Although caught red-handed by Louis XXIV, Azrael wasn't particularly panicked.
He followed the Emperor along a winding path until they reached a terrace with an exceptionally wide view. Only then did he ask calmly, "Your Majesty has been waiting for me?"
Hearing the question, Louis XXIV didn't answer immediately. Instead, he whispered to a nearby maid to prepare some refreshments before saying, "I originally thought your conversation with George VII would last longer, but it ended faster than I expected."
"We discussed everything that needed discussing, so there was no reason to stay." Azrael paused as the maid served refreshments, whispering his thanks before continuing. "I can't exactly become the Protector of Great Britain, can I?"
He glanced at the French Emperor. "Your Majesty, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Azrael actually knew what the man before him wanted to ask, nothing more than the matter about [World-Devouring Disaster] saying he was of the same kind.
Seeing the young man's straightforward approach, Louis XXIV took a sip from his teacup and asked calmly, "Has Lord Azrael found the path to the Sovereign level?"
"Because He said I'm one of His kind?" Azrael asked, forking a macaron without even looking up.
Admittedly, Europa's desserts were a bit too sweet, even for someone from Velkairos.
Louis XXIV nodded slightly, acknowledging the statement. "Lord Azrael, there's no need to hide it. Your aura is incredibly similar to His. It's only because Edley hasn't met Him, otherwise he would have noticed your peculiarity long ago."
Azrael was startled, then burst into laughter. "Since Your Majesty already has the answer, why bother looking for me?"
Despite appearing relaxed, Azrael was internally on high alert.
Louis XXIV didn't seem to see that he was essentially a remnant of the world's consciousness. The Emperor simply believed he had found the path to the Sovereign level.
After a moment's silence, the French Emperor sighed softly and suddenly turned the conversation to several powerful individuals of his tier. "Among the four Sovereign-level Lore Cardians on Earth, Catherine only recently achieved her breakthrough and still has a long way to go before fully understanding the path to the Sovereign level."
"As for Motian, you've dealt with him, Lord Azrael, and you should know he's a complete lunatic. But if given the opportunity to achieve a Sovereign-level breakthrough, he'll definitely not let it go." Louis XXIV paused before continuing. "As for Edley..."
"He's already taking action."
After hearing these words, Azrael fell into brief silence.
The gray-haired man before him had indeed made a correct analysis, but he had omitted one thing. "What about you, Your Majesty?"
"I'm no exception," Louis XXIV said honestly, then looked at Azrael. "But if you, Lord Azrael, are willing to tell me how to achieve a Sovereign-level breakthrough, I can protect you from the threats of Motian and Edley."
Azrael's eyes flickered slightly at this.
To him, these words were all one-sided accounts from Louis XXIV. Of the two Sovereign-level Lore Cardians mentioned, Motian was indeed a lunatic who had conflicts with him.
But Edley was more complex. After learning from Charlotte about the Indo-American Federation, Azrael felt that the White Crown was more intricate than he appeared.
Whether he would attack was a fifty-fifty chance.
Of course, the most crucial thing was that Azrael had some ideas on how to break through to the Sovereign level.
Seeing his silence, Louis XXIV didn't press him but closed his eyes and rested.
After a long pause, Azrael raised his head and said seriously, "Your Majesty, I can tell you about my attempts, but I have to make it clear, what I say is merely speculation. Whether you believe it and how you conduct your experiments is entirely up to you, Your Majesty."
"What do you want? Materials? Status? I can give you anything."
Upon hearing this, Louis XXIV breathed a sigh of relief. For him, as long as Azrael was willing to speak, that was all that mattered.
As for rewards, as one of only two Sovereign-level Lore Cardians on the continent of Europa, he could give Azrael whatever he wanted.
Even if he declared Azrael the second Emperor of France, no one in the country would dare object.
However, Azrael didn't immediately state his conditions. Instead, he laid out his speculation. "To break through the Sovereign level, you must transform yourself into a world."
Louis XXIV was silent, momentarily confused.
Didn't understand? That's right.
Azrael was only speculating. He certainly wouldn't tell Louis XXIV that he was merely a remnant of world consciousness.
Fortunately, the young man had some theories about how to transform into a world. "To achieve this, you need to absorb the remaining world consciousness within the secret realm."
He then recounted to Louis XXIV a somewhat revised account of what had happened in the Rebel's secret realm.
Finally, he presented compelling evidence, the giant, seven-hued dragon demon that had recently appeared in Great Britain.
It had actually devoured world consciousness.
After hearing Azrael's words, Louis XXIV fell into deep thought.
In fact, every Sovereign-level Lore Cardian born on Earth, from ancient times to the present, has to some degree explored the path to higher levels of power, but without exception, all have failed.
The vast majority simply sought to accumulate mental power, attempting to use immense mental energy to break through obstacles.
However, simply accumulating mental power isn't enough. Furthermore, once mental power reaches a certain threshold, further improvement becomes extremely difficult.
At this point, these Sovereign-level Lore Cardians realize they're missing some crucial factor.
Unfortunately, they never figured out what that factor was until their deaths.
Of course, it's possible they figured it out but simply couldn't find it.
"Is that so?" Louis XXIV muttered inwardly, somewhat bewildered. Although he felt something was amiss, he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
The Emperor glanced at Azrael, whose expression was stern, and gradually accepted his explanation.
However, a new doubt soon arose within the French Emperor.
He pondered for a moment, then said to Azrael, "I've been a Lore Cardian for so many years, and I've never seen any remnants of the world consciousness within the secret realm. Please, Lord Azrael, tell me, how do I find it?"
Hearing this, Azrael couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.
Of course, these Sovereign-level Lore Cardians couldn't find the remaining secret realm consciousness. After all, it had been taken away by Earth's world consciousness. There was no way they could find it.
However, Azrael felt that breaking through to the Sovereign level wasn't so simple. There must be other conditions. Otherwise, Earth's World Consciousness wouldn't have left even a single secret realm consciousness untouched for these Sovereign-level Lore Cardians.
Despite his complex thoughts, Azrael remained nonchalant. "Then it's up to Your Majesty to keep an eye out for secret realms appearing in various locations."
Hearing this, Louis XXIV felt a touch of disappointment, but he also knew that such things couldn't be forced. If they didn't exist, they didn't exist. You couldn't just conjure one out of thin air.
However, Azrael's next words rekindled his hope.
"Your Majesty, you've probably noticed that the situation on Earth has been deteriorating in recent years. While Earth is dying, so is that thing. Therefore, the probability of secret realms with remnant world consciousness appearing should increase significantly."
Hearing this, Louis XXIV suddenly understood where the secret realm consciousness Azrael had devoured came from.
After a long silence, he let out a sigh, a smile breaking across his face. "What do you want? I can satisfy you."
With these words, Azrael felt relieved, knowing he'd barely gotten away with it.
It wasn't exactly a sham. He truly believed that absorbing the remaining secret realm consciousness was one of the requirements for reaching the Sovereign level.
As for the reward...
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. I don't need any reward."
Azrael didn't feel he had done anything for Louis XXIV. After all, if the Emperor successfully broke through to a higher level, the situation on Earth would surely improve significantly.
It was even possible that the [World-Devouring Disaster] would retreat.
It was simply a matter of mutual benefit.
Louis XXIV saw that Azrael wasn't just waiting for a price but genuinely meant it.
However, as the supreme Emperor of France, it would be shameful to let word get out that he hadn't offered anything.
After a brief moment of thought, Louis XXIV said, "Lord Azrael, from today on, you are a Prince of France."
"?"
Azrael was stunned.
He had never imagined that a simple visit like this would earn him two extremely prestigious titles in Europa.
As if a mere honorary title wasn't enough, Louis XXIV continued, "I'll prepare a generous gift later. Lord Azrael, you'll wait in the Empire of Aetherlight."
Azrael, of course, wouldn't refuse any further. He knew what was best. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After discussing business, Louis XXIV offered to keep Azrael in the French royal city for a while, but he politely declined.
After all, he had been diverted en route, and his friends in the Empire were waiting for him to return.
After bidding farewell to Louis XXIV, Azrael set out on his journey alone.
Glancing back at the royal city, no smaller than Beijing, he couldn't help but sigh. "It's best not to reveal my identity until I reach the Sovereign level."
Azrael was truly terrified of being captured by Edley and the others and instantly refined.
Furthermore, without Artoria, he felt a certain insecurity.
Fortunately, this trip had yielded fruitful results, and he could return home to replenish his strength.
With one last glance at the French capital, Azrael vanished in a flash.
Indo-American Federation.
Apache had just arrived at the port when he spotted a figure in a dark blue suit silently staring at him.
Startled, he hurried over to greet him. "Lord Edley."
"Tell me about what happened in Great Britain."
Edley lit a Marlboro and took a deep drag.
Apache gathered his thoughts briefly before recounting his experiences in detail.
Edley listened, puffing on his Marlboro.
A long moment passed, until the ground was covered in cigarette butts, before Apache finished recounting the recent events in Great Britain.
After hearing everything, Edley stubbed out his Marlboro and said casually, "I understand. You should go and rest."
With that, he prepared to leave.
But just then, Apache suddenly spoke up. "Master Edley, Azrael's growth rate is truly unnatural. Don't you have any ideas?"
Apache believed that if Azrael continued to be left alone like this, he would sooner or later become a threat to the Indo-American Federation.
Hearing his words, Edley paused, turned around, and sighed helplessly. "Do you need me to teach you how to do this?"
Apache broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly lowered his head and said with difficulty, "I dare not. I simply feel that Master Edley has expended too much energy in Antarctica, a place that has little to do with the Federation."
Apache tried to look up at Edley but found he had already arrived beside him.
The Sovereign-level Lore Cardian extended his right hand and gently placed it on the brown-skinned man's shoulder. He said in a deep voice, "Don't talk about this again, understand?"
At that moment, Apache felt as if he were carrying the weight of a mountain.
A drop of sweat dripped onto the ground, and he nodded tremblingly. "Yes, yes, I understand."
"You're tired. Go back and rest."
Watching Apache leave, Edley couldn't help but sigh.
Dealing with such idiots who lacked a sense of the bigger picture was truly exhausting, and there were plenty of them in the Indo-American Federation.
More importantly, these idiots seemed to genuinely believe he was selfless, staying in Antarctica to suppress those secret realms for the sake of the entire Earth.
What a joke. Would he do this if there was no benefit?
Thinking of this, Edley pinched his brows with a headache.
Fortunately, as a Sovereign-level Lore Cardian, he had strong self-control. He quickly suppressed his worries and thought of Azrael.
"Although I suspected there was something unusual about him, I didn't expect it to be this."
At this moment, Edley's mind flashed back to the events Apache had just described.
He had noticed something peculiar about Azrael the first time he met him, but at the time, Lord Lioren was there, so he didn't investigate closely.
The subsequent events in Antarctica had also gradually diminished his interest in discovering Azrael's secrets.
However, now, after learning about what happened in Great Britain, Edley's interest in Azrael had been rekindled.
"Let's meet this kid again when we have the chance."
"It seems I had a little conflict with him last time, so I'm thinking of an apology gift."
"I got it."
As if conjuring something up, Edley's figure gradually faded, then disappeared from the harbor.
Meanwhile, Azrael, who had already returned to the Empire of Aetherlight, felt a sudden, inexplicable chill.
He shivered and looked around suspiciously.
"Which bastard is after me again?"