The Innkeeper

Cassandra's projection reappeared right over her sleeping chamber, as close to her physical body as possible. Propriety dictated that when meeting someone of the Innkeeper's status, she should do so with her real body instead of a projection, but that wasn't possible.

She was put to sleep for more than one reason, and she would not be able to wake up even if she managed to get permission to enter the newborn realm. But there was an alternative she could use, which was to prepare a weak clone.

Even if she did not experience the new realm with her actual body, the benefits gained by the clone could be transferred to her main body through various means. That meant she'd be giving up on maximizing her gains, but such were the realities of life.

She did not have such a clone ready at the moment, so all she could do was conjure her strongest, most realistic projection to meet the Innkeeper.

Although intimidated by the immensity of the Innkeepers aura, she had spent a long time surrounded by powers so powerful they were beyond human comprehension, so she was able to regain her poise fairly quickly.

She did not need instruction on how to use the card, just holding it was enough for her to understand. When she was ready, she channeled a sliver of her energy into the card and watched as it began to shimmer bits of gold.

The card gently flew out of her hand, and took the shape of a tall, handsome man. She lowered her eyes before his figure was completely formed, respectful of the dignity of a Dao Lord.

"Greetings, Innkeeper. My name is Cassandra Vans Agnew, daughter of Jacinda Vans Agnew, apostle of Mother Nuwa. I apologize for not meeting you in person, but my body has been put to sleep by means far beyond myself."

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"There is no need for apologies, especially for one who has been hosting some of my workers," the Innkeeper said, his voice itself a conduit for some laws. Cassandra could not tell the details, but from the way she suddenly felt relaxed and at peace, she suspected his voice was filled with the laws of charm and peacefulness, and perhaps a few others mixed together.

She had seen this phenomenon before. It was not a result of actively adding laws to one's voice, but a result of the sheer magnitude of the influence of a cultivator on certain laws. Which laws get added to the voice often represent the kind of laws a cultivator is proficient in, almost revealing their nature as a result.

It was like how humans judged each other's personality traits by their minor traits, such as tone, manner of speaking and hand gestures. Only, in this case, it was a result of much more deliberate attempts at wielding certain laws.

"In fact, I must thank you for taking care of my workers. They are zealous sometimes, but they mean well."

The Innkeeper spoke so calmly and gently, with no rush in his voice at all. It was as if he was completely at peace, and that influenced Cassandra to relieve herself of her nervousness as well.

"It is the duty of the temple to foster the human race. I hope we can meet your expectations, even though the temple will not be able to provide dragon meditating mats for cultivation."

The Innkeeper let out a small yet hearty laugh upon hearing the comment.

"Although I am fond of my workers, Cassandra Vans Agnew, I am not in the habit of spoiling them. Lex procured the dragon through his own efforts. I merely allowed him to house the dragon discreetly."

Cassandra was stunned, and her mouth dropped open. What? How? But that…

"Of course he did not kill the Heavenly immortal dragon. It had already lost its soul, part of which is in his ring, if you noticed. But still, he put a lot of effort into overcoming its Dragons Might, so I let him keep it."

Cassandra was just a projection, so she should not have really felt any physical sensations. But she felt dizzy nonetheless. It was no wonder he was such a tough nut to crack, she thought.

Lex, who was watching through the eyes of the Innkeepers projection, chuckled internally. Half the fun of having a dragon was being able to brag about it. It was something he had been resisting for a long time, but with Cassandra, he had been thoroughly scratching that itch.

"But you have done a good job, nonetheless. Having proper guidance will really help the workers in growing. Most of them have such limited exposure, and I would be remiss to send them out into the universe to explore so unprepared."

"That is the duty the temple was designed for. It is a shame that the temple has been unable to fulfill its duty since the destruction of the Platoona major realm, so the arrival of your workers is a great opportunity to fulfill our duty. But I… I hope you don't mind me asking, how were you able to teleport them right inside the temple? It… it's supposed to have the best spatial protection."

The Innkeeper chuckled, as if she had asked him a silly question.

"The Midnight Inn can reach every corner of the universe. No place is restricted," he said with a warm smile, as if he was saying the simplest thing. "Of course, I have not yet opened the doors of the Inn to the whole universe. Once my workers grow, and are ready to face the challenge, I will steadily welcome more and more guests to the Inn."

The Innkeeper paused, as Cassandra tried to grasp the magnitude of the Innkeeper's claim. But he did not wait long, and continued the conversation in a different direction.

"The Midnight Inn is a place I opened up so that weary travelers can find sanctuary and relaxation, a haven where they may rest on their laurels. Normally, I would turn no guest away so long as they obey the rules of the Inn. But the Inn is undergoing some… renovations, and to avoid any accidents in which my guests might get hurt in the process, I have temporarily stopped letting in new guests. But I hear that you want to visit the Inn?"

A million thoughts raced through Cassandra's head as she thought of the best way to phrase her request. She thought over their entire exchange, studying each and every word the Innkeeper had said and what it could possibly mean.

Ultimately, she concluded that he was giving her an opportunity by bringing up her request first. She merely needed to explain her reasons, clearly and truthfully. Perhaps the Innkeeper was pleased with the temple for taking care of his workers, so he was giving her an easy opportunity. She could think of no other reason.

"Lord Innkeeper, since the fall of the apostles, the human race has suffered tremendously. Currently, the only reason they have any standing in the universe at all is because of the backing of mother Nuwa, but even that is just the bare minimum. Without at least one Dao Lord to create a holy land for humans, and lead the fight in the realm wars, we run the risk of falling even further, and going beyond the point of redemption.

"I heard from Lex that you plan on moving your Inn to a newborn realm. If I could experience the process of a new realm establishing its rules and creating its foundation, I believe it could provide me with a great boost, and allow me to finally touch upon the Dao. I have borne the responsibility for the human race on my shoulders since the day I was born, so I must plead with your eminence to allow me this opportunity. The human race will forever be grateful."

Cassandra bowed deeply as she put forward her request.

Lex had planned out how to proceed long before the meeting had even happened, but for some reason, her words reminded him of Cornelius II, King of the Hum nation in the Crystal realm.

It was not because they had similarities in their beliefs, no. It was actually because of how different they were. Not that Lex believed even 10% of what Cornelius claimed, but the man had told his son that the reason he did not want to end the war with the Kraven was because he wanted the human race as a whole to grow.

If only a few could prop up the whole race, while the rest only enjoyed the fruits of their labor, then it would be meaningless. Only if the entire race grew and prospered would they truly deserve to escape the threat of annihilation.

Although he had not talked to Cassandra in depth, and did not know her background and experiences, the little she had stated was the exact opposite of Cornelius.

It was so interesting how two people in a position of power had such differing views. Suddenly, Lex had an idea, it took hold of his entire being.

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