one. ”You knew about this?”

”I told you,” Rosa smirked proudly. ”Iʼm going to make sure you have a good chance.”

Hearing this, Rex shook his head in pleasant surprise.

Despite the sudden change, none of them complained.

It involved Princess Davina, the star of the empire, so they have no right to complain about this.

Then, the man led them up the staircase, towards the main hall.

Upon reaching the top and viewing the grand hall, Rexʼs eyes narrowed.

Inside the grand hall, the Duke and Princess Davina were already waiting.