My Celestial Ascension

Chapter 587: Ten Great Families

A few minutes later, Lord Ivan led Yuan and his wives into a spacious, luxurious room adorned with numerous decorative items on the walls, some so valuable that a middle-class family could live comfortably for a lifetime on their worth.

"Please wait here, Yuan. I'll inform the Royal Family of your arrival immediately, so please excuse me for a moment," Lord Ivan said with a slight bow before leaving to notify the royals.

Once he left, Yuan smiled at his wives and said, "Let's all sit down and wait for King Richard and the others to arrive. Besides, we don't have any pressing matters to attend to."

"It seems like King Richard is busy handling the sudden influx of people into the city. And with the rising crime rate, the Royal Family must have increased city security," Valeria noted as she settled onto the plush sofa, smiling at Yuan.

"In my opinion, it's a bigger problem than it appears. Some people might try to take advantage of the city's chaos, and the peaceful citizens will suffer the most," Mireya sighed.

"I hope King Richard has a plan to handle this situation. The people practically worship him like a god," Lily mumbled softly, leaning back on the sofa with a sigh.

"We shouldn't concern ourselves with these issues; they're not our responsibility. We're not saints or heroes, and we won't gain anything by solving their problems," Yuan said seriously.

Grace nodded. "I agree with Darling. We should focus on our own matters; after all, we're different from the people of this world."

"I feel the same way. We're cultivators, and they're mortals. It wouldn't be wise to get involved in their affairs," Anna added with a firm expression.

'Is it really okay for us to ignore such a situation?' Miss Zara wondered inwardly, looking at Yuan and his wives with a contemplative expression.

A couple of minutes later, they heard footsteps approaching and turned their heads toward the door.

"King Richard and his family are here," Yuan informed his wives, sensing the arrival of the Royal Family.

Soon, the door swung open, and the Royal Family entered, followed by Lord Ivan.

Queen Matilda smiled as she laid eyes on Yuan and his wives, but her gaze paused on Fang Xiaoyan, whom she didn't recognize, as this was her first time seeing her with Yuan's group.

'Who is that woman? She's stunning... like a celestial goddess…' Queen Matilda marveled inwardly.

Her gaze then moved to Miss Zara and Little Zoe, whom she recognized from the Grand Banquet.

'So he brought them as well… I shouldn't be surprised,' she sighed to herself.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long. If so, I apologize for the inconvenience," King Richard greeted them with a polite smile.

"We've been quite busy with all the new arrivals to the city since our successful expedition. The crime rate has also risen along with the population growth," he explained.

King Richard sat on the sofa and explained, "More than anything, we don't have enough housing to accommodate so many people, and because of this, many citizens are facing significant challenges. We're currently building new structures in both the Noble District and the Common Realm to help."

"Well, I don't have much knowledge about city planning, so I'm not sure what advice I could offer," Yuan replied.

"You've already done far more than we could ask; we can't expect you to keep solving all our problems," Queen Matilda said with a chuckle as she sat beside her husband.

"By the way, would you mind introducing this new beauty with you? I don't remember meeting her before," she asked, casting an admiring look at Fang Xiaoyan, who truly had the aura of a goddess.

"She is Fang Xiaoyan, my wife," Yuan replied, exchanging a warm glance with Fang Xiaoyan.

"Fang Xiaoyan? That's quite a unique name; I've never heard one like it—though it does remind me of someone," Queen Matilda said, her gaze drifting toward Xi Meili, whose name had a similar cadence.

Xi Meili frowned slightly, sensing the comparison, and Queen Matilda, noticing the sudden tension, quickly dropped the subject.

After a few minutes of silence, King Richard cleared his throat and asked, "How long do you plan to stay in the city? I get the feeling you won't be here much longer."

"We plan to leave tomorrow morning. There are too many things we need to take care of, and we've already stayed longer than we expected," Yuan replied.

"What?! You're leaving so soon? I was hoping you'd stay for a bit longer," Prince Tristan said, visibly surprised.

"Couldn't you stay a little while longer?" Queen Matilda asked, sounding hopeful. "After all you've done for us, we haven't even had the chance to repay your kindness."

Grace shook her head with a firm expression. "Unfortunately, we have important matters to attend to, so we can't extend our stay. We'll need to leave tomorrow morning."

"That's a shame…" Queen Matilda sighed.

"So, where are you headed next? The Imperial Capital, perhaps? There's a significant auction happening there in about a week," King Richard inquired, assuming it might be their destination since it was also the seat of Valeria's family, the Imperial Family.

"Well, I wasn't aware of the auction, and I doubt it will offer anything that truly interests me. But I do plan to visit the Imperial Capital to meet my in-laws before leaving the empire," Yuan replied with a smile, causing Valeria to blush.

Seeing that Yuan was unaware of the auction's significance, King Richard decided to elaborate. "This isn't just any auction. It's held every twenty years in different locations across the continent, and this time it's in the Lionheart Empire's Imperial Capital."

He leaned forward, his expression serious. "Even the Ten Great Families will be attending. These families are the most influential forces on the continent, and you should never underestimate them. Their power far surpasses that of the Imperial Family."

"The Ten Great Families, huh? This is the first time I've heard of them… Fascinating. Now, we'll definitely participate in this auction," Yuan murmured, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Think of them as immensely powerful families who prefer to keep their affairs isolated from the rest of the world. They each command thousands of powerful mages," Queen Matilda briefly explained.

"Interesting…" Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

'These families have ruled from the shadows for so long… They may hold information about a way back to Earth,' Yuan pondered inwardly. 'If I want to return, I'll need a teleportation device capable of transporting not just me, but all of us—powered by Spirit Stones and in working condition.'

After spending some time with the Royal Family, Yuan and his group prepared to leave for the inn. Miss Zara still needed to pack her things before their early departure the next morning.

"It's about time we head out. It'll be getting dark soon," Yuan said, standing up from the sofa, prompting his wives to rise as well.

"Aren't you staying for dinner?" Queen Matilda asked.

"No, we have some preparations to make, so we'll need to skip dinner," Yuan replied before they made their exit.

Outside, Yuan, Fang Xiaoyan, and Xi Meili watched as the others took out their flying swords from their spatial rings, sending them into the air where they hovered, waiting. Lily lifted Little Zoe onto her sword and slowly ascended, while Anna wrapped her arm around Miss Zara's waist and followed.

"What?!" Miss Zara gasped, shocked to realize she was floating in the air.

"Hahaha! This is so much fun! Yay!" While her mother was astonished, Little Zoe beamed, giggling with excitement.

Moments later, Yuan and the rest soared into the sky and headed toward the inn. They quickly descended at their destination, leaving Miss Zara wide-eyed and speechless at how swiftly they had arrived.

"Unbelievable… to think we'd get here so fast…" Miss Zara muttered in a daze, still processing the experience.

"That was hardly our top speed—just a fraction of it," Yuan said with a chuckle, curious to see her reaction.

"What?!" Miss Zara stared at him in disbelief, unable to fathom their full speed.

Little Zoe looked up at Lily with hopeful eyes. "Big Sister Lily, will I be able to fly like you someday?"

"Of course! But only if you grow strong, just like us," Lily replied, smiling as she gave the little girl a gentle kiss on her cheek.

Yuan quickly retrieved two spatial rings from his system storage and held them out. "Miss Zara, Little Zoe—wear these. They're called spatial rings, and we use them to store our belongings."

"What?! These rings… can store belongings?" Miss Zara mumbled in disbelief, taking one and examining it closely. It seemed like an ordinary ring until she poured a bit of her spiritual energy into it.

'These are… treasures! Real treasures!' Miss Zara's eyes widened with amazement as she realized the ring's capabilities.

Little Zoe, equally fascinated, slipped her ring onto her little finger. Though it was initially too large, the ring unexpectedly adjusted, resizing itself to fit her tiny finger perfectly. Gasping with delight, Little Zoe squealed and began admiring the ring, marveling at how it felt to have her very own treasure.