Chapter 5321: Inflicting A Punishment
Chapter 5321: Inflicting A Punishment
*Whoosh!~*
Davis and Noctis descended to the place where the children were gathered.
They didn’t leave anywhere, knowing that their father would come back with Noctis or send word for them to gather in another place.
Once they spotted them, they inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.
"Kneel."
Davis’s cold voice erupted, and his soul force wrapped around them slightly, giving them the sensation of forcing them down. Their gazes flickered as they immediately knew this was official business and knelt on one knee.
"We greet Imperial Father, the Emperor!~"
They loudly shouted, followed by two cute shots.
Davis nearly broke character when he saw the little ones, but he nodded slowly.
"I’m sure everyone has heard the rumors." Davis started, his voice authoritative, "Noctis has done an unspeakable act of intimacy before marriage. Although he is seventeen years old, he and none of the children from Class Two have undergone their Coming of Age Ceremony that gives them the rights belonging to adults, and even the act of sleeping with someone before marriage is barred until the age of one hundred unless it’s due to special circumstances such as rectifying cultivation deficiency."
"Since he made a mistake and broke the rules and agreed to take punishment in his partner-in-crime’s stead, he will receive a hundred lashes in the Punishment Hall, which inflicts pain through the flesh and bones to a high level but not the soul. The punishment will be dealt by your Twenty-Fourth Mother, Law Enforcement Department Head Schleya Vitalichor. Does anyone have any questions or disagreements?"
Davis panned his gaze over his children.
Some of the children shivered, experiencing this for the first time, while some appeared to be a bit surprised but used to it. If anyone had any doubts that they wouldn’t be punished if they flouted the rules or slept with someone, then they now knew for a fact that they’re would be consequences.
They didn’t speak a word. They were silent, worried for Noctis.
Davis nodded. He glanced at Noctis’s full-blood siblings.
"Ragna and Styx. You were together with him at that time, but didn’t stop him. Did you two have an inkling or not?"
Ragna’s expression churned with fear. He nearly jumped as he raised his head, "Imperial Father, I only guessed after the fact had already taken place."
"Imperial Father, I also guessed after the deed had happened," Styx said obediently, her beautiful purple-golden eyes averting gazes.
Davis’s gaze fixed on his deathly daughter whose skin was pale as a corpse.
"Styx, that’s a lie. When Noctis headed to the lake, you already knew something might happen."
Styx made an aggrieved expression, "Father, I just thought he was going to take a peek at her bathing... I really didn’t expect him to push her down or get seduced. Most importantly, our mother allowed that to happen."
Davis chuckled lightly, "True. Otherwise, the punishment wouldn’t just be a hundred lashes of equal cultivation but higher and stronger. He wouldn’t even be able to handle ten lashes then. Furthermore, he got seduced. He didn’t force himself upon her, so do not vilify your sibling. Got it, everyone?"
"Yes!"
Azariel and the others all responded firmly while Noctis kept his head lowered, embarrassed but a bit moved.
"Good."
Davis nodded satisfactorily. He added with a smile, "Your father has some important things to do, but I can still spend around ten minutes with you all. Be at ease."
"Yay!~"
"Haha~"
As though being freed from a petrification spell, everyone relaxed and stood up while Azalea and the twins Evergrace and Everdream ran to Davis first, causing him to spread his hands and embrace them. Even though Evergrace and Everdream didn’t understand much of what happened, they were extremely playful and knew when to close their mouths and follow the movements of others.
’Little ones, I won’t let you be alone in Class Four. I’ll soon sire more to accompany you two.’
Davis inwardly said in his heart as he lifted the two sweet pumpkins up, one in each arm.
If he said it out loud, then he might not survive today. These evil children might feed him some impotence pill as they were simply done with his rabbit-like behavior. However, today, he could feel it was somewhat different.
They were much more receptive to him embracing their mothers, allowing them to talk freely about their life and their cultivation aspects.
Davis gave one-line advice when they asked some questions.
He even saw that Arc had quickly reached the Astral Descent Stage.
In the Astral Cultivation Path, the First Stage to the Third Stage corresponds to the Astral Refinement Stage, which consists of sensing astral entities in space and then calling out to them. The cultivator would then be able to make a connection, form an astral seed within the preliminary dantian in them, and tap energy from them.
The Fourth Stage to Sixth Stage corresponds to the Astral Descent Stage. Here, the cultivator becomes able to hold on to multiple astral stars and derive energy from their unified link.
Arc was at such a level in only two months, but he could even battle Ninth Stage Experts with his prowess. After all, he had connected himself to two stars in the First Layer, which meant he had linked to an Exalt Grade Star.
Although the energy he could derive from the two stars he had linked with was extremely little because of his lower cultivation base, it was more than enough to battle and decimate Ninth Stage Experts.
He was indeed amazing.
Davis learned more about their cultivation, intending to help them chart their cultivation plan or advise them if they already had a plan or were about to make a mistake. Ten minutes wasn’t nearly enough to look at everyone, so he spent as much as thirty minutes, and when he sensed the time was up, he hurriedly bid them farewell.
Just as he wanted to leave, Tianyu hurriedly pulled him aside.
"What? Is this about your marriage? Wait until the threat is over, and we’ll do it soon."
Davis said, but Tianyu shook his head.
He leaned over and said secretly, "Father, you think you’re not putting any pressure on us by not having expectations, which is somewhat true, but in the end, you’re just making us feel miserable that we’re useless."
"Oh..." Davis blinked.
"Yeah," Tianyu nodded, "We were really happy when you gave Azariel the chance. You trusting him like that really boosted his confidence and even ours, but I want to say- don’t just trust him and expect him to succeed silently. Berate him, berate us. When you silently have too many expectations, the pressure is so high that it might cause a meltdown instead."
Davis nodded with understanding before he gave a thumbs up to Tianyu, "Good advise. I’ll take it."
"Hehe~"
Tianyu chuckled and rubbed the bridge of his nose proudly, "You don’t need to worry about us. Let me take care of these unruly siblings while elder brother Azariel dominates the realm. Also, take good care of mother for me."
"Would do- wait, you little rascal."
Tianyu escaped as he laughed.
Davis watched him leave with a smile. Unlike the other siblings, Tianyu had always been open to the outlook of dual cultivation, so he didn’t mind saying that to him.
Tianyu had always been dependable and he had plenty of admirers. However, his standards were high. He only loved Yulai Nuxaren for now, and wouldn’t give another woman his time of the day. Even while he was walking on thin ice as a dual cultivator, his conduct has always been good, in fact, measured.
He was freaking smart and cautious, able to consider consequences thrice before acting.
Davis thought it was his genes in the fray combined with Mingzhi’s cunning nature, making him feel proud.
Still, turning to look ahead towards the mansion, Davis shook his head. He didn’t know if Mingzhi would appear. He didn’t peek at them. All he had was a soul body in his master bedroom, hidden, waiting, and scouring the hallways. If anyone entered the range, he would know.
Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but sigh. To think Fairy Qiyra Darkstar had gotten sick!
Clearly, she had overspent herself, nearly exhausting all of her astral essence in her physique, which was leading to some kind of temporary collapse. Even his life energy seemed useless against her physique’s flaring symptoms!