Leon felt that he had been at 5th layer tempered body for too long and it was time to push for the next level.
The incident with the Deadeye spiders had forced him to use every ounce of his strength and allowed him to stabilize his level. It was apparent that doing battle was the fastest way to stabilizing one's cultivation.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
When Leon's consciousness exited the world space and his senses returned to the outside, he was startled by the furious banging on his doors. His mother's emotional voice could be heard from outside.
"My son open up! Why aren't you answering? Do you not want your mother anymore?"
Leon quickly scurried to his feet to open the locked doors.
"Mother, why are you banging the door so furiously?"
"I knocked several times, but you didn't answer... so I thought you didn't want this mother anymore...*sniff*..." Elizabeth said as she wiped her teary eyes.
Leon was dumbfounded. It didn't have to be that exaggerated, does it? Didn't his mother say she was going to accompany his father?
For the past 17 years, the queen would spend most of her days watching her husband's sleeping face silently and absentmindedly.
How long has it been since he left? half an hour? An hour? It wasn't that long at all.
"How could that be? I was in a state of deep cultivation and was unable to hear your knocking... but weren't you planning to watch over father , mother?" Leon asked with confusion.
"Hahaha... I've been staying with your old man for 17 years, but he never bothered to wake up to see me. Mother would rather spend more time with you." Elizabeth said.
If the king heard his wife's words, he would have felt so wronged and protested with "You think I want this!?" If he could wake up, he would.
But even if the king were to awaken, his wife would still choose to spend her time with their son. Their son was more important than him!
This was the tragedy of becoming a father. Their position of importance in the hearts of their wives are replaced by their child as they are pushed to second place. All their love and care are poured into their child.
"Right, Mother, I wish to visit the royal treasury. Is it possible?" Leon suddenly asked.
"Of course, it is! Come, mother will take you there! You can take anything you fancy. Later, mother will also teach you cultivation, how does that sound?"
Elizabeth said excitedly. She was more than happy to fulfill his wishes.
Leon had no doubt that if he wanted the whole treasury, his mother might really give him everything.
She neither asked him why he wanted to visit the treasury nor how he cultivated, despite probably having a mountain of questions to ask. Perhaps she would not take the initiative to ask as she did not want to impose on his secrets. She was being very considerate.
There were things he couldn't explain truthfully, but he wasn't planning to conceal his knowledge and talents. His mother will learn about his alchemy skills eventually.
Leon studied his mother's face that did not conceal her love and care. He noticed a trace of guilt in her eyes wondered why.
It suddenly hit him that she must be ridden with self-blame for taking so long to find him.
When Duke Agni rebelled and his flames engulfed the palace, many buildings were reduced to ashes.
Elizabeth thought she had lost him to the fire, thus she never bothered to searching for him and shut herself inside the palace after removing all dissidents.
He, who was still alive, grew up in a deteriorating environment under her negligence.
However, it wasn't all that bad. He had his foster parents, but who did his mother have? He was missing from her side, who she thought died in the fire and his father was in coma. She was grieving for a whole 17 years.
He thought the feels from the emotional reunion was over, but he was overwhelmed with emotion once more.
"It's been hard on you, mother." Leon sighed.
Elizabeth found herself tearing up again.
"No, not at all." Elizabeth wiped her budding tears and put on a brilliant smile. "All is well now that you are here."
While following his mother to the treasury, there was some doubts he finally decided to voice.
"Mother, there's something I don't understand. Why do we keep our powers hidden and not teach the people about awakener cultivation?"
Leon thought the people should at least know how to awakener without pills.
"That is something your Ancestor decided to enforce on his descendants. With the limit of resources, it was better to cultivate a small group of powerful awakeners than to have a whole flock of weak ones."
Elizabeth answered patiently and allowed Leon time to muse over her words.
"But even if we have a group of powerful awakeners, what good is for humanity if they hole up in the palace and not contribute to the frontier?"
Leon found the Ancestor's reason to be ridiculous. Wasn't beast meat also a type of resource beneficial to awakeners? There were so many beasts beyond the walls, it was enough to support their entire race many times over. They could be reclaiming back the lands they lost.
"Do you know why the palace was built here of all places and what lies underneath it?"
Elizabeth chuckled at her son's question and gave him a question of her own. He had the mentality of a hero, but the problem was much bigger than he thinks.
"I don't. Please enlighten me, mother." Leon was surprised by her question.
"Beneath the palace is an ancient ruin, full of hidden treasures and lost technology still waiting to be uncovered and studied." Elizabeth explained before continuing with a serious expression, "However, it is also part of an underground world of swarming with insects. These creatures are weak, but their numbers are more terrifying than the beasts. If they ever escape to the surface, the consequences would be too dire to be imagined. The palace was built on top of the ancient ruin to seal off the entrance of underground world. The efforts to clearing out these vermins had never ceased, but their numbers never show sign of dwindling."
Leon was dumfounded by the information his mother dumped on him. So, they have been battling on two fronts, but what about the demons? Were there no demons? The devouring parasites were also a type of insect. Could his guesses be wrong and that there were actually no demons rearing them?
Elizabeth did not explain too much to her son and just the general summary.
The underground world was immense and the deeper they venture, the stronger the insects found. The ancestors of the Crawford family have all ventured even deeper to explore the world, but they have never returned.
They could just bury the entrance, but it would mean giving up all the treasures and rare resources found inside. The levitation stones in airships and medical equipment in hospitals were just some of the items they have gained from the ancient ruins. There were also sun stones that are used to power the medical equipment.
"Don't think too much. These aren't things you need to worry about. Just let mother handle it." Elizabeth said.
"Yes, mother."
Humanity has too many problems they needed to face, and her son's strength wasn't strong enough to be involved. She would not allow any harm to befall him. He was her precious.
After listening to his mother, Leon understood why it was wise to withhold this type of information from the people. It would only induce mass panic among the normal commoners and cause them to flee the capital, while an ill-intentioned earth-user could create a disaster by opening a new entrance to the underground world elsewhere.
After some time, they arrived in front of a tall building guarded by two palace guards.
"Your Majesty." They greeted with fist-palm salute and stepped aside.
Elizabeth nodded to them coolly before producing a special key and inserted it into the keyhole on the thick iron door.
*Click* Complex noises of machinery were produced before the thick iron door to the royal treasury building unlocked and opened automatically.
The royal treasury had no windows and inside was total darkness. Leon was prepared to snap his fingers and produce some light, but his mother stopped him.
"You don't need to do that. Here, we have these, my son." Elizabeth picked a round stone and gave it a rub before continuing, "This is called a sun stone. It can absorb the solar energy from the sun to produce light. They are also the main power source for relics from the ancient ruins."
The royal treasury building had three floors and different type of items could be found on each floor. On the first floor, the sun stone shone brightly in Elizabeth's hand and illuminated brightly and allowed Leon to feast his eyes on all the items contained within.
"Anything you like, my son?"
