The One King

Silence filled the library.

Azrael remained deep in thought for several moments, reorganizing the information Gaia had given him.

The Heavenly Council.

The gods.

The empires.

The Immortals.

All of this information was new to him, yet he felt no confusion.

He had lived through things far beyond what an ordinary person could ever imagine.

Eventually, his attention returned to the woman sitting beside him.

Azrael studied Gaia for a moment.

There was something strange about her.

Despite being the princess of the Heavenly Serpent Empire, despite her empire possessing an ancestor who had reached the Divine Ascension Realm, her aura was extraordinarily weak.

Far too weak for someone of her status.

Azrael said,

"If your empire possesses an ancestor in the Divine Ascension Realm, why didn't they help you begin cultivating?"

Gaia froze.

Her expression gradually changed.

Azrael continued observing her calmly.

He had not personally examined her body, but with his vast experience, he could infer quite a bit from what he had observed.

Her energy meridians were most likely intact, yet she seemed incapable of retaining spiritual energy within her dantian.

That would explain the extremely faint spiritual aura emanating from her body.

It was probably not the result of cultivation at all.

Rather, it was likely accumulated through the food she consumed.

After all, she was a princess of a powerful empire.

It was only natural that the food provided to her would contain the finest meat from powerful spiritual beasts and precious natural resources.

But that was not true cultivation.

Gaia remained silent.

Then she lowered her head.

Deep within her mind, old memories began to surface.

A little girl desperately trying to strengthen her body.

Brutal training.

Sweat.

Pain.

Countless attempts to make her body stronger.

Then came the voices.

Mockery.

Contempt.

Cold gazes from members of her own family.

After allowing those memories to pass through her mind, Gaia slowly raised her face.

Her golden eyes met Azrael's.

Then she began to speak.

"I was born into the Imperial Family of the Heavenly Serpent Empire."

She paused.

"When people hear that, they probably imagine that I grew up surrounded by prosperity, luxury, power, and authority."

A bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"They might even envy me."

The smile disappeared.

"But the truth is completely different."

She remained silent for a moment before continuing.

"I was the first daughter of the current Emperor and Empress."

"Because I was their eldest child, the expectations placed upon me were enormous."

"Technically speaking... I was the first heir to the throne."

She lowered her eyes.

"But fate chose a different path for me."

Silence filled the library.

Then she said quietly,

"I was born crippled."

Azrael's expression changed slightly.

Gaia continued.

"The energy pathways within my body are perfectly intact."

"But I cannot retain spiritual energy within my dantian."

"Because of that... I was unable to cultivate."

She took a deep breath.

"At first, everyone had high expectations of me."

"Then those expectations turned into disappointment."

"Then disappointment became accusations."

"And finally..."

She paused.

"...it became contempt and ridicule."

Gaia closed her eyes for a moment.

"When my father, the Emperor, learned that I was crippled, he lost interest in me."

"He no longer saw me as his heir."

"He began thinking about having another child who could inherit the throne."

She fell silent for a few moments.

Then continued.

"One year after I was born, fate granted him another daughter through his second wife."

"But she was different from me."

A trace of bitterness entered her voice.

"She was talented."

"They even called her a genius."

Gaia continued.

"Three years after my birth, my third sister was born."

"She was my sister through my mother."

Her voice grew quieter.

"But after she was born..."

She stopped.

"My mother died."

"She couldn't withstand the strain of childbirth."

Silence.

"And so..."

Gaia opened her eyes.

"I lost the only person in my family who had ever treated me with kindness."

The library fell silent once more.

Gaia stared at the floor.

Then she continued.

"The years passed."

"As we grew older, the real problems began."

"My second sister started bullying me."

"She was talented, and with the help of the family's treasures, she entered the Spiritual Trainee Realm at a very young age."

"From that moment onward, her cultivation rose at an astonishing rate."

Gaia raised her head.

"Now, at the age of twenty..."

She paused.

"She has reached the peak of the Spiritual Lord Realm."

"She is only one step away from entering the Spiritual King Realm."

She fell silent.

After a moment, she continued.

"As for my sister from my mother..."

There were complicated emotions in her eyes.

"She was raised under my father's direct guidance."

"Her talent was even greater than my second sister's."

She paused.

"My father loves her."

"Perhaps because she reminds him of the wife he once loved."

Gaia placed a hand over her chest.

"But me..."

She looked directly at Azrael.

"He stopped considering me his daughter a long time ago."

Silence filled the library.

Gaia did not cry.

But the sorrow in her eyes spoke more powerfully than tears ever could.

Azrael simply looked at her.

And he did not know why...

But hearing her story stirred something strangely familiar within him.

Perhaps because he, too, had experienced what it meant to be abandoned.

Or perhaps because a soul carrying the memories of four lifetimes could no longer witness someone's suffering without understanding it.

He remained silent for several moments.

Then he spoke.

"So..."

Gaia looked at him.

"You're not incapable of cultivating because you're weak."

Her eyes fixed on him.

"You're incapable of cultivating because you cannot retain spiritual energy."

Gaia's eyes widened.

It was the first time anyone had described her condition in such a way.

Azrael continued calmly.

"And that..."

Gaia held her breath.

"...may not be an incurable condition."

Gaia's head snapped upward.

For the first time in many years, something appeared in her eyes that she had almost forgotten existed.

Hope.

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