"Welcome, Princess Fanrong!" The servants yelled in unison as Fanrong flew out of the ship.

"Welcome, Lady Zhu Loyan!" The servants yelled upon seeing Zhu Loyan as well, bowing to greet her.

"Welcome!..." They just began shouting upon seeing a male figure flying out; however, upon not recognizing him, they couldn't help but be confused.

They had expected Zhu Shizi to be the one descending next; however, it was someone entirely unknown.

However, recognizing him as a king realm cultivator, the servants couldn't dare be rude.

"W-Welcome, Lord!"

Next, they expected Princess's companions and Zhu Shizi to fly out; however, the ones to descend were tigers.

It was as if tigers were raining from the sky.

They were bewildered to see such a scene.

Soon, massive-bodied tiger Kings also descended in front of them, and lastly, a beautiful woman with tiger ears and tail.

They waited a bit, however, upon noticing that no one else was flying out of the ship, they couldn't help but be curious about Zhu Shizi and the princess's companions.

The head maid, who was responsible for leading and managing all the servants of the princess palace, was the one who went up to the princess to ask about the whereabouts of the missing personnel.

"Princess Fanrong, may I ask where Lord Shizi and your other companions are? Will they be arriving on some other ship?"

Hearing her question, the princess shook her head solemnly, answering with a sigh:

"They won't be arriving. They all have... died!"

"What??!" The Head Maid was visibly shocked: "But how can this be possible? Lord Shizi, a king realm expert, was with you."

The Head maid herself was a nascent soul realm cultivator and hence, knew how much power a king realm expert commands. The possibility of a King realm expert dying just like that was something unbelievable.

"I'm about to go to mother's palace to report this incident myself. Let us talk afterwards." Princess Fanrong said with a tired expression. "Head maid, I'll trust you to guide the tigers to some temporary place till I return."

"Leave it to me, my princess!" The head maid replied with determination in her eyes.

The princess gave her a slight smile before calling out to Ashen:

"Let's go, lord Huan Tian!"

Ashen calmly followed her from behind, along with Zhu Loyan, as they flew towards the Matriarch's palace.

Reaching the palace, Ashen and Zhu Loyan were asked to rest in a room as Princess Fanrong visited the Supreme Minister's study chambers to request an audience with the matriarch, along with the presence of the elders.

All elders needed to be present when the death of a king realm expert was reported. The supreme minister immediately used his authority to arrange a court meeting within an hour, where summons were sent to all the elders in the inner capital.

An hour later, Princess Fanrong and Zhu Loyan were kneeling in front of the matriarch of the Zhuji Tribe, Zhuji Zetian.

The Matriarch's appearance was a vision of ethereal beauty, with long, flowing chestnut hair crowned by silver horn-like adornments that hint at her celestial lineage.

Her striking violet eyes radiated a mysterious allure, framed by delicate features and a calm, confident expression. She wore an ornate, revealing violet robe that clings to her flawless, jade-like skin, adorned with silver embellishments and a glowing gemstone at her waist.

Her regal bearing and seductive elegance made her presence both enchanting and intimidating—a true embodiment of power and grace in the cultivation world.

"Speak! What is the matter?" The Matriarch asked, looking down at them with her head resting on her left fist.

The supreme minister stood behind her throne, and the other ministers sat in a straight line on both sides. On a lower throne to her right sat her husband, who did not have much authority in the tribe and could only express his views if asked about them.

"Mother, Uncle Shizi has... died," Fanrong spoke solemnly.

"What??!" The ministers were visibly shocked upon hearing her words as murmurs began to resound inside the hall.

Even the matriarch's eyes widened slightly; however, she showed little emotion.

On the other hand, her husband, Zhu Shizu, was visibly shocked. Zhu Shizi was his brother and the only one that he could rely on in this tribe without being wary.

The matriarch glanced at her husband's shocked expression before asking:

"How did this happen? Tell me everything."

"Yes, Mother..." Fanrong began to explain everything: "This all started with a rumor I heard yesterday morning..."

No one interrupted her as she was telling every little detail of their journey. Tears couldn't help but drip from Zhu Loyan's eyes as she was forced to remember the cruel memories that occurred a few hours ago.

And as she finished her story with the origin story of Huan Tian, her savior, everyone couldn't help but stand up from their seats:

"What? Successor of the Beast Sovereign??!" The Supreme Minister yelled in unison with the other ministers.

Even the matriarch was standing in shock, understanding very well what this meant.

This meant that someone of even higher status than her had appeared in the tribe. He even had the right to the throne if he desired so.

This was certainly a shocking turn of events. No one had thought that a successor of Beast Sovereign would appear after such a long period since his death.

They had already believed that there was no inheritance of Beast Sovereign, since if it was there, then it would've already been discovered.

The matriarch glanced at Fanrong and asked:

"Where is he? I would like to see for myself the man chosen by the ancestor Beast Sovereign as his successor."

Fanrong nodded before leaving herself to escort Ashen inside.

Ashen confidently accompanied Fanrong, not showing a hint of nervousness even in front of the matriarch, an emperor realm cultivator.

No one could sense what this man was feeling. Normally, people would shiver or atleast be a bit nervous when facing the matriarch of the tribe; however, this man was walking as if he owned the place, as if he was taking a walk in his yard.

Moreover, he didn't even have his beasts with him right now, hence he could get killed easily; this was what most thought was peculiar.

Knowing that you might die, anyone would be afraid; they couldn't understand why he was different.

Maybe this is why Beast Sovereign chose him as his successor.

This thought couldn't help but flash in their minds.

Our great ancestor wouldn't want a successor who would cower or appear afraid.

Their pride in their ancestor made them come up with a reason themselves.

It wasn't long before Ashen was face to face with the matriarch.

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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)