This was probably the first time Shali had volunteered an answer, but the information she gave was unexpected. Yu Lian truly hadn't thought that a discussion about the Insect Swarm's inheritance or the source of its power would somehow end up circling back to the Emperor.
But on closer thought, judging from everything he'd gathered, the late Count Salwen, Latis—who had long since gone to heaven—and the current Emperor were entangled in far too many ways. Of course, Latis must have left behind some important clues.
And those should have been among the most important legacies he'd left his daughter.
Yu Lian studied the girl. He always felt there was something unusual about the father-daughter relationship between her and Count Salwen, but family dramas of every stripe were outside his area of concern. What reassured him was that Shali was willing to speak up on her own, which meant she'd let down her guard a little more.
As expected, great communication required sincerity, friendliness, and tact. It needed the weapon of criticism, sure—but more importantly, it needed the criticism of weapons.
Wouldn't you agree, Xingzhi?
Yu Lian gave the Spirit Research Society's "signature weapon" in his hand a satisfied pat, then hung it back over his shoulder. "Emperor Ilesel is indeed the most powerful psion of this era. He was already unrivaled a hundred years ago. Now, naturally, he's reached a level unprecedented in history."
Even the old ancestor of the Berenkester family admitted he was no match for the Emperor. Those were his own words.
If the supernatural world in this universe had its own tournament on Mount Hua, Emperor Ilesel could sit at the top for another hundred years.
"But in the world of the supernatural, 'unrivaled' is only a figure of speech. Without the courage to challenge