Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Beyond expectations, this Shang Chengyun was actually very amiable, and did not put on the airs of an elite. It made Ling Han feel very rueful. The more noble their background, the more modest and unassuming they were. Of course, this Shang Chengyun still possessed a deepset pride to him. He was quite obviously standing there, yet took not one of the envoys from the Royal Empires seriously.

Shang Chengyun was here on behalf of the Lord Left Minister, so his purpose was naturally to subjugate the Great Ling Empire so that it would become a subject of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire—and to speak bluntly, to become a subordinate force under the Lord Left Minister.

The Majestic Empire was too powerful, and a minor force that had just ascended after opening the sky was completely beneath its notice.

Ling Han asked the other about the basic distribution of power in this place, and Shang Chengyun did not hide anything, but instead told him the truth.

This planet was called Joint Peace Planet. There was a total of three great Majestic Empires on it, namely the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire, Eternity Sky Majestic Empire, and Jade Drop Royal Empire. Beneath these three Majestic Empires, there were hundreds of Royal Empires. The three great Majestic Empires were equal in power, and had warred with each other for many years, each wanting to annex the others.

And this had also allowed room for the Royal Empires to survive. They were all subjects of one of the Majestic Empires, and fought with each other over territory and people very intensely.

Thus, the moment the Great Ling Empire opened the sky and appeared, the surrounding Royal Empires immediately sent their envoys, but they had not imagined that the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire had also moved. Even if it was just a representative of the Left Minister, that still caused the other Royal Empires to give up.

Fight with a Majestic Empire? Had they grown tired of existing?

After another while, the envoys sent by the Eternity Sky Majestic Empire and Jade Drop Majestic Empire also arrived, wanting to take the Great Ling Empire in as their subordinate force.

This was not because the Great Ling Empire had massive territory and masses of people, but because they had come through opening the sky, so their power of the nation was very beneficial for their respective Majestic Empires.

After some consideration, Ling Han decided to temporarily rely on the assistance of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire.

Firstly, it would not be possible for him to choose one of them. Although they looked to be all smiles and easy to deal with, if they really became hostile, that would definitely not be any slower than flipping the page of a book. Then, if it was necessary to choose one of them, the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire was still the best because the Great Ling Empire’s current location was closest to the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire.

This was for the sake of the safety of their nation.

Ling Han wrote the national book and handed it over to Shang Chengyun. From now onwards, the Great Ling Empire would be a vassal state of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire. It had to offer tribute and obey it, whereas the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire would be responsible for protecting the Great Ling Empire.

The moment the national book was handed over, the shadowy image of a nine-tailed divine fox flew out from Shang Chengyun’s body. It delivered a heavy bite towards the totem of the Black Tower above the Imperial Capital, and it was instantly as if the totem of the Black Tower had been heavily wounded and became blurry. Meanwhile, everyone in the Great Ling Empire experienced a feeling of grief.

This was a humiliation of their nation, for they were forced to declare themselves subjects to others!

Although they had all prepared themselves long ago, there were still many that felt great fury, wanting nothing more than to have a fierce battle. However, even more had retained their senses. They had just entered the Immortal Realm, so what right did they have to compete with the forces of the Immortal Realm?

“If you are not willing to submit, then you have to work hard on your cultivation!”

“Without power, you can only bear with it!”

“Just think of His Majesty, he has to endure it!”

“If it wasn’t for the sake of this nation, His Majesty could completely let go and leave. The world is so big, so what place could not accommodate His Majesty? With His Majesty’s genius, he would definitely be able to rise up very quickly in this Immortal Realm!”

“Since His Majesty has chosen to endure for our sake, how could we possibly disappoint His Majesty!”

“I want to become stronger!”

“I want to share His Majesty’s burden!”

The citizens did not collapse because of this humiliation. Instead, they knew their shame and grew brave because of it. All of them felt choked, and were determined to give their all in cultivation so that the Great Ling Empire would be able to regard the whole world superciliously and need not bow to any force.

“Lord Monarch, please follow me to our Imperial Capital and pay respects to the Lord Left Minister!” Shang Chengyun said with a smile. This trip had been successfully completed, which made him feel very pleased. He even felt Ling Han was easier on the eyes.

Ling Han had long made arrangements for everything, so he nodded, and stepped onto the air vessel together with Shang Chengyun. He took a last look at the Imperial Capital, and thought quietly, ‘I will definitely return!’

“Your Majesty!” Everyone knelt. Even the seven Kings knelt on one knee and nodded. As they watched Ling Han leave, their eyes were red.

Ling Han nodded, and said, “Cultivate well, don’t disappoint me!”

“We shall obey your imperial decree!” they all declared loudly.

Shang Chengyun chucked, and steered the air vessel. Xiu , the air vessel instantly ripped through the air.

This vessel was too fast. It was like a shooting star, which made Ling Han extremely stunned. He had already tried it out before. In the Immortal Realm, his speed had at least slowed down by a hundred times because the regulations of this place were different. In comparison with this flying vessel, he was as slow as a snail.

On the journey, Ling Han humbly asked for guidance, and the other gradually no longer put up any airs, and addressed Ling Han directly by his name. It was an improvement; the repetitive addressing of him as monarch, in truth, seemed to be more of a taunt as if to remind Ling Han that he was currently a hostage.

The monarch of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire was an empress. She was at the perfection level of the Heavenly Body Tier, and her power was unfathomable.

This empress had not married yet. Apparently, not only was she as beautiful as a fairy, she was also extremely lovely. There had once been rumors that the monarchs of the two great Majestic Empires of Eternity Sky and Jade Drop were both willing to surrender their thrones as long as the empress of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire was willing to marry them.

Although this was only a rumor, one could see how extremely enchanting this empress was from it.

Beneath the empress, there were the Nine Kings, and all the Nine Kings were female. The strongest had even reached perfection of the Heavenly Body Tier, whereas the weakest was still in the Mountain River Tier, and had just been bestowed her title a few years ago. As for why she could be bestowed the title of King when she was only in Mountain River Tier, that was known to no one.

… In the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire, the empress was the ultimate authority. No one would dare or was able to question her supreme authority.

Beneath the Nine Kings, there was the Left and Right Minister. These two people were old rivals, and now that they had become irreconcilable, this was naturally the deliberate intention of the empress of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire. This was a means to balance out the power in the court.

The Left and Right Minister were definitely aware of it as well. Thus, even if they actually did not want to oppose one another, they still had to do so. Otherwise, they would definitely lose imperial favor, or even be suppressed.

These two were also extremely powerful. Rumor had it that they were at the minor levels of the Heavenly Body Tier. Of course, that was completely incomparable to the empress.

Additionally, there were also the Seven Generals. In terms of political power, they were slightly weaker than the two Ministers, but their abilities were not weak. They, too, were beings in the minor levels of the Heavenly Body Tier. However, the two Ministers were responsible for internal affairs, whereas the Seven Generals took charge of external affairs, and were responsible of commanding the military forces and defenses.

Ling Han casually listened to Shang Chengyun speak of the various military and civil officials. For the exact details, he could slowly make his enquiries once they reached the Imperial Capital.

“Ling Han, you were able to open the sky to enter into the Immortal Realm, so your talent is naturally impressive. You can enroll in the Scarlet Heaven Academy to study for a while.” After Shang Chengyun briefly talked about the power structure of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire, he made this suggestion to Ling Han.

“Please teach me, sir,” Ling Han said humbly.

“The Scarlet Heaven Academy is the largest and best academy in our empire. All other things aside, the juniors of the Left and Right Minister and the Seven Generals are all studying there,” Shang Chengyun said with a smile. “I, too, had the fortune of staying in the Scarlet Heaven Academy for 387 years. Unfortunately, due to inadequate talent, I was still cast out in the end.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, “If you are able to meet some high-ranking officials and nobles there, then it would make for some sort of relations. Even if you are not able to return to your own nation, you will at least be able to move freely within the territory of our empire, and would no longer have to be trapped in the Imperial Capital.”

As per the agreement, Ling Han, as a hostage, could only remain in the Imperial Capital. If he took one step out of it, it could be regarded as a challenge to the imperial authority, and he could be directly executed for it.

Ling Han nodded, and quickly questioned the other about the exact details of the Scarlet Heaven Academy.

To be honest, if he wanted to break through to the Immortal level, he would have to obtain an Immortal level cultivation technique. In terms of Body Arts, he had the Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art, but in terms of Origin Power, there was nothing he could do. Without the guidance of a cultivation technique, he could only mull over it himself, and that would be too time-consuming.