"You may not have the ability to go against me right now, but the same can't be said about the future, what about the time you surpass me? Who would keep their eyes on you then?" Hearing her question, General Phorus, Iria, Reeve, Keeve, and the other King Stage Cultivators widened their eyes in disbelief. D-Did Lady Astaria just say that this man would surpass her, the strongest being in the world!? This man definitely has a freaking talent, even more than Lady Astaria, everyone agreed on that, however, Lady Astaria has already reached the peak, No matter how high someone's talent is, they couldn't possibly surpass the one who has achieved the peak. Of course, they might take less time to reach the peak than the one who is already there, but in the end, surpassing them was still impossible. Or… Or was Lady Astaria indicating that this man would… break the boundaries and… Surpass the peak? Was that even possible? "Heh, you really think I have the ability to surpass you, I am flattered." Nux smiled. "Don't change the topic." Astaria spoke. Nux looked at her and then sighed, "Look, there is no way to control the strongest, if I surpass the strongest person in this world, it is only natural that you would fear that I would take over the Skyfall Kingdom, but to be honest, even if I don't, will that change anything? Let's take you for example, Ricardus was the King, and Evane will be the Queen, however, once you appear, who would the subordinates listen to? Will it be them or you? The answer is obvious. Why is that? Because you devoted your entire life to the Kingdom? No, it is because you are strong. People would always follow the strong. Whether I want it or not, if I become the strongest being in the world, others will see me as the representative of the Skyfall Kingdom. I am sure you know it as well." "That means you plan on ruling this Kingdom," Astaria concluded. "I don't, I want to be free, without being bound to anything, However, I will protect my wife's Kingdom if it faces any troubles." "…" Astaria narrowed her eyes as she looked at Nux. Nux looked into her eyes with an honest look on his face. The two of them maintained eye contact for a while and suddenly, Astaria smiled, "You passed." Nux smiled playfully as well, "Of course I would, I never doubted myself, even for a second." "As shameless as ever," Astaria commented. "You have to be shameless to get what you want." Nux distributed his endless knowledge, then he glanced at Astaria and smiled playfully again, "You have to constantly ask for what you want until that person finally gives in." Astaria understood what he was trying to say, however, she completely ignored this shameless man. Nux shook his head and sighed. Then, he glanced at Astaria and spoke, "Now that we are done with this, don't you think there is something you have to do?" Astaria narrowed her eyes and spoke, "Don't order me around, Boy." Nux bowed his head, "Lady Astaria, please do what you must do." "…" Astaria was out of words. In the end, she shook her head, then, a serious look appeared on her face and she called, "Keeve." "At your command, Lady Astaria." Keeve bowed. "The Royal Palace will be in complete lockdown from now on, no one will be allowed to leave or enter the Royal Palace from now on, the guards on leave will stay out of the Palace until they go through a thorough examination, all the letters sent out of the Palace would be thoroughly checked, all the discussions about the Kingdom welfare will be halted, no more Royal Meetings will be held, the Coronation of the New Queen will be done privately, a big celebration will be conducted once the Lockdown is released." Astaria instructed. "As you command, Lady Astaria." Although he was confused and couldn't understand where the sudden instructions came from, Keeve still bowed his head and nodded. His duty was to follow orders, he could always ask questions later. Just like him, many others were surprised as well. However, some of the bright ones started to understand Astaria's actions. 10 King Stage Cultivators, almost all of them were less than 100 years old, what does that mean? Almost all of them have a shot at becoming the next Emperor Stage Cultivator, 10 potential Emperor Stage Cultivators, and the Skyfall Kingdom has all of them. This information couldn't possibly be leaked to other Kingdoms or else it will be a catastrophe. And once it is leaked, the Emperors of the other Kingdoms might even break the Treaty and combine their powers to go for an all-out attack against the Skyfall Kingdom. With the number of spies currently residing in the Palace, a news like this couldn't possibly be contained. Were there spies in the Palace? Of course there were. It was a well-known fact. Then why hasn't anyone dealt with it? Well, it is not that simple, identifying all the spies is not possible. Even if they are identified, a strong proof was needed to even start the thorough investigation on the spy, it was a complicated process and too much politics was involved. Of course, once Lady Astaria, the Emperor was involved, things were different. In front of her absolute strength, politics was useless. Anyone can be thoroughly investigated if she was the one who orders it, whether they had tied with normal nobles, the Dukes, or even if they had Royal Blood flowing in their veins. Decisions like Complete Lockdown, this was definitely only possible if Lady Astaria was the one who ordered it, because only then would all the strongest experts in the Kingdom would take it absolutely seriously. "Lady Astaria," Suddenly, Nux called out. "What is it?" Astaria questioned. "How about we conduct a few investigations as well, there are a few people who I believe do not have the Kingdom's best interest in their mind." Nux glanced at a particular Grand Master Stage Cultivator standing in the crowd and smiled playfully.