The Ender Emperor immediately grew wary upon hearing that and called his Soldiers that very night to raid and search the Grand Prince's palace.
Sure enough, that same evening, the Emperor found evidence of the Grand Prince's rebellion.
"Oh, my son, you are clearly the Crown Prince of the Empire, yet you couldn't wait a little longer and insisted on plotting a rebellion. How foolish!" the Emperor reprimanded.
In fact, the Emperor knew that he had long ago wished for immortality from the Godly Lamp and had already become ageless. His Prince had no chance of inheriting the throne.
"My Imperial Father, you have long been senile and foolish, clutching a dirty oil lamp all day and doing all sorts of silly things! It's high time someone replaced you!" the Grand Prince argued.
The Ender Emperor was furious. He knew he was clear-headed now, and the Prince's accusations were utter nonsense.
Soon, the Prince was sent to the guillotine and executed in plain sight of everyone.
Afterward, the Emperor sighed with emotion:
"As expected of the Godly Lamp, it even reminded me without me having to make a wish."
"This treasure must never fall into the hands of others!"
From then on, the Emperor kept the Godly Lamp by his side even more closely, valuing it more than his own life.
The other ministers did not understand why the Emperor would carry a worn-out oil lamp, but no matter how they tried to persuade him, the Emperor continued to do as he pleased.
Many more days passed like this.
One day, the Emperor felt that, as the ruler of the world, he should display his authority and power to the entire world in a magnificent and grand manner.
He rubbed the Godly Lamp once more, summoning the Lamp God.
"My Master, you are already the King of the World, do you have any other wishes?"
The Emperor wished:
"I desire a majestic and magical garment."
"It must be impervious to blades and spears. As long as I wear it, even the most heroic and powerful warrior, wielding the sharpest legendary sword, cannot harm a single hair on my head."
"It must be able to resist harmful curses. Even the most skilled sorcerer using the most terrifying spells cannot inflict harm upon me."
"This garment also possesses a special magic: as long as I think of it, I can go anywhere in this world and display my authority to anyone in this world."
"Of course, most importantly, the garment must be magnificent enough so that anyone who sees me wearing it immediately recognizes that this is how the King of the World should look!"
The Lamp God nodded and said, "My Master, I shall fulfill your wish right away."
The Lamp God stretched out his hands, gave them a shake in the air, and a garment of unparalleled beauty and majestic grandeur appeared. Its patterns were beautiful, its colors vibrant, and it looked dazzling, truly the most luxurious attire in the world.
"My Master, put on this garment."
The Emperor then took off his original clothes and walked to the dressing mirror, turning his body and twisting his waist in front of the mirror.
"This is truly wonderful, this is the garment I wanted! I must let everyone see my new clothes."
He then gathered his officials and paraded through the streets. Attendants held up a magnificent canopy for the Emperor and supported the train of his garment—the long piece of fabric at the back of a feudal monarch's attire.
The Emperor walked down the main street of the imperial city, showing off his new demeanor to everyone.
People in the streets and inside the windows began to praise:
"What a truly magnificent garment. This is the new clothing the King of the World should wear!"
Upon hearing such words, the Emperor was immensely pleased, reveling in the praises of the crowd.
He used the magic of his new clothes, intending to travel to various kingdoms across the world, holding a grand parade in the royal city of each kingdom.
...
Now, let's talk about Aladdin.
As mentioned before, Aladdin always remembered the Emperor who took the fake Godly Lamp, but he didn't know which empire that Emperor came from, nor what curses were on that fake Godly Lamp.
That day, Aladdin was having a meal with his friends and took the opportunity to inquire if anything significant had happened recently in the empires on the continent.
By now, Aladdin's friends were no longer those disreputable, cunning, gluttonous hangers-on, but rather people of noble status and intelligent, capable businessmen with extensive knowledge.
One friend spoke of rumors from a distant Western kingdom:
"Well, I have to mention this. In Ender Kingdom of the Western Continent, that Emperor is probably getting old and muddled in the head. He's done a lot of foolish things in the past six months."
Aladdin's interest was piqued, and he asked his friend for details:
"Tell me, what foolish things has that Emperor done?"
His friend, having had some wine, laughed and said:
"That Ender Emperor, after returning from a trip, suddenly believed he had become the King of the World. No matter what his ministers and princes said, he seemed not to hear them."
"Since then, that Emperor has been talking nonsense every day. Today he says he toured his Eastern territories, and the people revere him—in reality, that land is not even part of his empire; tomorrow he says he personally killed some opponent—in reality, the person is perfectly fine."
"The funniest part is, once, he walked naked through the streets, claiming he was inspecting his territory!"
At this point, Aladdin's friend laughed heartily, and everyone else laughed too, treating the foreign affairs as a joke at the banquet.
"It's strange, though," another friend, who also knew about this, mused, "although that Ender Emperor is usually muddled, if a Prince ever tries to usurp power, he immediately becomes clear-headed!"
"That Emperor used to be a warrior far beyond ordinary people, his physical constitution was quite extraordinary. He's healthy, and if he's lucky, he could remain on the throne for several more decades!"
"Haha. For Ender Kingdom's people to have such a muddled, foolish Emperor for decades, they're really unlucky."
Another guest at the banquet retorted:
"You don't know, that Ender Emperor used to be an ambitious man. Not only did he stir up wars everywhere and invade many surrounding countries, but he also allowed royal pirates to plunder ships from other nations, forcing the maritime states to form alliances with him."
"Now that he's muddled, he hasn't initiated wars for many years. For both domestic and foreign affairs, it's actually a good thing!"
Everyone laughed again at this point.
At the table, everyone only thought the Emperor was senile, but only Aladdin, who knew all the inside information, was deeply shocked.
He clearly understood that the Ender Emperor had fallen under the curse of the fake Godly Lamp, which made him senile, foolish, and self-important.
"What a terrifying curse."
"If I were to misuse that ring, I'm afraid I would also suffer such a tragic fate!"
Aladdin recalled Rhine's handsome yet peaceful face, glanced at the ring on his index finger, and, remembering the past, was filled with emotion.
"Fortunately, I always remembered the teachings and never misused the ring's magic to harm others."
Aladdin looked at his reflection in the wine in the golden cup, his gaze becoming a little firmer, and he drained the wine in the golden cup.
"By the way, Aladdin, I recently heard a rumor: His Majesty has betrothed the Princess to you, and you are to be married next month. Is this true?"
"What? There's such a thing? Aladdin, you've hit it big, and you didn't even tell your buddies!"
Listening to his friends' words, Aladdin's lips curved into a smile.
He raised his wine glass and readily admitted:
"It's absolutely true!"
...
Now, let's talk about Rhine and Aurora.
After just sending Aladdin home, Rhine took Aurora and instantly returned to the Rose Kingdom's palace.
With a flick of his wrist, the true Godly Lamp appeared in his hand.
The once stained Godly Lamp had been cleaned by magic and was now as good as new.
"Next, I need to see if the Godly Lamp can truly send me to another world."
Rhine took a deep breath and gently rubbed the surface of the Godly Lamp.
A surge of air erupted, instantly transforming into a majestic and formidable giant genie.
The genie's upper body was humanoid, draped in white cloth, while its lower body was a swirling, turbulent current of air. One could hear the whooshing sound of wind just by approaching him.
As soon as the genie saw Rhine, his face immediately showed reverence, and he bowed to Rhine:
"My Master, do you have anything you wish for me to do?"
Rhine asked:
"Besides our current world, do you know of the existence of other worlds? Can you send me to other worlds?"
Unexpectedly, the Lamp God looked bewildered:
"Master, I don't know what you are talking about. Nor do I know of any other worlds."
The Lamp God respectfully said to Rhine:
"Although my magic is powerful, my strength is ultimately limited. I can feel that Master's magic is like a boundless ocean, even surpassing mine."
"I believe there is nothing that I can do that Master cannot do."
"If there is a wish that even Master cannot fulfill, I'm afraid I also cannot help Master fulfill it."
Upon hearing this, Rhine's expression darkened.
Is that really how it is…
He wasn't too surprised by this, actually. From the beginning, he hadn't really believed that this Godly Lamp could truly send him home.
"That founder of the Witch Society really lied to us. Teacher, this Godly Lamp can't send you home at all!" Aurora said angrily.
"I'll ask her." Rhine pulled out Maleficent's small mirror.
In the mirror's gloom, ripples like water spread out, revealing the black-haired girl.
This time, the black-haired girl in the mirror was no longer a blurry image. Her facial features were clearly and completely displayed in the mirror.
—The unprecedentedly powerful Rhine had activated the magic of prophetic scrying, revealing the black-haired girl's appearance!
The restrictions that had previously hindered him and the magic mirror from scrying this Witch Society leader were ineffective now before Rhine, who was almost like a deity.
Rhine finally saw Night Ruge, the founder of the Witch Society.
She had distinct Eastern features, with smooth, cascading black hair. She wasn't a beauty that could topple kingdoms, but she was certainly delicate and pretty. Her eyes were narrowed as if she hadn't quite woken up, a playful smile played on her lips, and her brows conveyed cunning.
"You finally came to find me, Rhine," she said, stretching, seemingly having anticipated this.
Rhine said in a neither fast nor slow tone:
"Night Ruge, that Godly Lamp doesn't have the function you described. The Lamp God doesn't know of the existence of other worlds and cannot send me to other worlds."
"Yes. I lied to you." Night Ruge didn't hide it and admitted it directly.
"I just wanted to see if Rhine, the greatest sorcerer in the world, could easily obtain that Godly Lamp. Sure enough, it was easy for you!"
Before Aurora could curse, Night Ruge suddenly widened her slightly narrowed eyes, staring at Rhine outside the mirror, and questioned him word by word:
"Tell me, Rhine. How were you able to obtain the Godly Lamp so quickly?"
"I made a divination concerning Aladdin's mother and knew you had visited her."
"Why did you immediately know to look for that child named Aladdin? And know that only he could break the treasury's seal?"
Without waiting for Rhine to answer, Night Ruge continued to question:
"The method to break the seal on the treasury, 'The treasury's seal can only be broken by a future child named Aladdin,' is only recorded in an ancient text."
"And in this world, the only people still alive who have read that ancient text should be the sorcerer brothers Khalid and Maglido."
"I divined that neither of them actively revealed this secret to anyone other than the Ender Emperor…"
"So… "
Night Ruge paused, then said meaningfully:
"Rhine, you knew this secret from the very beginning, didn't you?"
Rhine understood the hidden meaning in Night Ruge's words, and in Aurora's bewildered gaze, he actually smiled.
So that's how it is…
Night Ruge continued:
"Rhine, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"Many years ago, I grew tired of this continent."
"I traveled to the West and founded the Witch Society along the way. But I didn't find any fun. The boring life continued."
"I spent many more years and finally found a way to leave here. But I couldn't achieve it alone."
"Until today, you appeared."
In the mirror's image, the founder of the Witch Society stood up from her rattan chair, put away her previous cynical smile, lifted her chin slightly, and her eyes held a hint of seriousness and longing:
"Come find me."
"You should have successfully located me by now, knowing that I am in the capital of what you call the Far East Empire."
"I will teach you the method to open the door between worlds."
Night Ruge paused for half a second, then said solemnly:
"Afterward, we will return home together."
"Alright." Rhine agreed cleanly and decisively.
The image in the mirror returned to gloom.
"Teacher…" Aurora looked at Rhine, seemingly understanding something.
She hesitated for a long time before asking:
"Are you going to leave this world and go home soon?"
She knew this day would come, but she was still a little reluctant.
A strange thought suddenly popped into Aurora's mind:
She felt that this continent losing Rhine would be a huge loss!
"Teacher has already fulfilled my wishes and helped many, many people. He will eventually fulfill his own wish and go home," she comforted herself in her heart.
Rhine stroked Aurora's golden hair: "Yes. But not immediately."
"Not immediately?" Aurora asked in surprise.
Rhine said:
"First, we'll go together to find the founder of the Witch Society and confirm that her method is reliable enough."
"Then, if her method is sound, before leaving this world, I still have one last thing to do."
"This is my final gift to this continent. Hmm, a part of that gift is for you."
A final gift? A gift for me?
Aurora suddenly felt a little lost, not knowing what Rhine was referring to.
"Heh heh, I'll keep you in suspense for now," Rhine suddenly revealed a cunning smile, "Let's go to the capital of the Far East Empire first to find Night Ruge…"
Rhine grabbed Aurora's shoulder, and their figures vanished in a silver whirlwind, transforming into a streak of light shooting towards the distant Far East.