Obviously, now was not the time to immediately select the three Dragon Protector Pavilion members, this matter had to be put on hold first, Zhang Ruochen had more important things to do.
Qin Yutong stepped over the blood-stained earth and arrived in front of Zhang Ruochen, bowing and saying, “Greetings, Your Highness, the casualties of the Imperial Court and the Sacred Ming have been preliminarily counted.”
Qin Yutong, unlike usual, did not have bright and sexy dance clothes, but instead wore bloody armour, and although she was badly injured, she was incredibly excited and thrilled, staring at Zhang Ruochen with a look of adoration and awe.
After this battle, Qin Yutong’s mentality had changed greatly, and it could be said that if Zhang Ruochen could be of any use to her, she was willing to die for Zhang Ruochen.
Taking down the Lingxiao Heavenly King’s Mansion, killing the Lingxiao Heavenly King, heavily hitting the imperial army, and avenging the fathers and grandfathers of the old Sacred Brightness clan, all of these were things they didn’t dare to do and couldn’t do in the past.
Only His Highness the Crown Prince had such cohesion and appeal, not only because of his status, but also because he was able to rush to the forefront without fear of any danger, and because of this, it was only because of this that the timid could become heroic again, and it was only because of this that those who had been oppressed by the imperial court for so long dared to rise up in defiance.
This is vigour, this is boldness!
At a time when everyone was on the verge of becoming numb, on the verge of being scared out of their wits by the Empress Becoming God, there was a need for such a person to stand up.
Therefore, while Zhang Ruochen was able to settle the world with a single battle and make the old Saint Ming division more cohesive, King Ming Jiang could not fail to do the same.
It wasn’t that King Ming Jiang’s identity wasn’t orthodox enough, but because, he was already old, already scared by the strength of the imperial court, and with timidity in his heart, he was destined to not dare to let go of the battle.
Zhang Ruochen stared towards Qin Yutong and said, “Speak.”
Qin Yutong said, “Because many of the cultivators have already lost their corpses and bones, we can only count an approximation. On the imperial court’s side, two Saint Kings, fifty to sixty Saints, and over seven hundred Half-Saints died. The rest of those soldiers and soldiers under the Half-Saints, there were around two and a quarter million dead.”
“On the Sacred Ming side, there were fourteen Saints, more than one hundred and fifty Half-Saints, and over a million soldiers and soldiers who remained in this great land forever.”
Zhang Ruochen listened to this series of shocking numbers, but he didn’t even blink his eyes as he raised his head, looked at the sky, and muttered, “With so many Saints and Half-Saints having fallen, the Heaven and Earth Chess Game should have noticed it, so how come that Lord Zai Zai and the Earth Divine Hall’s Temple Master haven’t moved to attack yet?”
“Your Highness, what is the Heaven and Earth Chess Game?”Qin Yutong asked.
“It’s nothing.”
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head and stared at those eyes of Qin Yutong before adding, “What do you think, what exactly are we fighting for in this battle?”
Qin Yutong said, “Of course, Your Highness the Crown Prince is doing this to avenge our hatred, after today, Yutong is willing to serve Your Highness to the death.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her tightly.
Qin Yutong’s eyes were a little red, biting her lips tightly as she added, “Your Highness is perhaps unaware that eight hundred years ago, after the destruction of the Sacred Brightness Central Empire, what happened to our ancestors was incomparably miserable, with many of the clans killed to the point of extinction. Those who survived were turned into the lowest of slaves, sold into greenhouses and subjected to lustful insults, sent into mining pits to die of exhaustion, and used as food to feed the mounts of savage beasts. In those dark times, a ragged female slave bought from the slave market could be the heavenly daughter of a lineage at one time.”
“We have to rebel, not to be slaves, not to be ravaged. And every revolt ends in failure, and more people die. Our hatred is accumulated from generation to generation in the midst of resistance.”
“As long as we are able to destroy the Lingxiao Heavenly King’s Mansion, even if we will be surrounded by the imperial army and die by dawn tomorrow, it will still be a worthwhile thing.”
Zhang Ruochen sighed softly and patted her shoulder, saying, “There is nothing wrong with having revenge and complaining. However, we can’t take this as the goal of our life, living is to welcome a better world, rather than allowing ourselves to step into the abyss of death and live in darkness forever. Understand?”
Qin Yutong pondered over the meaning of Zhang Ruochen’s sentence, what was to welcome a better world?
In her opinion, taking down the Lingxiao Heavenly King’s Mansion was bound to be met with mad retaliation from the imperial court, and the days to come would be even more difficult, with bloodshed coming one after another, and in the end, there was a possibility that she might die in battle here as well.
Of course, so what?
As she prepared to attack the Lingxiao Heavenly King’s Mansion with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Qin Yutong’s heart already held the determination of certain death.
“Pass the order down, all the Saints and Half-Saints from the old Saint Ming division, gather outside the Xuan Yuan Palace, on top of that, each of the great clans and organisations will also send out a representative. This Crown Prince has something important to announce.”Zhang Ruochen said.
Qin Yutong spread the news, and all cultivators who fit the status rushed to the Xuan Yuan Palace, which actually exceeded a thousand people.
Not only were there human races, but there were also half-human races.
Eight hundred years ago, there were three hundred half-human races attached to the Sacred Ming Central Empire, and by now, there were still many half-human races that were loyal to Sacred Ming.
After the Crown Prince’s edict was published, they immediately swarmed over.
“Long live the Crown Prince!”
“Long live the Crown Prince!”
……
It had to be said that the battle at the Lingxiao Heavenly King’s Mansion had completely established Zhang Ruochen’s authority, and even if he was not yet able to reach the same prestige as the Ming Emperor of the past, it was still enough to deter those lords below.
Zhang Ruochen stood outside the tattered gate of the temple, overlooking the crowd, his eyes skimming over the top of each and every figure, and suddenly, he saw a familiar silhouette.
It was a woman, standing amidst a cloud of black holy mist, her figure tall and slender, yet very hazy, unable to see her true form.
Even so, Zhang Ruochen recognised her at a glance, it was Han Chu.
Han Chu’s beautiful face was revealed from the black holy mist, and she smiled wickedly at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen’s face remained unchanged as he raised his voice and said, ”The Ling Xiao Heavenly King’s Mansion has already been attacked and the Ling Xiao Heavenly King has been killed. What do you all think, where should we go next?”
Those Saint realm figures knew that Zhang Ruochen must have an arrangement, so all of them remained silent.
The characters below the Saint realm, however, were a mix of good and bad, as someone said, “His Highness the Crown Prince should immediately claim the title of Emperor, right here in Sacred Brightness City, rebuild the Sacred Brightness Central Empire, and fight against the First Central Empire to the end, and my subordinate is willing to follow the Crown Prince to the death.”
“What should we do next is kill the Peakless Mountain, exterminate the Demon Sect, and help His Highness the Crown Prince snatch back the Demon Sect’s Holy Maiden.”
“That’s right, that’s right, how can our Saintly Crown Princess marry a tree. Exterminate the Devil Cult, exterminate the Fire Race, and behead Wutong.”
……
Only after the clamour had passed did Zhang Ruochen say, “With Sacred Ming’s current strength, is it able to fight against the First Central Empire?”
Below, there was an instant silence.
Eight hundred years, a whole eight hundred years, and for the first time, the old division of Sacred Ming was able to stand up with a straight spine and speak, and everyone was still in the midst of excitement, only to have Zhang Ruochen splash a pot of cold water on them.
In fact, everyone knew very well that they were undoubtedly hitting a stone with an egg by calling out to the First Central Empire right now. However, now was the time when morale was high, so how could they say something like, “Growing others’ ambitions and destroying their own”?
Zhang Ruochen added, “The most important purpose of this Crown Prince’s Crown Prince Edict is actually to gather everyone together, unwilling to see everyone continue to hide or be enslaved, and even more unwilling to lead everyone to their deaths.”
“To live, we must live well and with dignity.”
“The destruction of the Sacred Brightness Central Empire was my Zhang Family’s fault, it was my Zhang Family that dragged you all down. However, today, I, Zhang Ruochen, have returned and will re-establish the Sacred Brightness Central Empire, unfurling its umbrella of protection once again, and holding up a dignified heaven and earth for all of you.”
“But the new Sacred Brightness Central Empire is not in Sacred Brightness City, but in another place.”
Zhang Ruochen mobilised the power of space and pushed his hands forward, opening the World Gate of the Qiankun Realm, and with that, a light gate that was a hundred feet tall was presented outside the Xuan Yuan Hall.
The Saints, Half-Saints, Family Heads, and Organisation Leaders present, all walked into the light gate and stepped into the Qiankun Realm.
“Gosh, it’s actually another world, the concentration of heaven and earth aura surpasses that of the Kunlun Realm, and is by no means comparable to the barren Market Realm.”
“I didn’t see it wrong! It’s the Heaven Receiving Divine Wood. Hasn’t this legendary heaven and earth spiritual root been severed? How could it be growing in this world?”
“A spring of life, a spring of life, if one can keep cultivating in this world, everyone’s lifespan will definitely increase.”
“This is where the Saint Bright Central Empire is going to be established? That’s great! My Cai family is going to establish a holy city.”
“This one world is so vast and rich in resources, does it all belong to our Sacred Ming Central Empire?”
“Cultivating here, this family head will definitely be able to break through to the Saint realm, I won’t leave anyway, I won’t leave even if it kills me. It would be even better if I could move my clan, all of them, to this world!”
……
In the Qiankun Realm, all the cultivators, including the Saint realm characters were about to go crazy with excitement, and many of them directly sat on the bottom of the Heaven Receiving Divine Wood and cultivated.
Outside the Xuan Yuan Palace.
“Wow…”
A black point of light appeared out of nowhere.
That black dot rotated quickly, becoming larger and larger, and finally, transforming into a black hole with a diameter of three zhang.
Han Qiu stood at the centre of the black hole, and the power of darkness that radiated from her body seemed to be able to devour all the light around her as she said, “How dare you access all of them into the Qiankun Realm, aren’t you afraid that there are undercover agents from the imperial court amongst them who will spread the news?”
Zhang Ruochen looked bashful as he said, “Do you think that an undercover agent of the imperial court would have the determination of certain death to attack the Lingxiao Heavenly King’s Mansion with me? Besides, the Qiankun Realm and the Heaven Receiving Divine Wood aren’t secrets, didn’t that supreme ruler of the imperial court know about it long ago? Even if it gets back to the court, so what?”
Hearing these words, a cold smile appeared in Han Qiu’s eyes, “I’ve said long ago that Huang Yichen is a slut, she’s not worthy of you at all. The next time we meet, I will definitely kill her for you.”
Zhang Ruochen’s face was as calm as water without a single fluctuation of emotions.
Han Qiu put away the coldness and evil aura on her body and walked out from the black hole, a slender jade hand holding Zhang Ruochen’s wrist, and in a smooth manner, she collapsed into Zhang Ruochen’s embrace, and delicately said, “Earlier, I killed a total of five court saints, what kind of reward is Your Highness the Crown Prince prepared to give me?”
Entering the embrace, Zhang Ruochen didn’t push her away like before and said, “You should know that I’ve never been a stingy person, and when you work for me, you can definitely get the best cultivation resources only if you have made achievements. Since you chose to come back, don’t leave again and report to the Dragon Protector Pavilion!”
