53: Chapter 53 Arrival of the Major Divine Palaces

Over the next ten days, Su Ming remained in Taoyuan Town and did not leave a single step.

After ten days of integration and suppression, the 50,000 residents of Taoyuan Town had initially accepted the cruel fact that "Mingyuan is dead, and Jiuyou shall rise."

This submission was never a gentle evolution, but the result of being forged through blood and deterrence.

Over these ten days, rebellions and riots emerged endlessly in the small town, with followers of the old gods making desperate counterattacks in a vain attempt to expel Su Ming.

However, in front of the absolute combat power of the 100,000-strong Undead Army, all riots were like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot, fragile and vulnerable.

Su Ming acted decisively in slaughter and suppression, never showing an ounce of sentimental mercy.

Whenever anyone gathered for rebellion, they were forcefully suppressed and ruthlessly executed, using thunderous methods to terrify everyone until no one dared to harbor rebellious thoughts again.

Of course, he was not blindly harsh and bloody; he was well-versed in the art of governing subordinates by balancing grace with authority and combining firmness with softness.

Aside from high-pressure suppression, he frequently displayed various miracles, subverting the perceptions of the townspeople;

At the same time, he dispatched Undead Retainers deep into the mountains and wilderness to hunt fierce beasts and exotic beasts, allowing the townspeople who had suffered from hunger year-round to eat meat every meal and live in warmth and security.

The strategy of a stick and a sweet carrot yielded excellent results.

To this day, although the townspeople had not yet completely converted their faith to Su Ming, they had completely let go of their resistance, feeling full of awe and reverence for Su Ming without daring to show the slightest disobedience.

Su Ming knew in his heart that Lilith still had not completely let go of her obsession with the Lord of Mingyuan, and her old faith was deeply rooted.

But he was not impatient; he knew that before long, the entire Taoyuan Town, including the stubborn Lilith, would eventually become his believers.

During these ten days, Su Ming also figured out the background of Taoyuan Town and the underlying pattern of the Chaoming Realm.

The small town had a total permanent population of 50,000, sixty percent of whom were able-bodied young adults, making the population base and regenerative potential quite considerable.

At the same time, he learned some secrets of this continent from Lilith.

The two dynasties of the Chaoming Realm, Xiguang and the Youying Dynasty, had been fighting wars across generations without cease, but the two clans had an unwritten understanding: they would suspend war for ten years every century. These ten years were what they called the Days of Divine Truce, and they happened to be in this special stage right now.

Originally, during the Days of Divine Truce, the two clans ceased hostilities and the world was stable; however, with the true gods of the two planes falling silent and losing contact, the dynasties' checks and balances collapsed, leaving both sides eager for action, surging undercurrents across the entire continent, and a major war impending.

The pattern of this world was extremely special, with imperial power and divine power coexisting side by side, checking and balancing each other to jointly rule the world.

Just like in Taoyuan Town, the priest Lilith held the divine power of the council, leading all matters of faith and sacrifice;

Guardian Brunn Locke controlled the army and government affairs, separately managing the livelihood and order of the region.

Furthermore, the true foundation of the Youying Dynasty far exceeded Su Ming's previous estimates.

On the surface, the dynasty had dozens of ninth-rank knights, and the middle- and low-rank knights below the ninth rank numbered as many as one million, possessing formidable combat power and a solid foundation.

Compared to this behemoth, Su Ming, who now possessed only a small town and 100,000 retainers, was at best a slightly larger ant, completely incapable of shaking the foundation of the dynasty.

What made Su Ming most vigilant was that the council of the Youying Dynasty was searching with all its might for all trial students.

During this period, quite a few unlucky students had exposed their tracks and suffered encirclement and suppression, and Su Ming also heard that a dozen unlucky fellows had been eliminated.

Of course, the trial participants were definitely not lambs to be slaughtered at will.

Many students banded together, joining forces to capture multiple cities and even openly carving out territories to resist the dynasty's army and religious council head-on.

Unfortunately, the students' forces were fragmented and lacked a systematic structure, ultimately no match for the indigenous forces that had entrenched themselves in this world for countless years. Su Ming had already gathered news that the Youying Dynasty was sending troops to campaign against them.

Upon learning this intelligence, Su Ming was filled with relief.

Fortunately, he hadn't slaughtered the entire town just to save trouble back then.

If Taoyuan Town had become a river of blood with all living things exterminated, it would inevitably have triggered the vigilance of the Youying Dynasty, completely exposing his whereabouts and inviting an army encirclement.

After perceiving the pros and cons of the overall situation, Su Ming became even more determined in his plan to accumulate grain widely and slowly claim kingship.

...

Outside the Realm Fortress.

Four magnificent warships, their entire bodies flowing with dark golden divine patterns, slowly detached from the interstellar orbit and steadily sailed into the fortress airspace.

Compared to these four behemoths, the Jian-3000 warship that had previously carried Su Ming and the others was like a children's toy.

On the fortress square, Principal Ning Zhengqi and other college big figures raised their eyes to gaze upward, their eyes filled with extreme shock as they whispered in amazement.

"It is actually an interstellar capital ship! Can a strategic lethal weapon of this level be driven over so casually!"

Every interstellar capital ship was equipped with terrifying interstellar orbital main guns, possessing the horrifying power to destroy stars and split realms. Even a Main God-level powerhouse would be severely injured if hit head-on by the main gun, and its deterrent force was enough to shock all races.

Looking at the void giant ships, Bailing Xi felt full of emotion, her tone full of envy: "As expected of the Nine Divine Mansions and the top hundred divine mansions, these four capital ships alone are enough to walk sideways across the entire Canglan Star Domain, with no one daring to challenge their vanguard."

The true gods present nodded in agreement one after another.

Even if their true bodies arrived in person, they would have no certainty of contending against the capital ship's interstellar main gun, and many low-rank true gods could not even break through the capital ship's outer defense shield.

This kind of top-tier warship was the pinnacle crystallization of the combination of the human race's technological divine system and Divine Realm craftsmanship. Not only did it require a massive amount of divine crystals to purchase, but it also required status and strength as endorsement to be qualified to be equipped with it.

In the vast Canglan Star Domain, countless aristocratic families and consortia actually did not have a single one qualified to purchase a capital ship, making the disparity clear at a glance.

The giant ships docked steadily, and dozens of figures slowly walked out from the hulls, their auras as vast as the sea.

The leading brocaded youth had a tall and upright posture and an extraordinary temperament. He looked from afar at Vice President Xiao Jinghan who was welcoming him forward, cupping his hands with a smile: "Brother Xiao, long time no see, how have you been?"

Hearing this, everyone inwardly sighed to themselves.

Across the entire Canglan Star Domain, perhaps only Canglan Academy, which firmly held the number one spot in the star domain, could catch the eyes of these top divine mansion powerhouses.

If not for the opening of this deity preparatory class selection, these big figures probably wouldn't have set foot in the Canglan Star Domain at all.

Vice President Xiao Jinghan showed a familiar smile and raised his hand in return: "Brother Shen, it has been a long time, I have missed you dearly. However, let us temporarily set aside reminiscing and quickly introduce everyone beside you."

"You, you are still as impatient as ever." Shen Yuanzheng laughed helplessly, then turned to look at the people present, speaking calmly and introducing their identities one by one.

Hearing the origins of these people, all the big figures present were dumbfounded and filled with awe.

Every single envoy visiting this time was a high-level true god.

Just as Vice President Xiao Jinghan had said before, two of the top factions among the Nine Divine Mansions had arrived in person, and the first of them was Haoran Academy.

The Shen Yuanzheng before them was an instructor of Haoran Academy, and he was not just a simple high-level true god, but an existence who had touched the threshold of a Main God.

Haoran Academy recruited deities related to the glorious Dao or literature-related Daos.

And another representative from the Nine Divine Mansions was named Mo Tiance, coming from Shenwu Pavilion.

He had a refined figure and a scholarly temperament, looking gentle and harmless, but in reality, his strength was terrifying.

Shenwu Pavilion was a rather special existence among the Nine Divine Mansions, and its selection direction was polarized to the extreme: either legion-oriented deities, or Divine Martial Artists.

These Divine Martial Artists could be considered anomalies among deities; their exclusive retainers were all divine weapons, battle armor, and slaughter artifact spirits, possessing peerless offensive power and ultimate combat capabilities.

The remaining accompanying envoys also came entirely from the top-hundred divine mansions, boasting a luxurious lineup that was enough to show the extreme importance these divine mansions attached to this selection of the deity preparatory class.

The various college big figures present saw things clearly in their hearts.

The threshold of the Nine Divine Mansions like Haoran Academy and Shenwu Pavilion was too high, and their disciples were endowed with natural talent and heaven-defying foundations.

The students of their academy had almost no chance whatsoever.

What was truly worth striving for and within reach for everyone were the seats of the remaining top-hundred divine mansions.

Amidst the crowd, Principal Ning Zhengqi looked toward the direction of Shenwu Pavilion, and the figure of Su Ming inexplicably surfaced in his mind, a trace of expectation flashing through the depths of his eyes.

"Shenwu Pavilion specializes in slaughter and legion Daos, which actually matches Su Ming well... I just don't know if this child can seize this opportunity."